Hello all first time on anything like this but did not know were to turn with this and a friend pointed me to this forum online so thought i would have a look . In 2004 i had a really good job and had an account with lloyds were my salary was paid every month and i enjiyed the football home and away with my team. On one of these days at the football i got involved in a fight protecting younger son and hit someone who i knocked out . to cut a long story short i never denied it and was sent to prison for 2 years an appeal was lodged and that was it no job no money going in to my wife and kids. I had a credit card that i owed roughly £900 TO £1000 and had and overdraft of about £100, i was dismissed from my job and settled down to do the 2 years . While in her majestys pleasure i was asked the first week if i had any debts to be sorted ie loans credit cards etc to which i said yes told them where and who with and thought they would be stopped and frozen once the prison had got in touch with them. How wrong was i after 9 months i was sick of hearing the wife telling me the bank had been on to her for the credit card payment again and they could not talk to her about it as it was in my name, and they could not help me being sent to prison the prison even tried to get in contact with them all to no avail . She was told by the bank just pay the minimum payment asked if thats all she you can afford which she did . I was released on good behaviour in the August of 2005 and luckily in to a job straight away i went to see the bank who had been accepting the minimum payment off the wife for the 9 months i was in prison but was told they would be sorting my account out in due course but there was a load of money that had been put on top as interest . My first months wages went in and i went to draw some money out and they had taken it all towards the debt and shut my account . I was furious i went in to see them at once and they then demanded further money as the first amount was off the overdraft and not the credit card or they would be sending in there debt collection agency i said they would never get another penny from me from that day and left. they never have and i nor my wife have ever heard anything from them i say my wife as i have been away twice in the period but my wife has always been at this address and has received nothing. Today i had a letter asking for my salary details and an order had been given against me in my local court by MARLIN EUROPE II for the sum of £2.868 and to pay within 7 days to a RESTONS SOLICITORS or they would be making deductions from my wages what do i do ?

This is my very first posting so I am hoping somebody can help please:attention: My brother has learning difficulties and I have his mail forwarded to my address so that I can help him to manage his affairs. I stepped in to manage his affairs because my brother was unable to stand up to telephone salesmen who were bombarding him with calls in his own home. The situation was so bad (he was falling deeper and deeper in debt) that he has now gone into sheltered accommodation where he has some protection from people who take advantage of vulnerable people like him. When he moved into the shelter last October I helped him to sort out his affairs and found that he had a number of insurance policies from different providers which provided him with contents cover. One of these policies, from My Cover, provided him with unnecessary satellite TV insurance. As he was moving I contacted the company to cancel the policy and I was told that the policy could not be cancelled unless My Cover received this request in writing. I wrote this cancellation letter (which my brother signed) and sent it to the company on the 5 October 2012. Shortly afterwards I received a letter telling me that the company would not cancel the policy unless they received a cheque for £25 to cover the cost of "administration" for the cancellation of this policy. Again, I wrote a letter dated 12 November 2012 cancelling this policy and enclosed a £25 cheque from my brother for the administration fee. My brother signed this letter. We heard nothing more from My Cover and I thought the matter was settled until we received a letter from them today which was dated the 24th April 2013. The letter had gone to my brother's previous address (as I check the empty house regularly, I know the letter could not have been received any earlier than the 3rd May). The tone of the letter is very threatening and states that: ' the insurance is still active (nearly 6 months after our last contact with the company) because My Cover has not received the cancellation letter that My Cover is prepared to cancel the agreement if we pay another £25 administration fee within 14 days (we are already past that 14th day i.e. 8 May 2013) that, should my brother not pay this additional administration fee the matter will be referred to their Legal Department and my brother will be taken to Court. The letter goes on to explain that my brother will be liable to costs etc and that a County Court Judgement will seriously affect his credit rating etc Can you advise me on the next best step please? I have the original letters on my computer and these prove when the letters were typed up but I can't prove that My Cover has received these letters so what can we do about this? Also, I am very suspicious about their reasons for not contacting my brother for nearly 6 months. Surely, if they genuinely thought he was in arrears they would have contacted him before that? Any advice would be welcome Many thanks Wendy

I have now received three letters from Athena ANPR stating that i owe £90 for allegedly exceeding a hr parking stay a Lidl. Is Athena entitled to get the money from me? Is their a template letter i can send to them to stop the letters? Thanks

Hi guys i have just cleared some debt off the past month and am now debt free but vodafone, o2, t mobile etc are declining me credit and im guessing it was related to this debt i have paid up. I have paid my Virgin Media bills every month on time if not before the pay date and keep getting mithered to take out a deal in my virgin media account i want a samsung galaxy s3 on virgin but bit worried they might also decline me

I've got an unpaid council tax debt of £200, it slipped through the cracks until it ended up with Rossendales, not the best but there you go... the letter says that the amount due is £203.50 plus costs (costs underlined several times!) It also goes on to say that "if you cannot pay this amount in full, you should be aware that even at this late stage with an initial payment of £100 you can still pay by installments" but after calling the number of the letter the guy that I spoke to unhelpfully said that he wouldn't accept £100 and then the rest next month. When I read out the letter to him he said that a payment plan can only be set up if I let him into my house to make a list of my goods, or took the details of my or my wifes car as they couldn't just take it on faith that we would pay next month. There's no way that's happening and my car is on HP, the wifes car is worth a lot more than a £200 debt - we'd not be happy agreeing to that. He then said that we had no choice and that if we didn't pay they'd apply further charges to the account for visiting us to enforce collection. It doesn't seem fair that they won't accept half of the debt this month in good faith that we'd pay the rest next month (why wouldn't we if we'd already paid half?) and they'd use the threat of further charges to get us to pay up in full now even though we can't afford it. It seems we could pay £100 but then rack up an indeterminate amount of charges until we pay the next amount, or not pay and rack up charges anyway.. .. Don't know what to do - does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance Dan

We ordered a sofa from Harveys on Boxing Day. My wife has rung several times about it and the last couple of times they "suggested" we pay the balance for the sofa in advance as this would speed delivery up considerably. My wife rang again just now and was told they will not ship the sofa from England to Northern Ireland until the balance is paid. Is this proper? Surely once they have our money they can make us wait as long as they want before delivering (we had the same thing happen with MFI many, many moons ago and this has tainted our faith in furniture companies).

I have been contacted ( through a friend ) by a person terrified of a claims company that helped her get a substantial amount of PPI back from several loan companies . She apparently had been told by others that she could have got the money back herself free of charge and so has kept/spent the rebate on whatever . They have been chasing her for about a year , they continually harass her by telephone and letters . She has been sent copies of her agreement with this company which i have seen and it appears that she has agreed to the company receiving the PPI from the loan company on her behalf . This apparently never happened as the loan companies sent the PPI rebate direct to their customer who in turn never paid the PPI company . I think the letter constitutes a full assignment by her to the PPI company to which she has signed and i have told her this . She maintains that the monies are now gone and there is no way she could offer repayment Has this happened before / does anyone have any thoughts ? regards rs

Morning everyone, Just received my post and I've had a letter from DWP about an old social fund loan I have with them, I know I have this and it needs paying back, that's not the issue, I'm willing to pay them monthly when DH gets paid however they want almost £20 per week and we just can't afford this, do we have to pay them back at that amount or could we pay them less? I'm disabled so can't work so DH is the only income we have for now until my illness stabilises and then I'll be wanting (needing haha!) to find a part time job. How do we go about telling them that they are expecting too much? Thanks to anyone who replies.

Hi everyone, my brother and his wife have got a situation with their landlord, they have a 30 day rolling contract (I can confirm this if any one needs the specifics) the story thus far is below: On 3rd Nov, they gave notice and informed the landlord/letting agents that they were vacating the premises on 3rd Dec 2012. On 10th Nov the property they were moving to was removed as the landlord decided to pull it off the rental market and sell it. On 11th November they informed the letting agent they had been let down and were not moving after, they told the letting agent they were going to be staying for the 'foreseeable future'. On the 11th November the landlord responded with a request for clarification of 'foreseeable future' and specifically whether this would mean the continuance of their tenancy past Christmas 2012. My brother and his wife responded with they were looking at a couple of other place and if the places where not suitable they would then stay beyond Christmas and possibly beyond. On 21st November they informed the letting agency/landlord they were moving on the 3rd after all. On the 22nd November, the landlord informed the letting agent that he was unhappy and was seeking another months rent with this statement - 'This leaves us with at the very least one months loss of rental earnings through no fault of our own which is unreasonable. ' 23rd they landlord then retracted the demand and made a new demands for 2 weeks rent - and therefore we can offer a compromise of two weeks additional rent to be paid by X which results in two weeks loss of rental by ourselves. The landlord then added this - As we have already signed and exchanged a new agency agreement with XXX we will contact them to determine if they have incurred any costs to date for advertising, preparing new Tenancy papers etc and advise you accordingly. They had advertised the property for let from the 3rd-11th Nov and apparently had a couple of viewings but no firm offers. The adverts were pulled on the 11-12th and resumed on the 22-23rd. So, the questions... What the heck do we do about this? Is he liable for the additional rent demand? Is he liable for the losses of the letting agent? - I do not believe the landlord not the agent has actually suffered any real world tangible loss... If he refuses to pay I assume the landlord will dispute the return of the deposit, how does he go about defending this claim? Should he defend it? That will do for now, I look forward to a few thoughts from Caggers on the forum... mrbrooks

Hi. I have received a court claim from Link, for an old MBNA account. Ages ago I asked to see a copy of my credit agreement etc and they sent me, after months of waiting, a crappy photocopy of something which says credit agreement on it. They also sent me a letter stating they are charging me £102 for litigation fees, which they are required to do by law. I guess as they have 'proved' the debt then I would be wasting my time trying to argue with them?

In brief: Case lost on no win no fee basis. Concluded Aug 2011. May 2012, Sol requests counsel`s fees. Sol is aware that, as a result of a court imposed installment order, i am paying over and above my I/E assessment. I explain that there is no disposable income available. I request that the fees be put on hold or written off if posssible. Failing that, I can only offer a £1 a week. I have repeatedly requested counsel`s attendance notes, as i was unhappy with representation. I was repeatedly informed that counsel would not supply them! Two barristers were involved. One made two lenghty court appearances (a), the other (b) a brief appearance at the county court. Yet (a) bill is nearly half that of (b). I had heard nothing until yesterday. I received a letter from sol dated 15/11/12 requesting i set up a direct debit for payment and agree to a Charge Order on my home. I have 14 days to reply, else legal proceedings will ensue. Can anyone offer some advice on how to proceed. Thanks.

A PPI claims company took on my claim for mis-sold PPI, after I had initiated the claim myself and it had gone as far as the Financial Ombudsman who had all the details and were dealing with it. They said they could still pursue it separately and achieve a larger pay-out because they knew all the legal angles. I filled in all the appropriate forms for them, and very shortly afterwards,received notification from the Ombudsman that the claim had been successful and that payment would follow. I asked about the claims which the claims company had sent in, and was told they hadn't yet been picked up. Following this, I received directly from RBS, 3 cheques for mis-sold PPI from 3 different loans I had taken out with them. About a month later, I received a letter from the claims company demanding payment of fees relating to these pay-outs. Apart from the amount they asked for being totally incorrect and far more than the percentage they had quoted for their fee, I am not convinced that the claims they pursued were ever taken up. I asked for a proper invoice, detailing their fees, but was sent a second reminder, followed by a phone call from the company. I suggested to them that the pay-out I had been awarded was the result of my own claim, and not theirs, and said that I would be willing to take the matter to court if necessary. I then heard absolutely nothing for 9 months, then received a letter threatening court action if their fees were not paid.They also offered me a reduced payment if I paid within 7 days. I really don't know where to go with this now - whether it would be worth fighting for or whether I would be getting involved in a legal and financial nightmare. Can anyone advise please?

Ok I pay my water bills ever 3 months last week i paid £100 on my water and was going to pay the rest this week The outstanding balance was £115 this morning i received a letter stating i owe them £500 and that is not right at all. The oustanding balance is £115 they send me a letter demanding i pay them £500 in 14 days or it will effect my credit blah blah Far as im concerned i have no correspondance off united utilties regarding outstanding bills and now i get this letter

Hi guys, my mum owes about 5,000 on a loan and is paying back 155.00 a month, but every now and then the debt company ring up and ask if she can pay the outstanding amount or half, my mum is 65 and has told them countless times she can only pay this amount, they have now threaten her with a solicitor to get the full amount instead of the 155.00 she pays. She took the loan out and didn't realise what she had to pay back, her own fault I know, but that's in the past, the loan was passed on to a debt recovery agency who are now insisting she pay up, any advice please

Hi, I received a mobile phone call out of the blue last Wednesday asking if I was me and giving very old addresses as contacts. After asking some questions they said they had bought my student loan debt and demanding payment of several thousand pounds. I was told I had 21 days to pay them - with no option of a payment plan or anything. When I questioned why I had not heard from the Student Loan Company for about ten years and now was getting a phone call out of the blue they advised they had only just managed to track me down. They offered very little information about who they were other than basic information. They did not even offer there company name. I seem to remember they asked me for my address to send a letter to and looking back I don't believe that had my address. They also advised that contacting the student loans company would not achieve anything and they would transfer me straight back to them. I did take out a student loan back in 95-97 and due to the amount I was earning after I graduated, I deferred it for a couple of years. Around 1999-2000 I did not receive my deferral letter and over a period of 6 months went backwards and forwards with the SLC to try and get them to send me a deferral form. I provided them with an alternative contact of my parents address during this time but nothing seemed to work so I gave up and stopped contacting them. I received no further contact either via phone or post and neither did my parents. I have been at my current address for seven years and have never been contacted by anyone about the Student Loan until last week. In a stress I called the SLC the next morning who confirmed they had sold my debt on, confirming the amount and that I owned no more than I was told on the phone. Today I have received a notice of debt collection services letter from Link Financial Outsourcing but it is single page of A4 with some references but no paperwork or evidence to back it up. Unfortunately I also have no paperwork as it has been lost in a number of house moves and having had no contact for so many years. Having read some of the threads on your forum I think this debt might be statue barred - do you think I have a case and what do you advise I do next? I'm sorry this post is so long and thank you in advance for any help and advice you can give.

new to this so pls bear with me . Today we had birchalls bailiffs at the door over a 4yr old council tax a joint account . Tthe bailiffs has told my x (joint claiment) that if she didnt pay £487.71 by 4pm they would come with a low loader and take her car and everything from the house (quote) from ypur kids toys to your toothbrush. the debt in total is £883 as stated by council today , yet bailiff says its £1300 .The bailiff rang me to say the £400 my x had offered is not enough an i was to go to the house and they would be waiting for me ? (A threat) within this time my x has found the full amount and against my wishes rand and gave the guy her bank details to take said amount out . so now nrly £500 lighter . we procedd to the council to speak to them an when we explained the lady told us the company name and even the bailiffs name an said they have had complaints already about threatening an bulling . so the situation now is my x has agreed over the phone to pay £25 a month which she cant afford for 8 months . What should be my next step my self nor my x has seen this bailiffs have not seen him nr the house all our doors were locked but car was outside adress . She now feels as if she give five hundred to someone who she has no idea who he is pls HELP next step anything i can do to get this next £400 owed paid to the council and not this guy ?? Any help would be appriciated . thanks in advance jay

well I lost my house in 1992 yes 1992, the halifax sold it for £21,770 a shortfall of £17,330, anyway fast forward to may 2012 and walker morris suddenly decide I have to pay the shortfall there has been no acknowledge of debt in fact no correspondence since we left the property in 1992. anyway after receiving several letters from Walker Morris demanding full payment of the £17K otherwise I'm going to court/doorstep collectors sent to recover money etc etc. they sent a letter last week saying that the Halifax will accept £225 as full and final settlement, I have never wrote back or phoned, knowing that this is statute barred (under mortgage lenders rules which Halifax are signed up to) under 12 year rule. amazing that after demanding £17K for about 4 months they suddenly will settle for £225 I'm so tempted to offer 1p as a full & final settlement, but will sit back and wait for their next amazing offer. They do cheer me up with their letters one threatens all sorts, next is income & expenditure sheet saying they want to help, followed by we are sending it back to Halifax BS, then the threat one comes again and we go off again with the cycle one a week, until this new one came with their generous offer. Will keep you posted

I know this matter is nothing compared to some on here so I'm not expecting tons of replies but I wondered if anyone had any advice on the following: 5 years ago, I left self employment but was in dispute with a supplier about stock they claimed I owed them. To cut a long story short, they took me to court and I offered a payment of £5 pcm until the debt was cleared. The debt itself was only for £600 or so but the court accepted this and I have been paying this every month since. The creditor has not written to me (the debt is currently around £450) and told me that they "require the monthly payment to be increased to £50 per month, therefore, clearing the balance in 9 months" Should I not be able to do this, they have ever so kindly also send an I/E form that I must submit with all my personal financial information so they can decided how much is fair! I was under the impression that provided I was keeping up with the payments as per the CCJ, they could do absolutely nothing about it other than wait for the debt to clear. Am I wrong in this? can they take such action? If not, can I report them to the courts for trying to do so? Some expert guidance would be really appreciated. Many thanks in advance.