Hi, A friend of mine was contacted by lowells and stupidly agreed a payment plan for a couple of old(more than 6 years) debts, on catalogue and one credit card. About £3000 in total and he his paying £50pm and is struggling to make these payments. They stated in one letter that they have bought the debt, so what can he do to try to get them of his back? Many thanks for any assistance you can offer...

Hello, I am wondering if you can help / provide advice for my brother. He ended up in some financial difficulties following a car accident which meant he was unable to work (self employed) for a while several years ago. As a result he got into some financial difficulties which were finally sorted in 2012 (or so we thought!). The debt was for a credit card at Lloyds TSB, who passed the debt to a company called 1st Credit. A full and final settlement figure was agreed with 1St Credit in May 2012 (we have a letter from them confirming this). However, in August/September 2012 for some reason Lloyds sold the debt on again to a company called Apex. Both Apex and Lloyds confirmed that it should not have been sent to them, and we have complaint responses from both companies in September and October 2012 confirming this. The letters also advise that the debt is closed off and Apex were sending it back to Lloyds. We thought everything was fine as no further contact however fast forward two years and we have now received a debt from a company called Cabot Financial (dated 3 November 2014) claiming that the debt has now been sold on to them. It is clearly the same debt, as all of them quote the same amount right to the penny as well as his original lloyds credit card number. We are clearly very unhappy with this as he is looking to rent a property soon and we are worried that this could affect his credit etc further. In addition to this, Cabot Financial's letter states that the original lender is "Prime Credit 1 s.a.r.l" which is not the case and we have not had any dealings with them (as was lloyds, 1st Credit and Apex) so we are at a loss with who to go to - Lloyds, Appex, 1st Credit etc. Does any one know if there are any links between these companies (i.e. is this Prime Credit 1 s.a.r.l linked to Apex/1st Credit etc).

From October 2014, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are starting to recover old tax credit overpayment debts from new ongoing tax credit awards. If you're getting tax credits and you have a tax credit debt from a previous claim that has ended, HMRC will write to you to tell you that they will deduct it from your current payments. They won't deduct more than 25 per cent of your current claim. If your current claim is a joint claim, HMRC can include any previous overpayments from single claims that have ended in this process. If necessary, they can bring together a number of debts from different years and households and deduct them in a single amount. You can't normally dispute a decision to recover an overpayment where it has been more than three months since you received your final decision notice. However, you can still make a complaint if you're not happy about how HMRC have dealt with your claim. If you are suffering hardship as a result of paying back an overpayment, you can call the Tax Credit Payment Helpline on 0345 302 1429 and ask them to review your payments. You will need to give full details of your circumstances. These changes won't affect you if you already have an arrangement in place to repay any old overpayments. For more information about tax credits overpayments, see Adviceguide fact sheet Tax credit overpayments [ 190 KB]. For HMRC guidance on how they deal with overpayments, see their Code of Practice 'What happens if we’ve paid you too much tax credits?' on the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk. http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/news/whats_new_oct14_tax_credits-_recovery_of_old_debts.htm

I have 2 very old accounts with MBNA, one for a loan and one for a credit card which I suspect are statute barred. Max Recovery took over the account in 2009 and absolutely no payments have been made to them during this time. Max Recovery send me annual statements and this morning I received the 2013-14 statements. Usually the statements just show an opening and closing balance but this year there is a very small credit been posted the account mid year for both the credit card and loan. The amounts are very small but I'm concerned. I am absolutely certain that no payment has been made to Max Recovery during the year so I'm very curious as to what this entry could be for. Obviously I would like to enquire what these entries relate to but don't want to imply ownership of the debt and consequently jeopardise the statute barred status. Would anyone know how I could phrase the letter to enquire what these entries relate or should I just not worry?

An acquaintance has today been contacted by a DCA and I found their approach unprofessional / bordering on harassment. My acquaintance was severely upset by their behaviour and attitude. I would appreciate your advice on the general situation (though not necessarily the rightness or wrongness of either party's claims). Is there anything my acquaintance should be doing at this point or should they be awaiting further contact? I am not a lawyer. Context: This acquaintance is a director of a limited liability company (A). That limited liability company paid for services from a third-party (the supposed creditor - B) and in turn had an exclusive franchise for a specific region. The understanding was that the franchise was perpetual and of a similar form to all other franchises provided by B. All contracts / agreements were oral though there is c10 years of historic precedent supporting the existence and nature of those arrangements. Approximately 2 years ago B decided to disenfranchise A and enfranchise a new third party (as it was financially beneficial for B to do so) thereby ending A's sole revenue stream. At that time, an agreement was reached with B that an alternative franchise would be provided though that never materialised. A may have owed B a low five figure sum for services rendered before the termination of the franchise. Following negotiations, as no new franchise was provided, it was understood by A that any sums owed to B were to be cancelled. None of those discussions, or details of sums owed are documented. B did not subsequently send requests for payment. Currently, A has negligible assets and six figure liabilities (including a significant debt to my acquaintance). Any sums owed by A to B were unsecured. Both B and my acquaintance have not been in contact for over 18 months and no requests for payment have been received in that time. Today, a DCA contacted my acquaintance informing them that they required immediate payment. DCA are a small firm (3 family members) and, as far as I can tell, are legitimate - they have a website and no negative media results. From their website, I cannot however determine their company number or if they are a member of any trade associations. As part of the 45 minute conversation between my acquaintance and DCA DCA said: 1) Threatened my acquaintance with criminal prosecution and a potential jail sentence for robbery 2) Spoke in legalese referencing c15 different forms and procedures with no intent (/ability) to explain 3) Had no knowledge of the arrangements between A and B 4) Assumed that my acquaintance was fully liable for A's debts and repeatedly stated that claim 5) Became forceful / insistent to the extent that my acquaintance burst into tears I have recommended that, next time they make contact, my acquaintance do the following: 1) Request they contact them in writing 2) Request that they stop contacting by phone 3) End the conversation at that point 4) Note key details of the conversation Any advice would be hugely appreciated given the distress my acquaintance is experiencing. Thanks, Ben

Hi All I've just joined because Google came up with you when I searched for global Debt Recovery Ltd. I've received a letter from them out of the blue today claiming that they are appointed by as agents for recovery of £47,751.74. Their client is quoted as being Experto Credite. I don't owe this money. It looks like a similar amount that my insurance company settled with the finance company when I had a serious car accident which wrote off the car last year, but I can't be sure it's that. The finance company weren't called Experto Credite that's for sure and it was showing as paid in full on my credit report. Should I ignore the letter or write to them asking them to prove it? Cheers

Hi, I have been lurking on these forums (and Google) but cannot seem to find any information about the problem I currently want to resolve. I took out a Wonga loan in 2012 which was assigned to Portfolio Recovery Associates U.K. Ltd in June 2013. I am currently on a DMP with Step Change and I am repaying the loan to PRA. I'm aware that Wonga has had to write off loans which were in excess of 30 days in arrears (which mine clearly is) and would not have been approved under the new affordability guideline. I am certain that my loan falls into that category as I was unemployed at the time. My partner took out a loan not long after me, he was employed full time and got into hundreds of days in arrears. However, his loan never got assigned to a DCA and he had made a few payments through Step Change with his DMP. His debt has been written off. Surely because my debt has only been ASSIGNED to a DCA then Wonga should still include my account in the affordability check scandal? I have been emailing Wonga on 5 different email addresses I have found every day but have not yet had a response.

Hi all. Just a quick question. I am due in for major surgery later this year and currently clain HB and ESA (pre-ATOS assessment). My consultant says that I will be in hospital around 3-5 days and then have another 2-3 weeks at home doing very light tasks but no lifting, bending or anything as I need full rest to optimise my recovery. Will I be able to claim any enhanced payment for this period? I know it is not vitally important as I guess, if anything, it will be a minimal amount but if the entitlement is there and after what I have contributed over the years I feel it is a right to claim it. If there is a case for any additional claim I guess I make this based on hospital dates and a letter from my consultant outlining the full rest period etc? Thanks all.

Hi all, I got into a bit of a scrape with Primark (don't laugh) yesterday (23rd October 2014) when I tried to shoplift a couple of shirts that came up to the cost of £26. I was escorted down to a detention room where I was spoken to and my provisional driving licence was photocopied and after a few words I was given a piece of paper stating what the costs of my anticipated 'fine' from this notorious company called RLP will cover. They saw other shirts that I had purchased from another branch along with the receipt which came to the total of £42.90, but that didn't stop them from telling me to expect a 'fine'. I was told that I should be getting this letter in three weeks. I've been doing a frantic amount of research between yesterday and today and from what I've gathered, they have no legal right to scare me into paying anything and all they make is empty threats. However I'm afraid that they may actually contact Primark again and I was told that I would be taken to court if I don't pay up to this RLP company, not to mention they have me on CCTV. However the goods were recovered before I left the store and they were in perfectly resaleable condition. The police weren't called and I wasn't made to sign anything. No additional details like a telephone number or my parents' contact details or anything were taken and I was allowed to go afterwards. I'm anxious they may also turn up unexpectedly to my house when I'm not there, and I do not want my family to know under any circumstances. I was told by a sympathetic security staff member that if I don't pay this fine immigration officers and border control across the EU will be notified and I will be stopped in airports regarding this, and that this will last for 5 years. I know I'm very much in the wrong and I did something stupid but I seriously don't have the money to spare and I don't want to go to court and risk a criminal record. In addition, in principle alone I believe like many others on here it is wrong to extort money from someone by playing on guilt, particularly as it seems I'm going to pay £137.50 for items that came up to £26 that were recovered in a perfectly resaleable condition, which of course the store will make money from anyway regardless of whether I pay the fine or not. Not to mention it would supposedly be 'covering the costs of past shoplifters'. As my parents are forever adamant on taking and opening my mail and get mad if I get a hold of it I have sent off my application for the Mail Collect service Royal Mail runs, so I can collect my mail from the sorting office without running the risk of them seeing it and getting myself into 100x more **** than I'm already in. I also wanted to know if this would show up on any kind of CRB/enhanced CRB check and do retailers regularly check RLP's so-called 'dishonesty register' when someone applies for a job? If so, how long would I be on there for? I'm 18 and I've never had one despite frantic applying. I definitely don't need this as a further setback. Do I ignore the letter when it comes or do I reply? And if so, how? I'm afraid to leave it but I also don't want to be out of pocket because of greedy capitalism on the part of RLP as I believe there is no basis to do so as the goods were recovered, the police weren't called and RLP is a private company with no legitimate connections to the criminal justice system. This was completely out of character for me and I definitely won't be doing it again. I'd lose my friends if they knew as well which is why I'm here looking for advice on what to do when the letter from RLP comes. I just want this over and done with. Please help!!! Thank you xx

Last July I had a hard drive replaced in my son's laptop, two months later I had a "north bridge chip" replaced in the same laptop, and just three days ago the computer crashed again, after a half hour conversation with one of the KNOWHOW people he said that the hard drive had crashed again but that they would replace it free of charge, when I asked him about the data on it he said it would be no problem for them to put the data on a flash drive and save it. When I went to PC WORLD I was told that I would have to pay £80 for the data recovery. When I queried this with them I was told that if I wanted the data I had no option but to pay. I asked to be shown this policy and he printed the relevant page and it states.. ."if you accidently delete important files, photos or home videos we can help. our state of the art technology can recover your lost or deleted files etc, etc," My point is that "I" have not lost or deleted any files, the files are still on the three month old hard drive that they put in and are only under threat because it is faulty and must be replaced. I phoned trading standards and was told that I should use "Supply of goods and services act".. Can anyone advise me on this please.

Had a letter earlier this week from: Absolute Locate Dear Mr x We require your assistance to verify information on behalf of a client. This is part of an investigation we are currently conducting Please contact ect ect No, I have not responded, and don't intend too. Letter states this registered office is for a Nat Bourner Huddersfeild HD2 1GN CCL 579084 DPLN ZA019311 Having done some homework and looking on this group, they are not who they say they are First off, the CCL 579084 is incorrect, Consumer credit number 579084 is for a Natalie Alice Bunyer not Nat Bourner as stated in this letter (She has married, but not changed the name) She also resides in Surrey not Huddersfeild this information is therefore falsely registered and constitutes either fraud and or deception. these people are in fact: Global Debt Recovery Limited Milbourne House 66-70 Coombe Rd New Malden, Greater London KT3 4QW I am assuming that their client will be: FV-1 INC of 25 CABOT SQUARE, CANARY WHARF, LONDON E14 4QA if you take a look here at: mylawer co uk - restriction of debt collectors They have already broken the following guidelines 1 Those contacting debtors not making clear who they are, who they work for, what their role is, what the purpose of the contact is 2 Not informing the debtor when their case has been passed on to a different debt collector 3 Passing on debtor details to debt management companies without the debtors informed prior consent i.e FV-1 INC will have passed any alleged debt onto Absolute Locate, who in turn will then pass that onto Global Debt Recovery Limited and all without my informed prior consent, add to that Absolute Locate is just a dummy office which IMO amounts to deception. Adding to this, they would’ve already broken the Data Protection Act by passing my details on. I will post more when I receive their first letter. But as you can see from my tone, I am not going to be messed with by idiots, I will be going straight for the jugular Ps. If (big IF) there is a debt, if would’ve to be more than 8 years old or more, so Statue Barred.

A short while ago my partner's son 'B' who lives with us had an 'incident' on the road where a driver of a vehicle in front of him alleged that B's car had gone into the back of him whilst slowing for a zebra crossing. B denied this and told the driver that his car was stopped and what had actually happened was that the driver had allowed his car to roll back into B's car. B got out, spoke to the man denying any liability, took pictures, showed there was no damaged to either vehicle and thought that would be the last of it. A short while later B's insurance company contacted him by telephone to say they had received a claim. B denied any responsibility and sent in the pictures he had taken - apparently the driver and his passenger were claiming for whiplash and all sorts. Amazing when they was no damage to either vehicle and the impact was less than walking pace. Anyway despite the evidence and denial B's insurance company advised B they would be settling a claim against B for labour and paint costs to repair a bumper and produced a quote from the other party's insurer which states no parts required, repairs and paint only and totals £380 plus VAT - no further reference to a personal injury claim was mentioned. B protested to his insurance company stating that there was no damage and he still believed that the driver rolled back into him rather than the fault being his. B also stated the driver's attitude at the time was along of the lines of: "you are a young driver, you're inexperienced, who do you think they are going to believe" B also stated that the driver was Nigerian and when B asked to see his licence (B had produced his on demand to the driver) he told him that he was able to drive on his Nigerian license indefinitely in the UK (which may or may not be true) and he didn't have it with him. Many phone calls later to B's insurance company and they carried on and settled the claim without any agreement from B - I spoke to them myself and they were truly appalling in their telephone manner and responses. The claimant is an NHS Trust employee with a lease car supplied by the NHS Trust he works for - I know how this works as I used to have an NHS lease car. Anyway we had thought it was all settled and this year B went with a different insurance company and swallowed the loss of a NCB. However B has now received a letter from Linkfield Loss Recovery Services which appears to be a claim for the other party's excess of £100 I told B that if these jokers contact him he is to say nothing other than 'Everything in writing only' and refuse to give any information or do any 'security' checks - he understands that fully. What's odd about this letter is that it names the Client as the NHS Trust and then goes on to name the driver but the claim is for the excess and the letter states their client's claim is in respect of uninsured losses which consist of the £100 excess. Firstly I need to know if this company can claim the excess back in this way and if B is liable to pay it? I'm guessing Linkfield Loss Recovery Services are nothing more than a debt collector so powerless in every way but I want to be sure. Company details from their letter head below: Linkfield Loss Recovery Services Ltd Linkfield House 1 - 3 Linkfield Corner Redhill Surrey RH1 1YZ

Hi, need some help please: Had a loan for a car a few years ago. It was a complete lemon, broke down time and again. took it back and it broke down again the next week. Paid a £500 cash warranty on it that was supposed to cover it for everything. It broke down one last time about 3 years ago, called them, said we had to get the car to them. We couldnt, so it sat there for 10 months. I told them time and again, and then eventually scrapped the car and informed them of that. Borrowed £1500 to begin with for the car, paid £800 (£500 for warranty) deposit for a car that was worth maybe £1200 max at the time (didnt know that then) Paid £300 a month for about 20-24 months. Yet this letter below says I owe £5110 still. When you have disabled kids and no transport and cant get credit you are desperate and will use anyone, know it was stupid but had no other options at the time. Then 4 weeks ago go a letter from this firm saying they had the debt and were going to do a doorstep visit. I called them straight away telling them I withdraw any right they have to visit me, and that I dispute the debt. We never had a credit agreement (there wasnt one, ever) and we did not owe the debt etc. I was told that they didnt have a copy of the CCA!! I was told to email them what I wanted and they would get back to me, this is what I emailed. Re our conversation today: no 1/ You have no right to access to my property, you have no right to call at my property. We do NOT have, and have NEVER had, a contract. Any permission you believe you may have had from me is hereby withdrawn. If you believe that you have power of attorney to act on my behalf, you are hereby FIRED, and any consent you believe you may have, tacit or otherwise, is hereby withdrawn. If you feel so inclined as to enforce statutes as a consequence of this matter, I will report your conduct to all relevant bodies and will pursue proof of claim in affidavit form, under your full commercial liability and under the penalty of perjury. Please also see the full attached notice of denial of access. no 2/ You have been asked to only contact me by post from now. Any attempt to call me by phone will be classed as harassment and will be reported as such. no 3/ I am giving you 7 days from today to provide me with a copy of the credit agreement for this alleged debt. If I do not receive it in that time I will consider the matter closed. no 4/ I refute the debt, I do not owe that money and no payments will be made on it. no 5/ I expect a confirmation email from you today that you have received this notice and that all points are understood. This was on the 5th september 2014. Today got a letter saying " Accordingly a statutory demand is to be served upon you without further notice" and threatening to try and make me bankrupt. I m a full time carer with disabled kids so really wouldn't be a hassle for me as I have no asset's anyway! But I dont owe this debt, I dispute it, I have informed them of that by email and on the phone, they dont even have a copy of the CA. I need to do this the right way now. I know I need to send them a letter stopping the bankruptcy (I really dont think they will, but the Mrs is really worried) nd I need a letter to ask for Cetc. Can anyone give me the correct templates to post asap plus any other advice re anything I need to do. Thanking you so much in advance.

I am not certain if these jokers were ever a legitimate DCA but it seems that justice has caught up with one bunch of rogues who have persecuted someone innocent http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ruthless-blackmail-gang-conned-grieving-4301240

Today (19 Sep 14) RLP's practices were featured on BBC Radio 4's 'You and Yours' programme. The repellent Vanessa Willetts spoke for RLP. Apparently RLP don't think that their methods are either aggressive or misleading, and she says that consequently they won't be changing the way they work. It can, therefore, only be a matter of time before they end up in court. Meanwhile, let's see if what she says is true - but remember, this is RLP, so don't hold your breath - or if they do change anything. The You and Yours piece was interesting in the time allowed, and Richard Dunstan made some good points. It did mention that the Law Commission say there is no legal basis for RLP's claims. Sadly, there wasn't time to feature: - the Oxford case, which one of RLP's retailer clients brought, and lost spectacularly - RLP's highly amusing demonstration of the Streisand Effect, in which they tried to stifle criticism (including reporting of the above case), by hiring expensive lawyers to send a risible letter that achieved no more than giving us all a laugh - RLP's lies about consumer websites being investigated by the police for criminal activity RLP's deceitful attempts to infiltrate this website by the use of sockpuppets like Frogboy - the simple fact that no-one who has followed CAG's advice on how to deal with RLP's aggressive and misleading claims has been taken to court, nor has anyone had to pay anything to RLP unless they chose to

The future has not looked especially bright for the UK’s once rapidly growing civil recovery industry, ever since its leading practitioner, the Nottingham-based Retail Loss Prevention (RLP), and its retailer client lost – and lost badly – a test case in Oxford County Court in May 2012 (HERE). But a few weeks from now, the industry will receive a further stunning blow that may well prove fatal. On 1 October, the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Regulations 2014 will amend the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, extending the definition of a ‘transactional decision’ and giving consumers new private remedies where a trader uses misleading or aggressive commercial practices. And guidance on the 2014 Regulations, published by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) on 14 August, expressly states that, as a result, civil recovery “is now clearly covered” by the consumer protection regime established by the 2008 Regulations. It is important to note that this does not mean that civil recovery per se will become unlawful on 1 October. Rather, any misleading or aggressive action by the civil recovery agents will become unlawful. However, given that, as practised to date by the agents on behalf of household-name retailers such as Asda, Boots, Iceland, Tesco and TK Maxx, civil recovery against alleged shoplifters relies for its profitability on hoodwinking often vulnerable people into paying arbitrary, fixed-sum demands for ‘compensation’ for which there is in fact no legal authority, it is inherently misleading. http://thejusticegap.com/2014/08/end-road-civil-recovery/

Last week on Thursday me and a friend went to Primark. She asked me to get a sticker off another shoe which was 14 pound I got it off the shoe and passed it to her. She took the sticker of the shoes that where 20 pound and stuck the sticker ontop of the shoe and paid for them. When we was on the way out a women in no uniform and no badge came up to my friend grabbed her and dragged her a side. She had a terrible attitude and told her to put her phone away and told her to come with her. The security guard who was in uniform asked me if I wanted to come with her so I followed. We were told to wait in a room in primark for around a hour while the women who dragged my friend by the arm was calling us fat and names to someone outside the room. My friend asked her what was happening as we had been waiting in the room for a long time and she told us we where being prosecuted and the police where on their way. 10 minutes to the shops closing time 2 PSCO's came in and started ripping into us calling us **** and saying I am sly because I do acting and told us we are being given a civil recovery and if we don't pay it the PSCO themselves will kick our doors down and take items out of our house at the same value and when my friend said she can't do that only bailiffs can she started getting defensive saying she can do it herself. I haven't recieved the letter about the civil recovery yet but what do I do when I get it?! When my friend went out to get a refund on her card for the 16pound for the shoes he flirted with her and then told her we are probably looking at 130pound?! I am 17 with no income!!

Hello, Today I checked my credit report with noddle (it's free) and I noticed I have one default account which has been registered with PRA. Concerned I checked Experian and there is same information. Both of them are relating to my old debt with QQ which has been taken over by Mackenzie Hall. I settled this debt in 2011 and I've requested a confirmation letter from MH, which I still have a copy of. I was working really hard over last 3 years to build my credit score once again. Could you please help me what should I do and how should I deal with PRA. Dates and ammount on the letter and credit report are exactly same. Also I am 100% sure I've settled all my debts from the past. Thank you

Just thought I'd post this so that everyone can have a giggle. Back in April of this year, I received a Parking Charge Notice from Highview (as NTK). I ignored it. Then I got another, and I ignored that too. Then another. Guess what Then it all got serious lol. I got a letter (threat) from Debt Recovery Plus ltd, that if I didn't pay £149.99 they'd instruct their clients to take me to court. I ignored it. Then another letter arrived, which I also ignored. So.. This morning, I get yet another letter, but I decided to reply to this one via email. [ATTACH=CONFIG]52373[/ATTACH] The letter continued. I wonder what they'll send me next

Hi There, Got a parking notice back in January this year. My partners ticket was due out at 10:07. They slapped a ticket on the car at 10:17 with my partner returning at 10:20. I of course appealed against this notice as it was no more than 13 minutes out. The shopping precinct was busy at the time also delaying her getting back to the car. I sent my written appeal to ANPR Ltd. I heard nothing from this. Yesterday morning I receive a letter pack from a solicitor who state ANPR have now instructed them to collect debt and as such are preparing county court papers to which they will submit in around 14 days time. Can anyone tell me where I stand with this. When I called ANPR they said they wouldn't handle the case no more and I was to contact the company dealing with it. My concern is that baliffs will start knocking if the county court become involved. I'm panicking trying to find the money to get together within 14 days but another part of me is telling to stand firm as I appealed and heard nothing until this pack arrived. I've heard all sorts of advice on here. Some say ignore and the forum mods say don't ignore. The form they've attached which they claim will sent to Northampton County Court Bulk Centre looks official enough. Any help on which way to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

I've tried to cover all details, so please excuse the essay. Assistance here would be appreciated Scenario. Scotland (and thus NB revoked 2011 regulations - anything else put in place since?). 9am. Somehow skidded at low speed coming out of a bend, turning 90 degrees into opposite carriageway, leaving front wheels hanging over a shallow ditch on the opposite side of the road, with the car blocking oncoming traffic. Front-wheel drive, so could not be driven out. This was amongst a series of blind bends on a busy-but-very-rural A-road, so I called the Police to deal with traffic in case anyone should plough into me. They attended, and informed me that they would need to arrange immediate recovery due to location, to which I agreed as, frankly, even with Police in attendance, it was a further accident waiting to happen. Recovery company arrived to drag front wheels out of ditch. Rear wheels remained on road throughout (no photographic evidence: location was too hazardous until recovered to be standing in road taking photos, but the location would simply not allow a Volvo V90 estate to be even close to wholly off the road due to a stone wall/bank beyond the ditch, and ignoring the fact that the carriageway was blocked). Out within 5 minutes. No visible damage to car at all except for a missing front foglight (have photographic evidence). Later assessment by local garage shows additionally a broken plastic dirtguard at the front bottom, and a damaged radiator and bracket : on dropping into the ditch, the base oft he radiator seems to have got a shunt). Recovery comapny refused to either leave car on road to be checked, or be driven off if ok, or be left in a very large layby not 50yds down the road to allow further recovery to garage of choice if required (reason given: police request, and the attending police would not get involved with those negotiations at the time). Said would have to collect from their recovery centre, but would not drive me with the car to the recovery centre either. Police stepped in as I was stranded in the middle of nowhere with no means of payment, and drove me 20 miles home (and very kind of them too!). Next day, 10am. Go to collect car with local garage in attendance for tow (was unable to test for problems after recovery, so no idea if driveable or not: took garage to be sure!). Car was driven out of the compound and onto trailer for garage assessment (ie. perfectly driveable, even if engine damage would quickly ensue due to coolant loss). Bill breakdown: 2 days storage - £40. Recovery of wholly off-road, significantly damaged vehicle - £300. VAT - £68. Total £408 (instead of an expected £180). "They are our charges. Pay up". Sure, if the car were damaged (regs: "“damaged” means damage to a vehicle such that in the reasonable opinion of a constable it cannot be driven safely on the road", but no opinion was sought), they had stored for 2 days (regs: "the first 24 hour period begins at noon on the first day after removal during which a vehicle is retained at a place where it can be claimed before noon of that day"), and the car had been off-road (regs: "“off road” means that no part of the vehicle is in contact with the road"). I have a photograph of their scale of charges displayed in their office, stating in bold that they are applicable for both owner and police requests, and these appear to be a printout of the (revoked) 2011 Scotland regs charges. Paid under protest, to an abusive owner of the garage (I have a partial audio recording of the exchange: wife switched on phone after, alas, a juicy anti-English rant that was not repeated). Annotated the receipt at the time to that effect, and that a small claims action would be pursued. Provided them with a copy, which they binned on the spot. My main problem is getting the "safe" state and "on-road" position of the car confirmed. Bu I have been told by the Police that a) no written report will have been generated at the time with any significant details as no damage or injury, b) no statement from attending officers can ever be requested or obtained by individuals and that, c) the only route to take is to complain to the AA who subcontract recovery services to local garages on behalf of the Police, and who may decide to investigate my problem if I can provide sufficient details. That is all very nice, but how about my contract with the garage that the Police insisted be used for recovery? (I did not get insurance co. involved, as the car is too old - but perfectly reliable! - to be considered anything other than a write-off by them). I have faith in what appears to be a cut-and-dried small claims procedure,especially if I can get some sort of police statement, but not a lot in the AA who possibly will not investigate their own subcontractor. So a few questions, if anyone can help me please Just what is the status of the relevant statutory recovery charges in Scotland at the moment? Was anything put in place after the 2011 revocation? How ought I proceed regarding this mess? And can anyone confirm that no storage charges are due for my timings at least as per the 2011 regulations? With thanks ...

Hi On the 14th June my brother was using my van and on his way back from Bedfordshire to Liverpool. On the A14 Junction 1-2, the van had a blowout and both wheels came off (twin axle) at the back passengers side. van was on the hard shoulder with a bit of the van on a slant blocking a part of Lane 1. The holes where the bolts go in the tyre had expanded so it needed 2 new wheels so couldn't just arrange for a replacement tyre fitting. My brother rang me and I immediately arranged for Green Flag to recover the van off the carriageway. 45 minutes - 1hr was the estimated time. In the meantime, the Highway Agency tuned up and organised their own recovery. I spoke to the officer on the phone and he said it's first come first served (his recovery or ours). Because it was blocking part of the lane, they had to get it off as soon as. Low and behold, their recovery vehicle turned up first (beating Green Flag by less than 5 minutes). The van was taken to an storage/impound and I had to pay £250 + £20 1 day storage. I then had to pay a further £370 to get it recovered back to Liverpool. Do I have any right to appeal this? Thanks Mike

Portfolio Recovery Associates contact me by telephone every few days. Most days it's an abandoned call with up to 45 seconds of silence before the recorded message kicks in (that's been reported to OFCOM) but today I spoke to an actual person, something that happens maybe once a week. Every time I talk to someone there, I do the usual refusal to go through the security questions and advise them to put it in writing. I have as yet, received nothing in the post from them. I asked the caller to have a look at my file on her screen and tell me how many times they've written to me. Once, was the answer, in March. I didn't receive this. I asked why they hadn't written since, when I had asked every operator I spoke to to put it in writing. She claimed that they are unable to send me any contact by post until I confirm my address, postcode and date of birth by telephone. I asked her to confirm that this is correct and reminded her that, according to her, the call was being recorded for training and monitoring purposes. She got quite flustered but repeated that they are unable to do this. This can't be right surely?

Hi Guys While this is old news, I haven't seen anything which suggests we might have been aware of this; Seems MMF Owns more than themselves

the other day I was at sainsburys with my friend and she had popped a bottle into her bag and I walked out with her bag.. . The security guards asked us to follow them to the back of the store and so we did so, police weren't called, we said our sorry's as it was a one time thing and we expressed how much we regretted making that stupid decision. they then told us that we would have to pay an amount of £150 for wasting their time and I just really want to know how this whole civil recovery thing works. Will it come up in a future CRB? They also took a copy of our ID and said how they were going to add it to the database... what database? who will have access too my details? They also said we have a life long ban from all sainsbury's in the country; if I appealed for this to be revoked what would the process consist off? We know that it was wrong on our behalf, even though I only walked out with her bag, which is what got me into trouble, I still know and acknowledge that it was wrong. If anyone can help me and explain this to me in a way that I could understand please leave a comment. Thank you in advance.