We took out a loan with Lombard Direct, with a PPI, over 15 years ago and no longer have the paperwork as it was paid off. I wrote to RSB who own Lombard Direct but they have replied stating that they have no record of our loan. Is it worth pursuing any further or is it just too long ago?

Hi Can anyone let me know whether MBNA has broke credit agreement. Last year I opted out of an interest rate rise which froze account so that they could no longer increase my interest rate and I only pay off minimum amount every month. But it seems they have been taking minimum amount + £10 on top, this was never agreed with me. So question is have they broke terms of credit agreement, if so where do i stand. Thanks

If someone applies what's below to DCA's they will soon change their stance. A businessman plagued by nuisance phone calls offering compensation for Payment Protection Insurance has secured £220 in an out-of-court settlement. Richard Herman, 53, was so fed up with the unwanted calls arriving from India, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He warned the company that, in future, he would invoice them £10 for every minute of his time they used. When the calls continued he began recording them before finally invoicing the company £195 for their use of his "time, telephone and electricity". Upon receipt of the invoice the marketing firm acting on behalf of UK-based PPI Claimline Ltd, denied making the calls. When Mr Herman revealed he had recorded evidence, they still refused to pay. But when Mr Herman filed a claim in the small claims court for the unpaid invoice - plus £25 in costs - the company offered to settle the debt out of court and transferred £220 into his bank account. Mr Herman said: "I kept being called, as we all do, and I thought the only way for them to stop would be for me to speak to them and say, 'For goodness sake, take me off your list!' "Then it occurred to me to tell them that if they call again I'll charge for my time. When they continued calling I sent them an invoice for 19.5 minutes." To encourage others to do the same Mr Herman has set up a website with examples of covering letters and invoices to send to nuisance callers. Even though the validity of Mr Herman's original invoice was not tested in court, he believes anyone who warns cold-calling companies they will be charged if they call, have a right to invoice them. "I did business studies at 17 and studied 'offer-and-acceptance' so I knew a verbal contract is just as valid as a written one but harder to prove. "The recorded calls proved I did tell them I would charge for my time if they called again". Mr Herman, who works in the telephone industry selling call-recording equipment, said his action was a last resort after asking the Information Commissioner and the Telephone Preference Service for help.

Hi All I just wanted to know what path i should take next with Capital One, as i have just called the recoveries dept and they don't have any record of me? I moved on to a DMP in 2006 and the debt from Capital One was sold to Hillsden Securities in 2008. I have just found out from the people managing my DMP that they have not had an updated balance or correspondence with Hillsden since 12/06/08! I checked my credit file and Hillsden have not reported on there since June'10. I'm obviously now wondering if Capital One even have me listed as a debtor any longer, and that the debt management company are paying Hillsden for no reason. I just wanted to know what is the best step to take next. Many thanks.

I'm trying to get my motorcycle back on the road. I bought it from a motorbike dealer in 2001, rode it for a year or two, then left it in my shed for about 10 years. I never received a V5C from the dealer. So I went to the DVLA to get my copy.... Normally this would simply be a case of applying for a copy from the DVLA for £25 The problem arises when the DVLA inform me that the have NO RECORDS OF MY VEHICLE WHAT SO EVER!!!! no registration, nothing, so according to the DVLA helpline my vehicle doesn't exist!! when I complained over the phone the helpline lady kindly told me that she would keep her mouth shut about it, oddly enough,,,(anything to help eh). Several problems in fact, all of which cost much much more money of corse...... After sifting through the very ambiguous literature provided by the direct.gov.uk web site I am pretty sure that I will have to apply for a MSVA (Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval) £85 at one of the 19 VOSA test stations. Then I think that would give the bike a 'Q' plate. After that would be an application for a new registration £55. Then I can go ahead and pay for the MOT and road tax. (and then possibly go see a priest). My point is that the government department messed up the records one way or another and I'm going to have to pay in money and time just to get it put right. I can't believe it's gona cost me so much to fix another prize plum from the DVLA. If they lose millions of records? and everyone has to pay to get the records put straight to stay out of Traffic Court... HOW MUCH MONEY DID THEY MAKE FROM LOSING ALL THOSE RECORDS???? I also heard that a 'Q' plate is going to bump up the cost of insurance.. Is that true? Is there any hope out there for this kind of situation?

hello all my cousin went for a photo shoot yesterday and paid £50 deposit to have a cd of pictures on, and to pay £79 a month for 12 months, however her husband has just gone pysco and she has to get rid of them, it says on the agreement she signed that its non cancellable so where does she stand?? i just called the place for her and explained but the manager isnt there so they cant do anything tonight, she wants to post the cd and agreement back to them and cancell everything, or her husband will go mental at her, he has already taken her bank card off her i want to hepl her cause i know what he can go like, but dont know how to or what rights she has, thanks for your help

Anyone else noticed this??

Hi everyone, I was a tenant at a flat with two other people, it started on the 23rd September 2011 and we moved out on 23rd July 2012, the agreement was for a year but we had a clause which allowed us to leave at 10 months. We all paid a deposit separately and it was protected. I received a text from the LA on the 26th July saying that my deposit refund had been processed and it should clear within 5-7 days, I texted one of my flatmates asking if he'd received his deposit but got no reply, my bank have been very slow with clearing payments before so I allowed some more time (in hindsight probably too much!) and emailed two people at the LA asking to check if my deposit had been processed as I hadn't received any money. Today I phoned the LA and they told me that one of my flatmates had phoned them on the 8th August because she hadn't received her deposit and they'd paid all of our deposits back to her! They also said that they'd been emailing and phoning me to confirm my bank details but I have not had any phone calls or emails from them. Needless to say I'm very angry and have tried to contact both of my flatmates but neither have responded. I'd appreciate some advice please, I'm going to keep trying to contact the flatmate who has the money but what happens if she doesn't respond or refuses to give me my money? I'm sending a letter of complaint tomorrow. Thank you in advance.

What did their letter say, did they give you a full explanation of what they were collecting and for who. Is the amount they are asking for the same as the original bill?

I've been looking through my credit file today and see that an account with Barclaycard has not been defaulted:???: I received the last communications from them in late 2008, though I made my last payment to them in late 2007. They didn't have a properly executed CCA, and I made them aware of such with help from this site. I got the usual letters from Mercers, with what were supposed to be Default Notices, but eventually it all went quiet. How long can a lender leave an account before placing a default notice on it? Could they pop up a month short of six years from last acknowleding the debt on put one on my credit file? Anyone?

Hi there i hope somone can give me a bit of advice but i think im doooomed. I purchased a L200 Warrior two weeks ago. This vehicle came from a Garage in a local town. it cost me 4.5k and seemed to be ok when i looked round it and took it for a test drive. Unfortunalty i didnt test the 4 wheel drive on the test. I didnt test this until a week after purchase. i flicked it into 4x4 and the whole truck started banging and grinding. i immidiatly rang the garage to let them know that i thought there was a major issue. and they said i should get it checked out by a mechanic. i have now done this and it turns out that the 4 wheel drive is shot. the garage say its going to cost in the region of a grand to fix. ive spoken to the dealer i purchased the truck from and they are saying that its a sold as seen vehicle and its tough luck. unfortunatly one of the forms i signed says NO WARRANTY so i think i dont have a leg to stand on here but wanted to check. im really mad cause a grand bill after only owning the truck for 2 weeks is a lot to stomach. Any advice would be appreciated. ta Stu

In 2007 my Father made an investment with an IFA. The IFA mis-sold the investment (unguaranteed Skandia bond) as they had critical flaws in there Risk Analysis Customer Profile Scoring Syestem - it is printed incorrectly! He should have been "Conservative" risk but incorrectly scored "Balanced" (The FSA will not tell us if they have investigated). A complaint was made to the FOS by myself on behalf of my 80 year old Father who made the investment (£80,000). To cut the chase, we protected the investment by my Father transferring all rights and ownership of the bond to me and my sister who are his only children (thus if he died, the bond would not "die" with him). The Ombudsman upheld the case, but in doing so, asked my sister and I to sign a form from them "to keep their records up-to-date". It turns out 3 years on, this form put the complaint into all 3 names (against our primary wish - it was always my Father's complaint). The FOS said that now 3 people were involved, the current value of the bond would be used as the point of compensation. The problem is, I had worked the bond for 3 years and managed to increase the value by around £12,000 (when my father transferred it to my sister and I it was worth £58,000 - we had also contributed by coicidence around £13000 by private arrangement toward "buying" his bond from him). The FOS informed the IFA that they had to compensate for the current loss (now £10,000), plus interest at base rate ONLY, not the base rate +1% as shown in their fact sheets. I asked that my sister and I be removed form the complaint. The FOS advised that if we did that, my Father would not receive compensation. That was the final decision. If my sister and I DID NOT sign the decision, my Father would not receive his compensation. We were advised by the FOS we had to sign as we were part of the complaint, yet we only signed the original form as the FOS instructed us to do so, with no explanation given as to the ramifications! My Father was now 83 and has waited long enough for the FOS decision. Although we signed, my sister and I made it clear we did not agree with the FOS making us part of the complaint. We complained to the Chief Ombudsman and the Independent Assessor. The Assessor acknowledges that no reason or note was given at the point that my Sister and I were told to sign, but that as we were now part of the complaint, the FOS were right to use the current value of the bond, although my Father had not owned it for 3 years, so we effectively lost the time and effort put into increasing the value as this was awarded to the IFA so they did not have to pay compensation based on the £58,000 bond value when it was transferred. To add insult, we then argued with the FOS for 8 months as to why the +1% was not used on the base rate. There were no reasons given, but it turns out the IFA's insureres DID PAY the extra 1%, according to the FOS, without being instructed to do so!! (WHY)??? Good news for my Father, but my sister and I lost our £12000 made on the bond as it was awarded to the IFA as a current value of my Father's Bond, even though he hadn't owned it for 3 years. The FOS stated they assumed we would come to a suitable "arrangement" with my Father! Our MP is now involved but has been fobbed off with the FOS refusing to answer any of my concerns. We are hoping to take this to the Treasury Select Comittee. I cannot afford to go to court. Is there anything else we can do? Please advise..... By the way, the IFA kept their £6000 commission and management fee...... The FOS said they could as it was a Private Arrangement between the IFA and Skandia - but we couldn't with my Father (despite the FOS acknowledging the evidence that we had contributed £13,000)!

Hi!! Has anyone heard of a company calling themselves UK-LOAN-STAR.NET? I have been offered a loan by them, but something about the whole process doesn't ring true somehow. Has anyone out there had any dealings with this company? Your comments wil be gratefully received. Thank you simpleton6332

I have an account with ISME and have made regular payments to that account via online bank account with no problems until June. I made the payment through the 'faster payments' process and my bank have confirmed that this has left my account and it should have arrived at ISME account within 2 hours. However, ISME have been sending me text messages and calling my homeline chasing payment, and I have explained that the mistake is not with me. I placed a small order last night and by accident today, I find they will not release my order due to the missing payment. I have spoken with their so called 'customer services' department today only to now be told that their bank Nat West have had glitches with it's system and all payments made in June have been lost in transit!!! They have tried to tell me that whatever effect it may have on my credit report, they will reverse it asap. I have a sqeaky clean credit file and to add insult to injury - they have applied a DEFAULT CHARGE to my account until the mess is sorted and no further orders can be processed either. When I asked what compensation would be provided she said, we will reverse the charges and your credit file will be right, what do you want compensation for? Apart from anything else, they have lost my custom. Any thoughts peeps? Shelley

I'm just painting my kitchen with their Light and Space paint which cost £40 for a 5l tin (!!!!!!!!!!£40??????), and it's cack. There's a couple of mist coats underneath as it was fresh plaster, and it just looks like another mist coat on top. I always do two coats when painting, but I reckon if I get away with 3 I'll be lucky. I was really reluctant to get Dulux again as I remembered last time I used it I was unimpressed, so much so that I've been using B&Q's own range which to my mind is how Dulux used to be (and half the cost which is always a bonus). I wanted the L&S though which afaik only Dulux do, and I did think that for basically double the price of their normal paint it might be better. It's not:( Is it just me being picky or has anyone else found this? I'm tempted to be really sad and complain to them about it. I bought 12.5l of the stuff so that I had tons too much, but I think I may end up using the lot and then some. Boo.

Hi all Currently I attend a work programme with TCV Enterprises (formerly BTCV) and accidentally missed 1 work programme appointment 2 weeks ago. The reason that I missed the appointment was because my signing time at the JCP was changed and due to TCV being in the same town as the JCP where I sign, for convenience (as I have to get a train to appointments), I asked for that to be changed too; they were fine with changing it but I now remember my WP advisor saying that they couldn't offer me an appointment on the same day, but they could offer me one the day before I was due to sign. He gave me an appointment letter and off I went. It came to my signing day and I caught the train to sign on at the new time and then go to my WP appointment afterwards as I routinely do, I was quickly reminded that I was supposed to be there the day before when I got to TCV It just completely slipped my mind. Today I received my first ever 'doubt has arisen' letter asking me to give a reason why I didn't attend and why I didn't let TCV know that I wouldn't be attending; I doubt 'it was a human error' is going to suffice as valid reasoning here So I think I'm unfortunately looking at a sanction. Completely my own fault, I know. Can anyone advise me as to whether I'm actually likely to get a sanction and how long it's likely to be? Or am I just panicking? Also advice regarding alternative benefits that I may be entitled to should I receive a long term sanction. I have chronic renal failure but am pre-haemodialysis and am unsure as to whether this qualifies me for any benefits. Thanks in advance.

My ex boyfriend has today sent me a letter claiming that I "owe" him money for all of the bits and bobs that he has had to pay out for the car that he had use of for the past 18 months. Background: I purchased a vehicle in 2010 (in my own name), on HP, all payments made on time and through my own bank. Last year myself and my partner separated, I agreed (not legally, or in writing) that he could carry on using the car, providing he paid the finance installments (from his own bank, which he did), kept it taxed, insured, serviced etc. The log book (v5) was always kept in my name, so the car (although legally still owned by the finance company) belonged to me...I had merely let him have the use of it. So it remained this way until last week...when low and behold I found out that for the last 4 months of our relationship he'd been cheating on me. Not wanting him to keep driving around in MY car, I took the car back, and have confirmed with the finance company and DVLA that the liability is still mine and has nothing to do with my ex partner. The finance will be settled next week, and I shall sell the car (as it does have a small amount of equity left) Question: This letter I received from him today, stating that I must re-imburse him the cost of the new tyres (£551.00) the work for the MOT (£82) and the months of finance payments (approx £3500)...does he have a leg to stand on in asking me to pay all of this, when in fact I had let him have full use of the car for this period, and at no time did he moan about paying all these things, as he was the one using the car (I didn't even live in the same area, and had no access to the car). If he pursues this to small claims court, would I have to pay him anything, as the car belonged to me, but I'd (temporarily) let him run and use it...and therefore my understanding is that he must bear the cost of keeping the car roadworthy. Just after some advice from others who may have been in this situation, or know the legal ins and outs of a case like this! Thanks in advance Hannah x