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, I need some help or advice if possible. I loaned my brother £20k and have proof of this - this amount was to be repaid when he got a payout from his redundancy and we agreed that as the security. He was paid his redundancy in Feb 2013 and paid me back in March 2013 in full. In September 2013 he went bankrupt after his marriage failed and he lost his house, The Trustee is now trying to recover the money which was paid to me as he states this has should have been kept for all his creditors. I had absolutely no knowledge that he was going to go bankrupt and he was not aware of how much his debts were at that time. I am absolutely furious that this has happened and I have only been repaid what was owed. I do not have that much money now without remortgaging my house and this can be evidenced. I do not feel that I should repay any money to the trustee as I have only been repaid what I loaned in the first place. I cannot afford big legal bills to fight this but I do not feel that I owe the trustee any money at all. What can he do or what are my best options. I would appreciate any advice.

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

Hi, I just received a letter from "Network Finance Recovery" to pay for "overdue account" in Orange. I split with Orange 3 months ago, after being 4 years with them and they've sent me two bills, each for over 100 pound, which I completely disagree with. I actually paid one, and didn't pay the other one (I simply cancelled my dd with them). Right now I have a letter from this finance recovery company asking me to pay the bill + their fine (around 50 quid). Anybody ever dealt with Network Finance Recovery? Is there any way to contest all this and simply avoid paying this bill? Which to the best of my knowledge is some sort of [problem]? Thanks in advance for any piece of advise. Best Regards, JJ

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

I had a loan with Wonga, which as far as I am concerned,it is paid off.I have the receipts of payments made. But last November,I made my payment into Wonga's HSBC account, only to find out at a later date, they had changed to Barclays. After numerous emails to them (not replied to) and phone calls, they could not find the payment. So I sent them the computer print out of the transaction in the beginning of May, which HSBC gave me. My last payment to them was in February. I have just checked my Wonga account out of curiosity,to find this ........ IMPORTANT: YOUR DEBT HAS BEEN LEGALLY ASSIGNED TO PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES U.K. LTD Then, there was something about payments to be made to this company and a letter will be sent to me. Do I email or phone Wonga, or do I wait until Portfolio contact me, then send them the computer print out. Regards,John.

Good afternoon. Received letter from Lewis Debt Recovery on Friday 26/10/2013 demanding 46.73 to be paid by 30/10/2013. They give my University Reference number and then info that notice was issued on behalf of my University in Scotland. As far as I remember this is a notice issued by University for using their parking for one hour (similar to a parking fine) but this detail is not mentioned in the Lewis Debt Recovery Final Demand. Please let me know how should I proceed with this Final Demand. Should I pay this since it is originally from University? Best regards, Kros

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.

Hi Would a SAR to a bailiff company produce the paperwork regarding accounts they have collected on Ie Statements of accounts and charges added etc? Thanks

Hope this is in right place. Can anyone recommend a reliable but cheap car recovery firm. I have tried internet quotes, but apart from basic local breakdown cover, the prices for national recovery are too expensive for wife as she only covers a tiny annual mileage. Anyone with experience of "Autoaid" or "Rescuemycar.com"???

ah help! Last year I got a parking fine for being in a private car park in from Athens Servcies Ltd / AAS Parking. After looking on forums such as this I decided not to pay. However the parking fine is in my Mothers name and she has just received a letter from small claims solicitors say that £149.99 need to be paid now or it will go to county court judgement. Understandably she isn't keen on having her name to the fine. So I decided to call debt recovery plus and offer then a a much lower amount or set up a payment plan as I can't afford the full amount. They refused and said I had to pay the full amount or I will be sent to court. So now I'm wondering what to do? WIll they send me to court do you think? And are they really allowed to refuse me a payment plan? I'm very confused and a bit stressed by it all so would really appreciate any advice. Thanks

Hello there, I'm looking for a little advice please, A few months ago now, probably late summer last year, my ex-partner opened an account with some kind of online store called ' Studio', she opened this account using my name, my email address and my debit card, I assume this must have taken place while I was out working or something because the first thing I knew about it was when I received a letter from Moorcroft Debt Recovery Ltd. Well, that's not strictly true, I had received an invoice from 'Studio' but at the time I hadn't got a clue what it was all about and assumed then addressed it wrongly, after contacting Moorcroft I soon discovered what had happened and they were trying to recover money outstanding for some kind of talking teddy bear that had been bought, it took awhile for all this to sink in as I couldn't understand at first why they would think a man of 56 years old and no children would want a 'talking teddy bear'. I came off the phone convinced that Moorcroft had lost the plot, that was until I mentioned this to my ex-partner the next time we spoke. She then admitted that she had opened the account and forgotten all about telling me (we were still living together at the time the account set up happened). Shortly after this I contacted Studio and as a gesture of good will offered to pay for the toy, they refused and said I would have to deal through Moorcroft now as the account had been passed on to them. I contacted Moorcroft, explained exactly what had gone on and offered to pay for the toy, they wanted me to pay something like £153 for a toy that was £63 when ordered. I asked how on earth they got that figure and they said it was interest, plus they're fees, I told them that in that case they had better contact the person who actually ordered the damn toy as I was not prepared to pay that amount. I have since had numerous letters and phone calls from Moorcroft demanding this outstanding debt, I have spoken with my ex-partner and advised her to get in touch with someone over this matter, she said she would, it appears that she hasn't. I've had no contact with her since around February and she is no longer at the address where she was so I'm unable to discuss this any further with her at the moment. In the mean time Moorcroft are still trying to claim I owe the debt and I'm still refusing to pay. Sorry this is a bit long winded but I'm trying to give as clear a picture as I can. If anyone has any ideas or advice I'd be very grateful to hear them/it. Thanks... Jon T

i need a list of legal documents related to debt recovery legislations that i can read to defend myself in court. both for non statute barred debts and statute barred debts. only post on the thread if you are not going to patronize and address the question directly.

Hi, I am having problems with Plusnet. I left them in the beginning of January 2014 after a few years of trouble free good service. I only left due to a good deal with another provider. I emailed and rang Plusnet a couple of times around the date I changed over to ensure I had paid all money owed. I even had emails back confirming this. a short while after I had a letter from a debt recovery firm called moorcroft demanding £347.75. I told the person from Moorcroft the story and that I had proof that I owed no money and she promised to get back to me after talking to Plusnet. Of course that never happened. I have been in contact with Plusnet and after a 25 minute+ wait I finally got to speak to a nice lady who promised to take care of this. Now I am getting calls at various times of the day and night from Moorcroft and the money owed has now changed to £16 (don't know why). I can't seem to get any where with this case and I'm worried that it might affect my credit rating in some way. At one point in one of my first contacts with Plusnet I even paid a small amount of money just to get rid of this case even though I know I did not owe anything at this point. I might have gone back to Plusnet at some point in the future as I had a really good service while with them but after this pain I will never use them again and further more will go out of my way to make sure Friends and family will never use them. I find it absolutely mind boggling how a company of this size and fame can not sort out a simple thing such as a customer leaving and also that I am expected to use my time and money hanging on the phone just to speak to someone, just to ensure that I am not going to be tainted by a debt recovery firm. Sorry for the rant in this (my first) post but the whole thing leaves me feeling angry and frustrated.

Looking for a bit of advice my wife has just received a letter from DRP with regard to Parking eye ticket saying that we have ignored previous letters we have not received any letters. the parking charge notice was for 14/12/2013 They say if we do not pay £150 by 15/4/2014 they will pass file to solicitor for court what should we do

Hi , I have only just found this site ,hoping someone here can help or advise me . My Husband and I were in receipt of benefits IS SDA DLA and CA along with Housing and Council Tax benefit . I was advised by lady in social security that I could work for 16 hours a week without it affecting our benefits , because my husbands illness was terminal going out to work for a few hours was a break for me ( even though I took a job in a nursing home as a carer ), this is what I did . I worked 2 days a week from 2002-2003 my wage after tax and insurance contributions was roughly £70 . In 2003 I stopped working when my husband became so ill I had to care for him full time Then in 2004 after receiving a letter from the DHSS stating that they wanted to speak to me about working while claiming . I attended an interview where I admitted that Yes I had worked over that period ,but I had only taken the job after speaking to staff at the local DSS office who advised me that I could do this without it affecting our benefits . I was told that I was liable to pay back all of the benefits we had received over the period I had worked this totalled almost £16,000 . 10 years on and I am still paying back all of these benefit overpayments admittedly at reduced rates because of hardship but its still a struggle . My question is should I still have to pay back Housing and CT benefits when I was only earning £70 a week ? Surely I would have received some help from these benefit sections . My husbands illness is in its final stages and I am in poor health myself , my worry is when he dies I'll end up in prison because I can't afford the repayments .

HI EVERYONE ! firstly i know this is definitely in the wrong section of the forum but. i could not find the right one so i am sorry mods! i have been panicing about a certain letter i recieved today and scrolled the internet for advice etc and came across this website which in all my days of hobbies and hobbie related forums have never seen such a nice one as this. Everyone ive seen replying is honest and un judging! the letter i recieved today was from RLP the civil recovery specialists... im going to be honest and its so embarrasing i could let the world swallow me up i might of even shed a couple tears of embarrsement i was caught shop lifting in a major supermarket. stupid i know :( i was taken to a room in the back and asked have i got anything to say i just gave them the goods backs which was in perfect order. they explained i was banned from the store and would be looking for reclaim damages costs from me then police was called and asked me the usual.. have i been in trouble etc. they gave me a 80 pound penalty i was then allowed to leave. i paid the 80 pound then today i recieved the letter demanding 147.50 for damages and distraction of staff etc i am in a really bad part of my life atm. not to bore you and that would really topple my life atm. i paid the police fine as i acknowledged my wrong doing and was willing to accept that slap on my wrists. but this is rather... stressful as im not the most brightest person or even confident person to deal with this. can anyone shed some light on this situation. i feel its a bit unique as the others i have read havent been the exact same circumstances as mine. i wil be donating to the forum from my penny pot as i honestly feel i am able to be honest without judgement here and i thank you all for that. for the record im 22 and live in england. thank you

Hello, was hoping for some feedback from those in the know - i feel like i was mis sold recovery service... My car broke down at the weekend so i called my trusty arnold clark assist phone number looking for help. I was quickly informed that the policy had expired in November last year. This came as a shock as we were under the impression the cover lasted as long as our finace deal? I was told no, it was only for 2 years but i could still get assitance - for a fee of 80 plus vat an Arnold clark assist engineer would come to my rescue to fix my car, or if it could not be repaired roadside, it would be towed to the nearerst dealership who would fix it there. I agreed, the guy turned up, started the car, decided a bearing was dodgy and that it would have to go to the dealer for repair. Fine by me. I let him take my car and off he went. This morning i called the garage and after initally not having a clue what i was talking about, they finally found my car, sent it to a different garage and i sat by my phone waiting to find out how much the repair was going to cost. Turns out, that for in order to decide whats wrong with my car, the Service team want to charge me another fee of 89 plus vat, meaning im already 200quid down and my car is still not working! While i agree i probably should have seen this coming, im furious that it was made out by the recovery team that the original fee of 80 plus vat was to diagnose and recover my car if required. Does anyone have any any advice? I desperately need my car back but have refuse to allow the service team to look at it without knowing one or the other fee's be waived.... Thanks for helping

Hi, I really need some advice with regard to Harlands. I joined Lifestyle Fitness last year on a 12 month contract. At the time I simply gave my details to one of the staff there and was given a membership card. I never signed anything nor was I talked through the terms & conditions. I used the gym 3 times and did not receive a proper induction and was just "left to it" and there never seemed to be any staff around to ask for advice. In August last year my husband was made redundant from his job and I contacted Harlands to ask if in the circumstances I could withdraw from the contract. I also told them I was unhappy with my experiences at the gym and said I had never signed or received a contract. They told me I had to pay the membership as it was not me but my husband who had been made redundant even though I explained he was the main wage earner. I have continued to try and contest this. In response to me not signing a contract they have said in their latest letter that "I was not required to sign anything as it was not a credit agreement and therefore did not require a signature to validate the membership. As I had made payments and used the facilities I was now legally bound over to pay it as they had emailed me the terms and conditions (I did find these in my spam folder). They are telling me I have to pay £221.43 or will take further action against me. I would be so grateful if someone could advise me of where I stand with this after searching the net I can't find an answer. Many thanks, Claire

Hello, 2 Months ago i recieved a letter from Global Debt Recovery. As my credit is now good and i do not have any outstanding debts which i know of i was curious and worried so i stupidly called them. An agent on the phone asked me to confirm that i was the person who the letter was addressed too which i did. He then preceded to tell me about an apparent debt which i had with TSB over 11 years ago which i have heard nothing about since having banked with then all these years. I told him that i was unaware of any debt and that i wanted some proof of this. A few days later i recieved a statement from TSB which showed a debt of £423. I never called them back but as you can imagine i have since had phone calls and letters from them every week if not more frequently. I have not contacted them since. Today however, i recieved this letter which has made me feel very anxious and worried. Please can anyone advise me what is the best thing to do as Global Debt Recovery are saying i owe £748! "Dear Miss xxx Client FV-1 Debt Due £748.49 We are today instructed to recover the above debt from you. We are unaware of any reason why you have witheld payment. Contact us immediately to discuss repayment or your credit rating may be affecetd in an adverse manner. Yours Sincerely, Collections Deptartment" Please can someone advise? All help will be very much appreciated.

in the early hours of Monday morning (27/01/14) a drunk driver hit my parked car, causing substantial damage. He was caught and arrested. After phoning the claims department I inquired into a substitute vehicle, I had paid for this as an extra, I was told that this was for FAULT claims and so it did not apply to me. When I asked for a courtesy car I was told that this only applied to repairable cars and again did not apply to me. I was told that I may be able to get a courtesy car from the third parties insurance and they will look into it, but as of yet (Thursday), I have heard nothing. I have contacted Hastings several times and they say they will contact me if there are any developments. I am a victim of a drunk driver, have no transport to get to work (I work nights), and I am using my spare holidays leave off work because I do not want the added hassle of providing documentation for loss of earnings. Should have gone to Churchill !!!!

Hi guys, My partner had a motorbike with Close motor finance, has sold his bike now and with agreement with Close is paying the rest via instalments. He has paid a large sum off, and only has a small amount which is being made via monthly payments. We received a surprise letter today in the post from Creditlink Account Recovery Solutions, however we have had no mention of this from Close etc. And judging by the way the letter is written, I call a load of BS. But i'd like to get a second opinion on it. The letter says - - ___________________________________________________________________________________ CONFIRMED RESIDENT Dear Sir/Madam, Having conducted preliminary searches our tracing division have confirmed your residency at the above address. Therefore we are left with the only possible conclusion in that you are choosing to ignore our clients repeated requests for payment. To avoid any further action being taken against you, please contact us to arrange settlement of the above balance within 10 days from the post date. We want to assist you in bringing this matter to conclusion, so please contact us on 0844 8800 880 to discuss the option available to you. Do not simply ignore this letter, as further action will be taken. Yours Sincerely, Nathan OReilly Recovery Specialist ____________________________________________________________________________________ Now as you wonderful people have taught me, I will NOT be contacting them at all, agreed? Thanks in advance for your help

Hello every one, this site has been of so much help. My wife also received on of these letters and i have been consoling her ever since, as she is very upset about it. I have been scouring the internet for answers and came to this forum and have read all the numerous accounts of this also happening to many others. The story is the same as others on here with regards to the letter and it's content, the difference being my wife was an employee of Sainsbury's of 13years (Team Leader) and forgot to pay for some DVD's as she got a distressing call at the time she was to check-out (family related) and totally forgot to pay for the items she had. She admitted that she forgot to pay and explained why. She was detained by the profit loss manager & security till the police arrived. She was then taken by the police & profit loss manager to our house which was searched, once they fully searched our house, to which nothing was found she was taken to the local police station for an interview, which should have only been a couple of hours or so. She was kept for 16 hours overnight in the same uniform, as they said they were busy and could not interview her right away. When they finally did interview her it was in the next day afternoon, and she was given a simple caution and released. she had the usual company disciplinary meetings and after the 2nd one was sacked for theft. we receive a letter from DWf saying that we owe them on the behalf of their client Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd the sum of £820.45 for Detection & Apprehension. i have read all the advise given to others on this forum about sending the one- line letter denying liability after the 2nd letter comes, which i will be doing. Just thought i would share our story with those who have undergone this or who are undergoing this at the moment, it makes a big difference to know that we were not the only ones this has happened to. When relating to our story, i think others can think themselves fortunate they do not work for Sainsburys, because the way they treat staff seems to be even worse than how they treat customers. Please let us know if we have to take a different course of action, than the one suggested to other members etc? Thanks.