Hi, I am having problems paying bills due to lack of work and have agreed temporary monthly payments with several CC companies including to my surprise after reading the forum MBNA. The only real pain has been Barclays Partner Finance who will not accept my offer for a token payment and have pressed me to pay more. They have received an income and expenditure report compiled with help from the CCCS but still ask for what I cannot afford. The loan was for a car which has since been sold and a cheaper one aquired to reduce costs and enable me to work. The calls with this company have been quite distressing after the first person I spoke to said that they would accept an offer of £5. I wrote another letter to offer this amount which was refused again. I tried to pay a token amount over the phone and was put through to collections who did everything they could do squeeze more out of me, constantly threatening debt collection and legal action, obviously this didn't help them as I don't have it. The people at Barclays do not listen, they talk over you constantly and are extremely rude, which I did expect , which I presume is their goal. The last thing they said to me after reluctantly processing my £5 payment was to tell me that they will be fast tracking the account for collection. Amongst other things said to scare me was that I should consult a lawyer and disregard the CCCS. I have paid a token amount for the last 2 months and have no details of any charges they have recently made to the account. At a court case what is the likely outcome? Surely they can only order me to pay what I can afford is that correct? If that is the case then they will end up with £1 a month, surely they know this and why would they bother? Or is all this hard talk designed to scare me into paying them? I don't think I can avoid a court date just need to know what to expect. thanks in advance and apologise if the post is too long for you! Royal.

Hello. I’m trying to stay calm, but pretty in reality I’m quite distressed right now! I recently opened two letters, one from Howard Cohen & Co. and the other from The County Court Northampton. Essentially I have received "Notice of Pending Legal Action" (dated 8th March) and the claim form from courts (dated 25th March). I want to avoid getting a CCJ - it appears my only option is to settle with Robins*nWay. Is this the case? After speaking with their "litigation team" I was informed that I can make an offer of settlement and if they agree to reduce the debt to £0 this will mean no CCJ against me and a "partially settled" on my credit file. They require me to go through my income and expenditure with them over the phone in order to come to a decision as to whether my offer will be accepted. The debt is around £12k - originally around £9k, but they are asking for an additional £3.5k interest. My questions are: * It would seem I still have 7 days before I need to reply to the court order (therefore deadline of Wed 13th April) - is that correct? * Do I have any other options? I took the original debt out (Halifax CC) in July 2006. * If I do make an offer, what sort of % should I be considering? And of the debt or debt + interest they are claiming? * How can I ensure that this is considered “full and final” and they will not/cannot therefore continue through the court for further money and me receive a CCJ anyway? * How bad is “partially settled” on my credit file? I assume it is much better than a CCJ! It's worth mentioning that I have about another £15k of debt besides this, so bankruptcy is a consideration for me; I know this will supersede the CCJ if I go down this route, but I would really rather avoid bankruptcy. Any and all help/advice appreciated!

Hi Guys, 1st post... been reading loads over the last few weeks... here goes... In October 2003 Myself and a business partner (Lets call him Mr X) took out a joint loan of £10k to help purchase a business. We were desperate for the £10k as it was a shortfall in the amount we needed to get things up and running.. . anyway HSBC wouldn't give us a loan in the company name, but only a "small business loan" which we would be personally liable.. we were desperate and took the loan out. In June 2004, I left the business (resigned as Director) and Mr X carried on with the business and the loan.. . the business was sold in early 2005 and I've never spoken to Mr X since and don't know where he is anyway. .. I sold my house to pay some other personal debts off and moved in with my partner. .. I don't own anything now.. Now since early Feb 2009, Robinson Way are chasing Mr X at my new address by letter and Telephone, but also writing to me about the debt... in the letters they say "ExHSBC" for amount £15k+ then MR X's name, but not mine. Are they just phishing for Mr X or do you think they want me to pay this debt? I've sent his letter back as "not known at this address". I know I'm probably liable for this debt too, but I haven't paid anything towards it or acknowledged it since about March 2004. I'm really worried now and can't sleep... getting at least 3 automated calls a day from Robbers way & ****....