Hello there! Hope you can help/advise on what I should do! I have been working abroad for last 6 years, and have recently returned, in Feb 2018. I have since received a few texts from PRA Group, to contact them – of which I have not made any contact. I can only think this is related to a defaulted payment on my MBNA credit card, which had, as far as I remember, a couple hundred quid outstanding (yeah, completely forgot about that!) I have, on my return, moved to a different part of the country, and have registered on local electoral roll, updated address on HMRC, Council Tax, Car insurance, tenancy etc… Strange thing - 4 days ago, I received a text from Royal Mail stating a signed for delivery of an item would be made to my address, on that day. A few hours later, I received a text to the effect of ‘Item Delivery has been made – to you or your neighbour’ – I have not received anything, no calling card , ie, RM Parcel Left with…’ Neighbours haven’t received anything. Now, I am thinking that perhaps, this is a ‘Before Claim/Claim form’ that might have been sent by PRA Group to my old address. (just did a Trustonline search at old address, no CCJ’s there) Perhaps sent on purpose to get backdoor ccj? Do I: · Contact PRA group via email– Requesting information regarding their sent texts, and to send the correspondence to my updated current address. Worded in a manner without resetting the SB clock – as I realise its nearing its 6th Birthday! – If so, what should I send, ie, form/template? Not sure how to proceed – would welcome any thoughts! Thank you all!

Hi, I have joined the forum in the hope that somebody has useful information for me in my aim to shake Cabot Financial off, who are chasing a debt which becomes statute barred in September 2018. A brief outline of the debt I am being chased for: Type of debt: Credit debt - Santander Current account Outstanding balance: £590 (consisting £150 overdraft + £440 charges) Account closed: September 2012 After speaking with a helpful advisor at the National Debtline and explaining my situation, I was told it was a difficult one which needed careful consideration of my next steps. I was presented with three options: 1. Wait the seven months and risk court action 2. Set up a payment plan, which would reset the limitation act 3. As it was a disputed debt with Santander, present evidence to Cabot for them to investigate - but this would reset the statute barred clock. I have email records of a complaint I had made to Santander about charges on my account late in 2011. Santander acknowledged receiving my complaint, they even followed up with an email apology for the delay in responding to the complaint - but this was to be the last correspondence with no further follow up and the issue remained unresolved from their side. I have records of this correspondence. I stopped using the account and the charges continued until the bank decided to close it in September 2012. I really don't have the money to pay this debt. I would really like to avoid paying it especially as it was disputed with Santander in the first place, I can't afford a CCJ as it will stop me getting a mortgage which I hope to be in a position to go for within the next few years. I am looking for delay tactics without acknowledging the debt to get me into the statute barred date when I can confidently answer a Cabot phone call and tell them to do one! Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

I called Autoglass for a replacement windscreen quote. As it happens the windscreen on my new car is fine but I wanted to know how much a replacement would cost for insurance purposes. The telephone sales person took the registration and looked up the model. I was asked did I need it replacing now" and I answered yes. "That will be £950". I said OK thanks. I was then asked "did I want to book an appointment?". I said no thanks.... "but you said you needed it now" Yes but its too expensive, I'll look elsewhere. "If you book an appointment today you'll get 10% discount £855" No, I still think its too expensive and I'll look elsewhere "just before you go I'm authorised to offer you another 12% discount if you have it fixed today" making it £752" No thanks, I'll still look elsewhere. A staggering £200 reduction in just 3 minutes. Had I really been standing next to a vehicle with a shattered windscreen or a person a little more vulnerable I probably would have taken the first price.

Hi, in March my wife parked at Macthedonald at Gatwick and overstayed by 19 minutes. I suggested she ignore the subsequent demand from MET parking following advice I'd read online. We've kept to this approach but we are both now worried as a demand for £150 from DR+, to be paid today, was waiting for us after our recent holiday. They quote the Supreme Court decision of 4th November 2015 as being a clear ruling that their client has to the legal right to make this claim and payment should now be made or court action will be recommended by them to the creditor. I know nothing of these companies so any advice as to stick with the ignore approach, contact them and offer some payment, pay up or go back to MET parking and speak to them or something completely different would be appreciated! I checked MET's online payment system and it says the charge against us is "on stop" - presumably as it has gone to an outside agency. Thanks Dragon

Hi all, Long story short - I'm living with my partner and have been for some years now. However, the local housing trust (my parents' house), has received letters saying their rent is in arrears. I think it was around £13-15 per week. When my father questioned it, they said that new information had come to light that I had been living there (which obviously I wasn't). They said (verbally) that unless they provided them with an address for me that they would keep putting the charge on and evict them. To my mind, this is wrong. Whichever way you slice it, to do that to pensioners is shocking behaviour. The vitriolic thing is, is that, there is no reasoning on any of the letters, no explanation as to why the charges - it is all word-of-mouth upto now. I'm appalled if I am honest at this and before I act, would like to gather some advice if possible.

Hi all, Some background before my question... I live overseas and have been paying off very old debts by way of F&F payments for the past few months. I am left with two small HSBC debts and a Capquest one which was originally a loan from a bank. Capquest have purchased this debt. My credit file is blank as the defaults all dropped off many years ago. I've been making token payments for the last 8 or 9 years but have recently stopped. I'm just wondering what the typical collection pattern is for Capquest? I'll start receiving their threat letters soon so I want to know what to expect from them. Do they tend to sell the debts on after a certain amount of letter attempts? I will be paying it off at some point, to avoid any future troubles if I ever move to the UK again, but a F&F is not possible in its current state as it's around the 10k mark... I'm assuming that each time it is sold on to a new DCA, the F&F amount they will accept will get less and less. Many thanks in advance.

Hi all, new on here, and wondered if any body else has this experience. Broadband (not fibre) has worked fine all summer, since being sent a new router and buying a new computer,about March. In August/September I began getting sales calls, "go to Fibre", being the message. At about the same time, the BB performance began to decline again, being particularly affected by the passage of electric trains on the West Coast Main Line, about 50 mtrs or so away. I complained to TT, who couldn't find a fault with online testing, so a service call was arranged,for 17.10. I knew from Ts & Cs that a £50 fee could be charged for a wasted visit. Engineer could not find a fault, I explained about these trains, no comment, except to say real answer is yes you guessed it, go Fibre. I have now done that, and have now been hit with the £50 wasted visit charge, even though nothing was done, and the Engineers written report stated that the Customer has done nothing wrong with the apparatus/equipment/installation. During the time preceding the service visit, the BB service remained poor, and I continued receiving sales calls , Once the go live of fibre, the service is back to its level of summer, but you'd expect that. I can't help feeling that TT deliberately affected the performance in order to force me to go Fibre. Anyone else had the same experience? cheers chad

Dear Caggers, I wonder if I could ask for a little advice. I fell on hard times some years ago and was paying a very small amount to 2 different companies in 2011 for debts I was told I had to pay by ex husband. After we divorced I moved and changed banks and it looks like one or two DD's didn't get transferred over, I heard nothing until last year and had assumed things were written off till I got a letter from Cabot last June. I sent the CCA letter and heard nothing more. Last Monday 9th June I received a phone call asking for me in my old married name. I refused to answer the security questions, they refused to say who they were, and they hung up. 2 days later, 11th June, I get a letter from Marlin Financial Services saying I have 7 days to reply as there is no good reason why the outstanding debt they now hold has not been repaid. This alleged debt has been passed to them from Cabot. I have no idea what debt this is, there is nothing on any of the letters that I can identify. My credit record is absolutely clear. The nastiness part comes in after sending Marlin the CCA letter and postal order on the 13/6/14. I received 2 letters from them on the 19th. One was my CCA letter and postal order back informing me that I hadn't filled in the postal order correctly, so I wrote along the top on the line provided, ''Marlin Financial Services'' - and sent it all back 1st class recorded to sign for again. The 2nd letter was threatening all sorts of litigation as there was no good reason why I hadn't arranged a payment plan with them and the next step was solicitors and court. It gave me 7 days to reply with a suitable repayment proposal, the letter is dated 14th June. I received it on 19th June after coming home from work, after the post has gone so there was no way I could reply in time for their 7 day deadline. NASTY!! So the letter timeline. 1st dated 7th June, received 12th June. (To reply within 7 days). CCA letter sent 13th June 1st class recorded to sign for. 2nd dated 14th June, received 19th June (To reply within 7 days). 3rd received 19th June,to fill in postal order - sent back 1st class recorded to sign for. These people are not giving me any time to reply before their deadlines run out! Letters are apparently spending 5 days in the postal system before they reach me! The CCA request with correctly filled in postal order hasn't been signed for yet, its likely to be Monday for this:. I would appreciate anyone's thoughts on what is likely to happen next.

lowel are chasing my partner for this debt. my partner noticed on the credit file for lloyds all bank charges they have taken the debt on but have stated in the credit file that we have agread to pay them and then gone in breach of payment plan any letters on that one was sent back with debt in dispute or if they have rung we have told them its in dispute we would never agree to pay lloyds as the debt was charges for going 50p over drawn and ended up with a £1000 bill the debt should also be in my name and my partners but the chases come in my partners name also account was last used in 2006 also if it makes any difference we was on benifits at the time of the unfair charges

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26539569

Hi all, I have a full 10 day hearing coming up for discrimination, whistle-blowing, victimization, harassment & constructive dismissal. The respondents asked me to forward a figure that i would settle for. I did this and now i have received a nasty letter from them. The respondents response is that they will only explore settlement if i drop the whistle-blowing element of the claim. This is odd as they asked me to give them a figure and now they are saying they will not explore settlement until i drop the whistle-blowing element. The respondents are the big public sector employer that has been in the press about using gagging orders in settlement agreements. I wonder if this is their new way of shutting up whistle-blowers a bit of black mail i.e drop the whisle-blowing and we might settle. Any views on the above, is this just normal game playing now that hearing isn't too far away?

Hi, I overheard a conversation today that I couldn't help but get involved in. The upshot was that a mum had got behind on her council tax and there was a liability order. She sent an email to the council copying in Rossendales who had visited her putting forward an offer of payment. Rossendales responded - the council didn't - but she did not respond to Rossendales. She has an outstanding complaint with them levying a fee on a car that had finance on it to which they had never responded and had refused to deal with them until they did. Rossendales turned up on her doorstep and she refused them entry pointing out that she will only deal with and pay the council directly, reminding them that there was still an outstanding complaint and that more over, since their visit 3 years ago, she had gifted all non-essential electrical items or those not fixed to the wall to her son. Rossendales response was to say 'so what, you still owe the money and we will keep on coming back so that you incur charges'. She advised them that she wasn't giving them access and shut the door. They exact same bailiff had visited her today and left a letter and that's what she was talking to her friend about. I chipped in and asked if she had given them proof that she had gifted the said items and that there was still a complaint and she said that she printed off both letters and handed them to them with the items blacked out as she had sent the letter to the council when she had complained to them about Rossendales previous conduct. The council had finally responded to her on Friday saying that they will accept her proposal and she replied informing them of what had happened with Rossendales last week, that she would not deal with for the reasons she had laid out and that payment would come to the council direct as well as reminding them that items had been gifted. I thought that Rossendales actions were intimidating and bullying as there is nothing for them to levy on and they admitted they would keep on attending to incur charges as did she. Does she have grounds for a complaint? Very interesting afternoon at the park! Bel

Good evening all , I received through the post Fri what appears to be a wage slip . Approx 6 by 4 1ns . the ones with the perforated edge which you tear off . I opened it up and was asked to phone a certain person to update my details along with the office hours . It was only when I looked at the bottom that I noticed the name and address of Wetcloths . They should really leave that bit off if they want people to contact them. Is this a new tactic to get our attention ? Is it because us naughty caggers are immune or ignoring their threat o grams ?

My aim is to clear these debts at the lowest possible cost to myself. I have other defaults on my credit file and I dont want it to get any worse. If someone can tell me if I am doing the right things here and what action I should take next, it will be very much appreciated. Type of Debt: Personal Loan Collecting: HFC (OC) Status: 3 Late payments Balance: £273.00 (as per credit file). Penalty and interest charges already reclaimed. 06/01/13: Letter sent requesting CCA. 14/01/13: Received a reply asking for a signed request and photo ID before they can comply with CCA request. 31/01/13: Letter sent offering F&F and reminding CCA request. I offered 25% F&F on the basis that they have not been able to produce a valid CCA. 04/02/13: Received a reply refusing my F&F offer and asking for copies of payslips together with a repayment proposal. Then another letter, again, requesting a signed CCA request and photo ID to comply with CCA request. 11/02/13: Letter sent asking to reconsider F&F and advising time limits of CCA request and that ID, payslips etc are not required. 21/02/13: Received a letter recognising my requests and my complaints. Apparently a 'full investigation' will be conduction regarding the issues I raised. 07/03/13 I received a notice advising me that if I did not remedy the late payments on the account by 30/03/13, further action would be taken. 11/03/13 Received a letter today to advising me that HFC intend to issue a default notice in no less that 65days from the date of the letter. 14/03/13 Today I have sent a letter to HFC ( thanks to BRIGADIER2JCS for the template) to question their need to signature and ID if they have been sending statements etc to my address for months and also to formally put this account in to dispute. ... Where to go from here?

I recently submitted an SAR to RBS, sent on the 7th Feb and received on the 8th Feb this year. This was for any and all information in whatever form (as advised by dx on a number of posts). About a week ago, I got a letter from their Mortgage department advising I'd never had a Mortgage. So far all correct. Today however I received two letters. One advising that the Lombard Request I put in should be directed to Santander, so I'll add that one to the Burton/Tandy/Debenhams pile for my next battle. However, another paragraph in this letter contained the following: 'As you have asked us to provide you with all Payment Protection Insurance information, we have also passed on your request to our Credit Card departments and NatWest Bank to enable them to check whether you had PPI on those products. The outcome of those investigations will be sent to you separately.' Not once I had mentioned that I wanted PPI information. I've written back to them advising that the information would be welcome, but in order to comply with the SAR that they would need to send me any and all information in whatever format, reminding them of the date that the SAR would expire. What's more concerning is the letter I got from RBS cards. This advised that they are unable to identify me. Bearing in mind that I'm still a customer of the RBS group (Natwest, but not RBS cards) they would not normally have any difficulty identifying me. All of my Natwest account numbers were contained on the original SAR request which they included with their letter, the same SAR request that contained copies of my passport and driving license along with all of my previous addresses. They also advised that they were returning my cheque. I'd suggest they check this as I only received a photocopy. I've faxed them back this evening advising them that the clock is still ticking. I've also sent a letter containing my Water bill which will be winging it's way to them first thing tomorrow. Another of my concerns is that RBS have pretty much admitted that they're not going to comply as they've stated that they may not be able to trace my account as it may have been closed for a longer period than their records are retained. The RBS card was from (about) 1995 to 2001, Natwest loans in 1991, 1998 and 2004 and a Natwest account from 1988 until today - I understand that RBS have been known to retain information in an 'archive' format from 1992 to 2001 - can anyone comment if they've been successful in getting such information from them? They've asked me to resubmit the letter and cheque to them when sending the identity documents. Am I correct in thinking that if these are 'resubmitted' this resets the clock? Should I be even enclosing a copy of the original letter? I'd like to remind them that the SAR expires on the 20th March, so they're only wasting their time, not mine.

Received an email this morning - looks like they are trying new tactics to get card details of you.

It would seem that the Swiss rails companies have taken up the UK method of making big money by ripping off customers. They must have been here and seen how it is being done and thought 'wow, lets put our machines out of order and then accuse the passenger of theft', we can pay big bonuses and have Christmas parties just like the British railways companies employees. More ...

In October I made a complaint to MBNA over my PPI on my credit card. I then got two letters over the space of a few weeks. One acknowledging the complaint and another apologising for the delay in resolving it. Then I got this letter You may recall that we recently contacted you asking for you to confirm details. I regret to inform you that we have not received sufficient information to identify you. We are therefore, unable to proceed with the investigation into the issues you have raised. However, if you could verify the information, we will look to address any concerns raised. In Addition, to ensure your complaint is dealt with promptly, please quote the reference at the top of this letter. This letter acts as our final response in relation to this matter and you now have the right to refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman, within 6 months of the date of this letter. I received no such communication asking for identification, it is a deliberate lie. If anyone can give me advice I would be very grateful. Do I have to go to the FSO now? or can I call their bluff.

Hi I sent a claim about mis-sold PPI to Natwest which was delivered and signed for on 7th September. I received a reply on 17th September asking for proof of my new address. I sent this by return of post and it was delivered and signed for on 18th. I hadn't heard anything after 8 weeks i rang RBS who said there was no record of any mail being received. I was advised to take the info into a branch and ask them to fax it through. I did this and stated that as they had exceeded the 8 week deadline I wanted a reply within 14 days. I received the standard letter advising that the complaint was being investigated. After 3 weeks I called again and was told that as they did not receive the proof of address until 21st November this was when the clock started ticking. Does anyone have an email address for the CEO of RBS so I can make a complaint? Thanks in anticipation suvin

Payday lenders regularly ‘lose’ cheques sent by customers to settle debts, forcing borrowers to pay even higher interest bills, Financial Mail has learnt. The tactic used by a number of payday loan firms aims to maximise profits by effectively locking in hard-pressed borrowers for extended periods. The ploy will heighten concerns over the sector, which entices desperate customers into taking loans with interest rates as high as 4,000 per cent. Paul Lynam, chief executive of Secure Trust Bank, whose Everyday Loans subsidiary frequently deals with customers seeking to consolidate loans to settle payday borrowings, said: ‘We will normally forward direct to the payday lender a cheque in settlement. ‘One thing that we find very surprising is the ability of some of these payday loan companies to regularly lose this settlement cheque, which has the effect of delaying settlement of the debt and incurring more very high interest rates for the trapped borrower.’ His company is frequently forced to send settlement cheques by recorded delivery before the payday loan firm will cancel the outstanding debt. Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cardsloans/article-2231006/Scandal-lost-payday-loan-cheques.html#ixzz2Bx04vCMc

Recently went out for quotes for a number of windows to be replaced with UPVC double glazed. Safestyle were fastest in response and initially we were impressed with the salesman who visited. He did the - here's my quote but I may get a better price after talking to my boss etc etc. In the end we were quoted a price much lower than we had expected, nearly half the nearest competitor, so we agreed to proceed. We were then hit with the classic [problem] - I am since told by another company that it's well known in the trade but considered underhand by most, just as we were about to get the survey underway and pay our deposit, a phone call is made only to reveal that there had been a mistake and that the price should be 30% more than we had been quoted and agreed. Of course by then we had declined the competitors which of course was their intention. So we were presented with the choice - agree to the higher price or we can't proceed. Now this raises issues of good practice or even contract law, we had been offered and accepted the quote which was then raised by 30%. Obviously we said a few choice words and told safestyle to go away (although I didn't use those exact words). As predicted, we received phone calls insisting that they had made a mistake and that they could offer us a good price, but how could anyone possibly proceed with a company that behaves like this. We don't know what the fitting service and quality would have been like but based on the sales tactics we would have been mad to go ahead with a company that uses underhand sales tactics. Do not use this company. They are not trustworthy. If you do risk dealing with them, be warned that they will 'low ball' a price and then hike it when you are hooked. It's hooking and reeling in.

Hello everyone, Hope I can get some help with this one. Sent SAR to MBNA dated 13 July 2012. Letter arrived today saying: " Our records show that no charges have been placed on your account in the past six years, therefore there is no information to provide ". " We have returned your £10.00 payment because there is no charge for this service. However, if you do require a copy of all personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998, please send a formal request together with a cheque or postal order for £10.00 ". This is the letter I sent them: I amwriting to request a fully comprehensive list ( Subject AccessRequest ) of all the default charges for late payments or going overmy credit limit applied to my account. Also, include all PaymentProtection Cover that I paid in relation to the same account. Pleasefind enclosed a cheque for the maximum statutory charge of £10. Ifyou are unable to provide this data, I will accept a copy of mystatements; I understand that statements on their own are not coveredby the Data Protection Act 1998, yet I’m not requesting thestatements per se, but the charges, which I’m entitled to by law. If youstore any of the older records on microfiche, please be aware thatthe Information Commissioner deems this to be a relevant filingsystem under the Act. As such, any microfiche data must be sent to mein fully legible and comprehensible form. Ilook forward to your response within 40 days, as MBNA EuropeBank is obliged to reply under the DataProtection Act. If not I shallseek remedy from the Information Commissioner. Yoursfaithfully, Your advice as to my next step would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou, Vaz

Rightsnet http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/3579/

Hi, HSBC now doing the same as Natwest did and don't bother actioning a SAR if they think you're just after PPI! I sent HSBC a SAR on 30th March 2012, I used the template letter from here but I didn't enclose a fee. Now I didn't send the fee because...... a) I just didn't have the money to pay all 11 and the template letter I used was worded "please inform me, prior to processing this request, if you require a fee to be paid" . Yes I now know this was a mistake! I should have changed it and just enclosed the fee! and b) I know from previous experience with bank charges a lot of them waivered the fee back then. I re-sent my SAR on the 13th June 2012, changed the template by adding bullet points to make it clear what i required from them and also enclosed the fee. I have today received a letter saying they have been trying to contact me by phone to get a "clearer understanding of the type of information that you wish to receive, to ensure that we send tyou the correct information" . They then go on to say that they assume I wanted to know if I paid PPI so they gave me to Loan aco**** numbers and dates loan started but NOTHING ELSE! they also returned my cheque uncashed. Now as much as I am grateful that they admit I paid PPI they haven't said how much, when etc so I need my full SAR so I can work this out. I am also killing two birds with one stone becasue I am desperately trying to work out my finances, we are in a lot of debt and I am trying to get organised and by having all my data I can see a clearer picture, file it all neatly and keep it. (Previously I burned everything to try and make it go away !!!) Now by sending a new SAR letter and fee I gave them 40 days from 13th june which means they have until 23rd July to respond. This tactic has just stalled that completely! now i have to write back, tell them I want it all and wait god knows how long to get it again! Can anyone please suggest a template letter as I am furious that they are getting away with this. Here are the letters I sent: SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST Mr ********** 87 ******** ****** **** *** HSBC 8 Canada Square London E14 5HQ 30thMarch 2012 Dear Sir/Madam, Ref: Credit card number: *********** and Loan Account number: *********** Please supply me with copies of all the data which you hold on me inrelation to any matter and in any form and for any period of time. This mustinclude: · A copy of my credit agreements for each creditcard, loan or account I hold · Details of any payment protection insurance andamounts paid · Copies of letters and emails that I have sent toyou and vice versa. · Customer activity logs · Account screenshots · Telephone logs · Copies of correspondence with third parties, alist of third parties who my data has been processed/shared/passed to · Statements for the duration of the account · Anything else relating to my account Please note that I require disclosure of any personal data which youhold on me for the entire period of my dealings with you. The Subject Access is not limited to my transaction history and it isnot limited merely to 6 years of historical information. Additionally, where there has been any event in my account history overthis period which has required manual intervention by any member of your staff,or any other person, I require disclosure of any indication or notes which haveeither caused or resulted in that manual intervention, or other evidence of thatmanual intervention in relation to my banking business with you. If you are unable to supply this data becausethere has been no such manual intervention, then please be so kind as toconfirm this in your response Yours......

Posting on behalf of a new Cagger with low post count. Thanks for this. 'Shock tactics' used by some Bailiffs www.bbc.co.uk