Hi, i have been running 24 Ace catalogue ( its the same as Studio Cards), for years now. I owe £352.39 at the mo, and am trying to pay it off with a payment of either £30 a month, or £50 if i can. The problem im having is the 'Service Charge', which then takes my balance back up. Can i claim back these charges, and how do i go about it? Thanks for any help.

Hi, i have defaulted on 2 Lloydsbank loans, Capquest has now bought the debt. They still haven't sent me a copy of my credit agreement which i requested a few weeks ago. Im not bothered about the letter that was sent to me ( which is exactly the same as the one below) but on checking Equifax i have nticed 2 new credit agreements for Lloyds have opened , obviously i haven't done this, but can someone say it could be Capquest who have done this, if so what can i do about it. Thanks Fran

I just love this site:-D Have learnt so much since iv'e been a member. I too used to be scared stiff of debt collector's, but not anymore. Have done some real battles with a few, but always came out winning. Dont get me wrong, not saying that the debts i have wasn't my own fault, but when circumstances change and you cant pay your debts, the last thing you need is someone harassing you constantly. I now know enough to help other people in debt, what to say and write, and what acts to quote, and what your own rights are. That is all thanks to this brilliant site. If anyone needs my help, just let me know. Thanks to everyone who helped me in the past couple of years. keep your chin up all, and dont let those morons grind you down. Fran:lol:

Hi CL, you can report mercer's to Trading Standards. I did this with one collection agency, but i also wrote down how many times they phoned, and how many letters i had from them. I never heard from them after reporting them. Best of luck Fran

Hi Lynn I know its been a year since i last sent you a msg, but wanted to give you a quick update on what's been happening. As far as the unsecured debts are concerned, we still have them but only pay a small amount each month, so no more harassment from the debt collector's. As far as the house is concerned, i approached the 'Mortgage Rescue Scheme", its taken a while, but with the help of the 'Homelessness', and 'Shelter', we are now in the process of having the local housing association buying our house. We now get to stay in our house, and pay rent instead. Shelter and the Homelessness were brilliant, and without them i dont know what we would have done. I hope everything is ok with you? If your still a member here, give me a msg back. Take care Fran

Hi Lynn Thanks for keeping in touch. I'm afraid nothing has changed, except my relationship with my partner. With all our debt problems we have drifted apart. We still live together as i cant afford to move out, although i have my name on the housing list. My partner has buried his head in the sand, and panicked as far as the DSS was concerned, as we didn't have any receipts to show what work has been done to the house, and some of the loan from LMC was to pay some of his other debts at the time. He's now received his first county court order, concerning his Lloyds bank loan. So i'm afraid in my situation its gone from bad to worse. I personally think it would be best to sell the house, but my partner wont. I also think i've just got conned, as i paid £49.99 to have a company look at this secured loan, to see if we can get the charges back, and to see if the loan was enforceable at the time it was taken out, as my name is not actually on the deeds to the house, only my partner's. But i keep phoning this company, as i haven't received any paper work from them. Will be trying again today. Thanks very much for keeping in touch, at least i dont feel so alone. Best wishes Fran x

Hi Lyn Sorry i haven't been in touch, but update is that CAB put me in touch with Shelter who said that we could apply to the DSS for help. Unfortunately the builder who done the work on my house has died, we couldn't find any receipts to show what we spent the loan on, as the builder had the main receipts, and basically we are in the same boat as we were in a year ago. How we are going to get out of this is anyone's guess. As for LMC putting charges on for sending out a debt counsellor, there is nothing we can do about that, as that is there policy. This i have been told by my solicitor. Fran

I agree, i was told by OFT that they couldn't act on individual cases, but to get in touch with Trading Standards. In the end i just got various templates from this site, and dealt with it myself. Since then i haven't had any problems. Best wishes Fran

If a debt collection agency has been CCA'd, but have defaulted in not sending you the CCA. Can they after a couple of months issue you with a copy of your credit agreement. This has happened to me twice now, but after they have issued me with the CCA, they have come to an agreement on me paying what i can afford. Its just that i thought once a DCA has defaulted, they couldn't issue you with a CCA months later. I hope this doesn't sound too complicated. Thanks for any help Fran

Hi Lynn Just an update on what has been happening. Went to the CAB, spent over 2 and half hours there, only to be told to go and see someone at Shelter, which i did do the following day. Bad luck again as the women had to cancel, so trying again this week. Worse still the cheque that was sent to LMC was taken by my bank as i was overdrawn, if it hadnt been for the postal strike LMC would have got the cheque earlier. So i've now got to find the money for the mortgage from last month, and also this month, and the money for the bank. Really annoyed with the bank, as they stopped my overdraft without letting me know, so not only have they put charges on me for being overdrawn, but apart from the mortgage cheque bouncing, so has the gas payment. And i thought things couldn't get any worse. Fingers crossed something has got to go right for me soon. Fran

Thanks Lyn for your help, its nice to know im not alone. Will do what you say with regards to the CAB. I have tried myself with LMC to get the payments reduced, but they dont wont to know. Will let you know how i get on, and will start a new thread with regards to what you said. Once again thanks for your help. Fran x

Hi Lyn Thanks for replying. We haven't got payment protection, as they wouldn't give it to us, due to my partner not working. We have tried to get the payments reduced with LMC but they wont do it. We did approach B&B to combine the mortgages but again they wont do it, as my partner is receiving disability. Basically we dont know what to do, but i was going to inquire with the local council, to see if they would buy back the house, and we rent it from them. Thanks anyway Fran

Can anyone help. We have a main mortgage with Bradford & Bingley, of which the DSS pay the interest. We also have a secured mortgage with LMC, and have to pay the full amount every month. As my partner receives Disability Allowance, and Income Support we are having real problems paying the full amount every month. We did get into arrears a few months ago, but borrowed the money off my brother to pay off the arrears. Does anyone know if the DSS will help pay towards the mortgage with LMC, if not does anyone know what we can do. Many thanks Fran

I need someone's help again. I have reported CSL to the OFT, and i have been told that they cant actually help individual cases, but to get in touch with Consumer Direct. The problem is when i've gone onto the Consumer Direct web site, there is nothing on the site to report a DCA. CSL are also now in default as i requested a CCA on the 24th May. I have also recently sent CSL a letter quoting the Harassement Act 1970, and the Telegraphy Act 1949, due to the constant stream of letters and phone calls from them. Lo and behold i received a letter today to say they will now get a copy of my credit agreement from Barclaycard as soon as possible. But can they do this now seeing as they are now in default. And who do i now report them to? Thanks Fran

I have reported CSL who are acting on behalf of my Barclaycard account ( and also EGG), to the OFT. This was done about two weeks ago. Does anyone have any idea how long the OFT get in touch with you. Thanks Fran