Good form from all, nice reading on a long cold night shift Question for Fred - what's a dmclub number? My phone provider kindly provided a free second line as a "longstanding customer" and this handles any calls I get at present (having had a nightmare of up to 20 calls a day across all my liabilities) but I am always on the lookout for a plan B (in case they get hold of my primary number again!). I would go the truecall route but cannot afford it so if you another internet based solution and don't mind sharing would be interested.

Hiya, I believe I can be of some assistance with this particular company. They are indeed the DCA for Albermarle and Bond. They are the in house DCA for this firm with the same registered offices in Bristol (rather like Mercers and Barclaysharks). Chantry operate out of a PO box (how do these firms do that?) in Wakfield and some of the Albermarle and Bond head office paperwork also comes with a Wakefield address on it). As with many of their type - fairly standard nonsense to begin with (including a beautiful postcard advising me they will be calling to discuss the debt) then more reasonable when you stand up to them. Currently waiting for their next unreasonable move. I have to say although not great I have come across worse. Phone number is as per Evil Scotsman's post (whocallsme.com is a truly superb site!). There are a couple of 0844 numbers (don't use them) and email addresses ([email protected] should get you a response). Hope this helps - stick with your plan and they should eventually be reasonable.

Hiya Plumfairy, If you clicked through on it worth giving the PC a spring clean (virus scan, spyware etc) just in case.... Best to treat links from all these firms as spam and file appropriately

Currently they are down four figures overall with me and counting (written off rather than in my hand but all good!) If they actually did operate both their lending and recovery activities in a more responsible and responsive manner rather than the sledgehammer approach they mainly take there would be less debt problems (Any one of a number of my creditors should have been making me look at this around 2 years sooner than I did rather than lending yet more to a deteriorating risk) and more money repaid (we are actually mainly "cannot pay at the rate you are demanding" rather than can't pays or won't pays!! :evil:). Still, they often appear to be spectacularly competent at mucking it up once you start standing up to them so not all bad......

Thank you very much Sequenci - my point exactly but much more concisely! The ironic thing is that it is largely the unreaonable behaviour in the pursuit of the debts that started me (and I am sure many others) on the road to more than simply the administration of them ...... If the many and varied creditors had simply responded to my original requests to come to an arrangement to ensure that I could survive whilst paying back all my liabilities in a favourable manner I would probably have never found CAG or decided to stand up for myself!

Afternoon all, My experience to date is not much to choose between them - both professional, talked me through the options. I have gone with CCCS and although some of their admin and support functions are a bit clunky the counsellors themselves remain very good I have learned quite quickly that there is not a one size fits all approach. CCCS have helped me steady a very rocky ship (particularly with the "mainstream") but we are combining this (effectively so far) with advice from the good folk of CAG and some limited legal input. I have also (for research purposes) used other sites along the way. Hence everybody with legally owed debt is getting paid but those who do not (by virtue of not having credit agreements, or having one that is unenforceable, reclaimable interest, charges etc.... as everybody knows this list is a long one ) are being challenged with some success (to date). I am sure there will be dark times to come but the feeling of relief (and then being empowered and wanting to help others along the way) is enormous! I suppose advocating what CAG has done all along - pay back what you legitimately owe whilst challenging everything that you do not! Basically using the same rules (and law) to do to them (the firms) what they are quick enough to do to you ........

Hiya Petal, Hang on in there with it, you will be okay if you follow the advice of the good folk here and stick to your plan. As well as the sound advice already here Sillygirl1 has now posted on your thread and she also seems to have a raft of experience dealing with these firms (apologies if I have this wrong, your posts have helped me along the way ) and I think is further along the journey to sorting them out than me (in fact may have got there!). You have a number of experienced folk already looking in and we will all try and help as much as we can. Main concern is that in your last post you say you have changed your bank card but would seem to imply you have the same bank account? I do hope we are all wrong but this is often not enough . You are going to have to be very directive with your bank to ensure these firms do not just help themselves - it is very bank dependent but general feels seems to be that most will not be helpful Keep going, one small step at a time. Ultimately you must do what fits your circumstances and time best, but as others have said post back and we will all try to help out as much as we can. Best of luck

Hi Gibbo2003, Sound advice from Sillygirl1. They are up to something - as well as the experience she outlines the "reloan" will be to try and get you to give up new account details. This appears to be an increasing tactic by a number of these firms when you have done the wise thing of changing bank accounts to put your weekly/monthly income out of their reach. I think might be worth writing to them with a copy of the email - thanking them for confirming that the liability is now settled and see if it plays out as Sillygirl outlines (one thing is very clear from dealings with to many of these firms there is NO consitency in their approach - this firm have been completely reasonable with some on here and absolutely evil to others). Other than that as Sillygirl1 says proceed with caution and high level of suspicision. Best of luck

Hiya Petal9, Sorry you have been unwell, hope you are feeling a little better now If it all seems a little daunting then best to break it down into small steps and prioritise - do the most important bits first as you feel able and then go from there. In almost all cases this will be taking steps to protect your next monthly/weekly income before it is due and if you have not already you must do this first. It will feel a whole lot worse if they get their hands on it first but equally if you are able to ensure it is out of their reach you have the first steps to feeling empowered and sorting things out. I can see you are worried about the calls to work. Now the rules of this game are supposed to state that if you tell them not to call on certain numbers they cannot and even when they do it should not be more detailed than "calling you on a personal matter". However as you say more often or not they will not play by the rules. You can of course report them but more pressing is to try and stop them calling work. Now again, depending your personal choice and how quickly you can get to them you can try and simply tell them to take the work number off your contact details. This can work but where it does not (which is more frequently than not) you can try giving an alternate number (anything that is less of a threat for you - I knew of one brave soul who gave the speaking clock, another gave an 0906 "virtual" number - do it under the "guise" of updating your work contact details). Now take a breath, come back to the next steps when you feel able This is a messy "market" (even when it "works") and the path out of it is not and easy one but with determination, a realistically costed plan and the help of the good folk here you can get there. I have had some very, very dark nights and thoughts at the height of my nightmares in payday loan land and whilst we have some way to go yet I am on my way back from the dark side - if I can do it most anyone can! Keep going, you will be able to do it

Hiya, On the posting issue, I have used what follows below which appears to be current accepted standard: With effect from 16 April 1985 the Practice Direction issued on 30 July 1968 is hereby revoked and the following is substituted therefore. 1. Under S7 of the Interpretation Act 1978 service by post is deemed to have been effected, unless the contrary has been proved, at the time when the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post. 2. To avoid uncertainty as to the date of service it will be taken (subject to proof to the contrary) that delivery in the ordinary course of post was effected (a) in the case of first class mail, on the second working day after posting; (b) in the case of second class mail, on the fourth working day after posting. "Working days" are Monday to Friday, excluding any bank holiday. 3. Affidavits of service shall state whether the document was dispatched by first or second class mail. If this information is omitted it will be assumed that second class mail was used 4. This direction is subject to the special provisions of RSC Order 10, rule 1(3) relating to the service of originating process. 8 March 1985 J R BICKFORD SMITH Senior Master Queen's Bench Division You have a clear case of termination (hope you have this in writing) on the back of a dodgy DN. Excellent post below from the accquired reading of surfaceagent 20: "An ineffective default notice will prohibit the Claimant recovering all those things on which the service of an effective default notice is dependant. In short, the claim will be reduced to just the arrears, See Woodchester v Swayne. By when proceedings have commenced the Claimant will have terminated the agreement. The language of a default notice is framed on the basis there is a current agreement. That language is prescribed. If the Claimant terminated the agreement, to deliver an effective defalt notice will involve the fiction the agreement is current and never terminated. It would also involve the Claimant reinstating unilaterally. The debtor would be unlikely to agree to reinstatement if to do so would cure the Claimant's difficulties" and further in another post here by the same Cagger: In Golden Strait Corporation v Nippon Yusen Kubishka Kaisha [2007], Lord Bingham said: 'The repudiation of a contract by one party ("the repudiator"), if accepted by the other ("the injured party"), brings the contract to an end and releases both parties from their primary obligations under the contract. The injured party is thereupon entitled to recover damages against the repudiator to compensate him for such financial loss as the repudiator's breach has caused him to suffer. This is elementary law. The damages recoverable by the injured party are such sum as will put him in the same financial position as if the contract had been performed.' There is a whole load more relevant posting and research on the CAG site about this by far more experienced and learned souls than me. What I am trying to show with these examples is that you could try them with a letter accepting their repudiatory breach of contract, possibly offer to pay any "arrears" to be technically accurate (not sure where this would be with this type of loan) and tell them you consider the matter closed. This is a calculated risk (in that it may draw further legal action) but has worked well for me (with the advice of the good folk of CAG) in one case within the "mainstream" so probably worth a go given what you have on these people and in this market place! Whatever you decide, best of luck and keep posting

Hiya, As well as the telephone harrassment letter/email I would also add that the clowns are "frustrating your reasonable efforts to address your liabilities" and that as a result (if not already) you dispute the alledged balance (which will of course by now have gone further than the space shuttle! ) as well as any charges or interest. Probably worth a CCA request to the obviously incompetent - might bring you some useful replies (my particular favourite was "we do not have one... " ). Wonga - suprised they have been "friendly" (not to bad with me but my have there been some horror stories). Their "systems" often does not keep up (monthly emails about "failed payment arrangement" even when they have been paid! ). The website also seems to escalate automatically even when they have agreed a repayment arrangement. As for the setting up of a payment plan online, not been to their website for some time but I would be very suprised if this was anything more than a simplistic ruse to get your current bank details from you! ("agree to xxx per month" and then on said date take the lot!) . It MIGHT be that the the conversation component they made me have to agree amount and dates can be progressed on their site but (as I am sure you are) I would be very cautious and sceptical! It is slow progress - some go quiet for ages - but you are getting there so keep at them

Hello Petal9 and welcome to CAG T2 is way to kind to me - although the bit about being a thoroughly nice cagger is 100% correct! Already some good advice from Mrs Weatherwax and plum fairy - if any of what follows duplicates my apologies. (1) As has already been said - do not beat yourself up about it. Very easy to say, but this is absolutely the best place to start (you will think far more clearly and their tactics will have less of an impact on you). I have been to a very dark place indeed with these firms but once I had the lightbulb moment and accepted that I could not change past actions, that I was doing the right thing (for both myself and these sharks!) by refusing to continue to pay the "extension/roll over/income stream...." and attempting to repay what was legally owed instead, I have got on the path to sorting it all out! Even if we suspend reality for a moment (which these firms are all good at ) and accept that you owe Wonga £1300 the total in your post if none of it were challenged in any way and was all completely enforceable, would be £2248. They will all huff and puff, try and make this amount seem 100 times bigger, threaten all kinds of dark things but in the absolute majority of cases this will be exactly that - hot air and threats designed to either intimidate you into doing what you are told or prevent you from standing up for yourself. (2) Most important first practical step is a parachute account - preferably with a completely different banking group to that which you have now (in order to guard against any bank related debts and the impact they have to a "right of offset"). If you do not do this they will drain your salary as soon as it arrives - many or all of those in this sector have a proven track record of this (Hopefully you have already done this as per the post from Mrs Weatherwax). (3) Next you will need to report your debit card as lost or stolen. Best to replace with simple debit card (ie no cheque guarantee facility) if possible. There are many perfectly serviceable accounts out there. These firms will try any and all devious means you can think of (and some that you cannot) to access your account and drain funds. The banking system will allow them to do this!!! (4) Again agree with Mrs Weathewax. Sit down and work out realistic repayment offer to each that you can afford. You sound like you have already had some success with this, if not already aware then use the info on any of the debt charity sites (nationaldebtline, payplan or cccs). If you can work out complete I & E (even with their help) and pro-rata offers then this is what the courts would offer to them if it ever got that far. (There is another way to handle these firms which involves snowballing - so if I take your first post correctly you have x4 outstanding debts of this kind and £40 per month each to pay them of so £160 in total. This approach basically involves paying all the larger three as little as possible with the majority going to the smallest so you pay it off in the shortest time. Using this route you could be rid of PTPs £198 within two months or so, then you move the money up to Payday express and so on. This did not work for me as I was to heavily exposed to these firms but it can work in some cases) (5) Now prepare for the forthcoming barrage of harrassing calls - and they will come. If you can pre-empt them with either a second line into the house that is only yours or a VOIP type service like SKYPE then all the better, If not send them the telephone harrassment letter from this site (I have thrown this together with the "doorstep visit" template for debt collection agencies) - link already kindly provided by Mrs Weatherwax. For your mobile number, set them all up with recognisable ring tone and proceed to ignore (I have the imperial death march from Star Wars, amend to suit) (6) Send your harrassment letter (I would recommend merging the telephone and doorstep visit templates to suit, one letter for the main two concerns most of us have and they play on ) together with offer letter to each of them. Your offer letter should also request that charges/interest are at suspended (you can challenge this together with alleged balances at a later point). If by post, recorded delivery. If you have email contacts then this is okay. (7) Whatever follows stick to what you have offered - as you have worked this out to be genuinely affordable they would not get more with court action and eventually most will see this to be true and fall into line (8) Those that you agree a plan with, including a level of balance and charges that you are comfortable with, continue repayments and all is well. (9) Those that you cannot agree a plan with and/or pass to DCA. Depends on your personal preference and available time (there is no one size fits all solution unfortunately!). It will be worth going on the offensive with these firms - CCA request, complaints (OFT, consumer direct, companies house if liscensing or other issues - ignore BCCA or FLA, they are pointless). Depending on debt level if CCA request not effective then move to Subject Access Request. There are many folk here who are going through this and a whole lot more who can offer you all the advice you ever need. General principle for me having stabilised a very wobbly ship is to focus on resolving oustanding legally owed debt whilst standing up for yourself - this will along the way bring many trials and tribulations but equally will help you to reduce your debt more quickly. All the best, keep folk posted and ask away if you need anything more at all give a shout out and there will be someone along to help

Good morning, If the DCAs are "acting for" (which I think is what you said earlier in the thread) then SAR to The Money Shop (others will correct me if I have that wrong! ). As T2upnorth says you owe one single debt to the Money shop (and contracted for the same) so they are in breach of OFT guidelines letting two DCAs "act" for them. Someone more wise than me would need to confirm if the rules are the same when the debt is "sold on" to a DCA - not sure if they might be have more room in that scenario. Generally this needs to be conducted in writing although you might want to speak directly to the supervisor once IF you think there is some mileage in their agreeing to your position (and confirming this in writing). Other than that probably a waiting game for now - if you have a specific contract you can post here (without your personal info) then it might be there are holes in that as well! Main thing is stick your guns - you have acted with due diligence in paying back an amount which you believed to be contractually owed and subsequently have recieved acknowledgement that this is the case. Other than getting your £250 back (and maybe some more for the aggro) with complaints to all relevant authorities this should end up with one for the good guys

Good morning, Generally all that you have detailed below would be in line with experience of these firms - escalating threats, huffing and puffing to try and make you pay more than you can afford (wait until you get asked to ignore a priority debt to pay them ) Wonga - it does seem that even with a payment plan they do "insist" on talking to you to "confirm" - should be apparent quite quickly if this is the real intent of the call and if not you can terminate the call. Refusing standing orders is bunkum there are many on here that are paying them via this method! Payday uk - keep to your offer - as you say, this is all you can afford, polite persistance usually works! Sure you know this but payment to these firms when plan agreed should always be via standing order, cheque (preferably not your own) or last resort postal order. Anything else (card or direct debit) and there is a definite risk (even probability) that they will try and lift funds from your account! Keep going, you will get there

Hiya, Agree if not real = fraudulent Even if real (unlikely) = given what you say about not recieving any correspondence or a CCJ then with the right advice from the more wise here should be able to set aside Has your employer recieved the letter/attachement of earnings form? If not they might be variant of the usual threats. If they have it presume they are not simply acting on it without further reference to you? (If they have acted on it then you have comeback on them as well!!) Best of luck