Hi, thanks for your response. They first alleged "fraudulant activity" on my account and when I challenged them and they couldn't supply any evidence of that, they changed their mind saying that I had "displayed signs of problem gambling and the proper thing to do was to close my account" (I'd deposited on there twice....) Based on your comments, they're clearly crooks who know that they are pretty safe from being taken to court. Will still pursue it though as I don't like having £6500 stolen from me!!

Hi all, Firstly I wasn't quite sure which area to post this, so apologies if I've got the wrong place. Right, to my question. I won £6500 on an online casino last July and they are refusing to pay me. I have done all of the SAR, online mediation, contacting the CEO of the company, involving the gambling commission etc etc to no avail. The casino's stance is basically "take us to court". I'd love to as I've got a water-tight case, but the problem is that they're based in Malta with no UK service address. Questions: - Am I correct in thinking that I have to take them to court in Malta? and if yes.. - Does anybody know how to do this and if there are any solicitors who may specialise in these type of overseas disputes? - Any other general advise on how best to proceed? For info, the casino involved is Slotty Vegas and their parent company is Max Entertainment. Many thanks, Lee.

It's a long while since I last replied to this thread, but as way of an update the only further dealings I had were a few more phone calls from DLC, where I gave them my well-practised response which was basically "the only way you're going to get any money out of me is to take me to court". I haven't heard from them in well over a year, so assume that they have dropped the matter. I would suggest you take a similar course of action...or you could do what I also did...offer them £0.00 as a full and final settlement

Hi Bones, we have received a similar threatogram today from DG so youre not alone on this one!! Will let you know how it progresses!! All the best

Isnt the default notice defective if it just says "within 14 days" instead of by an actual date?

Im a bit short of time atm but looking quickly I think this is just more waffle designed to scare you. As has been stated before, they are all unlikely to want to take you to court without a water-tight agreement. I would send them a letter similar to the ones youve sent before to Metropolitan etc, explaining the situation and basically telling them to take you to court or sod off. Also, I see theyre threatening a doorstep visit....if you have a search round the forums theres a letter you can send which revokes any right for them to come onto your property without your express permission. HTH

Thank you for taking the time to reply! I was not expecting such comprehensive advice...many, many thanks Johnnymitch has also previously advised to "keep them on the back foot" and your post has certainly given me plenty of ammunition to do just that I will draft a letter accordingly and let you know how I get on (after tipping some scales, of course!) Thanks again

Hi all, Its all been very quiet on this one recently.... ...until today that is HSBC have now passed this "debt" down the office to Metropolitan Collection Services Ltd. It is, I guess, a fairly standard letter saying that they have registered the "debt" with various CRAs and that they may issue legal proceedings etc etc... How best to proceed then? Ignore, or write a "go away" letter....or any other options? Thanks

Hi Dawn, any response to your letters yet? Welcome have as yet failed to respond to my "shove your new agreement" letter following their admission that PPI was mis-sold. We havent paid the April payment and today had one of their collections team at the door Sent him packing with a flea in his ear and told him that we were only dealing with head office...will be interesting to see their next move

Shouldnt that read "strongly consider"??? :grin:

Thanks for the advice...I will feed this back to her and keep you up-to-date with any progress

OK, an update for anyone who can offer advice. Despite putting the following line in the letter of complaint: Please note that I give no authorisation for you to attempt to take any further money from my account using the bank details you have for me, and any attempt to do so will be reported as theft. ...the cretins have now taken the full remaining amount from her bank account. She is understandably fuming at this. What is the best course of action for her? She has reported this to her bank who are looking into it for her, but is their anything more she can do to get this money back quick? (it is theft in my eyes). Many thanks

I like that!!

The first 6 months is contribution based, and after that it goes to income based which is "means tested". You may lose some (mine went from £64/week to £0.10/week)...but this will depend on how much money you have coming into the household to live on. If you are single or your partner doesnt earn much then it should stay the same. You can get more info on the direct.gov web site. As an aside, are you sure you are claiming everything that you are entitled to (ie working/child tax credit, housing benefit, council tax benefit, mortgage interest payment etc etc). Again, the direct.gov website is a good place to start. Finally, when you do find work don't forget it is likely you will qualify for a "Job Grant" (£125 or £250 if you have children) and certain benefits will carry on for an extra month as you have been out of work for over 6 months. Hope this helps, and good luck with the job search

I am by no means an expert, but that looks fine to me...you really want HSBC to "put up or shut up" and I think your letter gets this point across. In terms of a F&F settlement...I would hold fire on that if I were you and see if they have got the balls to take you (and us caggers!) on in court first. I will keep following this with interest as we are in a similar situation albeit a bit further back in the chain of events.