I have fallen behind with payments on my mastercard, paying only when I can afford to, so incurring more charges which makes me way over my limit. I have to admit that I have not been answering their phone calls as all they do is ask for more money which I haven't got.Today I received a letter advising me that a representative will be calling my home in a weeks time. Does anyone know if they mean phoning my home or actually calling at my home.

Hiya Shazza

First of all they have no rights whatsoever to come into your home, if this is what they are intending by that letter to you.

I did have the same thing with Lloyds Bank, who wrote and told me they were calling on me "to discuss my financial problems". What they really meant was that they wanted to sit me down and pin me down to repayments to them I could not afford I wrote back and said I would only deal with them in writing, not on the telephone and certainly NOT in person at my door. I think you need to do this asap, and send your letter by recorded delivery so that you will have proof of the date they received it if necessary. (you can check that on the Royal Mail website under track and trace).

If you have other debts which you are struggling to pay, it may be best to complete an income & expenditure sheet and make offers of payment to all your creditors based on what you have left over once your essential living bills costs are paid. If you look in the library on here you will see templates to help you with this.

This will take the pressure off you and ensure that each creditor is being paid the same amount each month, being an amount you can afford.

Any questions do come back and ask OK?

Love Spiritgirl x

If you look for the harassment by telephone letter (I believe it is now in the Wiki) you will probably need to add the following to it.

Please be advised that I am only prepared to communicate with you in writing. OFT rules and regulations clearly state that you can only visit me at my home if you make an appointment and I have no wish to make an appointment with you. There is only an implied license under English Common Law for people to be able to visit me on my property without express permission; the postman and people asking for directions etc (Armstrong v. Sheppard and Short Ltd [1959] 2 Q.B. per Lord Evershed M.R.).Therefore take note that I revoke license under Common Law for you, or your representatives, to visit me at my property and if you persist in sending “doorstep callers” to my home, you will be reported for harrassment and be liable for damages for a tort oftrespass. You would also be liable for conspiring in a tort of trespass by acting in defiance of my instructions and sending someone to visit me nevertheless.Should it be necessary, I will obtain an injunction.Yours sincerely,

Am I right in thinking that I can claim charges back on my credit card even though they are the reduced amount of £12.

Yes you can!