Wow, two years on and here is the deal: Shortly after my last post I received a job offer in London and had moved within a week. I provided Halifax with my new address but the unfair charges claim fell by the wayside. I opened a new account with a different bank so that I could earn interest on money coming in whilst my interest free student overdraft could just sit there. Halifax never complied with my original SAR (which was requested from the address at which my parents still live). In fact, despite leaving the student account untouched, they never contacted me to suggest changing the conditions or even about closing the account - as such I have not sought to pay it off as it remains interest free. I moved again a few months ago and now I receive a letter from a DCA regarding a debt. The bank is Halifax but the sum of money is way off the amount of my overdraft. The letter states that no debt is registered at my address and they seem to be freely admitting that the link between my name and address and the debt is tenuous. The letter suggests merely sending the letter back marked 'not at this address' should the debt not be mine. In the first instance I am tempted to do this, however the fact that the debt is for Halifax keeps niggling at me. I think I will send it back and see if they persist. If I do receive further correspondence from them, or the debt does turn out to be mine, I have some questions: 1. What is the best way to confirm whether this debt is mine? (I'm not into opening any cans of worms that don't need to be opened and have had no contact with Halifax yet). How can they prove an overdraft debt? 2. Is the debt in dispute until Halifax comply with the original SAR, or has such an amount of time passed that I should have to begin this process again? Can a DCA chase a disputed debt? How do I change the value of a debt if the debt has been passed on from the original creditor?

I hope so MR2Phil. I just called Customer Services and spoke to a woman who was trying to find out for me what the state of play was. She put me on hold and tried to contact the relevant department. When she came back on the phone she said that she had been on hold for ages and that the recorded message from the other department was saying that there had been a delay in sending out statements and if you were waiting for them they should arrive in the next few days. The woman then gave me this phone number for if my statements don't arrive shortly: 01422 391152, anyone got any ideas who that number belongs to? Doesn't look like a Halifax number to me. Anyway, here is what I am going to do, I'll give them until Friday to get them to me, if they don't arrive by then I'll give that number or customer services a ring and tell them that if I don't receive them in the commencing 7 day period then I will be forced to send a complaint to the Information Commissioner and also begin a County Court action under the Data Protection Act. Does that seem like the best course of action? And does anyone know who's on the other end of 01422 391152? EDIT: I found out about that number. It seems that on most people's letters of receipt of SAR, this number is added, however on my letter this sentence has been removed: "If you have not received these within the next 10 working days would you please advise us on 01422 391152." - Maybe they are sick of people calling them.

Hi MR2Phil, glad to see you got your statements. Sorry I didn't see your PM earlier but haven't visited for a while. The 40 days are over for me today so looks like they aren't going to be so cooperative. Keep in touch.

Okay, day 40 is upon us, however no statements. Todays postie has been and gone without anything from Halifax. Should I call and give them some leeway (as they have done in the past for me) or go for the kill and lodge a formal complaint? I must be honest I haven't been chasing them like I should have. SAR received: 10th January 2007 Confirmation Letter from Halifax: 25th January 2007

Just sent my S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) off to Halifax by First Class Recorded. Enclosed a £10 postal order (which I didn't realise would cost me 88p - scandalous!). The 40 days and 40 nights end roughly on the 20th of February, and then begins the return of my 30 pieces of silver. Comprende? Yes thats right, I'm getting biblical on their asses! Regards, BTB

I don't want to get off topic but just wanted to state that I have had this happen to someone I know. A few years ago I had a serious car accident, it happened in the sticks in Somerset and involved no other cars, I pulled over a passing car for help. An ambulance and police car attended the scene, after the ambulance had left to take me to hospital the policeman made a female friend of mine (who had just been in a horrific crash and seen me take a battering) get a lift home alone with the gentleman I had pulled over. Apparently the policeman had to stay at the scene! On top of this when she asked the medics whether I would survive they told her they didn't know! We told the officer who was in charge of the investigation but nothing ever happened.

Hi there, Please correct me if I am wrong... This doesn't make any sense to me. As far as I am aware, if you have fully comprehensive insurance for your own car, then you are able to drive anyone else's car (under 3rd party fire and theft) providing you have their permission (without the requirement to add you to their own car's insurance). In this case the police wouldn't have any right to check the database and make a decision based solely upon the car's insurance, as it would not determine whether the person driving had comprehensive insurance of their own. Again please correct me if you know what I say to be wrong. Regards, BTB

Hi guys, Just wondering how long can have passed before I am unable to appeal against a PCN. I have already paid the fine a while back as the car was clamped, but I am now seeking to appeal as I am not sure the PCN was lawful. Full story and dates will follow if I can take this further. Regards, BTB

Hi guys, Before I get the ball rolling by sending off the S.A.R could anyone tell me how you find out if a default notice has been placed on your credit record? Will I have been informed by Halifax if this has happened? Regards, BTB EDIT: Looked it up myself. You ARE informed when you get a default notice. Nothing to worry about if you've never heard of one.

Hi Martin Thanks for the reply, I'll keep having a look through the site to see if I can work it out first, I have time on my hands at the moment so won't bother Vamp until I'm desperate for advice! Speaking of time on my hands this is my 8th hour... best get some sleep. Speak soon. Regards.

Hi there, new here. I've just spent six hours straight on the site after stumbling across it! Some great resources and a great community. I think I'm nearly ready to send off my S.A.R but will wait till Monday anyway as I'm now worried that I've forgotten everything I read this evening! I've had trouble with charges for a while but have become desensitised over the years so can't even guess how much has been charged overall, in fact £28 of charges were taken out of my account at the end of the year which I'd forgotten about! Anyway, I'll post a thread in the Halifax section when I send off the S.A.R. In the mean time, good luck everyone. Oh yeah, here's a question, the only thing I haven't really understood so far are the differences between Vampiress's spreadsheets. If anyone could shed some light on which to use and at what stage it would be very much appreciated, I'm afraid I just couldn't understand Vamp's descriptions. Regards, BTB