It appears to be true! Cattles PLC - Proposal to close Welcome Car Finance I take no pleasure in 130 people losing their jobs, but on the other hand it's one less vulture doing business.

Hello and welcome, Mrs C. Watch this space regarding Ashbourne, they've recently settled out of court with me and are currently being investigated by the OFT. The crucial point is: did you ever sign a credit agreement (as opposed to just a contract)? If not, you'd have to ask on what authority they are threatening court action. Don't worry about their threats, by the way, they're all talk. They proudly boast that they prefer the default route over the courts. They're bullies, pure and simple. They rely on people coughing up the relatively small amounts (it's all relative: they wanted nearly £300 from me and I certainly don't consider that a small amount!). May I suggest that anybody else who is having problems with Ashbourne contact the OFT at the address below, and also write to Ashbourne telling them that you've complained. I'd also consider contacting Trading Standards. I'm on a bit of a one-man crusade against these sharks, so let me know if I can be of any help! That address for the OFT: Office of Fair Trading Consumer Credit Licensing Room 1C/5 Fleetbank House 2-6 Salisbury Square London EC4Y 8JX

Just a quick update for what it's worth. A problem with the way the court issued Directions meant that the other side turned up without some documents and in the interests of fairness the District Judge has issued new Directions and is scheduling another hearing in a few weeks time. So we're no further forward at the moment.

Whatever you do, don't give in now you've got this far. If you don't get any more advice today, at least fill in as much of the AQ as you are able and hand-deliver it to the court if necessary. As an alternative are you able to get to a CAB with such short notice? They'll be able to offer some advice what to write, even if it's only the bare minumum. Speak to the Court staff and explain the situation. They're not monsters, far from it, every one I've spoken to has been more than helpful. They're not allowed to give legal advice, but at least you can demonstrate that you've tried to co-operate with every stage of the process. Once again I repeat: don't throw in the towel now you've got this far.

Googling "Litigant in person" confirms that you are correct, my spreadsheet's duly updated and now I'm trying to learn CPR48.6! Thanks for the reply

I am the claimant trying to get a default removed and claiming breach of S10 of the Data Protection Act. My hearing is on Monday 29th and I have one quick question about claiming costs - should I win, obviously! I'll be claiming for the cost of sending letters recorded delivery, the ink cartridges needed to print them, phone calls to the Information Commissioner, petrol to take papers to the Court and just about anything else I can think of. But what is the guideline / rule regarding claiming for time spent writing letters and preparing the case? I seem to recall seeing £8/hour but is there anywhere this is written? Also, to further complicate things, such costs are clearly designed to recompense someone who has had to take time off work. I'm on Incapacity Benefit I don't suffer loss of earnings, so would I still be entitled to claim? Many thanks in advance for you help.

I'm the claimant in just such a case, my hearing is to be held on Monday. On the N1 I set out the breaches of DPA and CCA I wished the court to instruct the defendent to rectify, explained my actual financial losses due to the unjust default, and also asked for "any compensation the Court sees fit, plus costs". I've been dealing with the ICO who were unable to offer any guidelines as to how much to expect, so I'm at the mercy of the judge on the day. As to being "frivilous", so long as you can justify each claim then that's exactly what the Court is there for. Just make sure you've given each organisation a reasonable chance to remedy the situation before resorting to legal action.

Regarding you "fake" letter, I'm in a similar position with Cabot/Barclaycard. I sent a Subject Access Request to Barclaycard and asked specifically if they had knowledge of this letter - they did not. I asked Cabot the specific question whether this was a TRUE COPY of a Barclaycard letter, they would only say it was a reproduction.

I've finally got my Court date, September 29th. I'm looking foward to hearing them justify their behaviour over the last three years.

Congratulations Basualdo I've finally got my court date with these jokers, so I know only too well how obstructive they can be. Nice work

If the debt was unenforcable I'd be offering a lot less than 10%. My figure certainly would end in zero, mind...

Hi, Debt collection agencies do like to make threats, but they have no powers. Even in the unlikey event of sending round an agent, he's got the same right of entry as your pizza delivery guy. Before they can take court action there's a whole raft of things which have to happen. If you post more details about your debts we can offer better advice about how to deal with them. Please let us know who the creditors are, the amounts, a brief history, the age of these debts and last payments, and whether you dispute any of these debts/amounts. Nobody here will judge you, we've all been in the same boat.

It's worth taking a few minutes to familiarise yourself with the OFT guidelines on unfair practice which can be found in a sticky on this forum, or here: http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf For example, regarding the £140/month, the OFT say this is likely to be psychological harassment: f. pressurising debtors to pay in full, in unreasonably large instalments, or to increase payments when they are unable to do so It's a very useful document to quote in your letters

Even if they do come up with an agreement AND it's enforcable (unlikely), you should only offer to pay what you can genuinely afford. Make sure that you do so via letter in case they turn round in the future and claim you offered more. Also ensure that you are in control of the payments, eg a standing order. Do NOT let them get your debit card details as a continuous payment is almost impossible to cancel. If and when you get your "agreement" back, you'll be in a much stronger position.

All very interesting, thanks. So what if the client ever made a Subject Access Request? Surely there should be a procedure in place for securely archiving paperwork for the lifetime of the relationship? I still maintain that your opening advice is best: check that the debt collector has the legal authority to collect. If they don't, the rest is academic.

Something like this, perhaps?

Woah woah woah! That's English for "stop a horse" I think I may have found something very good here which I cannot believe I overlooked. Cabot have managed to do something which Barclarcard themselves couldn't, and provided some old copy statements. One in particular is interesting: Balance of last statement: £2160 Payment thank you £2160 Total of new transactions: £0 Balance of statement: £0 And this is dated November 2001. I've been through subsequent statements with a fine tooth comb and athough there are a few low-value transactions in 2003 there were no payments since this one in 2001. Does this mean what I think this means?

Good grief, that reply (not yours, ODC!) reads like a rant by a 12-year old on the Big Brother forums. To save anybody reading it all, I'll paraphrase: Ohmygod right did you see that one show thing it was well unfair slating us off when everybody knows that its not us its the skanks what avoid their debts what are the problem and that dom littlewood well my dad could have his dad and i ain't disrepectin' him just saying that he ain't all that and even that adrian childes is mingin innit well i don't care coz me and my mates at the csa iz well 'ard and we can handle ourselves and i don't care wot anybody says ur in big trouble if u don't pay ur debts we'll send the boys round and if you complain i'll cut you. Now i is off to the off licence to get me brother to buy me some cider cus i ain't 18 yet.

Interesting: I complained to FIRE but the reply came from Cabot. Are they allowed to share information like that? Considering, of course, that they claim to be seperate companies They've once again enclosed the Barclaycard application form I've posted previously (unsigned by B'card), but for the first time time they've also enclosed a seperate sheet of T&Cs which does appear to include the prescribed terms. However the dates on the two parts are different and they have clearly been faxed from different locations. Can Cabot/FIRE honestly claim that together they represent an executed agreement? Any opinions, as ever, gladly welcomed.

Firstly I'd make a formal complaint to the companies concerned. Make it clear that your letter is exactly that, a formal complaint, and request a copy of their complaints procedure. This way, if they haven't sorted it after 8 weeks you've left the way clear to escalate matters to the FOS. Secondly contact your local Trading Standards and let them know that you're being persued for an alleged debt despite the companies being in default of the Consumer Credit Act - which is an offence. Lastly I'd advise reporting them to the OFT (address below). Sadly the OFT won't act on individual cases, but they are interested in building up a profile of those DCAs whose behaviour calls into question their fitness to hold a consumer credit licence. Office of Fair Trading Consumer Credit Licensing Room 1C/5 Fleetbank House 2-6 Salisbury Square London EC4Y 8JX

Afternoon all! I've not been on the forum for a while and it turns out I've got several PMs asking for advice on dealing with Ashbourne Management Services. I'll attempt to answer all the points raised in the PMs here on this thread for several reasons. Firstly it'll save me typing lengthy replies to PMs (lazy I know), secondly it will let others benefit (hopefully) and thirdly it gives other members a chance to correct any inaccuracies. I am not a lawyer, and any advice is simply based on my own experiences. Q: How can I get out of my contract with Ashbourne? A: It seems to vary depending on when and where you signed the contract, but basically you either need to have moved out of the area to a place where they don't have any partner gyms; or have a medical condition which prevents you safely using a gym. I cannot and will not condone simply breaking a written contract simply because you changed your mind or don't bother going to the gym any more. Worryingly it seems that some people have signed 36 month contracts believing them to only be for a year. My understanding is that if the contract is in any way misleading it could well be invalid. My advice would be to contact Consumer Direct or CAB. Q: I've cancelled but Ashbourne still demand money and have put a default on my credit file. A: Don't expect an easy ride. Ashbourne's corporate site proudly boasts how registering defaults is the best way of dealing with accounts, presumably because there's so little burden of proof unlike, say, going to court. Also the sums in question are typically relatively low so "debtors" are more likely to pay up than fight on (thought not me, and if you're reading this then presumambly not you either). All I can suggest at the moment is to send them a statutory notice under s10 of the Data Protection Act requesting that they rectify any incorrect data and inform the CRAs of such. If my experience is anything to go by they'll ignore it, so send a follow-up after 21 days. If you still don't get any joy, report them to the Information Commissioner. I'm hoping that once I've taken Ashbourne to Court that they'll think twice about ignoring anybody else's Statutory Notices or playing silly beggars again. Sadly the County Court doesn't set a legal precident in the way that, say, the High Court does. But once the case is over I'll gladly make details available in the hope that, should you go down this route, your local Court will take its lead from this case. I wish I could help more, but until all these arguements have been thrashed out in Court I'm in the dark as much as you. I'm genuinely looking forward to my day in Court, partly becuase I want this over with but also becuase it's become apparent that Ashbourne think they can treat their customers with such contempt. I won't let them get away with it.

Oh dear oh dear. FIRE signed for my complaint letter on 28th April and despite the account being well and truly in dispute have now sent me a demand for full payment otherwise I can expect a call from a doorstep agent. I think it's time for another complaint to the OFT.

Here we go:

Indeed yes, a fact which will not go unmentioned in the formal complaint I'm in the process of writing

When Scotcall came after me I reminded them that the OC hadn't provided an enforcable agreement and they ran away with their tail between their legs. Bunch of chancers, in my personal opinion.