Thanks for the advice I will give it a try. God help anyone who turns up at my door from one of these firms though. I understand the comments relating to stealing someones mail but surely I have a right to know what's going on if someone is being linked to my address and letters obviously from different companies keep landing on my mat even though I have retuned as 'never or not known at this address'.

Cheers!

Over the past year I have receievd numerous letters from the same few companies for someone at my address with a similar name to mine but clearly not mine. I have returned to sender numerous times and they keep coming. I got fed up and opened them so I can ring the senders to tell them that these debts are not mine but the letters keep coming. One of the letters I recieved yesterday at my address for this other person was on behalf of Thames Credit from Buchananclark + Wells threatening a visit from a debt investigation officer. Another one was from Parkgate Investigation Bureau stating that as the named person had failed to make arrangements they have been instructed to open enquiries into your current position and that they would be sending doorstep collectes around. It goes without saying that I am furious and concerned that I am being linked to these people and that my address and this person they think lives here is going to be financialy investigated. Can someone please advise as this is getting ridiculous and worrying.

Thanks for the advice Welshcakes, I think I will leave them out of the bundle all together and take my chances.

Thanks for the quick response also

Hi, I'm just putting my court bundle together as I sent my AQ to the court and Barclays/woolwich last week. I want to be prepared but have been reading that we should be including the relevant terms and conditions in the bundle.

I have tried looking on their website without any joy and was hoping that someone on here may have them? I originaly opened the account in 1988 but the account charges were made when it was an Open Plan account.

Any help greatly appreciatted.

No it's not good/fair! The money you are claiming is yours. I have seen some great threads that deal with settlements and 65% seems to be a starting point with many banks. If I were you I would spend some time looking around the forum for advice. Everything you need is on here somewhere.

That said, I'm not sure where the OFT test case leaves you at the moment. It may be that if you dont accept this offer the bank may withdraw it and then when you go ahead your case ask the judge for a stay. If the stay is granted you might have to wait for the ruling which may not be until the end of the year!

Try this thread for starters: Cassie v Abbey ***WON ***

Your a star lindylou, many thanks for your help:grin:

just had my statements back from Crap1 and wish to claim CCI as I am disgusted at the amount of charges I have paid (including settlement figure in 2004) for a card with a 300 quid limit.

I obviously have the outstanding balance on my last statement (prior-settlement) and the interst charged. If I give someone these two figures wil they be able to tell me the APR so I can claim the correct interest rate back?

Heres hoping guys:D

Thanks Steve, yeh it is refreshing getting an admission like this isnt it?

I dont understand the difference between Unpaid charge fee, collection activity fee and returned payment fe to be honest. I dont think they do either! I think it's just an attempt to keep a little of what they owe me back. Might be a power thing..

Anyway I'm going to ring them tommorrow and demand to know what the diffirence is. It's only a small amiunt but i's mine so I want it al back.

Hi, sent LBA claiming 200 pound (not much but it's mine) from an old agreement. Got a letter today on the 14th day to my surprise, heres how it goes:

Thank you for your letter regarding a refund of charges accrued/applied to your agreement.

We have conducted a review of your account. It has been established that although the charges were added within the terms of the agreement we have on this occassion decided to refund collection activity fees totaling 125.00 being final settlement of your request for account number *********.

Please note that for this agreement we have only refunded collection activity charges as these were penalty charges, and returned payment fees are charges for service. A cheque has been requested today, which will be sent under seperate cover and will arrive within the next 7 working days.

No admission (apart from the penalty charges you muppets:p ) is made in respect of your request on the grounds that those monies became properly due and payable under the terms of the contract as a result of your default (what default:rolleyes: ) and various notices were sent to you at the relevant times informing you of the amount of the charges payable.

We hope the above is satisfactory.

Joe says.... thank you very much BH especialy for your honesty in relation to admitting to levying penalty charges!

So.. thank you to all here as I would not have had a clue hoe to start otherwise and you got me this far. Without wishing to sound ungreatful though, is the comment in relation to the 75.00 returned payment fee correct? From what I've read on here I dont think so! Look forward to a little more advice and please be assured that I do intend to make a donation in the very near future, unlike some others who just cut and run once they have their cash.

Just having a look around and your post cheered me up no end:wink: Well done!

Do you mind me asking how you come to that rate of coumpounded interest as I will be hitting them with the same after the ru-around they have been giving me?

Good point, I'll give it a try.

Many thanks Bona.

Or you can try the contact below as I believe Lee will be off work for a while! Just found out following a phone call to their offices whilst chasing non compliance of my SAR.

[email protected]

What a good response I've had, I'm chuffed with my liitle self for standing up to the bullies.

Had two phone calls today, one from complaints department saying they are investigating and will respond ASAP next week. Another call an hour later from a very nice lady at Collections apologising unconditionaly for the way I have been treated. They have brought my unsecured back in house as she admits I had done nothing wrong and offered to move the outstanding legal fees from the secured into the balance of my unsecured. I agreed as long as they put it in writing and agreed to return my Mortgage Exit Fees as well!

I wouldnt have had the confidence to write the above letter if it wasnt for this site, thanks to all. It just shows how often people must be rode roughshod over by the big bullies and how many times they must have got away with shoddy treatment in the past. Get behind the robots and the real people seem to be the only ones who have any common sense. Thank you NR complaints Manager!

Hi Kenny, been reading your thread with interest;) Hope things are going well with your action. I'm interested in how things have worked out. C'mon we are on the edge of our seats here:D

Same here, sent a CCA last week due to a letter out of the blue regarding an alleged debt and default against my wife at our old address which we left over six years ago:o

Got the same standard 28 day holding letter whilst they get the information from Littlewoods. The next day a 'Pilot' scheme letter offering a 75% reduction, how nice of them! I'm ignoring it and see it as a ploy to cut their losses for an unenforcable and ridiculous debt that we dont even remember having. I think they just want us to ring them so they can get us to admit to the debt. If we dont get our CCA info within the 12 days from my original letter they are going to be finding themselves lumped with a complaint with the OFT etc.

God luck and stick to your guns. The sooner these people stop screwing innocent people the better off everyone will be as most of us wont have our situations made worse, and worse and through no fault of our own by nasty little bullying moneygrabbers.

How's things going now with the DCA since your last post Cad?

Many thanks for responding Bona. I have taken your advice on board and referred to taking the matter to court if I have to. I'll just have to wait and see what happens now!

BUMP.....sorry, can soemone please advise or can a mod move to a more appropriatte thrad pretty please?

Still no calls back from them and I'm getting very worried now and it's so frustrating as I have done nothing wrong.

I am thinking of sending this letter, any constructive comments welcome!

Sarah Jane Shields

Redemptions

Customer Contact Centre

Kielder Building

Northern Rock House

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE3 4PL

27th April 2007

Dear Ms Shields,

YOUR REFERENCE: ************

I am very disappointed that you have failed to respond positively to my numerous telephone calls over the past weeks. I am also at a loss to understand why you have transferred my UNSECURED account to a credit recovery agency when this as you know is not in dispute and is now as agreed by your recoveries team some months ago up to date following two returned standing orders that I spoke to your recoveries team about and settled some time ago.

I believe that your actions in moving the alleged outstanding legal fees following lawfull redemption of my secured loan (mortgage) on the 03rd November 2006 to the balance of my unsecured loan was a punitive and illegal action by yourselves. That said I still cannot understand why you are stating that I still owe one hundred and forty eight pound on my secured loan after you have already and without my agreement from myself transferred 373.38 ’legal fees’ to the unsecured loan.

I require you to break down these charges as I intend to take legal action especially if this punitive action of referring an up to date account is as a result of unwarranted and un-agreed fees including the excessive by law mortgage exit fees that you have not credited me with either.

We would draw your attention to the terms of the contract which you agreed to at the time that the account was opened. It is an implied term of that contract that you would conduct yourselves lawfully and in a manner which complies with UK law.

We are frankly shocked that you have operated our account in this way as we had always reposed confidence in your integrity and expertise as our fiduciary.

I therefore and with immediate effect require you to furnish me with a full and positive response which has not been forthcoming to date.

I have also sent a copy of this letter to your recoveries team and the credit recovery agency and will advise you that these accounts (both the secured and unsecured elements) of our agreement are in formal dispute until you can justify your actions.

I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Yours faithfully,

Sorry to bump myself so soon but I have an update and am still desperate for someones opinion/advice please:???: .

I recieved a letter on Friday following a conversation with N Rock where I queried why there was still 100 pound + (sorry no pound sign) showing on my credit file for my secured loan/old mortgage. They said they would get back to me and this letter from the collection agency was the next thing I heard. The astonishing thing is the collection agency want me to enter into an agreement with them for the payment of my unsecured loan that I still have with Northern Rock and I am still paying and up to date with. So confused I rang them to demand why and was told the person dealing with it was sick but a note on my file said they should not talk to me but refer me to the CRA:mad:

After a couple of angry phone calls to them I got a call back this afternoon where some young lad tried to fob me off and told me that this is what they do with lots of accounts and that it would not adversly effect me. I told him I thought this was rubbish and that they had mistakenly linked the 100 pound secured balance allegedly outstanding with my live unsecured loan I have with them. I then asked him his details and what section/department he was representing. He told me it was the collections department and that it did not mean anything as I wasnt the subject of any recovery action:???: I then asked him for the name and title of his manager which he did but the funny thing is his managers title is 'recoveries team manager' I then asked him to explain why the recoveries team were dealing with an account that is up top date and not defaulted. He coudnt and started to sound a little under pressure and was struggling to keep composure and this convinced me that he knew what I was saying had a point. I am still waiting for a call back from his maanger but am not holding my breath.

Sorry if this is a little confusing but this may help you realise how confused I am.

Please, please can anyone offer any advice or is there anyone else out there who has been the subject of this type of shoddy treament? Here's hoping one of you nice people can help;)

PS if this is not the correct themed thread can a mod please move it for me?

Hi all, I'm not to sure if anyone can help with this but I hope you can.

Last year I remortgaged from NR but weeks after everything had gone through the solicitors and the moneys transfered I received a letter from them saying that the final figure they sent to my solicitor was wrong and I owe them for their legal fees that they forgot to include.

They have subsequently moved this alleged outstanding balance 600 + to my unsecured loan I still have with them without my permission.

I may be wrong but I was under the impression that their solictors and mine were supposed to ensure that things like this dont happen. I am surpised that they can agree a fee and accept this via my solicitor only to change it later. My solicitor was less than useless as she sent me a letter telling me about this also but offered no advice. Am I right in thinking that my solicitor at the time should still be dealing with this on my behalf?

LBA in the post today and MCOL completed and saved ready for me to submit in 14 days. I'm not giving them an extra minute:D

LBA in the post today and MCOL completed and saved ready for me to submit in 14 days. I'm not giving them an extra minute:D

xdHi, I had the same problem, old account, didnt know the number etc.

I used the same tactic as Livelylad suggests and sent my SAR and Cheque on 27th March. I still havent heard a thing to date and the cheque remains uncashed so I rang a number on one of my wifes statements (Unfortunately my wife has statements from them as she has one of their cards). The number I used was (0800 9525150) and I ended up speaking to someone who sounded very polite but was unfortunately banished to work in a call centre based on Mars from the quality of the sound of the call. I asked to be put through to the Data Compliance Office but obviously had to go through the rigmorol of giving lots of details, address, dob etc before I was put through to someone.

The very helpful man I eventualy spoke with was called Liam who works in the specialist team or something like that. I explained that my cheque had not been cashed yet and was wondering if there was a problem with them finding my old account details. He told me not to worry as he now had my account number and would arrange for all statements dating back to when I first opened my account (Oct 2000:D ) to be sent to me today. Wow! fingers crossed eh!

The most pleasant thing though was that he told me I didnt need to send a cheque and to cancel my original one as he would send these out free of charge straight away (unlike Black Horse who said they didnt recieve my original letter and to send another...cheeky blighters).

Give it a try Redstar. Good luck;)

Recived my account details and was able to speak to someone about my account. At first she tells me that I dont have an account open with them. Then she says, oh yes I think you do.... What the hell is going on here :-? She did admit that they had a copy of my letter and details of me visiting my branch in 2002 to ensure the account closed.

The Very nice lady then explained that the balance was a result of charges accrued since 2002. Wait for this, she then advises that she will raise the complaint formaly and advised me that I should look at reclaiming the charges which she kindly offered to arrange for me. So I'm just waiting to see what they say now.

I also contacted Experian (the words robots and brick walls spring to mind) to ask them to add a noticce of correction which they kindly did. They have recently contacted me to say that Woolwich/Barclays say that the info is correct and they would not therefore be in a position to remove it...Rubbish, who are they trying to kid, I will deal with them later8)

Anyway, getting a little lonely here, is ther anyone out there experienced similar or am I a one off? Any advice graciously accepted

Many thanks again for this advice Phil.

I will use it and send my LBA to Abbey at Triton Square when the 14 days are up (registered of course).

Thanks philread, no worries I will get my charges back even though I'm an impatient so and so.

I recieved the standard response this morning 'we are currently looking into your complaint...will investigate and respond within 40 days blah blah' along with a complaints leaflet. I will wait until the 14 days are up (14th) and then send my leter before action as I told them I would in my initial request. I will also be sending this by recorded delivery to Abbey head office with a copy to Pam Speed at Bradford as this seems to have prompted some kind of response pretty quickly.

Is anyone else doing this or are you all sending to Head office?

PS to anyone new reading this who is not aware.. I did not send the letter to Pam Speed by recorded delievery as the address I had was a PO Box which I believe you cannot use recorded delivery to.

Babynan, you had any response yet?