If you don't acknowledge there is a debt, how can you then turn round and offer F&F?

For the reason I stated, regardless of them having any proof to the debt they still mark your credit file and this has knock on affects on your ability to get loans/mortgages etc at decent rates, it ends up being cheaper to offer them a settlement to clear the alledged debt and move on. Also if you did not come to an aggrement with F&F and all correspondance was marked 'without predjudice' how would they prove that in court? They are not able to produce it as evidence.Dont get me wrong i'm not disagreeing with you, i'm asking for clarification.

Can anyone comment?

Can anyone comment on this? I know most would say dont pay them a penny as there is no CCA (Confirmed by Marbles) but it has always been my intention to pay back at least some of the debt, just didn't want to let them get away with changing T&C's at their wim.

Just for clarifiaction, your saying that if you send an F&F letter it resets the SB clock? Even if you state in the letter that you dont acknowledge it and you mark the letter 'Without Predjudice'?

Surely having a default against your file could cause more problems than simply paying the debt off without the correct paperwork? I know its certainly cost me more money to fight the debt than it would have to just pay it off, but its the principle!

Also is there a reason why my default balance is different from my current balance? The current balance is showing more than the default amount?

Interesting to know, my last payment was April 09!

Have just been through all my paperwork again and found a letter from Marbles stating that my default date was the 27th Nov 09 so again another date, only 3 days different from the experian date but 3 days in my favour!

Thanks for that fast reply, I was just curious as to the fact they sent the letter on 10 Nov 09 stating that I had already been defauted but actually hadn't. So my 6 years started at 30 Nov 09. Thanks for clearing that up.

Hi All,

I have a question about my defaulted account which is now with Cabot Financial.

I do have a thread running (Quite a lengthy one) Here

I was sent a DN on the 10 Aug 09 which stated my arrears had to be paid by 31 Aug 09, on the 10 Nov 09 they sent another letter stating that they had recently defaulted me. This was all through Marbles and the debt has now been passed to Cabot (still no valid paperwork). On checking my credit file the deafult, which is now in the name of Cabot, is showing as 30 Nov 09. My question is obviously what date should it have been issued and is there anything I can do about the fact they told me I had been defaulted and actually hadn't been?

I may be clutching here but its worth a try.

Thanks

Hugh

Hi All,

Another update, although there is not anything to update. I have come to a stalemate where Cabot refuse to pass the debt back to Marbles even though they can not get the CCA form them, (they send me letters every month or so to tell me they are still trying). I have however been offered a full & Final settlement figure with the balance set to zero but marked as partially settled, I'm in two minds as to what to do................. If there is anyone that can offer clarification on a couple of points I would be very gratefull;

1/ If I pay a reduced sum to clear the debt, will the payments on my credit file show for 6 years from this date? (I know the default will go after 6 years from its issue but will the partial settlement show for 6 years)

2/ Marbles have all but admitted they do not have the CCA so what will the benefit be of me paying anything to them if they will not remove the adverse entries?

3/ My default warning stated a date at the end of August 2009 but they didn't send me the default letter till quite alot later and this did not have a default date on it. What is the actual date I was defaulted on? Is it the date they entered it with the CRA's?

4/ As I have stated a few time on here my balance owed is very different from the balance at the time I disputed the account, this is due to them adding interest and quite a few £12 fees firstly for late payment (Once I stopped paying) and then for overlimit (As a result of the interest and charges) Is there anything I can do about that?

I have to decide and pay by the 31st March and I've heard they can be funny with payment dates so the sooner I make my decission I suppose the better.

Thanks

Hugh

HB, I called ACAS information line and spoke to someone about it. She confirmed that this is quite normal and there is very little an employee can do about it.

Gbarbm, this particular company does not recognise a union and none of the staff are members. The airline industry has taken a massive beating over the last 10 years and the ones suffering are the employees.

I suppose you cant expect anything else when your cab fare to the airport costs £20 and your flight to Spain is £4.50. The bubble will have to burst eventually...............

Hi guys thanks for the replies.

The contract states that the work roster would be published with 14 days notice and is subject to change within 72 hours so I guess thats my question answered!

They got her to sign the contract at the begining of her training which was 14 days, then at the end they changed the shift pattern to 6 on 3 off. Really they have tricked all the part time staff into signing a 4 on 4 off contract which allows them to change the pattern by the time they actually start work.

Guess we will have to bite the bullet on this one, just a shame that now days employers can get away with misleading potential employees who, like my wife, are desperate for employment!

Thanks for the help

Hi All,

Not really sure if this is something people on here could help with but I figured it would be a good start.

My wife started work for a company back in March. When she accepted the job it was for a 4 on 4 off shift pattern with part time hours with a contract duration till Oct 2012.

She had to complete 2 weeks training and received a uniform.

She was also made to sign a contract at the begining of the course which stated that if she left before the end of the contact she would have to pay them £200 towards training and uniform.

At the end of the course she was given a 6 on 3 off shift pattern with 4+ hours a day consisting of 3 early shifts (0330-0745) then 3 lates (1400-1815).

This shift was nothing like what she was told in the begining and she has tried over the last 3 months to make it work with my night shifts and our 4 year old but its proving far too difficult especially now she is pregnant again.

My question is are they entiltiled to take the money from her minimum wage pay despite the fact they didnt give her an information on her work pattern prior to her signing the contract?

Also as she is paid in arrears and has not earned £200 this month yet, what are the implications of just not turning up anymore?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Thanks guys and thanks again for the advice.

Hi all, this appears to have come to a conclusion so thought I would let you all know whats happened over the last few months......................

After receiving the disappointing offer from Sainsburys and then, as expected, not having the scrapper returned to me. I decided the only option was to take them to small claims and let the courts decide who was right.

Within two days of them receiving the papers I received 2 letters offering me the full amount plus fees.

I'm happy they have finally paid up but seeing as I was only after a contribution towards the repair they have ended up paying out more! Still I'm not complaining!!

Thanks to all who offered advice and support, its really appreciated.

Ok that last reply may have been a little long...........................

Can someone just tell me if I make an offer to pay a certain amount of the debt as F&F, and they refuse it, what happens next? can they use the letter with my offer as indication that I accept the debt without a valid CCA?

Thanks

Hi All,

I have no news to tell, well no news thats new anyways.

Cabot continue to call and send letters, I continue to reply and state my concerns and position which clearly falls on deaf ears!

Marbles clearly can't provide a copy of my CCA to Cabot so they are continuing to try and get the money from me by constant letter sending.

Unfortunately for me they have now got me into a position where I have to do something about it. My mortgage deal has come to an end and due to the default I cannot get another mortgage deal and have to remain on the banks SVR which ironically means a £180 per month increase to my mortgage payment.

As far as the Marbles card goes I spent a large amount of the debt they defaulted me on and it has always been my intention to pay them back.

I am in a position to offer them a settlement on the account but have no idea of how to go about it. I obviously want them to remove all reference to me with the CRA, is the correct wording 'Marked as satisfied'?

Also where do I start? My debt was originally £2000, with charges etc that they imposed they currently say I owe £2500. I have £1000 that I can use to get the debt cleared, is this going to be enough and how do I go about testing the water for a F&F?

This is not exactly how I wanted to end this saga, it would have been nice for Marbles to admit they made mistakes and apologise for the sh*t they have put us through but it seems we would all have more luck finding rocking horse poo!

Little update.

Following the advice of consumer direct I have answered the findings in the manufacturers report, unfortunately Sainsburys still say they are sticking by the findings.

These were that I used excessive force and used the scrapper on the paintwork of the car. I have tried to explain that I only used it on the windows and sent a picture showing how the detached part caught the paintwork while the scrapper was still firmly in contact with the window. Also you can move the scrapper part from the handle with 1 finger so I do not accept excessive force.

Sainsburys have offered me £300 towards the repair, the best quote I got was £960 so that is no where near enough to make a dent. They have offered it as a goodwill gesture, and dispite my rejection have maintained that the offer is still standing.

I am waiting on my access code for MCOL then I will start a claim.

Can anyone tell me, can I accept the goodwill gesture and still make a claim via MCOL. If my case is sucessful they can deduct it from any award made. Should I say I will accept the offer on the understanding that I will still seek compensation for the damage through the court process, or leave as is and just make the claim?

Well reported to consumer direct and got a swift reply telling me that I should do all the things I already did! I'm not sure they have read the overview I sent with the complaint as I detailed what I had done so far.

Guess its time to call trading standards? Or try calling consumer direct?

Thanks raydetinu, I was going to report it to consumer direct and get advice from them too, maybe trading standards also, as many things as I can think that will make sainsburys see i'm not going away.

Dotty - Apparently there are loads of ways but only one approved use of this one.................left in the car and never used, that way it cant scratch anything!!

I'll keep you posted!

Thanks for that info, thought i'd post an update as things have begun to move. I sent them the scrapper, after marking it and taking photos. They sent it back to the manufacturer who has said that the damage was caused by me not using the scrapper correctly. They have not listened to my account of what happened and have said the scrapper should not have been used on the bodywork of the car. I didn't use it on any part of the car but the windows, the damage was caused by the scrapper coming apart during use, clearly a fault with the quality of the product.

Sainsbury's have agreed to pay me a 1/3 of the cost for repair as a good will gesture and to be honest im not happy with that. I did not use it incorrectly, I was using it in the dark and had it been in daylight I admit I probably would have seen the scrapper was coming apart and stopped before too much damage was done but having said that I don't think that constitutes it being my fault, no where does it say to use in daylight only!

The question is where do I go from here? What are my options? I have requested the scrapper back but have not yet recieved it. Am I correct in thinking that my argument remains with sainsbury's as thats where I purchased it?

Thanks in advance for any info you all may have?

After giving them the complaint thumbs up here I am still waiting for their investigation. They now say they require the scrapper to carry out a quality check! I am reluctant to send it as once I no longer have it in my possession I have no way to pursue a small claim if they return a negative verdict on their investigation.

Can anyone comment on what I should do next? Should I send it or refuse?

Thanks for the reply, I thought as much and to their credit Sainsburys have replied to my email within a day! We'll see what happens next........

Hi all,

This may seem a bit of a petty problem considering some of the questions and appeals for help on here but I didnt know where else to ask.

Back when the cold snap started I bought an ice scrapper from Sainsburys, on first use the scrapper blade seperated from the handle leaving the metal holder exposed, not realising this immediately I continued to scrap the ice off my windows. It was only when I brushed the ice away from the base of the windows that I realised the metal part had scratched the paint very deeply at the base of the windows.

My question is where do I stand with this? Surely its a design flaw that the blade seperates but I'm not sure if that means Sainsburys are libel for any problems arrising from its use! I havent had a chance to get someone to look at the damage but I know from experience that there is alot of work involved in fixing deep long scratches like these!

I have contacted Sainsburys and am awaiting a reply, just wanted to get an idea of where I stand, if anywhere, or if i've just been unlucky!

Thanks all and a very merry christmas

Hugh

After writing this I was trying to explain to my father-in-law what happened using the scrapper and have chopped the end of my finger off (Just skin)! Not having much luck with this thing!!

Hi JM, thanks for the reply, haven't been able to get on here for ages, been working flat out and looking after a 3 year old on my rare days off so the wife can go to work!

They have no paperwork, by their own admission, they have sent me a couple of letters saying they have requested the info from Marbles and that I must wait for it!

To be honest I should have jumped on that and replied but the break from repeated threat letters has been nice. I will try and draft a letter following the 'I have given you ample time etc' and 'Without any paperwork remove the default' lines as soon as I get 5 minutes to myself! Thanks for all the advice. Hugh

Hi Adrian,

Surely you had some form of paperwork you had to fill out to apply for the mortgage holiday? Can you not provide them with the evidence that they agreed to this?

I took a mortgage holiday a couple of years back and there was reams of forms to sign before they let me miss one month!!