Update: All charges etc removed. I've sent all my medical evidence and evidence I've been retired from work on the grounds of ill-health. Let's see if it is, indeed, as their paperwork states, enough to get this written off once and for all.

Update: Having received my second bill since the new meter was installed I called the Customer Escalation Team again today and got a human being!! Yes, honest! He checked the notes on the account. Checked the two new meter reading and said he calculated the amount I've overpaid thanks to the faulty meter (that I have been telling them about since Aug 2003) to be standing at over £1000! I have to now wait until they have a full years meter readings (including the winter quarters) to ensure that I am indeed using this much smaller amount of electricity, however he has halved my monthly payments in the meantime and put notes on the account that it's not to be reviewed again unless by Customer Escalation. So, closer to a result. Just be nice to get my mitts on that money!!! (Luckily I can afford to hang on for it - just thinking about the nice holiday it will pay for in 6 months time!) Getting there!

Can I just check that this is a UK Bank? It's just that you mention $300 and an Education Loan.......

I think that you need to look at this from a different angle and contact Welfare Rights in your area as soon as possible. Obviously if you owe the DWP they will take it off you somehow but Disability Living Allowance is what the Government have calculated you need to manage as a disabled person, in order to cover the additional expense of being disabled. This means that if this causes you hardship you need to appeal immediately and have the deduction reduced to a manageable level. Welfare Rights have the knowledge and capability to help in such situations and I would recommend an immediate appointment. Meanwhile it MAY be worth giving the DWP a ring and using the expression "cause hardship" and see what they come up with. Good Luck.

Administrative errors happen in Banks, the same as in all other industries. I agree with KTC that you don't have a leg to stand on as you were aware that the money was not yours. (Try to imagine how the customer whose £800 it IS felt when they realised the credit wasn't in their account - AND how miffed you would have been if the bank couldn't have retrieved it for you!) I would think that if you have been charged for any transactions to do with the incorrect credit you should be able to get these back. However I don't think there is anything ILLEGAL in what the bank have done. Their argument will be that you removed the money from the account knowing that it was not yours and that you should have pointed out the error the moment you noticed it, therefore saving yourself from being charged for being overdrawn.

As I said before in my other post, it's often the case that we can only speak from our own employers rules or our own experience! Hence I suggested Nationwide as a friend with adverse credit had found them refreshingly sympathetic. However indebtstudent has the inside knowledge, so that one's out. All I can suggest therefore is to tk check sites such as this one: Basic Bank Accounts, Open a Basic Bank Account, Apply for a Basic Bank Account and perhaps contact the banks by email to ask what their criteria is to move to a "regular" account after a period of good standing. Meanwhile I would consider using Internet or Telephone banking to pay bills, rather than over the counter. It's not only less time consuming but it gives you a good audit trail, as a cheque does. As you say, you have the Crapital One card and can therefore at least pay hotel bills etc. (Just watch them carefully - from my experience, whilst they will give a card to "anyone", they will charge you for breathing if they can!) Sorry I can't help further on this particular question.

Hi, I would recommend pming a MOD and asking them to move this thread to the Student forum. If you visit there you will see many people are having the same problem with these muppets. Have you noticed the co-incidence that Smith Lawson and Co are acting for SLC ? *grin* I was in EXACTLY the same position with regard to charges etc on my loan account. I was lucky (or unlucky - guess it depends on how you look at it) to be able to get my loan deferred for 3 years on the grounds of disability and I'm awaiting their response to my application to have it written off now on the grounds I'll never be able to return to work. Meanwhile I recommend this: Send a £1 Postal Order and a CCA request. This puts them in the position of having to send you the signed and properly executed Credit Agreements. They have 12 days to do so before they are in default and then, if they take another 30 days after that (and they did with me and many others) then they are committing a criminal Offence. Once they have defaulted they are simply not allowed to chase you for this money, refer the case to Debt Collectors etc. My recommendation is to do that and then sit back and wait to see what their next move is. Meanwhile the good people on here will help you with any on-going correspondence from their in-house rottweillers.

Hi The Power, I'm told by friends that the Nationwide Flex Account is worth a try, although I can't personally recommend them as I have no accounts with them. I would be careful not to apply to too many at once, as it may affect your score, showing multiple applications. For the time being I understand you have a Co-operative Account? Is it not working for you? The reason I ask is that often it's tempting, after being in debt, or having problems managing credit, to want to "re-instated" back to the way things were, with a "regular account" etc, but it's not necessarily the way forward. Perhaps you could share with us why the account you have doesn't fulfil your needs? That way people on here may have other ideas that could help, or again, recommend an account that would perhaps suit you better.

By the way, just for extra security (I have read about this on the Debt Collection Forum) - use a "Special" signature on the letter to the DCA and the copy to SLC. NOT your normal one. Wouldn't want to lead them into temptation now would you?

Luther - I know it's easy to say "Don't Worry" - but really you have NOTHING to worry about. To paraphrase the letter you need to send: Under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 Part I, Section 6, “If (an appropriate debt) has subsisted for a continuous period of five years − a) without any relevant claim having been made in relation to the obligation, and b) without the subsistence of the obligation having been relevantly acknowledged, ie IN WRITING by You then as from the expiration of that period the obligation shall be extinguished…” IE you have NO OBLIGATION to them. Unless they can provide evidence of payment or written contact from you in the relevant period under Part I, Section 6 of the Act, They are no longer able to take any court action against you to recover the alleged amount claimed. At this stage you aren't asking anything other than an acknowledgement that the debt has not been paid or acknowledged in writing since July 2000. IF they come back with spurious stuff then post back and we will help you from there. You don't need to do the Subject Access Request that I posted about unless they carry this charade on. Which I doubt once you point out that they are NOT above the law and you know your rights! Good Luck.

Hi Luther, That is exactly as I understand it. The loan was paid off in July 2000 and SLC haven't darkened your door again since then. Until now. Ati (the debt collection agency) appear - from google - to be American. Have a read on the Debt Collection forum of how a few US debt collection agencies, who seem to have little or no knowledge of UK law, seem to have appeared recently. SLC told me that they don't have a legal department, when I wrote and telephoned with regard to them breaking the Data Protection Act, Consumer Credit Act and the Justice Act with regard to my case with them. Funny how they had one when you called - don't you think? An Open Decree last for 5 years. So SLC are WAY out of date with this. From your Original Post the only correspondence you have had is with the Debt collection Agency. Therefore I would write the above letter, send it to the DCA and copy in the SLC, for good measure. I would add on to it that as they have stated that there is an Open Decree that you would like a copy of this judgement including full details of which Court it was lodged in. That should shut them up! Any more nonsense from them after this and it's simple. Send them a FULL Subject Access Request demanding FULL disclosure of ALL information, including transcripts of all calls etc and you statements. They will stall. They will need reminding. They will most likely try and put you off, but eventually you will get full statements and any other evidence you need to prove categorically that this debt is WAY out of time. Good Luck. Please keep us informed of how you get on.

Indeed

AND..... An Open Decree only last for 5 years, not 6. So they are WAY out of time (not to mention out of line) here!

No you haven't!! You stated catagorically that you did NOT admit the debt. I would do as advised above. Write and re-state that which you stated on the telephone and use the statute barred letter in the library. That's why it's important NOT to talk to these bottom feeders on the telephone. If you last made payment and had contact from them in July 2000 they are out of luck and thought they'd just chance their arm. Don't fall for it.

Indeed Kennythecelt I DO hope that Ethical hasn't been posting on the forum from work! If not then how on earth could his/her employment contract be in jeopardy?

I'm afraid s/he may have sounded very authoritative to many people. Sounding authoritative and BEING authoritative (and informative) are two different things. However, s/he was/is NEITHER and therefore I personally think it's best they don't post "information" that might lead people up proverbial garden paths.

*smirks* (and wishes I had refreshed my page before responding further!) I had a sneaky feeling that my post (and others asking about the law and charges etc) might illicit this sort of response. IF the CAG have asked them to leave then surely their account wouldn't be able to post anymore? This is a question. I don't know for sure. I think that it's unlikely Ethical can help any more than anyone else on here, unfortunately they set themselves up for a fall and several posters (who are perfectly within their rights to do so) have provided them with the push required. As retired bank staff myself I have always tried to help, and have, as yet, never come in for any type of abuse, name calling etc etc. But then I did not set myself up as an expert, despite evidently having a LOT more experience that Ethical. Forums are for people to express their feelings, ask questions etc. This forum, like many others across the internet, allows the posters to be nameless and faceless and therefore ANYONE can claim to be an expert in ANYTHING. Anyone who chooses to take the answers here or any other forum as "gospel" without taking further expert advice, is unwise.

The Power. The short answer to your question is that MOST banks will not give you a "Regular" bank account until your credit score improves, or, if you open a cash-card type account with them and keep it in "good standing" for at least a few months. Some banks will offer this, others won't. The best place to get advice is probably NOT from bank staff, who will only know the rules from their own employers point of view and rules, but from friends or forums such as this. Perhaps a question in the "general" forum?

Firstly profuse apologies for a very long post, but this has REALLY got up my nose!! I think there are various points to be discussed here and the first is: 1. How exactly does a bank customer get hold of a customer advisor such as yourself? It's all very well saying "I'm nice, I'll help, I can tell you how to avoid getting charged etc", but, unfortunately Ethical, it's blatently obvious from all the issues raised on this site, that getting through to some who gives a damn is difficult to nigh on impossible. Perhaps you could help our site members by telling us EXACTLY who to ask for when they need this kind of help? That, I think would be a good start. 2. Blanket Stops. I am a retired Banker (fairly senior) and worked for many years in various departments of the Bank, including a couple of departments designed to "help" customers who were having monetary problems. Yes, we could advise a blanket stop of DDs. That doesn't stop the person owing the money to the Company and often starts floods of letters from them DEMANDING payment and a re-instatement of the mandate. Whilst a blanket stop DOES stop all DDs for the time being, it also makes it difficult (and often more expensive as some companies charge higher if you aren't paying by DD) for someone already having financial problems to ensure they pay their monthly living expenses. Remember, by the time people get to this stage they are already in trouble and often need careful counselling and PROPER debt management from an independant body (I ALWAYS recommended CCCS) and NOT from one of the bodies with a vested interest (ie the Bank) ALL the person's creditors need to be managed, not just the one holding all the cards (or should that be all the money?) 3. "To be honest, of the 50-60 posts here, only 3 have been close to what i joined for. I don't care about law, or benefit conditions, that's not my job." Yes, I'm afraid it IS your job and you set yourself up here. As an employee of a Bank you have duty to act within the law. One would also argue that you ETHICALLY have a duty to inform your employers if they are acting outwith the law and refusing a customer's access to the Government Benefits to which they are LEGALLY entitled. Were you aware of this? Who did you report it to within the bank? Did you follow it up? What is your bank's position on this? If you are advising customers on how to deal with their bank charges you should at least ensure that you know the law with regards to the person's income. The bank cannot LAWFULLY touch people's income based and child-based Benefits, it's the law and you, your employers and all the other banks cannot run away from that. 4. "Again i'm sorry for your experience, if the debit balance was caused by someone not closing your account and daily charges accruing, i would have got rid of everything and closed the account." Well, I'm sure that is of great comfort to everyone this has happened to. If ONLY they had got YOU on the telephone everything would have been alright! What would be more useful, if you are REALLY here to help, would be if you could advise people on HOW they can get these dormant account closed and the charges written off. I know of no definitive answer to this, but as you have set yourself as an expert in the subject, you will no doubt be able to draft a letter that the site can put in the library, to ensure that everyone in this position has access to the correct procedure. 5. "I paid by card and was charged when it came out of my account, why let them take it when the money wasn't there". I know why and i know how to stop it. Tell everyone then, why don't you? If you are taling about explaining ear-marked funds, or changing the type of card, removing any anticipatory o/d limit or explaining ledger balances, then why not just say so? 6. "I was refused an overdraft and then i got charged because i couldn't pay my bills". I know why and i know how to stop it. Blanket Stops again? I've explained why that won't be the answer. Temporary o/ds. Why not just give us your knowledgeable answer? 7. "I was told when i opened the basic bank account i coulndn't go overdrawn and here i am overdrawn". I know why and i know how to stop it. DDs? Earmarked funds? Clearing process? Bounced cheque? Allowable Uncleared Limit? The list is endless, so why not just tell us your answer? 8. "I have received a letter saying my account will be closed". I know why and i know how to stop it. Ok. I'll ask nicely, please impart some of your supposed vast knowledge of the banking systems and processes and help everyone on this site ensure that they never have a problem with their Bank ever again. Look, I'm sure that, originally, you signed up to the site with the nicest of intentions and have found yourself woefully out of your depth. My advise would be stop digging the hole you are in, kindly thank everyone for passing you the shovel and admit that you can't help much more than anyone else here who was or still is employed in Banking. Getting "sniffy" with certain posters, choosing which posters you will or will not respond to and pointing out you are using your own free time will not cut the mustard here. We are all here of our own volition and can, within the site rules, and as faceless forum posters, say what we like. You don't have to like it. If you can back up what you have said with hard facts then everyone will sit up and listen. Agony Aunts (or Uncles) we don't need I'm afraid.

I would NOT telephone these people. It's likely that they are a Debt Collection Agency and will therefore tell you ANYTHING to get you to pay. Firstly, how long is it since you paid off the SLC (Student Loans Company)? If it's more than 6 years ago then this debt is likely to be Statue Barred and the Debt Collectors are "fishing". My recommendation would be to send "ati" a CCA request, asking to see the agreement and a statement, to establish IF you actually owe anyone anything. I successfully managed to get my charges from the Student Loans Co removed, having argued that they were unfair and unlawful. This might be worth trying too, once you have established what the debt is actually for. Good Luck.

patdavies - you are of course correct. However, I have found from personal experience that MANY organisations, including Councils, will not act on first stage complaints with regard to disability until "evidence" of being "registered disabled" is produced. It was with this in mind that I recommended using the DLA as it would be very difficult for the Council to dismiss the Op's brother. given that it now transpires he is "registered" disabled. I would recommend that the OP's brother gets a copy of the DDA (available online) and points out the the definitions to the Council, and as recommended previously, his local Councillor. I don't think I, or anyone else, stated anywhere that you have to be in receipt of DLA to be covered by DDA legislation.

Very confused here. And possibly wishing I hadn't got involved. Frankly, having checked your GFs account it's more than likely that three r four unpaid item disputes was why she was banned. Without PROOF ebay do not Ban for "threats". I know this for a fact having had threatening emails sent through ebay to me and the person concerned continued to trade, after getting a ticking off. To be honest, having checked the feedback ebay probably isn't the place for your girlfriend. 2 neutrals for not paying for winning bids in May, 2 negs for the same all within a month of registering. The feedback mentions getting abusive, etc. Please don't bother doing the same with me. Your Girlfriends account was only opened in April this year and by May/June it was NARU. I said at the beginning that I was trying to see both sides. I wish now I had been more objective.

Firstly I would ask on what grounds he has been refused? and whether those grounds could be disputed. Whilst disabled in this manner, and with evidence from the hospital specialist, your brother should qualify for Disability Living Allowance and therefore will be "Registered Disabled". This will not only be financially useful, but will assist a move as the Disability Discrimination Act can be used to assist your brother. I would advise an urgent appointment with Welfare Rights in his area (google or telephone directory) who will be able to advise further and can also help fill in forms etc and contact the Council. I do wish him and his family well at such a worrying time.

I was in a similar position last year. My advice is for Miss Y to see a solicitor as soon as possible. From my experience "amicable" splits rarely stay that way once money is getting split. It is certainly financially worthwhile for your friend to get proper legal advice. If the agreement frawn up when HER house was bought states he gets X amount or X percentage, then that's what he gets. When/if it's sold could well be in the agreement. As for the house they share, it all depends on who put what in, who pays what every month etc, whether there are any children in the relationship, who has paid what towards improving the value of the house (Home Improvements etc) and what is already in any agreement that may have been made. It would also depend on the way the deeds have the ownership as split. I was advised that when co-habiting couples split it is often seen as "Common Law" by barrack room lawyers, but in the TRUE eyes of the law there is no such thing and that basically what you put in you get out. Get Miss Y to see a solicitor as soon as possible. If Mr X is giving her a fair share he won't mind her checking things out legally will he? If he's none too pleased one might suggest he knows he's being less than fair. Without the full facts it's so hard to advise, however I'll always advocate proper legal advice in these instances and my opinion above is solely based on my own personal experience.

Also FYI If she transferred the money for the buggy to her bank account it would take 5-7 working days to arrive there. It would then take another 5-7 working days for her to send it back if she is to refund in the correct manner. She needs to have existing funds in her account to refund using the refund function and not only get her PP fees back for the transaction, but ensure YOU don't pay any on receipt either. Therefore, her story rings true and it would certainly be AT LEAST monday before she would have the money back in her PP account. Perhaps, considering she has small children etc, she really is busy. Perhaps she's a bit naffed that you paid for something and then asked for a refund on what appear to be false pretenses and so therefore doesn't want to talk to you. Especially if you have been bombarding her with emails and calls. Think about it. You bought it on 1st July. Even if you paid for immediately, given the slow timescales of PP transfers to/from bank accounts (which I'm sure you know as a seller yourself) it's unlikely she has the funds in to refund you yet.