I have already asked them for proof of the debt several times, but they seem to just be ignoring me. Perhaps I've been going wrong by just replying to their emails, maybe I should write to them to ask for it? I'm keen to report them for harassment, I just don't know what the correct channels to go through are. They have p*ssed me off enough now for me to go out of my way to get back at them, even if it's a hassle for me. Thanks for your replies btw

Yes indeed. The original debt was a payday loan (yeah I know, I'm stupid!)

Hi, A little while back I started receiving emails and phone calls from a DCA called Credit Resource Solutions, asking for money. It relates to a company that I have previously had a debt with, but I'm almost certain I cleared the debt in full, and have had no dealing with said company for at least a couple of years. The sum is only £10, but it's the principle rather the money that is concerning me here. I asked for a statement of account from the original creditor, showing all payments, but nothing has been forthcoming. I also requested that any contact from them should be by post. Next, I emailed CRS warning them that I would consider any further contact from them as unlawful harrassment. This has done nothing to stop them, and I am still receiving regular emails from them, as well as numerous phone calls, most of which are silent. What is my best course of action here? I have read that harrassment from debt collectors is a criminal offence under the Administration of Justice Act 1970. So who should I be reporting them to? The police? Trading standards? As I've said, it's not the money that worries me, but I just want to get back at these scumbags and stop them contacting me. If I find out that I do indeed owe the original creditor, I will happily pay, but I refuse to give anything to CRS after dealing with me so appallingly. Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks for replying. Actually he never once inspected the property. The only times he visited were when the boiler broke, so we didnt see him, or hear from him at all during the summer, but he would sometimes be round several times in a week during the winter. Whenever we knew he was coming we tidied up, but admittedly the garden was always in a state. I have no problem with him saying that on the reference form. What I do have a problem with is the rent thing. As far as i'm concerned, if it was agreed between both parties that the new rent date would be the 8th, and we always paid on or by the 8th for the second year, then we have never been late with the rent. Either he hasnt properly explained the situation or homelet are extremely harsh with what they view as 'late' payment. Basically i'm just annoyed at the current LL for giving us a bad reference as he never complained about anything we did, was always friendly with us, and even told my housemate, when we told him we were moving out, good luck to us and that he would give us a good reference! Anyway the LA came back to us today and said the landlady would agree to let us move in if we provide a guarantor and pay an extra months rent (£1250) up front. Seems a bit much, but i dont think we can push our luck by trying to negotiate. Its a lot of money but i think we'll be able to pull it together. Its just a relief to have somewhere, even if its going to make things tough financially.

Hi. So me and two friends have been living as joint tenants for 2 years, and now we are looking to move out and find a new place. We submitted tenant reference forms a couple of weeks ago. The credit and employment checks came back fine, but apparently our landlord gave us a bad reference. The homelet forms came back to the estate agent saying we dont pay the rent on time, the house is not well maintained, and he wouldnt recommend us as tenants. Now the rent has always been paid. We moved in on the 2nd of the month, and for the first year we paid on the 2nd without fail. At the beginning of the second year, one of my housemates (the one who actually transfers the money to the landlords account) changed jobs. He phoned the landlord and asked if he could move the payment date to the 8th as it would be more convenient. The landlord agreed to this, and we have kept up payments on the 8th as agreed. Now the references have come back as saying we are late with the rent. I phoned the landlord to discuss this (he has always been amicable with us), and he said he would phone homelet and explain that the payments had been satisfactory. I dont believe he would lie about this. As for the upkeep of the house and garden, it is sometimes messy. However, should we really be declined tenancy for this? He has not ever complained that the house is messy, and we will of course clean the property before we leave. In terms of damage, I can think of only two things which are broken, a curtain rail, and 2 knobs on the oven. We intend to get these fixed before leaving, but even if we dont, surely this is what a deposit is for? I would add that the house was hardly in prime condition when we moved in. Frankly the place is a bit of a dump. The kitchen was dirty when we moved in, there are lots of holes in the floorboards, the washing machine smells like sewage when you use it, the doors dont shut properly. I could go on. It seems pretty cheeky to say that the house is poorly maintained by us when he has clearly put no effort into maintaining it in the past. In addition we have gone a sum total of around 2 months (in 2 years) without heating, and some without hot water. On each occasion it has broken we have gone longer than i deem acceptable before having it fixed. We have never complained about any of this. The irony is that the only one of the three references that we were sure would be fine was the landlord. We always paid the rent on time, we got on with him well, and we only ever contacted him when the heating broke down. Basically im looking for any advice. Who makes the final decision? Homelet, estate agents or landlord/lady? If we dont get this place, presumably well struggle to get another place, and then we'll be without any accommodation. I just feel really cheated. I dont think weve done anything wrong, and the guy has basically screwed us out of renting anywhere again for at least three years. Help me please! PS. Sorry for the essay

I'm sorry, when you say "Did they originaly include them with the SAR?", what do you mean? A list of charges? If so, then yes they did. However this was a good couple of years ago, and stupidly i've since binned them. They did reply when I wrote to them previously, but again this was a couple of years ago (during the hold for the test case). They gave the standard rebuttal, told me to wait for the court outcome etc. When the court case was over I think they wrote again (can't find that letter either), saying that the charges are fair, you've no case. They did write in the original letter that 'it appears you are in financial hardship', which was true then, and is still the case now. However this is the first time I've attacked from the hardship angle. I've read of some people going straight for the CEO of the company and having success, so I'm going to give that a shot and then go to the Ombudsman if that fails. Ta for the link, looks like some useful stuff in there.

As far as I can tell from the letters I have here, they are collecting on behalf of Lloyds. Their letters contain a reference number, and say amount due to Lloyds TSB. They say that payment must be made to them, however I have read people on this forum say that you should never pay a DCA, always pay the creditor directly. What would you advise? I'm a little confused about this though, as when they wrote back to me from the CCA request they said they had requested the documentation from their client. They also returned my £1 cheque. Does this just mean that they have contacted Lloyds and Lloyds have ignored it because it's a bank account debt? As for the bank charges, I am currently composing an email to the CEO asking for them back. I have written to Lloyds before asking for the charges to be repaid with no success. What are my chances of getting anything back do you think? And yes, I'm certain that a large portion of the debt is from charges. The total amount owed is £4860. I can't remember the exact amount I claimed for when I last wrote to them (it was a while ago), but it was certainly several thousand. At one point I was being charged £90-£120 month after month. Unfortunately I don't have the statements they sent me when I last did a SAR, is there any way to get a list of charges without doing this? It's £10 that I could really do without spending! Your time is much appreciated

It was an account with an overdraft. I got stuck in a cycle of bank charges and ended up going way over my limit. Eventually they closed the account. I didn't realise that CCA's didn't apply to bank accounts. I'm not very good with all this type of thing I'm afraid. How can I be sure these people actually own the debt?

Hello, I have a debt from a now closed Lloyds bank account that has been passed to Robinson Way Debt Collectors. I've been reading around the site and used your template to send a CCA request. A week or so later they responded saying they had received my request. I have received no agreement from them and they have since sent two more letters: one threatening a home visit, and another 'friendly' one entitled 'Where have we gone wrong', saying we wil listen to your circumstances, we know how hard it is being in debt etc etc. I think it's a sort of good cop, bad cop thing. Anyway, can someone advise where to go from here, what letter I need to send them now. Any advice is much appreciated James

ok, many thanks once again mossy

thanks for your replies. Mossy- ive never heard of this pro-forma thing, just had a quick google of it. Can you tell me if ive got the right idea of what will happen. phone my insurers, get their recomended repairer. Go to that garage and ask for a proforma invoice for 500 pounds (thats my excess). Send this to diamond (the third party insurer). Wait for them to respond. Once theyve agreed to pay, take my car into the garage, they repair, i pay nothing. Pay for a hire/courtesy car out of my own pocket, since courtesy car is not included in my policy. Claim back cost of hire car from diamond. Where does personal injury claim fit into this? Sorry if ive got any of this wrong, as i said im rather inexperienced in these matters. Appreciate your time

hi, need some advice please on an accident that happened yesterday. Basically i stopped fairly sharply at a zebra crossing and a lady behind hit me, quite hard. Damage is some crumpled bodywork at the rear, number plate smashed etc. Car still perfectly driveable. As far as im concerned its a clear case of being the fault of the third party. I was under the impression that i have to pay an excess, however my father has advised me and seems adamant i should not have to as it wasnt my fault. Is there anyway i can not pay it? Also, if i do have to pay it, it may have to wait a month or so as i havent got the 500 quid needed at the moment. Will the insurers be ok with this? I also (foolishly) declined courtesy car option on my premium. Does anyone know how much one is likely to cost? And how long my car is likely to be off the road? Any advice appreciated, and sorry if these are basic questions, im not exactly knowledgable in this area

Yes the £401 was a full and final settlement. No, nothing in writing from JBDR Yes, total payment made on tuesday was £601 (obviously i wouldnt have paid the £401 if id known the £200 had been taken) Sorry but im not sure exactly what you mean with the last 2 questions. I had no agreed payment plan with them. The £200 was supposed to be the initial payment

For info, i bank with Natwest

Appreciate your replies, ill get onto the bank again and see what they say.

Just spoken to my bank and they say they cant refund anything since ive given them my card details at some point. Spoken to JBDR and needless to say the are doing nothing to help.

Hi I had an account with JBDR in Glasgow. I was due to get a loan through on the Friday, however it didnt go through, so i spoke to JBDR and gave them my card details (foolishly), and they said theyd put it through on Monday. The loan still hadnt cleared by Monday, so they phoned me back and said it had been declined. I apologised and said it should be there by the Tuesday. He said that was no good and if i didnt pay by 4pm that day (monday), the account would be defaulted. I made no further paymnet arrangement, and did not give them any instructions to take payment with my card I phoned up on tuesday to make the payment and was offered a settlement of £401, which i decided to take. Only later did i discover that a few hours earlier they had taken a payment of £200 with my debit card, without my permission, and they did not tell me this when i spoke to them on my phone. Is there anything i can do about this? The £200 less in my account has left me shafted for some important bills. Can they get away with taking money from my account without my explicit permission?