Hello, I need some advice as to what people think I should or shouldn't be doing next... The background: I have a fixed rate personal loan with Egg with c. £10k outstanding on it down from an original £20k. Due to much reduced financial circumstances I've been unable to make payments for a few months. I cca'd them and the agreement is fully compliant with no breaches. I offered to pay them 50% of the monthly loan amount which they declined (unbeleivable!) and they have now issued a formal Default Notice demanding full payment of the entire loan within 28 days. I assume the next steps will be a default registered on my previously unblemished credit record, followed by the start of debt collection proceedings. My questions are these: 1. Should I pre-empt them and sign up to a debt management plan? 2. If so, who? 3. Or should I sit tight and wait until the unpleasantness starts with a DCA? Would welcome some thoughts/advice/experience in what the best course of action should be. Regards, Tony.

Following a CCA request, I've established a large number of significant breaches in the agreement I have for my MBNA Credit Card that render it unenforceable. I seek a template letter to point out their breaches (which are numerous) and advise them that I'm ceasing payments and seek a write off of the outstanding balance. Is there a suitable template letter on this site please? Regards, Tony.

Thanks Sharpman. Good advice. I do know exactly what the breaches are so I don't need advise on the specifics of the agreements I just need a template letter to start the ball rolling. Tony.

Hello, This may not be the right thread but I hope someone can point me in the right direction. Following a CCA request I have discovered significant breaches in two credit card agreements with MBNA and Citi which I believe make them totally unenforceable. I have now ceased repayments on both cards, but I want to get this sorted before the DCA's step in and before I get defaults placed on my very clean credit record. So my question is this: Is there a template letter that I can now use to write to them to advise them of the unenforceability of the agreements? Help please? Tony.

What firm are you trying out?

They've just reduced their charges to £295.00 per case across the board. I asked if they could provide references but they pointed out that as they only really started in April, the cases they're dealing with are only now just starting to come to fruition. They also (correctly I assume) that data protection regs would prevent them from offering out their customer details etc. Their website is slick and they appear professional. They have Ministry of Justice authorisation and OFT registration. They are very friendly on the phone. The suggestion on these forums is that you could do it yourself. Anyone could do a CCA and get their agreement sent to them, however you really do need an expert to decide if the breaches are strong enough to force a lender into capitulation. I've got several potential agreements that could benefit from scrutiny. May try them with one initially and see what happens. Tony.

Hello Hopster, Yes I got your reply - thanks very much. Please keep me posted. I will be very interested to see how you get on. I'm chatting to an organisation called Credit Clear. I'm very tempted... Regards, Tony.

Hello, Are there any subscribers out there who have any experience of the suggested loopholes in the Consumer Credit Act that allow for debt to be written off and in some cases even refunds of past payments. There are a number of firms offering this service (for quite hefty fees). Do they work? Is it a [problem]? Tony.

After several weeks of phone calls and providing more info my bank account was fully credited today! So a after a bit of perseverance it would seem that in some circumstances the Visa Chargeback scheme actually provides some protection akin to that of a credit card. I'm very happy with the outcome.

Update time: Managed to finally track down "Debit Card Services" at Barclays who sent me a form for signature which was pretty much just a disclaimer giving them certain rights if we're making a fraudulent claim etc. Form duly signed and returned to them together with supporting documentation. So hopeful of resolution over the next 10 days. Fingers crossed...

Hello, Have a look at this separate thread I started about this subject last week. There is some useful comments that hopefully will assist you. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-consumer-issues/125992-via-debit-card-chargeback.html Best of luck.

Spoke to my bank this morning (Barclays). Suffice to say that the Customer Service guy I spoke to had never heard of it but managed to escalate it up to a level where there was some acknowledgement of its existance. They won't actually embrace any claim until such time as the date I was due to take the flights has elapsed (6 Feb) but will process the claim then. This is quite an encouraging step (I think). Amazing how little is known about this scheme. Its almost the same level of protection as a credit card potentially yet its not widely publicised. Why is that?

Has anybody heard of the Visa Debit Card Chargeback scheme? I've read that this little known scheme in effect offers the same protection as a credit card would to someone who uses a debit card and then for some reason the supplier fails to deliver. Anyone know anything?

Thanks for that. Will defo explore that possibility.

As Maxjet were a US based carrier they don't appear to be members of ATOL or any other UK regulatory authorities. I booked direct with them and not via a Travel Agent. The phone line on the website is just a recorded message with no further real help and the email address just sends an unhelpful auto-reply. Very frustrating.

For the last year I've been saving to take the Missus to Las Vegas for our 25th Anniversary in Feb 2008. As an extra treat, I also decided to book the US based business class only airline Maxjet. So in November, I duly paid £1300.00 via my debit card. You may be aware that Maxjet have just filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection in the US. (In effect the equivalent of Creditors Voluntary Liquidatin in the UK). I have no recourse to a credit card as I used a Debit Card. My Travel insurance doesn't cover an airline actually ceasing to trade. As they are a US based company they don't appear to have the ATOL/ABTA bond/security requirements. To say the wife is a bit upset woud be a massive understatement. Has anyone got any suggestions as to what I should do to try and get my money back?

Keep them safe and wrapped in cotton wool!

Many thanks to you all for your kind words! I'm feeling very smug (which is great) but I'm also mindful that I allowed Lowells to cause me one or two sleepless nights along the way. What a find this website forum this is! Merry Xmas all!

Job done! Went through the Lowells complaints procedure (a waste of two weeks) but have today got a letter from them confirming their files are now closed! This wouldn't have happened without the knowledge and support of the the clever people on this site - so many thanks to one and all - and seasons greetings to you all. Lowells can be beaten - and thats the best Xmas pressie of all! Cheers!

I'm no expert here, but I think you will find that Eversheds are purely solicitors and therefore they will still probably be acting on behalf of the original lenders. As far as I know they are not the sort of organisation that would acquire debts. They are not DCA's. I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong.

I most certainly will! Wrapped in Cotton Wool (and scaned and saved). Cheers!

Hello again to everyone. I thought it was an idea to give you an update: I wrote to Mackenzie Hall in line with the template suggested in this forum and they replied within two days confirming that I will not hear from them again. Hurrah!! So one down, just one to go - Lowells! These people can be beaten. But I couldn't have done it without the superb knowledge available from everyone on this site. So thank you! All said and done, it does have a slightly hollow victory as the debt was never owed in the first place but right this minute there is a sense of relief that the harrassment is coming to an end. Regards, Tony.

Thanks to EVERYONE for your replies this morning, its been most helpful. I've decided to send the appropriate letter to Mackenzie Hall but I'm going to wait another week or so before I write to Lowells as I want to wait the full 30 + 12 days which is not quite there yet. Is that a sensible course? I'm still intrigued by the prospect of them being potentially guilty of a criminal offence - has anyone got any experience of making this stick and involving the Police or is it just theory thats never been tested?

Hello All, This is my first posting and for the last few months I've been watching with keen interest the numerous postings on this great site about Lowells. Based upon some of the things I've been reading, I have every reason to believe that they have have now just gone one step too far in their dealings with me and I'm looking for some guidance as to the best course of action open to me. First of all some brief background... I started being harrassed by the Lowells, Hamptons, Red threatograms about a year ago over a disputed Barclaycard debt. The debt has been consistently denied as its not owed. The letters from these people get increasingly aggressive to the point where they seem to be just about to take legal action but then of course they don't (because they can't prove the debt). Then the merry-go-round just starts up all over again. For the record, my financial position is such that if I honestly thought I owed Barclaycard (or their alleged assignees) the money I would pay it immediately. I would be happier spending the money (if I had to) on lawyers. That's the background done, now to the present state of play... On 15th October I wrote (enclosing my PO for £1.00) requesting a copy of the CCA. Got the typical reply a day later about "endeavouring" to do so within 12 days etc. Suffice to say, its now five weeks later I've not heard any further from them. However, last week a firm of solicitors called MacKenzie Hall phoned me about the debt (which was a tad surprising given that I was under the impression that until they produced the CCA they couldn't take any further action). Anyway the debt was duly denied and in yesterdays post came a letter from Mackenzie Hall requesting payment or court action blah blah blah. So now what do I do? I've seen suggestions on some threads here that Lowells may actually be committing a criminal offence? If that's true, then I would love to go to the police and make a complaint - but on what grounds? I would want to make sure that I had it exactly right as to the offence they may be guilty of as it would be great for these people to be on the receiving end of some harrassment for a change. What other avenues are open to me? I've seen some very mixed messages on here about the relative effectiveness/knowledge of Trading Standards - so would that be a waste of time? Should I approach the OFT or the FSA? They're also presumably in breach of some Data Protection regulations if they've passed my details onto MacKenzie Hall. Or perhaps in the first instance I should write direct to Lowells to make them aware of what I may do and give them seven days to end this harrassment once and for all. Perhaps I ought to make sure that MacKenzie Hall are made aware that as they are a party to any alleged breaches that they are potentially in the firing line too? Would welcome advice, guidlines, opinions etc.