For 18 yrs I have had a YAC 07xx number which was/is a private number that follows you wherever you are and that you can point to a landline phones. It used to be a great little service but nowadays such services are provided by smartphone apps and are generally much better and don't charge the caller an arm and a leg to call you. The YAC number has been free for 18 years however just recently I have been receiving threatening emails from eReceptionist saying I owe them £36. When I asked what this was for I got no response and when I asked for a tax invoice they refused to provide this. Instead I got an email saying 'congratulations, your account has been upgraded from YAC to eReceptionist' This morning I got a nasty email from eReceptionist saying that they had cancelled my account and we're going to refer it to debt collection and reflect this on my credit file. I spoke with actionfraud who told me they had received other reports and told me NOT to send any money to eReceptionist. Instead they took my details do that the police can come and take a statement as part of their investigations. I also referred the matter to ofcom who directed me to payphoneplus who regulates these organisations and they told me they would be writing to the parent company whom they told me was Vodafone. I just wondered if anybody else has had similar problems with these organisations

http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2012/dot1112.html DOT Fines Alitalia for Violating International Baggage Liability Rule The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today assessed a civil penalty of $80,000 against Alitalia, an airline based in Italy, for violating an international treaty by limiting reimbursement to passengers whose baggage was lost or delayed on Alitalia flights to and from the United States. “Consumers have a right to be treated fairly when they fly, and are entitled to appropriate compensation when their bags are lost or delayed,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We will continue to take enforcement action when airline baggage rules are violated.” Following complaints filed with DOT by consumers, the Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office investigated Alitalia’s baggage policy. It found that for a number of flights to and from the United States, Alitalia was limiting reimbursements to between $50 and $75 per day of delay regardless of the amount of the expenses claimed by passengers or whether they provided original receipts documenting their expenses. Alitalia’s policy violated a provision of the Montreal Convention, an international agreement setting rules for international air travel. The agreement says that carriers may not limit their liability for loss or damage to checked baggage to less than approximately $1,700 per person, an amount that fluctuates based on currency conversion rates. The consent order is available on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST 2012-0002.

Thank you

Black Horse obtained a CCJ against myself over 6 years ago which has now disappeared from my credit file. Black Horse have since recorded a further default for the original loan. Can they do this? Could they claim they are saying I defaulted against the CCJ if I didn't pay it all off? Thanks in Advance for any help

Do you mean should the order prevent me taking action against the bank or do you mean the order should place some instruction/agreement with the bank as well?

From my understanding, section 5-24 to 5.26 would apply. My concern is that I do not get tricked into signing something that leaves me silenced without the settlement sum. Any thoughts? http://www.hrothgar.co.uk/YAWS/ch_g/pt05.htm 5.26 (3) Where there is a written consent signed by a respondent acting in person the court will not normally accept it as sufficient unless the court is satisfied that the respondent understands the effect of the order either by reason of the circumstances (for example the respondent is himself a solicitor or barrister) or by means of other material (for example, the respondent's consent is given in reply to a letter explaining in simple terms the effect of the order).

Yes, I got that about a Tomlin Order. Thanks. But, I also found an article about the misuse of Tomlin Orders which concerns me. http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/gazette-in-practice/benchmarks/tomlin-a-guide-use-and-abuse

Bank Fodder, do you mind if I PM you my response to your post?

no, it's not my real name.

I am look for some advice. I have instigated proceedings in the small claims court against an employment agency and a bank. I worked at the bank as a contractor through the employment agency. The agency has agreed without prejudice to a settlement on condition that I desist all action against themselves and against the bank; and I am happy with the settlement. However, the Agency wants me to sign a Tomlin Order and then they will issue a cheque within 21 days. My question is, how do I protect myself from them failing to pay and then using the Tomlin Order to stop me continuing action? I have not seen the wording of the Tomlin Order as yet, so any advice would be very much appreciated. Also, any further insight into what a Tomlin Order is would also be very much appreciated. Thanks

This is a copy of a letter that went to Shelter, Nationwide and Utility Warehouse ----- Dear Sir It is with regret that I must inform you that I have cancelled my Direct Debit to yourselves. Shelter is a very worthwhile charity and I fully believe that it deserves support for the work it does for those people who are homeless - much moreso since the banks' failures have left more and more people homeless - ironically, numbering among them their own staff. Unfortunately, I allocate a set amount of money each year for charity and bills and this year the money allocated to charity has been eaten by unnecessary and unwarranted bank charges. To explain - my energy supplier, Utility Warehouse sent myself a bill last month informing me that they would take payment on or after 30th July of this year. They did not, they attempted to take the money one day early - on the evening of 29th July. Despite contacting my bankers - Nationwide, the bank levied massive and disproportionate charges for this failure. As I only have limited funds, something has had to suffer as a direct consequence of these unwarranted and disproportionate bank charges and unfortunately that is your charity. Might I suggest that you contact both Nationwide and Utility Warehouse and ask them if they will make good the charitable donations you have lost from myself. If you wish to release this information to the media, you may do so with my blessing. I have copied in my MP so he can be aware of how Nationwide's greed and disproportionate charges are impacting charities. with much regret

Why are you still pussy-footing around with them. Go to money claim.gov.uk, file a small claim for the return of the stolen money and your costs. Make it a joint action and includenthe DCA and sit back. Chances are they won't even go to court but if they do - show them your bank statements and correspondence and you'll get everything back pretty smartish!

To bring this thread to an end, Link appear to have got their knuckles severely rapped over this. In the meantime, the alleged debt went statute barred and Link continued to write. I made a complaint to the FOS. The FOS wrote to link and Link wrote to me saying the case had been closed.

Just to complete this thread I accepted the cheque for approximate £5k from MBNA

I believe it is a co-ordinated team of Trading Standards and Police. I went to Direct Gov UK web site and searched for Illegal Money Lending Team. It was ironic that a regulated bank (sic) is to be investigated by a team set up to deal with loan sharks and organised crime because the regulators have failed in their job - something about which I made an official complaint about the FSA. The person who took the complaint seemed a little concerned about the implications - especially if the press got hold of it. Imagine the headlines: "Regulated Bank to be investigated by Illegal Money Lending Team owing to failures in Government and FSA Regulation..." or better yet, "Has the Government got a 40% Stake in Organised Crime? Illegal Money Lending Team to investigate..." Either way, I will be interested to see. the Illegal Money Lending Team are to send somebody round to take a statement from myself. So let's see what happens...