Can anyone give me the name of banks that will give a non status account with cheque book and cash card? it worries me that Barclays can just help themselves, first step is a new account!

We moved into a smaller house late December 06. At our old house all the utility bills were in my wifes name, i gave her house keeping money to cover them. We read the meters and wrote down the readings at both properties and informed our utility company. In February I was surprised to recieve an estimated bill which read higher than the energy used and the bill was addressed to me from N Power for £182 as our company was powergen. So I twigged the old lady who lived here must have been with N power and gave them my name and her meter reading when she moved. We changed energy suppliers and put the bills in my wifes name. Then I got final bills for £227 from Powergen which were still estimated, the new supplier was cheaper so I telephoned Powergen to correct the mistake, they said the new supplier was resposible for making the reading, but no-one had called to read the meter! I refused to pay the bill until it was revised to my readings and everything wenmt quiet. Then in September, I got several new bills with the estimated part against the reading, but for the same amount. I rand and the call center kid basically didn't get it and couldn't supply stuff like; A contract signed by me or a transcript of me asking powergen to supply. A statement taking into account the actual readings at change over of supplier. The correct readings at the time of change over. Why an estimated reading had evolved into a actual meter reading, who had read the meter? HA week ago I got a nasty letter from UDS demanding payment, I just wrote on it ' Please supply in writing a Contract signed by me, revised bill, actual meter reading and who made the reading?' and sent it back in the prepay envelope. A lady from UDS left 2 messages 'about the letter I sent back' on my answering machine while I was out. Then today I got a letter from Utility Debt Services stating INTENTION OF COURT ACTION Solicitors Local Rep may call at your home to secure payment-there may be a charge for missed visits (!) You may be asked to appear in front of a district judge whom we will notify that you have had every opportunity to discuss, dispute or settle this claim but have chosen not to! I feel I am being bullied into paying for power that I havent consumed. We are £400 in credit with our new company, whilst paying a fraction of what Powergen are demanding for less than a quarter. Killer letter anyone?

I got into money problems earlier this year, my son's kidneys failed, my wife had a nervous breakdown and gave up her job and I missed payments with a few lenders. I followed advice on here and sent CCAs to 2 of my biggest lenders, they are both in default, more on that later, but my Barclaycard was stopped and I was sent a default notice, but the statements kept coming as normal, with £12 charges added and Barclaycard wrote and said they were taking the money without my permission from my Barclays Bank account, because they could. I got lazy and left it that way, they just wrote every month and took £25 or so out of my Barclays bank account, I asked for bank charges totalling £440 to be refunded and applied against the balance of £700 owing, but they said they would refund £140 if I paid off the whole balance. Then someone who sounded like they were Indian rang and wanted me to make a card payment over the phone, I refused saying they were already helping themselves. Since then a very stroppy woman has been phoning several times a day and basically having a row with me because I refuse to pay them anything over the phone. My son is at home on Dyalasis and there are nurses around every day, the messages left on my answering machine are getting a bit embarrassing, I can't get choose to refuse because BT misold me a 'feature line' which doesn't support any actual features, but thats another story. Any advice?