http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn205/bladeboy2041/GoldfishDefault.jpg

Thanks for the tip. Got the account and uploaded the pic. Hope this works. Here's the letter from Goldfish.

Received a Default Notice from Goldfish today. Wanted to know if it is 'legally' sound, excuse my ignorance. I have it scanned as a PDF (could convert it to .jpg). How do I post/insert it so others can view and assess? Many thanks all.

MBNA are usually the worst of the lot. For some reason they enbark on a particularly aggressive form of recovery. They're also the worst for losing CCA agreements and then pasing off badly copied statements as and 'agreement' and then telling you they're taking your house and all that! They even sent me a copy of my property details, via the Land Registry, stating that they were going for a charging order!

I have a 'cashplus' mastercard and it has virtually all the same functionality of a normal credit card and yes, you can ask permission for it to be security for car hire. OK, so it does cost to use it in terms of monthly fee and all that but given that I can't have any conventional cards due to credit rating it's bloody useful. There is also no credit check.

Had a guy on the phone from MBNA today that sounded about ten years old. Anyway, I tried to make a pro-rata payment, via debit card, over the phone and the guy continually talked through me. He said the amount wasn't enough and that he wanted me to ask friends or relatives could give me more money. He also said I was in 'serious trouble'. When I explained that the purpose of a pro-rata payment system was that creditors were treated fairly and that he wanted 'preferential' treatment for MBNA he just talked through me again. More worryingly, he then claimed that his bank had been in touch with my employers to inform them that I'd been ingoring their calls!! I must get 10 plus calls a day from them even though I've written to them asking that the matter be dealt with purely by post because I'm a shift worker. I have also sent them a list of my creditors, amounts owed, budget and essential expenditure. They claim not to have received it! I came off the phone, after slamming it down, with my pulse rate soaring! Are they allowed to do this? What should I do now. Thanks

Hi there, just for those police officers that might read this. Bankruptcy does not cost you your job since it's a legal and legitimate way to deal with debt. The code of conduct regs have changed and Bankruptcy is not a misconduct offence. Company Directors, Solicitors and MP's however have a problem. The only way law enforcers can get into trouble is where there are instances of dishonesty, or, misrepresentation of the state of your affairs to the extent that is appears dishonest. Such as lying on a loan application for example. I know of a few police officers that have gone bankrupt and they did not get sacked - after all, what they were doing is a legal option.

Consumer credit counselling service (CCCS) are also ok, They have one advantage of having quite a bit of Kudos with the banks since they're a charity that the financial institutions contribute to. They aslo have their own in-house IVA section that put the charges on at the end and pay the creditors first.

Thanks guys for all the info, really starting to get me down all this but feeling better already with your posts. Will action the CCA's next. Should I tell the CCCS I'm doing this? Will it sour my relationship with them? Will it make the creditors less amenable to reduced payments etc?

Thanks guys, Will sort out all the companies into folders and then CCA them all. The cards, some of them anyway, are over ten years old now - could be interesting. If the worst comes to the worst I could go down the IVA route. However, I've heard that the creditors can insist on equity release down the line anticipating an increase in the value of your property - who would lend the 'equity release' to me I don't know. Could they also insist that I stop contributing to my occupational pension too?

Not been on here long and don't know too much but there's no way you should do that EVER! In the templates section I'm sure there's a letter regarding a specific reply to that, there's some civil procedures rules stuff in there too. Matt

Came across this site very recently so thought I’d ask for some advice. Have roughly 60-70k worth of unsecured debt – virtually all credit cards but one loan too. It’s all spread out over roughly 7 or so cards. On all of them I am way off the credit limit but because over the years I’ve never missed a payment on any of them they kept putting my credit limits up. Never been that good at finances and this has now come to a head to failure of my wife’s business and the resultant loss of her income. We’re fully up to date on all secured/priority debts such as council tax, mortgage and hp for the car we own. In fact, never missed a payment on any of them. I have secured employment grossing roughly £39k a year. Our house is owned although in negative equity due to a pattern of remortgaging over the years. Recently, prices in the area have slumped too. Statements can prove this. Also, have an endowment running that’s worth next to sod all. Other than that no savings other than occupational pension. Have an appointment with the CCS this Tuesday. Have roughly £350 spare income per month. Things came to a head just before Christmas when I was at that time unable to meet the payments on the card for the first time. NatWest (current account bank where salary is paid into) have been awkward. They have stung me for massive charges when direct debits have been refused etc. Anyway, I can get the charges back? Similarly, the credit card companies are racking up the interest and the penalties. Getting phone calls every five minutes and letter (some of which are in hand written envelopes) saying collectors will be calling blah, blah. Have unopened mail and to be honest I’m now very scared by whole situation. I have a series of letters prepared for posting that inform the companies that I’m in difficulty and seeking advice from the CCCS. I’ll also enclose a postal order for £1 to each one. I could really do with someone advising me as to the best strategy from here on in terms of what and when to do things/send letters etc. Would it adversely affect my standing with the CCCS if I CCA’d the credit card companies while at the same time seeking their [CCCS] advice? In desperation, Matt

In an nutshell, sent off a sorn and heard nothing back. Then a letter indicating that we'd incurred an £80 fine arrived. Wrote back explaining that we had in fact sent it in but it must have got lost in the post. Got letter back saying it was our responsibility to chase up the DVLA if no acknowledgment was received from them and on that basis the fine was still payable. Talking about having your administrative cake and eat it - you have to chase them up!? If the initial SORN got lost and they claim to have never received it then are we still liable. Seems a bit harsh.