Sorry dx, I'm not ignoring this, my laptop stopped working yesterday so I'm a bit stuffed on scans atm. Will upload as soon as I can.

Thanks for the reply DX. I know, but at the time I'd have been a mess if it had become litigious. Probably still would tbh, but I feel more up to dealing with DCA than the OC for some reason. I'll scan up later, not at home for a while.

Hi, I'm hoping for a bit of advice please. After some very distressing problems many years ago that caused us a significant amount of financial hardship, I dealt with our cards years ago with the help and support of the people on this site. However, I gave up on some having got nowhere with them (sorted all of my husband's, but ran out of oomph when it came to mine), and stopping paying everyone who didn't comply with CCAs etc was just too much for me. As a result of this, I've been paying Tesco £11ish a month for the last 10+ years on what was a 7k debt. I've been ok with this as it was easier than dealing with the stress and the impact it was having on my health tbh. However...Intrum came on the scene a while ago saying they owned the debt and I needed to pay them. Lots and lots of (ignored by me as I was still paying Tesco) letters from them later, I CCA'd them. After a few weeks I received a pack containing a few statements from 06/07, some generic terms and conditions, and a paragraph stating "The original creditor's response is as follows: We have enclosed the copy of agreement and the Terms and Conditions. We have also enclosed Statement of accounts. The reason for a difference in the closing balance of the statement is due to the customer continuing to make payments on the account from 2007 until the sale in 2019. We have provided the last payment statement from Jan 19 which shows balance of X, to which again the reason this is different from X is due to the customer continuing to pay from the determination date in October 2018." I've checked back over the correspondence I had with Tesco way back when, and aside from an unfulfilled CCA, there is also an unfulfilled SAR from 2009. I've never had a signed agreement from them. Also (and don't think I'm not kicking myself over this), about 2 years ago when everything was just ticking along, I was clearing out and decided that I didn't need paperwork from a decade ago on stuff that was in status quo, so I don't think I have any of the stuff they've sent me previously. I know, I know, you don't need to tell me. Having received the little pack of useless info from Intrum in August I've not responded at all, however I have kept up the payments to Tesco which are not being returned to my account, so they are going somewhere (where if they no longer own the account?). A couple of weeks ago I had a letter from Global Debt Recovery which I'm guessing is to do with this. No information other than a phone number and a request to call them, which obviously I haven't. I found the letter again today and it's prompted me to see what, if anything I should do. I'm feeling more up to getting on top of this now, and am wondering what my next step should be? I used to know what I needed to do, but so much time has passed I'm wondering if things have changed, hence the request for advice. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Ahh, didn't think of that! Thanks anyway

If anyone knows of a good one, I'd really appreciate a number or URL please. OH is likely to need to start a constructive dismissal claim in the very near future, and I'd much rather use someone based on a recommendation than just pick one at random. Thanks Lexis x

I loooove the original glazed ones They're much better if you can get them hot rather than from the chillers in Tesco etc. On our very occasional trips to London we'll nip to Harrods to browse the food halls (aka gawp at people who are genuinely doing their weekly shop there), and you are often offered a freebie off the rack whilst queing for one (yes, we have still bought them afterwards!) I have worked out a very close recipe to them though, so I can make a ton in the comfort of my own home. Which is handy really, cos if I make them and eat them I can't get out the house anyway

Hi again I just thought I'd update a bit on this... It seems there may be a couple of fairly substantial issues with the paperwork Halifax have sent (in our favour), so the sols have asked for more time and are requesting docs from the bank. I'm not sure how much it's ok to explain, so I'll just leave it at that for the minute. As soon as I can post more details I will in case it helps anyone in the same situation. It's not at all cut and dried, but at this precise moment it's looking better for us than them. Lexis x Ps - Unfortunately OH's grandmother passed away last week, so not a great couple of weeks what with that and my uncle dying.

Hi Ford Hopefully she's on the mend - she's 96 and has been taken by ambulance to the hospital twice in the last fortnight, but appears to have the constitution of a cyborg and keeps coming back from the brink! It's just very worrying for all of us! I'm feeling much better about this. I've spoken to the solicitors and they've said due to the PPI, which appears to have been mis-sold, and a couple of other bits and pieces which look iffy, that we should be defending and disputing the claim in full. It helps that we can show apart from these blips in payments, OH has been paying for the last 4 years. The balance has gone down from around 9k to around 6, so he can show he's not been trying to avoid etc. I've filed the acknowledgement just now (big sigh of relief there, my stress levels have been through the roof trying to work out what to do before the deadline of tomorrow), so we have another couple of weeks to sort things out further. I will keep updating as and when I have new info. Lexis

adridude - did you steal my lime or did I steal yours?

Hi again Sorry for delay in replying, OH's grandmother was rushed into hosp on Friday - this has not been a good couple of weeks! As far as I can see, none of the 3 BOS/HBOS accounts show a DN being issued in the logs I've received. There's one that could possibly refer to it on one of the other BOS accounts, but it's something like 4 years before a default was actually issued, and it seems to just say Def req (or similar), so your guess is as good as mine. I just can't find anything in this particular account's logs though that even hints at a default letter. About to call the sols to see what's what. I'll update when I know more.

Hmm, thought so. They may have a problem showing one was sent though unless they've held something back from the SAR, as I couldn't find reference to it in the mountain of stuff they sent me. With regards payments, there is no problem keeping up. It was genuinely an error (on our part) as OH was unaware there was an end date to the SO he'd set up. Circumstances meant he didn't chase it quickly, but the SO is back in place and he's ensured there is no cancellation/end date, so there is no reason that payments would be missed again. There was no attempt to not pay (I know you're not suggesting that, but I feel I should clarify!), it's just unfortunate timing that things went awry with the bank at the same time as things started getting problematic personally, which meant this got stuffed in a drawer rather than dealt with.

Hi Yes it is however I'm not at all convinced they're actually aware that the payments have been restarted. My fault completely for not writing to them and just getting OH to set it up (seriously, the one time I let replying slide this happens!), but knowing how banks generally don't know their a**e from their elbow, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the debt dept hasn't communicated with the legal dept (or similar). This is why I'm still thinking about whether it can be avoided by clarifying OH's willingness to pay as per one of the options on the claim form. Just as an aside, I don't suppose you (or anyone else for that matter) knows if it's possible to get a genuine copy of a default notice? I honestly thought I'd seen one relating to this account, but I can't find it, and looking at dates I'd lay odds on it being issued when OH wasn't keeping paperwork. Of course there's nothing in the SAR, but also no notes of it either. What I did find was a default from another BOS account which was so wrong it's ridiculous (dated 16th, delivered 20th, remedy by 17th - all dated same month!). My thought is if BOS were chucking out this sort of toot, it's likely this one is also wrong. Only trouble is I have no way of checking without sight of an actual copy. Thanks very much for the link etc, I'll do some reading tonight - last night was a bust as I didn't get back till late.

Hi Ford Slightly panicking! I'm having a little to and fro with sols at the moment as this (if it goes down the court route) will be over the small claims threshold. I've got till the 20th before OH has to acknowledge, but at the moment I still don't know which way to go. I have been going through the old paperwork though which has ended up really irritating me. They did this whole shebang a while ago, right up to the point of sending a NIP if full payment wasn't received; OH just carried on with the agreed payment plan payments and they went no further. Where's the consistency?? Also, I'm wondering if accepting and asking to pay in instalments is even an option given that when OH realised what had happened to the SO he set it up again and they are (and were before the final warning letter) being paid again. This is just too far out of my knowledge base, and I feel like we were just getting to the end of the tunnel when we're now being dragged back down. Anyway, got a funeral to go to today so it could be worse I suppose. Thanks again for your suggestions, I'll research what you've said when I get back later (no idea what a time order is, but it sounds interesting!)

Thanks Andy I've got the SAR out and will be looking through it tonight. Hopefully that will nudge us towards one decision or another.

Thanks so much for getting back Ford. The claim was dated 1st Feb, arrived yesterday so by my reckoning the deadline is the 20th. Service has not yet been acknowledged online as I just don't know whether to do the 'acknowledge debt but need time to pay' or 'disagree with the claim' due to charges etc - I don't even know if that would be a reason to disagree tbh. Regarding the PPI, yes, it would cancel out the claim and then some. At my last estimate we'd end up about £4k in the black - £6k if charges were upheld too. Of course though I may have screwed that up by leaving it too long, plus I've seen it can take a year to get an answer from the FOS so I don't think I could rely on them helping me in time:) My husband is more than happy to try and negotiate a payment as we already have one in place. I do wonder whether it's just a case of the left hand not know what the right is doing, and that they are unaware that the payments were re-set as soon as he realised they'd stopped. The back payment was made in mid-December, with the next payment set up for the 15th Jan (which is when payments were originally before the SO was ended). Their letter was dated 18th Jan, so maybe they simply did not check. If we tried to negotiate, could I still escalate the PPI to the FOS do you think, or are we simply admitting the whole lot if we go down the negotiation route? If it's a choice of one or the other I'd rather try and negotiate in order to stave off the possibility of a CCJ and lose the option of going for the PPI. My husband was intending to phone Halifax this lunchtime (recording the call of course) to try and talk to someone to guage whether it's worth offering payments. I'm heading into the loft when he gets back (I can't get in there!) to get all the paperwork, as although I've said the default is ok, I can't find any info on it which is odd, so I want to double check. Oh, one last point is that the claim is for more than £5k, so no small claims. I have no idea if that makes a difference to what route we should take.. Thanks again.

Hi again Sorry, I'm bumping to see if anyone has any further input with this? I'm very concerned about it and would really appreciate some help. We're just getting to the point where several defaults will be dropping off in 6 months, we're starting to see light at the end of a 12 year tunnel, and everything apart from this one account are at least ticking along. I'll be devastated if my OH ends up with a CCJ all because I didn't get a letter posted. Please, any suggestions on how we might avoid that would be very gratefully received.

Thanks Ford, I appreciate your comments. Do you think there is a way out of this that does not involve my OH ending up with a CCJ? That could be very detrimental to his job... I've had a quick Google as I didn't know what an agreed consent order was, but I still don't know if that can be done without the need for court? Very frustrated with myself at the moment. The one time I ignore a threat from a scummy DCA and it bites us on the backside. Especially annoyed as they've threatened this so many times but every other time I've written and it's been left alone for a while by them, which kind of lulls you into thinking they're all threats made purely with the intention of getting money easily as opposed to actually taking you to court.

Hi Personally I'd hold fire on a rude letter. When I get something in the post that incenses me, I bash out a response full of venom and sarcasm, then give it 24 hours and look at it again when the anger has died down a bit. Usually I'll find I can get the same point across without the venom and with a touch less sarcasm (not much though;)), which I feel will get me further than just spitting feathers at them. I can't claim to know much about PPI - in fact I have probably 10K tied up in my OH's Halifax card which I have let languish as I'm so unsure of it - but I do know if you don't succeed with the creditor it's time to trundle off to the FOS with your claim. Looking at your last message I'd guess you can state they reneged on the insurance on the loan. Have you received the SAR back yet? This should show what they mean by their 'cross in a box'. Is it possible it was pre-ticked? If so I believe that's trouble for them. Again, I'd probably go down the FOS route with that one too, because as you say, it would seem fairly clear that if you know you have an insurance product that will help you that you would use it, not struggle on without trying to claim - especially when you did try to claim on the loan. The forms for it can all be downloaded (probably from the libraries here, but also I think from the FOS) so you don't have to go writing letters to the FOS, you're simply answering set questions. Try and keep calm though; I know it feels like they are trying to mess with you personally, but honestly they treat everyone with the same level of contempt and ignorance, and they'll insist black is white if they need to in order to get money from you.

OH has just received a Claim Form from the HBOS regarding this account. We found out recently that about 6 months of payments (on a payment plan) were missed. This was due to the standing order having an end date, which OH was unaware of. Unfortunately we 'forgot' to give BOS a new address when we moved and the redirect finished last year, so we only got a reminder letter after it had already been missed for months after updating details for another BOS account. This letter (sent beginning of Dec if memory serves) was saying court action would be started immediately if the full amount wasn't paid, and was from Blair Oliver Scott but using halifax headed paper, which straight away made me think it was just a threat as they've done this before and never gone anywhere with it. As we've had several of these court letters before which have never amounted to anything, we decided on that basis that it was another bluff and OH just paid the overdue amount. He then received another letter two weeks ago thanking him for the payment but stating that they required the full amount or they would start court proceedings. Again, as we've had this before, and as the previous letter stated that court action would be started if full payment wasn't received, we figured it was another bluster as why would they send another warning when they've already stated they'd be starting court action, which by rights should have happened a good month ago. I did have a letter to send back to them ready to go, but unfortunately my father has been very ill and then my uncle died, and the letter has sat on my laptop rather than being posted. Consequently, we now have a claim form. I realise the whole 'we had stuff on' is not going to cut any mustard in a court, that's just there fyi to explain why I didn't get on it immediately. First off, is there any point in my husband phoning them to try and work this out? The payment plan payments were re-started as soon as he realised what had happened, and as I said the missed payments were also paid. Could this be stopped with a phone call, or has it gone too far? This account has a proper CCA and default, however there are a couple of thousand pounds of charges and approx £10k of PPI on the balance of 6k or so. There are problems with this too though. I put in a claim for the full amount of charges about 18 months ago, and immediately my husband recieved £400 odd into his account as payment. This was not enough and he didn't formally accept it, but also didn't tell them it was only accepted as part payment. The PPI has been started, and the letter sent to Halifax. They have refused it, again this was about 18 months ago. As I am/was very unsure of how to deal with PPI/Charges, I have not sent it on to the fos. Have I missed the boat on that? He is willing to carry on paying them as it's kosher, and I see on the form it says 'if you agree with the claim and are asking for time to pay'. Would this be the same as a payment plan to them, and would we still be able to tell them what he can afford (we are not in a situation to up the amount, and really should reduce it as money is very tight!)? Also, if we did this, would it completely veto any chance of him going further with the charges/PPI (assuming he's not lost the opportunity already)? Sorry for all the questions - We've had numerous court threats before but never an actual claim, so I'd really appreciate any guidance.

URGENT!! OH has just received a Claim Form from the BOS regarding this account. We found out recently that about 6 months of payments (on a payment plan) were missed. This was due to the standing order having an end date, which OH was unaware of. Unfortunately we 'forgot' to give BOS a new address when we moved and the redirect finished last year, so we only got a reminder letter after it had already been missed for months after updating details for another BOS account. This letter (sent beginning of Dec if memory serves) was saying court action would be started immediately if the full amount wasn't paid, and was from Blair Oliver Scott but using Halifax headed paper, which straight away made me think it was just a threat as they've done this before and never gone anywhere with it. As we've had several of these court letters before which have never amounted to anything, we decided on that basis that it was another bluff and OH just paid the overdue amount. He then received another letter two weeks ago thanking him for the payment but stating that they required the full amount or they would start court proceedings. Again, as we've had this before, and as the previous letter stated that court action would be started if full payment wasn't received, we figured it was another bluster as why would they send another warning when they've already stated they'd be starting court action, which by rights should have happened a good month ago. I did have a letter to send back to them ready to go, but unfortunately my father has been very ill and then my uncle died, and the letter has sat on my laptop rather than being posted. Consequently, we now have a claim form. I realise the whole 'we had stuff on' is not going to cut any mustard in a court, that's just there fyi to explain why I didn't get on it immediately. First off, is there any point in my husband phoning them to try and work this out? The payment plan payments were re-started as soon as he realised what had happened, and as I said the missed payments were also paid. Could this be stopped with a phone call, or has it gone too far? This account has a proper CCA and default, however there are a couple of thousand pounds of charges and approx £10k of PPI on the balance of 6k or so. There are problems with this too though. I put in a claim for the full amount of charges about 18 months ago, and immediately my husband recieved £400 odd into his account as payment. This was not enough and he didn't formally accept it, but also didn't tell them it was only accepted as part payment. The PPI has been started, and the letter sent to Halifax. They have refused it, again this was about 18 months ago. As I am/was very unsure of how to deal with PPI/Charges, I have not sent it on to the FOS. Have I missed the boat on that? He is willing to carry on paying them as it's kosher, and I see on the form it says 'if you agree with the claim and are asking for time to pay'. Would this be the same as a payment plan to them, and would we still be able to tell them what he can afford (we are not in a situation to up the amount, and really should reduce it as money is very tight!)? Also, if we did this, would it completely veto any chance of him going further with the charges/PPI (assuming he's not lost the opportunity already)? Sorry for all the questions - We've had numerous court threats before but never an actual claim, so I'd really appreciate any guidance.

When I met him my hubby had a watermelon Yankee Candle which he'd bought in the States (they weren't as readily available here then) and flat refused to open, let alone light. You could smell it even in the packaging for years, then when it finally started to wane I made him open it and it sat for another year or two before it was lit. They really are the mutts nuts! We have a YC shop near where I live and it's so nice walking past. I couldn't work there though, the aroma would get too much!

TMI tony

Listening to the chap who won 60k on Who's On Heart What a lovely start to the weekend for him - and it means I was wrong with my guess which is a huge relief as I never phoned in! Phew.

I remember when I was little the people who worked at Wang computers had a nickname we used for their vehicles when they got company cars. What was it now...? Ah yes, they were Wang Cars At the time I was too young to realise anything was funny with that:)

Here we go Ducky, I thought I'd upload a few of the cakes I've done recently Unfortunately all were done within very short timescales (the present, world and the lost property were all done in one veeerrrry long day yesterday) so the finishing is not perfect and there isn't as much detail as I'd have liked. Also due to time constraints, Capt America and the present are pretty much direct copies from other cakes, and the world is a mish mash of others. Oh, and just to make things more interesting, my kitchen at the moment consists of an oven and a fridge, so the only workspace I have is the fridge top and the hob! It's pretty tiring when you're using food colouring to have to go upstairs to wash your hands after every time you've coloured something:) The lost property one was for the office staff at my son's school: a couple of weeks ago (as one of the other mums handed him 3 items from the lost property box - this is not uncommon:)) one of them remarked to him that she fully expected to find him in there one day. They were in fits when my hubby gave it to them, as we really are in that flipping box every other day looking for stuff:)