Very interesting indeed. Many thanks for posting that.

These types of companies are not recommnded on CAG. Basically they charge do the same things as you can do yourself for free. With some guidance from all of us here you'll soon have the confidence to handle this yourself.

No. The limited company is an entirely separate entity. If you are made bankrupt you will have to find an alternative director or wind the company up. Be aware that a Statutory Demand allows the claimant to petition for your bankruptcy. Such a petition is not obligatory and may not eventuate. Creditor petitions are expensive (for the creditor) and are not often proceeded with for this reason. Do you own your home? Is there any equity in it? Do you have a family?

Sorry to hear about your circumstances. Sometimes life becomes very difficult. From what you have described bankruptcy seems to be a good option for you. When you do go bankrupt you will need to satify the judge that you have received appropriate advice. Two places to go for this are your local CAB and the National Debtline - www.nationaldebtline.co.uk. As far as creditors go I would put the original creditor where the DCA is acting for them, or put the DCA if they have bought the debt. I have to confess that I was once pretty depressed about all the money I owed. It eventually crystallised in my mind that I would never be able to pay everything and hence worrying about it was never going to achieve anything. When you think about it in that light then the problems seem to become musch smaller and less significant - and you can then concentrate on doing those things that really matter. Like your children. In any case never feel bad about bailiffs etc. They don't feel bad about you.

Quite a few DCAs do this. The OC will probably claim such letters are valid. (It is likely that the OC has given the DCA permission to do this and has probably even supplied the necessary logos).

You have to understand that HSBC tell lies. Whether this is deliberate or from stupidity I know not. But they do.

You're more or less in the right place, however there is a parallel forum called 'Formal Solutions ...' which you should also look at. The Statutory Demand is serious. As you note it is from the DCA directly and (as yet) hasn't been near a court. Once the 18 days are up then the DCA can petition for your bankruptcy - with all the consequences. But we'll put that to one side for the moment. From your explanation the debt may be statute-barred. When did you last make a payment? When did you last acknowledge the debt? If both of these are more than six years ago then the debt is statute-barred. Is there any dispute that the debt is owed? Or that the amount claimed is correct? There is a panel on the SD form which should contain contact details for the claimant. You should try ringing the number as if it isn't answered then the SD is invalid. Perhaps you could describe the circumstances a little more fully. In any case you need to apply to have the Statutory Demand set aside. You have to complete form 6.4. This should be available from your local County Court (I can't find it on the HMCS website). There are some notes here http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/LOC011_form.pdf which you should also read. Your application needs to be lodged within 18 days of receipt. You now have only a couple of days to do this so hopefully you can get it sorted out very quickly. There is no fee for submitting this form. Do you know where to find your nearest County Court?

What were the exact words they used? If they used the term 'further' or 'addditional' or suchlike then they have implicitly acknowleged that they have had the original fee. If they don't do you have proof of the first payment?

You should not have opened this letter - it is unlawful to open other people's mail. You should send it back as 'addressee not known at this address'.

This seems rather odd : Did your dad attend court? Did he explain about the payments to CCCS?

In that case you will need to request copies of the agreements and examine them individually.

To answer your last point first : without an agreement this is most unlikely to ever get to court. 'FS' is probably a typo for TS - Trading Standards.

What do you need help with? The last post in that thread gives you some advice - have you followed it? do you have any reasons for not following it?

You have very little time left to get this sorted out. Assuming you want to do so you must apply to have the SD set aside within 18 days of receipt. To do so you must have proper grounds for doing so. But let's step back a bit ... 1. If the house is solely in your husband's name then it cannot be taken from him on the basis if your debts. However one thought has occurred : was your betting account in joint names? 2. A Statutory Demand is a necessary precursor to having you declared bankrupt. It does not mean that a bankruptcy petition will automatically follow. 3. You will need to examine you agreement with IG Index. In particular you should determine whether their actions fall within the agreement. I suspect they do but it is worth checking. 4. As far as the SD itself is concerned there is a panel with the contact details of the creditor. Try contacting them using the details given - if they don't respond then the SD is invalid and this can be used to have it set aside. There are several other reasons for having a SD set aside but these do not apply in your pspecific circumstances - but see 3. above. HTH

I'm afraid it doesn't. When a commercial lease is assigned the effect is that the assignee replaces the assignor as the leaseholder. The assignee assumes the benefits and liabilities of the assignor from the date of assignment. The situation you are talking about is a sub-lease - an altogether different situation.

Sorry to hear about your circumstances. We'll help as much as we can. Also, if any of the debts are in your limited company's name then I would get the company wound up as quickly as possible.

One small

This is a business lease (or lease purchase) between Citroen and your limited company. As such it isn't a consumer contract and isn't covered by the Consumer Credit Act at all. Similarly the Data Protect Act doesn't apply to a company so a DSAR is meaningless.

That sounds like the best way forward, although I would write in a very conciliatory tone, I would further add that 1. you are taking advice from the CAB, and having two advisors shows a lack of respect to both. 2. you are having some difficulty with the property you own in that the tenant is not paying the rent, and that you are actively trying to get this sorted out. 3. (as you note) the amount you are offering is the maximum that can afford at the moment. You are however desparate to resolve the situation and will be increasing the amounts repaid as soon as circumstances permit.

I'm afraid that won't work. The old card is still linked to your 'account'.

There are two lines of attack here - 1. You could try the statute barred approach if you are sure the debt is old enough. 2. You can quite legitimately defend this on the basis that you believe the debt has been repaid and have always requested proof that it isn't whenever you have been approached. Now's the time to get all your paperwork together.

1. Disputing insurance charges is probably not enough to void the contract - which is what they are chasing you about. You need to write very explicit and firm letters but keep paying in the interim. 2. The letters with no postmark have probably been sent via UKMail, TNT or some other private carrier. Ensure you keep the envelopes and keep a note of when you received each letter. Sending mail by such carriers is a clear indication that the matter has not reached a serious stage.

That's about the size of it unfortunately.

not_so_goldengirl : things aren't nearly as bad as you might imagine. It is unlikely that the company will send anyone to see you. They do not send their own staff, instead they recruit those who want to earn an extra few bob on commission (you've probably seen those signs hanging around lamp-posts). These people have no more rights to visit you than I do and you can quite safely tell them to go away. Bear in mind that they are people who are themselves short of money (otherwise why would they be doing this sort of job?) and probably need your sympathy rather than aggression. One other point to bear in mind : the OFT Guidelines on Debt Collection say that you can ask for an appointment to be made for them to visit. This is principally to allow you to be prepared to discuss the matter, however there is no timescale in which you have to make such an appointment. Next year is perfectly acceptable. Hence if someone does call uninvited then you can reasonably and civilly ask them to make an appointment. There is a lot of aggression on CAG toward debt collector's representatives who call in person. I find this unwarranted - such people are not aggressive themselves and are only doing their job. Moreover they are not hiding on the end of a telephone line, they are facing up to an unknown person in the flesh. Would you like to do this job?

Of course! Might be difficult actually getting the bills paid though.