Hi, Not really relating to charges but I would appreciate any comments on my recent experience with FD. Quite a long story but I'll try and be brief... My wife and I have had a joint account with FD for a no of years. A couple of years ago, they persuaded me to move my credit card to them (in my name only). In that time, our account (and my cc) has always been run well within limits. Last May I was made redundant and due to the change in personal situation started to rely more heavily on the credit card but, with some careful juggling all our obligations (including making the cc payments and keeping within our agreed overdraft) were met. In November, i unfortunately missed the cc payment in juggling the other outgoing and subsequently received a default notice which stated that if paid by x date, no further action would be necessary. This I duly did, taking the card just under limit). On 1st December, i received a statement whereupon the months interest had taken me overlimit but stating that payment was due by the 27th December - my normal payment date. On our around 21st December my wife went to use the debit card on joint ac and it was declined. She phoned FD and they advised her that she needed to speak with me as due to my actions regarding my cc, they had decided to 'terminate our banking relationship'. I then phone FD and they advised that my cc was in default by being overlimit (caused by their interest charges being applied only), that they had advised this with a default notice (they didn't - being that i was out of work I checked ALL post daily) and that they had tried to phone me three hours earlier to prevent this but as I had not answered the phone (I had not been home) then they were terminating our relationship and I must now pay the full balance of my cc and any overdraft within 14 days. After negotiation over the next few days, we agreed to the balance of my cc being consolodated with the overdraft and a payment plan going forward (which they were VERY reticent to do). They subsequently went to transfer funds from the joint ac to the cc to clear it but THEY in error sent the payment to an old account (closed) that I used to have with Citi and they now expected me to locate these funds and arrange their return. To complicate matters Citi sent a cheque to me (as the ac was long since closed) to an old address. It seems the new resident, not knowing who I was, simply destroyed the letter (including the cheque) so this is not recoverable. I have now written to Citi to ask that they either send me a cheque to my current address or better return the funds to FD but whilst this is going on, FD continue to default my accounts each month and apply interest on the cc despite the previously negotiated rate after consolodation. Any thoughts ? Can FD simply terminate ten yrs banking at 3 hours notice (based on an interest debit they applied) ? Why am I continually being penalised after they made a mistake and sent funds to an incorrect ac when they could resolve this by recrediting my ac from their own funds until they got the funds back from Citi ??? Thanks

Post moved to General Debt Issues..thanks.

Hi all, me again.....and guess what....ANOTHER threatening letter from BCW.... Having replied (and cc'd OFT, Trading Standards and Trading Standards Scotland) stating that BCW have a legal obligation to provide a LEGIBLE credit agreement, evidence that the debt exists (in the form of statement of account etc) and proof that the debt (if it exists) is not statute barred, I today received a letter stating that per their previous letter re court action, they were now arranging to send a debt collection agent "as I had failed to contact them".......I currently have a two inch high pile of correspondence contacting them and receiving letters stating 'nothing' in return....further, they will be sending their debt collection agent and I should call them on a specified number to arrange a suitable time or they will simply send one at their convenience..... Interestingly this letter, whilst it carries a Glasgow letterhead, arrived in a business envelope postmarked Andover.... They can only have sent this before my last response....and I fully intend to send this (again, despite at this stage a response from them) to the OFT etc. Without having provided me ANY of the required legal proof of the alleged debt, at what stage do these persistent threats become harassment from a legal perspective - should I consult a lawyer and suggest that I 'sue' or 'action' them for such.....I have a baby due in 6 weeks and this is starting to cause real upset for my wife ! When will this end ? I am more than happy to discuss the alleged debt if they are prepared to evidence it - otherwise what is to stop me writing to a random member of the public, telling them they owe me money and behaiving the same - what has happened to the world where these people can demand monies with no proof and simply a barrage of threats ?

rory32, yes - I cc'd both Trading Standards and the OFT on my last letters - though I am yet to hear anything from either...

....and the saga continues.....having sent the letter as above confirming that my position remained unchanged and that any further action would be considered in breach of CPUTR 2008, I today received a further letter from our friends at BCW stating that "we confirm that the debt is NOT statute barred......" "further, our clients advise that the last payment to this account was made in July 2004" "We have previously provided a copy of the credit agreement but attach a further copy for your records".......this copy is AGAIN completely illegible - bar my signature and name / address details.. First things first, I can categorically state that no payment was made to this - or any other - account by me during 2004...I have today been through statements of ALL my bank accounts for that period and no payments were made on loans, credit cards or loans as I was resident in Jersey at the time and had no credit ties to the UK. Secondly - IF (and I don't actually believe they have preferring to believe that this is a ploy on the part of BCW) their "clients" are able to state that a payment was made at this time, should they not be obliged - as I have asked on many occassions - to provide a statement of account evidencing both this AND the accumulation of the debt they allege to be due ? At no stage have they provided me details of the amounts comprising the alleged debt, the defaults, default charges, interest and initial principal payable to substantiate such debt - I would assume that 'their client states" is not sufficient in that sense (though if their client states - then this is clearly either erronious or an out right lie !) Any ideas / assistance on how to respond would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks - sent registered with copies to the TS and TSS.

No - I'm actually in England - the reference to TSS Scotland is simply as they are trading from and registered in scotland and I therefore am not sure if English or Scottish trading standards apply...

Thanks - do you think this is sufficiently strong ? I write further to you letter of 30th October and your additional demand of 5th November (I note that despite the ten days specified in the former, there are in fact only six days between these two dates). You will recall – or may wish to review your records in order to bring yourselves up to speed – that, in my letter of 1st July, I requested that you comply with the OFT guidelines in dealing with this matter. At the same time, I brought to your attention the Limitation Act 1980 and also the OFT opinion regarding section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970. The ‘repeated requests’ for payment that you refer to in your demand of 5th November have been repeatedly responded to with the very simple request that you provide the details required by law to substantiate these. Despite MY repeated requests that you substantiate the debt with a legible copy of the relevant credit agreement and a full statement of account clearly demonstrating the alleged liability, you have responded with nothing more than ever more threatening demands for payment. As such, and as clearly advised in my letter of 1st July, I am now passing this matter to the Office of Fair Trading, the Trading Standards Dept and the Trading Standards Service in Scotland as you are in clear breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Aaarghh - what is it with these people. Having now sent a letter along the lines rory32 put me in the direction of, I have now received (dated 5th November so its 'possible' they may have issued this before even dealing with the letter I sent), I receive : "Despite repeated requests for payment, your overdue debt, in the sum of £1834.45 with our clients Aktiv Capital remains outstanding. Accordingly, documents can now be prepared for the issue of a Claim against you in your Local Court. ONCE JUDGEMENT HAS BEEN GRANTED THE FOLLOWING CAN TAKE PLACE i) Your debt being increades to include Legal Costs and Interest ii) Your name being entered in the Public Records of your Local Court iii) Your credit worthiness beinf adversely affected for future Credit and Mortgage Applications IF THERE IS CONTINUING NON-PAYMENT THEREAFTER i) An Application is made to your employer for an Attachment of Earnings ii) An Officer of the Court can be instructed to Seize your Assets" The letter then states that I should phone their premium number, and settle in full OR that I can complete a direct debit mandate (which they helpfully attached) and pay in monthly instalments. I am beginning to get seriously p*ssed at these people - per my earlier postings, I am yet to be provided with any evidence of a debt, statute barred or otherwise (excepting one badly photocpied and entirely blanked out piece of paper showing nothing but my signature). Will the OFT actually do anything if I now make a formal complaint ? Considering this has now been ongoing for at least one year in which I have acknowledged no debt...and been provided no evidence of such...

Having sent the statute barred letter 1st July, I today received a further letter from BCW stating that they noted my query and had put this on file but had now received further information from the alleged ceditor (I note this is now referred to as Aktiv Capital which is not a name previously mentioned) and that I must call them to further discuss. They also stated that my 'account' had been put on hold for ten days to allow time for me to call. They have NOT provided ay detail of the alleged debt once again and i do not intend to call them based on previous advice and similar posts. Any ideas ? Do I simply ignore this ? Is it simply a last ditch attempt to scare me into paying an unsubtantiated debt ? Thanks in advance...

Just as a update to this, I wrote a statute barred letter and sent this recorded delivery yesterday (and also a copy by email). However, in yesterdays post I received a further letter from BCW (dated 26th June despite that their previous letter requested payment by 1st July) headed final notice and stating "Since you have failed to notify us of any legitimate reason for non payment we can only assume that you do not wish to settle this matter amicably".. and insisting that I call their 24 hour payment line immediately........I did not...

OK, thanks all - I'll take that route and hope they finally leave me alone !

Is it worth combining the two ? I don't believe a debt exists though IF it does it would almost certainly be older than six years....

Many thanks .... I will write to them today with a version of the 'prove it' letter - IF they provide any further statemented evidence (which I feel unlikely) then I fully expect this to demonstrate that the balance was paid at the time or that the debt is in fact statute barred, in which case I shall further reply with a version of the Letter M confirming this.......

Hi, (bit of a long post - sorry about that)... Around a year ago I received some correspondence from Thames Credit which purported that I owed them the sum of around £1800 which they had bought from GE Capital. Having no recollection of such a debt I ignored this letter only to receive subsequent (and increasingly more threatening) demands for payment. Some suggested that I could pay a reduced amount if paying immediately of that I could pay in instalments. I (probably a mistake) called them on receipt of the third or fourth letter and they advised that the debt was for a store card (unspecified), that they did not know what the debt comprised nor from when but that it had been assigned to them from GE Capital. I recalled having a store card (Principals) operated by GE a looooong time ago but had no receollection of owing anything on it (I used it very infrequently) and said as much to the person on the phone. They then advised me that the onus was on me to demonstrate that it was paid up (having had neither the card nor any statements and having moved a few times since 2000 including offshore I have no records dating back that far) and advised that I had no belief that I owed this money but should they provide evidence of such debt - including FULL statements evidencing composition of the debt as alleged. I heard nothing more for three or four months (roughly last November) when I received a letter from Buchanan Clark & Wells acting for Thames Credit threatening immediate legal action unless I not pay the alleged amount straight away. Within three days I received a further letter advising that they were now initiating the threatened action. At this point I phoned BCW (I know, you should avoid calling) and restated my conversation with Thames Credit confirming that I knew nothing of the debt but that the onus was on them / Thames Credit to evidence that I had a debt to them. They advised that they would investigate and I heard nothing more..... Until I got home yesterday .... where I had received a letter from BCW stating "Further to your request, please finc copy credit agreement. Failure to pay the debt in full by the above will result in immediate legal action. In the result of action, interest and legal fees will be added to the principal sum. Payment in full must reach our offices no later than noon 1st July 2008." i.e. TODAY which gave me approximately 15 hours from receiving the letter. The 'copy credit agreement' is completely and utterly illegible, the whole document being black barring a few boxes in which my name, address and signature appear (it is my signature - and its dated 05/03/96)... No evidence, statements, details of payments, interest, default etc are provided and thinking back, I have little doubt that this card was used beyond 2000 at the latest. Surely they are obliged to provide details of what they allege the debt is comprised of. And (having viewed other posts on this site) would the debt (if any exists) count as statute barred (despite that I responded to them verbally last year though at no time acknowledged any endebtedness to them, GE or otherwise....?? Thanks