Hi there, I had the exact same pre-bankruptcy petition a couple of weeks ago from Lowells. I kinda suspected it was just a scare tactic, but wrote up a CCA request anyway (I want to repay my original creditors but simply cannot do so right now, so my tactic is to delay the inevetable until i get better and find work). Ive been unwell and for various other reasons, had just not got round to sending it - so far I have not written to or answered the phone to these people (doing the inadvisable thing of burying my head in the sand), and today I received a letter saying things like 'we understand that..etc' and 'Our aim is to help..' blah blah and offered me 3 quite reasonable options, one of which was to pay half and call it quits! Its like theyve gone from tough and aggressive to kind-hearted and sympathetic! Sounds to me that they may be trying to trick me into finally getting into a dialogue with them...maybe, or perhaps they just want to cut their losses. I know some people just want to avoid paying anything, and that some people are simply the wrong John Smith, but for those of us like me who want to become debt free and get on with life - HOLD OUT- sometimes, it seems, its worth ignoring people like lowells just long enough for them to offer a settlement figure or lose face and accept an amount to cover their losses. I read somewhere on here they buy debts only for about 10p in the pound, so 1/2 the debt is still very profitable to them. Im wondering weather to offer them, say 20% of my debt - theyd still make money and I'd be much better off.. seems immoral, I know, but my debt problems are affecting my health and my whole life right now so Im gonna do whatever it takes to fix them. Anyway, just wanted to give my 2 pence on the matter..

Hi Woolfie, I know your post is quite old, but I have just recently had the exact same letter in relation to bennetts motorcycle insurance demanding £58.01. I took out insurance for my 1982 Vespa, it inevetibly failed its MOT, I took it off the road and cancelled my insurance by means of cancelling the direct debit with my bank (foolish, I know with hindsight). Now, I should say, I made just one monthly payment and never returned the paperwork from bennetts, where it lays out in the T&C that there would be a £20 direct debit cancellation fee, and a £30 cancellation fee. Technically, Im sure I havent agreed to these T&C, because I never signed and returned the forms, so Im hoping there is no legal basis on which they can take me to court. I basicaly tod them I am prepared to pay the £8.01 for an extra month of insurance, but have never agreed to pay any cancellation fees or charges, and so I wont. Like I say, your post is over a year old now - How did it turn out for you in the end?

Thank you everyone, for the support and advice - I will certainly try to make Halifax's lack of humanity and decency more publicly known. After a phone conversation, they investigated my account with regards to this matter and claimed they were unable to clarify that the money going in fortnightly was indeed my JSA! (even though my statements clearly state JSA from the DWP) so I went into my branch on friday to present them with the required evidence. I was hoping that on a face to face basis they might develop a conscience, but they were refusing to budge and refused me my money. All they could do was offer to escalate my complaint to head office on monday (tomorrow) - hopefully head office will see sense and release my money, but I'm not counting on it. Thanks to Yourmoney, the law does indeed s**t on people at times but this isnt about charges - simply that the money is still there but they wont let me have it, so I am hoping that it will pose a different question in the eyes of the law, and although confusing, Midges letter seems to support this - so Im feeling more confident of the outcome of all this - thanks Midge! (I should probably have started a new thread dealing with this slightly different application of the Social Security Act - but I couldnt figure out how! Sorry! Besides, everyone at Halifax so far have refused to acknowledge that such an act even exists in my experiences also.) Next payment will be by postal Giro to cash at my post office. It is tempting to let them default my credit card, being as my credit rating is shot through anyway - I had requested they be patient and I will catch up when I get a job, and suggested going to court would result in them having less money in the long term, but luckily for me my father is helping me out on this one. I will definitely be reporting this to the Financial Ombudsmen Service, and also the fact that they refused token payments, which the banking code states they must. I'm just glad that I have freinds and family who can help me, or I would be well and truly up the creek - not everyone is so lucky. I will update on the situation tomorrow after head office get involved...

Hi guys. My situation is similar, except that its not to do with charges - the Halifax wont let me have the jobseekers allowance that was received into my current account yesterday. They say they have put a block on the account and wont let me have it until i pay the arrears on my halifax credit card. Now, they know that I lost my job and money is tight and I have offered token payments several times on this cards arrears, but they wont accept less than £80 pm, which is a lot when your struggling to make the JSA last as it is, and I havent paid them this, insisting that the banking code means they HAVE to accept token payments (I offered £15pm). In the last week, my father has had some sort plan come to maturity and has offered to lend me the money to pay off the card, but it will take a week at least - of course Halifax dont want to give me the benefit of the doubt on this and still refuse to release my JSA to me. So, they put a stop on my current account and wont let me have my jsa! Unbeleivable! The only solution form their point of view is that I now pay the full arrears before they release my JSA! Surely they are breaking the law by withholding a state benefit from a customer, no matter how dire their financial shortcomings are?!

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