Hi Angry Cat Do you happen to have the references for the relevant Acts your information applies to as this has to be worth quoting to the DCAs? HR

Good for you di.harry, I support your move. By the way, a couple of weeks ago I wrote a lengthy letter to Jack Straw about the activities of DCAs (no response ... surprise, surprise) although a couple of days later some junior minister did mention that the Government were going to look into things. May have been coincidence but perhaps the penny has dropped. I will give Straw a couple more days and write again. The issue with all of this is that the DCAs should be able to determine who is simply shunning their responsibilities by not wanting to pay and those of us ... most on this site I trust ... are fighting them because of changed circumstances and the inability to pay. If we haven't the means to pay we should not be continuously harassed and it is high time the Government acted to provide protection. The whole debt industy stinks to high heaven and it will only get worse as the banks get even more panicy about the money they have lost. HR HR

Hi all, I have just had a thought: but as I am not a legal person I don't know what the situation would be; but how can a DCA chase for money when you don't have and never have had a contract with them? The other issue, and I spent a couple of hours wading through the Data Protection Act and found no reference to this, is whether by selling your personal information on, the original lender is in breach of the Act. Does anyone know answers to these problems?

Hi di harry Sorry for the time lapse in responding but if the DCAs can charge us what is wrong with sending them an invoice for causing you inconvenience and then following this up with threatening letters when they don't pay. The exercise could be interesting. HR

I would contact the person/s named on the incorrect documents and suggest to them that they report the matter under the laws relating to the Data Protection Act. Link, or anyone else for that mater. shouldn't be allowed to get away with this. You should also have the right to charge Link for the time and letter writing you have incurred by having to point out their errors.

I've written to Straw about the whole debt collecting thing and if I don't get a reasonable response it will go to the press and I will e-mail every MP in the land. It may not make a lot of difference because I agree with what Chris600uk says but we must make an effort otherwise plenty of others might die as an indirect/direct result of these thugs. . I personally believe that democracy in this country has been lost; our rights are rapidly being diminished by the Government and the opposition seem powerless to oppose what Brown and his cronies decide. Take the issue this week over MPs expenses that Brown wants to keep secret. What in hell's name are they afraid of? Then there is the other issue (not concerned with this thread I admit ... so sorry) about the need for Government to maintain all of our e-mails. I am certain postings on this site are under scrutiny. If things continue in ths vain I believe anarchy is not too far away. This may sound cynical but I am getting on in years and have seen the decline of this country and I don't like it.

Oh really. That is interesting because I have just had a letter from HSBC saying that they have passed my current account to Link and to contact Link in all future correspondence. As I have never had a current account or any other account with HSBC then I suspect this could be fake as well. Can you post a copy of your letter on the site taking care to cover your identity of course. I am trying to get together as much information about the debt collecting industry as I can for a book I am planning which hopefully will blow them out of the water. I have also written a lengthy letter to Jack Straw MP and if I get a reply then I will post my original and Straw's response on this site. Cheers HR

Sorry jj77 ... am i missing the point here somewhere. I don't quite understand what you are trying to say.

"If i send a £1 postal order to links address asking for my C/A will they even get it??? It seems to be a mail forwarding/processing operation at Albert Embankment and po box numbers dont usually have anyone there to sign for a registered delivery." They must have somebody to sign for them because despite writing to me to tell me I must now send a further applications to a different PO Box, today I got 2 copies of my original credit card application forms that I had completed for MBNA cards and another saying they were asking the client for a copy of the CCA that would take 30 days. So Link must still be active. I don't think the application forms can form the CCA even though they have attached terms and conditions, interest rates etc but the photocopies are too blurred to read. Interestingly the same signature on behalf of the lender appears to have been added (probably by Link) and it is the same 'rubber stamped' squiggle with a stamped date haphazardly stamped on two entirely different cards. Can anybody tell me if this is good enough to represent a true copy of a CCA because I doubt it?

Thanks Mummybird Yes I had seen the various stuff on the poor man that died. I have in fact sent a very lneghty letter to Jack Straw about this and the need for the DCA industry to be thoroughly investigated. I don't know why you weren't able to e-mail me. I am having some problems with my own e-mail system at the moment but it should have gone through the address on here. Regards HR

Hi Ambershadow A joke ... well that is more than a little tame. No, we really have got to get people united to fight against this kind of thing. The government must know that this kind of thing is going on. I am currently working out a lengthy document that I intend to e-mail to every MP in the land to see if we can gain any response. But first I am going to contact the Cabinet ministers. The entire debt collecting industry is running riot and they MUST be stopped. We are given no protection from people like the Office of Fair Trading and Trading Standards that are meant to follow these matters up but they can't be bothered. What kind of country are we now living in?

Come on %Ostrich% ... I know the press tend to exaggerate but anyone who has had dealings with these people knows what they can be like. I had a case, not a tragic one fortunately, whereby I was in the Far East and there had been a misunderstanding ... nothing more ... with my business rates. Unannounced a bailiff turned up at my premises and threatened my young female assistant and frightened her to death. He said he would come back and take everything. My assistant called my wife and she came to the premises and didn't know what to do apart from telling him that I would be back in the country within a few days and would sort it out. But he refused to listen, was extremely intimidating and demanded to know our home address which she stupidly gave him. He threatened to call at the house and take all of our possessions. He was merely taking advantage of two innocent women who hadn't got a clue what to do. It was also not their problem but he had made it so. This had come completely out of the blue, no warning letters or threats from the council, no court action (apparently councils have special powers and can act without court action). My wife has been worried about it happening again because we have found ourselves in debt because of a business collapse. I was called, but because of the time difference, it was in the middle of the night when I took the call, but I range this barstool to offer an explanation and to tell him that a mistake had been made by the council (which it had) but he merely became abusive and we ended up having a slagging match which wasn't wise but in the early hours of the morning 7000 miles from home I was extremely angry. The long and short of it was that my wife got the money from her bank and took it to this clown's office and paid him. Even then he couldn't resist being rude to her. Now the fact of the matter is, I was the debtor, not my wife or my assistant and this ex-police office knew full well that he was breaking the law even by discussing my finances with third parties. He simply didn't care. I tried to bring a case against him and my council for criminal harassment against my wife and staff with the Local Government Ombudsman but they refused to look at the case. The reality of all this is that the Court appointed bailiffs normally will act professionally but the majority out there are private henchmen who want to earn a quick buck and don't bother to observe the laws. They have become out of control, like the debt collecting agencies, and I for one am going to badger every MP in the land to try and bring a Private Member's bill to force changes that will ensure we are treated fairly. I know we should all try to keep out of debt etc but sometimes situations occur that are beyond our control and they snowball and we fall victims As an aside to this story; I returned from the Far East and that very night there was a World In Action documentary on TV that showed this same bailiff acting badly (probably illegally) by repossessing cars and the film could not have done him any favours. The way things are, people will become desperate and if these idiots go in like a bull in a china shop they will get what they deserve if people set about them. I am not condoning violence but we have to accept that many people involved with debt collecting are nothing more than low-life **** and they come up against people similar to themselves. It is only a matter of time before one of them gets blown away. I was a private investigator some years ago and I reguarly had to serve court orders on people.On occasions these have been bankruptcy orders but you have to be calm and patient and sympathetic and not totally beligerent against these people. The debt collecting industry must be reformed and correctly controlled and licensed. The politicians may (but I doubt it) take notice this time and let us hope Jack Straw takes the correct action and does not sweep it under the table. Nobody should die over owing money but the situation has got totally out of hand and it is becoming like a war between the Collectors and the Debtors. It is a sad reflection of society. My thoughts go to Mr Miller's family.

Thanks hillards; my fault I never scrolled beneath the boxes.

Hi Again I have just been trying to find out who are members of the Credit Services Association but you have to be a member to obtain these from their web site. But, there is an interesting public access article (quite short) titled "Good To Talk ... Improving Debt Collection" posted 5 January by Steve Denby, Commercial Board Director of a company called Jaywing. This is worth reading and it should be observed by the DCAs but of course isn't. The link is: CSA Website Please let me know your views as it is sure to cause some debate. HR

Hi All It would seem that Link have got back from their Christmas bash and are now in their letter sending mode as reported by other members. I have just received 5 identical letters (only the account numbers have been changed) in response to my CCA requests that were sent to them at Albert Embankment by Recorded Delivery together with £1 postal orders for each account. NOTE for reference: These letters have changed the 89 Albert Embankment address and post code SE1 7TP to the address listed below. The respnse is this: Link Financial Ltd PO Box 30095 London SE1 7WU "Dear Mr ****** REQUESTING INFORMATION You have recently requested information from a member of our team. We always endeavour to supply information our customers require but do ask that all requests are made in writing to the address above. A fee may be charged to your account to cover any costs associated with fulfilling such a request but we will write and notify you of any such fee. Yours sincerely For & on behalf of LINK Financial" They are obviously either trying to stall my request (likely) but the second paragraph of the letter is surely illegal because they have already received my postal orders (and no doubt cashed them), although they haven't acknowledged this. Now is the time for me to get the ball rolling with the first of my pestering letters to the OFT and Trading Standards etc. I have also recieved a further letter today claiming £2622.99 for an account I know nothing about. I will be compiling my responses later and will post them for comment. Regards HR

Hi Goldlady Highly commended ... award yourself (and the site of course) a house point. I have just registered an e-mail address on here for the purpose, so if you or any other members would like to mail their success stories and how they have managed to beat these parasites I'd like to hear from you with view to researching a book. My e-mail address is [email protected] Regards HR

Hi Goldlady Excuse me if this might seem stupid ... but are the actions in blue below your posting your successes or are they part of a general thing relating to this site? I have decided to write a book about the debt collecting industry as my next project (I am currently just finishing another book - non-related - that is about to go to press) so any information I can get about these sharks will be welcome. Thanks. HR

Good to get your feedback guys and gals and thanks for you welcomes. I feel there must be something under contract law (hence my original call for a friendly solicitor who knows his/her stuff). What about the Data Protection Act ... surely it cannot be legal to sell on our personal details without us having the right to challenge the information? If anyone can wade through these laws (they can be found on line) they can be confusing because often they appear to give us a right and then in a subsequent clause, take it away again. This is politicians for you. HR

Great stuff ... I merely suggested the MP rule as a 'law of averages' that their might, just might, be one or two who believe in doing something credible. But I get your gist. Your comments 'secondhand debt etc' does give food for thought and leaves me wondering whether they might still be some obscure law on the statute books that makes this kind of thing illegal. But who has the time to investigate? Nevertheless, I believe that we must start believing in 'people power' which really is what this site is all about. If more and more of us make a strong stand eventually there might be a little light at the end of the tunnel and a change could be influenced. In your own case I don't know if you had the same problem as me ... that is my wife is intimidated by these people very easily and she believes everything they write. I have to hide the post otherwise she flips. I have tried to get her to read the contents of your site to give her more confidence but she refuses because dealing with the DCAs simply frightens her to death. This is human nature, but unfortunately it works against you and you feel your are fighting your corner alone. Thanks again.

Hi Again Hillards I've taken a very quick look at your site ... excellent, truly excellent advice and THIS should be sent out as a press release. You write really well ... better than me and I am a professional. Take note everyone ..and look at Hillard's site if you haven't done so already. I commend you. Cheers HR

Hi Hillards Many thanks for your comments and the stuff providing background material is always useful. If you have any other similar background info on these companies please let me have them because I want to try and start a press awareness campaign against the DCAs. Any links to published material also welcome. The strength these parasites possess is that they know Mr Average debtor hasn't got a clue how to deal with them and they take advantage by using intimidating tactics. I suggest we should write a very strong letter to every MP and keep harassing the politicians until they start moving in the real world and start protecting their voters. Best wishes HR

Hi All Sorry for this lengthy posting but I have not had the time to get back to this site since posting before Christmas and I wish everyone a Happy New Yesr - except Link of course. I am in the unfortunate position of having 5 very large MBNA accounts ... I am not proud of the fact but my once healthy plunged into despair a few years ago and MBNA kept upping my limits and never once bothered to ask me if I wanted them to. Now, that to me is irresponsible lending and I understand that some cases have been flung out of court on that score. I may be wrong but that is what I heard. I have been monitoring all of the threads tonight ... pasted them to Word to absorb the 50 pages or more at my leisure because I am convinced this is a story for the national press and it should also be taken to the highest level of Parliament and that means Darling and Brown ... Mandleson if we must. We need to act as a group and keep at it. People power seems to be starting to have some affect ... look at the Tesco issues where stores have been prevented from opening in East Anglia. I am a freelance writer so I as soon as I have finished a major project I am on I will do my best to put together a convincing case to send to the nationals. I went to see my MP ... a Conservative ...two years or more ago about the general way that we are treated as vermin by DCA and banks when we meet hard times and find ourselves in a spiral of debt. He promised this was going to be put to an All Party Committee that was meant to be discussing the situation. I heard no more and my last two letters were not answered. Needless to say he won't get my vote even though this current Government are talking, but not walking the talk. It seems bankers rule and despite getting us into all of this economic trouble they are still seen as God's. Frankly, they should be made to account ... so too should Brown. But that is another story. It greatly concerns me that Link are able to contuously break the law and the agencies that are mean to protect as are doing sweet **** all. They have also got to be brought to account. Is there no friendly lawyer out there who will fight our corner? On this subject ... I was taken to court by another dubious DCA called CL Finance on behalf of Goldfish. I contested the case in my local court on the grounds that I had never heard of CL Finance and had never had a Goldfish account. It seems the files had been sold on more than once and the thread of ownership could not really be proved even though they had statements relating to my charges. These related to an account with a totally different bank and the solicitors were unable to link the two together. CL Finance sent an agent solicitor who was out of his depth and the Court ruled that they must produce transfer of ownership of the debt. CL Finance via their solicitors sent a wierd piece of paper that contained little more than a couple of signatures that appeared to be contrived and the Judge accepted my plea that this did not constitute proof of ownership. Similarly, because I could not really dent that the charges on the account as being mine, the Judge ruled that CL Finance need NOT produce a CCA. As the Judge had only recently been appointed from being a solicitor I felt he was incorrect. I consulted another judge that I know and he told me to write to the court to say that a mistake had been made because the CCA MUST be produced under the Consumer Credit Act. Of course CL Finance or their solicitors have not been able to produce this and have written to say it has been lost. I have applied to the Court to have the action struck off and they in turn have written to CL accordingly. While I appreciate this has nothing to do with Link I mention it only to emphasise how persistence sometimes pays and we must keep at this bunch of vultures. The Courts are not always right in their assumptions or their rulings and these can be challenged if we know where we stand. This is why we all know how important this site is. I have sent five separate CCA requests by recorded delivery to Link with the appropriate postal orders but Link does not come up on the Post Office system for the address at Albert Embankment, Lambeth. The post code that Link gives on their letterheading is for a Action against Landmines association the post office clerk told me. Now there's a surprise. I am now sitting back to await the outcome of that. So far I have not got a great deal to complain to the OFT about over Link because by changing my telephone number on the grounds of harassing calls (free of charge) the calls have been blocked and apart from the normal batch of threatening letters I have heard nothing from them so far. This is why I want to try and write a powerful article because I can highlight what is happening to others.

Since posting last night I have been to the following link (excuse the pun) this site explains it all and is very useful:- http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/debt_factsheets/charging_orders_in_the_county_court.phpnd

I have recently been contacted by Link over several MBNA accounts. I have not heard from MBNA for well over a year when I first started getting into serious difficulties because of the near collapse of my business. I wrote to each account explaining my situation but as usual, apart from the threatening phone calls got no response from any of them Suddenly I have received several letters, all the same except for the account nos. from Link. I wrote back with a recorded delivery letter (naturally they haven't replied) and now have had threats that state "Re Investigation of Assets" and my address and that they have checked the land registry and will be applying for a County Court Judgement and a Final Charging Order. As this has never been to court and I have never had any previous dealinga with Link I am reponding by quoting the Consumer Credit Act and will be sending them responses to each of their letters with a £1 postal order each. I will also be asking for an assignment notice in each case. Nevertheless it is all worrying because a TV programme a couple of weeks ago said they can go for a charging order without any prior court action. Any advice out there from anyone will be appreciated.