Me personally would keep it open, in there terms and conditions they normally say you must make a credit to your account at least every 30 days or so, so thats easy enough, make sure its kept within its agreed limit without going over and pop a credit into it at least once a month even if it is only £1. What is probably annoying them is that you have a interest free overdraft which they making nothing on. I would contact experian & equifax, as you have your report to hand, you can telephone experian and quote your report id number and advise them the information over the phone. Hope this helps

Your only human and sure your boyfriend would be understanding. Thats what I would look at, get them Payday loans cleared especially as interest rates on them are normally pretty high but on plus side, they dont tend to be over a period of more then 1 year do they? The 6 year Statue Barred situation is true, if you have made no payment to the creditor for said debt after 6 years they cannot take you to court and seek judgment. Here is a thread which will give you more detail on that http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?146530-Have-you-received-threatening-demands-for-debts-older-than-6-years Have a check on your credit reports from Equifax and Experian and see what the date was of last received payment to them as well as default date, then we can see from there how long it going to be until it goes. And to re-confirm, your IVA will fall off your credit reports 6 years after the date it was put in court / arrangement started. Any defaulted accounts on your credit file will fall off your credit reports after 6 years from the date of default whether they been paid or not. As you state your IVA ended in 2007, but without knowing default dates, I dont think you got that long till 6 year period up. Good luck and keep me posted, everybody on here to help and you, like me have been there and am still here today thanks to this forum and others experience.

Its sad that they can seem to do as they please on our credit files dont they? I would either get the £2 report off Equifax & Experian is you haven't already, or sign up to there 30 day trials (but remember to cancel or you get charged after 30 days) then report this information to them and advise its incorrect. Im pretty sure once they check with Cahoot you'll find it be rectified by them. I had a default with Cahoot who liked to move the date of it every January, originally in 2006, then moved to 2007, then 2008 etc etc. A quick query to Equifax and it was put back to the original date and has remained that way ever since. Give it a go as first port of call

Hello, I found in the past one the quicker ways of getting things like this rectified quickly is to put it straight to the credit agencies (Equifax & Experian), they will then contact Cahoot to clarify on your behalf. Have done this in the past with Cahoot as speaking directly to them seem to take ages where as Equifax had it changed within week.

Good on you, you ok for a loan then if any cagger gets stuck lol. Only joking mate

Was more thinking about the CCA route as being a delay to them while OP checks when they received last payment on this debt as could be a case that it not got long left if for example no payment been received by them in say 5 years. Many thanks matey

Hi Jomogg, can see how alarmed you are at all this, let me try to get a picture of it then to see if I can offer any help. Personally wouldn't go into any IVA or payment arrangement with them especially as they didn't have the decency of replying to your letter in 2007. This debt looks pretty old, am I correct? reason why I ask is that you say your brother sent last letter to them in Nov 2007? When was last time you actually made a payment to BOS? Have they defaulted this account? if so, what date and year did they do this? My reasons for asking is that the debt could be close to falling off your credit file, if you obtained a copy of your report from Experian and Equifax you could see when the default date was. It may be worth sending a CCA request to these solicitors to see if they have the credit agreement in the meantime.

Hi sequenci, Wouldnt it be a option to check on if solicitors have a agreement for this debt (CCA) as another option? Wouldn't it also be worth Jopea checking when last payments where made to this debt either directly or from the Insolvency Practioner as Jopea may not have made enough payments that left anything over to pay creditors once IP took there payment? Not challenging anything you said mate just running a few ideas that may help

Am so sorry to hear the sad situation you have faced. However, a family member of mine had similar experience and IVA failed in 2007. By the time the Insolvency Practioner took there payment there was nothing left for any creditors. Therefore looking into there credit file, most last payments on them debts was in 2006. She chose to go down the CCA route to any creditor that contacted, only 4 out of the 9 did to this day ever contact. All 4 got CCA request, all ignored it and never been heard off again. Therefore, these will be Statue Barred around 2012, just 1 year away. She could have gone bankrupt, however, this now wouldn't have been her best way forward as several of her debts have been written off, the others defaulted in 2006 and due to fall off credit files in 2012. If your dates are correct, 6 years from the default date is when these will fall off your credit file. So if like my sister, your default dates are 2006, they will be off your credit files by this time next year, you can confrim this further by obtaining copies of your credit reports and noting what the default dates are on them, add 6 years to that and that is when they are no longer on your file. As they fall off your credit score will increase and you can resume normal life. If you where to go down bankrupt route now, this would remain on your credit file till 2017, which is a shame as im pretty sure all your defaults will be long gone before this. So keep your head up and what I would suggest is you get copies from Experian and Equifax of your credit reports, locate all accounts default dates and find when these leave your credit file. Please post back mate if can help more and wish you all the best, you done well and came so far so dont give up now.

Hi Mate, like you I was in same boat from 2005, trying to pay bills was near on impossible. I entered into a IVA in Jan 2006 and was honestly the worse move ever. The monthly repayment although lower then what was being paid out was still hard and when the credit crunch kicked in and business started to suffer, any requests to reduce payments where smacked with a huge wall. In Dec 2008 I lost all interest and told my IP to make me bankrupt. He did in Jan 2009. I had meeting at OR in March 2009 whom where lovely. Secret with them was being totally honest, it was pointless trying to hide anything from them as if they found out it would look bad and could make matters worse. I was allowed to continue trading and was allowed to keep vehicle that was on HP due to it being required for my business. I was automatically discharged in Jan 2010 and to be honest, was the best thing I done and in hindsight, should have done this before departing with £19,000 into a IVA which still failed half way through. This is my experience and hope that it will assist you in your decision, the guys and girls on here are great and will help you all the way when you feel low or unsure about something.

Thank you all for your replies. I have sent a letter by special delivery to said mechanic which has been received and signed for by him and have printed off his signature to confirm receipt. Within this letter I have included mechanical report as well as 2 pictures of the said part. I have advised him that he has 30 days to contact me to come to some form of arrangement, this is the 2nd request I have made with him to come to some arrangement. So far have been ignored again. Have advised him that should I not hear off him within 30 days I will take the matter to small claims court as now I have more then enough evidence as well as the ignorance to him not wishing to discuss the matter outside of court.

Hello All, My son has a barclaycard with £1000 limit which he has always run in great order, no late payments, never gone over credit limit and he always pays far more then minimum payment. He received a letter from them today advising that as of tomorrow (15th Feb) they are reducing his credit limit to £800, my son is concerned as he has made payment this month of £100 which has reduced his balance to £890 however, the way it looks is that as of tomorrow, in thoeory he will now be £90 over credit limit due to the decrease. Surely they cant do this can they especially with so such short notice? The letter stated that they have reduced his limit due to information from credit ref agency, however, only bill that he had problems with is T-Mobile as he has paid this over the counter at HSBC branches and for some reason payments where sent to another account and not his so his account looked late. He has sorted this with T-Mobile now whom have apologised for the mistake. There is no other credit accounts that have been late etc. He really concerned that in theory, if he cant get this below £800 by tomorrow Barclaycard will then start throwing over limit charges etc at him.

Thank you so much for your replies although am sad to see a dispute still occuring. To advise, garage who fully repaired vehicle which I collected today have changed the hub also as a precaution as they felt it be in the best interest for safety etc under the circumstances. They felt the original hub was not badly warn, but due to what had happened, the recommended it get changed with the new suspension arm and driveshaft and I agreed. The vehicle is running very well apart from a little judder on that side occassionally, however I haven't had that tyre changed or balancing / tracking check yet as no tyre garage open till monday. Believe that is the problem and only slightly noticable on that side tyre when turning a corner with minimum weight on that tyre. With regard to the price of the suspension arm, the new unit supplied and fitted (nice shiny unit from Peugeot) was indeed only £134 fitted from garage so £120 wasn't a low reduction to that, only difference is this once is definately new. Big thank you always, your help has been great

I contacted by email the supplier to the mechanic as he stated that he wanted to remove part and return to them to be checked, and as Andrew Page LTD is a well established part supplier whom I felt wouldnt supply 2nd hand / salvage parts, I thought it only right to get a update from them. I included photos of the part and there reply merely stated that they would welcome the part to be forwarded to them for further investigation. Im concerned as the part to me is of vital importance and evidence, should it go missing, my case becomes harder. I note that the part has letters and numbers wrote on it in yellow writing which makes me feel, and stated by the insurance inspectors, that part was changed but not with a new unit, that of a salvage part and pinch bolt etc where transfered from the old unit.

To update, Ford Dealership on mot repaired the 'inner velocity boot gator' and sorted both n/s & o/s headlamps which where aiming too high, just checked paper work to make sure Ive put in correct repairs, does this help?

Many thanks heliosuk, have uploaded photo's as this gives far better picture. The last 2 are pictures of the scene when all went wrong. The previous ones are the unit now in my possesion, as you will see this unit is not new and was only on the vehicle for 10 days. Also pictured is pinch bolt that have been advised bolts suspension arm to hub, noted how bent this is as well as really rusty and old. New parts requested and paid for, dont think new parts here. Many thanks

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Thank you so much for your reply, Im a little upset that I seemed to have caused a bit of a stir in here, that wasn't ever my intention, my budget stretched due to this and we are now struggling once again and now in arrears with mortgage. The taxi has done roughly 200 miles since the CV boot was changed and it is on the same side. The suspension arm was changed 6 weeks later and lasted 10 days. I will post photos of it all as that would give more of a idea of it all. I have decided that to keep things simple, could somebody advise how I take the matter further to small claims court? Thank you and sorry guys, please dont fall out with each other.

Thank you so so much for all your replies, I am so truly grateful. To confirm that the suspension arm didn't not get picked up on MOT, it was few weeks later after MOT when it started to tap occasionally hence the reason why I had it changed as like to stay on top of vehicle and keep in tip top condition. The suspension arm was only on the vehicle for a matter of 10 days when it failed, even from a reward view, it should last longer then this shouldn't it and 200 miles? Many thanks for the details about forwarding to supplier / manufacturer myself, hadn't thought of this and def way of going. The driver hurt leg and wrist and is looking to make a claim, however, like you have stated and what I thought all along, I be lucky to merely get suspension arm payment refunded and any other claim is what I thought and you have confirmed, difficult due to it possibly costing more to take him to court then what could be rewarded afterwards. Big thank you

Thank you for getting back to me. No its a Peugeot. He was told to change the suspension arm as the balljoint is where the problem was and you cannot change the balljoint only with this Peugeot as it is factory pressed into the whole suspension arm. His invoice says, 'to supply and fit suspension arm'. The solicitors I have contacted, only 2 at present although helpful dont deal with this sort of thing, one accident, injury solicitor and the other criminal defence. Only being a small area in which I live, haven't got much choice in solicitors. Thank you for your help

Hi all, In a little pickle and looking for some pointers please if possible. My taxi (gets mot'd twice a year every six months) had mot in November 2010 and had 3 items that needed repairing, both headlights aiming too high and split CV boot strap. Not big problems. The mot was carried out at a Ford Dealership for local council mot test and I authorised these repairs to complete mot. In december 2010, there was a knock that started to develop on the front driver wheel. Knew the sound from other side and other similar vehicle in the past, lower arm / ball joint warn. I booked it in with a mobile mechanic to have it changed at £120.00. A few days later the lower arm gave way sending the wheel to the side of the vehicle which was travelling at 30mph. My driver who was driving had leg and hand injuries trying to bring vehicle to stop. I had the vehicle recovered and was advised by recovery company that the lower arm had failed, I am no mechanic but looking at it, it didn't look like it had been changed at all. There was so much damage that I put it through insurance whom send a investigator to report on it. The report came back as mechanical failure due to this arm and insurance was looking at rejecting the claim. However, they have now agreed to the repair with bill of £1500 as long as I pay the excess (normal routine) and the suspension / lower arm. This is fine at min to get vehicle back in motion. I have all evidence and receipts showing work done etc but have been unable to get any local solitor on board to help take the matter further with the mechanic. My driver is looking at compensation and I feel that it will be me / insurance that his solicitors will go for. There where 3 passengers whom didn't have any injuries and I should add they werent wearing any seatbelts. I have spoke to the mechanic whom said he wants copy of the inspection report and also wants to take arm off and send it back to supplier to be examined, little concerned about agreeing to that as vital bit of evidence, be bit like police letting a suspected murderer into crime scene to collect a knife for a fatal stabbing. So at this point, Im thinking about sending by special delivery to both the mechanic and supplier the inspector report along with photos I took at the scene of it, upon delivery I will have the signature of recipient who signs for it and confirmation of delivery. Really lost here, its been a horrible start to new year and looking for any pointers possible of what / where / do next. Again, a very big thank you, hope haven't rambled to much

Hello all, Am in bit of a pickle and am hoping you guys and girls once again can advise what I could do. To narrow down a long rocky road, I got into financial problems when business I had went under in 2005 thanks to stealing staff. I entered in to a IVA in Jan 2006. This failed in late 2008 when I couldnt keep up payments to it and my IP ignored all requests for help in possible reducing payments etc for a bit. Said IP filed for my bankruptcy in Jan 2009 and was automatically discharged in Jan 2010. I have a small taxi business, 3 cars, 2 of which where on HP and both the finance co and OR was happy for me to keep them due to them being tools of trade and the fact that the vehicles where worth less then outstanding finance. Now this is where things are getting awkward, 2 of these have about had there day and are seriously in need of changing but I cannot get HP anywhere, even from previous completed / satisfied HP company. I was looking at part exchanging these towards them which would reduce the cost a third. It seems unfair that the IVA is due to fall of my file in Jan 2012 a long with associated debts at the same time but the bankruptcy for the same debt will sit on there for a further 3 years, basically making me and my family suffer for around 9 years in total. Without the help needed at this moment in time the business will go into the floor and put my father, me and my wife out of work. Is there anyway or anybody I could speak to, to see if I can have the BR leave the credit file earlier? Thank you so so much

Cannot thank you all enough, thank you so much. My father has made a call to the 0800 0556688, chap was very polite and helpful and went over everything and information on way to him now. Will update when received etc as no doubt we get lost again

Thank you both for your reply, my wife works only a few hours a week and we are in receipt of working tax credit, she is concerned that the Carer part of the claim could / would reduce working tax credits hence defeating the object really. I work round 50 to 70 hours week (self employed) due to being the only income now due to my dads sickness.

Thank you babybear39 for your reply, it is greatly appreciated. His private company pension he receives every year in November and is just under the £2500 figure, however this year to to a mistake by annuity company and tax man, £200 was taken off it. This has been queried and confirmed a mistake, now is the waiting game for it to come back. He seen his GP the other week for routine check, they clearly advised him he mustn't return to working under any circumstances for the time being. He is due to see a consultant next month at the hospital to check that the procedure he had done is ok. That a bout it really, we spoke to CAB yesterday who advised to look at Employment support benefit or something to that nature.