Good point ScarletPimpernel!

In an article in credit today Tom Drury said he moved from working in Shanks (he changed jobs but the smell still lingers!) because the commute to Milton Keynes from his home in Cheshire left him with little time to spend with his children. Has he ever thought about the number of children living in misery because of the industry he represents? How would he feel as a father when someone calls his home every day to threaten legal action? How would he feel if he could not feed or clothe his children because debt collectors have first ‘dabs’ at his income? How would he feel if every few days he received letters from Fredrickson international, Drydensfairfax or Arrow themselves telling him that they want more money or they will humiliate him in the courts and may even take away his possessions or indeed his home? Up hands everyone who is delighted that Mr Tom Drury has a lovely cosy peaceful life now that he does not have to commute all the way toMilton Keynes.

Absolutely true. Unclebulgaria. The whole system is rotten to the core. Even the government are selling their bad debts on to Arrow and therefore promoting the very system that leaves Children in poverty. People often argue that DCA’s loose so much money on the debts they cannot collect that they have to make those they really terrify make up the short fall but I say why do they exist at all? As you said earlier the original lenders should make better lending decisions and take the consequences or work in a more constructive way with the debtor when things go wrong. How many layers of companies do we need to feed on the misfortune of others? What’s next? Someone licensed to sell anti-depressants, rope and razor blades to those who the DCA’s cannot bleed any more money from?

Thank you so much BankFodder for posting up the info. I feel like emailing Tom Drury at Arrow and asking him if he is proud of his work!

Spot on unclebulgaria -I appreciate what the Brigadier is saying but we have to keep hammering away!

When you read these two articles one after another you know there is no justice in the world. All my campaigning, emailing and badgering the government and OFT may seem like a waste of time but one cannot read the children’s society article without trembling. I strongly recommend you click the link to the animated bit which states some shocking statistics. Sorry, cant post links yet! 1st read: This is money, at thisismoney.co.uk news article 2592434.Title: Debt- collectors-set-cash-consumer-borrowing-spree Then go to childrenssociety.org.uk press release 8th may 2014. Title: Report reveals debt's true damage to children, families

I have just read the following in This is Money PUBLISHED:22:02, 29 March 2014 - (ok I am a bit late but hey, I am doing my best!) Business is booming for debt collectors snapping up overstretched borrowers for as little 10p in the pound Government bodies are also likely to sell more debt in years to come. Last November the Government sold a swathe of student loans with a face value of £900 million for £160 million to Erudio, a company backed by stock market-listed debt collector Arrow Global And felt I had to send the following email to David Cameron and Nick Clegg. (Signing with my real name of course!) You sold government debts to a company that repeatedly breaks lending regulations, ignores OFT guidelines and feeds on misery. Shame on you. Bad debtors are not bad people. Not all have racked up debts by buying Gucci Handbags and mobile phones. Some have had to use their credit cards or get loans for emergencies such as boiler repairs or children’s clothing. Even when they avoid the so called loan sharks and go to high street lenders they are treated like criminals the moment they cannot meet repayments. The loan is sold on to companies such as Arrow who are as bad, if not worse than some of the sharks. They often take action that actually prevents the debtor from improving their situation. There are many cases and literally stacks of information available to prove that debtors are being treated unfairly by what you consider to be the more reputable organisations and I can certainly back up everything I write here with hard evidence and specific cases. You are endorsing a company that is literally pushing people over the edge. How are we to get companies like Arrow global to act in a legal and moral way when you are giving them such a vote of support? Just remember that every one of those debtors who you are ‘blanket judging’ and casting down into a pit of horror and despair is a voter.

Spot on Rebel 11! I know things will never be perfect but let’s try making them a little fairer.

Many thanks for all your comments. I know the price Arrow paid because in an article in Credit Today (3 June 2013) Arrow Global is reported as purchasing these and other debts for an average of 4.5 pence in the pound although Ian Drury from Arrow claims that they paid an average of 16.2pence in the pound. Ian Drury was bragging just how cheaply he bought the debts for and was being hailed as a financial genius. (Big bad swear word!) The two examples I have are only two of the millions of debts Arrow bought early last year and I know they bought from a number of banks and lenders at that time. I am trying to discover if any of the banks who later waved their caps at the tax payers looking for a bailout were involved –if so they have actually robbed us twice! I have proof of delivery of offers to Santander and the corresponding refusal letters and insistence on nothing less than 100% of the debt. I know they get Tax relief when they ‘write off’ bad debts but I am not so sure that applies when they sell them off but even if it did it would still not add up to the amount offered in the two cases above. I have however saved the best ‘till last……wait for it…these two examples were store cards switched to credit cards without any new agreement being signed. Now would I be right in thinking Santander were dumping their toxic waste??? When Arrow took over they changed the entry on the credit files as expected but changed the ‘start date’ to the date the store cards became credit cards! Since then it is the usual tripe about ‘not the owner in that sense’ when they are asked for copies of agreements etc. By the way, I feel I must say that this site and LB are actually doing more for people on the verge of cracking up then all the Valuim in the world. I want to repeat here what I said on LB; my nephew is a psychology graduate and he set up a website for people who feel suicidal and for friends and family of those who are left behind. Within a few weeks he had 500 regular contributors. Naturally all discussions are confidential but he did say that debt played a large part in a terrifyingly high number of cases. It is no exaggeration to say that websites such as this save lives and everyone who takes the time to read a comment and reply is a saint.

Banks are cheating their shareholders rather than negotiate with debtors. I am appealing to anyone out there who had a settlement offer rejected only to discover their debt was sold on. I have two examples, with full paper trails proving that Santander turned down settlement offers of up to 50 pence in the pound but within a few months sold those debts to Arrow Global for 16.2 pence in the pound or probably less. In these cases Santander and Arrow Global both insisted they would accept nothing less than the total owed from the debtor. If I held Santander shares I would want to know why they turned down at least 33.8 pence in the pound just because it was the debtor’s money and not Arrow Global’s. These above referenced cases were only two out of one million accounts bought by Arrow in early 2013. The total ‘loss’ incurred due to Santander’s determination to punish the debtors was almost £3000. That’s the loss on two accounts out of one million. As Santander was not the only bank having a ‘basement’ sale there must be many more debtors out there who had their offers rejected before the debt was sold on. Even if they did not or could not make an offer surely the Banks should give them a last chance to settle at a rate slightly above that offered to the debt collectors? I know Santander is a Spanish Bank but I have a very strong feeling that many other UK banks, including those who wave their begging bowl at the taxpayer when they mess up are merrily involved in the same practice. I am sick of people quoting Polonius with his infamous ‘neither a borrower nor a lender be,’ but let us not forget that Polonius was a fool. A bad debtor is not necessarily a bad person. Many, through no fault of their own have lost their jobs /income and their debts may include car loans and credit card balances not racked up by buying Gucci Handbags but School Uniforms and boiler repairs. The way the banks and I am afraid to say the moral majority treat debtors is a disgrace. The bankers (please feel free to apply rhyming slang!) approach to debt is one dimensional. There is only one punishment regardless of how many times you explain your situation or however hard you work to try and resolve the problem.You may not always wind up in court but you are harassed, bullied and let’s remember the branding on your credit file. Please remember that I do not need any personal details. Just confirmation that your bank rejected your offer then sold on the debt. If you offered more than 16.2 pence in the pound the chances are you were cheated. Then I can confidently start to campaign. Many may say I am wasting my time but this is a disgraceful situation and I feel I have to do something. I will be posting this on ‘the other website’ because I need as many examples as possible. Many Thanks.

The utility warehouse are the most disgraceful company Ihave ever dealt with. Like many of the contributors to this thread, we movedinto a house that was already supplied by UW. We told them we may changesuppliers but wanted their tariff details to make a comparison before callingBritish Gas. Within days the threats began –demanding a £100 deposit or theywould get a court order to ‘force entry’ and install a pre-paid meter. They asked us to submit meter readings whichthey do tend to ignore. They also insist that there is a discrepancy in themeter readings –apparently our initial reading did not tally with the previousoccupiers closing reading. Even though we sent digital photos of the readingand had the estate agent verify the reading when we moved in they are stillquestioning our word. We received a bill and a final demand in the same weekalthough the letters were dated 20 days apart. We called them and paidimmediately. We have just received another demand for the same bill, with a £6.00‘punishment fee’ added! I have now discovered that they have delayed ourswitching to British Gas by telling them that our meter reading is not to betrusted. I emailed Andrew Lindsay but he has not even acknowledged mycomplaint. I am now planning to complain to OFGEM, the OES but I am verysurprised they have not had complaints before and stopped them behaving likethis. Best Idea would be to contact anorganisation like watchdog. It is time to stop these bullies.

Crippled by unfair MBNA charges: I have tried to find an answer to this question but without success and although I am sure it must have happened to others and despited spending a few hours trying to find a way of asking the question, I will try this! MBNA take a regular payment from my bank account every month. It is Not in arrears but is up to the limit. They decide what the minimum payment should be. They decided, last november, to take less than was needed and as a result, my account went over the limit when they added their interest. For this they charged me £12.00 When I asked them why they did not set my payment high enough, they said -It was up to me to estimate what I should be paying, see what they have taken, and make up the difference!! I kid you not! Since then, I keep phoning and they keep charging. I also have a loan with MBNA. I had never missed a payment and have aprox. 6 months out of three years left to pay. Things are tight but I struggled on. I decided to cancel the direct payment on the credit card and pay them when the statement came in and try and add a bit extra but stupidly canceled the wrong payment. The loan which should have gone out on the 22nd of april did not go and I recieved a letter today from a collection agency dated the 25th -three days after the payment was due. I had never missed a payment or even been late, despite being in dire circumstances and it made no difference -I am now getting phone calls and threatening letters. So now I want to fight. I no longer want to go without the basic essentials just to keep them happy while they rip me off every month and to get a collection letter -3 days after missing a payment, having never missed one before is so unfair. I really want my "charges" refunded and I want to know if they acted illegally sending the letter so quickly on the loan issue-can anyone help? PAWS