Thanks again Ida. I'll get that letter off tomorrow and see how they respond.

Hi Ida Thanks for the quick reply. It isn't a direct debit. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear. She is sending postal orders every week. The letter from the bank claims that a 25 pound charge has been levied on her account to cover the cost of processing a bank arrestment. Edit. They (CA) havent been able to take money from her account as they have applied their bank arrestment on days when thankfully for her there has been no money in her account but the bank still charges her for it.

Hi there, Could anyone please offer some advice on what to do here. I've just had my gran call me in tears and it seems she's in a hell of a mess with Council Tax arrears and she is being hounded constantly by Charles Anderson. It turns out she owes around 5 thousand. She is a part time worker and her wages have already been arrested. They are also making her pay 15 pounds per week on top of that. Now they are starting to go into her bank account every week or two and the bank are charging her 25 pounds a time. Whenever she tries to call them, they are rude and abusive and demand 50 pounds per week on top of the wage arrestment. She is worried sick now that they are going to hit her bank one day and catch her wages. Could anyone please offer some advice on what to do. She has been caught in this cycle with them for years and the 5 grand is for multiple years. Because of this she cannot pay anything towards her current bills and they go straight to warrants starting the cycle all over again. Thanks for reading

The compliance guy asked me to sign a statement stating it was all malicious which I happily did. He did say that was the end of the matter unless there was some evidence, which would be impossible in my opinion. I was worried that it would maybe affect my claim. Thanks for the reassurance. I live with my partner, but she doesn't work. My kids are 11 and 3 and the missus gets child benefit and tax credit based on my IB (I think) so slightly concerned that if the IB is stopped then the child tax credit may also go as they state I have to inform them of any income changes. I start the course tomorrow so I think I'll ask the guy running it (JCP employee) if I could get the medical rearranged. Again thanks for the response.

Thanks for responding The course is two days a week over the next ten weeks. That was the main reason to chase a place on it. I thought that maybe if I could handle two days a week then I could try pushing up to seven. As for switching my claim, I had feared that it would take a few weeks to sort out. Would it be possible for me to phone and try and get the medical rearranged for the end of the course in December? That way I would be in a better position to know for certain if I was now fit for work. The other problem I've had is a spiteful neighbour is sending in false reports of benefit fraud against me every few months so I've had the compliance team at my door. Would this count against me in a medical? The allegations are utter rubbish but the IB team might be looking at this and thinking no smoke without fire. Sorry for the questions but I've two young kids and I'm hoping that I'm not going to have to start battling with IB appeals and no money midway through the course. It seems sometimes like since I applied for this course I've been under attack from all angles.

Hi all I'm looking for some advice please. I have been on IB for the last two years after an illness. I'm slowly starting to recover and through the jobcentre I have achieved a placement on an employment support course which is two days a week. My intention is that if I can successfully complete this course then I will consider myself fit again and get back in the game so to speak. The question I have is that if I phone the jobcentre and ask them to switch me to JSA then how long would it generally take to get it sorted. I don't want to get in the position where I have to go weeks with no money, but at the same time I don't want to be claiming IB if after the course I feel fit enough to work. Also I am due an IB medical in a few weeks and I am now wondering if this course I am going to start will negatively affect the claim. Any advice would be appreciated Thanks

Hi Ida, I reckon the last time I payed anything was around the end of 2003 after the SO's visit. I can't be any more specific as I have a horrible record with paperwork. Thanks

Thanks for the prompt reply dx I had a feeling myself that AIC were trying their luck but this thing has hung over me for a long time. I'll continue to file any more letters from them in the circular file As I said in my earlier post I had paid the OC a fortune over the years only to find out that it had virtually no impact on the original balance as they were hammering on interest. I had no problem with paying them what was originally owed but I will not let them treat me like a cash machine

Hi all, Basically my situation is like this. I had a car on finance approx 13 years ago. As life tends to get in the way, I found myself a husband and father (best things in my life) So I contacted the finance firm (cough, UDT, cough) and told them I wanted to cancel our agreement (four year finance - two years in). They then sent a guy out to my house who made me sign an A4 piece of paper (I kid you not, hand written!!) that stated that I was voluntarily giving up the car. So they promptly sued me in 1998 and apparently got a CCJ for approx 1500. Which I them agreed to pay off at 15 quid a week plus I payed them a lot more the weeks I worked overtime Now I paid this for many years after and to my horror at around 2003 I got a visit from the Sheriff Officers claiming I still owed approx 1200. Now I checked my records (post office stubbs) and it seems that out of the original court order, I had more or less payed off the original balance of 1500. Now I told the Sheriff Officers to clear off and that they should make me bankrupt as I was not willing to be a cash machine for (cough, UDT became Black Horse) and to make me bankrupt. I then spent many years worried sick about this, but now I have a mob called Allied International Credit chasing me up for 900 quid on behalf of Black Horse. I guess what I really want to know is if a company gets a CCJ, can they continue to add punitave rates of interest even if I didn't know about the CCJ ( I got a blue letter through the post back in 98 stating that I had a judgement awarded against me - and I know I'm a coward for not contesting it) Now back to the Allied Credit people, I have ignored them for several months but now I'm getting cards through the post threatening legal action. But surely if I'm dragged through the courts again they cannot award more money than the original judgement? Otherwise whats the point of payin if they are going to cripple me with interest payments? I appreciate any and all help that anyone can provide as I feel that I have paid off the original debt that they sued me for. Thanks for taking the time to read this Ally Sorry for the edit, but I'm still trying to figure out the forum. (I suck!!) But UDT repossed the car the day they made me sign a hand written document saying so. Now I was stupid enough to sign it just to get by the embarrassment of having your car reposessed (sic) in front off your pregnant wife and then the stigma of having your car repo'ed in front of your neighbours.

Curses, sorry for the wall of text. I havent figured out how to work the forum yet. (I apologise )

Hi there, Sorry if this is not relevant to this thread, but approx two years ago I had a similar situation with the now defunct London Scottish, who showed up at my door one day attempting to collect a British Gas debt. The collector, who we had an account with (a two hundred pound loan -which we were paying off normally) stated that I had to pay them for the BG debt. Now I naturally asked them what proof they had and they responded that it was given to them by their head office to collect. I promptly told them that I would continue to pay them the debt that I owed them, but as far as I was concerned the British Gas debt was 1) None of their business as they were not a debt collecter and 2) It was a fictional debt as I had changed suppliers and BG thought that I should still pay them. This went on for several months until I told the collecter straight (whom with I'd previously had good relations) that okay, fair enough, collect a so called debt for BG, but it will come out of my normal weekly payment and I will not pay a penny more. It's up to them to divide up the money. Funnily enough, after that, there was no mention of the so called BG debt. Anyway, I'm sorry if this seems gibberish or not relevant to the Provident, but a doorstop collector for the Provident or Greenwoods has no legal right whatsoever to collect on another companies debt, regardless of what they may say or imtimidate on someones doorstep. Just CCA them (God knows the "Provvi" has enough trouble keeping hold of their own CCA's) and tell them straight to provide proof. Again, sorry if this is not relevant, I'm only speaking from my own personal experience

The stench of arrogance the guy gave off made me think that to. He came across as the kind of guy who thinks he's always in the right. In saying that, I would like to think he watched tonight and somewhere in the dark snake pit that passes for his mind, there was a tiny sliver of shame and remorse.

You got that right. I dunno where I would have ended up had I not discovered the goldmine of information on this site. Companies like Marlins must hate this site as it helps everyone stand up to them and their bullying tactics

Thanks for the welcome I was glad I found this site, it gave me a lot of the ammo needed to see off some of the sharks hoping for a bite at me Never before did I think the word 'CCA' would bring me so much relief.lol

Hi all, First time poster here What can I say? Those guys at Marlin are serious ****. I cannot believe the tactics. As someone who has spent the last few years being harrassed by fools like them it's shocking to see the contempt these people have for us. I am fairly bemused as to why the programme didnt make more of the rude hand gestures that Mark idiot was doing while making his phone threats. Still a good TV show and it gives us all the more reason to tell these clowns where to go