And don't worry. All the stuff about courts and bailiffs is nothing but threats. They tell everyone they're going to take them to court, and they never do.

Claire, Try reading this thread: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/payday-loans/70727-credit-resolution-services-crs.html I think it will answer most, if not all, of the questions you might have. Come back if it doesn't help.

Petal, I don't think the person you're addressing that to will get an email notification that you've replied, so probably won't notice your question. If you haven't done so, I would suggest reading through this whole thread. I think you will find most of the information you need. Hope it helps. Come back if there are any developments. B

And in answer to your question, yes, they will always do two things to start with: i) Threaten you with court action if you don't pay them immediately, quite possibly accompanied by a fake court summons. ii) Offer you a big 'discount' if you pay up in a lump sum straight away. Once you realize how it works you realize not to believe either of them. Let's say, hypothetically, someone may or may not owe a gym a couple of months' membership - maybe a hundred quid. CRS will claim it's been running for months and adding up (even though their membership has been cancelled and they have no access to the gym - and, in turn, the gym aren't providing the service they're charging for), and add a few hundred. Then they'll add on a couple of hundred in 'fees' (whether they could ever enforce these in court is another matter), and claim a grand total of, say, £600. Then it comes. If you don't pay us six hundred quid immediately we're going to take you to court, then we'll send the bailiffs round and take all your stuff. You'll be potless and you'll never get credit again. (Crikey, this is bad, what the hell do I do?) However, because we're decent people and we care about you, if you pay us today we'll settle for, say, £250 and it'll all go away today. (Wow, that's a good deal. 250 down from 600. Or a CCJ if I refuse. Maybe I should take it. Put it on a credit card, just to make it go away) This all sounds ok, until you consider that a DCA pays maybe 5% of the original 'debt' when they buy it. So in this case, they've probably paid about £5 and they're getting £250 out of you for sending one letter. They don't need many people to fall for that one to make millions of pounds a month.

I did, and I replied. Good luck, keep us posted. B

I have almost exactly the same situation. It's almost standard with them. I wouldn't bother sending them a CCA request. They will deny that the agreement is covered by the consumer credit act and call it a 'membership agreement'. Whether that's true or not would need a decision from a judge, I'd guess, or the OFT. I would suggest to you what I have to others. Read the whole thread, make your own decisions, don't be threatened by them and their claims that you only have a couple of days to save yourself from oblivion. It's all nonsense. I don't know what will happen if you do nothing. They may not pursue you, but I have no idea. If you choose to engage with them, make sure it is only by letter, never use the phone, keep records of everything, don't believe the things they tell you. They want to scare you into paying them. Don't give away any details about your identity, but if I may ask, which branch of Gold's were you a member of?

Yeah, from what I know of them they probably don't really want to take anyone to court, so they keep threatening it but never actually do it. I know a guy who's a finance broker, and he knows someone who works for CRS. He says he admitted that their tactic is just to keep wearing people down until they give up. I suppose if they tried to contest too many cases in court it would highlight their business practises, and how little they pay for the debt. I've been expecting a letter from them for ages, but it still hasn't come. I know it will eventually. I assume they go through people on some sort of rota - harrass one group for a while and see how many give in, then move on to another, then eventually your name comes up again and they have another crack at you. Like cockroaches.

Out of interest, how many times have they threatened to take you to court, and how did you get them to stop writing you letters for eleven months?

Hi Jason, I, like many people here, have been through all this with CRS. I'm in no way an expert, but I can offer a few tips from experience. Please don't let me influence your decisions, though. Firstly, I'd suggest reading this entire thread through from start to finish. There are plenty of people in similar situations who've described their experiences with CRS, and it should help put your mind at rest that their threats are probably all hollow. Secondly, don't panic. All the court papers and the rest of it are fake, and their threats about adding on tons of charges are completely unenforceable. Don't be panicked into a hasty response. Thirdy, never speak to them on the phone. If you choose to have contact with them, do so only by letter, and keep copies of everything. CRS's tactic is to keep at you until you get so frustrated you give in and pay them. They don't care whether they're right or wrong, whether you owe them money or not. They pay no attention to any arguments you make, and they don't have much regard for the truth. They buy 'debt' in bulk for a tiny percentage of the original value. They don't have to get many people to fall for their scare tactics to make a huge profit. Personally, I would suggest you don't reply at all yet, and instead seek advice from a CAB. I suspect CRS prioritize their harrassment for people who reply to them, because they know they're reading their threats. It's possible if you don't reply at all they may give up. If you do choose to fight them, come back here. There's plenty of advice on how to do it, and lots of people who've been through it before. Good luck.

Hello, I've had a similar thing with CRS over a gym membership. I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier. What's happened in the last year or so? Any progress? B

Just a quick bump.

Yeah, that was my first thought, too. First priority is to get them to stop whacking up the charges and harassing my dad, though. Just had a bereavement and it's all a bit much.

Hello all, Hopefully you can offer some advice/experience. I've just discovered my father, a pensioner, took out a Vanquis credit card some years ago, at an extortionate rate of interest. All was fine until one day he fell behind with a payment, and ever since he has been paying a fortune every month just to pay off the fines and interest. He's paid them off more than he ever owed, but the balance is just as high and getting higher. It's reached the point where it just can't go on, and he simply won't be able to pay them. It's taking all his pension. It's ridiculous. I've suggested he may as well default, offer them a quid a month or something. Perhaps this isn't the best advice. I would very much appreciate any advice on how to help him with this. He wouldn't even object to paying off the balance if they only stopped adding on charges and interest. Can anyone help?

I have to agree. I think it's very unlikely CRS will ever do anything more than make threats. Solicitors will end up costing more than they claim you owe them. CAB is a better starting point, or read the thread posted above.

Ah, good. The reality is that if they ever tried taking you to court (which I don't think they ever will) they wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Everyone's allowed to cancel a gym membership because of injury. For now, I'd do nothing. I don't think they'll do more than send some more fake court papers, and threats of bailiffs. I really don't think they'll bother doing either. If they carry on and ever actually do try to do anything, you can write to them and insist they either DO take you to court, or leave you alone. Write back if you hear from them again, but don't panic when you do. It's all threats and hot air. Tell us what happens. B