Hi all, Having recently started a business and been talked into looking into eBay more by a friend, I liked the sound of their £19.99 a month 'shop', which would allow us to display 200 items. What they don't tell you is that as soon as you list your 1st 5 items, it will block you from listing any more until you ring a costly number to find out what other hoops you have to jump through to be able to list any more! Added to that, we only had 1 evening to list our items due to other commitments so we had settled down to doing this when we were blocked from adding more listings. I straight away checked my emails but there was no message of explanation there so I used the virtual chat and found out that this is the norm if you're new and that the expensive line you need to ring is only open between 9 and 5pm. We were told this in the evening so could not list our products on the day we needed to. I told them this was very close to mis-selling as these things were not mentioned when I agreed to a subscription. I told the lady that I would be cancelling my subscription immediately as we would not have agreed to go ahead with the subscription if we had known about the hidden parts! Problem here is that I have since read that even if you cancel, they will still charge you the money for a month and then some! My question is:- after agreeing to use paypal to pay them, how do I stop them from taking the money without cancelling our business paypal account (it's used for our online private website)? Please help! Thank you.

I'm just wondering if they'll 'lose' it... I'll update on here. Fingers crossed! Thanks for everything. Catwoman A.

Thanks for the information dx. I really hope you're right and they don't bother with court action. I'll get the SAR sorted asap and sent on Monday and recorded delivery maybe - I'll make sure I retain proof of postage either way.

At least they can't give me a 2nd default so just under 2 years before it disappears. Cap1 are still showing as the owners but they changed the account number on there - not sure if that means anything? Am I safe from a judgement if I ignore the other 2 then? That would be a relief! I will SAR Cap1 and let you all know when I get everything through. Can they take action against me while I'm doing that though? Not sure how long all this takes but will look that up. Thanks dx

I remember the £6 over thing happened in 2006 now and then they added all of the charges etc and we made an arrangement to pay. It was 3 years later that I must have paid it late (I'm guessing) as they defaulted me then.

This is what this debt looks like on my file. If I hover over each month, it tells me the balance each time, £1 less, including in the default month. I guess I made the payment a day late or something! Catwoman A.

Thank you for your reply dx. Can I be defaulted again if one of my £1 (AP) payments is late? I wouldn't put it past them Cap1 to do that again if they can. I see what you mean about AP's now. I'll check back and see if I was defaulted with the others. I think I was but my memory's not what it was these days! I never thought I'd be potentially happy to find a default! If I were to win the lottery and settle all of my debts, then it would take a further 6 years for the AP's to disappear from my credit file (if they didn't have defaults) then? That sounds harsh. It is indeed all over £6 so hopefully I'll have some luck there then. I found all of the old letters they sent me in the loft tonight so I'll have a good look through that and see what might be useful. Do you think I should CCA Cap1/Fred's or Carter first or go straight in with a SAR? Thanks again. Best wishes, Catwoman A.

Hi dx, Thank you for your reply. I was under the impression that it was just the debt in red that was the issue because that's what my last letting agent said was the problem one for them. They could see that all of my 'AP's' were up to date each month but nothing on the Cap1 one since April 2009, although they did notice that it was for literally £1. It still cost me extra money for a guarantor though - grr! I think they all defaulted around the same time (2009) but I will check that. I would love to be in a position to just wipe them out completely. Maybe one day! I'm guessing from what you've said that even if the defaults drop off after the 6 years, the AP's will still cause me a problem? I will try to get some money reclaimed from Cap1. My limit was £600 and I went over it by £6 but their charges for that were impossible to pay and they just kept adding more and more. The balance is £721 now and I've been paying it off for 4 years, with extra payments when I can. Thanks again for your input. Catwoman A.

It's good to hear that Freds can't take legal action. The others defaulted at around the same time but for them, the 'AP' shows on my credit file, instead of the red warning on the Cap1 one, which I was told is the one that letting agents don't like, even though they can see it only defaulted because of a £1 late payment from an arrangement. So if Freds buy the debt from Cap1, they/Carter can take legal action but if they are both acting on behalf of Cap1, these are just empty threats? It was taken out before (April 2007) so I think I will CCA them. If they cannot provide what I am asking for, what would happen? Thanks again. Catwoman A.

Hi silverfox, Thank you for your reply. I am fine about the default - it's the 'AP' that's missing after April of 2009 that I have an issue with because that's what's causing me difficulty when I have to move. I should have mentioned that before that default, the 'AP' was showing each month up until then so I don't understand why they haven't done that after the default, as the others have. It seems that they can do it but just don't want to. I think it's payback for reporting them to the Ombudsman before. I would be perfectly happy to stay with them if they were to show that my arrangements are up to date on there again. Thank you for your advice. I will send Cap1 a SAR as the charges were over £200! I will speak with my dad again and see if they've stopped harassing him and exactly what information they gave him but I can see a complaint coming on. If I remember correctly, I think he said it was Fredrickson's that were calling him. Fredrickson's were telling me that they are acting on behalf of their 'client' Cap1. They appear to be using Bryan Carter though. The letter from them stated that Fredrickson's asked them to write to me. At the end, however, it states:- 'Before the account is formally referred to us you still have an opportunity to contact Fredricksons with your payment proposals. In order to avoid further debt recovery action you should telephone them immediately on 0845 3136624' What would be the best thing to write to Fredrickson's at this point or do you think it might be worth speaking to Cap1 again, to see if they will change their mind about updating my payments like they used to? Good advice with the proof of postage - I can imagine a lot of them 'go missing' as I've had that with Cap1 in the past. I started sending stuff in neon blue envelopes in the end, to 'help' them find it amongst their '2 week backlog' of mail! Thanks again. Catwoman A.

Hi all, I was hoping you may be able to give me some advice. The background is this:- I had a credit card with CapitalOne but after poor health left me unemployed, I struggled to pay my bills and ended up using the card to pay for food when things got really bad. Unfortunately, I ended up going £6 over my limit and despite informing them of my situation (albeit via phone), the charges and interest just spiralled out of control until they had added hundreds onto my debt. They were calling me and my dad up to 5 times a day and I ended up reporting them to the Ombudsman - a great move as they stopped the harassment then. I had found the CCCS and was able to use their help to get the £1 a month agreement with CapitalOne. I have never missed a payment but they had defaulted it anyway and that has stopped me getting any credit (and places to live because of it!) since 2009. My health has actually deteriorated and as the debt is now about £721, it would never be cleared in a reasonable time like this but I have no other option. I recently accessed my credit file and my history on that is great - it is literally only capOne that shows up as 'red' for the 2009 default. This is where things got interesting... I had also noted that my other creditors (4) all show our arrangement of £1 a month with every month listed and up to date. The CapOne debt however only shows the default in 2009 and no other payment is recorded on there, to show that our arranged payments are up to date. I called them and I asked if they could please show this on there, like the other creditors do (I've got no statements from CapOne either to show any of my payments over these years but have from the others). The answer was "No" - "not the way we do things". As I can't see my financial situation improving, this would mean having problems in my credit history for ever! I explained that I was concerned about that as my situation was brought about by my disabilities and was simply told that it is "important to keep your payments up to date so that your account stays with us". .. This is where I told them that I would rather it was with someone else, that may show my payments to them are up to date. I was then informed that if I missed 2 of my payments, it would be passed onto a debt collection agency. I let them have a 'care of' address (my dad's address) as I was moving soon but did not know my forwarding address yet but my mobile number was still valid if they needed to talk to me. I stopped paying and waited... Sure enough, about 8 weeks later, I got a letter from Fredrickson's to my dad's address and had some missed calls on my mobile, with messages for me to call Fredrickson's. I also found out however, that they had also been harassing my dad with calls - not a number I had ever given them and this made me think twice before contacting them. I researched them on here instead and the general advice was not to call them but to ignore them and so I have been doing that, in the hope that they will give up and pass the debt on again to someone else. I then got a letter to my new address, which I had obviously not given them, that was asking for confirmation of whether I lived there. I ignored it. Today I got a letter from Bryan Carter Solicitors though and I've seen what they can be like from threads on here so this is when I thought I should ask for advice. I tells me that I must contact Fredrickson's within the next 14 days to arrange repayment, failing which they will recommend that proceedings be issued against me and it lists the costs. It then goes on to tell me that I can avoid the account being formally referred by calling Fredrickson's 'immediately' and that this is a 'serious matter' and that I 'may wish to seek independent legal advice'. Can they issue legal proceedings if I have had no communication with them and have not confirmed this as my address or is this just another scare tactic to illicit a response from me at this address? If I should respond, does anyone know if they would show my payments as being up to date on a credit file or are they just as bad as CapOne? Should I be sending a SAR to CapOne or a CCA to Bryan Carter? Any advice is greatly appreciated. If they obtain a CCJ against me, it would defeat the object of trying to rescue my credit history so that is definitely something that I do not want. Apologies for the essay!

Hi san-d, I've not read reviews on those before but thanks for the information - I shall check on there before using companies I'm not familiar with in future. I would never use them again and many others will not use them because of their behaviour either. Such a shame that companies behave this way! Catwoman A.

Hi san_d, I hope you can complain about them to someone and get them to sort it out. It was only going through with complaining about them through Paypal that I had any luck but I never got to speak to them ever again (kind of glad about that really!). Catwoman A.

Update: finally had a notification (and checked it!) that my refund has come through. Certainly will never use this company again! Thank you to everyone on here. Catwoman A.

Hi, You're very welcome. I'm really pleased to hear that you managed to get the telephone interview too and it really helps that the WRAG advisor said that he shouldn't have been put into WRAG. I think even the advisors don't really want to have to put anyone through all of this! Thank you. I will let you know how it goes, although I have no clue at all as to when that will be! Take care and best of luck!

Hello Sorry to hear about what you are going through. I'm not sure if this will still be relevant to you now as it's been a fair few days since the last posting but hope this helps you:- I have several conditions that have me mostly house bound now and getting anywhere or at given times (particularly if it's morning) are becoming more and more impossible at the moment. They put me in the ESA WRAG and I have appealed the decision (8th August and still waiting to hear) and asked to be put in the support group. The Jobcentre interviews and other activities would have been extremely difficult and I was worried that it would be 'when' and not 'if' they would cancel my benefit because I couldn't do what they required. I was, however, very pleasantly surprised. The jobcentre sent me a letter for attending an interview and then followed up with a call. I explained to the lady how difficult it would be and asked how I could manage it and she went and spoke to her supervisor. I was rung back to explain that because of my situation, they would conduct an over-the-phone interview instead and that was quite a few weeks into the future. When the interview came around, I answered the phone and they were great. They were understanding and listened and simply told me that they would call back in 4 months, to discuss with me any types of work that I think I might be able to do but with no pressure. They said that if there was anything they could do to help, just to ask and they would do their best. I was shocked...in a good way. After reading your thread on here, I thought I should pass on this information, in case it helps in some way and to suggest that if they insist on an interview, they may be able to use the telephone version, like they did with me. Either way, the best of luck and I hope it can all be resolved for you.

Hi. Yes, we had a read of that one and they have followed the rules in there thus far. He's gone in today to work an 8am until 4pm shift so he's going against the rota but they always need more people on a 'promotion changeover' day. No-one has said anything to him about it yet but either way, he will hand over his letter that was written last night, detailing his grievance. I can see all of the enthusiasm's gone out of him for his job now and it's causing him a lot of stress and loss of sleep. I know I shouldn't feel guilty because I can't help my conditions but it is hard not to when I see him seemingly being punished for putting the wellbeing of me first. Financially it will be a struggle when they force him out too. I'm scared that something will go wrong and he won't be entitled to any help financially and we may lose our home if we don't have a lot of luck very quickly! Life can be harsh! Thank you for all of your help though. It helps us a lot to know that people out there care about helping those that are struggling.

He is writing his grievance letter as I type and I have suggested detailing this in there, pointing out that he would still be getting all of the workload done as previously but that granting him the flexible hours would benefit the business as a happy and supportive environment leads to more enthusiastic staff and this, in turn, benefits customer relations and service.

Hi Emmzzi. Thank you for your input. The shift would still be the same length and the same work done within that time so it wasn't specifically mentioned.

stu007: Thank you so much for this! I think phoning them tomorrow sounds like a good plan and I will make sure we review all of your links tonight. Thanks again.

stu007: Regarding that last link, when I read about the 'Legal right to request flexible working for employees caring for adults - Work and Families Act 2006', I asked my partner about it and he said he did quote that in the original flexible hours request. I noticed the only way for them to say "no" to that is the one they've picked - 'An employer may refuse a request only where there is a recognised business reason for doing so'. Looks similar to how they've worded their refusal letter *sigh*.

Thanks renegadeimp. I believe that comes under 'Customs and Practice', which we'll be mentioning in the grievance letter he takes to work with him tomorrow. Thanks stu007. Will check that one out too.

Update: Nothing on 'Flexible Working Policy and Procedure' in the handbook but he did officially request flexible working hours in writing. Should we still request a copy from them at this stage?

Update: The contract states that his contracted hours per week are 40, working 5 days out of 7 but does quote underneath that certain employee roles (including his) are 'expected to work the hours necessary to carry out their duties satisfactorily'. Despite never having to work these very varied shifts before and even though this is not actually a choice for him, I still think that this statement is the one that might mean we're up a certain creek without a paddle...but I live in hope!

Thanks renegadeimp. Hi Sidewinder. Thank you for your response. He's just digging out his contract to check on the working in relation to his working hours. He works as a Deputy Manager, unfortunately and it is at a well known petrol station and store (not sure if I'm allowed to say the name on here or not?). The rejection of his request for flexible working hours has been worded in a way that highlights their 'reasons' as 'Detrimental effect on the ability to meet our customer and business demands', claiming that employees are required to 'work across a variety of shifts in order to fully serve the customer'. It also highlights 'Alternative options discussed'. These were listed as: 1.) Part time Deputy Store Manager - less hours per week but still the varied shift hours ie not possible. 2.) Full Time CSA role (Night shifts) - aside from the pay cut involved, the night hours are not possible. 3.) 2 late shifts per week - another impossible 'option'. I'll write an update on how his contract is worded very shortly. Hi stu007. Thank you for responding. He's now looking for his staff handbook, in the hope that there may be a copy of their 'Flexible Working Policy and Procedure' in there! Thank you for the links. We wil be checking all of those out shortly. I love the name of the 'Who cares Wins' link. Hopefully we'll find some useful information in these.