Vic, I'm shocked! I didn't realise you were that heavily in debt. You MUST get professional advice. lol

Haven'ta clue, but dx often posts telling people how to do it, so if you hunt his posts you should find it.

You say Halifax admitted they made a mistake. Do you have this in writing? If so, could you post up what they said please. Also, please could you let us know exactly which Halifax account you had and when it was opened so we can look up the terms and conditions. Thanks!

Don't be disheartened by the fact that they have rejected your offers. Personally I would not worry too much at the moment that the debts are increasing (I know that's easier said than done). I'd invest £6 and send a CCA request to all of the catalogue debts - make sure you pay by postal order and just sign it digitally. Who is the bank ? It would be helpful if you could tell us more about your debts - the more we know, the better we can advise. How old are they? How big are each of the debts? What has caused them -eg- have you had a change of circumstances or is it a case of simply overstretching yourself? Tell us everything you can about them and then we will be better placed to advise. The CCA requests may also shed a different light on how you handle them. They have 14 working days in which to respond to your request. Things often don't run smoothly to start with. The hardest bit is what you're doing now, especially as you are getting these initial payments set up by yourself rather than getting them set up by someone like CCCS then backing out of it.

I thought overdrafts were covered by part of the CCA as they're a form of running credit. A lot of banks say otherwise, but legally I think they do come under it.

You should be right in theory, but in reality they may or may not show the same. Don't ask me why - I don't know!

They may all show different info (sorry ims21). You can certainly get one and possibly 2 free as long as you remember to cancel the subscription. Alternatively you can pay each £2 and just ask for them.

Hi Ro, In addition to the form Matt mentions, there's another which will give you a 25% reduction in Council Tax (assuming you have a partner and are paying CT in full). If you google severely mentally impared illness and council tax reduction you'll get it. I do - didn't much like the title of being "severely mentally impaired" but it saves us £300 a year so I'll put up with the title.

Hey Baz, We don't mind whose threads we hijack lol! All good educational stuff. Anyway, all back on course now. Are you feeling better and up for the fight again now?

I haven't read it personally, but it may help you. http://www.courtroomadvice.co.uk/PreparingForCourtCategory.html

Do not ignore it. You must submit a defence and either go along as a Litigant in Person, or if you can find a no win no fee solicitor or get Legal Aid then get a solicitor to defend the case for you (pick carefully). As HS says above, as long as the court can see you are making every effort to repay your debts and can see you are not stashing millions away from your IE sheet, you will not be made to pay more than you can comfortably afford. It you look at the HM Courts website, it actually tells businesses not to take people to court when there is little or no chance of them getting their money. I think you are on strong ground so see it through, put a defence together and fight them.

If 6 years had passed since you previously acknowledged this debt or made a payment then it will e Statute Barred so get your money out quick! If you really did owe the money, then get a balance from Nat West. As long as your account is in credit you have no debt so AIC can go whistle. I wouldn't go into detail with Nat West too much, I'd just get a balance and keep it as proof - ask them to send you a statement or if they can print one there and then. When AIC get in touch again just tell them there is no debtr to Nat West.

The Halifax are not known as being the easiest bank to deal with. As you know the charges need reclaiming and you also know to avoid phone calls - if they become a real nuisance they can send the Telephone Harassment letter which should put a stop to the calls. I agree it's best to deal with the original creditor. Was there a reason for them stopping paying such as a change in circumstances? It is very common for people in the early stages of debt to bury their heads in the sand and try to pretend they will go away. However they are actually at the very best time to sort it out before it spirals out of control. They really need persuading to write to the bank (keep everything in writing for the avoidance of doubt, then everyone knows what has been said) explaining why they have hit difficulties and asking for help. They can ask for all charges and interest to be stopped; it would also help them if they filled in an income / expenditure form so they know exactly how much disposable income they have. They can then make a sensible repayment offer to the Halifax. Please don't let them be disheartened if Halifax refuse everything to start with, as I said they are not the easiest to deal with. If they do refuse, post up again and we'll sort out a letter that will hopefully make them listen a little more.

Hi, I'm only posting firstly to say I'm sorry to hear about your partner. What a terrible, distressing time for you without this going on. Secondly just to echo the excellent advice already given by P1. You are in good hands here.

Brilliant - hope they both work!

Hi Ro, I'm really sorry, but I know very little about benefits. However, if you go into Google you can find benefit checkers to see what you'd be entitled to, or pop down to your local CAB who'd check for you.

Looks good to me. Personally I'd consider sending it as two separate letters, one for the payment and one for the harassment, but entirely up to you.

You may well be right. I hope for your sake you are! As I said courts are not really my scene.

Excellent - good news. Well done you!

Courts are not something I know much about, but I suspect it's either because it is being redetermined or because they're after the full sum.

There's a copy from when I had to read it when I was doing my 2nd degree. Not my choice of bedtime reading I have to say and I would hardly call it well thumbed! Do you know what I think sums it up? The sketch with John Cleese and the two Ronnies. I look up to him because.... I look down on him because..... Watch that and you've basically got the book.

Was the monthly payment what you were ordered to pay by the court, or do you think they may be refusing it in order to try and force you to pay the full amount now the have a judgment?

I take it these loans were entirely different and in no way attachable to a normal student loan?

There is lots you can do. The first thing we need to know in order to help is what you owe, to whom you owe it and how old the debt is? Have any of them been passed to DCA's? Have you any CCJ's etc.... The more you can tell us, the more we can help. Apologies for only just picking up on the thread - not been around for a few days.

Are the personal loans secured on your property? Halifax are notoriously difficult. I've just written a letter for someone on the site who was having problems with them and they got substantial compensation. What has been said above is correct. The way they are treating you goes totally against many pieces of legislation, not least The Lending Code and the OFT Debt Collection Guidance as well as lots of others. I called them to account on these to pieces of legislation by pointing out they'd subscribed to the code and as such were supposedly responsible lenders. I then unpicked every little mistake they'd made and ended each paragraph along the lines of, Bearing in mind the above mentioned legislation, please could you justify this? I asked them at the start to respond to each point in turn and of course they couldn't. They are slippery as eels, but you can defeat them!