I was given an arrangement by my bank (halifax) that would automatically cause me to default without warning unless i coughed up 3,000 (student overdraft, biggest mistake of my life!) Of course I wasn't told this at the time! I was told when the "arrangement" ended I would need to renew it and pay a little more maybe to get it cleared, but I was never told how soon it needed to be cleared by and I was told I would not be defaulted if I kept up the payments (which I did it was halifax who stopped them) I'm disabled, out of work, and totally failed by the benefits system, my partner and I live on his PART TIME shop wage and the charity of family. However thankfully I should be able to pay the full amount off by next month to avoid "legal action" But I'm 25 and just starting my adult life and I need the default notice overturned if I'm going to have any chance to buy a house or anything like that. Thing is, if I had be told this automatic default notice was going to be served, I would have borrowed the money from family, or even worked the streets for heavens sake to avoid the default notice! I was recommended by family and freinds to enter an arrangement for £5 a month that would hold them off for 6 months at least so I could get the money together, 3 months down the line I'm served a default notice. First person I spoke to refused to give me a straight answer (here the pro blem) I said 'I could afford £5 a month and that was all' (as recommended by family including someone who used to work for the Retail Bank Collections) then I asked him what I needed to pay to prevent a default notice, he told me I'm paying £5 a month. Well I know that but I can borrow money... so I asked him again, if I could find the money by borrowing from family, how much would I need to pay to prevent a default? He told me all I could afford was £5 a month, I think I maybe asked him 5 times for an answer and got nothing. So i hung up and called back to get somebody else. By this time though he had put through the agreement for £5 a month and the next woman said there was nothing she could do until it ended and I would be contacted after it ended to make another agreement. Well I wasn't, and got 2 letters through the door, one a warning of "legal action" and 2 days later the default. Phoned again today was told its automatic and when I said what I was told in the original phone call he covered his ass by saying he didn't know what I was told, so I told him to check the recordings. Hah. Totally fuming as you can imagine, as had I been told the truth in the beginning i would have begged borrowed, and sold my own grandmother to avoid this. Thinking of taking legal action of my own, Mother-in-law works for a lawyers office so she can get her boss to help me. but to be truthful I have little to no idea about the system so anything you wonderful people can tell me would be great. I want to pay off the debt and I will as soon as i can, I just need this default notice to be overturned. Thanks!