You can, if you prefer, make a complaint to them that it is unfair - write to them and keep a copy. Get proof of posting (free from the post office). If they do not give you a satisfactory response within 8 weeks you can complain to FOS under the Consumer Credit Act 2006. Once you do that, get it to FOS they will find taking you to court very difficult.

Follow my link at #16. Phoning you at work is a clear breach of the guidance. If you do not get anywhere, take them to FOS - free for you, £500 for them, win or lose. The adjudicators at FOS do not know how to deal with this but point out the specific guidance breach and if they still won't back down, insist that an Ombudsman make a decision. If they keep pestering you whilst it is at FOS then tell FOS about that too.

A few points. First, the FOS is not funded by the Taxpayers but by financial institutions (so I suppose we are all funding the levies and fees charged to Lloyds TSB, HBOS and Northern Rock). Second a lot of financial institutions do not like FOS either. They agree it is not fit for purpose. This is particularly true of IFAs. They are generally far more highly qualified than adjudicators - many of whom have only basic qualifications and are unable to understand what they are looking at. In banking, there are now adjudicators who have no relevant qualifications at all - but then neither does the new Chief Ombudsman! Most adjudicators are now contractors who have their own limited companies and are paid a fee per case - so taking an easy route is a clear temptation and it is generally easy to uphold what you do not understand. The problem is not entirely the fault of FOS - the workload has expanded to the extent that they cannot cope. For those being harrassed by DCAs, I recommend you are very familiar with the OFT guidance. If any part of it is breached (including multiple phone calls) then challenge the adjudicator by asking them why they disagree with the OFT on any point they have not upheld on. It will make life more difficult for them. And do go to an Ombudsman if they don't come up with a satisfactory answer.

I deal with financial services complaints for a living - not, on the whole, in motor insurance and I do not know the details of this case but: I do remember that, at one time, the AA were using a common application for particular classes of insurance - it used to cause Which? no end of problems with their best buy tables because it meant slight differences in cover depending on which insurer underwrote it. I do not know if they still do but it would appear, to a consumer, that it was actually underwritten by the AA. If that was still the case when the policy was taken out then it would give grounds for complaint against the AA that it knew of both vehicles and, as far as the insured was concerned, it was all one and the same. As far as the underwriter is concerned, there are cases where a claims team has attempted to void a policy and when the FOS has intervened it has admitted that it would have accepted the policy - although perhaps on different terms. So it is probably worth complaining to both.

Please take a look at this thread on moneysavingexpert.com It has a template complaint letter which tells the DCA what they must do about it. The advantage of this is that it may get you some compensation and unlike the OFT which will not normally act on individual complaints, the FOS will. If people do it regularly, then the DCAs business model will be undermined and it is also likely the FOS will report it to the OFT. (more than 30 complaints in six months will result in data being released into the public domain anyway).

Sorry - should work now. Going down this route starts getting expensive for DCAs if they are breaking the rules and the FOS will look at individual complaints, so it is generally much better than the OFT.

Have they told you that you can now take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service? If so, then do it. If not then if it is more than 8 weeks since you first complained (which it may now be) then go to the Financial Ombudsman Service anyway.

Take a look at this thread at moneysavingexpert.com Rather than going down the energy ombudsman route, you can seek redress from the DCA and, if necessary, the Financial Ombudsman Service (free). There is a template letter on the thread which explains it all.

That number of contacts in one day is against OFT guidelines. Go to this thread on MoneysavingExpert.com and use the template letter that forces the DCA to treat it as a complaint and allows you to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service if necessary

You will need to play by the FOS rules - allow them 8 weeks to respond and then obtain the forms from the FOS website, print them off and snail mail them. I suggest if you write, all correspondence is addressed to Mr John Paul Mackin. He is the CEO (according to the FSA). Unfortunately, the FOS has a backlog simply because there are so many cases going through. They are trying to recruit more staff - I get about one invitation a week to join but can earn a living by helping reputable advisers and brokers to avoid complaints without having to trek to Canary Wharf each day. However, I would recommend FOS in preference to court because: * It is free to you. FOS will charge Welcome £500 a case (at present) apart from the first four in any tax year - but don't try to blackmail Welcome or anybody else with this because FOS can then dismiss the complaint outright on the grounds that it is vexatious (and not charge). * If you go direct to Court, the court will look at whether it thinks you should get your money back or not. Although it will be a "small" claim, if you lose you will still be out of pocket * Welcome can elect to have a court case heard locally to it - which means taking the time, and incurring the expense of travelling there (probably Nottingham). * If an Ombudsman (as opposed to an adjudicator) makes an award in your favour, Welcome has to pay it. If it does not you can then sue Welcome simply for not paying the debt - the court will consider only the fact that the Ombudsman has made a legally binding award, not whether he was right to do so. I would also mention that FOS publish details of any firm that they have received more than 30 complaints about. If it relates to something the FSA is concerned with, they will want to know about this. Welcome also have to do six monthly returns to the FSA regarding their activities and this includes what happens with FOS. They do not normally have to mention court cases unless it is a default (which failing to pay a FOS award is but a claim over PPI would not, in itself, be). So going to FOS will probably make life far more difficult for Welcome. You should (eventually) get your money back with interest if the policy is deemed to have been missold.

Not wishing to appear rude but, from professional experience, if you have been given a final response from them then you are only going to get frustrated if you write to them again. Complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service. There is little point in complaining to the OFT. If the FOS gets more than 30 complaints about a firm in 6 months it publishes details. The OFT will be more interested in this than in one complaint.

There is a template letter here if you think a DCA is acting unlawfully. This takes you down the route of the Financial Ombudsman Service who will treat your complaint individually rather than simply as "evidence".

There is a template letter here. The Financial Ombudsman Service will investigate it as a personal complaint and far more effective than the OFT. They also publish details if they get more than 30 complaints about a firm in 6 months.

See this page for a template letter.

The easiest way to get them off your back is probably to use the template letter posted here. It forces them to take notice or be taken to FOS and could result in them having to pay you for distress and inconvenience (FOS reported last month that it has happened). IAMHARRASSED - You should send the template letter to Lloyds TSB AND Apex

Take a look at this thread on moneysavingexpert. A much better approach, complete with template letter

That's easy - look at Mackenzie Hall / CCJ - Page 17 - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums #332

That is definitely not acceptable if you are not the debtor. Have a look at this link

Look at Mackenzie Hall / CCJ - Page 17 - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums #332 Hit their bottom line!

Have a look at Mackenzie Hall / CCJ - Page 17 - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums #332 shows the way forward. If you follow that and they don't offer you, say, £100 then you can go to FOS. Win or lose they will have to pay FOS for every case in a financial year (April to April) over and above the fourth. It is currently £500 a time! Don't do it just to get the fee incurred, though. FOS is likely to conclude that is vexatious and throw it out without charging the fee.

I would want to know why they are changing the contract - sounds like a firm getting ready to ditch staff at the lowest possible price!

Go to the Financial Ombudsman Service first - three reasons: It's free! The Ombudsman will consider what is considered "fair and reasonable" not simply what the law says. If you don't like what the Ombudsman says, you can still go to court but not the other way round (though if the Ombudsman decides against you it is probably a fair indication that you have no case). I address complaints for a number of financial institutions and am aware of a number of cases which the FOS has reported finding against complainants but there are also some going the other way. Have a look at this link for an example of each.

Yes this is a nuisance but it is not the first time it has happened. Remember, a court case that sets a precedent is something the banks have been desperately trying to avoid. Some hints for now: DO make your complaint now. Remember, you can claim back all costs deemed unlawful that were incurred over the last six years. The longer you delay, the more charges will be too long ago for you to recover. DO check any response from the Bank to see if it tells you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service now. DO complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you have a letter indicating that you have six months to do so. DO remember that if the Banks win, you will probably not only lose any court case you have started but also your court fee. Going to court will also prevent subsequent recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service (but not the reverse. So, in summary, put in your complaint to the Bank and complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service as soon as you are entitled to unless you get a satisfactory response from the Bank. This should ensure you are in the best position to get your money back once the test case has been resolved.

From what you are saying, I presume you have a With Profits policy (the other type is known as unit-linked and is worth the number of units held multiplied by the value of each unit). If so, then the answer is "yes" - it will have been in the terms and conditions of the policy at outset. You MAY have grounds for complaint if you were not told about it by the person who sold the policy at outset but if it was sold since the start of 1995, you will almost certainly have received an illustration in a folder called a Key Features document which will have warned about this is a section entitled "risk factors" near the beginning. You MAY also have grounds for complaint if the person selling it could have reasonably realised you would not be able to maintain payments or it was clear that the policy was to run over a longer period than you wished to tie your money up for but otherwise you are on an uphill battle. On a brighter note, many with-profits policies can actually be sold and realise more than their cash in value. If you are determined to give up the policy - and maintaining them is generally accepted as preferable - look into selling it first.

In view of the Lloyds TSB successes in the courts, I think you may do better to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). You have to allow Lloyds TSB up to eight weeks to reply but, since you are dissatisfied with the response given, you can now go to the FOS straight away. See FAQs - complaints about bank charges You need to fill in the FOS form downloadable from our complaints procedure and how to complain It has to be completed and snail mailed to the FOS but, apart from the cost of the ink, paper and stamp, it is free. Lloyds TSB is apparently arguing that it is a service fee, not a penalty fee but you can still argue that it remains an unfair term in a consumer contract. Thus far, NO bank has allowed a case to get to the point of an adjudication from the FOS - i.e. there is a 100% success rate. It is actually a requirement of the Banking Code to tell you of the right to go to the FOS and provide you with a booklet telling you how to do so. If it has failed to do so and you have gone to court, you are within your rights to make a complaint that the bank denied you the right to use the FOS, as required by the Banking Code. You could then argue that you believe the FOS would have ruled differently and that you want your costs back AND the court fees. However, I recommend going to the FOS now in your case.