I would also like to ask a similar question here. I took this house on 1/12/08 and have never received a letter from DPS. I have asked the agent and also emailed with no response. I contacted one DPS and they said my deposit wasn't with them and gave me the numbers for the other 2 schemes, same thing? What is my position regarding this? I have also contacted my agent for a copy of the gas checks and also to ask why the house does not have smoke alarms anywhere? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks

I also use a payday loan company but XXXX which also has a deferral system in place if you find you cannot pay in full. I have had not hassle so far but only taken two loans from them and paid in full.

I really appreciate all the replies but there is one other thing I forgot to mention. I believe that in April this year the law changed regarding Tenancy Deposits being held in a secure account and other students have received letters stating this but no letters have been received by my son or the other guys in this house, any advice on this also, really grateful for all your help. ;)

Hi Could someone advice please. My son is in final year of Uni and is in rented accomodation in Lancaster. He moved to this address with his mates in September this year. Due to the incompetence of LCC his loan was delayed and we have been chasing it since that time. He told his landlords what was happening but it took ages because of the backlog. However, his landlords come into the property without notice, let themselves in (no emergencies!) and because of the time lap with the loan have started threatening my son. Two weeks ago my son was on the phone to the student phone company again and the husband (landlord) walked into the house, let himself in. He threatened my son who handed him the phone and said speak to them yourselves and you will see I am not lying. He refused but unknown to him the call was recorded. The student loan company finally released the loan and told my son it would be in his bank on Monday 3 December, which it was. It gets better ........... On Monday 3 December at 10 am, my son was awoken whilst in his bed ...... by his landlady!!!!!! (the wife), not only had she gone into my son's bedroom but also one of the other student's who was also in bed. If that wasn't bad enough she then seated herself on a chair and whilst talking to my shocked son in his bed she proceeded to read letters and paperwork he had on his desk!! Needless to say when my son told me I hit the roof and wanted their address, phone number etc. My son is no push over but doesn't want me doing anything (he knows my temper!) as he is scared of them trying to evict them or something if he retaliates. These people are bang out of order and I would appreciate some advice, my son and his mates keep a decent house, they party like other students but their house is kept in good order and kept clean. Can I do anything which will not jeopardise him and his mates but also make it 100% clear to these landlords that they cannot act in this way. Cheers

Hi I had a debt which was sold on to Fred's/Bryan Carter. After taking advice from here I sent a recorded letter to Freds/bc asking for the CCA. My postal order was sent back and a final letter stating that the debt had gone back and they would no longer bother me. However, just recently I have received a letter from Cabot chasing the same debt, do I have to go through the same thing again? If Freds/BC couldn't supply the CCA, surely Cabot will not be able to either?? :)

Hi Anyone heard of these DCAs?

I have one too. I have moved house and phoned my car insurance company yesterday to change my address and they said that they would be charging me £10!!!!!!! I went slightly nuts and asked them to justify the charge as I was phoning them, they had to press a few buttons on a computer. I then asked where on my policy agreement or the T & As was this written as for it to be legal it has to be stated, the lady in India couldn't answer that and repeatedly went to to a supervisor. I got no joy from them so told her in no uncertain terms that my policy with them would be cancelled at the end of the month as that was the renewal date anyway. What a cheek!!

thanks for that. I phoned up the OFT today and verfied whether what DAF had done was legal and they said in no uncertain terms 'definately not'. I was then put in touch with the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) whereby I put a complaint in writing about DAF being in breach of the Data Protection Act. Will keep you informed of the outcome, I really have had enough of these people!

Hi I am in a similar position and have missed one payment on my car plus numerous £15 letters which have been added to my account. I am ill and on chemo at the moment also but despite them knowing this they continue to harrass me. I have it in writing from them (twice) that they have removed my telephone number from their database and will not harrass me by phone, they still do and I have changed my number. However, within a day of making my last payment (10 Sept) I received a default letter dated the 11 August with a £25 charge. I only have until April when my contract with these numpties will have ended but I want to get these penalties charges back as they are, like bank charges, extortionate. I haven't replied as yet and ended up in hospital yesterday with complications due to chemo but am OK but when I got home my landlord phoned me to say that DAF had phoned him!! Can they do that? They also instructed him to contact me to tell me to phone them, is that legal? My landlord was not impressed with their tone and even he feels that this was a breach of privacy. Could anyone give some advice on this. To be quite honest they could have the car if they really want it, it is the least of my problems at the moment. Thanks

I have also been receiving strange calls, namely texts sent to a landline. I use ICSTIS to find out who the provider is which is useful and I found that OPAL was one and phoned them to report the person using the mobile to send texts, as I work in a government office they were not best pleased and promised to do something about it, maybe they will or maybe they won't but it was worth a try. I would like to know how they got my direct line at work though? I looked up the number given on here and it is provided by THUS Plc.

I also had action dropped by Freds/Bryan Carter

If you know how to alter your registry, then remove Norton and as others have said on here, which I have used for years, AVG, Zonealarm etc are free and excellent. Norton is easily disabled by trojans and the like, waste of space and waste of money. Good Luck. p.s. don't touch your registry unless you know what your doing.

I had a lovely surprise the other day courtesy of Bryan Carter & co telling me that they are to take 'no futher action' and have closed the file. I took advice from here and CCA'd Fredrikson and got an application form, I also sent a letter stating that Bryan Carter was no longer trading etc and wonders never cease, I received this letter. I will relish this for a little while and thank everyone whose knowledge base I used to get this far but also realise that another numpty debt collector will probably start the whole process again!! Still feels good though!! Cheers everyone!

Thanks Dursay, I have never felt so flippin tired in my entire life! I am trying to keep working and it is my sixth day after first treatment and boy is it kicking in, still life in the old dog yet!! Hopefully last couple of questions. Do I accept this offer and have it closed and begin new claim? Or do I start new claim before accepting this one, or (last question) do I put the two together? I think I remember reading somewhere on here that you have to agree full and final etc and your not allowed to claim again. I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing and I can stop bothering people! I have until the 6th August to return my allocation quesionnaire and the solicitor's for the Halifax have sent me their copy today which simply states they intend to defind etc.

Hi I was getting a bit techy last night and very tired, blame the chemo. However, I requested my statements over the phone and if I remember rightly only requested the last six years, I actually got from March 2000 to April 2007. I sent a letter on 4 April which asked for a repayment of all charges over the last 6 years. I then sent a 2nd letter on 3 May (template) and have had the usual responses. I then put in my court claim. Have I made a complete b***s of this?

Hi SSL I have read through the 'completing the questionnaire', did that earlier on and it seems to cover the basic 'filling in', a straightforward one. This seems to apply to me: Q. Can I claim back for more than 6 years? A. Maybe. There is a separate thread on this in this forum. The statue of limitations states that you can only go back 6 years. However, it also states that if you have had the truth held from you resulting in your not making a claim earlier, that you can claim from the date that you became aware. If you are unsure, you should only claim for 6 years. This is where I am getting confused. I read the first 15 pages of the link given regarding going back more than 6 years but got even more confused. Now using the wording above i.e. "...... if you have had etc...... you can claim from the date that you became aware ......." I only became aware of this from my first LBA letter which would be in May 2007, they have calculated the last six years from June 2007. I know it says in the FAQs that you are sick of answering the same thing over and over again but some of us just don't understand the system, so as it looks like I am not able to deal with this I will just take the money and let them have the other £800+ and as they say, they will literally be laughing all the way to the bank! Thanks anyway.

Thanks for the reply Moneyhelp but I have read the first 15 pages of the link you gave and am now totally confused with legal jargon and this and that and everyone's questions and didn't read through the rest. I was sent my bank statements that date back from March 2000, the bank is stating 'it doesn't have that information' and they are working out the figures for the last six years as requested by me. I want to take this further as they are trying to con me and even if I lose I want to get them worried as they will have to attend court. Could someone please tell me in plain english, no jargon, no acrynyms my next move. I have the questionnaire from the court to fill in and from what I have read (possibly understood?) I can add in previous years and have the s32(?) squashed??? I haven't a b***dy clue what I have just said but does it sound right?? I know I sound a numpty and I am sure you are all sick of saying the same old thing over and over again but help please!

Hi all I was right in my thinking about the Halifax using the 6 year rule. I have just spoken to the guy and they are only counting back from the claim date in June 2007 which takes it back to 2001. The bulk of charges occurred between March 2000 and February 2001, can they do this and have I lost out? Should I now accept or go ahead with the claim or will the courts go with the Halifax, it is over £600 in charges for that year alone. Any help appreciated. p.s. they only use the last four digits of the sort code btw.

Hi I was organising my statements last night and have noticed something odd. The statements are mine but the sort code has 00 at the beginning which mine hasn't? Do you think this is why they are claiming that they can't find the charges. I am really confused as the 190 pages of statements have all got this sort code on, right up to the present year?? I have never had another account, nor change branches, banks etc p.s. thanks for the kind words about the chemo. Feeling a bit strange since the first 'shot' but just out of sorts nothing specific or drastic just yet x

POC?? Sorry I sent my original by recorded and it was received for and signed for but I will do as you advise and resend again by recorded. Thanks for your help, I need to do this all quickly as I started chemo today and at the moment just under the weather but no doubt will get worse! :)

Hi Sea-side Lady After your post last night I got the statements out and checked and double checked just to make sure and my calculations are correct and in black & white on the statements. In 2000 alone they took £600+ The letter from solicitors states: "refunded £699.14 to the account for charges to the account in the last six years" (the halifax man yesterday stated that he couldn't find any?) £394 are charges 97.27 in interest £120 is court fee £87.87 is an additional amount in respect of the ongoing interest?? the letter also states that the claimant has failed to provide particulars of how this figure was arrived at, I attached an excel spreadsheet with month, day and charge, taken from their/my statements. The Halifax letter stated a refund (without admitting liability?) of £611.82, that is exactly what has been deposited into my account. I am happy to go to court as I have the statements in my hand, how can they refute them?

I got another letter today from Optima Legal Services who are working on the Halifax's behalf, it was a copy of their defence. However, the amount they say were credited to me are different to the letter from the halifax and from the cash amount put in my account. The letter ends with 'the claimant is put to strict proof of the same', meaning the rest of the money that I am claiming. I have all my statements from them from March 2000 to March 2007, they supplied them, are they really that stupid?? I am wondering whether they are trying to pull a fast one here and state that the six years only counts from 2001 to 2007 as that is when I staked my claim. From March 2000 to February 2001 they charged me in excess of £600, this is the bulk of the claim. My claim would be that until 00:01 on 31 December, 2007 is the present not the past. Any advice O wise ones!

Hi No the amount put into my bank account is the same settlement amount they have offered me not the amount they owe me. Hope that makes it a bit clearer. Hi again, have double checked all my statements and the amount I am claiming is correct, in fact between March 2000 and February 2001 they had charged me over £600!!

Hi You can also file this online if the court you are dealing with are on the system, I also had a debt being collected by Cohen and am presently waiting for a judgement for it to be reduced but heard nothing as yet. If you are on a low income the fee is waived but you would be wise to send off proof of benefit with the paper work or they will write to you again asking you to provide proof, just saves time.

Hiya No it was two cash deposits but they added up to the amount stated in the letter. I have posted my rejection letter this evening stating the same as on the telephone to them yesterday. If the amount had been much nearer I probably would have settled but it is some £800 short! He gave the reason as " he couldn't find all the charges I listed so his calculation was based on the ones he did find". I said he should use the same computer system as the one that printed off the 6 years statements It is sooooo annoying having money in my account that I can't touch!! lol