Read a similar discussion in a thread on housepricecrash.co.uk, complaining about how we financial cretins having the audacity to claim back our charges, will mean that they may loose their "entitlement" to free banking. well boo bloody hoo Of course its all our fault, we cant manage our accounts yadda yaddah, they never have to pay charges, etc etc I am sure that most of us on here do not asked to be charged, do not want to be in this situation, and would much rather have a nice healthly bank balance. I am sure that losing a job is my fault, divorce is my fault, an wife with a gambling addiction is my fault, clients paying late is all my fault. I apologise to all you holier than thou, perfect account managers, for daring to ask the bank to refund their perfectly fair and reasonable charges, after all, who am I to argue with them, 35 pound for a letter that costs them at least 2 pound to produce, seems fair to me (NOT) I would be quite happy to pay a monthly fee for the service provided, the same as we expect to pay for every other service provided- why should banks be different? Is it fair for, say, the Electric Company to reduce its bills for those who always pay on time, subsidised by the fines and penalties imposed on those who dont/cant? As a previous poster suggested, all the bank has to do is refuse payment if there is not enough in your account- end of subject, costs them nothing. But of course, thats not what they want, they are quite happy to charge us exhorbitant amounts for not paying, and pretend that these fees are used to provide free banking to those of us who never go overdrawn. I remember a time when we had a choice of whether to have a bank account or not, most people were paid cash, paid their bills, etc, without the help of your "friendly bank", We now have no choice, it is almost impossible to receive any wages without an account, we are now at the mercy of the bankers , which is exactly how they want it, next stop the cashless society, when they will really have us all by the thoat.

Am claiming back charges from Lloyds TSB, have not had any response, so rang them. They said, that my letter had been sent to Brighton, but there may be a long delay in response, as in their words " they have a huge backlog of complaints to deal with" What have you lot started?, the poor bankers now have to spend more money dealing with our complaints.

Hi there Posted previously concerning Connaught, they were chasing me for a debt of 1750 (Lloyds Visa Card), which they then offered to reduce to 1250(?) Anyway, posted CCA letter to them on the 6th Jan , they received it on the 8th Jan, letter also advised them I was would be in Saudi for next 6months or so, and gave them my contact details there. Since then......Nothing- Have not received any response within the 14+2 days (expired on 23rd Jan), they are now well into the 30 days before they have committed a criminal offence Question is "What now"?.. Do I leave it as is, or write to them again reminding them I received no response? Answers appreciated- Thanks

Just read an interesting statement from a former bailiff on another thread. Apparently he said, when a Bailiff calls, he must state that he is from XXX Bailiff Co. ON BEHALF OF (Creditor), Why I raise this, is because, back in October 06, we were expecting a visit from the Local council on a completely un-related matter, the Intercom buzzes, I ask "who is it"?, "XXX Council" was the reply.So as we were expecting them I let them in Only when we opened the door did this character then reveal he was in fact a Bailiff from Company x Does this sound like mis-representation or what?

Update Wife called council who were as much use as a chocolate teapot, "its in the hands of the Bailiffs ", "Its up to them what they do" blah, blah. She wrote letter of complaint to the Bailiff company concerned and posted today, however, still fuming, she rang them and told them the letter on its way and told them what happened. Lo and behold, the Company apologised to her, saying their Bailiff was in the wrong, they were to have "words" with him, and instructed her to carry on paying as previously agreed. In fairness to the company concerned, previous Bailiffs who called were ,on the whole, very reasonable and willing to compromise, obviously this character is the proverbial "bad apple" My step-son recognised this character as a doorman in one of our towns less salubrious night clubs- enough said

Go for it, the more the activities of these people are exposed, hopefully levels of awareness amongst us will improve, and the fear of the Bailiffs will be removed. Certainly a web-site dedicated to exposing these **** would be welcome

Would appreciate the help of Bailffchaser or any other of you experts on this:- Situation: Wife and I owe Council Tax arrears of 4000 pound (dont ask how), passed to Bailiffs, we have been paying off arrears regularly ever since. The last visit by them in October 06 we agreed to pay them 100 per month, and have been paying this ever since. Wife calls me today (I am working and Saudi), and tell me that Bailiff called (not the same one as before), and demanded that we pay 200/month (our circumstances have not changed), that what we were paying was not enough, and that we had previously agreed to pay 200 pound/month (we hadn't). Further more, he said that he would have her arrested if she didnt pay 250 immediately and 200 /month thereafter He also asked where I was, she told him, and he told her that I would be arrested when I came back to the UK as well This guy apparently was bulit like a brick-outhouse, and my wife was terrified of him, and he sought to exploit her fear rather well. I told her to calm down, dont sign anything (she didn't), but apparently he is coming back on Friday and told her pay up or else! My advice to her was: Ring CAB straight away Write to the Bailiff Company protesting at this guys conduct, and stating that we have paid what was agreed, and will continue to do so, and if they are not happy with this they can take us back to court Contact the court who made the liability order and get them to make assessment of what we should pay I understand that Bailiffs do not have powers of arrest (only wish they had)- is this correct Your advise, comments etc would be highly appreciated

Thanks for the encouragement Knowledge is power, something the DCA's etc are afraid of, they prey on the lack of knowledge of most people (including me, in the past), its nice to turn the tables on them and make them comply with the law. Having said that, for me at least, the object of the exercise is not to get out of a debt that I owe, its to let them know that they have to comply with the law, before I will entertain any discussions with anyone claiming that I owe them money

Hi Folks Thanks to this site, I've learnt one hell of a lot in the last few weeks, thanks to all I posted previously concerning my alleged debt to Ist Credit, at which I time I received a letter from Bishops Investigations, threatening to issue a Statutory Demand within 7 days, if I did not reply, etc, I didnt reply, no Statutory Demand issued. Then received letter from Connaught Collections related to the same debt-, content very much along the lines of "pay up or else" including the same threat of issuing SD, I didnt reply- nothing happened Last week received another letter from Connaught now offering me a 25% discount on this debt, and I can pay by installments What is going on? Anyway, have sent CCA request to them on 6th January, so the clock is ticking Only difficulty I can anticipate is that they will send correspondence to my UK address, despite the fact that I will be in Saudi Arabia for the next 6 months and have given them my contact details there (they can phone me as much as they want at International rates) Keep up the good work

Thanks for the info Terminator Am still puzzled as to what type of business they are, reason I ask is that they claim to be a tracing agency, yet in the letter they sent me, they are threatening "Statutory Demand" blah, blah, etc No point in me sending them a CCA letter if they are not a DCA?

Anyone had any dealings with these muppets Are they are DCA, or just a tracing agent? Thanks

Thanks to all for your responses Will probably contact lloyds in the first instance, explain Ive been abroad, missed correspondence etc, and see what they say, would rather dela with lloyds then the DCA if I can help it

Thanks 2K is a problem right this moment, but wont be in a few months time I am more concerned with the point relating to what DCA's can do I have thought about writing to Lloyds directly, and offering to pay so much a month, rather then pay these parasites Howver I can do nothing in the meanwhile as I am here, not home til Xmas

Hi All Can anyone provide a definitive answer (or weblink), with regard to what DCA's can and cant do From reading this site and others, I get the impression that they can to do much apart from bluster and threaten- is this really the case I owe Lloyds 2000 pound, wife received letter the other day ( I am in Saudi Arabia), from a Private Detective/Tracing agency saying pay up, or they will obtain a Statutory Demand- my wife called them and told them I am not there, they said they will send someone round, etc- she was frightened by this , I told her to tell them to B****r off if they did call. I will write to them when I get home, (the CCA letter) This has made me more determined to pursue Lloyds for the bank charges they have ripped me off for over the last few years Thanks for your help