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Hi there, First of, any help or advice would be very much appreciated. my sister ended up getting into around £1300 worth of debt with orange due to her teenage daughter running up a very large phone bill in one month. My sister, I assume - has just ignore it all. I only found out yesterday due to her asking to lend money to resolve this. She received a county court claimform on the 27th September and a letter from Lowell's to state court proceedings would be the next option on the 2nd of October (after the claimform had already been submitted). Had I have known earlier I would have sent a CCA or SAR I think it is for her but now obviously things are a little more tricky. I told her to hold off doing anything until I had done some research (prior to this she offered them half but they refused). she totally ignored me because she's a royal pain and sent off the court letter saying she intends to only contest part of the claim. I imagine a few will be slapping their foreheads over this haha. what would you advise to do? She is also a new foster carer and has been informed if a CCJ does register against her she could lose her place as a fosterer. So obviously want to avoid the CCJ at all costs Thanks for reading!

Hi To cut long story short, had a debt around £15k with original lender who assigned the debt to a DCA last summer (2016). DCA wrote chasing debt - I replied stating that in my view (formed by reading loads of stuff on internet) debt was unenforceable. DCA said would look into the matter almost a year later, has written saying they would not pursue legal action 'at this time' but would I get in touch to arrange repayment of the debt. I am assuming (ha ha,always tell my kids never to assume anything) this is as close as DCA will come to admitting debt unenforceable (?) what would be a sensible course of action to take in respect of their request for me to get in touch re repayment? Most grateful for any advice and thanks in advance.

Hi I work in retail with vending machines. These machines are new to company and manufacturer and many do not know how they truly work. The machines have a history of being temperamental. Now I am in the role and I have been reviewed as having lack of productivity as the machines don't work. I have been told by someone who said he was rusty on his knowledge of the machines, after he had been working since 4am in the morning. I was not given information of who to contact when the machine goes wrong or info. Luckily I found this out for myself. Whats my position as I do like the job, don't normally work in retail but I am enjoying it.

Hi Caggers I have spent a long time reading through old posts and have a headache! My situation is thus. I have approximately 80k of old CC and OD debt mainly on accounts started 2000 to 2006. some possibly a bit later. I fell into arrears etc in 2010 as a victim of the 2008 crash! ( I held on as long as I could) all of these debts are now off my credit rating file except for one which is with cabot from a Barclaycard that was taken out in 2000 and should have defaulted in 2010 along with the others which barclaycard have sold and closed and cabot is still marking my file as up to date with a £1 payment I have been paying various credit card companies direct and some through DCA's (Cabot CDUK Moorcroft PRA etc.) between £1 and £5 a month for the last 7 years. They don't hound me and seem to renew my arrangements automatically every 6 months, (they send me a letter which i ignore and then another saying they will continue the arrangement) The issue is I would like to remove this debt from my neck as although it is not strangling me it is weighing me down and I am not in a position to pay it off. I could possibly offer about 10 -12% as a F&F settlement with the help of some family members, but wanted advice on whether I would be better of CCAing anyone first and using that as a bargaining tool? about 25k of the debt is a Barclays overdraft, there is one santander loan and the rest are CC's My mortgage (Current and up to date) is also with santander - would this harm that. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer me

This is my first post so hope format is ok. I took out MBNA credit card (as Abbey National member) over 10 years ago following a change in financial circumstances was unable to make the repayments. I entered into an agreement to pay £1 a month to MBNA and a number of other creditors in 2010. My total unsecured debt is over £50k, and debt to MBNA was approx £16k. This debt was moved on to Aktiv Capital then to PRA Group. I have made these £1 payments since 2010 to all 3 organisations (I believe there may also have been another company in between MBNA and Aktiv but can't find details to confirm) Early this year I received a request from PRA litigation dept requesting payment of outstanding sum on an Abbey National card card or offer of repayment plan. The debt appears larger than I recall at 18600 appx. I responded to confirm circumstances unchanged and couldn't pay the o/s balance. I also requested they send me a copy of the CCA, as they were vague on start date. They have not sent the CCA but have issue court proceedings. I have completed and Back of service and confirmed I intend to defend all of the claim. I gather from forums I now need to issue a CPR, but I'm unsure which CPR to refer to. I've seen ref to CPR 18 but also CPR 31. Which should I refer to and is there a template letter I can refer to or use. At this point it appears to be in house PRA litigation taking action and not solicitor on their behalf so should I send CPR to the litigation department plus separate request to PRA for CCA. Its not clear on court N1 which address I send CPR to as address is PRA Bromley but litigation dept letter came from Scotland address. Any guidance would be appreciated.

first of all to say hello to all users. i am new here be gentle . i have read the forum rules etc . feel free to say hello and if i can help i will. On a more positive note i have recenly been paid out in excess of 7k from barclaycard ppi. how do i confirm they have calculated this correct, i assume a sar would be needed here and can i still do this even tho they have recently paid me out?

Hi, We have a credit card debt with MBNA taken out in 2008 which defaulted in 2013. It is showing on CRA as 'satisfied' with MBNA, but then appeared as Aktiv Captial, who chased through 2013 - 2015. The debt is now with PRS Group and we have had a letter asking for payment or Court Action will ensue. If the debt is showing 'satisfied' can PRS still push for payment, or is this 'satisfied' because the debt has been bought? We wrote to Aktive in 2013 asking for CCA, they sent us photocopied version, scribbled numbers over and no sig. Do we just ignore PRS? We have had one succesfully thrown out case with another card company who folded at Court, can we do the same again? Thanks skywalker

Section 5(1)(B) - The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 the enforcement stage, which comprises all activities relating to enforcement from the first attendance at the premises in relation to the instructions up to but not including the commencement of the sale or disposal stage; At what stage is the £235 fee incurred? 1. Just by visiting at debtor? 2. Or, by taking goods under control? If it's just by visiting the debtor's property then, at what stage do they take control of the goods? For the sake of clarification, CAB website tells me that Enforcement Visiting your home or business premises to take control of goods, including everything involved in identifying, valuing and taking control of your belongings So in essence, if the bailiffs have not taken control of any goods, this stage hasn't applied? Also, do they have to produce any document if they have seized any goods? Or could they just say to you that I am removing goods and take what they fancy?

I purchased a brand new home from one of the countries' leading developers in Feb 2014. There are 12 homes in our cul-de-sac. We exchanged contracts and moved into our so-called new homes within 2 months of each other. Some were not finished and residents were forced to move in by the developer. After some weeks, a couple of residents were moved out of their homes to allow a remedial team access to sort all the issues. They entered the homes but have just patched up most of the items. In the coming weeks/months numerous problems occurred and the developer was very slow at correcting snags, as well as what appeared to be more than snags. we set up our own action group. We have got our MP and local councillors involved and held constructive meetings with the regional Managing Director from the developer. Before the initial meeting we paid for a surveyor to survey one house and use it as a test case. The survey was damning and advised that if he was representing a prospective purchaser, he would advise against the purchase. the developer, having ignored the comments by our surveyor, paid for a survey for each of the 12 homes. Each home has come back with a failed survey based on some structural issues and also ground levels are too high, mostly above the air bricks and damp proof course. In our opinion, they have broken the contract to provide us with homes that are of proper quality. We are seeking some advice as to what we can do legally, to !. potential for comepensation as this has been a horrific year for most families 2. in a court of law, can the court force them to buy the homes back at the new market value, plus award all costs involved since the purchase. 3. Would we have a winnable case in a court of law, based on the fact the survey have all come back with major issues. Comments are welcome please.

So today, I was pulled aside in work for an informal meeting regarding alleged misconduct, some notes were taken in regards to the incident and I was told that I would be updated as soon as possible - Two hours later, I was pulled aside again and informed that I would be suspended with pay, HR would be in contact via mail with full details, and I would be invited to attend a formal meeting. Alleged misconduct; It has been alleged that I was in possession of illegal drugs in the workplace, nothing was said about the use of said substance (herbal cannabis). After work, I had changed into my own clothes, left company premises after end of trading then proceeded to smoke my cannabis in the car park as I was leaving. Someone (management) caught onto this when they could smell cannabis and clearly see me smoking in the car park. As stated, at the time, I was off premises after my shift and not in company uniform or wearing a badge, etc. I've been told a customer has made a complaint about it, but have been shown absolutely no evidence of this complaint. I didn't even see a customer leave the premises from the point I walked out the door to the moment I headed out of the car park. The reason I have been suspended is because I was in possession of this throughout the working day (I prepared it at home, left in in an airtight plastic tube and stored it in my rucksack for the entire day), therefore, I am responsible for a breech in company policy for being in possession of illegal substances in my workplace. I told the full truth during my informal meeting. My arguement is that what I have done was completely out of character, my disciplinary record during my 2 years at the company is fine - no issues at all, and I'm reliable, and that while I don't justify what I had done in the slightest, I had not caused harm to any other persons or the organization I work for. I'm not looking for criticism or anything, I have a lot of remorse for what I have done, and know it was stupid. Some advice on what to expect, exactly how serious this situation/allegation is and how to act when I attend my meeting. Thank you.

In 2007 on her divorce my friend, had to remortgage her property to pay off her ex husbands debts etc. She took out a first mortgage with a company for £96,000, and a second mortgage with Swift for £10,000 which included paying off a leasing debt. The loans were arranged by a broker who I know received £1000 from Swift as commission. Of concern though is here we are 7 years later, and the house is still only valued at £100,000 - so how the loan ever got approved I do not know particularly as repayments of the two loans were about 60% of her salary. Thats the background. She phoned Swift to get a redemption figure having paid for 78 installments of £137.06 so far, and was quoted a figure of £10,557.16 to clear the debt !!! She was also told her payments were in credit by over £300 - how we do not know. Yet looking back through old paperwork I see she requested similar in 2011, and that letter had charges applied of £33 for a RD cheque, Other Fees (not listed) £127.00. In addition a further fee of £43.05 on late installments. How she has overpaid since then we cannot see at all looking at her statements. ANYWAY - is the above acceptable behaviour or should she be looking at some complaints process. Thanks in anticipation

I know this subject has been discussed a hundred times but I am seeking advice on the best course of action regarding a default that o2 added to my credit file over the paltry sum of £29.82. The first thing to say is the outstanding balance has never been paid as I was unaware that I had an outstanding balance, with that in mind it is curious that in feb 2013 the credit file was marked as settled. my bank have confirmed there was never any payment to o2 for this amount from my bank account. My contract was setup with a monthly direct debit & had ended in august 2012, we never got round to cancelling the dd mandate until the feb of 2013 which my bank have confirmed, why would an outstanding balance have been present with an active dd still there? During the whole of this period & to this day my address, email & telephone contact details are unchanged they could have easily contacted me with reference to any outstanding amounts which obviously they claim to have done! but I have simply never had any contact. The credit referral team have simply refused my request to have the default removed because there records show the late/default payments from sep 2012 to feb 2013, so what is my best course of action? I think I can demonstrate from the other evidence on my credit file that I was capable of making such a payment. I believe this default is responsible for my being refused credit on several occasions & I am getting ever more concerned with a looming remortgage on the horizon. chip

A friend has requested my assistance in defending a Claim Form for debt. On the 2nd August 2010 she entered into a formal Settlement Agreement for a debt of £8467.84 to be settled by a payment of £50 per month. This payment schedule has been fulfilled, with an occasional missed month that was caught up with on the following month, i.e. all payment were made up to date. Unfortunately for understandable reasons in May and June she missed payments and had a Claim Form issued. Immediately she paid the £150 arrears to bring the Settlement Agreement payments up to date. Settlement debt now reduced to £6417.84. The Claim Form is for £6767.84 (not deducting the £150 paid in July) plus 8% interest and Fees etc. - a Total of £10,176,46. This Claim will be defended with a request for the hearing to be transferred to a local Court. The question is: Do we "defend all of this claim" with a defence that a Settlement Agreement is in force which has been fully paid up to date: Or: defend part of this claim" and admit to a debt of £6417.48, the balance on the Settlement Agreement. To my mind this is a frivolous,malicious and unnecessary Court Action for the sake of £150 arrears which would have been paid if they had made their usual reminder phone call.

I bumped council tax for a good few years a while back . It was in joint names with a flatmate who bumped it too. We were both on the lease and the council tax Now I've been paying it back to Scott and Co a debt collection agency for about 4 years I've paid over half the total outstanding. do I have any legal way of now getting my name off that debt as I've paid my share. The other party is a waste of space so has not paid a penny. I've asked Scott and Co for a itemised statement and also under freedom of information for all comments etc on their systems as they maintain they still chase the other party. which I doubt they do. I'm going to go to citizens advice to ask. Do I have a legal challenge here or am I stuck with the debt ? Thanks

Hi guys Appreciate comments based upon experience as well as the law on this issue To my utter disappointment the lorry driver involved in the accident is no longer standing by comments made at the time of the accident. They are claiming I went into their vehicle. My insurers are pushing to settle 50/50 which makes me angry. The facts: As both vehicles approached the roundabout, the lorry in the left hand lane and my car in the right and both heading straight ahead, the lorry started to move into my lane, so I quickly put my brakes on, moving as close as possible to the roundabout in an attempt to avoid the collision. To my horror, the lorry appeared oblivious to my presence, collided with the left hand side of my vehicle in the rear quarter panel, the side of his vehicle scraped the whole of my car, knocking the wing mirror off and only then did he straighten up and move back into his lane; he then applied his brakes and stopped beyond the roundabout. The driver of the vehicle: 1 First said "Where did you come from?", clearly indicating he had failed to drive with due care and attention. 2 Had a dog in his cabin. 3 Spoke to somebody on his mobile phone after realising what had just happened, saying that he had "just gone into the side of someone" and he was going to "lose his job". 4 Apologised to me, saying he was "really sorry". 5 Asked me to write down that I had suffered no injuries. No witnesses stopped to offer details. My insurers are not willing to push further than 50/50. I want justice. I have become very weary of lorries on roundabouts since this eventful day What are my options? Thanks

Hi guys/gals, Hoping some advice could be offered on the following situation, as I want to take this company to Court. January last year I finished a contract with a company with whom I’d freelanced for three times before. Each contract was longer and better paid than the previous one. As the end of this contract they gave me a bonus, and sent a letter stating they hoped I would tender for contracts with them in the future. Another freelance I know was not paid in full, and told in a letter from the company his pay was docked for failing to fulfil the contract, and he would not be welcome back. I found out about a lucrative gig with this same company in February whilst travelling abroad. I contacted them and was told I could apply. I sacrificed my already purchased flight home and bought a new one. Then my contact at the company told me I COULD NOT interview as someone at the company had stated they didn’t like me. I was not happy. I went to the manager of the company who reviewed it. This took three weeks, with me in limbo abroad, not knowing which ticket was going to be used to get home. I was then told that the company had reconsidered and I could tender. I returned home, and three weeks after the above change of mind, when I had been concentrating my energies on securing this new tender and not looking for other work, I was told AGAIN I could not tender, as a staff member at the company stated they did not want me there. So basically, I sacrificed a plane ticket worth £300 after buying a new one, I could have changed my plans and spent four more weeks travelling, as was my original plan, had they not changed their mind and told me I could apply, the second time, and I wasted three weeks preparing a tender which was of no use to anyone. Can I take this company to Court for wasting my time? I’m thinking it is breaking of a verbal/written contract in withdrawing the invitation to tender, and it is negligence on their part. What do you think?

Hi all, First post here after reading through your excellent site. Please be gentle. Apologies if it's in the wrong place. I went through a disastrous divorce and had to move out of the family home. As a result my expenditure tripled and my income remained the same. I approached the CAB who were most helpful and they organised an equitable payment schedule based on my income and expenditure form, and I set up standing orders in favor of my creditors. All was well for about 2 1/2 years until I lost my job. I wrote to my creditors, (including the DCAs), explaining my situation, that I was looking for a job and that I would be reducing the standing orders to £5, but since I was 59 the prospects were not good. My mother has alzheimers so with a view to her care I have moved back home and have survived on what little I have and her generosity. I have a job now, but it's temporary and it will finish in July. I will be 60 this summer, so the prospects are bleaker and my time here may be limited by my mothers' needs. I have some questions, however: 1. Do I have to tell my creditors where I now live? Given mother's increasing distress, I do not want her worried and I certainly do not want anyone calling at the house. 2. Can any and all communication with my creditors be done by email? 3. Given the situation, I may come into a small amount of money. How much, as a % of the outstanding debt, could I reasonably expect my creditors to accept to consider the debt repaid? You help will be gratefully received.

Hi - I'll try to make this as concise as possible! My wife works as a nurse at a dental practice (mainly NHS patients). She returned to work this week after a weeks sick leave (not related to the disciplinary issue) and was called into a meeting with the practice manager immediately upon arrival. She was advised that she was expected to attend a meeting that lunchtime with one of the dentists regarding complaints made, which she did with some trepidation. She was informed that certain complaints had been made about her surgery whilst on sick leave, two of which she vehemently denies, the others (apart from one) she wasn't clear on, and the remainder she accepted there may have been an issue. This is the second time in as many months where the practice manager has gone down a disciplinary route (the first time informally), and my wife has told her boss that she feels she is being singled out/stabbed in the back. At the end of this preliminary meeting, nothing had been adequately resolved so she now has a "formal" disciplinary meeting this coming Monday and, although she has been told she can take a colleague in as a witness, the practice manager has decided to use the person who has made the "complaints" as her note taker and "impartial observer"! I have advised my wife that this is unacceptable (how can you ask the "accuser" to be impartial toward the "accused"?), so she should ask for a totally independent person to be in there. She has also been accused of health and safety breaches as part of this "disciplinary", but no proof has been provided, just the word of the complainant, which (I'm sure) is inadmissable. It is a commonly-held belief that my wife's boss has basically realised that she's "screwed up" her staffing and is trying to find a way to resolve it by using any means she can to reduce numbers, thinking my wife is an easy target. She doesn't want to lose her job, doesn't want to leave her job, but also doesn't want to have an official reprimand on her record just because someone is being bloody-minded. Are we right in assuming that : a) she can refuse to attend the meeting if the "impartial observer" is clearly NOT impartial b) demand to have "charges" removed as there is no proof provided (something she strongly denies doing, just hearsay) There are other concerns (validity of her contract, favouritism between staff, unfair pay scales, etc), but the immediate thing is this disciplinary. Many thanks for reading, and for any advice/help offered.

Hi all... I have a slightly unusual situation brewing, about which I'd like some advice. I've been one of three tenant's in an old friends house for the last three years. Landlord is absentee, living in another country, and I've seen him face to face for a week in the time I've been renting his property. It's a pretty informal arrangement, I pay him the rent in cash into his bank, and keep both the receipts for these and my own records. There's been no formal tenancy agreement, though he's rightly realised he ought to provide one recently and I'm pushing him to get on with it. None of this would be a problem but for the fairly ominous post I've spotted in the pile's I've been forwarding to his overseas address. In essence, him and his long term partner are still using the house as a correspondence address for a fairly hefty debt to the local council (10k+), which looks to me like it's slowly going bad. I also suspect he's still registered as living at the house, on all but the electoral role, which I keep up true. The last demand had 'delivered by hand' on the back of the envelope, which suggests a CCJ and serious enforcement action is the next step. I've also been door-stepped by a collector some months ago, who I sent away. What's my situation as far as bailiffs and collections are concerned? The house was let unfurnished, nothing in it is the landlords, but from my experience of debt companies, they tend to get heavy first and work it out later. Any advice? Thanks!

Well over ten years ago I had a credit card with Littlewoods, it later became The Associates, and then Citi Financial. During this time I was seriously ill and my income ceased. It was then put on an instalment plan, and sold to Hillesden Securities Ltd (HSL). In 2008 they obtained a CCJ. Due to poor health I did not challenge this, but agreed to continue paying it off monthly, exactly as before. HSL failed to supply, on written request, any statement or explanation of how the alleged balance was calculated. Even though interest and charges were supposedly "frozen", the balance had clearly increased by a substantial sum. That appeared to be (or include) undisclosed, unlawful charges, and/or interest. I worked out that the amount I had paid up to that point was roughly correct EXCLUDING any unlawful charges, and so I stopped paying any more. HSL also failed to comply with a CCA request, so it was and remains unenforceable. They have made no further contact, nor attempted to enforce. The CRA record for HSL was deleted months ago under the 6-year rule, but the CCJ itself remains permanently on file, unsatisfied, which of course fails to reflect that I have paid what I calculated was the agreed remaining amount, many years ago. Should I apply to the Court for the CCJ to be struck out due to something like maladministration (non-compliance with s78(6) statutory request)? I am concerned that if I just leave it, HSL might wait for me to be older, more feeble-minded and less capable, and then resurrect the CCJ and try to enforce it - even though the amount they claim is due appears to be solely residual unlawful charges or interest after the true debt had been cleared. The existence of this one unsatisfied CCJ is also a minor problem. Thoughts will be appreciated. TIA

In helping a friend to deal with her debt problems, I wrote to her creditors requesting copies of Consumer Credit Agreements. Tesco responded with a photocopy of a signed agreement for an account that is in default and being (slowly) paid under a DMP. I have read posts on here about checking the validity of agreement (interest rates, minimum payments, etc) but much of the information seems very dated. So, my question is: 'Is there any advantage in checking the validity of a credit card CCAs now and, if so, does anyone have a link or advice to help me in making the check?' I ask because I am trying to achieve an affordable F&F for her. Thanks

Afternoon all, Id appreciate some advice in responding or managing a prosecution letter from SWT. The issue arouse when my partner was travelling and unable to buy a ticket on a Sunday from a small unmanned station. She arrived at Guildford informed the ticket staff who directed her to the entrance of the station to buy one. I knew the time she was arriving and had parked in the drop off/collection point. She saw the que by the ticket machine and could see me in my car waving for her to get in and the que behind. She came out of the station to tell me to move to a more suitable place due to the ques at the machines and was subsequently collared by a Rail Revenue Officer and he went through the process of informing her that she had left the station without intent on buying a ticket etc. Aside from being rather scared as she was read her rights etc and presumed it policeman and as nothing like this has ever happened to her befor. The Officier didn’t give her the chance to explain what had happened and why she had left the station. We have now received a letter from SWT giving us 14 days prosecution department giving her the chance to explain the case. Could anyone help give advice on how to respond please?

Hello All I am a newbie to the forum, but have been watching from the sidelines for quite some time I am writing about a friend of mine, as he has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle and im trying to help I got together this guy 18 months ago and we really get on well,( we plan to live together after xmas) im a single mum of 3 and he has been BRILLIANT, i want to point out that he is bi-polar, but deals with it remarkably. prior to my meeting him, he was a lad about town, and quite often ended up in trouble with the police, 20 years ago it was quite serious he ended up in prison a couple times, but he has straightened himself out in the last 5, in 2010 he hit on hard times and had to claim benefits, as he just couldnt manage, we werent together at this time, he was going to come off benefits in 2011 but his home was burgled and he really found it difficult to cope, he therefore carried on claiming housing benefit, to help with his rent, he told the council that he was earning only £120.00 per week as a driver,although he was getting somewhere between £180.00 and £220.00, this was before he had to take out his expenses such as fuel running costs of vehicle etc, he was renting a trading name from someone who took a percentage of his incomings, in cash! Things started to change for him this year and in August he contacted his council and notified them that as of september he wouldnt be claiming any further benefits, and on the 1st September he went into the housing benefit office and cancelled his claim in writing. In August, he had a bit of an email arguement with someone, and they contacted the police stating he was harassing them, unfortunately he was arrested in september, and the police took away his laptop, even though he admitted to sending this guy 7 emails, the police put him on bail and told him to return in 6 weeks, he is now in a proper state because he is worried that the police will see his invoices on the laptop and get the council involved, even though he has already cancelled his claim, he never expected this to happen I am deeply worried about him now, he isnt sleeping properly or eating, he thinks he is going to end up in prison, as this seems to be the norm of anyone convicted of benefit fraud, I just dont know what to do or say to help him, I tried to convince him that has he cancelled his claim before any of this happened, it will be ok, be he wont accept it, i really need help please, anyone who can advise please do, please dont write to tell me how wrong he was for doing what he did, we both realise this, thank you for reading my post

Hope that someone out there can point me in the right direction as far as my debt is concerned as it's beginning to get a little overwhelming. I ran my company for almost 25 years and it eventually went bust about 5 years ago due, in the main, to massive technology changes that we weren't able to cope with - OK, I took my eye off the ball and we went down big style. For the first six months of setting up the new company, we lived off credit cards whilst trying to pay off debts from before. This mean that we were trying to take far more out of the new company than it could afford and, consequently, it went down in January of this year. I should say that the main losers in our unfortunate situation has been HM Revenue, rather than suppliers. I have managed to clear huge amounts of debt, eg £190k to Barclays, but am left with debts to HSBC, credit cards and Brittania Moorgate (ex Egg loan) and I need to get a feel for any possibility or opportunities that I can use to justifiably mitigate these debts in any way. HSBC are both secured loans - secured one week before my company went down originally, but that's another story. Total outstanding is probably in excess of £145k and, apart from my house, have nothing left to sell. The company is making a profit - and that's always been the case - but we cannot just keep bleeding it dry or it will happen again and, at 59, I really can't allow that. Any advice people?