Hi there my partner has been receiving numerous letter from Buchanan Clark & Wells but this letter that came today has got her worrying. Here is the letter or some of it. Dear XXX Despite repeated requests for payment etc. etc. in the sum of £435.00 remains outstanding. Accordingly ,we now consider the possibility of further action on your account. options open to us would be to consider: I)Application to court to obtain a county court judgement/decree. If successful the balance could then be subject to further fees and costs being applied. II)if a county court judgement/decree was granted and if it remained unpaid then they could apply to the court for further enforcement action, such as attachment of earning/earnings arrestment or a warrant of execution. You can still prevent the above action being taken by contacting us immediately, to discuss a solution to this which will take account of your current financial circumstances. We are prepared to help you in clearing the debt by offering you the exceptional opportunity to settle on highly favourable terms. We are willing to accept £217.50 in full and final settlement of the outstanding balance, and you may even be able to spread the payment over several instalments. etc. etc. to take advantage of this unique opportunity. any help would be gratefully appreciated as my girlfriend is flapping and due to being 29 weeks pregnant could really do without the added stress. Thanks in advance Brian

Dear All, I am new to this forum so sorry if this is a little longwinded but I thought to be able to give informed advise you would want to know the details. Overview. · November 2000, entered into a contract with Orangefor the supply of network services to two sim cards, the contracts were renewedon several occasions. Most recently in March2010 for both phones in each case for a minimum of 24 months. · January / February 2011, went on holidayto Colombia incurred iphone download charges totalling £1,547.75 covering an eight day period. I would typical spend £1,200.00 per annum for two iPhones,with a typical monthly direct debt of £100.00each month to Orange. · February 2011, in dispute with Orange over overseas IPhonedownload charges as Orange was and is still unable to provide a satisfactory itemisedbreakdown for these charges. · May 2011, £300 settlement offer rejected. Orange issued Deadlock letter. · May 2011, referred matter to adjudication under the Rulesof the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (“The CISASRules”) · June 2011, CISAS promulgated their decision in favour of Orange;I did not accept this decision and continued to dispute the data downloadcharges. · October 2012, on 16th October 2012 I received aletter of demand from Orange for payment on my account this being the firstcommunication received by me from Orange since an account statement of 8thJune 2011. I telephone Orange Collections Department to quire the demand andwas informed by a representative of Orange to ignore the demand as it was acomputer generated letter and it was noted by the representative that I wasstill in dispute with Orange and the letter was sent in error. · January 2013, on the 14th January 2013 I received afurther letter of demand from Orange dated 10th January 2013 forimmediate payment of an outstandingbalance of £1,773.17. Again I called Orange Collections Department but on thisoccasion I was informed by the representative that the advice given to me onthe 16th October 2012 was incorrect and I had to pay the amountdemanded within a month or the matter would be passed to a Debt CollectionAgency. I informed the representativethat I was still in dispute with Orange over the charges on this accountdespite CISAS’s decision. Therepresentative advised me that I could seek further recourse from Ofcom, butOfcom would only agree with the findings of CICAS so it’s not really worth it. · January 2013, on the 23rd January 2013 Iwrote to Orange by recorded delivery to express my dissatisfied with theservice and advice received from Orange and sought their comments on thefollowing: 1. What is the reason for the significant delay between CICAS’s decision inJune 2011 and the demands for monies from me now in January 2013? 2. If Orange considered the demand for payment in October 2012 was correct,why was I instructed to ignore the demand by a representative of Orange? 3. If Orange considered the demand for payment in October 2012 was correct,why the delay of over two months before making a further demand, thus reducesthe time in which for me to query and/or make payment in part or full prior tomatter unduly progressing to a Debt Collection Agency? 4. Why on 14th January 2013 was I informed by a representativeof Orange that I could make further representation of my case to Ofcom, whensubsequently checking Ofcom’s web site it clearly stipulates they “cannothandle individual complaints” and refer consumers to Alternative DisputeResolution (ADR) schemes such as CISAS? I alsorequested that Orange provide me with the following: 1. A true copy of my original agreement with Orange. 2. An itemised statement of account detailing how the current amountdemanded on my account has been arrived at. The detail should include all charges and a breakdown plus validation ofdata download amounts and download charges. I also reminded Orange that In February 2011 Iinformed them I did not have the funds to pay the amounts demanded. Thisremains the case even more so today a further two years into the currentrecession. Referring this matter to aDebt Collection Agency will cause delay in concluding this matter and only addfurther to my anxieties and financial burdens with no real prospects ofrecovering any significant monies from me in the near future. (Please note dueto my personal financial situation I have already sought and entered intorevised repayment agreements with a number of my credit card providers and mymortgage provider). I Informed Orange that this whole matter continuesto cause me undue pressure and anxiety which is impacting on my professionaland private life. Therefore, I was cautiously prepared to pay £900.00by credit card (I have no monetary funds) as full and final settlement ofany and all outstanding charges in respect of my Orange account. I believe this is a reasonable offer ofsettlement in the circumstances and would facility a prompt conclusion to thismatter and end our association. To date I have not received a response to my letterof 23rd January 2013. · February 2013, 8th February 2013 at 09.24hrsTelephone message received at home to call Buchanan Clark & Wells (BCW),Debt Collection Agency (DCA). · February 2013, 9th February 2013received a letter from BCW dated 7th February 2013 headed FORMAL DEMAND (in bold black) whichread: Client: Orange PCS Ltd Principle Sum: £2,749.49 AdministrationCosts: £177.32 BCW Ref: XXXXX Client Ref: XXXXX Dear Mr Robert Sandry We have been instructed by Orange PCS Ltd to recover an overdue amount in the sum of £2,749.49. The outstanding balanceincludes an administration charge of 10%to compensate our clients for cost incurred in recovering this debt. Please refer to your terms and conditions forfurther details. Our clients have informed us that they are unawareof any legitimate reason for non-payment of their account and although theywould prefer an amicable settlement, they will not hesitate to commence legalproceedings if necessary. Please call our 24 Hours Payment Line immediately on 0845 117 0258 to make payment by Credit or Debit Card. Paymentis also accepted online at (Web link to paybcw payment website). Please note that is the usage fee plus theadministration fee is paid within the next 28 days Orange PCS Ltd will credit your contract by £799.00 and reconnect your service free of charge. Your contract will be reinstated allowing youto once again make calls. Further airtime is required to be paid to Orange PCSLtd by direct debit. In order for you to avail yourself of this offer youmust call us on the above number. Should there be any matter that you would like tobring to our attention or if you wish to discuss your financial circumstancesin relation to the debt, please call us immediately. Yours faithfully, Buchannan Clark & Wells I am concerned Orange has not respponde to me prior to receiving this deamd and that the demand has increased in one month by £976.32 from £1,773.17 in January 2013 to £2,749.49in February 2013 without an explanation for this increase other than a£177.32 admin charge. Are BCW merelybumping up the principle sum to scare me to pay up and get a £799.00 credit on my Orange accountgoing forward? – Is this legal? Orange customer service has been atrocious, hounding me for payment byletter and by phone, not supplying information requested, passing me from one departmentto another, giving me false information, attempting to take monies from my bankaccount after I had told them I had cancelled my direct debit and had insufficientmonies in the account. Complete lack of accurate and timely information In all the time I have been with Orange I have always paid my bills in atimely fashion until this dispute began I have paid everything I believe I oweOrange and withheld payment for the amounts Orange claim I owe but cannot satisfactorilysubstantiate despite my requests. I have recently checked my Experian Credit Report wish shows it was lastupdated by Orange on 13th January 2013. It shows: March 2011 - 1 month payment of £1,759.00 overdue April 2011 – 2 months payment of £1.766.00 overdue May 2011 – 3 months payment of £1,865.00 overdue Thereafter to date it indicates £0 unable to update. I have no wish be associated with Orange going forward, and wish to dissolveour association as quickly as possible. Imaintain I do not owe Orange the money they claim but if I have to paysomething to make this go away I will. Likewise if Orange continues to demandmonies from me in this regard I am willing to take my chances in court. I have not responded to BCW and would welcome any advice on how best Ishould proceed in this matter. Thank you in advance for any advice or assistance offered. Robert Sandry

Hi All my partner is having trouble with a renewal of a mobile telephone contract with Talk Mobile, we declined the renewal and opted for a new contract with O2. just to make sure i am on the right track please see copy of letter to Talk Mobile and Buchanan Clark & Wells. to BCW Dear Sir Furtherto your correspondence date 27/2012 could you please supply me a copy of theclosing balance together with a breakdown of anyadded fees or interest that may have been added, also an understanding of howthe fees/charges have been calculated? I am requesting this under the provision of the CSA codes ofpractice and Office of Fair Trading debt collection good practice. Also could you please supply me with a copy of your complaintsprocedure and that any further communication to be in a written form by RoyalMail. Thankingyou in anticipation. And to Talk Mobile Dear Sir TheTwo year contract on the above ref expired in December 2011; I visited yourretail outlet Carphone Warehouse on the Snipe Retail Park Ashton under Lyne inDecember with the intention negotiating a renewal of the contract. After Two hours intensive discussion Idecided to forgo the renewal with you and opted for a better deal with O2. Unfortunately we were unable to port the samenumber but were allocated a new number. Onthe 1st of March I received the first ever invoice from Talk Mobiledated 26th. February 2012 (ie lifetime of the entire contract). As per the previous paragraph I am mindedthat the contract expired with yourselves in December 2011 and was clearly notrenewed, evidenced by my action and instruction to your agent CarphoneWarehouse. Also could you please supply me with a copy of your complaintsprocedure and that any further communication to be in a written form by RoyalMail. Thankingyou in anticipation. Any comment before posting, thanks

Hi Looking for a bit of advice. I had a couple of loans with provident, I think the balance at the time was approx. £1800. Basically what had happened was the agent who was collecting the money weekly stopped coming. Another agent showed up and I continued to pay without any problems. My wife lost her job so we agreed to go onto minimum payments. After missing a few payments we were visited by the area manager who agreed to clear off all the interest on the loans provided we kept our payments up to date. This was great as it reduced the amount on the loan. Another 6 weeks went by an no agent came to the door to collect. We contacted provident who advised a new agent would be out. The new agent showed up on the first week but failed to show up for the following 7 weeks. 1 week later a card was put through the door and written on it was "8 weeks noone has answered the door". If this was true then we would have a card through every week that we had missed however no card had been left. My wife then contacted provident directly and they advised that "we might send someone out next week or we might just take you to court". A few more weeks went by and I started receiving letters from Buchanan Clark and Wells advising they were collecting this debt now. I feel that this should never have been passed to them as provident hadn't stuck to their side of the agreement by collecting the money weekly. Was looking for a bit of advice before contacting them as I feel that provident have breached the agreement by not coming for the money. This has now impacted by credit rating I'd imagine as I had heard that provident now report to credit agencies when there are arrears on accounts. Can anyone advise what action I should take with this? I have contacted provident today who have advised me that they can't take the debt back from BCW and BCW have advised that they wont give the debt back to provident. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hi folks...this is my first time posting anything of this kind of nature so I hope I don't say wrong things or cause concern where it's not really warranted. This is my situation, and I am not positively fed up to the back teeth of it. I'd not had any kind of problem such as this with any other energy providers so I am at a loss on how best to deal with this situation hence seeking guidance here. I started renting my current property back in March 12th of last year. I was informed by my first bill that my energy was being provided by Spark Energy. For one month's electricity - as that is the only energy I get in my flat - they wanted me to fork out £245. I immediately took issue with this, as I have never known ANY provider charge that much for a month's rent on a one bedroom flat. And I've lived in plenty of 'em to know. I contested the bill with Spark who were none too keen to negotiate or rectify the situation at the time, and decide to call their heavy mob, Buchanan Clark and Wells. I immediately once again, get in touch with Spark Energy and attempt to sort the debt out through them, having told BCW I'm dealing with Spark Energy and not them - I did feel inclined to say that I'd read numerous reports of their shenanigans but decided against it. So the payment plan agreed (not inexpensive, but I still have problems with the bill being that high), I proceed to act accordingly in a manner of someone trying to pay off a debt. Then one day I decide I need to phone Spark Energy to tell them that one payment (actually it would have been the second payment in the plan) was going to be late, and the delightful person on the other end of the phone actually said "hold on your bill looks really wrong". To that end, I thought "maybe there's a bit of light at the end of the tunnel". We chat and it's decided the plan need not be bothered with, they'll talk to my current providers to find out what the readings were before the supply started and what they were when the supply they themselves provided ended. This was said to have supposed to have taken four weeks. I heard nothing. Not by phone, nor by letter, nor by e-mail. Last week I get a letter from BCW threatening legal action (the first week of Feb.), so I send Spark Energy an e-mail "saying what the heck is going on?" They refuse to call me, want to deal with me by e-mail (which isn't happening, I'm going to insist on letters through the mail), and they say the letter from BCW was sent to me because there was no record of any activity regarding any change to my "read dispute". I am now still stuck with a bill above £200, and on the very day I receive the e-mail from Spark in response to mine, I get yet another letter from BCW, this time threatening a debt officer visit. I have been to hospital twice in the last two months, I am not at best a very calm person, but the letter I received from BCW in the first week of February was certainly enough to cause me considerable grief. I ended up going to hospital on the same day as I received it. Do I lodge formal complaints (and with who?) and/or can I sue either/both Spark/BCW and under what relevant Acts and how do I go about it, having never been involved in legal proceedings of any nature before? Any help whatsoever would be really useful and I would definitely appreciate it.

Hi All, Looking for a little advice regarding some communication from Buchanan Clark & Wells over the past couple of days. I've got a couple of debts with them for EDF Energy (Gas & Electricity) for less than £400 and £250 respectively. They sent me two letters dated 23/01/2012 stating that I could settle each account for a payment of £1 (Specifically the line "As such and without prejudice, we will accept £1.00 in full and final settlement of this account.") I am only paying £1 per month for each account, and for the amount outstanding, it didn't seem all that outlandish that they may want to just get rid of the accounts (they are a couple of years old now). I rang them today to accept the offer, but was told that the letters were a mistake and the real settlement figures were about £100 less the balance for each account. I then received my post for the day and got two more letters dated 27/01/2012 stating that the other letter was incorrect due to an "administrative error". It seems to me that if this sort of activity is acceptable, debt collection agencies could send similar letters out to gain contact. Can I accept the first offer as written and force them to accept the payment, or is the second letter stating it was a mistake enough to get them off the hook? Even if I am still liable to pay the remaining balance, is this something worth reporting? Many thanks for your time!

Hi, after getting a couple of letters from Lowell I did a little digging and found I owed some money from years ago for a car insurance policy, less than £150. Not sure why it was not paid, its that long ago. I duly ignored all the letters from Lowells and settled the debt online with the original creditor. They promptly refunded the full amount and sent me a letter saying to deal with Lowell as they have bought the debt. I owe the original creditors the money and dont see that I should pay the full outstanding amount (or even close to it) when they "bought" my debt and not with my consent, and not when the original creditor had never pursued me for the outstanding balance. So I continued to ignore their letters, Lowells letters turned to Hamptons and Red Debt in turn over the months. Everything went quiet for a few months and today I have a letter from Buchanan's. I plan to continue to ignore their letters base on my previous comment regarding the sale of my debt. Anyone else have any experience with this kind of situation and any ideas of the outcome if I continue to ignore the letters?