Hi everyone - I'm in a sticky situation. I went to live abroad for some time in 2015 and I'm back now. I was sure before I left that my UK HSBC account was at 0 but it wasn't due to some overdraft that I gone into without knowing which later led to the account being closed. I just received a letter from Cabot today saying that I owe them a balance of £1347.86. I spoke to HSBC earlier in 2017 and they said to me that the account in question was closed and that I owed something in the region of £200 due to overdraft. I can't remember the exact details but I assume they said the debt was written off, otherwise I would've paid the debt right away then. This also makes what Cabot are saying quite confusing because they're saying I still owe this debt and that the fee is larger than I was told by HSBC. I phoned Cabot right after I got the letter and they told me that it was probably Direct Debit that caused the fee to be so high. I had no Direct Debit and I never admitted liability. I asked whether they have the T&C's of the agreement I had with HSBC, to which they said no. I also asked if I could have evidence of the debt but they said they didn't have anything on their side and they'd need to make a dispute with HSBC. For that I said, I'll contact them myself and get the details so they'll put the account on hold. What do you guys think? Someone told me to get this all in writing sent to them either in email or post. Should I do that? Please let me know what to do since I have no idea! Many thanks in advance.

Dear readers, I'm currently making an application to obtain SC Clearance for a job I've recently been offered with a defense contractor in the UK. My problem is, as a young adult I was convicted of assault on two occasions, in both instances I received a fine as the matters were very minor. I understand that criminal convictions are a very serious subject when it concerns matters such as security clearance and that it is likely my application will be rejected. In general I'm a good citizen and a hard working individual I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm in the process of writing up my PhD and have not since been involved in any trouble with the police. Would having two convictions mean my application is rejected right away? If so is there an appeal process I could go through? Any advise on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Bob

Hey guys, I had a Crazy Clearance (JD Williams) catalogue, back in 2015. It defaulted in 2016 and is now with Lowell. Looking back, I kinda cannot believe how month after month my credit line was going up automatically, even though my credit history back in 2015 was rather rubbish! I was thinking if there's any point of complaining or trying to raise this issue as irresponsible lending with OC. Not really sure how or what good could it do now tbh. The history of the account (credit used/credit limit): 2015 APR 101/125 MAY 89/225 JUN 218/325 JUL 367/500 AUG 440/700 SEP 704/1000 OCT 747/1000 and so on until it got out of hand and eventually defaulted... Apr-Sep +£875 credit increase. is there any chance to try the irresponsible lending route? And if yes, then how do I go about it? As always, any help is greatly appreciated

Good Evening All, At present I am at a late stage of a job application which will require 'Security Check' level vetting. The role itself is involved with financial matters - however not with large sums of money. I have been offered the role pending successful clearance approval however will have to hand my current notice in before it comes back with a decision. At present I have two defaults on my account totalling ~£9,400 for which I have yet to agree a payment plan (no communication from either lender in over two years) however I do have all intentions to repay when my financial situation improves. This role would give me that financial ability. The debts were for a personal loan and for an overdraft. I've to complete my clearance paperwork for Monday after which it will be a two week turnaround, I fully intend on detailing everything about why the debt came about, how much it is and my plans on how to repay it - I have nothing to hide and will be very thorough/honest. My question; has anyone been in a situation like this before i.e. applied for a security check with defaults on the account? And what was the outcome? Could anyone advise the likelyhood of getting this approved as long as I am fully honest and up front? As always I appreciate everyones help and if you require any more information I will be available again in the morning. Thank you.

Hi, I do not know where else to ask this question - if this is in the wrong place then please do let me know where to post this. In January of this year - I was shopping out with friends, and used the self service checkouts, as I only had a few items. I had picked up several items, including one where the label has peeled off, and had stuck to the bottom of the smaller item below it. I scanned through all of the items, and was surprised that the bill came to less than what I was expecting: I ignored it, and thought I was quids in, and could't do maths. on the way out to my car; a security guard followed me, and asked me to accompany him back into the store. Fine - he went through the items in my bag, and then found that I had not paid for three items (one item had stuck to another one), and the other two I had 'deliberately' not scanned through. Total value of the items roughly £11. The police were called, and subsequently I was given a police caution. £80 fine and a caution. No court action. Case closed. A few weeks later, I received a letter from RLP, and paid it. I didn't want the hassle of dealing with them. I've read stories here about what they do, and really just wanted it go away. I have applied for a job with a IT company, where I am required to obtain Security Clearance. I have a form here, which asks about Criminal convictions. Am I obliged to put this incident on the form? I want to put it on the form, for the simple reason of being honest and transparent. I'm not a liar. However, what I am worried about is whether this altercation will affect me getting this job (that has been one of the few jobs that i've really like the look of!). I will be putting this on the form, however, is this likely to impact me getting SC Clearance now or in the future? Does anyone have any experience of this?? Advice would be much appreciated. Cheers,

Hi all! Looking for a bit of advice. I recently imported a computer game from a company in Hong Kong which was delivered to me via FedEx last week. Just today I've received a letter from them, a "Duty & Tax Invoice". The value of the item I imported was £23.89, so it seems there's £5.64 of tax owing. A bit annoying, but fair enough I suppose. However, FedEx are also charging a £12 "Clearance Administration Charge", bringing the total they want me to pay them to £17.64. Now, the £5.64 of tax I don't mind paying, that's owed and that's fair enough. But a £12 'Admin' charge seems ridiculously excessive to me. I never agreed to paying that at all. Am I within my rights to write to FedEx saying that I'll pay the tax owed but I do not feel I should be paying their excessive admin charges? With that charge they almost want me to pay for my entire order all over again.

apologies this topic been discussed elsewhere I have been offered job that needs security clearance, SC 10 years ago I had a breakdown and did something really serious whilst under influence of alcohol, I did not harm others, there were mitigating circumstances and I was given a community order to receive medical help, had therapies like CBT, and had to attend clinic for 1 year, one day a every 3 to 4 weeks (I cant remember the exact frequency ) I feel of strong nature now, able to cope what life brings, would such a criminal record cause a fail in the clearance process ?

So here we go folks. Ive been on the forum long enough to know that we don't condone debt avoidance but certainly help those who need it. Well its time for me to turn to you guys for more help. I appreciate that you guys are the best forum on the net for this sort of thing so here we go. My job Im in requires me to get SC clearance. Now I love my job and its the only thing holding me back is my credit history. Ive been very lucky in the past to avoid CCJs / Bankruptcy Proceedings due to some of the amounts, however i want to finally face up to the facts and hit it hard. Ive attached my current credit report of defaulted debts and I am going to hit these hard. I would like to £100 a month towards them all an take my time to clear them out. Now i know that for SC clearance they do a credit check and im worried about the level of debt i have. How could this affect my Chance at getting SC Clearance? [ATTACH]48351[/ATTACH]

I was wondering if there is anyone that is able to offer me any assistance. I received a PCN from the council last year which I appealed against and lost. It eventually went as far as bailiffs contacting me for for the payment. I offered an amount I was able to pay each month which they refused. Some time passed and recently a bailiff from another company arrived at my house and posted a letter through my door saying 'Attendance notice the clearance of goods'. The letter stated he would be back in 48 hours to remove goods and hand written my friends number plate. I managed to get a breakdown of costs which are as follows: Debt - £82.00 First letter fee - £11.20 Visit fee 1 - £28.00 Levy - £40.80 Attendance / Van - £120.00 I managed to get the levy fee removed but was unsure if the other fees are correct. Are they able to charge for attendance/van on the first vist and without a levy? Thank you in advance.

My husband went through Security Clearance recently after more than five years off work due to sickness, going back to the same job he had before. He wrote a completely honest covering letter explaining how the debt happened when he went off sick and how PPI should have kicked in to cover it but he didn't get a diagnosis for three years. He had around £18k in debt, more than a years wages. No company has ever taken him to court so no CCJs, but a couple are still on credit reference agency files for around £9k. He told them about all of it though, just in case. All the creditors did was ring us and write a few letters (even the one large £7500 debt). He ignored it all and they eventually got old enough to be statute barred. They sent him a form asking for proof that he was dealing with his debts as well as the latest letter from each debt and to each company. But some of the debts had stopped writing to us a year or more ago. We just sent the latest from each and explained each individual debt. The main problem for us was that although debts disappear off the CRA after six years (as most of ours had), the letter the SC clearance people sent asked if he'd defaulted in the last TEN years. Even though they had no way of telling from CRAs, we had to be honest. Luckily we hadn't taken on any debt or credit at all in the last six years, our rent has been paid on time and we've lived entirely within our basic income and saved up for things instead. They gave him a years clearance and said they wanted it improved by next year when they'd write to him again. We will have to write to companies that gave up on recovering anything over a year ago, for statute barred debts that nobody has any details on. Will SC accept that all of these debts are statute barred, or will we have to start paying them for him to keep his clearance for the job? It would be a shame to lose his job when he's been so careful to avoid any additional debt for six years.

Hi Guys Im about to start a new job and it requires 5 year security clearance. Now what does this actually mean being a resident for 5 years or does it also mean anything else? Im just trying to get my head around it thats all. Cheers F

Hi hope some Caggers can help with this issue. I've got about £4500 in debts over the last few years that have all gone to default, I also have 7 that are due to be statute barred between now and October. I currently have 3 accounts in the green and up to date, these are Tesco mobile contract, small provident loan and virgin media, along with 6 years + on electoral role at my present address. I keep the provident loan ticking over just keep something on file as a current credit account. The debts currently in default that are not close to dropping off are 12 in total, and all appear to now be with DCA I also have a CCJ that will be paid in full within 3 months. The debts I am looking to clear are generally old credit card, catalogue and phone contracts, I have been silly over the year and when I have fell behind on payments I've just left them be and now I'm in the mess I am. I've recently been promoted in work which has afforded me a pretty good payrise and so now I would like to ideally spend the next 6 months paying the debts off and trying to slowly build up my credit score which I know is going to take quite a while. Ideally I would be looking into applying for a mortgage in about 4 years time so looking to get squared away as soon as possible Any advice on prioritising the debts and also advice to improve my credit rating after this would be much appreciated. Cheers