I took out a Virgin Money/MBNA credit card in 2005 to take advantage of their 0% balance transfer offer. To cut a long story short, Virgin steadily upped the credit limit over the following three years, in late 2008 I wrote a credit card cheque for several thousand pounds to pay for a home extension. The global economy crashed the following week and I found myself without employment, my wife petitioned for divorce, I became homeless etc etc with, amongst other things, a credit card balance of over £13k After years of being grindingly poor I am now starting to regain and exert some control over my affairs. I recently used a CMC to establish whether or not I had PPI claims on any of my old accounts and MBNA came back "positive". I will NOT be using the CMC to reclaim. My MBNA account is one of only a couple for which I still have paperwork, including all but two statements. Unfortunately, the statements make no reference to PPI whatsoever, only interest and late payment charges. The original tear-off signature slip is obviously missing - the remaining part of the page shows two "SIGN HERE" arrows pointing to the missing slip, one for the account, and one for PPI. I cannot imagine I would have voluntarily requested PPI, as I never knowingly have. Also, for the last 20 years I have worked as a company director providing architectural services on temporary assignments - i.e. I am not eligible for PPI protection. The only reference I can find anywhere to PPI is an insurance booklet issued with the original pack, which states that PPI is charged at £0.72 per £100 of the monthly statement balance. The statement figures bear no apparent relationship to these figures however. In summary: 1)MBNA appear to have acknowledged that I have a PPI product. 2)I have no idea how much PPI was charged or when, as the statements do not show it. Do I: 1)Make a complaint to MBNA, take the cheque and then query their (possibly "interpretative") calculations? 2)Start from scratch with a CCA and SAR (bearing in mind the account was opened 11 years ago...)? Confused! I'm also going after them for charges, 6 year limitation notwithstanding - nothing ventured etc... Thanks in advance!

I have had a Loan, overdraft and credit card with Lloyds bank which they have agreed to freeze the interest on. They’ve had said that from this I will then have 1 default on my credit file on 6 years and within 35 my account will be passed over to the collections team and then the recovery team. What does this mean? It totals about £10K but I’m worried about bailiffs!

Dear All, I received an email today from Stockslegal stating I have not responded to previous nor arranged repayment of my outstanding liability. In the circumstances our instructions are to commence legal proceedings against you.. It goes on to say in terms of prospective legal proceedings they ask me to please note that our clients position, HSBC, is fully reserved in terms of the choice between a) Debt revery proceedings or b) Bankruptcy.. There is some more info giving me another 7 days to make proposals to pay the debt. Then the last paragraph says please note proceedings will be served at your last known place of residence. If we are successful in obtaining a judgement against you we will seek to enforce the same against you to recover our clients debt. Can enlightened readers kindly share their thoughts and advice as this has of course got me very worried. I am not in a position to pay the full debt back unless over many years and I cant become bankrupt or I may lose the house which my family needs to live in, and this would put me much further into debt. Many thanks. They have also emailed my wife directly, surely this isnt right. How on earth they got her private email address when we were not together at the time or indeed is this anything to do with her.

Hello people, I hope you can help. I worked in Abu Dhabi about 5 years ago. Had a credit card and used it after I left. Originally I was only about 1,500 GBP in debt. Kept paying a bit off when I could but the interest and bank charges were massive. I wasn't able to afford it any longer as whenever I paid it didn't make a difference so I just left it. The bank charges and interest were so big that the debt doubled every year. It's around 9,000 GBP now. I was also able to take a loan out on the credit card. I'm not exactly sure how this works but it was attached to the credit card and was about 1,000 GBP. This meant my charges and penalties were even higher. I didn't sign for this loan. It was all done through their online banking. I tried to talk to them but was no good so then stopped replying to their emails a few years ago. I tried to come to a plan but they wanted it all at once. They send me an email every few months. Last month they rang my work (I'm currently living abroad) and my work told me they called again today. Got an email from them yesterday as well and just see they emailed my other email address today. Not sure where they got that email address or where they found my place of work. Figured they found my place of work on Facebook. Can they send debt agencies to harrass me? I'd pay whatever I could if I had the money but it was pointless with the interest they were charging me. I'd pay 300 hundred quid when I could even though I was struggling and interest and penalties would gobble again in a month or two. That's when the debt was quite low. Is there any point in conversing with them to try to reach an agreement? Their email is in very bad English. They've sent me the same one or very similar one a couple of times before in the last few months. From the last email they sent..... I don't even know what they're trying to say! I've underlined some parts. They talk about removing interest and charges. They mention installment schemes. Then they say they are willing to settle all the long time debtors in a principal amount. Not sure what this means. They are trying to entice me to correspond. Should I reply about the non-interest and charges and installment schemes? If they did something with the interest and we had a payment plan then I could work with them. They have mentioned coming to an agreement before. I offered to pay what I had which was a lot lower than what they were wanting. However, I can't just pay 9,000 GBP as I don't have it and don't know when I'll ever have that. Not sure how I could go about getting that from a bank even. I'm currently working but in a foreign country I don't think I can easily get a loan for that amount. -------------------------------------------------------------- We wish to resolve your liability to settle in a civilized manner. However, bank is announcing an exciting offer to all the debtors to close their unpaid liabilities in a good and flexible manner on a reasonable consideration. We sincerely believe that you want to close your liability but unfortunately you could not settle it because of some critical reasons. But please remember that once we offered an opportunity of credit to you in times of your difficulty, so it is your moral duty and responsibility to repay it no matter how much you suffer, or whatever losses you incur, you should return what does not belong to you, with respect. Please understand that the legal Request is already initiated against you in UAE. Due to bank promotion you have got this limited opportunity to close your liability. Hence, please utilize this opportunity and close your liability eternally. We hope that you can understand the urgency of this matter and resolve this issue as soon as possible. We will give our utmost assistance regarding the settlement and will ensure that your account will be closed eternally and will remove all the legal action against you from the bank including travel ban. It’s an opportunity for overseas customers also to come back to UAE by paying back your liability now and will remove travel ban against you from the bank. We will give utmost assistance for settling your liability with deducting all interest and charges. Overseas customers can transfer the money and settle their account from their own country with our proper instruction and credible agreement. Hence, we would advise you to take this opportunity and settle your liability for your own security and reputation. In order that your credit history will be flawless and more facilities will be granted to you in future from the bank. Moreover, bank is willing to settle all the long time debtors in a principal amount with regards on convincing proof should be submitted (including termination letter, medical issue, bankrupted. etc). The installment schemes also provided to the customers only on a condition basis. Approvals only provided to the customers who have intention to make settlement on 100% assurance quality, reluctant and doubtful customers will not getting approvals unless they would make down payment in advance to ensure that they would be eligible. Non-payment in accordance with settlement offer can be void and it affects credibility and trustworthy of the customers, Please take this opportunity to settle all your liability in a descent manner. Note: Once you pay back and settled your account we will give 100 % official recognition that you will be receiving the ‘Clearance letter’ within 5 or 6 working days. It evidently states that you are no longer liable to the bank and cleared all your legal responsibility. Kindly contact us on or before 20/02/2016 on the below number for amicable settlement. Hope somebody can help. Thanks.

Hi guys, I've been trying to read and learn as much as I can from this site, but there's a lot to learn! I used to have a Vanquis credit card, unfortunately I couldn't afford payments because I was off work for a few years due to illness. Apparently I defaulted in November 2010 (according to my Noddle credit report), I've been receiving letters from Lowell but I've been throwing them away, hoping that the debt will become statute barred and forgotten about. The other day I got a claim form from Northampton County Court (I've attached the form), they are claiming a total of £1,970 even though my Noddle report says the debt is £1,653. I don't know how to proceed, and I can't afford any legal advice. Since being too ill to work for several years I have recently set up my own business that I'm trying to get off the ground, but I'm not making any money from it yet. I only get Housing Benefits and Working tax credit, and I have to pay for my business costs as well as my personal costs, so my outgoings are far more than the small amount of money I've got coming in. This is all made more difficult by the fact I suffer from ADHD and an anxiety disorder. Anyway, can anyone suggest how I should deal with this? Should I fill in the court forms saying I admit the claim, or part of the claim, or dispute it? I expect some of this amount includes 'unfair' charges, is there anything I can do about that? I can maybe borrow £200-400 from my parents to offer them a full and final settlement, is this a good idea? Do you think they'd accept this? I just want the problem to go away without damaging my credit record any more than necessary.

Hello Everyone, It took me more than 3 years to have the courage to write it and I wonder if any of you can advice me what to do. I had two credit cards back in 2009, I went through incredibly tough time and even had no place to live so eventually couldn't make payments. Eventually I went behind payments October 2009 on first credit card of £1545.00 and second one of £1445.00. I wrote to them asking to take £800 each as final settlement even this much a friend of mine was helping me with but never heard from them. (that was in October 2009). I had no place to live after March 2010 and since no permanent place to live, never heard from them (both credit companies) again after Feb 2010. I am a little better now, although not financially stable as owe about £15000 from friends and family who helped me during my time and I am obviously am thankful and paying them off little by little. I recently checked my credit report and found that the first credit card company defaulted on my credit file on August 2011 with £1856 and Second credit card company defaulted me for £1703 August 2011 too. I had no letters or discussion from them whatsoever as even if they were delivered, they were returned unopened as i am told. Now yesterday 16/09/2014 I received a claim from Northampton County Court for £2403.00 and I am asked to response to that. I do not have any money to pay off. I already am in debt from friends and family for about £15000 which I am trying to pay off as maximum I can, being able to live on bare minimum. I have two dependents - a child under 10 years and mother who are solely dependent on me. I do not want a CCJ on my credit file as I have just started to get a little better and possibly working towards jobs. A CCJ will ruin my options to get a job in a good industry. I am currently working on a temp contract with £23k salary. I thought after 6 years these will come off from my credit file and until then i will be better with everything and can start a new life. but this letter from NCC has ruined my sleep now. Any suggestions, any advice you guys can please give me. I do not know what to do.

Can anyone help? I have some large credit card debts on about 5 cards. I have sent a standard letter asking for a copy of the CCA and had replies back but some seem a bit dodgy. I'm no expert sp I joined the forum to see if there is any help here for me. Do I tell them that I dont think they have complied with what I asked for and put the account in dispute and pay the £10 for the SAR? Are they legally entitled to chase me for payments while the account is in dispute? I can post documents if anyone wants to have a look. Cheers

Hello, I just received my information back from the Royal Bank of Scotland today from a SAR I sent them end of June 2014. One of the requests I made was for my RBoS MasterCard Credit Cards. I received all of my credit card statements from 2004 but they only go as far back as October 2001. I had my credit card from the mid 1990's So I contacted the SAR Team at RBoS Cards Customer Services at Southend-On-Sea (0845 835 5470) I told them I only received my credit card statements but they only went as far back as October 2001. I was also told that they changed their system during that month and year and that was the reason why they only went back that far. They also said it was their Policy that they now no longer hold customer statements from before that time. I asked to see this Policy as I was not satisfied that they had looked further back, but I was told that they would not send me a copy of this policy. I also enquired about microfiche and any other system where they would hold older records but again I was told that ALL old records were put onto the new system or as much of it as can be... Of course I was not happy with their explanantion and I have no intention of being fobbed off that they no longer have a database that does not go further back from Oct 2001. I simply do not believe them that their records of credit card accounts and their statements now all start on October 2001 What can I do now, as I simply believe that I have been fobbed off? I still believe that they have my old pre October 2001 credit card statements. As they have not sent me any information to me showing me how and why my old records have been deleted or destroyed. I would be very appreciative if anyone can give me some guidance on this as I can see on the statements that I do have I was being smashed for "card protection plan" payments ranging from £17 to £27 plus, per month up to 2004! Thank you Wulfen40

hi all In 2002 my mum was sent a letter with an application form for a Capital one credit card. She signed the form and sent it back as she's never been offered credit before and was quite excited. She was unemployed at the time as she is long term disabled. She didnt sign an actual agreement, they just sent her a credit card. It was a normal Cap1 credit card. After a month it went up to a silver card, then a silver sleepy kitty card, then a gold card. She was making regular payments and was well on top of it. Then one month she was late with the payment and gained a £20 OL fee. She carried on paying but then got another. All together she had 4 over limit fees but continued to pay every month. Her credit limit started at 1200 and was increased to 2600. She called and said she didnt want it increased but they said she had to or she'd have to pay the full balance back. The last payment she made to the card was £1090 in 2009. leaving a balance of £1567. She could no longer afford to make payments. She only went over the limit 4 times and paid more again the next month. on the card she spent £3711.91. she paid £5279.95 there was 2369.64 in purchase interest. they say she owes £2868 Its been sent to lucas credit services, then lowell then fredrickson international. Mums in a real mess and i wanna help but dont know where to start! please help!

Hi All, My problem is this (this could turn into a rant due to me frustration, so apologies now lol): I got a credit card with Sainsburys bank in 2003 In 2006 I had an accident and ended up out of work, as a result i incurred an awful lot of overlimit and unpaid DD charges plus interest. I went for debt advice and was told to offer a £1 a week for the foreseeable future while I got back on my feet. (At the same time I nearly lost my house and had to VS my car and i was suffering with anxiety and depression) What I wasn't told by Sainsbury's Bank is that the agreement to pay a £1 stopped after 12 months. I didn't receive a letter to inform me of this until I received a letter saying thank you for setting up a DD. By then they had started charging my account with interest and all the charges. The DD were coming out at the minimum but the chrages and interest were swallowing it up and I was not paying anything off at all. After getting advice I put the account into dispute (which I was told would freeze interest and charges while we worked it out) This did not happen and they continued to take payments. (this was causing me to incur bank charges too so I cancelled the DD that I didn't set up in the first place. I sent out a letter of complaint and officially put the account in dispute. We negotiated via letter ( some of which I have) and they offered to refund a small amount of the charges. While this was going on they were still sending debt collection letters too) I sent a letter saying thank you for your offer however I will only accept a full refund of all charges and interest applied to my account, I then said I would then be willing to set up a standing order to pay back an amount that I could afford per month and obviously not use the card again... I never received a reply although I sent the letter 3 times recorded delivery (I might have the proof somewhere...) While awaiting a response it was passed to a debt collection agency, then another, then another and has been so for the past 5 years. In this time I have attempted to sort this out by explaining to the debt companies that the account is still in dispute but they will not listen and insist I owe it. The amount in question is £2770, the majority of this is charges applied before and during the dispute. I received yet another different debt agency letter last year and stupidly thought that I was over the 6 year mark. The reason for this is that I did not ask or acknowledge the debt willingly after they revoked the £1 agreement and forgot that they had took it upon themselves to set it up themselves. (they have also done this in 2011 with my new account, I have no idea how they got my bank details) They didn't take anything and a dd wasn't registered with the bank so I must have cancelled it in time) As I have had approx 8 different debt agencies sending letters but never taking it to court I assumed it was because they knew that an account with charges etc was not going to be an easy one to win. I wanted to get this resolved but my experience of courts has not been a fair one. I have a letter stating that I am seriously disputing the amount owed and i have a response from Sainsbury's offering a refund of some of the charges. Can anyone offer advice on where I stand with this please? If I have to pay all of this when I did try to resolve it 5 years ago I will be devastated, especially as most of it is unlawful penalty charges... Sorry for such a long post andthanks in advance.

Hi , my wife had an old Halifax account that she hasn't used in over 5 years (last used around Feb 2008) and she accrued a debt of over £1400 on the credit card + £500 on overdraft. The original debts were well below these figures but added charges + accrued interest on top, makes these figures as things stand. We then left for Australia as part of my work, and only recently been back. Fast forward now, and the greed machine have been grinding away hard, the latest company to have taken over is Bryan Carter LLP (no less !). This outfit now sent a letter three weeks ago to my wife threatening court action and CCJs. After reading few useful (always!) articles here, I decided to CCA Bryan Carter (+ £1 as per law) and I was about to SAR Halifax. To my surprise, Bryan Carter sent back a reply within 2 days, and they say: "We thank you for your recent letter the contents of which we note. If you require documentation under Consumer Credit Act 1974, you may request this directly from our client with the appropriate fee". In the meantime, please contact us with your payment proposals". How can they chase this debt then if they cannot or do not hold any valid, relevant and original agreement? What is the course of action in this case? Thanks for your help and for reading this.

hi im new to this forum so dont know if this is the right place to post. last year i recieved a ccj claim form i defended with a amended defence as i ran out of time to force them to cpmly with my cpr31 request and now i recieved a notice of transfer to my county court for summary judgement. i have not recievde from them any of the items on the cpr but i did a dsar request to halifax and found out that i originaly borrowed 4000 but have repaid 12000 over the years with all the charges for being overdraft and late payments my debt is still 4000 plus interst my question is how should i go about making a defence based on this also the amount that is shown that i owe does not account for 2000 they took setting off my current account. Name of the Claimant ? 1st credit Date of issue – top right hand corner of the claim form – this in order to establish the time line you need to adhere to. november 2013 What is the claim for – the reason they have issued the claim? Please type out their particulars of claim (verbatim) less any identifiable data and round the amounts up/down. the claimant claims 6000 for debt and interest. on xx/xx/2003 the defendant enterd into an agreement for a credit card with bank of scotland plc under ref.xxxxx. on xx/xx/2010 the defendant defaulted on the agreement with an outstanding balance of 6000. on xx/xx/2012 the debt of 5400 was assighned to 1st credit(finance) 5 ltd. on 19/11/2012 the company changed its name to cai finance ltd and on xx/xx/2013 assighned the debt to 1st credit( finance)ltd. notice of assighnment were sent to the defendent in accordance with s.136 law of property act 1925. and the claimant clamis 1. the sum of 5400 2. statutory interest of 500 pursuant to s.69 county courts act 1984 at a rate of 8% per annum from xx/xx/2012 to xx/xx/2013 and thereafter at a daily rate of 1.06 until hudgment or sooner What is the value of the claim? Has the claimant included section 69 interest (8%)within the total claim or is it shown separate within the Particulars but not added to the debt? yes it is shown Is the claim for a current or credit/loan account or mobile phone account? credit card When did you enter into the original agreement before or after 2007? before Has the claim been issued by the original creditor or was the account assigned and it is the Debt purchaser who has issued the claim. assighned the debt purchaser Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? yes Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor? cant remeber Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Default sums” – at least once a year ? not sure Why did you cease payments:- self employed could not afford to pay debt had other essentials to pay e.g mortgage Was there a dispute with the original creditor that remains unresolved? yes they closed my current account and kept 2000 which has not been taken off the credit card debt Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor and make any attempt to enter into a debt management plan? no i tried to explain to them i was having difficulty but they set off my current account and i put me into more difficulty

My partner has a graduate loan and credit card with hsbc. The guy at the time said he'd 'sort out' the fact that he didn't work full time. Boxes were ticked by the guy after he left the bank. There was also some ppi. My fiance has written to them several times regarding the ppi and their response has always been that they have thwarted wrong signature on file and can he go into his local branch and sign something and get them to take photocopies of Id. He's done this 3 times. We sent a sar to them a few weeks ago after reading the info on this site. They've replied with a letter that salsas he has not signed the request and a signature is needed to confirm his identity they have enclosed an application form for him to complete. The letter we sent did have his account details and his name and address. They've also sent to postal order back because it needs to say hsbc bank plc in the payee field rather than ***. I read on here somewhere that it's ok to not have a name know the payee box. What shall we do now? Hsbc have been stalling for over 6 months and it's getting really frustrating!

Hi All, I use section 75 a lot. Unfortunately i have found that the credit card companies deliberately make it as difficult as possible to claim. This ranges from using low quality staff with no legal skills or experience and arming them with counter policy to claiming letters are lost in post. I have found taking matters to the FOS is unreliable - and depends on who you get - and very often they make judgements counter to law. I note that Section 75 is spread across CAG. I have put this tread together to try and catch as many section 75 experiences as possible, and hope we can use this to present a more united front against the credit card companies. Maybe, if we are lucky, we can even expose some of the bad practices, and help each other make quick and successful claim. Many thanks Ed

Hello All, (sorry I think I may have posted the first copy in wrong area...newbie lol) I hope someone can give me some advice on this matter as not sure where to go from here? In a nutshell, 6 months ago HSBC closed my credit card account after I alerted them to fact I hadn't received my new card at the same time as got my debit card as usual (I only noticed a few months later as I only use my card in particular times of year). They were in process of sending it out to me again when the account was closed with no notes and no one signing off on it, according the the advisor who had been helping me and was no longer able to. She said it was not the usual protocol and suggested writing a formal letter of complaint, which I did. I was told the account was closed because I no longer "met the criteria". I asked for a copy of said criteria. I not only couldn't get that, I couldn't even get any advisor to speak to me in a branch, they all said once it was closed there was nothing they could do in branch and couldn't help me. They would send the receptionist out to tell me there was nothing they could do and not even come out personally to speak to me. I then went to the Ombudsman. After 6 months of waiting/bothering (probably about 10 calls in total to HSBC, Ombudsman, formal letters to both, and about 4 trips to both the Bristol and Cwmbran Wales branch) they admitted fault through the Ombudsman but with no letter or information about what happened other than they admitted fault and offered to compensate me 100 GBP, and seem to only be willing to reinstate the card account when I accept this payment which makes me feel a bit blackmailed really or coerced as I feel 6 months of my time, I am self employed as a club promoter and dj (hence I use my card not all the time but for flightsicon, visas, hotels, etc) in this time I had to have other people cover costs for me (so technically I am not out of money per se) but it was a lot of hassle!! Some tours I didn't partake in because I couldn't front the international flight while invoicing my clients like I would usually do. I still do not know for sure if my credit rating is affected by this and how to triple check? (I am originally from the US so I don't know UK legal/credit system well - though I am a resident of UK). It's hard to calibrate how much this "cost" me, but I was definitely inconvenienced more than 100 GBP as I run my own business and depend on the cards, despite not using them that much..the times I use them are "club season" which is say Feb - May and Sept - Nov for me especially. So when I told HSBC in July that I hadn't noticed as I don't use the cards that much, I didn't mean never and that they weren't very necessary when I did use them. I just didn't do loads of personal shopping or holidaysicon or use it every week is what I meant. It is for special, business, purposes. I lodged another complaint at the time of this one...which was simply they charged me twice for my monthly debit for the card. I made a stink to prove how they can make a mistake, as this was still at the time they were denying their error in the credit card closure. That took 45 mins and talking to three different advisors to have them admit what I said from start of conversation, which was they obviously charged me twice, as the amount is exactly double (they hilariously tried to convince me that the interesticon could go up 100% from one month to the other with no notice or formal letter etc). For that trouble they compensated me 50 GBP. So I don't see how 6 months reflects only double compensation of 45 minutes on an in branch phone. My question is, if I am not happy with this offer, where do I go from here as feel the Ombudsman, who is meant to be in my favour, is also pushing for me to accept this, and I am not looking for loads of money or anything, but I feel it grossly under reflects my stress and life upheaval in this time and frankly takes the ****. I want to be clear that during this 6 months, I paid all the monthly fees and interest still I believe being incurred. I have never defaulted on any loan (or had any) overdraft, card payments. HSBC told me themselves a few months prior to the incident that I had stellar credit with them. Can I take it further or should I just let it go?

Hi All, Having finally come to terms with the severity of my financial situation i am now about to start my first steps with the kind help of StepChange. Your help, advice and guidance will be greatly appreciated as i have no income and have to leave my privately rented flat within a month... My current account with HSBC has had an agreed overdraft limit of £2000 for about the past 5 years ( having had a reasonably paid job ). I also have a credit card with them with a limit of £12,000. My account has been incurring charges for about the last 5 months and recently i have has letters to state certain debts haven't been paid which the have had a knock on effect with other cards i have. My Credit card has gone over its agreed limit a few times and i have been able to pay the interest to bring it back to £12k but can't anymore so again is 300 over £12.3k limit. I have had the CC since 2003 and normally had balances of 3-6k. I have just noticed that i am not covered with Payment insurance they have always been charging me and did ask for or notice until i got my self into this mess. Annual review letter states : last year i paid £818.69 ppi. So now i incur over dawn and over limit fees for both my current and cc accounts. Is the a way i can get some advice and to put my mind at rest and have some glimmer of hope as to how much if any i could expect to receive? I asked HSBC and they told me to speak to Aviva? Basically don't want to know. I another two cards with barley card again both to the limit, but no ppi as i think i cancelled, can i still claim for that ? Many thanks all N

Hello, I recently purchased a gas boiler that was brand new but old stock and heavily discounted from 7k - 1.5k On the face of it a great deal complete with warranty from a quality manufacturer, on offer from a supplier I use at least once a year, this time for my personal property. In a nutshell the boiler arrived minus gas shut off valve, minus controller, connection pipes and manuals, guarantees etc. The boiler was being installed and was required urgently due to a new arrival, this was made clear at the time of purchase and that time was of the essence.. It took numerous emails and calls and texts to get in dribs and drabs all the various components to enable the installation to be completed, This was a 300kg boiler (domestic complete with cylinder in a single package -in case you're wondering). Due to the missing parts the boiler took some time to install which increased costs not to mention the inconvenience of all the chasing of the parts and being without hot water and heating etc for the new arrival meant staying elsewhere. I claimed for costs from the supplier/manufacturer (two different entities) The manufacturer finally offered without prejudice another unit but to remove the first one and then to have to dispose of it and then install the second unit would have just increased costs further so this was rejected (what am I going to do with 2 boilers 300kg each 2m tall 70cm square?. My claim for costs is far less than the cost of the purchase about half. A claim has been made against the CC under sec75 for the cost of the boiler and costs, however they are stating that they are reliant on goodwill of the 3rd parties bank and the retailer to respond as they need me to provide proof of breach of contract or misrepresentation but have temporarily refunded the 1.5k only and wont entertain the consequential loss. They go on to say they are totally reliant on the goodwill because the goods are in my possession and there is no documentary evidence to prove the goods are faulty, therefore they can't guarantee the outcome. The unit was supplied faulty by virtue the parts required for it to operate were missing surely it was faulty, the correspondence covers this from both sides my raising the complaint and their accepting that parts were missing.. It seems clear to me there was a breach, the goods were not as described ie a new complete boiler, they were missing various components critical to the installation and commissioning of the appliance, without them the boiler could not be fully installed or operated. This is clear and accepted by the 3rd parties, that the missing parts and delays were unacceptable and the goods were not as described. The CC has had copies of TCs and all email correspondence some 30 pages of documents were sent and yet the CC is finding it difficult to establish documentary evidence of a breach has taken place. The boiler is currently installed 6 weeks after its arrival yet it is still missing the original manuals and warranty documents.. what are my options? I am aware that deductions can be made for any use of the appliance subsequently..

Hi I'm currently in dispute with a hire car company over a refuelling charge. I have raised my query and they are, they say, investigating it. The transaction is for more than £100 and was paid for by credit card (Mastercard). The hire car company has already processed the charge for the disputed amount. What's people's view on whether or not I should inform the CC company now, or wait until I have a response from the hire car company? One twist is that the hire car company has processed two separate charges, each for less than £100 - does this change things or can I link the transactions? Thanks Abo

2 YEARS AGO I STARTED PAYING THE CAPITAL ONE CREDIT CARD WHICH IS NOW CLAIMED BY LOWELL. I STARTED DEFAULTING ON THEM IN 2006. I AM NOT SURE WHETHER I ASKED for a CCA file or not but all of their correspondence mention the original creditor name. So far I have been advised by DX to send them a CCA file. Which I shall do as soon as my printer is fixed. A new development is that none of these appear on my Equifax credit file any more. Do they still have enforcement powers as I have been paying them a statutory payment for each account. They have offered discounts in the past. What should I be doing meanwhile, apart from sending the CCA file? And while I am sending the CCA file, should I keep paying £1? And also should I ask for one CCA file for all of them or separate? In the past they have sent me letters with all three debts mentioned on one letter. LOWELL HAS SENT ME LETTERS OFFERING DISCOUNTS. I am just worried if I do not send them the £1 payments then they might do the traces on my file. They have been hiring McKenzie Hall to do the trace SEARCHES on my CREDIT file. The last one was done in April 2012. Nothing appears after that. Let us suppose that they do not comply to CCA then how come they had the powers to do searches on my file? Thanking you in anticipation.

2 YEARS AGO I STARTED PAYING THE LLOYDS TSB CREDIT CARD WHICH ARE NOW CLAIMED BY LOWELL. I STARTED DEFAULTING ON THEM IN 2006. I AM NOT SURE WHETHER I ASKED for a CCA file or not but all of their correspondence mention the original creditor name. So far I have been advised by DX to send them a CRA file. Which I shall do as soon as my printer is fixed. A new development is that none of these appear on my Equifax credit file anymore. Do they still have enforcement powers as I have been paying them a statutory payment for each account. They have offered discounts in the past. What should I be doing meanwhile, apart from sending the CCA file? And while I am sending the CCA file, should I keep paying £1? And also should I ask for one CCA file for all of them or separate? In the past they have sent me letters with all three debts mentioned on one letter. LOWELL HAS SENT ME LETTERS OFFERING DISCOUNTS. I am just worried if I do not send them the £1 payments then they might do the traces on my file. They have been hiring McKenzie Hall to do the traces on my file. The last one was done in April 2012. Nothing appears after that. Let us suppose that they do not comply to CCA then how come they had the powers to do searches on my file? Thanking you in anticipation.

I have a Halifax One Credit card, the balance of which has been around £2400 for a year now, with me paying around £40 regularly, but not paying off any debt. I missed the payment by a week last time for the first time, but paid the amount, £38 a week late. now I have incurred a £12 late payment charge in addition to my monthly interest. This is the first such charge on my account. If people believe these charges are illegal, can I simply pay my next payment without the £12 charge and let the bank know I dispute the charge? Or should I pay it anyway and then argue about it? I have had this credit card since about 2010, and although I sent off CCA request today, I think it is likely the bank has all the documentation in order for a card that is relatively recent. If I stop servicing this old debt, how high can the bank take the balance? Eg the £2400 already includes mainly intereset, and if I don't pay can they add interest until its £10K and more, or do they have to move it to a DCA and stop increasing the balance at some point?

If you plan to declare yourself in some months, and have 4 credit cards you have been paying the minimum payment for every month. But your expenditure has increases, and you have no disposible income int he bank account, which was paying the 4 credit card minimum payments, so for the next 2-3 months you wont be able to pay off your credit card minimum payments. (due to lack of funds) and in month 2-3 you will consider declaring yourself bankrupt so you are leading up to an ongoing problem of debt, that you cannot repay, you have no money from your expenditure to pay these credit cards, you have no disposable income left, as it is all spent on your daily/weekly expenses so as a result of this you have no money in your bank account wot pay the 4 direct debits, then them credit cards will not be paid. (There is also a loan aswell, which is with a bank), and all credit card are popular high street banks. Basically you will Not be paying your minimum payments to your credit cards, due to lack of funds, for 2-3 months, so what would happen? What would happen then, within them 3 months? - as a worse case scenario ? a) from the credit card companies point of view? b) from the bank/bank accounts point of view, where the direct debits are coming out from? (eg, additional charges, letters etc) c) From your credit files point of view (which is already negative and damaged ) d) The OR meeting, what would he ask? or just he would see that you are getting more and more into debt, and can't pay your cards, (as expenditure proof will be given) - what would be the worse case scenario with their meeting? if any ? e) Would CCJ's occour? f) How many months worth - would they consider using CCJs against the debt? Why considering BR in 3 months? they are looking at Debt management companies, and have had some unexpected personal family problems. but were just wondering the worse case scenario for NOT paying your debts for a 3-4 month period, what would be the worse that would happen to you, your credit file, your debtors, your meeting with the OR when that happens) --------------------------- Here it is in another simpler form: If considering bankruptcy in a few months, and currently you are in credit card debt, and loan debt (paying the minimum payment every month) but 2-3 months coming up towards the time you will consider declaring yourself bankrupt you 'dont' pay any minimum payments to them 4 credit cards, and loads as you don't have the funds for them payments (due to your expenditure increassing) then within them 2-3 months (now until 2-3 months in the future) ...what is the worse case scenario that will happen? as you will be Missing your minimum payments to your credit cards + loan for months(as you have insufficient funds in your bank account) so your minimum payments of the 4 credit cards will NOT be paid... so asking within them 2-3 months would could happen to you/your credit/ your credit file etc? (eg letters could be sent to you ) --------------------------- What would happen then, within them 3 months? - as a worse case scenario ? a) from the credit card companies point of view? b) from the bank/bank accounts point of view, where the direct debits are coming out from? (eg, additional charges, letters etc) c) From your credit files point of view (which is already negative and damaged ) d) The OR meeting, what would he ask? or just he would see that you are getting more and more into debt, and can't pay your cards, (as expenditure proof will be given) - what would be the worse case scenario with their meeting? if any ? e) Would CCJ's occour? f) How many months worth - would they consider using CCJs against the debt?

I was donating to 4 different charrities via my credit card via autharised monthly withdrawals for several years. Out of the blue one of them started sending mail to a previous address. When I rang them to correct the error they claimed to have no knowledge of who I was. So therefore could not stop charging my account if I was to ask them. I decided to contact BOQ (Bank of Queensland) to stop these transactions as I now regarded these particular ones as un-authorised. They stated that by cancelling the card and issuing a new one they would not have access to my new card number and therefore the payments would stop. This made sense as I only gave a card number to start the payments in the first place. This conversation was recorded of course as banks insist. The withdrawals continued so contacted BOQ again. They now claim that cancelling the card is not enough. They automatically supply the organisation the new number when they attempt to take money. I explained why I cancelled the card and re-itterated that these payments have now been un-authorised for 6 weeks. I was told all they can do is request the charity to please stop trying to take money because they can't stop them. This went on for several months into 2013. I finally had enough of ringing BOQ every month and requested to dispute BOQ and refused to pay any more of these transactions. What followed was incredable. They would send out one form per week claiming I was disputing one months charges after I explained I am disputing all charges from when the new card was issued not one. Their dispute case manager refused to disclose the date I requested the card to be cancelled effectivly preventing me from filling out a start date for the dispute. Keep in mind that all this time I was begging them to play back the recording from last year when I requested the card be cancelled and their staff assuring me that this would stop all transaction. Of course they would not. I finally made a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman who were treated with contempt by Citibank who own BOQ. They never replied to the Ombudsman within the timeframes requested and when they did gave stupid explanations like I didn't fill out the paper work. Yet wouldn't answer why they wouldnt provide information to me to fill out the paperwork. In the end I had no choice but to take drastic measures. I took a video camera to a BOQ branch and recorded the staff not being even being able to locate any history of my previous card which is unheard of in the Australian Banking Industry. This had been removed by the dispute case manager. I then challenged BOQ to take me to court with all the evidence I had and with the Ombudsman's support. It wasn't untill this point that they finall cancelled my card properly and after clearing all debts. In this era of card fraud and in a modern country it is unheard off that a credit card company will not stop unauthorised use of a credit card and even let it continue forever if necesarry yet BOQ is living proof. I still have all evidence if anyone whishes to challange my claim.

I'm writing about requesting PPI from MBNA re: my old credit card account. I am also wondering about claiming back charges to the account i.e late fees, overlimit fees, interest. etc. The monthly interest rate charge was 1.6674% . MBNA c/card a/c was opened on 7th May 2003 and on the statement it clearly shows Payment Protection Cover. The opening credit limit was £4,100.00 and the closing balance on 8th December 2005 was £5,926.16 . The a/c was sold to 1st Credit dca in January 2006, and then I started receiving discount letters from Connaught Collections. To date I have estimated that my account with Connaught, has a current outstanding balance of about £5,530.00 . I would really appreciate your advice on the first steps to dealing with this. I bank with Natwest and have a new Select bank account which was set up to replace my savings account (which I was using as a current account). From August 2013, the savings account will no longer accept direct debits and standing orders, and I have been advised by Natwest to inform all companies accordingly. I have yet to do that with the c/card dca's, especially when I saw this post here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?37604-Connaught-Collections-uk-ltd&p=314480&viewfull=1#post314480 where a respondent called HUSBANDKHAN is informing the OP to not contact Connaught, as that will cause a roll-on of 6 years further debt. Is this true? Can you elaborate further? It made me think of my own situation which is summarised below: - Made redundant from my full-time job in April 2003 - became Self-employed in January 2004 to date - Currently in repayment plans of £5 and £1 via advice from CCCS since July 2005 with different c/card companies and one bank – First Direct. - I also have three closed accounts i.e. HSBC bank account, HSBC credit card (a joint account with ex-boyfriend), and Lloyds TSB for Car Insurance that I will want to investigate. - This week, I contacted Kwik Fit Insurance by phone for PPI redress on car insurance payments dated November 1998 to November 2002. They told me that they stopped selling PPI, but didn't state when this decision was made. - Upon their request, I quoted all the relevant details and was told that there was no record of my account. I do have my paperwork with details to hand. Kwik Fit were courteous and I received a prompt email response and a letter the very next day. It stated that they will investigate my complaint and get back to me in 20 working days. There is a lot going on with my accounts, however I want to now focus on the open accounts that I am currently paying, first. Re: MBNA, I believe that I last contacted them on the 26th February 2007 to set up automated bank payments. This was in response to their letter dated 19th February 2007 where they had ~ “intention to issue a Statutory Demand under the Insolvency Act 1986 (Bankruptcy) as we are unaware of any valid reason for your non-payment”. They went on to say ~ “Should you fail to contact us within seven days then our designated agent will be asked to attend your property in due course within the hours of 8:00am – 8:00pm for the purpose of serving you with the said notice.” Please let me know if there is any other information you require? I welcome your advice on the first thing to do to get claims of PPI with related charges, and with other relevant guidance. Also, am I legible to claim back main payments made on the accounts over it's duration? Thanks in advance. Regards, AdvS1

* Can you help please. I am looking for advice on behalf of my partner. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour back in 2009 and doesn’t need the added stress of dealing with debt so I have been managing it for him. He has various debts which were originally with the Bank of Scotland. They were passed on to Blair Oliver Scott when he failed to make his payments. When he was in hospital for 5 months I was able to set up direct debits for him and now he has made serious dents in what he owes. He has three debts to Blair Oliver Scott which he is paying monthly. One is a credit card, the other two are loans. I filled out a form online for him about 6 weeks ago re PPI on all three of these debts. He received a letter from the BoS asking him to go into his nearest branch and update his address etc. He did that straight away. He then received another letter a few days ago asking him to do this again. I was just about to post a letter from him, stating that he has already done so, when he received a letter through the post from the same customer services advisor stating that they have not ‘found sufficient evidence to agree with your allegations that your PPI policy was mis-sold. As such I am unable to uphold your complaint’. The letter goes on to say: ‘As part of my review, I have considered whether you were eligible for the policy and whether the policy was suitable for you. I have also taken into account each of the concerns you raised with us in your complaint and I can confirm that I did not identify any other issues when reviewing your file. Having completed all of these steps, I went on to look at your complaint as a whole to ensure that we acted fairly towards you in relation to the sale of your PPI policy, giving appropriate weight and balanced consideration to all available evidence. I am sorry that you felt the need to complain about your PPI and appreciate that my full decision may be of disappointment to you. However, I can assure you that I have fully investigated your complaint and all the surrounding circumstances. The letter also states that someone tried to call my partner but they were unsuccessful, he hasn’t received any calls. They have given him an FOS leaflet and said he has the right to refer to the FOS. I am still going to send the letter stating that he has visited his branch with identification etc because this letter re PPI not upheld only refers to his outstanding credit card and not the loans. I know for a fact that he did not understand what PPI was, he is awful when it comes to finances and got himself in a bit of a state some years back. He doesn’t even understand about interest etc and pretty hopeless when it comes to facts and figures. I have sorted it all so that he has since Nov 2009 been paying monthly direct debts to all of these outstanding debts. Can someone advise us on what to do next? He first took out this credit card in 2002, it states that ‘prior to 2005 the sale of PPI was not regulated by the FOS, however, we were members of The General Insurance Standards Council (GISC)’. The form that I filled out in his name re PPI and sent by email stated: 1) That he didn’t know he had PPI (This is so true, he doesn’t know what it is) 2) He was not told that PPI was included in the price he was paying (again so true). 3) The policy exclusions weren’t explained to him before at the time he took the insurance. You were therefore unable to make an informed decision as to whether the insurance was appropriate. (He doesn’t recall anyone sitting and explaining what it is or how it would be added to what he was already paying. Also the letter states that he must respond within 28 days from the date of the letter (13 April) otherwise they will consider the matter resolved. Can you please advise me on what to do next please, I want to him help him with this because it’s shocking that he has paid out on insurance he knew nothing about. For the record he did this with building insurance. He was paying it twice, through his factor and on his mortgage, I noticed it and got him a rebate from his mortgage company. It just shows you that he really doesn’t know. Thanks in advance. Erica x