Hopefully this hasn't been covered elsewhere - I've spent lots of time trawling the Erudio forums. I have student loans from 1998 & 1999 which have been transferred to Erudio. I have an earlier loan with Thesis and so they handle my deferment application for all three loans. I came off a period of deferment in March 2016 but Erudio did not start collecting payments via direct debit until September 2016 meaning there were a total of 6 monthly payments that were not collected. I wasn't on top of my admin last year and so didn't pick up that only Thesis were collecting for those six months and when the Erudio annual statement came in September, I filed it with only a cursory glance. Looking at it now, it states arrears of ~£500 on the account but with no details of how they've arisen or how I could pay them off. hey're in no way highlighted which is why I didn't notice them. I received a default notice from Erudio in May 2017 which is the first communication I've had from them regarding the arrears. Calling them, I was told it must be because I hadn't supplied my direct debit details. However my bank account and address haven't changed since they were last successfully collecting payments in 2014 and they've been collecting payments since September 2017 without me providing any further details so thats not a reasonable excuse. My thoughts are that sending out my annual statement has somehow triggered my direct debits to restart and they've only just noticed now that they forgot to collect the earlier payments. As an aside, the amount on the default notice is less than the amount of arrears on the statement by approximately one months repayment which makes me think they don't really have a clue what they're doing. My problem is that I'm now back below the deferral threshold and really can't afford to repay the arrears until I'm earning again. If they'd taken the direct debits or communicated that I was in arrears last year then I could have paid easily but I'm really stretched right now. Does anyone know where I stand legally? I understand they should have made efforts to contact me prior to the default notice. I obviously don't want to default as I'm approaching the 25 year write off. I'm not sure where I stand morally either - it's their cock up but I probably should have picked it up. Thanks for any advice, TheKarrotman

The Direct Debit Guarantee says: "If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when the organisation asks you to" Twice now I've succeeded in getting a refund within hours. Both times with the Coop Bank, but all banks seem to have similar or worse procedures. The Coop says "before making [a refund]... we need to establish whether the claim falls within the scheme. Our internal timescales[sic] for carrying out this investigation is 24 hours." The BACS scheme advises "Refunds paid under the Guarantee are immediate once the error has been established." I think the wording of the guarantee is misleading. The wording should be changed to "you are entitled to a full refund... as soon as it has been established that an error has occurred". My question is... where should I address my complaint/suggestion? Or, do you ladies and gentlemen think that the wording is ok? Many thanks for reading. Best wishes, Neil

At the end of my previous mobile phone contract I decided to change provider and move to Vodafone. It was one of the worst customer experiences of my life. Coincidentally, at that time, I became unemployed and having registered my old number with many recruitment agencies and former colleagues/employers I desperately needed my original number to be available for them to contact me on if/when any suitable roles came up. I was told by Vodafone that the transfer of my number would be straight forward and there would be no problems. It would all be sorted within 24 hours. Unfortunately I trusted them to make this happen. It eventually took around 3 weeks for my number to function correctly. I made many attempts to get this sorted with a variety of Vodafone call centre personnel who 'sincerely promise' that my number would work within 24 hours. I made each one give me a timescale for it being resolved before ending the conversation. Each one lied just like the one before (I have copies of the calls/chat conversations). I called into 2 separate (local) Vodafone shops on more than one occasion to try to resolve the problem. I was in absolute desperation due to the employment situation. My original number could be used to make calls but I couldn't receive ANY. My mobile number was in limbo. I couldn't return to my original provider and I couldn't receive any calls through Vodafone. The manager in one of the branches really tried to help. He understood the situation and to appease me (he had limited power to resolve the issue) gave me a free 30 day sim card on a new Vodafone number. The manager of another branch also tried really hard to resolve this but he told me it was a known issue with Vodafone. He had 3 more customers coming in THAT day with the same problem. Apparently the problem was due to the network and systems being inadequate to deal with the transfers. He also mentioned that I wasn't likely to improve quickly. I've now been contacted by a debt recovery agency who are asking me to contact them about this, no doubt wanting me to pay for a Vodafone bill. The day my number was completely ported into Vodafone and working correctly I IMMEDIATELY requested a PAC number to leave Vodafone and return to my original provider. I did this and was fully operational with 24 hours. I also cancelled my DD with Vodafone so I've not made any payments to them for the 'service' I received. Also worth noting is that during my sorry dealings with this company I noticed that they don't seem to like to put things in writing. During the on-line 'chats' to resolve the problem they requested to contact me by my landline phone to discuss the problem. I refused this offer so that I could maintain a written account of what did happen. I have since received more calls from Vodafone and each time I refuse to talk with them. Even though they have my email and home address details they have never communicated the so-called debt issue with me. They are now using a debt recovery agent (who do have my email address!!). As yet, I have not responded to their request. Any advise on what to do next would greatly be appreciated.

Hi all, I have been a member of my local DW Sports gym for around 2 years. I cancelled my DD with my last payment being 3rd Nov without letting the gym know. I did not attend my gym after September due to a knee problem that i was/am struggling with. Yesterday I received my first correspondence from the gym through "Major Law" in which it claims that they have prepared a county court claim and is ready to be issued against me. They also claim to have contacted me "previous correspondence sent to me by ARC" which i have not had one single letter. I find it pretty disgusting that I've been delivered this bill for £164.64 after being a loyal customer for 2 years and had no prior warning before getting this threat. Debt Balance £83 - I dont understand because it is more than my monthly membership cost x2 Court fee £25 - ?? Solicitors Costs £50 - ?? Annual Interest £6.64 ?? -------------------- Total £164.64 This is downright robbery. I am shocked and appalled that they play these moves. what can i do??? I've had a little look round the forum at similar cases but I've not come across one where the victim has been registered at the gym for a long time and cancelled the dd without notice. I have seen that people have sent letters informing DW of their intention to leave which DW have never claimed to receive. Please help me guys, i really dont want to pay £160 for DW dont deserve it. The gym i attended has got gradually worse and worse with over subscription, poor maintenance and moody staff. Thanks

Hi everyone, this is my first post on a forum so please be gentle if I make any mistakes regarding forum etiquette. I am at a loss as to where to turn to next so I am hoping that you guys will be able to help me (thanks to everyone in advance by the way). I have been a member of DW gym in Oldham for a while and out of the blue I received a letter saying I have cancelled my Direct Debit (DD) which I haven’t. I popped into the gym and they confirmed that they have tried to take money from my account on ‘several occasions’ but they have been rejected. Panicking that all my money had disappeared I went to the bank who told me that my DD is still live and I have plenty of credit. They also confirmed that the gym have not been making requests for the money and if they did receive a request from the gym they would have paid it. I returned to the gym with the evidence (statements and a list of my DD that are live) and the finance manager told me I would have to wait to hear from the Area Manager (AM) and in the mean time I would not be allowed to use the gym. The phone call never came so I kept chasing them and was told the AM was off ill. After about three weeks I received a letter from a debt collectors saying I am now classed as a ‘bad debt’ and will have to deal with them and pay their charges. I phoned the debt collectors and told them I am dealing with they gym and explained about the AM being absent but am waiting for a response from him. After lots of chasing and not hearing anything for ages and emailing them through the website I phoned up head office and was given an email address straight to customer service. I started emailing this and eventually got an unpleasant phone call off the AM who didn’t help at all only told me that until I pay the money I owe I am not allowed to use the gym . The problem is, that no one has told me how much I owe the gym and I have since emailed them to ask if they can just tell me how much I owe, this was the response: After speaking with the area manager he said he feels he made himself very clear at the time you spoke to him with regards what and why you owe DW sports. Unfortunately at customer services we do not have the authorisation to overrule the area managers decision and you have spoken to the highest point of contact. We now consider this matter closed. Kind Regards, I now have the debt collection agency trying to find out how much I owe the gym as they appear to not be sure either. I’m stuck racking up debt for no other reason that they refuse to tell me how much I owe, Im petrified that this will go against my credit rating even though ive done nothing but try and pay and have had enough funds in my account, the problem is that the gym decided to stop taking payment for some reason and finally, will I have to pay for the time I have been denied access from the gym while they have refused to help me? I’m perfectly happy to pay the money I owe them, it’s a service which I have used and until this, been happy with. But I really don’t feel that I should be forced to pay for the time I have not been allowed to the gym for no other reason than their failings with finance and customer service. I have never had to try so hard to pay someone! Sorry I've had a bit of a rant but I just have no idea what to do.

We run a Combi Boiler and the Electric is Via a Key Card Meter with Scottish Power on the fixed plan for Gas and Southern Electric for Electric. Our bill is fixed until 2015 for Gas & the Electric Tariff is about to Increase from Southern Electric . Here is the crunch. We received an update from Scottish Power telling us that the Gas & Electric combined with them could be fixed until 2015 if they remove our Key Meter and transfer the Electric to them along with our current plan on Gas! Would we be better off with the fixed plan and Unit Tariff frozen until 2015 or keep our existing structure. We are low power consumers and our current fixed bill for Gas is acceptable from Scottish Power. They will work out a Tariff for the power for us and give us a newly Estimated Fixed Cost. "Alexander Graham Bell What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and EDIT: human beings are extorted."

Hi There, I hope you are all well! As the title suggests, I'm just fishing for information about exactly what happens when one sets up a direct debit ... is it only if i miss a payment that the address would be passed to the credit agency? Thanks in advance, James.

Hello all I am in the middle of an argument with MBNA and would appreciate some advice. 1. I set up a direct debit on their advice many moons ago so that the minimum payment would be made on my credit card account as a backup if I forgot to pay manually or was working away and unable to get on the internet. 2. The direct debit is meant to collect the minimum amount due 3. This month, as in the past, I paid more than the minimum 10 days before the direct debit was due. The amount owing on the account clearly said zero. 4. Nevertheless they took the direct debit anyway. Because I had already paid there were insufficient funds so they charged me £12 for my trouble. And my bank also charged £8. 5. Both MBNA and my bank have agreed to refund the charges as a good will gesture. 6. But, MBNA say the DD was not paid so will continue to show as a default on my credit score. I really don't see how this is fair at all. I have now cancelled the direct debit and paid manually again this month so MBNA have (A) never at any point been denied the funds they are due and (B) the amount I paid this month is sufficient to cover the direct debit last month and pay this month's minimum and more on top. So they have never been out of pocket, how can they possibly hold that against me and mark down my credit score? All help and advice gratefully received!

Hello I'm looking into cancelling my membership for three reasons: - I can no longer fork out £60. - There is ALWAYS something faulty, out of order, or just poorly maintained - They have moved the work out areas around and it now looks like it's aimed at young men who enjoy using the weight room! I'd never joined a gym before, with the Chafford Hundred Bannatyne being the first time. I really wish I hadn't as it's one thing after the other causing the regret! First of all, I was made redundant a month after I joined, and my new salary is less than I was previously paid so after having to make a few cut backs, hoping this is going to be one of them. £60 is quite steep, and I may look into contract free gyms that cost a third the price of Bannatyne. Then after being there since December, I realise why people moan so much about the inside of the gym. Don't get me wrong their cardio equipment is great, and there's a lot of it. But the so called luxury spa facilities, well that's a joke. And I won't go into detail with the disgusting state of the changing rooms, but maybe they need to hire more cleaners. I expect showers to get cleaned daily, not see what looks like black mould everywhere, untreated and leaving black stuff against walls. Something always breaks, or the water temperatures change every time you shower, the steam room is out of use... And just recently, they have had a move around (definitely not a refurbishment) which means their Gym 3 which was lower lighting area and a bit more chilled out is now full of young blokes wearing tight vests tag teaming all the equipment. When I was originally given the tour, Gym 1 was basically all the weight area, and cardio machines. It had loud music and bright lights and what looked like contestants of the World's Strongest Man. This was not where I wanted to work out. Gym 2 was basically just around the corner, power plates and the slightly older cardio equipment (no TVs on them) but Gym 3 was the reason I joined. You went through a set of double doors, and aside from the Chart show channel playing on TV and someone occasionally using the boxing bag, it was nice. Calmer. But more peaceful. I actually dread going now. I don't like exercising in this brightly lit area. I realise it sounds stupid, but I don't feel comfortable. I have a contract until December 28th. Is there anything I can do? Advice appreciated!!

Hi, I've been having an ongoing problem with vodafone concerning the repair of my blackberry which has created larger problems which i'll explain. This has now led to me wanting to cancel my direct debit for the contract and start a new phone contract with another company. My blackberry had software problems which meant that it wouldn't turn on and would simply keep restarting itself. It was taken to the vodafone store and they sent it to be repaired on the manufacturer's WARRANTY , which is supposed to cover such internal phone issues. In-shop a receipt was given to me detailing that the phone left our hands in a 'FAIR CONDITION - with slights marks and scratches'. Vodafone in exchange gave me a very shabby temporary phone which I could use whilst the phone was being fixed and returned, which they said would be within a few days. The following week we receive a phone call from the repair company saying that they will not repair the phone because the manufacturer's warranty does not cover the external damage to the phone - the repair company described the phone as being 'completely smashed and cracked'. This is not how the phone left our hands as confirmed by our in-shop receipt! But this is only the start of the problem. At first we thought this would be okay because we pay 7 pound per month insurance to cover LOST, STOLEN or EXTERNAL DAMAGE to the phone. So we got back in touch with the vodafone shop who said that this could be sorted if they sent the phone back to be fixed on the INSURANCE, not the warranty. So another two weeks passed. They reply saying that because the phone has an internal problem the insurance cannot fix the phone, as it only covers external damage and not the internal problem, and the warranty cannot fix it because of the external damage, creating an inescapable catch-22. I phoned the store and they assure me that this will be fixed. the phone has not been in my possession now for 4 weeks and I've been using a very old temporary blackberry from Vodafone. I've now returned to my university town where my temporary phone has not had any signal because of a broken signal mast that vodafone has not yet fixed, leaving all vodafone users without signal. A few days ago the fool that I am lost the temporary phone that vodafone let me borrow! I am currently phoneless, and can't even try to find my phone by ringing it because the signal mast in Southampton is still broken!! As I lost the phone I was willing to take full responsibility for the cost of replacing it. However, today my mum has been called by vodafone who are now refusing to repair the phone based on the warranty-insurance clash detailed above. Had the phone been returned to me sooner than 4 weeks, I'd have lost my own phone and that would have been covered on the insurance anyway as it was LOST!! im wondering if on any of the basis; the phone I am contracted with not being in my possession for 4 weeks, the supposed 'external damage' that has appeared on the phone despite the receipt saying that it is in fair condition with slight marks, the refusal to fix my phone based on the warranty- insurance clash, the lack of signal for 10 days until present - I may be able to cancel the direct debit and simply start a new contract with another company, leaving them with my unrepaired phone and not returning the one that I have lost perhaps. After hours of phone calls this has been very stressful, so I hope this makes sense, any help will be appreciated!! Thanks, Greg.

If this post serves no other purpose, it may at least include some useful links It seems Local Authorities, for their own advantage, are selectively implementing the law under the 1992 Council Tax regulations. Council's recovery policies reveal how they're circumventing regulations and using the threat of a Liability Order as bargaining power to negotiate take-up of Direct Debit. After recovery action has commenced, it seems council tax payers who agree terms laid down by their respective councils are having recovery action reversed. Concessions differ from one authority to another but include: i) Summons and costs being withdrawn, ii) Reinstatement of instalments, and, iii) The Authority agreeing NOT to apply for a liability order Generally, the condition is that the account holder switches to Direct Debit – the council's preferred payment method. West Lindsey District Council, for example state: The London Borough of Hillingdon offer this: Rutland County Council this: Wandsworth Borough Council Eastbourne Borough Council..... North East Lincolnshire, Ashford Borough, South Kesteven and Rother District Council, all offer some variation on a theme of this... There is of course an ulterior motive for this generosity in that the authorities secure more Direct Debit payers through their deals. However, it must be questioned whether or not it is lawful. The penalties, or court costs charged to the individual are based (or should be) on how many orders are applied for by the council. There are therefore far greater implications for the alleged debtor than simply whether or not a concession is given for the take-up of Direct Debit. Because of these concessions, the total costs are being split between fewer account payers, thus (theoretically) larger penalties are being charged to householders as a direct consequence of councils campaigning for a greater take-up of Direct Debit. As well as the added imposed burden this has on the rate payer, unless a specific clause in the legislation provides for the council to apply regulations discretionally, then the authority will almost certainly be breaching the Council Tax regulations. All councils have to adhere to set procedures laid down in statute whilst obtaining liability orders for council tax arrears through the court. The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations state under regulation 34 exactly what steps the authority must take. These regulations are devised so meticulously that invariably when a householder appeals an unfavourable action, councils simply state their hands are tied and play their "procedures are laid down in statute” card. Interestingly though, if the authority is able to benefit by bending the rules (securing additional Direct Debit payers in this instance), it seems they view the law as optional. So to summarise, these penalties or court costs are being made higher because fewer householders are paying them as a direct consequence of our council's campaign for greater take-up of Direct Debit (the council's preferred payment method). And, unless a specific clause in the legislation provides for the council to apply regulations discretionally then the authority will almost certainly be breaking the law.

Hi Forum, I am new here, so I hope someone can help. Back in June 2011, my mobile phone contract with t-mobile was coming to end, and I was keen on getting the best deal for Samsung Galaxy S2. The best deal was with "Three", so I decided to order the phone and contract for 24 months online, and all went well. In the meantime, I contacted t-mobile and asked to terminate my contract. And as you may know, they throw a big offer that was better than the "Three" offer. Having been happy with t-mobile, I decided to cancel my order with Three. I received the phone from Three, but I sent it back immediately, (it was received well before the 14 days cooling off period), and phoned them and they confirmed that all is ok and you don't have to do anything. Last week, I have accidentally seen an amount 0f £36 on my online bank statement that just showed H3G. Looking suspicious, I googled it and it turns out to be Hutchinson 3G, which is the "Three" network! I am just amazed that so long had passed and I did not spot that on my online statements. But I recall, that I used to have an insurance with Hutchinson company till lately, and till recently, on the bank statement used to see the Hutchinson, thinking that it was my insurance! It turned out that my Insurance name on statement is "Hutchinson taylor" and it was only when three, changed their name to H3G, then it raised alarm! I must admit, that I have done a very bad book-keeping for such late discovery! However, there has been over 20 months, since they have been withdrawing £36 from my account every month, without a Phone or a Phone number or any statement to my address! I contacted them last week. It took over 2 hours of talking with different people from Cancellation department to online department to online cancellation department... . I was told that yes, you have sent the phone back within the 14 days period, and have asked for cancellation, but because the contract is for 24 months, we can't cancel it because otherwise, you will owe us for the remaining 4 months! This went on for sometime and I finally gave up after being on hold for another 30 minutes! I filled an online complaint, and received a confirmation of receipt on 8th of January this year, and although they said they will contact me by email, I only had one voicemail from them, where he was advising me to call them on 333 with "Three" mobile number! I filled another online complaint form with the reference of the previous one. this time no reply at all! To me, this is like thieving people! They know the contract never started, they confirm the phone was sent back within the cooling off period, yet, they do not reply and worse, refund my money, which by now is over £700 of payments. I have cancelled my DD immediately already. I like to hear from the experts here as to what can I do legally to force them to pay back the funds and if I can sue them for negligence and lack of due care. Also, had I not have raised this, they would have happily have charged me, despite the fact that I do not have a number, and obviously the bills for the past 12 months must have been null values! What can I do? Please advise.

Hi all, Ive had a contract pay monthly mobile with Tesco for a year now and have always paid by DD but a of recently with problems including debt and having to get my tax credits etc paid by giro now I wish to pay by payment slip..theyve just told me I cant??!! Obviously Im thinking theyre reckoning me for a muppet so I wanted to ask those in the know what the crack is with this?? Surely I can pay how I like as long as I pay?? Basically I will have a new bank account at some point but Im trying to get out of the fee-charging cycle for missing DDs and such so really want to be clear of any 'debits' from my money unless Im physically doing it with hard cash iyswim?

I had a policy to cover the CH, plumbing, electrics, drainage etc with Corgi HomePlan Plus. I gave them notice on 23 Oct 2012 that I was moving home on 5 Nov 2012. But they said they could not take advance notice to close the policy I must call back on 1 Nov. Unfortunatley I could not call back on that date, and then with the stress of the move (I was moving abroad)...I forgot. They have now taken another DD from my acount for December and refuse to return it. They acknowledge my call of 23 Oct - it is on their database. But they say "it is not their policy to take advance notice to cancel a contract". What are my rights here? They are the only supplier of many that I cancelled due to moving house that have taken this stance. Many thanks for any advice.. Russ

Hi. I received a payday loan from Cash Converters a couple of months ago. I set it up so that I would come into the store and repay the loan and interest when my DLA was paid into my bank account... They said that they would need my card details to check that the bank account and card were indeed mine, by taking a couple of pounds out and then replacing it. They also said that they could also take the repayment as a debit card transaction, if I fail to pay, or I instruct them to. I won't give all the ins and outs of what happened, as I don't want to bore everyone to death, but to cut a long story short, I forgot all about the loan and my debit card expired. I assume they tried to make a debit card withdrawal, but the card information they had was "old". I then woke up this morning, checked the bank to see if this months DLA went in, and am confronted with a £130 Direct Debit! I can't remember saying to Cash Converters that they could setup a Direct Debit to my bank account, which the bank said was setup this morning! I telephoned my bank to ask what was going on, as I can't see what has gone where 'til the following day, and they cancelled the DD and said my money should return to my account by the morning. What I am wanting to know, is if they, or any other company, can set up DD's without consent? or is there something in the small print saying they can? True, I owe them the money, and my personnal circumstances is not of interest to them, but I now feel that they can wait for me to pay, as they "Burgaled" my account! Can anyone tell me the legal side of what has happened, or is it well known they can dip into your account when they want? Ta muchly!

hello. bit of a story so please bear with me. some time ago, (an embarassingly long time), i had a mobile phone upgrade carried out over the phone directly with t-mobile. i'm self employed so i wanted a phone to keep as backup and i accepted a basic model sony ericsson to keep in case of problems with my other phone. i never intended to use it so i refused the insurance and all extras and within a month or so changed address. fast forward to feb 2012 and a chance conversation about a debit card revealed a direct debit, that i knew nothing about, for £6.99 a month which had been quietly running for an embarassingly long time. the direct debit was to a company called homecare insurance and with a bit of digging i discovered that i had been paying insurance on the backup phone and had had a policy running from the date of my phone upgrade with details supplied by t-mobile. the address that they had on the policy was my parents, where i was living when the mobile upgrade was done. i have never recieved any communication from homecare/fonesafe at any time. i cancelled the policy there and then, explaining that it had been set up without my knowledge, and asked for a refund. homecare insurance stated that i would be refunded if i could prove that the policy had been set up without my knowledge. t-mobile customer services told me by email that they have no knowledge of my having requested insurance and stated that they would provide written confirmation of this fact, but to get it i had to write to their customer admin team, or go into a store to request it. t-mobile have now decided that actually they have no proof either way whether or not i requested this insurance so are now refusing to give me the written confirmation that they had agreed to send. without this letter homecare will not refund me (and are claiming to have sent me a welcome pack and letters. this is a lie as i get any mail addressed to me, from my parents.) obviously these two companies work together so i'm not holding my breath that the one will take my side against the other, but where does this leave me now? i have spoken to my bank (halifax) with regard to the direct debit gaurantee but they want me to exhaust all avenues before they will take it on. if anyone has any suggestions i would be grateful to hear them. oh and yes i check bank statements thoroughly now!!

Hi! I had a quick look, and there seems to be no posts about my precise problem with these and even CK Edrupt. I took out a Provident loan of roughly £1000 a year or two ago and was paying it off as agreed. In spring last year i went to China for 3 months, so i set-up a direct debit with a 'friend's' account so he could pay the agent on my behalf (a bit silly i know). Basically the whole thing fell-through, the money had problems sending and when i came back i was 3 months behind my payments. That's when CK Edrupt got in on the action, saying i had to pay them instead, and the rest of the letter saying about court and full amounts.I asked the agent that came to our house if i could just pay through him still and he said that the head honchos at the Swindon office had already decided, and that now CKE were in on it there was no going back. I thought 'fair enough' and agreed a payment of £100 a month to them (roughly the same amount i was paying the Provident agent) . The existing balance was £800 when it got switched to them. I figured that if I'm giving them £100 every four weeks, then it would be payed-off by February of this year, so i set the last payment as sometime in February. I forgot all about it, thinking everything was all done and dusted, but Provident had sent me a letter the other day of my existing balance saying it was still at roughly £500. Seeing the 'Bankers order payments' coming in at only £69.57. So it seems to me that CKE had been siphoning-off £30 here and there, and had it not been for that, i would have the loan already payed-off. So my questions are as follows: Do CKE take some sort of percentage of what i pay? (never remember reading about this) and what's the minimum amount i can pay them back now? i.e. £25 a month, £10 a month. As i am trying to save money right now and that would make it a hundred times harder. Thanks in advance! I'll be keeping my eyes glued to this thread! haha

Hi, Hoping someone can advise me on this. I have a car insurance policy funded by Premium Credit Ltd. and every month they take £19.36 towards it. However, on a couple of occasions I have not had the funds in my bank at the time of the DD being called for, although paid in the same day. So the bank refused the DD, I get that part but what this company are doing is then calling again for the DD, again I understand, but they are also taking a £20 penalty charge (stated in the areement) directly from my account without notifying me when, although they say they have sent letters - never received - and even told me on the phone that one letter had been sent 3 days after they had tried to take this penalty charge! It has caused me no end of problems as the bank has threatened to close my account because I have only had enough money to cover the re-called for DD!! When this happened the first time, I phoned them and told them that the bank had told me that they cannot do this without giving me due notice and they waived the charge. The second, and last, time they point blank refused to admit that they had acted unfairly, told me that they had sent letters which have never arrived - in any case the DD is due on the 14th - if they had sent these letters they were apparently sent on the 16th and 22nd - they treied to take the charge and the re-called DD on the 19th. Is this legal and what should I do?? The bank have now cancelled the DD. Although if I pay by any other method they charge an extra £12.50 on top! HELP pls!

My girlfriend & I are currently in a battle with Ashbourne (AMS). It’s clearly not a good sign there are so many others with the same problem, but its comforting to know were not alone. Address: PO BOX 10920, Shirley, Solihull, B90 8YB (to make sure we’re talking about the same company). My girlfriend joined Body Lab in Bletchley about a year ago. At the time of joining she was told the contract could be terminated via one months notice or transfer the membership to another person. My girlfriend has since stopped using the gym due to work commitments, she contacted the gym to give one months leaving notice. She was confronted with a torrent of abuse and told in no uncertain terms she couldn’t. Even saying such comments as ‘if your pregnant you still cant leave’ or ‘its like saying you have a new born to look after and cant make it to the gym’. They abruptly and rudely said she would have to continue paying no matter what as there is a signed contract. The only way to relieve the contract was to move at least 15miles away showing utility bills to prove it or the sales agreement from selling her house. My girlfriend was thinking of moving to Flitwick due to personal circumstances and would have been paying rent only; the home owner paying the bills and so forth. It was then agreed car insurance and passport could be used. When calling AMS to confirm they insulted her by saying a girl of that age would not be in this position and must continue paying no matter what. With no luck she contacted AMS at a later date to be greeted with yet more abuse from their staff. So I have been in contact with Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and they are asking if Lou would fill in a questionnaire & possibly be a witness against AMS in court. I would urge anyone else to get in contact with the OFT so they have the best possible case to stop them trading. I want to write a letter to AMS stating that we will no longer be paying them anymore money, so hopefully I will be able to post on her some good news soon. If anyone has any advice on the best way to go about this please feel free to get in contact me. Thanks

Hi all I have pretty bad credit, 8 defaults (yes I was very stupid in the past) and luckily they will all of fallen off by March next year so happy days! I now have a Halifax account and so far they have been brilliant with me and ive had no issues. My problem is with my old HSBC basic account that I had as a emergency account for my wages before the Halifax was opened. I misses one direct debit to my car insurance which was a couple of pounds short (stupid I know) and then checked my credit file a month later. It says im 1 payment late with a balance of zero?? My first issue is that its a basic account with no borrowing of any kind, just a cash card that can only be used in a hole in the wall so why is it on my credit file? My second issue is that I am aware that if I have a agreement in place i.e. a loan paying £100 for 12 months and I missed a payment that would show a 1 payment late. But why does a missed DD or standing order now get recorded? Is it because you dont get charged for missed DD's with a basic account so they try to f*?k you another way? I have many many missed payments over the years where I have payed a couple of days later and never had this problem, is this just a basic HSBC account thing? Any help would be much appreciated James

Hi there, long time reader and big fan, Not sure if this is the right place for this but anyway.... As many have, I fell into the payday loan spiral, and in February decided to do something about it. After reading all the great advice on here I've sorted myself out with a debt management plan and I'm paying of my creditors a little at a time. The only company I haven't managed to get to agree anything is Early Payday loans. I cancelled my cards, shut down my account at my bank and opened a new one, as per advice from the CAB, yet this morning I've logged on to find a DD for £365 pending on my new account. This money was earmarked for rent and electric, so I'll be down to fill in a DD indemnity next week but my question is how the devil did they get my new account details? I have never given them out to anyone, as it's only up and running a week or so, and my bank are claiming there's no way they would have set up a DD if the correct details weren't provided by the originator. So in my eyes this is fraud as I never agreed to a DD on this account and I don't have a clue how they got the details. So... my question is really is it possible for these companies to still find your bank details through an old mandate? Or is it more likely my bank supplied them with these details or alternatively took the old request and stupidly moved it onto my new account? I'm considering seeking legal advice if EPDL have acted fraudulently in applying for this DD. Thanks in advence, AndyH

i set up a direct debit twice and both times it's failed. on my Virgin bill it just says...D.D Denied-No Account i have def' given the correct bank and virgin details, but Virgin don't seem able to take out the money. *september - set up direct debit *5th october - D.D Denied-No Account *on holiday so didn't find out until got paper bill [i usually get E-bills] sometime after the 18th of october [when i got the REMINDER bill] *22nd october - paid balance by PayPoint. *6th november - sent DD form to set up direct debit AGAIN *7th december - D.D Denied-No Account -> i found this out on the same day because i happened to log into my virgin account to see what phone usage i'd been charged so far [for my bill due in about 1 and a 1/2 weeks time] i changed to paying by direct debit so i wouldn't get the non-direct-debit fee, yet all i've had is stress because of this. what's going on?