Its Not A Crime! - BR 28 Feb

[The GodMother]

your daughter may benefit from telling the companys that she is considering bankruptcy as some of the companys then start to behave and accept rpay proposalsas most of them no they will not get a lot from bankruptcy and it may take longer which they dont want.

 

Just an option tho.

 

I dont think she can be held responsible for the ex housemate CT bill

[Hopeful1]

Hi Sisternumber1.

 

I just wanted to say i am still following your thread and am in admiration of what you have achieved in such a short space of time. I'm sure there's a million and one other things going on that we don't know about too.

 

[sisternumber1]

We have our MP on board - probably have to photocopy the whole file again! its getting seriously large, two lever arch files already:o

[Caz1974]

Just popped in to give you encouragement and support sister xxx

[sisternumber1]

Just popped in to give you encouragement and support sister xxx

 

 

Thank you Caz - suddenly it doesnt seem quiet so dark, what with the support from here, and the support from Trading Standards, and now the MP, and every one encouraging me to make as much noise as I can - and my daughter is telling everyone what has been done to her. There is so much more, but not really for here.

[uk1975]

You have my support on this .... keep up the work and I hope it all works out for you and your daughter

[The GodMother]

You also have my support. I am still annoyed with the police over this not being a crime. How you have not managed to knock them out is amazing.

[midge61]

Hi

 

 

I am so totally disgusted for you and really hope that your MP gets something done for you and your daughter.

 

Wishing you all the best.

[sisternumber1]

finally have a letter from yet some one else at MBNA saying they have taken my daughter of the calling list. In the same post another one from a nother person saying they are investigating, a letter will be sent within 5 days!!

 

Any way I have written the following to them - comments galdly received:

 

Rebecca Lyke

MBNA Europe Bank Limited

PO Box 1004

Chester Business Park

Chester

CH4 9WW

Dear Ms Lyke

Re Account number 5407 **** **** ****

Dear Ms Lyke

Thank you for your letter dated 29th January 2008.

You do indeed hold written authority to deal with me. It was sent to you on the 20th December 2007, and signed for on the 21st December 2007. AS you will be aware that all communication to yourselves is being sent by either Recorded or Special Delivery.

There is no need as you have stated to send any further written authority for you to discuss the matter with myself as you already have that authority.

With regards to the statements, you have been asked on the following occasions and in writing to supply these statements, and I believe that my daughter intimated as such when you were speaking to her in October and November 2007.

• Asked for statements in a letter dated 26th November 2007
  
• Asked again in a letter dated 20th December 2007
  
• Asked again via a formal request under the Data Protection Act 1998. You have cashed my cheque for £10.00 7th January 2008
  
• Asked again in a letter dated 16th January 2008, also reiterating that this account is in dispute, as the card could not have been used by my daughter inthe period from about December 2006 until about September 2007 due to her health.

It would seem that you may be unwilling to let us have these statements as you can already clearly see that my daughter could not possibly have incurred these debts, if that is so the sooner you inform the police of this fraudulent use of my daughter’s credit card the better.

In the meantime I attach a letter from my daughters GP outlining her state of health.

Also please be aware because of the fraudulent use of my daughter’s credit cards, we are now going to petition for her bankruptcy, as my daughter is neither willing or able to nor indeed should pay for a third party’s misuse of her cards. This of course in no way allows you not to comply with our request for my daughter’s statements. You could of course be so kind and pay the fee that is necessary for petitioning for bankruptcy as a badge of the integrity of your company.

Please could your company arrange that only one person deals with this matter, to date we have had letters from seven distinct individuals.

Yours sincerely

[Goldlady]

Excellent letter sister - will be interesting to see their response. Nice touch asking them to pay the BR fee .

 

My thoughts are with you and your daughter.

[The GodMother]

Hey Sister

 

Great idea with asking them for the bankruptcy fees Lets just hope they now pull there finger out.

 

Chrissi

[tiglet]

Good luck - keep us posted.

 

Your daughter is extremely lucky to have a mother like you.

 

Tigs xxx

[sisternumber1]

Suddenly feels very quiet. Now waiting for others to get back to us. Cant currently think of anything else to be doing, other letters to write etc. A small interlude before it starts all again. If any one can think that there might be something that I havent done, or has a check list of what I should have done please do nudge me. Housing Benefit is sorted, Income support form is in, applied for a grant for money for bankruptcy, also looking elsewhere to see if some one will let her have some of it. We can probably do 50% if I am careful with my housekeeping this month. Have filled in the Bankruptcy Petition as far as we are able so far.

 

At the same time, waiting to hear from our MP now that I have given him more info. Waiting to hear from Barclaycards fraud department - the interesting one will be where the Woman from Belfast used my daughters card to pay for her mother's holiday, the holiday company will get in touch with her mother and ask how was the holiday paid for? Well maybe....

 

OK take advantage of this lull and get some work done.

[sisternumber1]

this weekends job is to fill the petition for bankruptcy in, and get her down to the court on Monday. W will have the money together by then. In the pack sent by the court there is no form for filling in to waive the court fees because of being on benefits, can we get that at the court and what do we need to take with us to go with that? I will probably be back asking questions about this procedures as I re read the reams that the court have sent and fill in the form as we go along, want to make sure that I get nothing wrong, still think its so awfull that she has to do this. Its only the credit card that are the problem, she is able to pay her way if it wasnt for them. No arrears for the utilities or the rent or even her bank loan, just the cards that were used by that .................. but she will be better off to some extent after bankruptcy!

[The GodMother]

you can get a copy of the form on here

 

www.hmcourts-services.co.uk

 

You need form EX160

 

Chrissi

[tiglet]

you're having a tough time of it, aren't you sister?

[sisternumber1]

tiglet - not as tough as my daughter, at least I have my health.

 

Thank you godmother

[The GodMother]

YW sister.

 

Shout if you need help with the form.

 

Chrissi

[sisternumber1]

OK in the post on my matt yesterday from Mercers

 

dated 4th February 2008

 

Addressed to daughter of sisternumber1

c/o sisternumber1

 

Account number **** **** **** ****

O/s Balance 2833.11

 

48 HOUR NOTICE

Dear daughter

 

Despite all of our previous communications, you have ignored our demands for payment to your long overdue account.

 

We will now pass your account to a debt collections firm in your are and a local representative may call at your address.

PHONE

0844 822 2005

NOW!

 

 

You only have 48 hours to stop further action

Mercers Debt Collections Ltd

 

 

This account is:

a. in dispute

b. all the file sent to Trading Standards, Office of Fair Trading and the Finanacial Ombudsman, and with our MP regarding the way the Police have treated my daughter.

 

So why is Mercers sending such letters?

 

Oh and next week my daughter will be filing for Bankruptcy, just finishing the paper work for that.

 

so what do i do with this letter in the meantime?

 

Cant believe the nerve of these people.

[tomterm8]

At this point, it is an irelevance, I would file it away and forget, but send copies to the F.O.S and co.

 

Anyone who calls in your home, you can order them away AND if they refuse call the police, fearing a breach of the peace.

[The GodMother]

standard stuff really as they know they are stuffed.

 

Just carry on the good work u are doing and let us know how the bankruptcy is going.

[sisternumber1]

I left it too late to ring the National Debtline today - so can some one else please answer or point me in the right direction.

 

It says in all the papers that I have that when you fill in the bankruptcy forms you have to make alternative arrangment for your income etc, but it also says that you shouldnt open another bank account, so please what are we supposed to do about my daughters benefits, dont want them to be swallowed up, ie her housing benefit which is for her rent, her incapacity benefit and her DLA, when do we let the Council and the Benefits agency know, and where do we get the money sent to? this is the only thing that I find unclear, because there are conflicting bits of advice in all the forms and advice leaflets. (Her Income Support will be paid cash at the post office - its in the pipeline still and will be backdated)

 

 

 

(glad to be back after spending most of the afternoon not being able to view this part of the forums- )

[tomterm8]

well, I would call up NDL and/or CAB on monday to be sure, but I think you will have to call up the benefits people and stop the money being paid into your bank account.

 

If you don't have an overdraft THEN your daughters account may not be terminated.... BUT personally i would ask them to temporarily pay the money into your bank account, and inform the OR of what you are doing.

 

Then she should apply for the new bank account directly after the judge gives the order. Make sure you inform them that daughter is BR and you want a basic bank account.

[ICY]

Paul

 

When i spoke to the police originally the officer who took the details over the telephone said that it was a couple of offences; taking advantage of a sick person and taking their money, or in this case their credit amounted to a couple of fairly serious criminal charges. Yet the two officers who came out and their sergeant whom they spoke to after speaking to us said that they wouldnt be able to make it stick, as the person in question will argue that my daughter gave her permission for her to take care of her finances, admitedly this afternoon my daughter was not very with it and the police officers decided that she would not be up to testifying in court, yet if they had questioned her on Wednesday they would have formed a totally different opinion.

 

My daughter is now thinking that that woman does have influence within the police force via her father, so many stories as to what and who that family are supposed to be. In essence she is a thief with an overactive imagination and a good line in implied threats.

 

I will sleep on it and decided what to do in the morning - remembering that it is the weekend.

 

I am not professing to be an expert here and what I have said below i am not completely certain on hopefully someone else will be able to confirm what i have said., but this is my take on events, also I would like to add i am horrified that your daughter has been treated in this manner, I hope she keeps up her treatment, and gets better soon, I know it must be really difficult for her, and you both have my sympathies, hopefully this will all be sorted out sooner rather than later.

 

Forgive me if I am wrong, but to do this your daugther would have had to sign a power of attourney form agreeing to give her permission for someone else to deal with her finances, this has to be witnessed by a solicitor too if i am not mistaken.

Find out if your local force has a diversity command, and also if they have a disability IAG (independant advisory group) they may be able to offer a little more advice, i would be thinking along the lines of the fact they have provided a lesser treatment to your daughter because she is disabled, they wouldnt have said that to you or me if we were making the same complaint, this in my eyes is discrimination under the Disability Discrimination Act, I would highly reccomend speaking to your local law centre, who will be able to advise further on the discrimination part.

 

Finally are there any disability organisations in your local area you could contact for some addition support or guidance.

 

HTH

[crash3903]

This is an offence under the new act and it would be theft. I am not playing down your situation or laying blame so please bear with me

 

What the Police are probably doing is looking at the case and saying there is little or no likelihood of getting a conviction based on the following:

• If your daughter has provided her card and pin number then it would need to be proved that she did not authorise the other person to take cash on the card -

• If this accepted by the Police and CPS, then it would need to be convincing to a jury, as this case is likely to go to the crown court given the circumstances and value

The sad reality is that the offender in this case has taken advantage of your daughters condition and this is where the evidential difficulties will arise. By all means make your complaint to the Police MP or whoever you want to complain to but please do not expect them to get a conviction. You may get an investigation into the allegations but unlikely to get a prosecution.

 

If there is a prosecution there are measures in place to assist your daughter when she goes to court to make it easier for her, but would you want your daughter to be made out to be liar simply because she was so ill she was unable to remember what went on?

 

 

The Police have a very difficult job as they are driven by targets set by the government and you are right (referred to your link) they do file jobs to clear up simpler crimes.

 

Police priorities?

• Dwelling Burglary
  
• Vehicle Crime
  
• Domestic Violence (Whatever the level)
  
• Anti Social Behaviour
  
• Plus a few others that are easy to detect

I am very sorry to hear that your daughter has suffered both emotionally and physically and I wish her all the best

 

Regards