One bank
has pretty much ruined my (credit for) life.

This bank who we shall call Barclays (for that's it's name) decided to ruin me financally for at least the last 6 years and possibly longer.
It all started when I was about 10, I got my first account with barclays, all fine and well until I started work at 16, I was getting £150 a week wages and I wanted to get a motorbike so I needed a loan.
I was accepted and I got my bike, as this point I had a standard account, no overdraft and simple where you put money in and took money out. They gave me £3000.
Then my new bike had a problem and needed to go into the garage to be fixed and they gave me a hire bike until it was sorted. This bike was too big for me (I'm 5' 3" and 8 stone) and I was ran off a country lane but a cunt in a white van.
I needed £500 to get my bike back and pay for the repairs to the hire bike. So I went to the bank and asked for an extra £1000 on the loan.
Now this was a different branch to my normal one and the "helpful" young guy told me that I should get this fancy account where if you have more than £400 in your account then it went into a savings "pot" and if you dipped below £50 then it would be topped up again,
I said no, I didn't want a change I was happy with the way things was, so what did he do? He changed it anyway with out telling me.

So the new loan of £4000 went in to my account where the original £3000 would be paid off straight away and then I would cover the £1000.

Simple? Nope! With this "pot" system, the £4000 went straight into the savings part and didn't pay off the loan. I didn't know anything about this, thinking that I had made myself clear that I didn't want my account changed.

I went on holiday not thinking anything of the fact that I seemed to have more money as these "pots" were topping up my account with the money that should have paid off the loan. I didn't know what was going on as the bank had also decided not to send me any more letters since I had moved, even though I had gone in to my branch the day I moved with my tenancy contract and told them and got them to sign a piece of paper to tell them that I had informed them of my move.

So a few months have passed and I've not gotten any letters, I went to a cash point to get some money, the atm eats my card. I go to the branch and was told that I owe them £7000 from both the loans and that they were going to charge me nearly double that to pay it back! They said that they had sent letters to be about it and I asked what address did they have and gave me the old one, I said that I had moved out of there 4 months ago and she said that they didn't know that and I should have informed them at the time of my move! I said that I had and promptly produced the signed letter stating that I had gone in to the branch to change the address. She didn't say much then. So I now owed them £13,000! with monthly repayments of £500, that was more than my wages for the month and I had to pay £250 on rent not including bills so I told them that I couldn't pay that much and they had to reduce it.

I was told that they wouldn't even though they know I only got £150 a week wages so that I would not be able to pay it.

The bank assistant asked me "so you are saying that you are going to default on your payments?"

I said "yes, as you can clearly see I do not have the funds to pay it"

ba "you can't do that!"
me "just you bloody watch me!"

and I did, I stopped paying it and apart from sending a letter saying that the matter will be sent to a bayliff's I've not heard anything since. That was 2003.

This was after I explained what the "helpful cunt" had done when I went to get my extension and suddenly this guy didn't work at the branch anymore and they gave me a number to call for a credit advisor who "would help me sort this all out and you would be able to pay an easier amount" Well this number always rang out and when I did finally get through, the woman was never in, or available amnd noone else would help me as they weren't assigned to the case. That branch was 4 towns away from where I lived so I couldn't go there and when I did go to my own branch I was told that they were not dealing with it and wouldn't help me saying it was my fault for not noticing earlier, even though they were sending letters to my old address!!!!


I have not been able to get a bank account since and I've had to work for agencys for 6 years because they could pay into my fella's account.
I am now a student and I had to get an investment account with ns and i as they are the only bank that don't check credit. I needed to get an account as the student loans people wouldn't write me a cheque, or put it into my dad's account, but that's another story.

Bottom line is, I know that in 2003 I owed around £13,000. God knows how much it is now. I really don't know what to do and I'm afraid that I'll be taken to court if I show my face now.

I'm nearly 26 now and I've not been able to get a normal bank account or get on the tenancy agreement for my flat (thankfully my fella and our housemates credit is good otherwise I'd be homeless)

I would like to get this sorted out so we can start thinking about getting a morgage and I would like to move on with my life.

Any suggestions? I know the CAB can help but I don't have any of the paperwork to back this up.

Length? 6 years and counting but it feels like eternity
(Soaps Roller derbying your way since, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 15:43, 11 replies)

Six years
If the bank's not been in touch for six years, then the debt should have been written off (if they've been sending letters to your folks in the meantime, you may have more of a problem).

Check with the CAB - it doesn't matter whether you've got the paperwork, they can at least hear the details of your story and make sure that what I'm saying does really apply. But in principle, you shouldn't have to pay up.

Then you'll have to, slowly and painfully, rebuild your credit rating. First, get a Basic Bank Account (here) - these are offered by most major banks, even if your credit is unimaginably bad, and mean that you can get paid your salary into your own account and take out cash from machines. It doesn't give you a debit card or an overdraft. If this goes OK, your bank should be able to upgrade to a debit card account, or at least an Electron/Solo card account, before too long.

In the meantime, if you're confident you won't be tempted to spend the money, then also apply for a 'people with dodgy history' credit card with someone like Vanquis Bank. This will charge you an eye-raping rate of interest, but the reason you're getting it isn't to borrow money: just buy a tenner's worth of petrol on it once a month and make sure you always pay off the fiver minimum balance, which will demonstrate that you can be trusted with having a credit card and making regular payments (pay off the rest of the balance every three months or so, before it gets out of hand).

Make sure you're on the electoral register, try and make sure your name's on the electricity, water, phone bills, and try and get a contract mobile once you've had the bank account and the credit card for a few months (even if that means paying them a deposit). That should all help - but in the end it's a waiting game.

UPDATE: just thought - next time you rent a place, you should get your name on the tenancy agreement. If someone with bad credit is trying to rent, this isn't a problem as long as the landlord has a 'guarantor', which is a person who's liable for the debt in case you fail to pay it. You can get your dad to do this, assuming he trusts you not to run off, as the only chance of him losing out is if you skip town - again, this means you'll have a stronger recorded history of being someone who pays up.
(stalinism, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 16:02, closed)

All banks have to offer a basic current account
with no credit check, it's something to do with old biddies' pensions not being paid over the counter at the Post Office any more. The basic account has to have an ATM/debit card and the facility for wages and benefits to be paid in and standing orders and direct debits to be paid out. What's more it doesn't need any money depositing to open it.

My credit rating is quite likely worse than yours (the only difference is that mine is my fault), a quick look at the Basic Bank Account thread on moneysupermarket.com showed that Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank were the two best options, as their current accounts come with a Maestro debit card, as opposed to a Solo or Electron which aren't accepted anywhere.

I applied for a Yorkshire Bank Readycash account two months ago, and was accepted without question. They do do a voter's roll search, but this is not a credit check, it's simply to confirm that a person with your name lives at the address on your driving licence/phone bill/other ID. They opened the account and gave me my account number immediately and I can confirm that the account does everything they said it would do.

(It's probably a good idea for you to avoid Clydesdale as they are part of the same group as Barclays, and technically if you put money in a Clydesdale account they could offset it against the Barclays debt. Cunts.)
(WillI'mNot logs in twice a year, every year, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 16:41, closed)

Good stuff on BBAs
...except that Clydesdale is owned by National Australia Bank, who've got nothing to do with Barclays, so Soaps is safe with them.
(stalinism, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 18:18, closed)

I stand corrected
tbh I just googled "Barclays Clydesdale" and it came back with shedloads of results. Martin Lewis does go to great pains to make sure you avoid the pitfall of banking with the same group.
(WillI'mNot logs in twice a year, every year, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 1:26, closed)

Just a thought
When i upgraded my account, to the one above basic. I had to sign a new contract etc. Ask for them to provide proof of a contract. There will not be one, which will work in your favour.

If you can prove they made the changes with our your consent then that will help. I believe if you can prove that then you can get your credit rating readjust, even if it is to zero that is better than in the red.

Good luck with it all.
(StyX is staring at you, yes YOU!!!, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 18:12, closed)

Don't do this
...unless Barclays start chasing you. The last thing you want to do is get in touch and remind them the debt exists.
(stalinism, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 18:19, closed)

Don't panic
After 6 years of non-payment and not acknowledging the debt, it is statute barred, which means they can pursue you but they have no immediate legal power to sue should they try, they will need express permission of a Court to do so. They would also need to prove that certain paperwork is in order, such as contracts/agreements, down to the wording and method of delivery of a default notice. It is highly unlikely that all or any of these are in order.

I'm no expert but please please do visit the excellent Consumer Action Group website where you'll find all the advice and template letters you could ever need.

But most of all, don't panic, they can't touch you! Visit the site above, check it all out- I'm nothing to do with the site apart from being a regular visitor I promise. There's a post earlier on one of the first few pages from someone who set up the site, tells you some more about it. Best of all, it's free.

Good luck
(randomstupidname would really like this signature field to be bigge, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 20:11, closed)

Do not contact the Bank!
Just to re-iterate what others have said, it is 6 years since you last acknowledged the debt.

So even if you contacted them and said "I can't pay" that counts as re-setting the clock.

I would guess you would likely be okay, just get the basic bank account and the poor-credit credit cards, and within six months to a year you'll be in much better shape.
( Ghoti Fingers, Sat 18 Jul 2009, 22:25, closed)

If it has been 6 years then you're off the hook
Lenders only have 6 years to pursue the debt. If six years have gone by without any contact from them or to them, then whatever you do, do not talk to the lender. As soon as you do this you have acknowledged the debt and are once again liable for it. You should now be able to open up a new bank account and start building up a credit rating. I must stress that never at any point should you admit to owing the lender money in any way, be it on the phone, in an email or in a letter. If you are contacted your only reply should be along the lines of "I have no idea what you're talking about".
(mmm....beer, Sun 19 Jul 2009, 19:56, closed)

Thinkbanking
Thinkbanking.co.uk offer a great "bank account for everyone". it's a managed account, so you actually have two accounts.

You are paid into account A. They set aside the money for all your DD's, standing orders etc. that you tell them about in advance, and then transfer the rest to your Maestro debit card (account B). They charge a £12 a month fee BUT, you CANNOT go overdrawn. Also, if a DD or Standing Order does bounce, there is no charge.

And they will send you your balance by text which personally, I think is pretty handy.
(MightyX5 living on a small island on, Mon 20 Jul 2009, 14:43, closed)

Bear with me guys, this gets complicated
First of all, thank you all for your help, in response, I have had no contact with the bank since 2003 and they have had no address for me for the same amount of time, I have only just gone the electoral roll and I have just gotten a passport to get a bank account sorted out but when I went to HSBC and tried to get a student account the guy tried to sell me a credit card "for emergencies" I then spent the next 10 minutes trying to convince him that my fella has a good job and that I didn't want the card.
He was a big lad so I finally gave up as he wouldn't drop it, so the check goes through and what a suprise, I am turned down due to my credit rating! I asked if I could have a normal account and was told that because I was a student, I couldn't have a normal one.
So I went to Abbey and did the 20 mins of detail giving etc and was told that it had to go to the credit provers and I would get notice in 2-3 working days. That was back in march, I'm still waiting.

When I worked for the agencies I used to get paid weekely to my fellas account, when I became a student last sept I needed to open an account, for this I needed a passport as my id, which I didn't have.
My passport took 5 months to get as I was born after dec 83 so I needed my mothers birth cert, this was a problem as she committed suicide 3 years ago and in the confusion of being made homeless by the council as I lived with her but I wasn't on the rent book my aunt kept all her documents and said if I needed them then I could have them back anytime.
So fast forward 3 years and I need the birth cert, I phone my nan, she said that my aunt (who I didn't have a number for) said that I couldn't have it as I was "trying to scam someone!" I also had to endure a scathing attack from a cousin that I've not seen for years which resulted in me getting so angry that I smashed up my kitchen and fractured my wrist smashing it against my desk so that I had to wear a splint for a few weeks and missed an important exam. So I had to pay for one as trying to explain about the passport form I still wasn't allowed it. I even said that they could have it back when the passport office were done - no joy.

all this time I've still had no money for the student finance people who have told me over and over again that if I can't get an account then they would send me a cheque.
So I exhaust the local banks I've been turned down for all, so I call the student finance and I'm told "we don't do cheques anymore" at this point I've been borrowing money from my fella to live on and he had been paying for our rent and bills for 4 months. I suggest putting the money into my dads account, I'm told that could work, get him to send us a letter stating that I was allowed to use his account and a recent bank statement along with a letter with my details, great you think, but I live in liverpool and my dads in essex so it takes a few days for his stuff to get to me and then I sent it on, so another week goes past before I get a letter with the statement back thanking for the recent letter and that it would be noted on myfile. So I call them and I'm told that I shouldn't have been told that as they don't do anything like that, so that's another 2 weeks wasted.

As you can imagine at this point I'm pretty fed up, so I manage to get this investment account with ns and i (who quite oddly are great) and they set everything up I call the student finance and give them my details, now this is 6 months since I became a student so I've missed all the payment dates so I should get the full amount in one go - over £6000. Great, but I owed £1300 to my fella for helping me to eat and have a roof over my head. So I give them all my detials, and I'm told that it will be 4 days till the money is in (this is on a monday, so thursday) thursday rolls around and I send off the form I need to withdraw the money, I get a letter back from ns and i saying that I can withdraw £20 from my account, the amount I used to open it.
So I call ns and i, and a lovely woman took my details and went through the bacs system to trace the payment and called me back within 10 mins to tell me that the payment had gone in but they had sent it back and the sort code was incorrect. I ask what it is and they have put some ramdon number in there. So I thank her and call the student people, waited 45 mins to get through and when I told them all the guff with ns and i the "helpful qualifed advisor" asked me if I thought that he should swap the numbers round!! I replied withe a what do you mean you have no idea? WHY THE HELL AM I TALKING TO YOU IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ON?? I think I swore at that point a bit too.
So he assures me its sorted and the money will be in 4 days, so we're back to waiting, it's not 6 1/2 months, I wait the 4 days, and I call ns and i, without waiting 5 minutes, the lovely lady said that the payment had come in...and gone again, student finance had completly ignored me and put a different number in.

So she promises to sort it and will phone me back in 10 mins, I in the meantime, call the student people and start giving them hell, the phone twat doesn't know what's gone wrong blah blah, mutters something about how it's ns and i's fault for not accepting the payment, at this point ns and i call me back so I tell her what the guy said and she gives me instructions to give to the monkey so I was sitting with a mobile phone on one ear and the home phone on the other.
I'm assured this time it will all work, just got to wait 4 days etc etc. So I wait, and what a suprise, it goes wrong again, this time I didn't even need to call ns and i, they called me! So I get on the phone, wait 30 mins to speak to someone and I finally lose it, I'm screaming and shouting and inthe end I burst into tears stating that I was going to be evicted and thrown out of uni as they haven't given me any money for 7 months.
The woman on the other end sounded very sorry for me and promised that she would sort it and would call me in an hour. So I wait thinking that I'll have to give up uni and go back to work. She calls me back and says that one of the admin team was dealing with a different account with ns and i and that it was all sorted.
She also apologised, the first person in 7 months to actually say sorry for all the trouble this has caused.
So I'd really like a normal bank account now. How I didn't have a nervous breakdown in all of this I do not know. We are due to move at the end of this month and I am going on the contract with my fellas mum being the guarantor, thankfully. My own sister won't cover me as she thinks that I will run off and not pay, she doesn't seem to realise that I would pay as I need somewhere to live. It's alright for her, she owns her house and is on £38k a year with a bmw 1 series company car.
I did finally get all the money and I gave my fella £1300 and said "thank you for helping me to live the last 7 months" I also gave him 6 months rent as I'm not going to see any more money till nov now. Ghayers.

So I am not going to contact barclays incase it's not been 6 years and also I don't want to be dragged to court. If I was I would love to see their faces as I am a student with no income or assets so they would have nothing to take from me. They can't take what dignity I have left. It's a shame that my pride's already buggered off with my sanity.
Although I suppose if you don't laugh you'd cry

WWWWWHHHHHHHAAAAA HHHHHHAAAA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH etc etc
(Soaps Roller derbying your way since, Mon 20 Jul 2009, 17:39, closed)