Bugger 'em
Well now. I could see this coming a mile off, so sold my house the year before last, just at the peak, so did quite well really.

The other thing was that I was intending to sort out my finances and (relatively small) personal debts with the profits from the house sale.

Before I sold the house, I had a credit card with a 500 quid limit for emergencies. Such an emergency arose when my gas pipes caught fire and in turn melted the water pipes and my house was on fire at the same time as being flooded.

Despite being insured (for the building at least) I had to rent somewhere for myself and family to live in. The insurance company, despite admitting liabilty, were very slow to pay - so I had to find the mortgage payments, bills etc...on one house, and the rent, bills etc... on another house at the same time. Not an easy feat; so I used the emergency card.

Instantly I got a letter saying "we're going to up your credit card limit to 1500 quid. If you don't want us to do that, email us at [email protected] or write to blah, blah."

I emailed AND wrote saying that I did not want the limit increased.

It fell on deaf ears and sure enough, I very soon had a 1500 quid limit - which DID get used up (trying to find 1900 quid for rent and mortgage each month before bills and living expenses was pretty tough with only one person working in a family of four).

Anyway, back to the 'present' - I had slowly gotten back on my feet, and decided to sell the house and sort out my finances before the upside-down pyramid of an ecomomy based on house procies decided to collapes.

I sold the house, then wrote to all my creditors asking for a final settlement and a copy of the original credit agreement, so I could check I was paying the exact correct amount back and that there were no hidden 'extras'.

Not one of them replied. In fact, as the law stands, if they do not send you the agreement within 12 days then they have broken the law and there is no agreement in place, and legally you can stop paying until such a time as they produce the agreement.

This I did. I stopped paying.

Oddly, instead of ignoring this as they did my letters, the phoned. Constantly.

Each time, I stated that I had asked for a copy of the agreement and a final settlement amount. Each time, the caller said they would sort it out and get back to me.

Then the process would repeat itself ad-nauseum.

Around this time, NR was being bailed out (and Barclays too, but everyone seems to have forgotten about the mere £50bill they were given). And then some more were bailed out using my (our) money.

After I moved house, I no longer had a need for a bank account, and so I simply didn't get another - still haven't needed one, and wow, what a difference it makes - life becomes so much simpler.

Anyway, I moved house (and in fact, country). I realised that despite choosing not to do business with the banking industry, it seemed that I was still giving them money without my consent.

I figured that if ALL three of the people I owed money to - in total about 3k - couldn't be bothered to abide by the law, then I, at least, could. I stopped paying completely and told them that unless they could produce the agreement then they could whistle. They threatened court - I begged them to take it to court, as in court they would have to provide the original agreement, which, to be fair, was all I was asking for.

Anyway, it never happened. I never paid, and as far as I am concerned, I have paid my debt to them with the 1200 quid a month tax I pay, and I have no debt.

So despite a ressession, due to their own rigid stupidity, I am debt free and actually quite comfortable at the moment.

~~Derek
(dchurch bah, Fri 23 Jan 2009, 11:10, 6 replies)

...
"and Barclays too, but everyone seems to have forgotten about the mere £50bill they were given"

I don't think this ever happened did it ?
Barclays raised funds independently.
(wrigglesworth, Fri 23 Jan 2009, 11:40, closed)

Lately...
...they did, but people forget that they were the first to go to the government for a hand-out, long before Northern Rock was even mentioned. They went cap-in hand, which was dwarfed in the news by the 'run' on NR, resulting in them running cap in hand as well.

The Barclays' story dropped off into oblivion.
(dchurch bah, Fri 23 Jan 2009, 11:57, closed)

any news stories on this ?
am interested because as a shareholder it certainly passed me by...
(wrigglesworth, Fri 23 Jan 2009, 13:44, closed)

It
was on the BBC so search should show it up, like I said a little before the NR fiasco took hold of the media. They may well have paid it back, dunno, but it was they, not NR that started going cap in hand.
(dchurch bah, Mon 26 Jan 2009, 11:06, closed)

Think you must have them confused with someone else...
There is nothing i can find that mentions this ever happening.
(wrigglesworth, Tue 27 Jan 2009, 15:05, closed)

Cheers
Thanks for the tips. About to emigrate myself and this looks like a cool way to keep some of my hard earned wonga, and if they do actually send the agreements...... well then I'm no worse off.......
(Dark Matter All The Wonders In The World & We Invent Boredom, Fri 23 Jan 2009, 12:44, closed)