Being bothered by MANY baliffs - advice please?

KittyKate

Hi all. Well where do I start, I'll try and keep it short...

Basically about 3 1/2 years ago I was a student at uni and whilst I was there I opened a student account with natwest and paid my student loan into it. I had a personal account with Halifax into which my wages from my part time job went. I made the mistake of opening a 2nd student account on the lure of free gifts (money) etc from the bank (Royal Bank of Scotland). Obviously this was a dumb thing to do, I didn't need the overdraft I was just terrified of being out of money and unable to pay rent, bills etc.

On the Natwest student account I had a £1250 overdraft limit (but paid in £1300 every student loan date - september, january and april), On the Halifax account I was generally either a few quid in the black or at 0, though it did have a £250 overdraft I never used as it was charged. On the RBOS acc I had a £1250 overdraft for emergencies I never used. My dad helped me out loads through uni.

Anyway I had the unfortunate luck to live with a thief. Basically I didn't know I had been robbed from my Natwest acc until I got my statement and random £100's had been spent in shops like PC World etc. Turns out this girl I lived with (who knew me well) had called up Natwest, given the oh-so secure details of my date of birth and home postcode, and ordered a new card and cheque book in my name to ANOTHER address (my old uni halls address, to which I would never have bank things sent to as it is a communal postbox). She'd been writing cheques in my name (with a fairly decent stab at my signature) for months. By the time the bank had filled out the relevant forms etc and I had been to the police the shops had past the time they legally needed to keep their CCTV. As the police said 'of course she did it, but we can't prove she did it' (despite all the lovely new computers, digital camera etc she had in her room :mad: )

ANYWAY to carry on the bank refused to refund me because they werent convinced a crime had been commited. I was repeatedly told I was careless with my money etc. The girl had taken me over my overdraft limit and I was being charged around £60 a month for this, plus £30 every letter the bank sent me, they wouldnt discuss it over the phone, only in writing, they told me they had lost the original fraud papers and I needed to resubmit everything...nightmare.

Obviously I moved out of the house and to another place. Natwest said that I hadn't contacted them (I had, I had letters BACK from them to prove this) and sold the debt on charging ME the £400 charge (the account was well over £3000 in the red by this point). On the advice of a lawyer I wrote a letter to the baliffs explaning the fraud, they said not to worry we will close this off. Natwest keep selling the debt on and on - we're on the 3rd baliff now and I feel like ripping my hair out, I've tried reasoning with them, sending them copies of the proof I have, telling them 'fine TAKE me to court' (but of course they dont) - I'm getting anonymous 'tracing' phonecalls and postcards but I haven't moved and the bank HAS by address and I'm being charged to be traced to my own address :rolleyes:

On top of this total mess I found out about 6 months later (because I only get statements 6 monthly from RBOS) that she'd done the same thing with my RBOS account and cleaned it out - £1250 in the red - AND my Halifax account - £250 in the red. They've been adding charges for about 2 years and I've been doing the same thing with the baliffs, I literally have my card here, with no sig on it, no cheques from my chequebook, how am I supposed to have spent all this money?

I have had to open a Barclays account for my wage, I'm in full time employment, never had a moment's problem with the account, have free use of a lawyer with it, who says the various baliffs have no legal right to harass me nor do I have to speak to them, but the banks wont speak to me, the police cant help, citizens advice suggested I speak to the bank...the financial ombudsman cant help till the bank have responded with their 'final decision'

I'm so stressed over this. I don't owe a penny, I am on a good wage and in the black with my account. I pay tax, all my bills on time, but because of this I can't get a contract mobile phone - maybe even a mortgage. What on Earth can I do in such a mess???

(Sorry, that was really long)

MrsTinks

When was the last time she withdrew money from one of your accounts?
Also - Police SHOULD be investigating this, it's fraud short and simple. Go down the police station and insist on speaking to someone in the fraud section.
I suppose this isn't gonna be very helpful but at least in future you will keep a darned good eye on all your accounts and if anything goes amiss you will know a lot sooner. I know I struggle with the thought of not noticing that money was vanishing out of any account I had... But then I guess I'm kinda telling you to bolt the stable door long after the horse has gone...
Press the police to investigate this, get as much proof as possible and present them with it.
If the police won't help then get some legal advice on where you stand regarding not having to pay this. Ultimately if you can't prove it was fraud then it could get tricky if you don't have any insurance on this I guess...

Sorry - hopefully some legal eagles will be along to offer some more helpful advice...

Floss

Have you spoken to RBS & Halifax yet? If so what has their reaction been?
Do you know where this roommate has gone? If so, or you know where her parents live, have you told the police that? Have they tried to trace her through the University?

I would ask your lawyer to write a letter stating the facts of the case & asking for all correspondence to go via the lawyer, and have enough certified copies made so that you can send one to everybody concerned, (and keep some too!), along with any further info you have about your "mate".

Good luck!

KittyKate

This all happened about 3 years ago, it seems she cleaned me out over a period of 6 months with regular £100 purchases using cheques and debit cards (PC World, Argos, even the pub) - I of course went to the Police immidiately but they told me I needed a form from the bank. I went back to the bank and they said 'we'll sort it out. fill out this form, we'll fax it to our fraud team in Edinburgh and contact the police'

After chasing and chasing it turned out they lost the form and it never reached Edinburgh, thus the time I was being told by the bank 'this is being dealt with' it wasn't. They even tried to tell me it was my fault, I had not filled out the form - but I have the carbon paper copy of the form, dated and signed by the bank manager!

Repeatedly spoke to the police who said as the bank have lost so much evidence and timewasted so much it was 'obvious' this girl had stolen from me but they could not prove it (no fingerprints on cheque, no CCTV, no witnesses as it was about 8 months on) they could not file a criminal investigation. He said the bank fraud dept would deal but they haven't.

Whenever I call the bank they say 'oh this has been passed on to a debt recovery agency you'll have to speak to them' and pretty much hang up. The most I can get out of them is an address to complain to. I write to it, I get a letter of reciept, then I get another baliff letter. When I call the bank to ask why I didn't get a response from them I either get told I never sent a letter or I have to make a complaint in writing...it is SOOOOOo frustrating.

Sadly I know full well where this girl lives - when I was moving out of my house to escape her she stole some very precious jewellery and spat in my drink as I was moving boxes out - she is one sick woman. I found out over the following years she was jealous of me!? A good reason to steal nearly £4000 from someone if ever I heard. But there is nothing I can do, according to West Yorkshire Police,and the debt collectors keep telling me to 'pay up'.

How I have managed to not kill her is a question I ask myself repeatedly. I just want to keep the moral high ground. At least I own what I own fair and square...apart from the debt

Floss

Can you not start a Small Claims Court claim, or get a solicitors letter sent to her advising her of your intention to do that....

Hope the FOS come up trumps & you get your record cleared (read the other thread!)