HI

WE are been finding it hard to pay all of our cards and bills, and had not paid our lloyds tsb credit card, this at first was due to them changing the type of card, and they had stopped the Direct Debit, we recieved a letter from them to say what we owed, and then we wrote them a letter to ask for smaller repayments, to which we are still waiting for an answer. Then today after we had both been paid, as we bank with lloyds as well, they took out nearlly £1200, which has left us short to say the least, it is the last pay before christmas, and we can not afford this, we now have no money to pay our morgage and other bills, does any one know if they are allowed to do this.

Many Thanks

Hi -- Apparently Yes, they have what is known as the, right of - "set off" see the article from the FOS.

:http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/40/40_setoff.htm

Hi Lloyds TSB state on their agreements and statements that if funds are owed on one of their cards they will take the amount owing from another lloydsTsb account that you may have with them.

Unfortunately, yes they can do this. Contracts often stipulate that should they feel you can not afford to repay your debt to them, they are able to remove the money from your bank account to protect their interests. Obviously they cant do this if you dont have your main bank account with them as they couldnt take money from another bank. You often here people tell savers not to keep all their eggs in one basket, well this applies to borrowers too.

To stay ahead of the curb, ask your employers if they can pay you before Christmas?
It depends on the company, size, manager etc, but most should see it as a fair request, because if you are on a salary and full-time, those few days won't make a difference anyway.

How long did you not pay the credit card for?
I would put a call in and explain the situation, it's better to appeal to the humanity of the person you speak to, than to winge at them. The problem faced here is that they have already taken it (chances of them putting it back are next to none) but it should mean your credit card is now available to be used, so you could put things on that (and by yourself 56 days credit)

See if your mortage lender will accept a credit card payment over the phone. With lenders its best to act in hindsight and email them (it's written then) and give them a call and tell them it's really tough for you, rather than a DD failing, and then saying 'whoops, sorry'.