Useful Links - Fighting power
The links on this page are designed to provide useful and practical information if you are fighting an organisation which is seemingly more powerful than you.
To be included a site has to carry useful and practical information. The political affiliation of the site is not relevant.
I would welcome link suggestions or 'tactic tips' that have proven to be effective. All links and tactics must be legal.
To be included a site has to carry useful and practical information. The political affiliation of the site is not relevant.
I would welcome link suggestions or 'tactic tips' that have proven to be effective. All links and tactics must be legal.
| Debt | |
| The UK banks hard-sell debt to people who can little afford it. They charge large penalities to people who are in difficulty thus exaserbating their debt; this is simply feeding off people when they are down. Their glossy advertising presents a false picture of the services provided. They use every opportunity to sell, sell, sell. Don't ever forget; their product is debt, debt, debt. | |
| Which? | Advice about reclaiming bank charges and comment on an OFT ruling (June 2006) |
| Citizens Advice Bureau | Free advice - |
| Debt Free Living | US Site demonstrating how you can get out of debt by selling online advertising |
| Insolvency Helpline | Advice about dealing with baillifs |
| Financial Services Ombudsman | The Financial Service Ombudmans is a government regulator. Their job is to protect the banking industry as a whole from actions of rogue members who may bring it into disrepute. Your complaint is only likely to be succesful if it relates to a blatant beach of law or reasonable standards, is out-of-line with prevailing standards in the banking industry as a whole and relates to a specific sum of money - an identifiable and obvious wrong. You must first have been through your bank's own 'complaints' procedure. |
| Tactic tip:. If you are being chased for debt by a bank they may well try to call you if you miss payments. They may well use automated systems and call you repeatedly at inconvenient times. The tactic is to try to be 'all over you' so you can think of nothing else. One effective counter-tactic is to refuse to discuss your account other than in writing. This is good for you: you have things in writing which you can show to a debt advisor or solicitor. The banks cannot tell lies in writing while they can on the phone. And it means you are in control. This is the key. You do not have to discuss your account with them on the phone at all. (I have confirmed this with the Financial Services Ombudsman). Just say "I prefer to discuss this in writing with you" or "I only discuss my affairs with *bank* in writing". Use the 'grey man' counter-interrogation technique: don't get drawn into ANY discussion. Just repeat the same phrase until they go away. Do, of course, deal with any letters they write and always write back with your proposals etc in line with your strategy to pay off the debt. Tactic tip:. Another tactic my ex-bank used was to send a letter by courier - you sign for the letter thinking it is something good but it is a nasty letter in red ink. Because you've signed for it you can't get it out of your head and your anxiety levels rise. Again; just don't sign for anything you aren't expecting. You do have to pay off the debt but the point is there is no point allowing them to stress you or cause you anxiety. |
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| Council tax problems | |
| Local Councils collect Council Tax which is distributed between the three tiers of local govenment. Much of the money is wasted by the incredible levels of incompetence which exists in local authority administration. After all, it isn't their money. Nonetheless many local councils operate ruthless collection procedures, targetting those who can least afford to pay. My own District Council Cherwell summonsed 5,197 people in 2005/06 (and took 3,649 to court). This is from a base of 54,921 liable households. That is (assuming the the Council only summonses one person in a household when a household doesn't pay), an astonishing 10% of Council Tax payers in this district were summonsed by the Council. This does not sound on the surface like a fair tax at all. | |
| Multikulti | "information, advice, guidance and learning materials in community languages " . The link is to a very useful and informed article about what to do when they set the bailiffs on you. |
| Social Services | |
| Links to organisations which offer practical advice about how you can fight social services. | |
| Forced Adoptions | Practical advice from an individual about how you can deal with Social Services who may be trying to take your children into care |