Questions Of Cash: How can I correct my credit rating?

Q. Halifax cancelled my Intelligent Finance credit card in July this year because it couldn't do chip-and-pin. It cancelled the direct debit before the last two payments, then accused me of failing to pay. I refused to pay the fees and interest of £50.

Setting up a new card, I discovered that Halifax had told a credit-rating agency I was a defaulter. I've had no reply to an e-mail and three letters. Instead of my old credit limit of £4,800, my new card has a limit of £500, which I've persuaded Halifax to raise to £2,000. How can I restore my credit history?
ML, Market Rasen

A. Halifax advises that when it transferred your Intelligent Finance Visa to a Halifax Visa card, it informed you that you had to complete a new agreement and direct-debit form, but you did not do this by the specified date.

This led to a late-payment charge being levied, with interest. Halifax says that this was unavoidable as it no longer had a valid direct-debit mandate from which to collect the due payment. However, it accepts that it has not handled your subsequent complaints properly and recognises that you are a "valued customer". Accordingly, it has refunded all charges, reinstated your £4,800 credit limit and removed the adverse statement from your credit history.

Q. I am a long-standing customer of Lloyds TSB. Its rates on both its savings accounts and ISAs used to be very competitive, but a couple of recent cuts make them less so. As the Bank of England has not cut its rate, how can Lloyds TSB justify cutting its rate to 4.40 per cent?
BL, Brackley

A. Lloyds TSB argues that its rates remain competitive, despite the rate cuts to which you refer. Its spokeswoman says: "Following the reduction in the base rate in September, we took the commercial decision to bring the rates on our savings accounts back in line with those of our main high-street competitors. This was made taking into account the competitive environment in which we operate.

"We continue to offer competitive rates, good customer choice and accessibility for a wide range of savings needs. Our Cash ISA and Tessa ISA accounts offer a rate of 4.40 per cent on balances of £3,000 up to £9,000. However, whereas many of our competitors have top tiers of £21,000 on their Cash ISAs, our top rate - 4.56 per cent - is paid on balances of just £9,000 plus."

Q. Why can't I use my Switch card to pay bills at my Yorkshire Bank branch? Instead, I have to take money from the ATM and walk into the branch.
RM, Sutton Coldfield

A. Yorkshire intends to offer this facility to its customers in the latter half of next year. Some banks already provide this service, including Yorkshire's sister bank, Clydesdale.

Q. We have read the sorry readers' tales about Onetel (Questions of Cash, 23 October). Can you help us? Onetel has failed to reconnect our voicemail service since we moved house in mid-August, despite repeated promises to do so.
P&JB, by e-mail

A. Onetel has now reconnected the service, after identifying a systems fault. Onetel has credited your account with £50 to apologise.

Q. I am 33 and my partner is 38, and we each live with our parents. We want to buy our own home, but we have no deposit. Together, we owe £25,000 on unsecured loans and credit cards. My partner owes £18,000 on a loan with five years left to pay. I owe £4,000 on a loan with two years left, plus £3,000 on my credit card.

Eighteen months ago, my partner defaulted on a home-improvement loan with the Royal Bank of Scotland that had £10,000 left to pay. To avoid court proceedings I borrowed money from M&S Finance, which my partner is paying back, and I extended this loan by £2,000 last year for my partner to have a new car. Together, we pay £450 in loan repayments a month, plus credit-card payments, and earn almost £30,000 between us. We would like to borrow £70,000-£80,000 for a home loan, plus £25,000 to pay off the debts. Is there a lender who would be sympathetic?
CS, Lancashire

A. A mortgage looks like a very unwise option in your situation. Citizens Advice says that you would be very unlikely to be able to arrange a mortgage, except possibly with a sub-prime lender who will charge premium rates and load you with higher and unmanageable debts.

It suggests that you forget about buying a home for a few years and instead call in at a Citizens Advice Bureau to discuss other options, including entering into an IVA - Individual Voluntary Arrangement - to make your debts more manageable, or even going into bankruptcy.

Q. I have a current account with Lloyds TSB that allows me to cash cheques at any post office, providing that I show my cheque guarantee card. But two post-office branches have refused to cash my cheques, saying that this service has been discontinued. I don't like using a PIN and cash card to withdraw money from ATMs as I regard this as unsafe.
JB, Penrith

A. The post-office branches were wrong and Lloyds TSB apologises for your inconvenience. It is not unusual for sub-post offices to be confused about arrangements for conducting transactions on behalf of banks. Current-account customers of Alliance & Leicester, Bank of Ireland, Barclays, Clydesdale, Co-operative and Smile are also entitled to make cash withdrawals from their current accounts at post-office branches and sub-post offices, though some will have to key in their PINs to use the service.

Holders of basic bank accounts held with a variety of banks can also make withdrawals through a post office. If you have future problems in making withdrawals, try showing them a copy of this question and answer.

Questions of Cash cannot guarantee to respond to all queries, and cannot give individual advice. Please do not send original documents. Write to: Questions of Cash, The Independent, 191 Marsh Wall, London E14 9RS; cash@independent.co.uk.