I am currently looking to rent a house, and the estate agents have done a credit check. My Credit rating is poor, but the only thing that seems to concern them is a couple of old CCJs from five years ago. They are long paid off-but how can I evidence this? I am not even sure i can remeber who the creditors were.

So; here's what happened; the towtruck dudes came back this morning, but apparently they couldn't/wouldn't take the bike off my own property (the person on the 'phone at the pound said "they came back but uit wasn't there"). I got the money together and paid via the payment centre rather than the pound. The pound had not asked them to add the second days realease fee, so it was £100 +£160 surety. Not quite as bad as I expected. All i have to do now is get the bike back onto the street and it will be declamped tomorrow. Provided I then put it back in the front garden, I should be OK. So the moral seems to be, if you can get your vehicle off the highway asap when its been clamped, it saves a trip to the pound. Easier with a bike than a car, I admit.

As I say, it is legal to drive an untaxed vehicle to a garage for its MOT; otherwise, it would be virtually impossible to get any vehicle off SORN. Your vehicle must be insured, in a safe condition, and the MOT appointment should be pre booked; even if I go to a garage that doesn't take bookings, I ring ahead and ask them to write my name down. Given this, I would think that a car outside a garage waiting for its MOT should not be clamped as technically it is on its way to the test. I would also think that following its MOT you could drive it legally in order to get tax as soon as reasonably possible.

I am reconciled to paying to get it declamped and the surety, but I just don't want it taking to the pound; I have enough to do without retreiving it from there.

My motorbike, which is on SORN, was clamped this morning because I had moved it out of my small front garden to work on it and then forgot to put it back. I couldn't ge tthe money together today to pay for it to be released, so they will come back tomorrow to impound it. But I have moved it, clamp and all, into my front garden! I assume they won't come onto private land to get it. I really don't want it going to the pound, it isn't running quite well enough to get back.

Mazda, I think you would have a case. It is legal to drive an untaxed car to get its MOT.

Sailor Sam, you are not the guardian of fairness that you think you are. This whole area is one that hits the less well off. Like you, I deplore driving without insurance, but I have been hit for no tax three times recently, despite my best efforts. Without wanting to go into long ancdote, I have to park on the street because I have no garage or driveway. having a car which I knew I was not going to use for some time, I sorned it and removed it to some private land, the owner of which suddenly wanted me to remove it. I insured it and drove it to its MOT. Although I had made sure it was roadworthy, it failed on emissions, which like most motorists I am not equipped to test myself. Before I could get that fixed I was clamped, literally after one day illegally on the road. The money I had to pay to retrive it was the money I had earmarked for tax and MOT, and 24 hours after getting it back from the pound I was clapmed again. So this is a minefield, sailor, and before reporting people or sounding off you need to consider that people like me who do everythng they can to abide by the law but still manage to get clobbered by it.

I have just had something very similar happen. The point is that people who want to obey the law and make every effort to do so end up being penalised and criminalised. It isn't so much about what the regualtions say, as the fact that the state alows you to be vitimised by profiteering private companies like NCP. You have a right to be very angry indeed; people have died to establish the principles being trampled on here.

My car was bought by me in December 2008. I do not think I have ever received a V5C for it, but I taxed it and used it on the road for a year. In January 2010 tax insurance and MOT were all due, but wishing to postpone these costs I removed the car from the road to a location owned by a local church. I have no other off-road parking available to me. I tried to SORN the car, but the website did not accept this and to be honest I did not pursue this further. At the beginning of March 2010, the pastor of the church required me to remove my vehicle, so I insured it and took it for its MOT test on 4th March. I had ensured it was roadworthy to the best of my judgment, but it failed the test on emissions, which like most members of the public I have no personal means of testing. I booked the car to return to have this rectified on Monday 15th March. However, now having nowhere to keep it off the road, I was obliged to keep it outside my house and it was almost immediately clamped and removed to the vehicle pound. I paid £200 release fee +£160 returnable surety for its release. I also paid £25 for a request for a V5C form so as to able to tax the car. I assumed that I would have 14 days to produce a tax disc, so it followed that I would not be clamped again during this time. However, still having no V5C, I was clamped again this morning and have again paid £100 + £160 surety for release. I have also discovered that there is a VIC alert (whatever this is about) shown against this car, and that this may entail my taking it to a testing centre (although there are none of these listed in the London area) and paying for a test before I can obtain a V5C and tax the vehicle. So, to sum up; · I have nowhere to keep the car off road. · I have no V5C and this may in any case be insufficient to tax the car given the VIC alert. · I have paid £685 which I have had no means that I can see of avoiding, and I risk being faced with further clamping. · £320 of this is returnable surety but I have no confidence in being able to obtain a tax disc in time to get it back. So, what on earth am I supposed to do? All I have ever wanted to do was to pay my tax and have a legal car on the road. I can't think of anything I could have done or can do to avoid the clamping. there seems nowhere to appeal to about this.

Absolutely true. Treat with great care, as it is all too easy to get into a downward spiral.

I have a council tax debt of a bout £1000, which I would like to pay off in three installments, which would take me into the new fianacial year (at which time I will actually be in a better position to pay). Are the council obliged to accpept this proposal? I am in a vulnerable position as I work for the same council that I live in. I could have my earnings attached easily, or I could even face disciplinary charges at work.

I owe a large chunk of this years council tax. In September 2009, a liability order was granted against me, and I still owe £1180. I work for the same council that I pay tax to, and own my house - I am also struggling with mortgage arrears. The council have issued me with a notice of impending bankruptcy or bailiff action if I do not respond within 14 days. I would like to make an arrangement to pay an affordable sum, but will they accept that with the new financial year about to begin? Can they attach my earnings, or order the sale of my house?

No real advantages. Basically a Visa Electron is a card that can be used for chip and pin, ATM or for 'phone or online use, but it isn't a cheque guarantee card. They are not embossed, so if you come accross somewhere that still uses the old "roller" system for card payments, they won't work. I have had one for a while and found no major problems.

I have five £100 "Cash till payday" cheques held by the Money Shop, which I have been extending for a while. They are drawn on my Bank of Scotland current account, which has been frozen and my chequebook and card surrendered because of a large unauthorised overdraft, currently being paid off under a debt management scheme. If I allow any of the cheques to be presented, the bank will probably object, especially if they think that the undated cheques were written after the debt managment scheme began. If I tell the Money Shop and offer to buy back the cheques, they will probably want me to do this all at once- after all, they are guaranteed by a card I no longer hold. I can't afford this. So, a bit of a Catch 22 and I don't want to go on extending the cheques for ever! What would you do? Will the bank be sympathetic if I explain the situation, especially if I make an extra payment into my account to cover each cheque?

I recently contacted a debt managment agency called Debtsolve Direct with a view to handling a large level of unsecured debt. I worked out an arrangement with them whereby they would negotiate with my creditors to freeze interest and charges, for a total cost of £250 per month from me. I have paid one istallment of this amount. Since then, they seem to have gone rather quiet, not answering their 'phone and not reponding to emails. I rather fear that they have either deliberately ripped me of or have quietly gone out of business. One of my creditors has contacted me yesterday about my debt. Anyone know anything about them, or have any suggestions as to what I should do next?