No, as when I paid, I did not know about the fees so I only paid the council tax only. The summons came after I paid. No other fees have been paid.

Thanks for the reply. Both posts have reassured my main concern surrounding DBS. When you mention about fees due, is this due to them sending the letter or only if I didn't pay and the hearing had to go ahead? It's just that the date I paid was the same date as on the court summons letter and the payment hit there account on the date the summons is deemed delivered. The council verbally said they would drop the charges, so I should be okay if they keep to their word. I suppose I was initially asking if that charge was valid as payment was received at the time the summons was deemed delivered. As payment takes three days to clear, it should be obvious that I paid prior to knowing about the summons rather than a knee jerk reaction. How can you summon someone to court when the debt has already been paid and then demand the court fee. I could understand if the first letter stated I must pay by a certain date and I failed then the summons would stand as I did not pay by the due date; but no date was specified. In this case, I paid not knowing a court summons was inbound and the council sent a summons not knowing the payment was being made. It's a lesson learnt for me and it could have been worse. Dea.

Cheers Craig. I prob answered some of my own questions but I got worried when in one sentence they say the case will be withdrawn but on the 13/2/2017 when my hearing takes place so this confused me. My main worry being the DBS as this would/could effect my job and current jobs if it was to appear; luckily it won't. I never disputed owing the money at any point. My problem was that my tenant did a runner without informing me. I had no idea he had vacated my house because during phone chats about my rent, he said he would pay as a matter of priority. When I visited the house it was still furnished (looking through the windows) so I took it that it was just a case of rent arrears. 3 months in, he informs me he has vacated the property and the key is under the bin to the front of the house so I had no idea at that time about the council tax. It all came as a shock and within 4 weeks of getting the first letter, a court summons is issued. I paid at the same time of the date on the court summons. So my theory was that as payment was made prior and received by the date the summons was deemed delivered that the fee should not stand. I just don't want to be thinking all is sorted then the council chase for the outstanding fee. They have verbally told me that it would be removed but having done some research, others say it still stands. I'm prob worrying to much as this has never happened to me before. Once again thanks for the feedback ; it's much appreciated.

Hi, I recently rented out one of my properties and my tenant vacated without notice and eventually I gained access to the property once it was confirmed he did one on me. As he was on housing benefits, the council tax was paid by the DSS. However, on vacating, I took on the owed amount. In short, I received a letter from the council informing of the amount due (no specific payment date was noted) and a payment plan was annotated. However, this was contradicted as I missed a payment I was then not able to pay by D/D. The payment I missed was a listed payment prior to the letter being sent and me being in possession of the property so there was not much I could about that. Although the letter was dated 22/12/2016, I did not actually receive the letter until the new year due to the Christmas period. Based on the letter, I decided to pay in full and this was done on 24/1/2017 as that was when I got paid. On the evening of the 26/1/17, I received a court summons due to not paying council tax I contacted my bank who then confirmed that payment would have hit the council by 26/1/2017. The court summons was dated 24/1/2017 this would not have been deemed served until 26/01/2017; the day payment cleared in their account. I contacted the council the morning of 27/1/2017 to confirm if payment had been received and they said no then an hour later said they had found the payment and have just allocated it against my account. They also apologised. They said I would not have to attend court or have to pay the fee. I then requested this be sent via mail. No letter has been received and they will not answer any of my correspondence; clearly I am worrying. I then contacted the Court and have since received confirmation from the court that I don't need to attend as the council stated that I have paid in full so the case will be withdrawn at court on 13/2/17 (not quite sure what this means - is the case still being heard? Can i still be found guilty?) As I only paid the council tax owed prior to receiving the summons, do I now still need to pay the court fees? I was of the understanding this was a time overlay of me paying at the time of them issuing a court summons. No mention has been made that I owe or don't owe other than the Lady i spoke to but nothing is in writing as they are not responding to me. They are very fast at issuing court summons but very slow at reassuring given that the court date is only a week away. Also, does having a court summons, even though it will be withdrawn on 13/2/2017, sit on any public records or even my DBS? I ask as this could impact my job. I did not go out of my way not to pay, I was trying to get my house back again from a rogue tenant and I did pay as a matter of priority. Many thanks in advance. Dea

Hi, I recently rented out one of my properties and my tenant vacated without notice and eventually I gained access to the property once it was confirmed he did one on me. As he was on housing benefits, the council tax was paid by the DSS. However, on vacating, I took on the owed amount. In short, I received a letter from the council informing of the amount due (no specific payment date was noted) and a payment plan was annotated. However, this was contradicted as I missed a payment so I was then not able to pay by D/D. The payment I missed was a listed payment prior to the letter being sent and me being in possession of the property. Although the letter was dated 22/12/2016, I did not actually receive the letter until the new year due to the Christmas period. Based on the letter, I decided to pay in full and this was done on 24/1/2017 as that was when I got paid. On the evening of the 26/1/17, I received a court summons due to not paying council tax so I contacted my bank who then confirmed that payment would have hit the council by 26/1/2017. The court summons was dated 24/1/2017 so this would not have been deemed served until 26/01/2017; they day payment cleared in there account. I contacted the council the morning of 27/1/2017 to confirm if payment had been received and they said no then an hour later said they had found the payment and have just allocated it against my account. They also apologised. They said I did would not have to attend court or have to pay the fee. I then requested this be sent via mail. No letter has been received and they will not answer any of my correspondence; clearly I am worrying. I then contacted the Court and have since received confirmation that I don't need to attend as the council stated that I have paid in full so the case will withdrawn at court on 13/2/17 (not quite sure what this means - is the case still being viewed?) As I only paid the council tax owed prior to receiving the summons, do I now still need to pay the court fees? I was of the understanding this was a time overlay of me paying at the time of them issuing a court summons. No mention has been made that I owe or don't owe. Also, does having a court summons, even though it has been withdrawn, sit on any public records or even my DBS? I ask as this could impact my job. I did not go out of my way not to pay, I was trying to get my house back again from a rogue tenant and I did pay as a matter of priority. Many thanks

Hi everyone and thanks for the feedback. In the past it was straightforward as I informed the relevant companies of my situation. The car was insured at the relevant address where kept and my paperwork was posted to my registered keeper address so back then all was simple and no grey areas. However, this time round I tried the same approach and they appeared to be fine on the phone so I went with it. But I later found out that they no longer post your insurance cover but email it only. As I want to be covered legally and have no come backs at a later date, I thought I would try and get some feedback from others - so thank you to everyone. The way my insurance was dealt with in the past, the insurance company could not have claimed they did not know my situation given the fact they posted the insurance to my RK address. Only now, you declare where the car is kept in the day and at night. I think they should have additional information to fill such as the RK address to avoid any grey areas. I have since found out that the registered address is meant to be more for DVLA and the police - speeding tickets, fines, road tax etc. I just got a bit worried as some people insure cars at a given address to avoid paying large premiums and I can see that being dodgy and poss fraud. However, my reason was genuine and I just needed the re-assurances that I would not be viewed in the same way as others. Thanks Dea.

Hello everyone, I have a question regarding insurance cover. My reason for asking the question is due to me not wishing to be accused of fraud. My home address is in the North West of England and this is where my car is registered (log book). However, as I am in the Royal Navy I will be working and living (renting) for the majority of the year down in Portsmouth. As a result my car will pretty much be permanently located within the Naval base both day and night. I have therefore insured the car in the Portsmouth area and used the address of the Naval base for the insurance cover. Is this allowed? It may sound stupid but if I insure it at my address up North I will prob be in the same situation in the sense that the car is/will be in Portsmouth. Not sure were i stand in the event of a claim ever coming to light. I.e. if they query my registered address being different to my insured address. I am genuine and my question is to ensure I am covered. Just not sure if I am looking into a problem that does not exists. Many thanks in advance Dea

Hi, Thanks. I will give it try. To be honest, I never thought of it. My dealings with Trading Standards was pretty much a case of them holding the cards close to their chest and not forthcoming with anything; but I will give it ago. What I have been provided with was that he used to work as a manager for JESSOPS in 2005 and stole alot of equipment. He was then selling this on E-bay and eventually got caught. Thanks for your help/feedback Dea

Hi, Thanks for the reply. I was trying to obtain if the information I have been provided with (theft from jessops in 2005) is true. I want to believe it to be true but not sure if it is. I have reported it to ActionFraud but they have very little interest in it due to it being a small crime and the fact they have more important crimes to be dealing with. It is though action fraud is just a procedure to go through with but nothing ever comes of it. once again, thanks dea

I have recently done business with a trader who has turned out not to be genuine. I have recently been informed that he was prosecuted back in 2005 for stealing from JESSOPS. I heard he did community service for his crime. Basically, how do I know if the information I have received is true? I have done searches on this on the internet but can't find anything. I have heard this from two people so I believe it to be true. Any help would be appreciated. Dea

Kraken1, There is nothing ropey about the PM's. The person who I have been sending PM's to had some very useful information for me. The information was nothing to do with Advice and was intended for my eyes only. I resepect his wishes and reasons and as such I will not divulge it to the forum. However, I do thank everyone for there valuable time and advice as it has been of great help. The situation is now being resolved (slowly) as Paul Fisher Photography does not wish to go to court.

Hi Ralph, Can you PM me please. Regards Dea

Hi, I am still in the process of finding his current address. I believe I have the correct one; just require confirmation prior to submitting papers. However, if I was to go ahead with the small and obtain a judgment by default, would this put a CCJ against his credit record. If so this would make life difficult for him. Another point I have as raised by Ed999. His ex-partner helped build the business with him. They were together when payment was taken ( I have proof of this). Prior to Paul Fisher gaining his first studio, he used his ex's home address as his business address. Again, she informed me that she helped build the business. Surely he could not use an address as a business address without the permission his his partner. In short, am I able to sue her as she is the sole owner of the address? Dea

Ed999 I am seeking the costs of my wedding album plus interest and travel expenses. I have given thought to suing his ex partner but to be honest, I am not sure if I can. She informed me via e-mail that she helped start the business with Paul Fisher but she now claims that they have split up since. However, they where together at the time of my wedding. When she helped set up the business with Paul Fisher, they used her home address as the business address. This house is in her name only. When I paid Paul Fisher he hadhis own studio at the time. His ex partner informed me verbally that she also helped set up this studio with him. She has never informed me that she was a business partner; only helped set the business up. So based on your experience, should/can I sue her. Thanks in advance Dea

Ed999 I am seeking the costs of my wedding album plus interest and travel expenses. I have given thought to suing his ex partner but to be honest, I am not sure if I can. She informed me via e-mail that she helped start the business with Paul Fisher but she now claims that they have split up since. However, they where together at the time of my wedding. When she helped set up the business with Paul Fisher, they used her home address as the business address. This house is in her name only. When I paid Paul Fisher he hadhis own studio at the time. His ex partner informed me verbally that she also helped set up this studio with him. She has never informed me that she was a business partner; only helped set the business up. So based on your experience, should/can I sue her. Thanks in advance Dea