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tobyspencer

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  1. Thanks again for the help. They've arranged for it to be collected next week and a full refund will be given. Shame I had to resort to citing the Consumer Contracts Regulations to get them to do it though. No one should have to do that to get retailers to comply with the law.
  2. Thanks for the help. I'll email them tomorrow and mention the Consumer Contracts Regulations and my right to return it within 14 days. I don't mind paying the return delivery costs if I have to.
  3. Yes, which I also told the chap from Argos. BTW, I did some more research and I needed to do a factory reset in order for the latest firmware to actually 'kick in' and show the new Freeview Play EPG. I get a few more channels now, but the main HD channels are still missing, so I can't use it.
  4. Hi I ordered a Hisense 50" 4K TV from Argos on Monday and it arrived yesterday. After playing with it for a few hours, setting it up to my standards and getting to grips with all the functions, I discovered that the satellite EPG is all but missing. All it shows is 'No programme' until I click onto a channel, at which point it fills in the current programme and sometimes the following one too. This is absolutely useless. The whole point of an EPG is that you can easily see what's on without having to tune to each and every channel first. It also makes the PVR function useless as you can't schedule a recording when it's not showing in the EPG. I did some research (which I should have done before I bought it) and it seems the lack of an EPG is a known issue and is down to Hisense refusing to pay for a license. They also have no plans to do so in the future. This means the satellite tuner is effectively useless. The only reason I bought this TV was so that I could ditch my Sky box and use the tuner in the TV to pick up the free satellite channels and the PVR function to record shows. Without an EPG I'm stuck using my old Sky box. I suppose I could buy a proper Freesat box (or even get Freesat from Sky) but I was really hoping to reduce the number of remotes I have to deal with too. This TV was going to have everything in one nice little package; TV, PVR, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix. Bah humbug. I contacted Argos and was told that I can't return it because it's used and technically isn't faulty. Here's an extract of the transcript from my conversation with them: Dylan (17:19:03 GMT) : I can see that this is a smart TV. I'm afraid that with devices such as this, we cannot accept a return due to our security policies. However, if the item is faulty then you could take it into our store to have it repaired. Visitor (17:21:25 GMT) : It's not something that can be repaired. Hisense have admitted that the EPG is down to their reluctance to pay for it and they have no intention of ever doing so. It's not a mechanical fault that can be repaired, it's just not fit for purpose. Dylan (17:23:01 GMT) : Then this is not something we can assist with as the item does need to be faulty. The lack of an EPG by manufacturer's choice would not be considered a fault. I've had another look through the description of the TV on the Argos site and it actually doesn't mention the satellite tuner; it's not something they boast about for obvious reasons, so it's not really a selling point as such. One thing it does mention though is 'Freeview Play digital tuner'. I did a little digging and it seems Freeview Play is a blend of Freeview and Catchup services in one convenient EPG. This is also missing (yes, it has the latest firmware). Even if it was there, I can't use it as my signal isn't strong enough. I have a communal aerial which only picks up about 12 channels and none of them in HD which is why I purposely got a TV with a satellite tuner. Can anyone tell me what my options are? Thanks in advance. Toby
  5. I just thought I'd post this as I'm currently in a state of bewilderment and disbelief. I've been struggling with debt for as long as I can remember and have recently resorted to getting an IVA. My creditors' meeting was yesterday (17th Feb) and today I got the call to say that my proposal had been accepted. £40,000 down to £9000 in about 5 weeks - I was on Cloud 9. It doesn't end there though. I got home a couple of hours ago and started sorting though the pile of unopened post on my desk. Mostly bills and 'overdue' notices and one letter from Northern Rock. It nearly went straight into the shredder with the rest of the post as I had paid the loan off in 2008 but I decided to pass a cursory glance over it. I was a little confused at first when I saw it was about my PPI claim as I was sure I had received a letter from them ages ago turning my request down, (as happened with all the other companies I had loans with) but to my astonishment it said that they had accepted that they had not given me enough information when selling me the PPI back in 2005 and are going to refund me £2249. I paid the loan off early in May 2008 and made the PPI claim shortly after that. So about 18 months later I certainly wasn't expecting this. In fact I can safely say I had forgotten all about it. All-in-all, today has been a good day. I hope that my experience will give those of you still fighting to get your mis-sold PPI's refuned some assurance that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Toby
  6. We had a small kitchen fire back in October which has yet to be sorted out. The damage caused by the actual fire wasn't that great, in fact the firemen caused most of the damage when they removed the oven (having identified it as a potential source of reignition) into the garden, (but they were only doing their job of course). Zurich appointed a loss adjuster who spent several weeks coming to the conclusion that we needed a new kitchen. As we had no central heating and only half a kitchen they said they would put us up in a hotel until it was all sorted out, but as generous as the offer was, it was, alas, completely impractical. We asked instead for some money to buy a few oil-filled radiators and for a small electric oven. Not an unreasonable request and they agreed. However, the money for the radiators never materialised and after a few weeks a full sized oven/hob arrived which was not fit for purpose. It sat unopened in our hallway for about a month before it was collected. Weeks passed without any contact from the insurance company or any other company involved in the claim. Nothing was being done. We had bought the radiators with our own money (keeping the reciepts of course) and had brought our old oven back inside, but we still only had half a kitchen, with the dining room doubling as a makeshift parlour. We wrote letters, emails and tried phoning the insurance company to try to move things forward, but all to no avail. I think part of the problem was that there were at least five different companies involved in some way or another in our claim and that they were probably all over worked. After speaking to a couple of colleagues who are in the industry we were told that the problem lay with Improve Line (Homeserve?) and were advised to have them replaced. We wrote to the insurance company, explained all the grief we were having, pointed the finger at Improve Line and they agreed to take them off our case. Their replacement proved a lot more forthcoming and within days (December by this stage) we had central heating again. Eventually, (around March of this year) we were told to get some quotes for a new kitchen. So we found a builder we trusted who made up some very nice designs and submitted them to the necessay bodies. Initially they argued that the quotes were too high (even though they were within the agreed limit) and sent round their own approved builder. I'm not exagerating when I say the man who came round was just like O'Reilly from Fawlty Towers. We said that under no circumstances was that man to have anything to do with our kitchen and they backed down and let us use our own builder. That was three months ago. We are now at the stage where we have a building site when our kitchen should be. I will admit that some of the delays have been caused by a few last minute alterations to the design, but we are now on our second stoppage while we wait for the builders to be paid. To give credit where credit is due, our builder has come in on weekends to work, even dragging one of his co-workers with him, when he still hasn't been paid. Unfortunately neither he, nor his colleagues can afford to work any longer on a job where there's simply no money coming in. To make matters worse, after the first stoppage, the insurance company promised them their money would be sent out in the next few days, so they went back to work and disconnected the boiler and moved it to its new location. They needed to get a CORGI registered gas fitter to reconnect it, but until their money arrives it will remain disconnected. So we are now without central heating once again, just as the nights are getting pretty cold. At this rate it will probably take more than a year to replace a kitchen. It's not even a big kitchen. We thought it would take a couple of months at most, but this is taking the ****. My question to you is who can we complain to to get things moving again? We have complained to the insurance company who have admitted that they are over-stretched and apologised for the delays, but at the end of the day words don't mean anything when they're not followed by actions. What is the best course of action for us to take? Trying to talk to any of the companies involved is like talking to a brick wall. Is there a regulator who can intervene on our behalf? I'm sorry for the long post and thank all of you who made it this far and would appreciate any advice you may have. Regards Toby
  7. Well I certainly wouldn't have thought of that. Not sure what the quality would be like. Plus if he could call home, I'm sure he would have at least once in the two and half years he's been gone. I think, for him at least, it really is prohibitively expensive to call the UK, or maybe that's just an excuse he's using:roll:. I do know that the only way for me to reach him is by email or MSN. I've checked his online statements going back 12 months and they all show his monthly payments being made so I haven't a clue what they're on about. I suppose it's possible that even though he was making payments, they weren't for the right amount. Either that or they closed his account because he's been away for too long. It would be nice though if they could just tell him one way or the other. Thanks for all your help. Toby
  8. Thanks for the replies. On closer inspection it seems that RMA is the trading name for NCO Europe and yes, there is an address he can write too, but again, from China this could be a problem, but I will certainly suggest it. I can only tell you what my brother has told me with regards to the phone number. It's an 08712 number. It may not be 50p a minute to you or I, but from China it might as well be. To call overseas from China requires an international calling card which set him back the equivalent to a week's grocery money, and even then he couldn't get connected. He tried from a pay phone and even from his office as well, but all to no avail. Apparently there are simply some numbers that just don't work from China. Egg have been fully aware that he has moved to China. He told them when he left over two years ago, so they've been happy with his situation and his repayments all this time, which is why it was such a surprise to him when they cancelled his account. What really annoys me is their reluctance to help. They just keep refering him to RMA. Sorry, but he doesn't have an account with RMA. Until a couple of weeks ago he'd never even heard of them. Surely the best people to answer a question about his Egg account would in fact be Egg. And what is their response to: "I can't phone RMA from China"? It's: "We can't help you there. You'll have to phone RMA". Imbeciles!!! I think the next step will be to ask him to write an official letter to them telling them that I have authority to act on his behalf. He has told them this in his emails to them, but it's probably necessary to have it in an letter too. I think I'll also get him to send a S.A.R at the same time. If he does contact them to make a S.A.R is that enough to show that the claim is in dispute, should the debt collectors show up at my door? Regards Toby
  9. I'm not sure if this is the right place for this as no claim is being made, nor is one intended to be made, but I thought perhaps there would be someone here who can offer some advice. My brother moved to China two and a half years ago to take up a teaching post. Originally he had planned to stay just a year, but he has obviously extended his contract. He asked me in his absence to check his post for him for any important letters. Well, about two weeks ago an important letter arrived. It was from Egg informing him that his credit card account has been cancelled "due to his failure to satisfactorily comply with the terms of the Statutory Default Notice" that they [apparently] recently sent him. His account is now being handled by an external debt collection agent, RMA. This came as somewhat of a surprise to him when I told him because he had not received any prior warnings that there may have been a problem with his account. As far as he was aware, everything was fine. I check his post, so I can confirm that he has not received any other letters from Egg in the last few months and they have not tried to contact him through their website's secure message system. He has reliably informed me that he makes a monthly payment to his account of slightly more than the minimum payment and has done every month without fail since he arrived in China. A few days later a letter arrived from RMA demanding full repayment of the outstanding balance. There was a premium rate phone number to call to discuss repayment options, but it cannot be reached from mainland China (don't ask me why, it just can't). My brother has contacted Egg though their website several times to ask why his account was cancelled, but they reply by saying they can't help and he is to call the premium rate number (which he's told them doesn't work from China). He won't be back from China for probably another year, but I imagine RMA won't be prepared to wait that long. I doubt they'll talk to me either as I'm not the card holder. What can he do? He can't contact RMA and Egg refuse to help. Has anyone else been in this situation where your account has been closed without warning or explanation? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Toby
  10. Right, I've signed their letter and faxed it back to them. Can I assume that that's enough and that I'll eventually get my money back or should I post a copy of the letter to them as well? I received a letter from the court yesterday giving instructions for what to do next; obviously they don't yet know that Lloyds have settled. I understand that it is my responsibility to notify them and that I can use the 'Notice of Discontinuance' template letter to do this, but obviously I won't do this until I have the money in my account. However, one of the instructions in the letter reads 'The Defendant shall not later than 4pm on 16th July 2007 serve on the Claimant and lodge at Court a document answering the following questions: (a) Is the case intended to be contested to and at trial? (b) Does the Defendant intend to apply to adduce expert evidence?' Will Lloyds simply have to tell the courts that they don't intend to contest? Sorry if this is a daft question but I'd just to know if there's anything else I should be doing. Regards Toby
  11. Hi all Just a quick update. I received a letter today from SC&M advising me that Lloyds are giving up and paying me the full amount. I have to sign and send back their letter agreeing to their terms and then it's just a matter of time. Thanks to everyone for their help. When the money is in my account I'll be sure to make a donation. Toby
  12. OK, it seems they entered a defense with a couple of days to spare on the 13th, but the info on the MCOL site wasn't up-to-date. Any idea how long I should expect to wait before I get a copy of their defense?
  13. Yes I added the 8% when I filed, but if I were to write to Lloyds (or SC&M) giving them a chance to settle before going to court, can I still claim the 8% interest? Regarding applying for a judgement by default, as I understand it, I don't 'win' my case, rather Lloyds will apply for a set aside which could cause even more delay. Isn't it better to have something in writing showing that I gave SC&M enough opportunity to enter a defence before applying for a judgement? In fact, isn't it better to not apply for a judgement by default at all? Has anyone actually ever got their money back this way? I shouldn't be surprised if this is just another delay tactic - don't submit a defence, wait for a judgement by default, then apply for a set aside and score themselves another few weeks delay. Thanks for your comment Dave. I'm really tempted to just apply for a judgement, but I'm concerned that it won't accomplish anything in my favour. I'm a little confused about what will happen next. Has anyone else faced this situation?
  14. Well it's been a while since I last posted, but until now it's all been fairly textbook. I had the usual replies from Lloyds about how their charges are fair and that it's no use arguing blah, blah, blah and have filed my claim with MCOL. SC&M acknowledged the claim with a couple of days to spare giving them an extra 14 days, but that ran out on the 16th and they have not yet filed a defence. What should I do? I read in another thread that I should write to them to give them another 7 days, but by the time they receive the letter they'll have had 6 or 7 extra days already. Is it still better to write to them before applying for a judgement by default, just as a sign that I've been considerate and more than a little generous? Also, if in my letter I should ask one last time for payment, presumably I should ask for the pre-8% amount (plus MCOL fee) as the 8% is only added if it goes to court. Is that right? I welcome any comments. Toby
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