Thank you Slick132. I have found the other comments to be quite negative. What some of the more experienced 'members' on here should understand is that some people are not happy to 'front it out' and just ignore the letters. For those that are, then that is great, just do nothing and bin their letters, but for those that are not, or who are in dispute with another Business, where ignoring letters can affect your credit rating, this is a perfectly acceptable solution. It is all very well members saying 'this will not affect your credit rating', but sometimes things can. My wife and myself have an impeccable credit rating (I was a bank manager for 30 years) and moved in 2015. We applied for a small capital raising mortgage on our property to help our daughter buy a property. We needed the funds urgently as she was a cash buyer and needed to prove she had the funds. We applied through Santander where we have a select account, but we failed their credit score and was turned down. When we checked with Experian, some muppet at Virgin Media had not cleared an amount of about £13 from our old property (they had a direct debit set up and could have collected it any time) and after 3 mnths it had gone into default. Luckily, after a call to the VM Chief Exec complaints team, it was sorted, and they contacted Experian to expunge our credit rating, and paid us compensation. They also sent a letter to Santander apologising and confirming it was all their fault. We did eventually get the funds, but it was a close call. As mentioned previously, I would rather pay up front and 'claim' it back through MCO. This way, whoever the Company, it cannot affect your credit rating. The number of 'youngsters' I came across in the bank who were applying for a mortgage, who were turned down due to an issue with a mobile phone company, and they would always say ' I disputed the amount of the bill so I did not pay it'............and not paying that £50 bill stopped them getting the mortgage. The £39 was made up of a monthly payment of £14 and a 'missed payment admin charge' of £25. Because they refused to admit him to the Gym as they said he had not completed a health questionnaire (after going for 10 months) I argued they had broken their own contract so a verbal cancellation was sufficient, therefore he did not need to give 30 days notice. As the judgement was issued in default as they never submitted a defence, I do not know whether this would have held up, although I doubt due to the cost, they would have ever taken it to a hearing. Cheers

How come? It did not cost me anything (other than two stamps) and I have the satisfaction of knowing that they had a judgement issued against them, all be it will show as settled, but it will still show. I am not one for doing nothing.

My son was billed by Harlands for a cancelled DD and an admin fee. I did not want to get into copious amounts of correspondence with them over the issue, so I advised him to pay the £39 claimed. I then issued a Moneyclaim online summons to Harlands for the £39 plus the court fee. They did not bother to defend and a judgement was entered against them. A final letter to them advising that if they did not pay the judgement within 14 days a bailiff would be appointed at a further cost of £77 plus bailiffs fee. Within 48 hours they had paid in full. If ever I have a dispute with a company, I always pay in full to avoid any possible credit rating issues, and then retrospectively sue. To me, this is easier than entering into months of fruitless correspondence.

Thanks for the reply. I could go down that route, but that means I will have to deal with the bank, and my son will likely get continuous letters from Harlands over the next months. This option should hopefully kill it dead (I am only asking for the £25 as he was strictly liable for one further payment), but in a perverse way I get a certain amount of enjoyment out of taking companies to court, although I have never yet actually got to court as they all pay up beforehand (in 2016 both Mercedes Benz and John Lewis were on the receiving end!) I am happy to report on my progress.....

Here is the letter I propose to send...I need to add a couple of dates that are currently missing.... Harland Services Ltd 2nd Floor, Rockwood House 9-17 Perrymount Road Haywards Heath West Sussex RH16 3TW 5th March 2017 Your reference 45xxxxxxx Xercise 4 less membership Sirs, I am writing to you as the agent for Xercise 4 less Following receipt of your letter dated 1st March, I confirm the following: I was prevented from entering the Southend gym on February 25th as the receptionist stated I had not completed a health questionnaire. I had been using the gym for many months up to this point, and this had never been mentioned previously. I stood at reception and completed the online form on my phone, however, she stated the form had not been updated on her system, and continued to refuse me access, despite my paid membership being in force. At this point I told her to cancel my membership. I also cancelled my direct debit with my bank. I had been a member, and had paid 12 months fees by this point in time. After receiving your letter advising me that you were charging me for the February membership payment, and the unlawful £25 administration fee (this is a punitive amount and unlawful), and threatening a further unlawful fee of £25. I contacted your office on 3rd March, and have paid the sum of £39.99 UNDER DURESS to avoid further charges being unlawfully imposed. The person I spoke to also insisted my direct debit was re instated to collect any further payments. I have also re cancelled my membership with Xercise 4 less, this time on line, however, the verbal cancellation given to the receptionist should have been sufficient, and is seen as such in law. I am writing to advise you that unless you refund the unlawful admin charge that was collected on 3rd March, of £25, and confirm that NO FURTHER PAYMENTS will be collected from my bank account, within14 days from the date of this letter, I will have no hesitation in instigating proceedings against your Company through Moneyclaim Online. In order to strengthen my court case, I have to give you this opportunity settle before I issue the summons. As you are no doubt aware, as I will be a private individual, issuing a summons against a Company, I can request the case be heard at my local court, which will necessitate your legal representation travelling to Southend.Also of course, should you opt to defend this case, should you lose, which I would expectas the admin charge is unlawful, this could very well set a precedent, and prevent you trying to impose unlawful admin charges on other innocent victims. If I have to follow this route, I will be claiming the unlawful admin charge of £25, any further payments taken from my account, the cost of raising the online summons which currently stands at £25 for claims under £300. I will also claim a small amount to cover my costs. Please also accept this letter as permission to speak to my father, xxxxxxxxxxxxx , of the same address, in respect to this matter. I look forward to receiving the following within 14 days of the above date: Your cheque in the sum of £25 Confirmation NO further payments will be taken from my account My membership with Xercise 4 less has been cancelled Failure to comply with this will result in a summons being issued against you, Yours Sincerely

My son has a membership with this bunch, he tried to use the gym a month ago and was refused entry as he had apparently not completed a health questionnaire. He had never completed one in the preceeding 11 months. He completed one on his phone in front of the receptionist, but because her system was not 'real time' so it would not show up for a few hours, she would not let him in. He told her that he wanted to cancel hi membership as it was over 12 months, and than cancelled his DD with his bank. Today, a month on, he received the famous Harlands letter asking for £14.99 and £25 late payment fee. Not knowing any better, and looking to get a mortgage and we have drummed into him the importance of a good credit rating, he rang up and paid it. He has also cancelled his membership through the website which states they will take one more months payment. I am going to wait for them to claim the next month and confirm his membership has been cancelled, then I am going to hit them with a Moneyclaim online summons for the total amount. A) he should not have been refused access or given a manual form to complete (he never received any notification they were introducing this health form. B) the £25 charge is punitive and not legal. C) he advised the receptionist, as a representative of the Company, he was cancelling his membership. It will be interesting if they come down from head office in Leeds to Essex to defend a £75 case, but lets see how they like it when the shoe is on the other foot. If they do decide to come and defend (as an individual I can insist the hearing is in my local court) it will cost them a dam site more than it will cost me to issue the summons, and as I work from home, I can spend an hour at the court. I have sued 5 or 6 Companies in the past 3/4 years and I am yet to lose a case. Although in fairness, they all pay up as soon as they get the summons

Marc, It was good speaking to you today, I will amend the above letter to send to Lloyds TSB Insurance, but will probably not get around to do it until the weekend. I update with any responses I get. Cheers

The Lloyds TSB policy I hold has a voluntary 15% contribution you cab select to reduce the premium. I took this option as it reduced the premium by about 25%. It also has the standard excess which I believe is £80 in addition to the 'self insured' 15%.

Sorry, CitizenB, a small correction.....My insurance is with Lloyds TSB, which, like Halifax, is part of LBG, but has a different underwiter, UKI. Lloyds TSB have also pulled out of the Pet Insurance market.

Bankfodder - just a quick note to say that I sent you my contact details for your Moneybox item on 1st Feb, direct to your email address as requested in your PM message. After reading this I am not sure you got them.

Hi Could someone please let me know how I contact Mark Gander to see about joining the group legal action. I was planning on taking a case out in the small claims court. I have spoken to our Company solicitor, and they feel the chances of winning may be slim, as it is a 12 month rebewable contract, and the terms can change on renewal. However, due to the cost of the bank defending, they feel that if the claim is reasonable, they may settle before it goes to hearing. Thanks

Thank you for your full and comprehensive reply. I agree that the FO may be a paper tiger, and I will go straight to a small claim. It may be worth waiting until April if the limits are rising, as my current policy does not end until May 11. I doubt if it will be possible to look at a group action, as with most forums, the posts are virtually anonymous, and it may not be possible to contact the previous posters. I will post on the forum (MoneySavingExpert) a link to this post for any further viewers. I have in the past 15 years taken several large Companies through the SCC, including Virgin Holidays, Ford Motor Company, and BT. As you quite rightly point out, once they receive the court papers, and you have played the 'where shall we have the case heard dance', and get it moved back to your local court, they tend to settle as it is not worth their while preparing a case, or paying to send legal representation. However, when I took this cover with a major player, I did not think I would have to resort to this!!!!! Once again, many thanks. Oh and by the way, if anyone does want to contact me for interview, I am happy to do so. If you would like contact details at any stage PM me. Regards Martin

Lloyds TSB (and Halifax) have announced that they are withdrawing from the pet isurance market. The policy underwriters are UKI who are part of RBS. My problem, as is the problem of many of their customers, is that when we took out our policies we were sold a policy, that, provided we kept up all payments and renewed each year, then if out pets got a condition that was ongoing, subject to monetary limits, the policy would pay out for the lifetime of the pet. For the majority of policy holders, pulling out of the market just means they will need to find a new provider. However, if, as in my case, the dog has been diagnosed with an ongoing condition (hip displacia) and will need medication for the rest of his life (he is only 8 months old), obviously all other insurers will exclude this condition, which is fair and reasonable. When I originally took this policy out in May 2011, I rang, and my understanding was, that it was sold to me by Lloyds TSB, and it is a Lloyds TSB insurance, and although I was told it was underwritten by UKI. The direct debits show as Lloyds TSB Pet insurance. I have tried to ring Lloyds TSB, but whenever I ring I keep getting put through to UKI who say it is nothing to do with them, as it is Lloyds TSB decision to not invite me to renew when the current period ends. I agree it does state it is a 12 month policy on the documentation, and they can give 21 days written notice to cancel the policy. However, I genuinely believe they are not acting reasonably and they a moral obligation to cover those pets who are not insurable elsewhere. When I took out the policy, the 'adviser' told me of the benefits of the more expensive policy, and this included the fact that if the dog developed a 'lifetime illness', provided I kept up the premiums, it would be covered year in year out, with a further £3000 each and every year. At NO POINT did the adviser tell me that Lloyds TSB could pull out of the market at any stage, leaving me high and dry! If this was the case, I could have taken the cheaper 'yearly' policy. I have contacted the ombudsman, but they need to wait for an absolute refusal of liability letter from Lloyds (which I cannot get as they keep referring me to UKI - even when I wrote in, Lloyds sent the letter to UKI to answer, although they answered on Lloyds TSB headed paper, adding salt to the wound!). However, because of the clause saying they can cancel with 21 days written notice, they feel I would not have a strong case. Halifax, who have also cancelled their pet insurance (although with a different underwriter) have in some circumstances (posted on various forums) offered 'without prejudice final settlement offers' to some of their customers who have complained and have pets with ongoing conditions. After a long preamble (apologies!!) what I would like to know is...... Do you think I am being reasonable or unreasonable in expecting them to honour the ongoing condition that was diagnosed while they insured the dog.... How can I get someone within Lloyds TSB to look at, and answer my complaint, without them just sending it on to UKI..... If the ombudsman does not uphold my complaint, I am planning to estimate the cost of future treatment (I estimate this to be in the region of £3000 for medication, and a further £3000-6000 should surgery be necessary), and issue a claim in the County Court. Could you advise who I should actually list as the defendant and what address should I use? Many thanks Martin:-x An other thoughts appreciated

There is a 5 mile stretch on the A127 nr Southend where the speed limit is reduced from 70 to 50 and there are about 6 sets of SPEC cameras covering this distance, at the start and end, and before and after each of two exit/entrance slips. If I went through the whole 5 mile stretch at 60 mph, would this register between each set of cameras....ie cam 1 and cam 2, cam 2 and cam 3, cam 3 and cam 4...etc. If so, could I actually get 5 fines for the one 5 mile section. Does it measure the average speed between each camera, or over the total 5 miles from cam 1 to cam 6? Any thoughts?

OK... What would be deemed reasonable expenditure? For example could she replace her 15yo Boiler with a new efficient one....cost about £2500.........or what about having guttering/fascia replaced? Or is their a % limit to how much capital is allowed to reduce over a year to be deemed reasonable? Cheers