Hi, I'd be grateful if anybody could give advise me on my rights for the following issue. I bought a pair of waterproof boots from a well-know firm that sells outdoor & rock climbing gear. The boots have developed cracks on the panel that runs around the shoe and is attached to the sole. The sole itself is fine. The boots however are no longer fit for purpose. I showed them to the shop assistant who told me that it's general wear and tear and there's nothing they can do about it. I asked if they could repair them and was told I could (buy) and try a tent repair tape, but that they weren't sure if it would work. I am in doubt as to whether that is really the case and was wondering if anyone knows what my rights are in this situation. Thank you. Any advice will be much appreciated. Sweet Justice

I’m not sure if CAG is the right place for the bit of advice I need. It’s a tale of the folly of paying a tradesman in advance of work being carried out. At the end of my tale this I ask the following questions: 1/ How can a person make a proper search of the Gas Safe and NICEIC registers; before I accuse this guy of something I want to be sure of my facts 2/ Can my tape recorded phone calls be used in court 3/ We agreed a refund price of at least £150 to £200. An NICEIC registered electrician has quoted £552 for the work Lee Temple said he would carry out. Bearing in mind 2 above is it possible to reclaim all of this or just a maximum of £200. 4/ When the police spoke to me they more or less said forget about getting my money back. Do people think I should forget about it. This is my tale. In early June I had a leak in the bathroom with water coming down into the kitchen. Plumbers didn’t seem interested in such a small job. After hunting round for a few days for a plumber to fix the leak a neighbour who I know and trust recommended someone who was Gas Safe plumber and a NICEIC registered electrician. I was told, he had recently set up his own Ltd gas and electrical company. This plumber turned out to be someone who was in the same class at school as one of my daughters. His sister was in the same class as my other daughter. The company he said was his is called Complete Solutions NE Ltd. Company registration number 10110170. He told me he was the managing director. His name XXXXXXXXXX. Edit We agreed on the price for the job; £480 to fix the leak, install a new shower, fit the shower room with modern plastic cladding and fit a new light and extractor fan. He said he had resigned from his previous job to set up this new company. In so doing he had incurred large sums and would it be possible to pay in advance. He drove a transit van with professional advertising on it with his Ltd company name including the Gas Safe and NICEIC logs. Because he was recommended by a trusted neighbour and with him being in the same class at school as my daughters I gave him £450. This was the 2nd June. We agreed that everything would be delivered to my house on Saturday the 4th June and installation would commence on Sunday the 5th and would take no more than I day. This was the start of problems. About 7 pm on the 4th I phoned to ask when were the parts to be delivered. He told me he had arranged for deliveries to be made to his house. Unfortunately, not all parts were delivered. Delivery of all parts would definitely be made by Tuesday the 7th and he would definitely commence work on Wednesday the 8th. This is how things continued for three weeks with him spending a few minutes here and there doing the installation work. After a few weeks I became suspicious of his plumbing and electrical qualifications. I asked him for his Gas Safe and NICEIC registration numbers. He mumbled something and then hurriedly left. A day or two later on the 28th June he telephoned to tell me he wouldn’t complete the work he had been paid for but would refund what he owed me. He asked how much I would accept. I asked him the cost of the materials and labour charges. He said he would phone back. He never did. But I later phoned him and we agreed he would refund me at least between £150 and £200. He has never contacted me since. Whenever I phone him he immediately puts the phone down. Halfway through this adventure I took the advice of CAG to always try to record phone calls. I recorded him phoning me to say he wasn’t going to complete the work and that he owed me money. In a second phone call he accepts that he owes me at least £150 to £200. Needless to say I’ve not seen him or my money since. I contacted the registered offices of Complete Solutions NE Ltd. They said XXXXXXXX had never been a director of the company, XXXXXXX had never been an employee of the company and he was completely unknown to them. I told them he had their name and logo on his van and that he was trading under their name. They repeated what they had already told me. According to Companies House XXXXXXXX has never been a director. There was a XXXXXXXX as a director but he resigned a few days after the company was incorporated. XXXXXXXX is a Social Media and social friend of XXXXXXXXX. XXXXXXXX on his Socila Media websitepage still says he is a plumber at a company called Catering Solutions NE Ltd, of Killingworth, Newcastle upon Tyne. I phoned them on the 23rd June to enquire about him. Yes they said he resigned in late May/early June to set up his own Ltd company installing bathrooms and kitchens and he was the managing director. They told me he was employed as plumber. When I informed them I could not find his name on the Gas Safe register they said that’s because he was a really an electrician and that was the work he carried out with them ! I told them I couldn’t find his name on the NICEIC register either. The reply was he was a good bloke who did a good job. Edit XXXXXXXXXXX goes by other names, at the moment it’s XXXXXXX but he also calls himself XXXXXXX and XXXXXXXX. XXXXXXXX is the name of his mother and father. XXXXXXXX told me his address was XXXXXXX, Newcastle upon Tyne. I called there. I was told he did live there but shifted 18 months previously. XXXXXXX has another business called BRM Electricals of 2XXXXXXX, Newcastle upon Tyne. This company offers services, amongst others, as electrical engineering and an electronics engineering. He also has at least one other business renovating and renting various commercial and domestic properties. Edit I’ve asked XXXXXXX a few times to refund me my money he promised. He said he had reported me to the police for harassment and being a psychopath. If I harassed him anymore, he said, he would have me arrested. So I reported myself to the police. They said they had not received any such complaint. The police did call at my house. They told me not to make any more enquiries about XXXXXXX. They told me only that people can sometimes get violent if others check up on them. They said nothing else and they added they were talking only in general terms. The police also told me from what I had described XXXXXXXX had not acted criminally in any way. It was a purely civil matter and had nothing to do with the police. So the advice I require if anyone can give it is: 1/ How can a person make a proper search of the Gas Safe and NICEIC registers; before I accuse him of something I want to be sure of my facts 2/ Can the tape recorded phone calls be used in court 3/ We agreed a refund price of at least £150 to £200. An NICEIC registered electrician has quoted £552 for the work XXXXXXXXX said he would carry out. Bearing in mind 2 above is it possible to reclaim all of this or just a maximum of £200. 4/ When the police spoke to me they more or less said forget about getting my money back. Do people think I should forget about it.

I have asked Aviva to start a pension, taken out in 1987, next month. They say that my signature has changed. They insist that I get a signature form witnessed by someone who is likely to charge me for the privilege (accountant, solicitor, etc). I am a qualified accountant. They have corresponded with me since 1987. I do not believe that this is actually required - they are just trying to avoid undertaking an electronic data check at their cost (£10 or so). They also want to see a passport or 2 part driving licence - even though the DVLA has instructed us all to destroy the paper licence which no longer has any legal status. I have bought and sold properties with less complication and red tape than dealing with Aviva

Hi there, I recently left a job due to being blackmailed by my employer. I was sent a letter inviting me to an attendence interview after I was signed off work due to an RTA, this was the first attendence interview I had been inviteed to. I decided to record the interview as I have been in interviews before with my employer and they were uncomfortable and offensive. I have it on tape my employer stating that if I didn't resign any future references would be written in a negative way but if I did resign he would give me a glowing report and make sure I got the job. I was told that he was going to follow the 'process' where I would be dismissed if I didn't resign. He also admits a breach of Health and Safety by saying he didn't have time for me to do a driving assessment which everyone in the company must do. I raised a grievence and my employer says they are not going to use the evidence as he did not know it was being recorded even though it clearly shows him blackmailing me. I was wondering if this evidence could be used if the case goes to an employment Tribunal? Any replies would be greatfully recieved