Sorry Lisa, I think our posts crossed! Great news

Hi Lisa, He needs to make an application to the local Council as homeless; it sounds like he has been discouraged from doing so, rather than being given the opportunity to make a formal application which they must make a formal decision on - he has the right to do so. He needs to make them fully aware of his learning difficulties - although he is a young single male this should still help them consider that he may be a vulnerable person. If they refuse to help ask them to put their decision in writing with reasons - then he has the right to appeal against the decision - try your local CAB, if they can't provide specialist help they should advise you on who can provide free legal help in your area to appeal. Also check the small ads for rooms in houseshares or homeowners who need a lodger - some may only need a couple of weeks' rent as a deposit, particularly if rent is charged weekly, maybe a family member or a loan from work could help with this although I appreciate this may not be possible. He may well be entitled to Housing Benefit although he is working as it depends on income and his is low, he can get a 'pre-tenancy determination' from the Housing Benefit department at the Council which should give an idea of how much they could help with rent on a tenancy he is thinking of taking on. Hope this helps, it sounds very stressful for you being told that you cannot help your brother by letting him stay and you may want to seek advice on your rights regarding this as well.

JulesR, sorry to hear that you have had such a bad time, please consider contacting ICAS: they help with complaints about the NHS and can support and advise you (for free), hope they can help you.

Hi Morteee, even if your ex forgot to declare the debt in his bankruptcy the debt should still have been legally discharged as long as his bankruptcy has ended. This is why the papers have to publish details of people who are going bankrupt: to give all creditors the chance to apply for their share of the proceeds. A lot of bankruptcies are for failed businesses which have possibly hundreds of creditors and some are inevitably forgotten. Unless A & L or MBNA can produce any evidence that you are the debtor for any valid reason they have no legal right to chase you for the money and you should be able to claim back the money you and your ex have paid them. The courts would not be sympathetic to a creditor who has knowingly pursued a bankruptcy debt from a person who is not even liable! I am assuming that your ex has now been discharged from bankruptcy as you said that he went bankrupt soon after you split up, he isn't still bankrupt is he?

If it was your ex-husband's sole debt and it was discharged in bankruptcy then surely pursuing even him (let alone you!) for the debt directly would be a criminal offence: as long as they are aware that he is bankrupt they should only approach his Official Receiver for their share of the money. If it was a joint debt - account in joint names - then they are entitled to chase you for the full balance minus whatever they gained from the bankruptcy, or if the debt was legally assigned to you as part of the divorce settlement they could: if neither of these apply then there is no basis for them attempting to collect the debt from you and you could contact Trading Standards or the Financial Ombudsman Service to back you up in requesting that they stop chasing you for a debt for which you are not liable. Are the letters addressed to you or your ex?

Yes, you can as they store data about you and so you have a right to make the request under the Data Protection Act. You will probably have to pay £10 but no more.

'The parties to a contract are free to agree whatever price they wish. One party may drive a hard bargain and the other party may feel the price is excessive, but the law does not intervene or make any enquiry as to whether an excessive profit is being made'. Aequitas, your post is really interesting but I'm not sure that I agree with the above paragraph, as the new Consumer Credit Act 2006 has a section about 'Unfair Relationships' that addresses situations where an excessive profit is being made by a party driving a hard bargain, I think it recognises that the parties to a credit contract are not always equally free to agree whatever price they wish because a lender is in a more powerful position, particularly with more vulnerable consumers in the sub-prime market. The old Consumer Credit Act of 1974 had a similar section called 'Extortionate Credit'. Of course I may be wrong or you might interpret it differently, so it would be interesting to hear your views on this.

Mama Bear, You made the council fully aware of your circumstances and so the overpayment should be their responsibility. If they refuse to accept this a welfare rights worker from the CAB or a Law Centre could help you with an appeal. Councils unfortunately use unacceptable debt recovery methods. They have no legal right to use bailiffs without a court judgement. Several councils use Philips as they work both as debt collectors and bailiffs. In your situation (HB overpayment) a judgement could only be granted in the County Court. If this occurred the bailiff would be a court officer and would not belong to a private firm (Philips). If you ask the Council for an explanation of this they are likely to say that Philips are not acting as bailiffs in your case but simply as debt recovery agents. This means that they have no right to list or remove your goods, and only have the right to ask you for money. The reason why councils use this company seems to be simply to scare people into making (often unaffordable) payments, as their letterheads state 'Specialist Bailiff and Debt Recovery Agents'. The Office of Fair Trading's Debt Collection Guidelines 2003 may be worth quoting to the Council, as they forbid debt collectors from posing as bailiffs or officers of the Court, and order creditors to suspend collection of a debt that is in dispute. When you contact the benefits department at the Council, let them know that you are disputing the overpayment and ask them to arrange for debt recovery to be suspended while you do this. Hope this helps & good luck catw75

you could apply to the County Court to have the bailiff's eviction warrant suspended, using form N244 or N245, Housing Advice will help with this. Get these forms from the County Court and form EX160 (for exemption from court fees, if you are eligible; take proof of income too) and take these to the advice centre. Also speak to them about legal representation in court, and asking the judge to adjourn on terms (on condition of you paying an affordable amount per week) while housing benefit problems are being sorted out. Try and get advice from a welfare benefits person too, who could chase the council up for your housing benefit.