my Mother was able to speak to someone in their bereavement department - as you mentioned above BankFodder - and they have now resolved the issue and were extremely apologetic about everything that occurred. We're still convinced that my Father's account shouldn't have been billed after the month he passed (my Mother had a list of companies that she had contacted with Vodafone ticked, whilst she can't 100% remember the conversation with them, she is almost certain she had cancelled the phone account), but even if it had been charged correctly, Vodafone told her that after only 1 month's missed payment, they automatically pass it to a collection agency and start adding interest. My Father's account was only around £10 per month! What an insane way to do business with your supposed 'valued' customers. My Mother is now considering whether to make a formal complaint, but she isn't sure if she wants all of the hassle. I said I'd do it on her behalf, so I'll keep you updated if and when we go ahead. Thanks again everyone. Appreciate the kind words and helpful advice.

As far as I know, Vodafone were informed - my mother took care of cancelling all bills, accounts, direct debits etc that were in my father's name or were no longer needed. As I mentioned, we did check back on his bank statements, and the phone bill was paid right up until the month that he passed, so I can't see where this debt has come from. Also, the amount they are chasing for does not match his monthly bill (nor any multiples of it), so it really makes no sense. My mother is the Executor - she has been given a number to contact within Vodafone, so hopefully it can be sorted out asap. I've told her to not contact or deal with Ardent at this stage. Thanks again everyone.

Hi, just wanted some advice on this situation... My father passed away earlier this year and after several months of nothing, my mother has suddenly been contacted by Ardent Credit Services on behalf of Vodafone, who are claiming that my father owed ~£40, even though (as far as we can see on his bank statements), he always paid his bill via monthly direct debit. They are starting to harass my mother - so far in the space of a few days, she has had 3 emails, 2 phone calls and a letter. What should we do? Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Thanks for that wonderful insight, but unfortunately, due to many circumstances that you have no idea of, it isn't as simple as just going and finding another job - hence me starting to work remotely with this employer some time ago. Thanks for your input though.

One other questions relating to this: If they refuse to make me redundant and instead continue to leave me with extremely low hours, to try and force me to quit, is there anything I can do? Can I argue that they have made my position redundant with the lack of clients/work, and therefore it is their duty to give me redundancy? Thanks.

Yes, I did think that may be the case - i.e. after working a certain way for an extended period, that in itself becomes the agreement. Thanks for your reply. I shall speak to them and see if we can work something out either for more work, or perhaps redundancy, if they are not going to try and win new clients. Thanks again!

Hi everyone, Hopefully I can get some advice on what is a slightly unusual work situation. A few years ago - firstly for medical reasons, and then due to relocating to another country - my UK (England) employer allowed me to work remotely full time. Previous to this, I was hired with an annual salary to work 37.5 hours per week in their office, which I had done for several years. One of the conditions that my employer specified upon switching to remote working, was that I had to now submit a timesheet and would only be paid for the actual hours worked, which I agreed to (this was all verbal - nothing signed). Fast forward a couple of years and my employer has been losing clients right, left and centre (and have done nothing to try and replace them), which has left me with an ever-lessening amount of work to do, and therefore, less and less hours that I can be paid for each week. Right now, it feels as though they are just squeezing me out, by not giving me new work, and therefore barely paying me. At this point, I don't know what to do... Do I have any rights to ask for more money under my original salaried contract, to make up for the lack of work they are giving me (which is through no fault of mine)? I don't want to quit, because I have almost 10 years in the position and would in theory get some kind of redundancy pay, if they are eventually forced to let me go. What should I do? Thanks for any help you can give and sorry for the long post. Greatly appreciate you reading everything!

This topic was closed on 10 March 2019. If you have a problem which is similar to the issues raised in this topic, then please start a new thread and you will get help and support there. If you would like to post up some information which is relevant to this particular topic then please flag the issue up to the site team and the thread will be reopened. - Consumer Action Group

Hi everyone, Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can give. My parents (both OAPs) have just received a PCN out of the blue for supposedly taking an illegal right turn on a town centre road. There are actually zero right turns on the street in question, so the only thing that could have happened (although they cannot remember it) is that they made a u-turn using a supermarket loading bay situated on the right of the road. There is a photograph enclosed that only shows the car driving down the street, (it could be on any street, in any town, judging by the photo!), so naturally we went online to check the supporting video footage that this photograph was supposedly from, only to find that the photo is the only evidence included on the page. The main question here is what should they do now? It is impossible to speak with a human on the telephone, but they do not want to pay a fine without seeing the video of the incident actually happening. Is there a particular contact they should make to request the footage or should they challenge the PCN? Obviously, they worry that if they take too long or challenge and fail, the fine will double. Thanks guys!

Hi guys, I spoke to a friend who has some legal knowledge and they advised that in this situation I have two options: 1) I can work something out with my employer - e.g. average my daily hours worked and ask to be paid in that amount for the public holidays. 2) Due to the fact that my current agreement is verbal, I could enforce being paid in full for the public holidays, but this may cause issue in the longer term. Does this seem accurate?! Thanks!

OK, will pass that on - 7 days was last Weds though, so that is already well over the time What should be the next steps - assuming they still get no response? Thank you!

OK, update time... Parents sent the letter off and have seen that the company received / signed for it. It has been over 7 days now and they've had no response... Is it time to start legal proceedings? Thanks!

Hi guys - just a quick question... I am currently on a form of sick pay, that was agreed (verbally - nothing in writing) with my company a couple of months ago - backed by notes from my GP. Basically, I have agreed to work from home and am being paid for the hours I work, rather than my normal salary. My question is whether I am entitled to receive full pay (as in my salary) for bank holidays - my employer has already withheld payment for the bank holidays last month. Thanks in advance!

Fantastic - thanks so much!

Ps - date of first incident was late 2012, next was mid 2013, third, just a couple of weeks ago. Also, not sure what happened to the formatting / font - has all gone a bit haywire since copying and pasting from Word!

Hi again. OK, so my parents completed the template letter from Which - do you mind taking a quick look and letting me know if it's good to go? MY ADDRESS COMPANY ADDRESS Dear Sir Reference: Bathroom Equipment (No contract / item / reference number) On XXXX DATE Ibought a XXXX ITEM mixer tap amongst other items. I discovered that theXXXX ITEM had the following problem: the tap no longer functioned correctly– water does not come out when the tap is turned on. On XXXX DATE Ireturned the XXXX ITEM to you and received a replacement of the same item.To remove the XXXX ITEM, I incurred plumbing charges of £XXXX onXXXX DATE and then to fit the new XXXX ITEM, I incurred further plumbingcharge of £XXXX on XXXX DATE. On XXXX DATE I wasforced to return the second XXXX ITEM to you, due to discovering that it hadthe same problem as with the first – the tap no longer functioned correctly –water does not come out when the tap is turned on. Again, to remove the XXXX ITEM, I incurred plumbing charges of £XXXX on XXXX DATE. The Sale of GoodsAct 1979 makes it an implied term of the contract that goods be as described,fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality. As you are in breachof contract I am rejecting the XXXX ITEM mixer tap and request that yourefund the sum paid to you of £XXXX and the sum incurred for the plumbingcharges of £XXXX. I also require youto confirm whether you will arrange for the one XXXX ITEM mixer tap to becollected or will reimburse me for the cost of returning it. If I do not receiveyour satisfactory proposals for settlement of my claim within seven days of thedate of this letter, I intend to issue a claim against you in the county courtwithout further reference to you. Yours faithfully, NAME Thanks again to anyone that takes the time to read and reply!

Will take a look through everything this evening - thanks very much for your help and input... Really appreciate it!

I believe that it would be out of the 120 days now. The first purchase was made approx. 18 months ago and the second approx. 10 months ago. My parents didn't handle the situation very well at the time admittedly by not raising any issues or insisting on a refund / compensation - is there anything else they can do without the Section 75 or Chargeback? Thanks again!

Possibly credit card - if not then debit card. I'd need to check that to be 100% sure.

Hi everyone, Many thanks for any advice you can give on the following. This is posted on behalf of my parents (both OAPs)... They purchased bathroom supplies from a high street store (not a big chain) and after a few months one of the taps failed (apparently the valve inside - due to limescale, or so the supplier said). They took the tap back and were given another one foc (but obviously incurred more plumbing charges). Fast forward approx. ten months and the tap fails again, with the same fault. This time they buy a tap from B&Q and have it fitted (more plumbing charges). After attempting to return the two faulty taps to the original supplier, they were told that the valves inside are only guaranteed for six months (the taps are guaranteed for five years) and they therefore couldn't have a refund. They were also told that due to the tap manufacturer going bankrupt the supplier had another reason not to give a refund, because he wouldn't be able to get his money back! Any advice on what they should do / what their rights are here? With the cost of the extra taps and visits from a plumber it has cost them approx. £300 and a lot of stress, which they really don't need. Thanks!

Haha, will do... Unbelievably, it's only £15!

An update on this... I've continued to receive calls / emails as I described in my first post, but have now received a letter as well. This was actually from a completely different company, called "Past Due Credit Solutions". It has "FORMAL DEMAND' at the top and says I need to pay the outstanding amount by a certain date to avoid further calls / costs etc. Shall I ignore this as well? Thanks in advance!

Thank you!

Hi all, I've already had a search around the pages here and have seen plenty about this collection agency, but just wanted to confirm that the best course of action is to totally ignore them? I closed my account with Sky back in September 2013 and as far as I am aware had no outstanding payments due. BPO have started calling on my mobile semi-regularly (once or twice a week) and have sent a couple of emails (although these went straight into my junk folder). Thus far I haven't answered the phone nor responded to the emails - if I should be doing anything to the contrary, it would be great to know. Thanks guys!

Thanks for the reply. 1. Your link isn't working for me - it just loads back into the main forum page. 2. OK, thanks for clarifying! 3. I've been here close to 3 years - am I therefore fairly safe (or at least safer!)? Thanks again