Hi, I was unsure where to post this, but I have some food that I got in my Christmas hamper that I am never going to eat. I am having some trouble finding a food bank near me. Does anyone know of any food banks/soup kitchens/homeless shelters or anything similar in the Leeds area that accept food donations? The ones I have found only accept cash donations. Thanks

hi does anyone know if it is possible to submit a DSAR to the HMRC, to get informaton on your taxes/NI contributions that goes back as far as 1999? if so, how would i go about it, or am i looking at having to get a court order? many thanks.

but i am a lone parent! my partner isnt allowed to liv ewith us, he had to move out, he's livin on the other side of town, its jus me and little one! thanks

it is ESA i am claiming. my stepdaughter, who i care for, is 7. i am 23. thanks

Hi, i ust wanted to ask a couplr of things im really confused about. firstly, due to personal/family reasons, I had to give up by job, and am now claiming esa as a lone parent. I got a letter a on 17-3-11 saying that my esa had been cut from 65.45 a week to 51.85 a 2week. the reason given is changes in the rates of social benefits. is this right? i thought that no more changes were coming into effect until April? Also, my partner is currently out on bail, and claiming esa. as he is unsure if he is going to get a jail term or not, will the DWP make him look for a job in the mean time, or will he be able to not look for work until he knows if he's going to prison or not? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

Hi just a quick update! Im sure you will al be as stunned as i was but ROBINSON WAY CAME THRU FOR ME! they sent me the requested letter, HR have accepted it and i am screened to start, i have a signed contract, and everythin is go, pending references! i know its rare, but it was a nice little xmas pressie for me! thanks to everyone for your help/advice. xx

aye. like i say, i was blinded by desperation, wanted this job so bad. only ater when i did research that i started realising what i'd done!!

yea, 2008!

first it was the dca, then i contacted british gas, and confirmed all the details with them, and they all matched up. but they said they had sold the debt on, and werent able to take any action on it, so i had to go back to the dca.

it was a british gas bill. i talked it thru with my partner and we reckoned we did owe it. normally, i would have come to a payment arrangement, but like i say, i just panicked a bit trying for the job.

i would have thought this was pretty simple, send back as not known at this address, and ignore. as far as im aware, there is no such thing as blacklisting anymore, debts follow people, nit houses. (altho dont quote me on that). or am i missing the elephant in the room? :-S

if the amount is less than £1K, then its doubtful they will try to take you to court. try askin for a DSAR, costs £10. then at least you will know what you are up against. also, if u do ask for a DSAR, make sure you put in te request that you want a copy of all phone calls and correspondence as well. lowell record ALL their phone calls, so should give u a copy.

make as many complaints as you can, regarding non-compliance of cca(its supposed to be 40 days max i think), prepare income and expenditure, and complain about poor communication to their complaints department. it will buy u some time if nothing else. also, they cant make u pay money u dont have. if they take you to court, all the court will do is look at your income and expenditure and make you pay ur monthly disposable income. point this out to them, enclose a copy of I+e, and make your suggestion. at least that way you can say you've made every efort to be reasonable. this is just my thoughts, btw, and please dont hesitate to correct me if im wrong, i am pretty new to all this!!

er, im not 100% sure whats going on here, but in response to the original poster, ur friend should claim as a single parent, not as a student. single parents usually get full housing benefit.

no, not an affiliated company. the woman said the job was mine as long as i paid the debt off. when i did, she said as soon as i got confirmation, then she would put a copy in my file and i could start in beginning of december. now im just waiting for a letter from DCA.