Yes, that's the spreadsheet I've done but wasn't sure if it all applied from the word go. Too true about not knowing the full cost - filling out the spreadsheet was a real eyeopener! Will get it all sorted and post with updates as I go. Thank you

Thanks very much! I've already completed the spreadsheet so will get to work on a letter and questionnaire. Do you have any idea how the FOS would be likely to regard a complaint like mine? If it is declined can court still be used as a last resort? Also should I request statutory interest from the outset or does this just come in if I need to escalate things? Thanks again.

Hi, I've spent quite a lot of time reading around the subject before deciding to get started on my own PPI claim, but am afraid I still have a few questions to ask of more experienced people! The loan in question was taken out in 2000 and paid back in full in (late) 2006. I have the original loan agreement and all statements bar one page (irritating but I know that it only included the first repayment, the date and amount of which is detailed elsewhere). A single premium PPI sum was added to the initial amount. I believe that I am a victim of misselling for several reasons: I was told that an application including the PPI would be more likely to be approved as there would be "less risk to the bank". It was in fact nonsensical for me to pay a large amount to cover this one debt when I had plenty of other debt already at the time which was left uncovered (also with NW). In fact the cost of the PPI contributed to significant difficulty repaying all of these debts whilst IN employment! I was never quoted for the loan without the PPI. Given that this is my word against theirs 12 years later what evidence can I provide? Is it all too tenuous for me to have a realistic chance of reclaiming? Also because of the time scales involved am I correct in saying I need to go down the court route rather than FOS? Many thanks in advance

Ah, that's interesting. I paid by credit card, but, presumably I'd still need to be able to show that they'd not complied with SOGA to legitimately chargeback? If they are right I have no basis to do so? thanks

I have recently bought 12m of fabric to make curtains. The fabric was discounted as end of line but not labelled as faulty/seconds etc. I have the receipt and made the purchase one week ago. After cutting the fabric into 3m sections for my curtains I have noticed a fault in the middle of one of the drops. This will be fairly obvious in the finished curtains. My thoughts are that I was sold the fabric as suitable for making curtins and free from defects. This is not the case. I have proof of purchase within a short time period and the flaw is clearly a manufacturing defect and as such was present at the time of purchase. It seems likely to me that this does not comply with the sale of goods act and i should be able to expect refund/replacement. The company state that I have cut the fabric and as such am deemed to have accepted it. Is this true? What if the defect was not visible but caused a problem after a week or two? Am I really expected to have unrolled the full 12m looking for defects in a piece of fabric sold to me as without such? They also state that as it was already heavily discounted they cannot offer any furthur reduction etc. Is the initial reduction really relevent when the fabric can be shown to be faulty? I'd really appreciate any help. I'm happy to keep the material but it does change how much I'm happy to have paid for the end result. Thanks in advance Any help would be hugely appreciated.

Last week I inadvertantly opened a letter for the previous owner of our house. It was a warrant of execution for an unpaid parking fine 3 years ago. I immediatly wrote to the council to expain that I was not the person in question and that I had no knowledge of him or the vehicle involved. I also asked in the letter for written confirmation that no bailiff would be instructed to attend my property. Having heard nothing back I called the council today to request this confirmation and was told that the bailiffs had been instructed and that it was up to me to provide them with evidence that I was not the person in question. Can this really be right? I am at home alone with a small baby all day at the moment and do not feel comfortable being told that I need to wait for them to turn up when I will be given the opportunity to prove my identity before they start to seize my belongings. The man at the council did tell me I could try to contact the bailiffs first (apparantly it's a company called Jacobs) to see if they would accept written proof. So, where do I stand? Is the onus really on me to prove that they have no right to come onto my property and seize my goods? As I pointed out the the guy at the council it would be easy for them to check the council tax records to see who lives here... Very many thanks in advance for any advice.

Yes, I understand this. As I say, I know I have been in the wrong, but don't really know how to sort things out. Coming clean seems to be the right thing to do, but I'm scared I'm implicating myself and lining myself up for major problems. To be honest I'd accept a fine no problem within reason, but am scared we're going to be talking eye watering amounts, or even a criminal record?

The thing is the DVLA have not contacted me to make any demand... I need to make contact with them somehow initially.

Thanks, Do you think I should send the letter as it is for now and see what they say? the initial SORN was, I think, registered correctly against the car, but has not been updated as i forgot all about it and the change of address never seems to have been updated. The postage issue may stand for the failure to update the address (in fact I am sure there has either been a problem with Royal Mail or DVLA) but not for 6 years of undeclared SORN surely? Is admitting that I did not follow the rules the wrong thing to do? Are they likely to try and apply a single fine or is it going to get significantly worse than that?

I have drafted the following letter. Any advice/thoughts would be appreciated. Is the last paragraph necessary? I was looking at this thread which made me think it might be a good idea. Re: Vehicle Reg XXXX XXX Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to you regarding the above car. We declared it SORN in 2003 and it has been kept off road ever since. Shortly after the SORN declaration we moved house and notified yourselves of the change. We have never since received any correspondence from DVLA regarding the car. I am now considering scrapping the vehicle and realise that I do not have upto date documentation for it as a result. I telephoned the DVLA advice line today and was told to write to you in explanation. The address to which the car was registered prior to my sending you documentation was Whilst I have recently become aware of the requirement to renew SORN annually I can confirm that when I initially declared it off road in 2003 I did so in good faith and that the car has not been on a public road since this time. I understand that this requirement is in place “to identify vehicle excise duty (VED) evaders and assist police and authorities with combating vehicle crime” and that “the Agency does not intend to persecute honest motorists”. Please accept that this failure has been a simple oversight on my part for which I unreservedly apologise. I would be happy to allow inspection of the vehicle at any time which will confirm that it has not been drivable for many years. Yours faithfully, kateandpete Thanks

I realise that this is all my fault but would love some advice as to what to do at this stage..... In 2003 I delcared SORN for a car registered in my name. Shortly afterwards I moved house and sent off the slip on the registration document to advise them of change of address. I never received anything back from the DVLA and as the car was off road (in a relative's garage) it was very much a case of "out of sight out of mind". Now I need to either scrap the car or sell it for parts but have realised I should have been delcaring SORN each year and do not have an up to date registration document (I know, ignorance is no defence etc). I phoned the DVLA today who have told me to write to the Preston Enforcement Centre explaining it all. Any idea what is likely to happen next? Is any fine likely to be applied on an repeat (annual) basis? Is there any chance that a CCJ will have been lodged against me which will be applied to my credit record now that I have allowed them to "catch up with me"? I would really appreciate any help (please don't be too hard on me )

Oh, another thing I wanted to ask... I can find this type of thing quite intimidating and especially so at the moment. Do you think it would look very unprofessional to ask that my husband be allowed to accompany me to the meeting (bearing in mind it is as a result of my offer rather than any action by them)? Financially he is as much affected as me by all of this and i would find it really helpful.

So the meeting on Monday never went ahead. I delayed setting off on holiday (had booked this week off months ago) to attend but when I had been given no indication of time etc by 2pm I set off anyway. I have been in touch with colleagues and know no-one was told anything on Monday. Today I have received two letters by email in response to my offer. The first (which I think was sent to all concerned) thanks for positive response to the meeting and states that due to further developments no decision will be made until after next Monday (2nd). The second seems much more aimed at me individually. It acknowledges my offer and states that they are giving serious consideration to my proposal and appreciate the time I have taken in assisting them with the needs of the business. They also acknowledge the fact that I am on holiday this week and invite me to a meeting on my return on Monday to discuss the proposal. Overall I feel reasonably positive. After Monday I will be in my qualifying week and still employed by the business which was my major concern initially. However, I have realised one consideration which I had not factored in initially. By starting my maternity leave early more of the SMP will be payable in this tax year than would have been the case. This will increase my tax liability by (I estimate) £400. I am kicking myself for not noticing this earlier and putting it into my offer, but as they gave us only 48 hours to make offers I feel I was just doing my best to meet their timescales. I would like to draw this to their attention but do not wish to look disingenuous. It was an honest oversight in my calculations. The offer I have made is really the lowest I can afford to take without it being preferable for me to fight for my job (I calculated it quite carefully rather than just plucking figures). It would have been easy to ask for a higher sum with the aim of negotiating down. I did not want to do this as i did not want to mess anyone around but now feel llike a bit of an idiot as I would like to add this sum on. Do you think this is doable whilst maintaining that the spirit and general structure of my offer remain unchanged? Many thanks, Kateandpete

Thanks very much both of you. I had realised that the tax on this year's portion of MA would be in my favour, but had totally failed to connect that with an increase in tax credits. And yes, I hope they have realised they can recoup the smp, unless actual cash flow is so much of a problem they want to avoid it anyway?

I hope that that is the case. I did consider chancing a higher severance pay, but the risks feel quite large if they decline, so decided to go with what I think is fair. I do find them quite unpredictable unfortunately and am not sure if they would really run scared of making me redundant. The speed with which they seem to be acting and the timing is making me wonder if it is being targeted specifically to avoid smp obilgations. I realise of course that they would not admit to this!

My mistake - it is also 9 months. I had thought it was 6. I've rechecked though and according to directgov as long my employment does not end before the 1st Nov they seem to imply I should be OK for SMP? Cheers

Yes, I understand i would need to do some work in that week so would not want them to issue my notice before the 3rd (qualifying date is the 1st and I would be at work on the 2nd). I would also, if they go for my suggestion, continue to work for them until the 30th Nov which is actually 11 weeks before the expected ECW so well past my qualifying week. I have selected this as my chosen time to actually stop working as it maximises the 90% pay for the 1st 6 weeks. In addition to losing the 6 weeks at 90% which would be >2k for me, I believe the total period of time i could claim for would also be lower on MA. thanks again for your help

Forgot to add was made without prejudice, and in my covering email I stated that in the event it was not considered acceptable to the company I trust that its content will not be held against me in any future decisions.

Hi, thanks for getting back to me I have been employed by them since March 2007. My current salary is approx 28k. I do not have my MATB1 yet but my due date has been given as 18th Feb 2010 so I expect it to be recorded as the week beginning 14th February. Directgov gives 1st Nov as the beginning of the qualifying week. I went to the CAB today as we were given a 48 hour to put any proposals on the table (ie by today at the latest). We have been led to believe that they will then make decisions based upon these and we will be told what their decisions are at a meeting on Monday. I have still had no written notification of any of this. As it could be advantageous to me to take voluntary redundancy (preferable to keeping my job if the conditions are right), and we have been told that we need to make some form of offer collectively if we wish to avoid a compulsory redundancy situation I have made an offer to them. I sent thefollowing today: I would have liked to have had longer to consider but was very concerned that it would be harder for me to make an offer after they had officially targeted me for redundancy (if this were to happen) when they had given us this 48h deadline. The solicitor at the CAB seemed to think the letter was ok in the circumstances. If they accept I will be really happy as it means that I will only be slightly worse off financially than if I stay and work until my EDD (default plan), but will get to start my maternity leave much earlier. However, if they refuse my offer and rush through a compulsory redundancy my situation could be dire. Thanks again

Yesterday management held a meeting with six members of staff to let us know that they need to cut costs and will need to reduce the pay from the group. We were told that we had 48 hours to come up with suggestions and if this did not happen then it may become necessary to make someone redundant. There is to be a meeting held on Monday to inform us of the decisions made as a result of this consultation. Nothing has been given to any of us in writing at this stage. I am currently 23 weeks pregnant, thus if I am made redundant with immediate effect I stand to lose my entitlement to maternity pay. When I reach the qualifying week at 25 weeks (1st November) even if made redundant I understand I will be entitled to full statutory maternity pay. Is it likely that they will be able to complete the redundancy process in time to make me lose my entitlement if I am the individual selected? My contract states that there is a two month notice period, but does include an option for them to pay me in lieu of notice. Additionally I may be prepared to accept voluntary redundancy if the terms are reasonable and timing such that my maternity pay is safeguarded. Do you think an offer to this effect will make me more of a target?

Thanks very much for your reply and sorry for my delay in getting back - been away for the weekend. Hopefully I have gone some way to resolve this. I decided to bite the bullet and email the person I thought may have been the driver. They have confirmed that it is a mistake and that they were involved in a bump (not in my car!) as I suspected so hopefully I can get this sorted fairly quickly. As I paid £450ish up front for the policy it may be that the insurer demands a significant quantity anyway before things are sorted. Is there anyway I can avoid this. I have other things to spend the money on right now, even if I will get it back later, and this whole thing has already been pretty costly to me in terms of time and stress! Thanks again

Sorry this is such a long post to start with - I thought I was OK dealing with this on my own until I got to letter three and started to feel it was going a bit pear shaped! Last Friday I received a letter from my insurers (HSBC) which reads as follows: The form I was sent detailed the time of the alleged accident as 00:00 31st December 2008 and apparently it occurred in Staffordshire. My car was parked at home (Cheshire), with the keys in the house, while I slept at that time. Neither do I know anyone called *** ***. A quick google search reveals that a person by this name (quite unusual) works for Staffordshire County Council, so my guess is that the numberplate has been misreported. Ayway, I called the number given to explain and followed the call with this letter: Now, I renewed my insurance (still with HSBC, but under a new broker) on 20th January, so the attempted claim is on my old policy. Today I received a letter regarding my current policy which reads: So they are now threatening to cancel my policy. I called them to check it was this claim they are referring to (I made a claim in March 08 for storm damage to my car - the roof blew off our shed and sanded the paintwork) and it is. When I called the guy dealing with the "claim" he told me that whilst it is being dealt with the brokers could ask to increase my premium which would be refunded if the claim was not paid out on. Can they really do this? Is that not extortative? This could get really expensive because of the previous claim in the year (although I did protect my NCB I think only one is allowed per year). Following my chat with him I called back to the number on todays letter and was assured that my policy would not be cancelled now that I had given them the details, and although I took the operative's name and extension he refused to give me this in writing. I'd really appreciate any advice on what to do next. My first thought is to construct a reply to the sender of the letter threatening cancellation giving details of the phonecall made where they promised not to. What do you think?

Great - I'm off work on Friday and will let you know how I get on!

Thank you very much for replying. Our TV was turned on and just left running behind the desk. There was so much noise in the shop there is no hope of the hum being heard and if the TV is running continuously it will almost certainly not start up as it only seems to happen when first turned on. Even if there wasn't all the noise of customers and music I'm not even sure how the acoustics of such a large building would affect the noise - although it's very obvious in a smallish, quiet room. I did say in the store that they would be unlikely to hear it in those conditions, but this is when the guy started implying we were making the whole thing up and showed another us TV which had apparently been running there for 3 days without its alleged fault being observed. All the staff were serving customers with their back to both sets. I'll go back at a busy time and see how I get on. To be honest even if I need to take it home and let them test it after Christmas I'd be happier (may have picked up a new TV in the sales too so be better able to cope without it for a while!) but was worried about the warranty ending. Thanks again

We bought our TV last Boxing Day (Polaroid 20" LCD- £220) from Currys and it has recently started to make a low pitched crackle/hum intermittently when turned on. A firm tap in the back top righthand corner usually then makes it stop the noise. At the moment it is occuring possibly once a week (the TV is in our bedroom and is watched for an hour or two daily) and is very clearly audible in a quiet house especially with the volume on low, and enough to make watching the TV unpleasant when it is making the noise. Whilst 90% of the time the TV works fine as it is within the warranty period we are keen to get the problem resolved. We called Currys and were told to take it to the store for them to verifiy the fault. Therein lies the problem. The Customer Service guy said they will run it in store until they can show the problem. I do not think there is any way they will hear it in a noisy shop and due to the intermittent nature I have no idea whether it will occur over the next week anyway and would really like a working tv in the room over Christmas. If the fault does not occur and I take the TV home if it becomes a more frequent problem when the warranty expires am I likely to get any joy from Currys honouring their warranty or will it be SOGA time? Even then where do I stand with an intermittent problem? As an aside - I was horrified by the attitude of customer services in Currys. I was told that intermittent faults do not occur and they never find them on TVs with reported faults. Would really appreciate any ideas about what we can do to sort this out. I have a horrible feeling we are going to end up with a TV which is destined to become more permanantly faulty outside the warranty period...