Thanks tp both of you for these tips, I'll try anything spanglesooty

I tried washing the matching scatter cushions, but as you can see from my reply to unclebulgaria67, the Febreze has got into the body of the suite. Thanks to both of your for your suggestions & help. Spanglesooty

Yes, I think you're right, I think it has got into the actual foam of the upholstery in the body of the suite. It is a Sanderson fabric sofa with 2 x matching chairs & a foot stool. I also have matching curtains, so it's going to be costly mistake if I can't get rid of this smell. I'm wondering if the Febreze has had some kind of chemical reaction with the foam. If so, Proctor & Gamble need to be aware of this problem. I have unzipped & aired the seat cushions for the last 7-8 weeks, but it's still a very strong smell. I think the Febreze has got into the foam of the actual body of the sofa & chairs too, not just the seat covers, so unless I take the entire suite to pieces, there's not way of getting at the foam to air it. But after nearly two months of airing the seat cushions, it's not made any difference - it still reeks! So the only way would be to have all the foam replaced ! Otherwise, I'll be into a few thousand ponds to replace the suite & matching curtains. I just wondered if anyone else has experienced similar problems Spanglesooty

Can someone help with a SMELLY problem... I used FABREZE fabric freshener on my sofa for the first time and the SMELL from it is awful! It's so strong even after two months! I'm wondering if I've sprayed too much on and maybe it has had a chemical reaction to the foam in the upholstery ? Has anyone experienced this problem ? The smell is so strong that it hits you when you walk into my house and when I pick a cushion up to smell it, the smell makes my eyes water! I have unzipped the cushions to allow the air to circulate, but the smell is very 'chemically' and VERY strong. In fact, I would describe the smell as FUMES not a smell, which catch my breath. I now need something to get rid of the smell of the Febreze! Any advice would be appreciated as it is a new sofa, which I spilt milk on and wanted to eliminate the smell from the milk after I cleaned it up. If I cannot get rid of the smell, I will need to buy a new sofa, that's how strong it is! Thanks you spanglesooty

I've watched your supermarket videos with interest. I live close to a Sainsbury's in Woolton, Liverpool. The store is now nearly 30 years old & is so run down that locals are calling it ****SBURY'S. The tiles on the floor are coming up everywhere & are covered with hardboard & left without being repaired. I know many people who work at this store & have left in discussed at what they have seen. I'm told that this ****SBURY'S branch is so short staffed that they don't have enough staff to process a delivery quick enough. So, you might buy something that is well within the sell-buy date & the fridge might be running at the correct temperature, but there is no way of telling how long the food has been left in transit from the refrigerated delivery lorry until it is put into a fridge. I have has so many upset stomachs this last few years that I thought I had IBS, now I shop at M&S & it has cured my IBS! SS

Thanks Michael, I will add that to the request letter. It was the fact that they talked to my husband that really shocked me... I didn't think that it was allowed to talk to a 3rd party about my circumstances ? Thanks again. SS

Hi Everyone, I've a problem with MBNA who are ringing me on a daily basis, at home, my mobile & my business, regarding my arrears on my personal credit card with them. They have now started ringing my Husbands mobile... even tho he has no involvement with my debt to MBNA. They have actually discussed my circumstances with him! Is this not against Data Protection (& or) Financial Credit Agreement laws ? My Husband insisted that they put their proposals in writing, when MBNA suggested that quote:- "a new partner that they now have, could provide me with a loan to pay off my debt to MBNA" Unquote. My husband refuse to talk to MBNA further & repeated that he was my husband & was not responsible for my debt. I am about to send off to MBNA a request for a copy of my credit agreement & I would like to add some strong words to the bottom of my letter to complain about their behaviour. Any advice would be appreciated from anyone who has had this experience. Regards, S.S.

Hi Soopasnoopa & Suziedarkness, I've read this with interest as I'm going down the same road and I too need to educate myself from scratch- so to speak. I noticed in the example letter to apply for a CCA, the address that you have for the sample letter is addressed to:- The Loan Company or Collection Agency Company House, Church Street, Newtown, Kent, R1 7HG Why is this ? Why would it not be addressed to the credit company or their agent- or am I being stupid here ? SS

Hi BRW, I'm not sure myself on the charges that banks levy on cash deposits, I just know that I will be saving a fortune on the % I pay for the privilege of accepting plastic ! Plus, the rental of the machine & then the audacity of the 50p refund charge with no rebate of the % that I've already paid to sell the goods in the first place !!! It's when you see it written down in black & white that it brings it home to you how unfair the whole system is. I'm just coming to the end of my 4th day of my experiment- of not taking any cards & up to now (touch wood) I have not lost one single sale !!! I've taken very few cheques & loads of cash. The ATM Machine around the corner may need to be filled up more frequently tho... ha! As far as banking cash is concerned- I've never come up against any problems with this. Maybe because I've been with the same bank for 50 years- up to now anyway ! God knows who I'll be banking with after Christmas tho... I too would be interested in the costs & problems that people have with banking cash. Regards, Spanglesooty

Hi Everyone, I'm a complete novice in the field of claiming bank charges back. I have no idea where to start & how to find out if I've ever been over charged, or if any of my personal loans or business loans/overdraft that I've had over the years have been unfair in anyway shape or form. I need someone to point me in the right direction to educate myself in this area. I run a small business as a sole trader & I have had, & paid back plenty of loans over the years. Where do I start ? Spanglesooty

I have a small retail business employing 8 people. I started my business 26 years ago retailing women's fashion & some of the women who work with me have been with me since I started, so we are very much like a family. I have never known trade to be as bad as it is now & I am suffering at the hands of my bank, as are most small businesses at the moment. Last week my Card Processing Machine broke down (as it often does) as it was the week-end we were without the machine for a few days until we received a replacement machine. What was interesting, is that, we never lost any sales, which made me think... Do I really need this machine ? Do I really need to take plastic ? We are lucky to have an ATM Machine close by & customers either paid by Cheque or got Cash from the ATM. Plus, the price of the average item we sell is less than £25. I realise that this may not suit every business to do this, but, I have decided to take my Card Machine out & go back to basics- taking Cheques & Cash only. Banks want every transaction to go thru them & the government want to know how much money is in our pockets & how much money we are spending. They will want every individual to keep personal books soon ! Paying for everything by card is adding to the cost of what the consumer buys & encourages people to get into debt with Credit Cards. With my percentage charges of 2.9% on every sale (more on Amex) plus, the 50p Refund Charge on Card Refunds - bearing in mind that as many as 1/3 of purchases are returned for a refund - I've calculated that I would need to loose above £25k from my turnover before I actually start to loose any profit. Plus, because I close at 8pm my transactions take 4 days to go into my bank as I am in the later slot for the banking window. Big businesses have the advantage of being able to negotiate a reversal of percentage fees i.e. they get paid a percentage of the money they take on cards because of their high turnover. So again, small businesses are at a disadvantage. I could keep my prices down by doing this and if other businesses followed suit the consumer would eventually benefit. I see it as taking control of our own finances again, both as a retailer & as a consumer. After all, we retailers & small businesses are also consumers too. There may well be some minuses with this idea, but if small businesses started a campaign to rebel against the Banks starting with this one simple idea, then maybe this will drive transaction costs down for other small businesses who cannot trade without taking plastic. Remember how successful the campaign was to "Buy British" in the '70's recession ? That idea was started by two young women- if I remember correctly. So, why don't we small businesses, do what we can to regain our independence and instead of relying on the banks before we spend a penny... lets start a campaign to by-pass the banks at every single opportunity. This could be just one of many small ideas to force change in the banking system. It seems to me, that the banks don't know which comes first - the Chicken or the Egg. So, we need to show them. It may also be a lesson for our younger generation. I watch our younger customers using plastic for everything. They walk into my shop with a bunch of car keys in one hand and their mobile and plastic card in the other hand- no handbag. They will then attempt to pay for something that only costs as little as £1.50... with a credit card !!! We need to change the mentality of this generation as they are the least prepared for this credit crunch because they are so use to living now... Mum & Dad will pay later. They need to learn that the Piper has to be Paid and Mum & Dad won't always be around to pay their credit cards off. After all, it's this generation who will become our future Politicians and Bank Managers. It's this generation who may one day have the power to.... stop Mum & Dad's Pension ! I invite your comments, feedback & further ideas to bypass the banking system. Nobody is going to help us to get thru these bad times... so, lets get together & help ourselves. The very best of luck to every small business out there... Spanglesooty... or SS for short !

Thank you for this advice. I have also rang the courts claim advice team & I was advised to write in with the request directly to the District Judge enclosing a copy of the claimants letter & envelope, which are both dated 6 days after the deadline. This way the judge may have the claim Struck Out or he may write back to me hinting that- if I make a formal application, (which there is a fee of £40 without a hearing or £75 with a hearing) to request that the claim be struck out he would do so. This way I find out if the judge is likely to have it struck out without paying the fee. Thanks for your help SS

Thanks for this info Scott. I have another question that you maybe able to help me with. I have someone chasing me for a business debt, which I'm disputing. Their solicitors are 7 days late with their defence & I understand that this means that they have defaulted. I'm defending myself & I'm a complete novice. I want to ask the court to throw this out as I've not had time to challenge their defence & I want to write a letter to the court asking the court to throw this out because of this. Can you help or point me in the right direction. I can't afford a solicitor but I'm not broke enough for legal aid YET ! Thanks SS

Hi, I have read this case with interest as I have a situation whereby the Claimant has missed the deadline by 7 days in getting his claim details in to court & I am therefore too late to challenge any of the details within his case for my defence. His case and the post mark show that he has missed the deadline by 7 days. Will the court automatically dismiss the claimants case or will the claimant appeal with an excuse as to why his claim was 7 days past the deadline & could the court allow the case to continue ?

Hi Fox, If that was the case the signature on this agreement would be more similar to mine & I probably would not have noticed that the signature was not actually mine. But, the signature on this agreement is far from similar to my signature, which is why I noticed it in the first place.