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Shanks

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  1. This topic was closed on 11 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
  2. Thanks again dx, I'll get him to call the courts tomorrow and explain that this is the first he has heard of it, then try to negotiate a plan for repayment. He is working now so should be able to make regular payments but I will get him to put together a income and expenditure sheet before he contacts them. I'll look into variation orders, I'm sure there must be some threads with information on them here. Cheers
  3. Thanks dx, this is the only thing he has received. So if he rings the court and asks to sort it direct and reaches an agreement, does that then mean that Marstons, along with their charges, are out of the equation altogether? If so, that's great news thank you, cheers
  4. Hi, my brother in law came home yesterday to find that a 'Removal Notice' had been posted through his door from Marstons. He is certain that it stems from some unpaid court fines from some time ago, which he admits having not paid. Long story short he was going through a very rough time then, with lots of issues but is now beginning to get himself sorted. Since the fines were issued originally he has been moving all over the country and has consequently never received any notice of intended action or chasing of this debt until this letter received yesterday. He understands that the fines need to be settled but cannot tell how much of this £1500 odd is actual debt and how much is Marstons fees. He is renting a room in a privately owned house, with virtually no countable posessions to speak of. I'd like some help with advice on the following points: Do Marstons have a right of entry given that nothing in the house belongs to him? If they turn up should he try to prevent their entry or 'welcome' them in on the basis that there is nothing in the house that he owns apart from a small crt television and a portable stereo? The owners of the house are being very supportive through this and although not in a position to pay the debt for him will not throw him out because of it. If Marstons turn up and he is not there what should they do? Is there a way for him to get this back to the courts so that he can make a voluntary arrangement to pay by installments, possibly avoiding what we think are substantial fees and charges added by Marstons? And anything else which you think he should be doing to get this resolved. I'm sorry for all the questions, but after years of worry about him it's good to see him getting back on his feet and it would be a real heartache if this sent him back. Thanks in advance. (I can post a scan of the notice if it helps)
  5. Thanks DX, the DMC was StepChange. I have a copy of the most recent statement, and have asked her to gather anything else she has so that I can try and check back. thanks for the response.
  6. I have been asked if I can help a friend to manage their debt problems. After a troubled relationship broke down her partner disappeared leaving her with considerable debts. These were mainly on credit cards in her name, although at the time she hadn't realised quite how much he had run up the debt before finally vanishing. She accepted responsibility and approximately 5 years ago she voluntarily entered a dmp agreement with a non fee charging company. There were three main debts, an RBS credit Card (£14500), Natwest recoveries (£25000) and Santander (£12000) She has reclaimed PPI in respect of the Natwest one which managed to recover approximately £10,000, but no ppi is due from the others. She has never missed a payment. Where she feels let down is that last August after having paid off about £15000 to the RBS debt the DMC stopped making payments to them in the shared belief that that debt had been settled. She continued to pay the same amount and the balance was split between the other outstanding debts. RBS then issued a default notice saying that she still owes almost £9000 because they didn't freeze the interest and charges etc have been added to the debt over the last 5 years. She has contacted them direct and they have told her she 'sounds like she can afford to pay it so, tough, and she has paid for the last 5 years so if it takes her another 20 years then she shouldn't have got into debt in the first place'. After this last comment she was crying so much she just hung up on them. She has contacted the DMC who have said that it's not their fault because it is down to the banks discretion whether they freeze interest and she should have checked at the start of the DMP because it is her responsibility to check these details not theirs. even though they were clearly under the impression this was the case and the debt was finished they are offering no support apart from reinstating the payments to RBS. After one call to RBS they did offer to credit her with the £12 default fee. for a debt of £14500 she has now paid £16300 but still owes another £9000. This is just the RBS debt. She is at her wits end and is really beginning to suffer from the stress of this seemingly never ending saga. She thinks the interest has been frozen on the others but isn't sure, as far as I know has never requested a copy of the credit card agreements and apart from the ppi claim has not claimed any charges back (I thought that window was closed now). I'm not really sure where the best place is for her to start. She is willing and I think capable of managing the debt herself if she thought that the money she was paying was clearing the debt and not just taking her two steps forward and then one and a half steps back because of the interest. Any suggestions or advise would be very gratefully received.
  7. Amazing, this is now resolved and with no thanks to Vodafone unfortunately. After a lot of searching and trawling through forums with a number of people complaining about porting issues I found the following: Simple fix and all texts are now working fine. This is after a full week of not functioning and not a peep about the above process from any of the reps I have spoken to or mention of it on the web site. I'd always assumed it go the number direct from the sim but clearly not. Anyway thanks to all those who posted. Cheers
  8. Thanks Rebel11 and DreadpirateSteve, I have re-synced the phone and will try a different sim in it. Strangely the only pattern I have now managed to get id that those with another 4s or those who have updated their I-Tunes software seem to be getting this new number whilst those on other phones or with the old software are getting my old and correct number. This is based on a sample of 8 three of whom are on new phone/software and the other 5 are using Android or old Iphones so may not really indicate anything
  9. Something that did cause me concern was this post - I know it is from a while ago but is this really still the case? http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?161669-Phone-Not-Fit-For-Purpose I don't want to accept the offer of a replacement and end up with the same problem only less rights to reject if it cannot be resolved.Thanks again
  10. Hi I have just signed up with Vodaphone for a new Iphone. I changed from O2, got the pac code and the new phone started working on Monday this week. Since then if I send a texts from it some go from my current number whilst others are routed from the number that was on the phone when it arrived. Whilst this doesn't seem like a big problem I have already lost work from it. I sent a text to a client giving a quote, he replied but because the answer was sent to the wrong number I never received it. He got no response so went elsewhere. I have tried a number of my friends and there does not seem to be any pattern, sometimes they get a text from me and it is recognised as my proper number, other times it comes in from - Unknown contact. All phone calls are routed correctly. Vodaphone have asked me to switch the phone off remove the sim and wait for 24 hours. I did and the problem remains so they told me to do the same again but wait 48 hours, again no change and the problem still exists. I have just spent an hour on the phone to them and been cut off three times. Each time they say please hold while we look into this and then call is terminated. It appears they don't know what to do and are hoping the problem will just go away in due course . sadly I can't wait for that option to ride out. Can I reject the phone and get out of the contract and start gain with someone else? It's not over the 7 working days limit for return yet. Thanks for any advice
  11. Hi Lottiapple and thanks for taking the time to reply. That link seems to be exactly what I was looking for and offers some good news for us into the bargain. Thanks again for your help. Cheers
  12. A friend, a primary school teacher, is currently on maternity leave. Her child was born six weeks ago and she is now two months into her leave. Alongside her teaching career she runs dance classes a couple of time a week at a local gym. She handed this business over to a colleague to manage while she was on leave so her only income for the last two months has been her smp. She has a very good relationship with the school, they are aware of her dancing classes, and has agreed a plan in principle for her return when the child is a bit older. She would now like to pick up on a couple of her dance classes. Although not ready to start back in full time employment, she would benefit from a couple of hour long classes in the evening, if only for the company and exercise herself. How would any income she gets from this impact on the maternity pay that she gets form her employer? I think it's worth noting that she has registered her business and declared all her income from the self employment with HMRC etc. to date and is keen to keep that record up, she doesn't want to jeopardise her position or make a mess of the smp. Thanks for any advice. Cheers
  13. Hi Shomi, Sorry to hear about your wife's experience I can only wish you well with it and hope you achieve the right and fair result. In my case my niece's family decided to leave it with the response from RPL saying they would not take any further action. I may have pursued it further but they didn't want to so it was left. It looks like JonCris, a very experienced Cagger, has now contacted you and I would take any advice given there very seriously. Happy to help further if I can but pretty much all the dealings I have are detailed in this thread already. Good luck. Cheers
  14. "Terms and Conditions apply. Finance charge will be between £10 and £14.75 per £50 borrowed. Typical 2356% APR" Quote taken from(www. quickquid . co . uk. ) web address edited so it does not convert to an actual link - please no-one go there for a loan Best I can find... Cheers
  15. Thanks for taking the time to respond Phat256 I'm posting because they do not have access to the internet. They have now drawn up a budget sheet and worked out what hey can afford. With some encouragment to cut down on the luxuries etc they can actually afford what I think is a reasonable amount - £500pcm. I have suggested they put this offer in writing. Basically saying that for everyone's benefit they want to avoid court action and that they will commit to paying this amount until cleared. My view is that however they have behaved in the past, this is now a reasonable offer which they will comply with. If it goes to court it can be demonstrated that this is all they can afford without selling up. As far as I know there are no existing CCJ's. The last from IR was that they would accept full payment or would instigate court action to make them insolvent - I assume this means bankrupt. They did go to CAB who told them they should pay the debt off and had they considered selling the house in order to do this! Cheers
  16. On the surface this does appear to be really quite harsh, but unfortunately I think any other appeals will also be rejected. I recently parked in Camden with an 'all day resident's guest permit' It was scratched off correctly and all was legitimate. Sadly I parked in a 'pay' bay rather than a residents one. Moving the car back by one space would have done it for me but I didn't notice. They must have seen me do it because they waited until I went into the house then slapped a £80 (reduced to £40) ticket on me for parking there for one minute. I appealed in much the same way as you stating an honest mistake was made and their opinion was 'You have to pay for your mistakes' Someone else here may come along with better knowledge than me and suggest an alternative for you to avoid the fine in which case good luck, but i thinnk it is unlikely, sorry.
  17. I have been asked for help with a situation some friends are in. As they have no internet access I thought I'd post here to see what people think would be the best way forward. Cutting a long story short, three years ago when self employed they ran up a debt with the IR for +/- £13,000, now with interest and charges it stands at nearly £16,000. An arrangment was made then to pay it back in installments and this lasted a short while before payments stopped being made. Inevitably the IR have decided it is time now to follow up on this debt. They wrote asking for payment and he made the mistake imo of writing back suggesting a payment of £20 a month and settlement of the debt once he had picked the right 6 numbers on Saturday. Their response was, not surprisingly, refusal to accept the offer, the threat of court action to seek insolvancy and a reminder that they will no longer accept anything but full repayment. He has three weeks to respond. They have a mortgage and enough equity in the house to clear the debt but the mortgage company have refused any further advances due to his poor payment history and bad credit rating. Approaches to other loan companies have also been refused. They do not know anyone personally with access to this kind of amount who could help them. My initial thoughts were that they should draw up a strict budget sheet, work out a figure that they can afford and stick to this time and hope that the IR accept another offer of installments. If nothing else, if it does go to court would this not demonstrate that they are willing to try to repay the debt if at least for the moment raising the total is impossible without selling up. Is there anything else that would be worth trying? Once they say no more installment options do they really mean it? and would the courts allow the forcing of the sale of their house to recover the debt if a genuine offer of repayment by installment has been made? Sorry for the lengthy post and all the questions at the end, any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Cheers
  18. th3joker, that's posibly one way but be careful, you could end up with just a throttled service. So you are no nearer the end of your contract but have a much slower connection speed for your trouble. This would leave you even worse off. from thinkbroadband.com ... lukemannion, I'm not saying don't - just be wary
  19. Hi Simon. Sadly, Orange customer service in this country has always been pretty poor, recently however it seems to have stooped to a disgraceful level - there are a lot of unhappy ex or soon to be ex Orange customers about, Orange Problems - Index - Orange Broadband, Orange Email, Orange Mobile Phones - OrangeProblems.co.uk (formerly WanadooProblems.co.uk) make for some very interesting reading. I'm not sure why they are ringing you to tell you why your account was closed, you already know the reason. But it may be a good opportunity to ask them to explain about the steps they took to help you cut back on your usage before closing the account. If it doesn't match what is quoted above then you could ask fior it to be reinstated, be clear that you now understand the limits on this account and will try to keep it below that in the future. I guess what I'm saying is *if* they do ring you, then give them the opportunity to remedy the situation, but if the still refuse to reinstate the account then ask for a copy of the complaints procedure. You have a right to request it, and you do not have to explain why you want it. Post back with their response and we can take it from there. Cheers
  20. Hi Simon, tbh I'm not really sure. I have had a look through the t&c and the only think I can say for sure is that they have been very sure to make certain that all rules will have a sub clause so taht it either doesn't apply or will end in their favour anyway . But... First option I would think is to request a copy of their code of practice. Your account was closed becuase you exceeded their 'fair use policy'. But that policy also lays out the steps they are obliged to take in order to resolve this issue... So I would ask them to demonstrate what steps they took in line with this and if they cannot then say you will be making a formal complaint requesting that your whole contract be terminated without penalty because of their failure to comply. They may find that it may be better to end the contract than have to deal with a stream of correspondance and the complants procedure. Cheers
  21. Hi Simon, thanks for the update and I'm sorry to hear it has finished in this way. It would appear that Orange have lost a lot of customers recently through many of the changes and ' improvments' in their service. Their customeer service, from my own experience, is appalling and you have to wonder how much longer they can go losing revenue at this rate before they realise what's going wrong. One thing that puzzles me about your post is that you are waiting till your contract expires. Is this a benefit to you? If they have closed your account then I would think that would end the contract between you. Of course if it is useful for you to use it then fine but why wait if you don't need to? Cheers
  22. Hi MungoPL and welcome back You could wite another letter but have you checked with Royal Mail to see if the first one was received? You last wrote back in October without a response and when you spoke to them on the phone they were less than helpful, only confirming that your account would be closed and offering a MAC code. Unfortunately I don't expect the reaction to be much different now. I assume that you did not accept the offer of the code and simply left it? If this is the case and your account has been closed then whichever ISPyou go to may have to charge a connection fee. What are you being charged for on your mobile? Is this on the same £5 tarrif or has it reverted to PAYG or other? If you are still paying the same as you were you could have a good argument for asking that the rest of the contract package also continue to be supplied? If you can let us know some of this information we can try and work out the best way forward. Cheers
  23. You're right Buzby and I stand corrected, although interestingly it was Orange that was involved in at least one of these investigations See here for the adjudication from June of this year Orange Personal Communications Services Ltd if you search under 'unlimited broadband' you will find other cases where the same argument has beenn tried - and failed unfortunately. You could try this is in the legislative court system but given that it has been pretty well tested by the ASA already I think your chances of success are slim. MungoPL, I have lost track on your situation, sorry. Did you manage to get reconnected with Orange or are you with another ISP now? Cheers
  24. Hi Enron, Well so far nothing more from BT. It is now two weeks since the last contact when they assured me they would get things sorted and get back to me. So now it looks like it's time to research SAR non-compliance. I seem to recall that this is taken quite seriously isn't it. I will post back my next move in the meantime if you have any suggestions please let me know. It's another week for you - have you heard anything from your last letter? Cheers
  25. Thanks Curlyben, it's in the post now - let's see what they come back with now Cheers
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