You know I see plenty of threads where people are getting great help and advice, quotes on what they should be putting in letters and emails. Yet when I post I seem to get told to go look for myself!

 

Come on whats the point of these forums if peeps are just gonna tell you "go read this" "go read that" if I wanted crap advice i'd go to my local CAB office.

 

I see threads where people are getting spoon feed info, anyone wanna spoon feed me? lol

TWNB, this forum is about self help, about pointing you in the right direction so that you can help yourself. The cases where more information is given is where people are really out of their depth or it is a complicated issue.

 

To be honest, your issue is very simple and a 2 minute jaunt in the Sale of Goods act and the thread you were pointed at already would answer your question...

 

 

 

• Can't give a full refund.
  
• Item has been in use for nearly 6 months before it broke down.
  
• I am not entitled to a full refund because it is past 28 days.
  
• I won't be losing money, even if I bought an item of say £25.84 and postage costs £3 I still wont be lossing money even if the original amount is £34.59! Go figure that one out.

Section 48A of SOGA gives you (the buyer) the right to a repair or replacement or a reduced sale price or full refund. As per 48A(3), as they went faulty within 6 months it is up to Aria to show it conformed at the time of sale as it is assumed it did not.

 

The seller does not have an option to take back the item and give a credit note to a partial refund - it must either be the full amount.

 

As per the advice you have already been given, post 25 in this thread gives you the info you need re. refund of the delivery costs and even tells you what to post.

 

 

TWNB, we are here as volunteers to help people who are in a bind. By being rude and/or insulting you will be less likely to get help in the future as the people who volunteer will be less willing to help. Your issue has been anwered before and instead of telling you to go use the search, which alot of forums would do, someone took the time to search for you and give you the relevant thread and even told you the exact post...

/rant

 

I hope this answers your question...

H

His entitlement to fees is not contractual. It is based on the fact that in his view you wanted to breach the contract by leaving early. You said:

 

...

 

So while he is not "bluffing" as such, he does however seem to want to have his cake and eat it as he would have been liable for re-letting costs one month later anyway. As I said, logically one would have thought 1/6 of the fees were at most legitimate based on the fact that the tenancy ended 1/6 before it should have done. But I don't know the precedents

The OP does not seem to have breached contract (Fuji, can you post up a copy of your agreement, with sensitive details removed, so that we can see what you signed up for) as the rent was still being paid, council tax and bills being paid, and the property was being looked after.

 

I do not see how the landlord could have suffered losses - the reletting costs would have been due at that time as the fixed term was coming to an end and new tennants would have been needed and most landlords I know start to advertise as soon as possible. The landlord has received two weeks worth of rent for one week of exclusive possesion and has thus been unjustly enriched.

 

I agree on the point of having his cake and eating it.

 

Since he says "if you decline I will pay the week's rent and take further action to recover the fees from you jointly." it is tempting to call his bluff as you would have the money and he might have a difficult time proving his claim - it seems like a strange offer to make.

I concur.

 

I really do not think the unlawful eviction thing is a goer if you weren't living there, and it might irritate him. His position does not seem at the moment to be unreasonable.

He seems to have denied the OP's requst to leave early yet gone ahead and moved new tenants in one week early. As he didn't get the OP's permission after refusing said request, the Landlord has breached the OP's rights as a tennant to exclusive possesion and thus the agremeent.

 

H

UPDATE 3:

 

We just received the following message from the LL:

 

"I have taken legal advice, in response to your most recent message.

 

I have been advised that you are entitled to your last week's rent, and I am entitled to the reletting charges.

 

As an offer I will promise not to pursue the balance on the fees if you waive the week's rent. This will put you in a position where you are financially better off. However if you decline I will pay the week's rent and take further action to recover the fees from you jointly."

 

Seems a bit "blackmaily" again. I sense he's bluffing, but I'm not sure. Advice please!

Interesting, it might be worth asking him what part of your contract makes you liable for his fees?

 

And i suppose that you could raise the issue that it might have been an illegal eviction, see what he does then...

 

just be careful how you phrase it - don't make it seem that you are rejecting his "offer"

 

H

Not my quotes.

appologies - i got a bit copy/paste happy! gone to fix it now.

 

Fuji, as I said, personally I would be inclinded to leave it as is. Yes, technically, the LL has probably done wrong by moving them in.

 

the reason I said that it might be an illegal eviction is that he rejected your request for early move out and insisted on the term. as such, if he had new tennats, he should have spoken to you and asked if you still wanted to end early. he didn't, therefore deprived you of the "private and quiet enjoyment" you could have had.

 

H

Thanks Acerbic and Heliosfa. Couple of things are still borthering me which I guess would go away after having few more advises from experts like you.

 

1. Visa officer would definitely require my employers address and email ID since its required as per their application form and I am worried if they will complain to my immediate boss or employer that your employee owed money from couple of banks in UK.

2. In case my visa is approved or rejected, does my name will be forwarded to debt collector companies in UK that such person is living in UAE and this is his address helping debt collector companies to follow up for their payments/loans OR the debt collector companies will contact their correspondents here in UAE to catch me or start following up for payments by contacting my employer or by writing me a letter to pay their dues.

3. Lets assume I have been granted a visa and I landed at heathrow and after couple of weeks I am back from UK to UAE, is there any chanses of being trapped down by the banks to whom I owe money or debt collectors.

 

Looking forward for your advises. Thanks & Regards

 

I agree with Acerbic and have one thing to add: The Data Protection Act would prevent imigration telling any companies that you are back. It also prevents any companies contacting your employer and revealing personal information about you.

 

as I have said, credit card debts etc. are civil, not Criminal and law enforcement will not and cannot get involved in civil disputes.

 

Thanks,

H

Can you (for a poor an meek mortal) break down for me exactly how/what to ask the courts for? or point me in a direction of a template etc?

I'm not to sure if there is a proper procedure, but if you call or visit the court and explian that you are being contacted by a company about a judgement you have no knowledge of, they should be able to help and provide you with details.

 

You should have heard the deflated conversation we had after I sent him the Statute Barred letter! He phoned and said "I see from your letter that you have researched this", and then proceeded to sigh!

LOL

 

Ta,

H

Devil's Advocate

i always welcome counter points

 

LL accepts keys handed back early = acceptance of surrender of Tenancy before due date and loss of rent

in the circumstances it seems that the OP was being considerate rather than surrendering the tennancy, e.g. making sure that she did not cause damage to the landlord by depriving him of the keys at the end of the tennancy so that new tennats could move in straight away. e.g. so that the landlord would not need to get a new set or hold off the new tennants move in till OP was back. in either case, the LL refused to accept this, so no early surrender.

 

Whilst the accepted opinion is you can vacate the property on the last day of the fixed term without prior Notice, you in fact moved your furniture out early, signifying you no longer occupied in the property. Hence it is reaonable to expect written Notice to vacate early to be served by end of month 5 even if rent is paid to the end of the fixed term.

this is potentially a sticking point, but the OP was still taking responsibility for the property by ensuring it's security, etc. and made sure that they were out before it turned into a periodic.

 

 

If the Tenancy ceases without Notice on the last day of the fixed term, then the same condition should apply for the LL, but it doesn't, a periodic tenancy is created the following day, in the absence of another AST.

and this is the point i was making, if the LL is claiming taht the OP didn't give notice and the OP was not behind on rent, then as the LL would have needed a S21 in Month 4 to move tennants in right at the end of the AST.

 

What the LL has done is moved new tennants in before a) a rent payment was missed and b) the end of the fixed period.

 

 

Incidentally, Heliosfa, I'd be interested to hear your feedback on the points raised here by Mariner51.

here you go

 

 

Note that no refund was offered and that the new tenants were moved in secretly. We wouldn't have found out about them had we not been going round there regularly.

this is why I said it semeed he shot himself in the foot...

 

 

We were on holiday during the last two days of our original AST, but went round there the day before. The heating and lights were on, the back door was unlocked, and several of the new tenants' possessions were dotted around the flat. The signed tenancy was in the flat.

so you found the place "set up" for habitation and insecure three days before the end of your term?

 

This makes me feel that the landlord is on a really sticky wicket because it seems that technically he has evicted you illegally.

 

 

Also he was quite strict about insisting we were still the legal tenants, refusing to accept early key handover or even do a walk-through with us, and made no mention of these new tenants at any point.

when did he do the walkthrough? was it after the new tennants were in?

 

H

He suggests four ways in which he believes we breached the contract:

 

(1) He says we never gave written notice to terminate our AST. However, we did phone him well in advance to let him know, hence his showing round of prospective tenants.

 

(In any case, I'm pretty sure a tenant is not obliged to serve notice on a fixed-term AST. That said, he sent us this link which seems to suggest we do in fact need to serve notice:

 

direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Privaterenting/Tenancies/DG_189123 ("Ending a tenancy or licence if you are a tenant")

 

...however there are thousands of other websites which make very clear that no notice is required to move out at the end of an AST. Can you confirm this?)

I didn't give written notice to end my fixed term last year and this year i would not expect my tennats to give me written notice if they were leaving at the end.

 

What do the terms of your AST say? Also, it could probably be argued that as he started to look for new tennats after your oral "notice", he has accepted it.

 

If he really wants to go down the route of you not giving him notice, then him getting new tennats in before the end of your fixed period is an illegal eviction as he hasn't given you 2 months written notice in a S21. notice as required and he has moved them in before you would have failed to pay rent if it was due, so before any breach of contract, hence him breaching contract...

 

(2) We physically moved out of the property three weeks before the end of the AST (though continued to pay rent and regularly check up on the property).

not a breach of contract, if you told him it was going to be unoccupied for a bit what is the problem? really there is no difference to if you had taken a 3 week holiday.

 

(3) We encouraged him to get new tenants in early, in the hope that he would be able to refund us part of the rent. However, as he refused us this option, and insisted we pay rent for the entire AST, we didn't in fact breach the contract (I think?).

again, not a breach of contract - you were exploring options and he didn't have to look...

 

(4) We wanted to meet up with him and hand the keys back before the end of the AST, though this was partly to make things as easy as possible for him should he find new tenants early, and also because we were away on holiday when the AST was to elapse. Note he refused early acceptance of the keys, so we did in fact return them at the end of the AST.

again, not a breach of contract. you were expecting to be away and wanted to make his life easy. I returned my keys last year a whole two months early.

 

 

Is that enshrined in law somewhere?

well, paying his costs in finding a new tennat wasn't in the your contract was it?

 

The landlord is in business to rent property. like any other business, there are expenses the business pays. In the case of a landlord, mortgage, insurance, gas safety checks, maintenance, agency fees, costs of finding customers, tax, etc. The rent should be at a level to cover these expenses and give his busniess some profit.

 

say you went to buy soething from a shop. the price you see is the price you pay, that is the price the business has set to cover their costs. you wouldn't then expect to have to pay for the time of the staff member who served you in addition to the item cost.

 

 

If he digs his heels in and we have to go the small claims route to get our £250 back, might he counterclaim (albeit, we hope wrongly) for his expenses, thus putting us at risk of a large bill?

He can try to counter sue you but a) he would have to prove you breached contract and that he suffered damages (he would have needed new tennants about that time anyway...) or b) the ccontract provided for you to pay expenses of finding replacements at the end of the contract.

 

 

Either way, it looks like the landlord is being stubborn and managing to shoot himself in the foot...

 

H

Thanks again Steve, and hi Heliosfa!

hello! /me waves

 

...as according to him we had broken our contract. Needless to say, his reletting costs dwarf the £250 to some degree, so he is now telling us that we owe him money, rather than the other way round.

in what way does he claim you breached contract?

 

This is the first he's mentioned that we're liable for any reletting fees, which I'm sure would not have come to light had we not discovered the new AST.

it does sound a little bit "blackmaily"

 

Surely we didn't break the agreement, as we paid the monthly rent in full and in advance, for the entire six-month AST? LL is the one who moved new tenants in during our tenancy, so if anyone broke the contract, surely it's him?

agreed on both points

 

And reletting costs are an inevitable expense at the end of a tenancy, whether or not the property is advertised during an active tenancy. If the LL moves new people in without planning to let us know, why on earth should we be liable for these costs?

Yup, they are a cost of being a landlord. I know that when my tennants leave, I will have to absorbe the cost of finding new ones. This is what the rent covers - costs of the business and gives rise to some profit.

 

If you had refused to pay rent for the period, then yes he could go for the fees.

 

I believe, now that the deposit itself has been refunded in full, we cannot now claim for 3x it.

I'm not sure, so I will defer to someone with more knowledge of the penalty provisions. My readding of the HA indicates that it "should" be claimable but a) i wasn't looking into it in huge detail and b) i havent kept up with case law re. deposits.

 

As mentioned above, unfortunately we would now be out of pocket, as the LL has asked us for these reletting expenses.

which he can go whistle for as you are not liable...

 

All we want to do now is get our £195 back and convince the LL that we are not liable for his other costs.

true, i suppose I am in the process of a claim for £35, so if I disaproved based on the amount it wouldd be the pot calling the kettle black

 

Thanks,

H

is there any legislation covering the when due issue?

Possibly but I am not aware of what it is.

 

but think about it this way - the court have ordered that you pay. If they don't set a timescale, then it is due at the date of the order and if you refuse to pay the Claimant can enforce the judgement.

 

E.g. if i get a judgement in a claim tomorrow which does not set payment dates, I could enforce with a warrant straight away.

 

H

Then it sounds like a forthwith - e.g. payment is due the date you get the order and is due in full.

 

If paid within 28 days, it is not registered on your file. If you don't pay it, the Claimant can try to enforce it by several means.

 

If you can't afford to pay at one time, you can apply to have the judgement varied to a monthly payment one.

 

Thanks,

H

Hi Ramkhan and welcome to CAG.

 

as acerbic has already said, you have nothing to worry about.

 

Civil debts can't wind you up in prison because they are "civil" and not "criminal" - the UK stopped jailing debtors a very very very very long time ago. Imigration will not worry themselves with a civil matter and it wont stop you getting a visa.

 

Thanks,

H

Thank you again. I tried to speak to sol this morngin when i hand delivered the letter. She was not in the office today. I tried to intiailly explain that i though it was an admin error, and if could speak to someone in regards to this. They declined, I suguested that if not an administration error then there could be foul play. IT was then sugguested that I should legal represtation, even though the lady I was stated that she had never seen the actual case file.

I have then been to the local police station where the accident took place. they stated no recorded accidents took place that day.

I have spoken to a local sol's who sugguest to represent my self as she feels is an admin error. she would take the case but at the cost of 190 p/h.

I havent returned any defence or acknowledgement's as of yet as am awaiting responce from another local sol's re legal aid ( i was made redundant in december). To be honest I also very wary about representing myself, i know i shoundnt, i have witness and from the outside looks to be an open and closed case.

 

Ideally the letter to the Sol should have been delivered by recorded delivery as you then have some evidence it was sent. Do try to avoid speaking to them as they are likely to try and spook you - which they seem to have done.

 

How much are they claiming?

 

I understand your aprehension about doing this yourself Mr. Help, however the point of "small Claims" is that you can bring and defend a claim easily as a litigant in person. The limit for small claims is £5000 and there is a "no costs" rule in that you can't reclaim your legal costs if you win.

 

The reason I sugested acknowledging your claim ASAP is that if they withdraw after you acknowledge, it is even harder for them to re-issue again at a later date. You are also entitled to some costs to cover the time you have spent on this but it wouldn't cover a solicitor's time mot likely.

 

From what you have said, this looks like a very straightforward case and it may even be possible to win without needing to appear in court by using a request for summary judgement at the right time. Remeber, there are alot of people on CAG who can help you, some of them are even legal professionals.

 

The other thing that people from here do is have "court buddies" so that you have someone you "know" with you. they can't speak for you but they can give you moral support. Where in the Country are you?

 

RE.Legal aid, i am afraid that it is unlikely to be available for a civil "debt" given the way they have changed it recently. If you really want representation, you may find that your home insurance has legal cover included and, as this is a very open and shut case, they might take it on.

 

Thanks,

H

Heliosfa,

 

I can't upload docs until I have 20 posts! (I'm working on it *looks left, looks right, hope's there are no Mod's about while I spam a little!)

 

Kind regards,

 

G

 

Hi Gfours,

 

I have had a quick look and noted that you have left some personal details in them such as claim no, exact amounts and agreement number. If you blank these details and re-upload them then we can get them on this thread for you (either you having enough posts or another way!)

 

FIrst thoughts on it - if it is genuine then it was heard in your absense, however it doesn't appear to be a default judgment implying that the claim was acknowledged/a defence filed... I would advice that you contact the court and ask them to confirm the situation and provide copies of the claim form, judgment and other docs.

 

Thanks,

H

 

ps. loving that that letter came from a Mr. P Dredge! LOL

dx waves to the guests:whoo:

Lol, there's four of them

 

/me waves too

 

H

The OP may be too late for break point Notice. I would suggest they contact the LL and try to negotiate early release if out of time.

Open to counter-opinions!

 

According to the terms the OP has posted he can leave after 7 months by giving 1 month notice. I agree that this is odd but it seems to be what is in his AST.

 

Thanks,

H

Hi all,

 

I hope you can put my mind at ease with the following.

 

Got the Bailiff letter through the door.

Rang him straight away.

He came back yesterday.

I told him I wouldn't let him in but would do paperwork in his car.

He got me to sign a walking possession agreement as he said we needed to do this to set up a payment plan.I was so stressed I did it and he took the reg of my truck down on the inventory.

I paid him 110 we owed off of our council tax bill.He gave me a receipt and said I'd hear from Rossendales in due course. Thing is I've just read the paperwork and he's put my truck on the inventory under a notice of distress. Also when you read the notice of distress and the walking possesion which is on the same piece of paper underneath, it says I have either 5 or 14 days to pay the full ammount of 1100. I have rung him and asked why I have been given this time frame to pay when we quite clearly were setting up a payment arrangement of 3 months . He said it was only the terminology and wouldn't apply as we were setting up a payment arrangement. I was so stressed I can't find the paperwork to confirm the arrangement only the notice of distress and walking possession ! I'm not sure if he even gave it to me. I'm worried he may be trying it on. If he turns up to remove my vehicle which is on HP I'll struggle to keep my hands off him. I will be ringing Rossendales in the morning but I'm getting more and more angry .

 

 

Please help if you can .

 

Many Thanks

 

 

Dave B

so the Vehicle is on Hire Purchase? that means he isn't allowed to levy on it or remove it as it is not "owned" by you.

 

 

And the first rule, don't call these people - keep everything in writing. Remeber, they have no right to force entry to your home and as your vehicle is on finance, they can't take that either.

 

Gernerally I have seen advice on here to deal only with the council. How much did you owe for the council tax? and do you know how much the council got a liability order for?

 

Thanks,

H

What error do you get when you turn on the computer?

 

What he is saying about "it being the hard drive" and then needing the disk being a software issue is just plain wrong - if the hard drive has gone faulty Software WILL NOT fix it. The disk they are trying to sell you is just an Operating System install CD.

 

Do you have any IT literate friends who could have a quick look?

not a problem

Thanks for popping in Caro and making the changes to the letter

 

MrHelp, i'd say you can go ahead and post that letter to the solicitors tommorow by 1st Class recorded.

 

You should also complete the Acknowledgement of Service that you received with the claim indicating that you intend to defend the whole amount and return it to the Court tomorrow (in person if you can or by 1st Class Recorded / Special Delivery otherwise).

 

Can I also suggest that you ask the court what they think the deadline for your defence is, either in person when you go in or by phoning them, and post the date here?

 

Keep the receipts for both and wait for a reply from the Solicitors. Obviously post up any reply you get to this thread and we can take it from there

 

Thanks,

H

Hi,

 

I received a letter from TBI Financial Services in 2007 on a creditcard debt I had left behind in the UK in 2004. The last time I used the card, I believe, was mid-2004 and have not paid anything on the balance since early 2004.

I now live in a different country and have not heard anything from any DCA's since. However, I did receive a letter from TBI Financial Services 5 April 2007 stating that:

 

by an Agreement dated the 9th December 2005 HFC Bank Ltd. sold and assigned all of its rights, title and interest in, to and under, inter alia, your above agreement and any related security to TBI Financial Services.

 

They said something about taking further action if they did not hear from me in 21 days. I ignored the letter.

 

I am wondering if the Statute of Limitations clock started from the time I made my last payment on the card, or at the time the debt was sold to TBI?

 

My concern is the debt is not yet statue barred and therefore on my credit file. I am awaiting Experian to send me my credit report by mail, which will take some time to reach me. At this point, I'm not sure what is on my credit report.

 

If it is there, will TBI be notified of my new address through Experian?

 

Thanks for your help in advance.

Hi MacGirl,

 

The clock starts running from the date you last acknowledged the debt/made payment - nothing the creditor can do can "reset" the clock.

 

I am affraid that I can't answer your question about TBI being informed.

 

Thanks,

H

Hi all,

 

I am about to help my mum reclaim charges on a bunch of old and new credit cards. A few are under Santander so was just wondering if i can SAR them once for all the accounts or will have to SAR them individually? I hope all at once as otherwise things could get expensive!!!

 

Cheers.

 

Hi DDWales,

 

It is one SAR per company, just list all of the account/card numbers when you make the request.

 

Thanks,

H

HI

I have a twelve month tenancy agreement with a break clause the company is Leaders.

My first six months is up at the end of this month and would like to leave asap.

Here is the break clause word for word:

 

1. the landlord shall be entitled to terminate this tenancy by giving notice to the tenant as follows:

1.1. the period of notice to be a minimum of 2 calender months.

1.2. the notice can be served at any time during the tenancy term but the tenancy cannot be terminated until after the first 8 months of the term.

1.3. the notice period will expire on the last day of a period of the tenancy and must be served in writing.

 

2. the tennant shall be entitled to terminate this tenancy by giving notice to the landlord as follows:

2.1. the period of the notice to be a minimum of 1 calender month.

2.2. the notice can be served at any time during the tenancy term but the tenancy cannot be terminated until after the first 7 months of the term.

2.3. the notice period will expire on the last dayof a period of the tenancy and must be served in writing.

 

my question is: when is the earliest i can leave if i give notice now? i pay rent one month in advance ,can i leave at the end of feb or is it the end of march ?

Any help appreciated

Thanks

Mark

 

Hi Mark and welcome to CAG,

 

My interpritation of what is there is that you must give notice on or before one month before the date you wish to leave. The date you wish to leave must be the end of a rental period.

 

As your six months is up at the end of this month, you could give your notice now for expiry at the end of February so that you move out then. This is obviously assuming that your rental period is from the first of the month.

 

Thnaks,

H

thank you so much for your help in this case. i cant thank you enough

Not a problem, as I say just wait for one of the site team to come have a comment

 

H

Ok, so, I think that the first thing to do is to acknowledge service with your intention to defend.

 

Secondly, I think a letter to the Sols pointing out that they have got the wrong person and inviting them to discontinue, covering your reasonable costs. Something like the following would probably be appropriate:

 

*****Your Address*****

January 25th, 2011

*****Their Address*****

RE: Claim Number: *****Claim No.*****

To Whomever it May Concern,

 

I have recently received the above numbered claim from XXXXXX County Court relating to injuries that a ***insert injured party’s name***** sustained during a car accident on the 2nd of January 2011 which you allege I was responsible for.

 

As I advised your office by telephone on the XXXX of July 2010 I am not the person responsible. I have never met the Claimant and at the time in question I was not driving the vehicle in question or even any other vehicle.

 

Given the above, I have replied to the Court indicating my intention to defend. As it appears that you are chasing the wrong person, I invite you to discontinue the claim and as per Part 38.6 of the Civil Procedure Rules, I expect you to be liable for my costs in this matter.

 

I reserve the right to apply for Summary Judgement against you should you not discontinue the claim.

 

Regards,

 

MrHelp

 

 

Do keep track of the number of hours your spend dealing with this claim, including research time.

 

Let me just ask one of the Site Team to have a quick look over the thread and give an oppinion before you do the above though

 

Thnaks,

H