Hello My car tax expired Nov 09. I forgot to renew it until I realised in February 2010. I then renewed it online but it was only backdated until 1st of Feb, so I was unlicensed for 2 months. In March I received a notification that I'd been caught in Feb driving by one of those dvla roadside cameras and they requested a I pay £110 (or so). It was a particularly stressful time, and I forgot all about it, until this morning when I received a magistrates court summons. I realise it's my own daft fault and should have renewed the tax on time, and should have paid the fine, but it was a stressful time (divorce/child custody issues/money problems) and I'd be having a good day if I could remember my kids names, let alone my car tax. I'm worried about getting a massive fine which I can't afford, can you advise what I should do? please guilty and provide mitigating circumstances? Would a magistrate be lenient? Thanks ohdearme

Hello all, My Renault Espace conked out on the way back from holiday on Sunday. The recovery guys said the alternator belt had snapped, and they thought this probably due to the failure of a tensioner. Yesterday I took it to my local garage who said he would look at it this afternoon and give me a ring. He estimated the cost would be "a hundred and something". He didn't ring me back. I tried to ring at 4.45 (closing time is 5pm) and no one was there. I rang this morning and he said he didn't have an update for me. He eventually rang back this afternoon, at 2pm to say the car was finished, which surprised me as I hadn't given him the go ahead to complete the work. I asked him what the bill was and he said he hadn't done it yet. I rang at 2.40pm as I left work and he told me the bill was £531! This consisted mostly of parts - belt, pulley, tensioner and £60 labour. I don't know if this is reasonable or not, I am finding out, but that's not the point. His argument is that because the car isn't driveable, is worth too much to scrap and he can only use genuine renault parts so he would go ahead anyway. I have only got £190 in my bank account, and would have told him I couldn't go ahead with the repair and i'd have to manage on the bus until I could afford it. He won't back down - he wants payment in full - I can't pay him in full - i've tried negotiating with him but he's quite clear he doesn't want to do it. He shut up his garage locking my car inside. Can you advise what I can do to get my car back? If he puts it on the front of his forecourt tomorrow, what would happen if I took the car with my spare key? Can I ask him to remove the parts and give it me back as it was? I am so angry with this guy! Thanks Ben

Ell-enn, Thank you so much!!

Here's my budget form - need to confirm the exact amount of the arrears, but everything else is right. Budget Sheet.xls

Hi - The mortgage is in joint names with my soon-to-be-ex-wife, however she hasn't paid anything towards the house since she moved out, and the house will be transferred to me (assuming mortgage co will let her come off the mortgage!)

Hi Ell-enn, I paid £2000 in March, that was the last payment. There is no way I can afford the full mortgage payment in May and June. Just working on the budget figures now, I can afford £850 a month until the fixed rate ends and £850 when it has ended. I've had a letter from GE saying that from July my payment will go onto a tracker. They didn't state how much as the bank of england rate may change. According to my original agreement my tracker is 3.69% above base rate, so i've worked out that my % will be 4.19% and my mortgage will be £700 assuming Bank of England rates stay the same. I've got 3 kids, two live with me half the time (other half with their mum) and my youngest with me and my girlfriend if that helps in your letter. Thanks

Hello Ell-enn, Thank you so much for replying No I've not received an eviction notice, nor have I written to or spoken to them. If you could help me with a letter, that would be great. I'm dead scared of them to be honest, everytime I phone them I end up agreeing to something I can't afford, so end up breaking the agreement because of the pressure they put on me. Thanks

Hello, I hope you can help me. My mortage provider is GE Money. Brief history - I fell behind with my mortgage in January 2008 when a self-employed contract was terminated. I then got a new job and went to court, got a suspended reposession order, but got a loan from my girlfriend to pay it off and got all the arrears up to date. I immediately lost my job again, fell behind with repayments and in December 08 went to court and got another suspended reposession order. I broke this order because I simply couldn't afford it, although have paid bits and pieces towards my mortgage but not the full mortgage payment. I now have a new job which looks far more stable. My normal mortgage payment is £1300 and my take home pay is currently £1700. I don't pay any of my other (unsecured) debts. In July my fixed mortage comes to an end and my mortage will drop to around £700 which I can afford. I'd like to pay them £850 a month which is far less than I should but when my payment drops due to interest rates will start paying off my arrears, but I'm scared of calling them. I'm scared of getting evicted. They call me everyday and I ignore the call. Can you give me any advice on what I should do? Will GE money accept reduced payments til my fixed term ends? My arrears around around £8000 and as I had a 100% mortage from Jul 07, i'm in negative equity now. Any help would be appreciated, i'm feeling completely overwhelmed. Many thanks