Just realised what I should be doing, having had another compare and contrast in the forum. (It sinks into my fick brain eventually ) Send a letter to him at the pub and copy it to his accountants at his company's publicly registered address, saying that now I've sent him a copy of my original letter I hope he 'll be able to refund the deposit within the next three weeks otherwise regretfully I will have to charge interest from that date and refer the matter on. Not going to bother phoning any more. Hope that sounds about right.

Sticky problem. I need some advice on my next best course of action. My ex-landlord owes me £606.66 deposit. At the time he said that repayment of the deposit depended on the final bills being paid and seeing copies. When I left the property I was very ill and due to go into hospital (which was the reason I was moving, because my income was going to plummet and I wouldn't have been able to afford the rent so thought it best to find cheaper accommodation) and couldn't climb the ladder to get a final reading. Despite repeated attempts to ask him for a final gas meter reading he wouldn't reply to any of my messages or letters. I could get no joy from the gas company either, and they were unable to help. To cut a long story short I'm trying to get back on my feet now, sort out my finances and get this matter dealt with. I've tried a very polite letter sent by registered post (which didn't get delivered according to the RM tracker) and have faxed him a copy this morning at his request but he says he is now going to be away for 10 days. He had said he would read the letter and then get back to me today but - nope. nothing. What's my best course of action? Wait for the 10 days and then hand deliver another polite letter to him with a timeframe? His registered address appears to be that of his accountants, although he manages a pub fairly locally. I don't have his home address. As far as I can see the matter of the gas bill is neither here nor there, as from what I have gathered here on this site he would not be responsible for the charges anyway, especially if he used a copy of the tenancy agreement to show that the responsibility for bills was the tenant's. I left the flat absolutely spick and span as I found and paid for the services of a good cleaner who scrubbed the place from top to bottom. There is no reason for him to withhold the deposit. I don't want the matter to get nasty, but I'm determined not to be fobbed off yet again. (See what this site does?? It fires up courage in wimps like me! :grin: ) How do I step this up to show him that I still want this to be amicable but that I mean business? (This site gets 5% if he coughs up!)

Thanks again Nightmare It's not a lot of comfort is it, when you know a Landlord is flagrantly breaking the law and there's nothing you can do about it without putting yourself at risk of being evicted. You're right, he's a nosey and pushy git. He's also completely unreliable and his botched repairs make the defects even worse in the house. I could tell you some horror stories! Like water and electricity aren't supposed to mix ... But I won't.;-) Really appreciate your replies. Big thanks.

Thanks for replying, Nightmare. In answer: I have an Assured Shorthold Agreement which is currently for a year, signed September 2005 and terminating September 2006. It was six monthly up until September. He could quite easily turn nasty and evict me. I can see your point about Council officials needing to carry out their job. It was just clear, had I not been in, that both he and the Landlord would have come in without the Landlord having given me adequate notice, and he does that far too often.

I've just called my bank to talk about cancelling the LPI on my loan. They've said I can't cancel it (as you guys have said) and that I'll need to refinance the loan, so they are sending me the current status of the loan first and then I'll go through the process of arranging the loan again. They did seem to be very reluctant, but I was gently persistent and used the argument that I'm trying to reduce my monthly outgoings as much as possible, and that it doesn't make sense for me to paying nearly £15 a month in loan insurance when I could reduce it to under £3 with the same protection. Thank goodness for this site and thank you to all you wonderful people who tell it like it is. I've learned so much and have realised that I take the word of financial institutions rather than shop around - because I always felt they were reputable and reliable. *blush!* AHEM!!! cough! cough! It's OK. I've learned my lesson now and I promise not to do it again

It seems incredibly common doesn't it, that Landlords think they can come in whenever they want to, DESPITE the clause in the Lease saying they have to give notice. Why do they do it? Why?? Is it just nosiness or something else? My Landlord is always doing it - and he thinks that because I've given him permission to come in on a particular day, and if he doesn't turn up on that day that he can then swan in any other day he feels like it. He owns the property but that doesn't give him the right to wander in and out or expect to come in to talk about something just because you happen to be in. I also know he's been in when I've been at work during the day because things are different - the kitchen door is shut when it was open that morning / a curtain pulled back / little things that tip you off that someone has been in. One example is him saying he needed access for the chap from the Council to check the flats the following week (this new law etc). I assumed he had been round. Next thing, weeks later, he's at the door with the chap from the Council (luckily I was in and he hadn't bargained for that). I said no it wasn't convenient because I was actually busy doing something (ever tried working through something and concentrating, and having that concentration broken? it was like that). I pointed out that I had given him right of access weeks ago and that it didn't mean he could come round any time. His excuse was that he can't get in touch with me!! (ermmmmm!!!) so I reminded him that he has my telephone number or he could leave a note in the hall. He just didn't seem to 'get' that he can't come in and out at the drop of a hat and that he has to give me at least 24 hours notice. He went on and on, saying OK but now he was here would I mind .. he'd have to make another appointment with the Council and it was only me left .. and in the end I caved in and let the chap from the Council come in. Trouble is I feel trapped - I live here because the rent is cheap. If he decides he wants to turf me out I'll have nowhere to go, and currently I don't have enough money for another deposit and rent upfront. So I'm not inclined to make too big a fuss - which is appalling because my Tenant's Rights are being abused and I feel very pushed about. I tried to see if I could speak to the Private tenancy Officer at the council after reading everything on this site, but they don't have one apparently and they referred me to the CAB. Sigh. Takes weeks to get an appointment with the local ones unfortunately (we have a lot of problems in our neck of the woods )

Just a few things to ask first. a) is she an experienced wedding photographer - i.e. has lots of bookings and how long has she been in the business? b) did you have a contract agreed with her? with provision for compensation in the event of the job not being fulfilled as per the contract? c) what arrangements did you have in your pre-wedding talks i.e. did you go through what your expectations of the images would be and how she would work on the day? What style of photography did you want - formal? arty? relaxed and laid-back? d) does she have insurance? e) is she a member of a professional organisation such as the Master Photographers' Association? f) how long was she there for (pre-wedding, wedding and reception / wedding and reception / wedding only?) and how much did she charge? g) you say you got a DVD of all the images. Is this for you to choose from to fill the wedding album? (is she also arranging the wedding album, prints etc?) And is this the total number of images she took or have they already been filtered to drop the less than perfectly exposed ones? When you say they were less than perfect were they poor images - poorly exposed / badly composed / blurry, or is it the range of subjects in the images that was disappointing? Sorry to ask so many questions straight off! But knowing what the agreed arrangements were and details of what you got will help to work out what to do, how to deal with it, and how to resolve it in as amicable a way as possible Congratulations on your exciting day! Hopefully we can all come up with some feedback and suggestions.

I'm not a doctor but I have up until quite recently worked for some years in the NHS with a plastic surgery consultant. You may be advised that as the scar is on your shoulder it's not advisable to have it excised - partly because as the previous poster said there's a good chance it will recur as it's a keloid - but also because as it's on your shoulder it's subject to a lot of movement and healing would be compromised. (Depends on the size though, and on its exact location.) Injects of Triamcinolone (the steroid they use for this) has very good results in many, many people with keloid scars, and can flatten it out. You need to make sure that you have these regularly - you're usually asked to go back in four to six weeks each time. If you don't go the effects of the injections you've had already will most likely be lost and you'd have to start the injection course again. Another thing to bear in mind is that most keloids occur in people with black skin, and one of the side effects of the injections is that you can sometimes get a depigmentation effect in the area of the scar. You'd need to decide whether that possibility is worse than keeping the scar in its present state. Unfortunately as another previous poster has pointed out it's often the case that PCTs have to approve the initial appointment before you even get to see the specialist. If it's causing pain, or restricting your movement or you have other clinical symptoms, you're more likely to be granted an appointment than if it is embarrassment. If it's causing psychological problems and no clinical symptoms, then before funding is approved they may ask that you have an assessment to determine how badly it's affecting you. However, in saying that, there does unfortunately appear to be a postcode lottery operating, and where I was working, one person in one PCT catchment area might be refused funding for something like this, and another just over the border in another PCT catchment area would be approved. Very unfair in my view but there you go. The waiting time for a decision from the PCT can take months depending on where in the country you live (that was my experience and flippin frustrating it was too, especially for the patients waiting for a decision) but if your appointment is approved then you'll be seen quite quickly after that. Hope all goes well

Hi all. I'm very concerned about the security on my little flat (as I would guess most tenants are). I have contents insurance and as I live in London on the ground floor my premiums are naturally quite high. When I first moved in I expressed my concern about the back door (leading into the garden and with a single lock of the old ordinary key variety), the lack of a key for the windows in the flat, and the lack of a proper lock to both the main entrance to the building and the door to my flat. The Landlord assured me that there had never been any problems and was very reluctant to give me the key for the windows (I finally got it). However I'm still very unhappy about the locks on the doors. I'm afraid to say that he's a very lax Landlord in many ways, but the rent is cheap and is all I can currently afford. Sigh. I've asked him if I could change the door locks to the approved locks at my expense but he's very unhappy to let me do that, even though I made it clear I would give him keys. Is it his responsibility to ensure that the flat/s are safe? Or would I be entitled to change the locks at my expense? I don't have a vast amount of expensive equipment but it's a very unsafe area of London and there are drugs related shootings, armed robberies, burglaries here just as anywhere else, and neighbours have installed security lights in their gardens because of the gangs operating in the area. Hope someone can advise - this is such a fantastic site and am about to start on the Bank Thing as soon as I'm able Thanks in advance