Hi there, I am new to this, so forgive me if this is a bit disjointed. I was sued by an individual (ex-girlfriend) for alleged debt. I entered a defence and counter claim, but she did not turn up at the hearing, so her claim was struck out. She applied on notice to the court (county) to have it reinstated as she had advised the court by letter that she was unable to attend on the date notified. The judge opened the file and discovered the letter which had not been actioned by court staff. The Judge reinstated her claim and ordered her to quantify accurately her claim/loss and serve details on the court and on me by a particular date. Failing this "the claim will be struck out" The appointed date came and went and nothing was received. I thought that she had come to her senses and was dropping the matter. I was admitted to hospital as an emergency just before the date of the hearing that should have taken place if the documents were served on me. Thought nothing of it as I was convinced that the judge's instructions would have been carried out and the matter struck out. Silly me! I received a notice of judgement in default against me. I contacted the court and was told that she had filed papers with the court. But not on me. Now I am faced with additional costs in application to have the judgment set aside and the warrant of execution cancelled. Anybody ever have the same experience

A very complex matter and dependant on numerous things, i.e who owns the equipment etc and whether the bank is owed money. Consult with your accountant as to the best course of action and follow his advice carefully.

Without seeming to state the obvious, I would consider an informed meeting with your business banker. By informed, I mean having your facts and figures to hand and a proper analysis of for what you actually have been charged. Ask the business banker to quantify the costs to the bank to justify these charges ( I promise you that in nearly 30 years, I have yet to receive a reply favourable to the Bank!). Ask for his suggestions as to how you could work together rather than at loggerheads to ensure an element of profit for both sides. You may be astonished at some of the suggestions and wonder why they were never mentioned to you before! Don't forget that Banks are businesses too and like all business they dont like losing customers, but if you sell a bar of chocolate for £1.00 and the customers keep coming in, there is no incentive to lower your prices. During the meeting emphasis if appropriate the length of time that you have been doing business together etc. However a word of warning, if you have borrowings do NOT threaten to close the account unless you have an alternative already in place. Follow the golden rule and don't say anything that you do not mean. Best of luck!!

Interesting piece. I placed an order for groceries to be delivered on a Sunday and paid the price requested to reserve my time slot. Nothing arrived! I allowed leeway of 30mins then contacted them to find out where my order was. I was told that all the delivery vans were back at the store and my order had been dispatched. Tescos investigated and called me back to say that the driver had gone home sick without informing anyone leaving his van full of rotting food!!! The following morning, my order was repicked and delivered by 9.30am with the cost of the order and delivery charges refunded in full. The motto is keep cool but firm, they are a huge firm that spend a fortune on advertising and that is the biggest threat of all that the consumer can make is to go public with their failings