Morning all, I have recently been diagnosed with 2 serious mental illnesses and am starting the long road to recovery... The two illnesses, Bipolar disorder and Schizoaffective disorder, are now being treated, but I am concerned about divulging this information to an new potential employer... I have a job offer, but no start date as yet.. I understand that I must, by law declare this to the DVLA or face £2000 in fines for not doing so, but is there a legal obligation to declare these disorders to my new employer and, if I did, what should I expect from them? Has anyone had experience of doing this? Many thanks xxx

Hi All, I've recently been signed off by my Doctor with Severe Depression and Anxiety and also waiting for a Psychiatric Assessment for possible Bipolar Disorder. I have been signing on (contribution based JSA). I have now moved over to Contribution based Employment Support Allowance and waiting for the claim to become active. One of my friends told me recently, because I'm having real problems with going out and memory problems, I dare not cook a meal without my partner in attendance in case I set the place on fire, I could be able to claim Disabled Living Allowance on a temporary basis. Is this right and if so, how do I go forward with the claim? Has anyone else heard of cases of mental illness making you eligible for DLA? Many thanks for your help, Phil

Hi All, Following my previous post, I applied for JSA and was awarded it, having quit my job due to misconduct (avoiding being dismissed). 10 weeks after being Awarded the full contribution based JSA I've now been hit with a 6 week Sanction for "leaving without good cause". In the time since I resigned, I've been under going treatment for Severe Depression and Anxiety. I've also been diagnosed with BiPolar Disorder which my doctor and Psychiatrist believe led to the problems which resulted in me losing my job. The question is, can I request that they reconsider the decision given the new information? or do I just give up and have no money for the rest of the 6 week period? Can I also request a hardship payment? Many thanks for your help x

Hi Guys, Unfortunately, I misunderstood the section of the staff handbook which permits the use of the company credit card in emergency situation. Rather than being advised that it had been misunderstood, they swung straight into disciplinary action, which was headed straight for a dismissal. I spoke to the Crisis Loan people, who were very helpful. They arranged funds for us to survive and advised me that I am eligible for JSA, CTB and HB. The guy seemed to think that I should get JSA even though I resigned and should be able to backdate.

Hi All, I recently lost my job, due to financial problems, (I borrowed some money from my employer via company credit card, which was paid back but company basically gave me the option of quitting or being sacked.) I was advised by someone (a friend) who works for JCP that because I left my job and the circumstances I wouldn't get any benefits. My partner and I have tried to make his salary (£800) last as long as possible but with rent, gas and electric, phones and a small amount of food, we've run out... Could you please advise whether JCP will give me a crisis loan and would I get Benefits if I applied? Many thanks for your help

Well, Barclays responded to my complaint, with a very snotty letter saying that their previous response was the Final response and that they would not enter into any further discussions, so, I'm forced to go the FOS route. (Still £700 down thanks to the dodgy people at barclays). Any advice on the FOS complaint would be appreciated. Thanks

Thats how I now understand it! Thanks Imp, I will get this sent by Fax, email and post now and call them tomorrow to confirm receipt.

And just to be crystal clear, prior to unleashing havoc with FOS, FSA, OFT et al "you have had dealings with..." (even though I owe them money) is not a valid excuse for them to withhold a refund/act as they have? thanks again...

So how the heck are we supposed to stop a monster like barclays? looking at some of the links to fos and fsa, the impression I've been getting is don't bother?

This should grab Barclays attention! Evidence on authentication andexecution of payment transactions 60.—(1) Where a payment service user— (a)denies having authorised an executed payment transaction; or . (b)claims that a payment transaction has not been correctly executed, . it is for the payment service provider to prove that the paymenttransaction was authenticated, accurately recorded, entered in the paymentservice provider’s accounts and not affected by a technical breakdown or someother deficiency. (2) In paragraph (1)“authenticated” means the use of any procedure by which a payment service provideris able to verify the use of a specific payment instrument, including itspersonalised security features. (3) Where a payment service userdenies having authorised an executed payment transaction, the use of a paymentinstrument recorded by the payment service provider is not in itselfnecessarily sufficient to prove either that— (a)the payment transaction wasauthorised by the payer; or . (b) the payer acted fraudulently or failed with intent or grossnegligence to comply with regulation 57. Furthermore: Payment service provider’sliability for unauthorised payment transactions 61. Subject to regulations 59 and 60, where anexecuted payment transaction was not authorised in accordance with regulation55, the payment service provider must immediately— (a)refund the amount of the unauthorisedpayment transaction to the payer; and . (b)where applicable, restorethe debited payment account to the state it would have been in had theunauthorised payment transaction not taken place.

from http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/oct/30/payment-services-regulations-bank-customers ... "If a debit is made from a customer's credit or debit card, or by a direct debit, and it is more than they could reasonably have expected, the entire amount must be refunded by the bank within 10 days unless it can provide evidence not to." Interesting...

Here's the final draft as far as I can see it... any further suggestions appreciated ------ Formal Complaint regardingS/C **-**-** A/C ******** Dear Sir or Madame, I regret that, further to myprevious email and telephone correspondence regarding issues on the aboveaccount, I am now escalating my concerns as a formal complaint; the followingis a brief précis of events as they have occurred up to now: 05/08/2012 2 unauthorisedcharges made to my Debit Card totalling £664.72 made by Capital Finance One.Contact made with Barclays customer service department who said that it couldnot be dealt with until Monday and to try and contact the company direct. 06/08/2012 Attemptedcontact with Capital Finance One using all known methods, no success. Contactmade with Barclays Debit Card Services, Requested that the payments bewithdrawn. Card Services informed me that this could not be actioned due toprior dealings with the company concerned. 07/08/2012 Received aletter confirming that the payments had been “Guarantee” and that, therefore Iwould be charged £16 as I had exceeded my overdraft. 08/08/2012 CalledBarclays Card Services reiterating that I had not authorised the company to takethe payments and was told this time, that because it was a financial companythere was nothing Barclays could do. Lettersent to Barclays Customer Care team, by mail, email, Fax and internal mail fromBishopsgate branch. No response received. This letter also instructed that theContinuous Payment Authority, which had been set up without my permission beremoved immediately and that confirmation should be sent. 13/08/2012 Called CardServices requesting a chargeback. Card Services responded that they could notinterfere due to their obligations under the consumer credit act. Contactestablished by telephone with Customer Care Team. Transactions refunded and achargeback commenced. Informed that I would need to fill in forms regarding theunauthorised nature of the transactions 25/08/2012 Paper work andForms finally received from Card Services Fraud Team. These were completed andreturned the same day by mail, email, Fax and internal mail from Bishopsgatebranch. 22/09/2012 Letterreceived from Card services stating that, as I had prior dealings with CapitalFinance One, I was being held fully responsible for the payments and that the refundswere being withdrawn immediately. 25/09/2012 £664 withdrawnfrom my account; I hereby request that you clarifythe following points: 1. Your Card Services team stated, in numerousdifferent ways, that they could not interfere under consumer credit law. Pleaseconfirm what legislation or regulation you rely on, to make such a decision andignore my clear and explicit instructions. 2. YourCard Services team stated, in numerous different ways, that they could notinterfere as I had had previous dealings with Capital Finance One. Pleaseconfirm what legislation or regulation you rely on, to make such a decision andignore my clear and explicit instructions. 3. Followingextensive research, I can find no legal definition of a “Guaranteed Debit CardPayment”. Kindly clarify what this is and what legal basis these carry. 4. Theimposition of an Overdraft limit is a safeguard to protect both you, as thebank, and myself as customer. Why is it that Barclays decided to permit such alarge breach of my overdraft limit, when, normally, a transaction which wouldplace me more than £2 over would result in an immediate decline of the card? Apart from the service receivedfrom your Customer Care Team, I have been extremely disappointed by the levelof service received from you and the massive stress that this has placed upon meand my relationship with my Partner. It is also my belief thatBarclays, by pursuing this course of action may have breached the Banking Codeof Business regulations 2009, concerning unfair treatment of customers. I am awarethat the Financial Ombudsman Service would take a very dim view of the aboveand I have made an urgent complaint to them. Barclayscontinued actions in this matter have, once again, left me in severe financialhardship and I therefore expect the following to be actioned immediately: 1. Immediately refund the amounts taken today. 2. You investigate the lack of knowledge andcustomer care within your Debit Card Services Team and ensure that this is notrepeated for either myself or any other unfortunate customer. Yours Faithfully

Hi Slick, The way I understand it, this is unfair treatment by the bank. I found an area I believe to be appropriate and posted it earlier on here. Can you give it a quick look and tell me what you think? Thanks

Thanks slick! Another thought, does this action constitute a breach of contract by Barclays?

Please note that the actual document is spaced properly! not sure why it's done that on here...