Great stuff!! I'll be going down the same road shortly with another operator - when they eventually respond to my request for a POPLA code!

Some good advice from Silverfox. But do not get involved in any more 'table tennis' with messages going to and fro. Parcel2Go will try and use every trick in the book to avoid paying out. Your ultimatum is the 'letter before action'. Although it is highly unlikely Parcel2Go will let this go as far as court action because the costs would far outweigh the benefits for them - it is best to be fully prepared should they do dig their heels in. Remember they have a duty of care which they have clearly failed in. You paid to have your package taken from your address to the delivery address in France. They have failed to complete the contract you entered into with them so despite their insurance and promises and prevaricating you are entitled to a full refund. Do not let them fob you off - which is what they will continue to do most probably by telling you the insurance you paid for is void for some reason buried in the small print. They will try and shift any onus of blame either apon you or the French courier. Keep your arguments simple - you paid for a service which they failed to provide so you want a full refund of monies paid.

Send a Letter Before Action outlining your claim and allow them 14 days to respond. If they fail to respond then take the small claims action. Use Recorded Delivery and start the countdown from day of posting. Companies like Parcel2Go rely on their customers giving up and accepting any loss despite their crappy insurance and promises to investigate. In fact their insurance has so many 'get out' clauses it is almost worthless. I use them quite often for parcels from the Irish Republic and never take out their insurance. When I have had problems - split boxes - I have always had the 'run around' but also have always received compensation when I stuck to my guns. But you must be prepared to carry out any action you threaten as they will back away at the last moment - court is the last thing they want when refunding you is cheaper than the legal costs they will incur.

Personally I would be most cautious with the credit card companies. If they get any whiff of financial problems they have a habit of immediately doubling or trebling your interest rates with a view of defaulting the accounts with the maximum they can get owing. This happened to me a few years back - they were most unsympathetic and their actions drove me deeper in the 'doo doo' when, with a little leeway, I could have dragged myself into maintaining and clearing the accounts I had. My problems were due to emergency surgery and convalescence where I needed a three month break of payments.

Many thanks blondebubbles - exactly what I was looking for!

I'm rapidly approaching retirement age and due to working overseas for a number of years find I'm two years short of contributions in order to claim the full state pension when I do retire. Can I pay the missing two years? If yes to whom? And how? And roughly how much would this cost? I have tried 'Googling' to find out this information and seem to go around in circles!! Any pointers/advice are most welcome.

Thanks also Dragonfly - your post must have crossed with my reply to Ericsbrother. I think my wife simply crossed out the reference to the Beavis appeal before sealing the envelope and getting her proof of postage. She is at work at the moment but I will see if she wishes to take this further with Morrisons - in fact I will push her to do so since she spends over £400 a month in their store. A pity she did not keep the receipts - after checking them for correctness she bungs them away and the bin men have taken this weeks recycling paper!

Thanks Ericsbrother. My wife has been to the Post Office and mailed her letter in reply. We'll wait and see what comes back now!

Again thanks DX. The letter is headed - 'Parking Charge Notice (PCN) Under that is the vehicle registration number, date of issue, PCN number, letter date, make of vehicle. On the left is my wife's name and address - both correct. Then comes the spiel about £90 being due etc. and that she was the registered keeper on the 20/4/15. So if this is not the NTK does my wife just sit tight until she gets a missive that is addressed to the NTK?

Thanks again DX. The PCN states -'On 20/4/15 you were the registered keeper of the vehicle' etc. and it is addressed correctly to my wife so is the notice to keeper. They must be well within any timescale as the 'offence' happened on the 20th and this notification arrived on the 25th. This is an ANPR capture. No ticket was put on the car. The first my wife knew anything was when the NTK arrived in the post on Saturday.

Thanks for the input DX - much appreciated. So it does not matter one iota what she says so long as the POPLA code is supplied? As the letter is ready for posting - just needs to be sent recorded - then there is no need to faff around and amend/change anything just mail it?

On Saturday 25/4/15 my wife received a PCN for overstaying at the Morrisons car park in High Wycombe asking for a payment of £90 reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days. The 'offence' took place on 20/4/15 They have cameras that record entry and exit times and 'helpfully' provided pictures of her number plate. I did not have time to do anything on her behalf so pointed her in the direction of CAG where she did a fair bit of reading and research as she felt the penalty they are imposing is totally disproportionate particularly as she was in Morrisons spending a lot of money on groceries and then having lunch in their restaurant with friends - probably the reason for the overstay! (Women can gossip for any awfully long time it seems). she wants to respond with the following: "Dear Sir or Madam re: PCN number XXXXXX/XXXXXX I have received your parking invoice impersonating a 'parking ticket'. It is clear that your operation is some sort of 'parking space maximisation scheme' and your aim is clearly to maximise profits. I decline your invitation to pay or name the driver, neither of which are required of me as the keeper of the vehicle. This is my appeal and all liability to your company is denied on the following basis: A The amount is neither a genuine tariff/fee for parking, nor is it based upon any genuine pre-estimate of loss. B You are not the landowner and do not have locus standi. C Your signage was not sufficiently prominent nor clearly worded and consideration did not flow from both parties, so there was no contract. If you choose not to cancel this invoice you must issue a rejection letter in reply to my appeal, explaining: 1 The legal basis of your charge (i.e. breach, trespass or contractual fee). As keeper, I cannot be expected to guess the basis of your allegation. If you try to rely upon ParkingEye v Beavis at POPLA, I will point out that it was a flawed decision, it is not binding, and it is set for the Court of Appeal. There is clearly no commercial justification for this punitive charge and no case law to support it. 2 Proof of your locus standi to offer contracts to drivers at this site. 3 Your explanation of the consideration that you believe flowed from the driver, and from yourselves. 4 A copy of the signage site map and close-up pictures of the signs in situ at the time, taken at a comparable time of day in similar light conditions. 5 The means to make an appeal to POPLA or the IAS. Please note that I intend to claim my costs when I prevail. " She found this in a CAG posting and thinks this is her best response to the PCN. As I know very little about such matters could someone more experienced than me offer my wife advice as to whether sending this missive is the best course of action as the first salvo against these leeches? Many thanks to any responses whether positive or negative - or whether the best course of action is simply to cough up despite her great distaste is so doing. I have just read that the Beavis v Parking Eye case has been heard by the Court of Appeal. Does this now mean there is a precedent for these parking companies to charge what they like with impunity? Does my wife now have to delete the reference to this case or can it be stated it is going to the Supreme Court? Or just leave the statement as it is?

As it is the sellers responsibility to get a purchase to the buyer in the time frame and other parameters outlined in the sale details it is not really in the buyers remit to specify carrier unless it is obvious you are paying for a particular service - for example Special Delivery. If the item does not arrive, arrives in an unsatisfactory condition etc. it is the sellers responsibility to rectify matters with a refund or replacement. So when an item does not arrive or arrives smashed - chargeback. Vent you feelings on the social media sites and any forums you subscribe to. If enough do this then companies like Amazon might pay a bit more attention to the companies they use to move their goods. Or better still do not buy from them - and tell them why!

Why not contact the shop/company you had the goods on hire from and offer to repay them? If you do not have enough to pay all at once offer installments of as much as you can afford. At the same time you should apologise profusely for the problems you have caused. If you can get a repayment plan of some sort agreed I doubt if the police would be interested in prosecuting you - and if you were taken to court a judge would look very favourably on your attempts to right the wrong you have done.

I have found writing to my MP is a total waste of time, effort and money. Only once did I get anything satisfactory in way from help from my MP and that was only because it got him a lot of free publicity. When Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait I was one of the unfortunate westerners rounded up and used as a hostage against the threat of Allied attack. Apon my release I arrived destitute in the UK with a wife and two young children to support. The then government supposedly arranged for people like myself to get loans from the DHSS to get basic furniture, kitchen appliances and the like (I was placed in emergency council housing on a 'sink' estate with 'problem' families - which I was actually very grateful for). Anyway the local DHSS adamantly refused to grant any kind of loan or give any kind of help so I could get to work in Wandsworth. I had quickly found a job but couldn't get to it from the wilds of rural Bucks as I had no transport. Anyway my local MP at the time came to my rescue with the local 'rag' in tow and I then very quickly got the DHSS loans and the publicity meant I had kind hearted people who I had never ever met before donating furniture. kids toys and even a little motor cycle which meant I could commute to work. That was the one and only time I have found my local MP any kind of asset. All other contact has resulted in letters coming back from a researcher that had no bearing on my original query or problem. However you can get a couple of quid on eBay for the House of Commons prepaid envelope the reply comes in - and if your MP is famous in any way and has signed the message you could probably flog that as well!

Personally I think it is more of a class thing. How many judges are there that hail from a working class background or have any inkling of what life is like at the bottom of the pile. Most are from Middle/Upper Class comfortable backgrounds with all the disdain shown by many of these people for those less well off than themselves. My case took place before all the furore over the rip off and often blatantly illegal tactics of the banks in their financial affairs which almost brought down the major western economies. My DJ literally believed the banks could do no wrong and their Witness Statement was gold plated unassailable fact that could not be challenged. Makes me wonder if she would have the same attitude today.

I'm sorry to hear you got clobbered too. It just reinforces my opinion 'justice' (if you can even call it that) is simply for the rich. A novice like myself had to come up against a barrister and a judge who was prejudiced before the case even started. I had the feeling (probably correct) that the esteemed DJ placed more value on a dog turd than she did with myself. Whether I was just unlucky or not I do not know but, in my opinion, our system is rotten if it is such a lottery to get a sympathetic - no neutral - hearing based on the evidence presented not on someones biases and prejudices.

Unfortunately it was - they sent a barrister up from London to my local County Court and the female District Judge simply drooled over him during the hearing in which I was trampled on left, right and centre. First she told me she was sticking come what may to the time allocated for the hearing, then she had not read my Witness Statement that I had submitted to the Court over a week ago (I had a spare which she skimmed commenting my case was based purely on technicalities), was told I could not challenge MBNA's version of events - a statement by Miss Tipping. I could not introduce any case law not in my Witness Statement to refute what MBNA's Barrister was declaring. They also misquoted some case law which I was refused to challenge despite having a copy available to point out their error. My hearing was a travesty to put it mildly - there was nothing really I could do - the following day I was having major surgery (a laparotomy) - had absolutely no funds to appeal and couldn't do so even now. In all I spent the next six weeks in hospital - half in intensive care. So when I got out I was in no fit state to chase anything. At least the barrister was sympathetic and commented he wished he had a DJ like that one every time! Anyway that's all in the past and so long as Reston's/MBNA can't turn the screw any more I shall be happy to two-finger them all the way.

Thanks again DX. All I get are I & E forms sent with a covering letter stating that the original debt owner (MBNA) wish to assess my ability to pay (or something very similar) and an offer to settle at a discounted rate which is not specified. There has not been a demand as such to increase my payments - but you can bet your bottom dollar if I did show I had any kind of disposable income they would be back at court to try and increase my payments quicker than Ussain Bolt does the 100 metres. I refuse to have anything to do with them over the phone so their only means of communicating is by letter and I'm now even going to ignore them and just keep paying the £10. If they do go to Court is it a 'Determination hearing' and do the costs get whacked onto what I already owe or can I challenge them over costs of such an action by declaring as my income is so low they were lucky to still be getting the £10? All payments have been made through my wife's bank account as I have no bank account of any kind.

Thanks for the two replies. The original debt is in my name only. The house is jointly owned so is probably a restriction. I actually have no problem paying the £10 until I peg out but I am getting fed up with the continual letters asking for I & E forms to be filled in and the usual string of phone calls which I refuse to engage with - simply putting the phone down as soon as I know who is calling or ask me to go through 'security' questions.

Thanks DX - I appreciate you taking the time to address my concerns. I'm just going to ignore Reston's and see what they do. I'm half hoping they will go back to Court as it will backfire on them as my income is is tiny compared to what it was when they actually got the charging order so the amount paid each month would drop. I'm not sure if my wife would agree though! Just the thought of court again gives her the heebie jeebies!

There is actually very little I could reclaim - I think 3 payments of £12 (plus interest) unless I can reclaim the huge hike in interest rates imposed from when I told them I could not maintain the payments any more due to my hospitalisation to the date of default being registered.

Thanks for the reply. The case in question is on a very long (and fairly old) thread on here under another user name. The infamous solicitors knew I was the author of the other thread hence the new user name which I prefer them not to know about. The original case went the whole way and I, unfortunately, got a District Judge who thought the banks (and the equally famous Miss Tipping) could do no wrong and that if I borrowed the money then I had to repay it despite various 'technicalities'. I was suffering severe ill health at the time - in and out of hospital and having no funds could not appeal. In the end the Charging Order was obtained and the court ordered £10 per month which I have religiously maintained. At the present time I am being offered undefined settlement terms which I will only discover if I call the solicitors. So far I have not done this as it is all 'pie in the sky' as I have no reserve funds available.

I have had a charging order on a joint owned property in which I live for several years now i have been paying the court ordered amount of £10 per month without fail. The solicitors (the infamous Restons) keep sending me every six months or so income and expenditure forms to fill in. In the past I have simply sent them a copy of my P60. Am I correct in thinking I am under no obligation to provide them with anything and that only a court can order an increase or decrease in what I am paying them? Or am I being delusional and should provide them with the information they seek? There is the likelihood if it does do back to a court then the monthly amount would be cut as my income is only a very small pension and I only meet my financial obligations with the assistance of my wife. Should this be referred to a court who pays the fees in such a case - if me then it is probably in my best interest to give this information however annoying it might be? All advice and comments welcomed.

Subbing. Sorry I can't help but am in a similar position so await the 'experts' and their comments and observations.