Just an update. I contacted the solicitor and the interest on the damages is 0.5%. Going to leave it at that. Thanks again

Thanks for replying, but i am still confused. The case was Legal Aid funded and the Landlord agreed through a Tomlin Order to pay damages at a certain date, which he did. The solicitor would not let us have the money until the landlord paid costs. When the Landlord paid the money under the Tomlin Order, should the solicitor have given that to the Legal Aid agency and then the Legal Aid agency send the money? Obviously i am very happy to receive the damages, but wanted to maker sure that the amount of interest was right. Thanks

Before i contact my solicitor, could somebody please tell me if this sounds about right. We went through a housing disrepair claim and to cut a long story short, we received £5000 in damages. This was paid to our solicitor around May 2014, but we were not allowed the money until the landlord payed costs to our solicitor. We have just heard from our solicitor and we were always told we would get interest on the money. We have received a cheque for 5048, is £48 interest about right? It would be 2 years next month that the solicitor as held the money. Thank you

No definitely not, the bed would stick out way too much and the door wouldn't open. When we did have a bed in there it had to go below the window and the bed up to the radiator.

Hope this is ok. It was measured skirting board to skirting board. Thanks for your help. bedrom size.pdf

I will try and do a more detailed plan. My son no longer uses the room it's just used for storage now. The ceiling slope is below the box, the box is covering the sloped ceiling in the hallway.

The door opens to the left, and yes there is a window. The space on the left from the wall to the door is 84cm. Thanks

I have tried to create a PDF of the room size, i hope you can see it. The box is in the bedroom due to the sloping ceiling in the hallway. Thanks bedrom size.pdf bedrom size.pdf

He was 9 when we moved in. My daughter moved out last year and he moved into her room when he was 11.

It does make sense what you say, i will give it some serious thought. Thanks for all the replies.

Thank you, So if i rented it originally as a 3 bed and did used to use it as a bedroom, there would be not much point me appealing. Yes it is a Social Housing property. i am self employed and get help towards the rent. I will look into the downsizing grant, thanks for mentioning that.

We have lived here 3 years, we rented it as a 3 bed house. We moved in with me and my partner our son and daughter. Our daughter had the bigger bedroom and our son the box room. When our daughter moved out last year, we let our son have the bigger room. We told the Council our daughter had moved out and we received the letter about our benefit been reduced by 14% for the room. We responded to them, and this as been going on since then. The room is just used for storage at the moment.

Thanks for the replies. I will read the links posted. It is a Council house. The room concerned is a box room, the box is there as the room is above the stairs in the hallway. When it was used as a bedroom we used to tell the Council we thought it was too small, but they was not interested. When there was a bed in there there was no room for anything else. The room was used by our youngest child, then when our older child moved out, we let him have the other bigger room. This as been going on since August last year when we told the Council our older child had moved out. The room does have heating, ventilation, lighting and heating, its just very small. Could somebody please tell me if i did appeal and go to the Tribunal, who will attend? Would it be someone from where Housing Benefit is paid or my local housing office. It is a Council house, but what does a NHO housing mean. Thanks all

Could someone please tell me if i should still take my appeal to the Courts & Tribunal Service. I have finally received a response from the Council and they state "Your housing provider has determined your property has three bedrooms and the room was designed to be used as a third bedroom. They also quote a Upper Tribunal Decision SSWP v David Nelson (and James Nelson) and Fife Council (2014) UKUT 0525 (AAC). They have measured the room and said it as 51.1 square feet of usabale floor space. Thanks

Hi all I was given a letter letting me know that from next time i sign, the Jobcentre is introducing an Electronic Signing System. It says next time i sign i will need to provide six signatures on an Electronic Signing Pad and one proof of ID. After this i will only need to provide a signature for fortnightly or weekly jobsearch review appointments. Also as my partner works part time they no longer do the B7 forms, its electronic now. just letting everybody know what to expect.

I think my problem was i was more shocked at receiving the email like that. I have emailed the advisor and asked a few questions on the points you mentioned. Thanks again

Good morning all I apoligise if this is in the wrong place or i should have created another thread. I attended Ingeus Monday just gone, i have never signed any documents with them regarding the waiver, but i did email them my CV and gave them my email address. There was a job i was interested in and i asked if they could give me the details so that i could apply for the job myself, they said they cant do this and i need to be referred by them, i said ok thinking i would be contacted by the employer with more information. That was the end of the appointment. Yesterday i received an email saying congratulations i have a work trial starting next Monday. I was not asked by the advisor if i would be intrested in a work trial for this job. I am not sure what to do as the job sounds ok, but it seems like its just been pushed onto me, it would have been nice to ask me first if i would have been interested in a work trial for that job. My question is what would happen if i declined the work trial and just asked to be put forward for the job, as in i would prefer to apply for the job myself. Thanks

Hi, No, turns out i was exempt, due to my earnings. The £600 was just for damages.

Hi all Just an update of what happened. The claim was settled through mediation. The mediator was really helpful, and said she had never heard of this particular council wanting to go through mediation, she said they always take it to court. Anyway, she got me another £100 from the council, so I ended up with £600 and the files I requested over a year ago. Thanks for all the advice.

Hi thanks for the replies Phoned the court and they said the fee is £325.00. How can it be £325.00, I asked for a order under section 7 and 15 and damages and cost within the discretion of the court. My allocation questionnaire was the N151 (amount to be decided by the court). I had a look at the court fees, and £325.00 is the highest figure for claims of more than £3000.00. I didn’t put any figure at all on the N1. I’m starting to think all this is just to get me to drop the claim. And how can the council take nearly eight months to send files, defend it all and have three witnesses. Are they all going to just lie to the court? Thanks for all the replies. I’m going to write to the council and let them know I will consider their offer but not sign any agreement.

Hi all Received a notice from the court saying my claim as been allocated to the small claims track and that the judge considers this case suitable for mediation. A court hearing has been set for May with a fee of £325.00. Could somebody please clarify the following: 1. Do I have to use the mediation service. 2. Is £325.00 the normal fee. 3. Why will the court not let me transfer the case to my local court. The court hearing is 90 miles away from me. 4. Does a claimant have the right for a case to be held at their local court. Any replies will be much appreciated. Thanks

Hi stu007 The replies have been from the local authority’s legal department solicitors. I understand what you mean about not signing the disclaimer, I have not signed it or replied yet. Could you please tell me if I should be able to have the case at my local court? As that’s another problem I’m having. I sent the claim to my local court, they then sent it to Northampton, Northampton then sent it back to my local court, and now my local court have sent it to the councils local court over 90 miles away from me. I think they have done this because in the council’s allocation questionnaire they have put they wanted their local court due to convenience of witnesses. They also put in their defence “The Defendant avers that the normal position under the Civil Procedure Rules would be that where a claim is defended, the matter should be transferred to the Defendant’s home court”. I phoned my local court and they were not interested and said to contact the court where my files have now been sent. I emailed the court manager and said I believed that the case should be heard at my local court as the defendant was not an individual and I have not asked for a specific amount. I got no reply. I phoned the court and they said I can’t do anything as the judge as said no and the case will be heard there. I feel like just taking the money and calling it a day. I’ve never taking anybody to court before and was not expecting all this. They also said in their defence my claim was “vexatious and an abuse of process of the court and without merit” Thanks for the help everybody, it’s a great forum, wish I’d joined ages ago.

I can definitely prove they have not sent me everything. But what about their questionnaire it says in bold do not put costs if you think the claim is suitable for the small claim track, I’m assuming this is to intimidate me to drop the claim. Sorry forgot to mention they put in the letter that if I did not do better at court than the offer they have made me, they will apply for a costs order against me. When they first replied to my SAR they wrote back and said they don’t appear to hold any files on me. That’s where I fought them a bit and told them they had been writing to me for over two years. To be honest the claim was never really about money but more about getting my files. If I did write back to them and offered to settle out of court, would I title the letter the same as they did, Without Prejudice save as to Costs? Thank you for you replies.

Hi all, After reading the forum on here for a very long time and gaining some excellent advice, I have finally joined as I could please do with some advice. In March 2012 I submitted a subject access request to a council. It’s a long story but I fought them for a while to get my files. The council have sent me files on three different occasions, the last been November 2012. I know the council still have not sent me everything, so I decided to take the matter to court and issued a claim under section 7 and 15, also damages and costs within the discretion of the court. I put no amount at all. The claim was served and the court sent me the council’s allocation questionnaire saying they were defending it in full. They also sent a defence claiming they did not breach the Act. Yet it took them nearly eight months to send me files and the ICO said they have breached the Act. Since then the council have wrote to me offering me £500 as long as I withdraw the claim and sign a confidentiality agreement. This is where I’m not sure what to do, as there letter is titled Without Prejudice save as to Costs. Also on the council’s allocation questionnaire they ticked the box suitable for the small claims track, yet where it says if you think it’s suitable for small claims do not put costs. They have put costs of over £2000. To be honest I was not expecting all of this, seeing as they quite blatantly breached the Act. I am not really sure what to do now. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks