Jump to content

sezchwarn

Registered Users

Change your profile picture
  • Posts

    31
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by sezchwarn

  1. We are shortly to move out from a flat that we have rented. Next to us is a closed down fish and chip shop that has been used as the landlords living space. Annexed to the fish and chip shop and directly below us is another premise which was part of the fish and chip shop but is now being rented out to some girls who are doing it up as a cafe. What we discovered is that water used in the premise directly below us is actually going onto our meter. The girls have only been there for a few months, but prior to that the landlords occupied it and could have been using the taps there for months. In addition, the water company did say our bills are unusually large. What can we do about this? We have yet to confront the landlords but I suspect they will say "we did not use any water". We have not yet paid the water bill. Thanks.
  2. I have had lower back pain caused by my work chairs for over a year now. From the start I had researched the cause of back pain at work and told them what chair I need (it's called a saddle seat and is designed to relieve back pain). They have ignored this in favour of their own process which has involved shipping a stream of cheap chairs that are much the same and increasing pressure on me to pretend that the latest incarnation has solved all my problems. It's all distinctly for show. The most recent event was having a 'medical' report done on the situation, which basically involved a salesman (as far as I could see) asking me a few questions and recommending a chair that, again, is much like all the other ones (just a lot more expensive as it's his company). His report is littered with mistakes, including where I actually feel pain, demonstrating it's unreliability. I cannot put up with much more pain so have decided to fork out the £4/500 for an ergonomic 'saddle' seat chair that my chiropractor has recommended. Thing is they are blocking this, saying that I am undermining their efforts! It's like they want me to suffer. I don't know what to do. Is there any law I can threaten with? Surely I should be allowed to bring my own chair if the company efforts are failing me after a year of patience, pain and treatment costs. Help please!
  3. Friend accidentally left tap on in our flat. Went through flat below. No real damage reported as of yet, but my Landlord wants to retain deposit for potential costs to Landlord of flat below. By law, am I liable for covering costs for any such potential damage, or should it be covered by Landlord's insurance? Anyone? Thanks (shortened for ease of reading)
  4. At one point in a previous tenancy a friend left a tap on causing a leak to the flat below. The overflow was not blocked or anything, but just wasnt very good (cheap quality kitchen). We were out for a few hours, but there was no visible damage, the carpets and light fitting all dried ok, (the chipboard surface warped a bit). So decided to keep it quiet. After leaving the flat, the landlord got nasty and intimidating (not about the water leak, just generally), saying they were going to deduct some of the deposit as they needed to professionally clean the flat because of things such as limescale on the toilet, dirty oven and v light carpet marks. The thing is, it wasnt even vacuumed when we moved in, let alone professionally clean. They are trying to sell the flat and I think they are trying to get a free cleaning on my behalf. I'm pretty sure by law no money can be deducted for the carpet, as its clearly only wear and tear. No photos were taken prior to our tenancy. Even worse though now, my ex landlord found out about the leak and wants to retain the whole of the deposit to compensate for any potential damages to the landlord of the flat below as well as themself. They've started a claim to this effect with DPS. What should I do? Are they allowed to take money for the friends water accident? How important is the inventory? How does the DPS claim affect rights for taking to a small claims? How would I stand up in court? Thankyou very much for any help as I am unsure what to do.
  5. To clear up the confusion- we were talking about cancelling the contract using the DSR. But you can only do that if youve just bought the phone, so they wouldnt help your partner. Thats how these companies work- they say they'll give you something if you agree to a contract with another seperate company (o2). This way, if they (Phones4u) dont give you what they said they would, youve got nothing on them. Really, all your partner can do is try and smooth things over with O2- pay any previous bills and promise to pay future ones. As for Phones4u- to be frank there's nothing you can do as its part of the deal that you send the bill back in time. You could argue with them but I think its highly unlikely theyd pay anything, and youd be wasting court fees if you tried to sue. Id just leave it- arguing will only anger them and make them less likely to pay the next cashback. Your partner will have to be more organised or resist the lure of cashback offers!
  6. Ok, thats really cleared things up. The state of affairs is such that I cant prove that representation. One last question- given the little that I can prove (that I gave them some money and the little they have done), could I somehow at least make a claim that those services do not warrant the charge? ie that whatever the situation with refunds/ agreed services etc, the services provided do not warrant the fee given? - or could they just say "he agreed to pay £250 for us to send two letters" and that would be the end of my claim? And thankyou very much for sharing your knowledge.
  7. Ok, well firstly, it was agreed in advance that the fee was refundable. And as for the services agreed to, basically, there wernt any with regards to the sum paid- we thought of it as a holding deposit. So we didnt discuss what the sum was for really. Though, on second thoughts, they did say they would secure the flat for us if we gave them the money- so i guess thats a service, one which they didnt fulfill. Would that do?
  8. [quote= That's not quite correct. As stated in #3 - services that begin, by agreement, before the end of the cancellation period, are exempt from Distance Selling Regulations - providing the supplier has informed the consumer before the conclusion of the contract that he will not be able to cancel once performance of the services has begun with his agreement. Sorry, it's a fact. jActually, thats not quite correct either. A further proviso is that he does it in writing and also provides other info in writing as well. So in my particular case, its not exempt.
  9. Cool, thanks Cattolica, thats put my mind at rest a little.yeh, i always was going to send by spec del. And after more thinking, and talking, Im a little clearer about things: barracad: I think thats open for debate as to whether its reasonable. I dont think its reasonable to expect people to search for a little link and then scroll though loads of terms and conditions in small print, just in case the company tries to [problem] you. But anyway, I think what is deemed reasonable is irrelevant here, as the DSR state that they must fulfill certain conditions, with no exceptions- so even if it is reasonable that I check the t and c, as you state, they still have to provide certain info in writing- its the law. As they havnt, the contract is not enforcable. So im pretty sure (now) I can cancel the contract under DSR. So, I have no qualms about sending the phone back (even though its past 7 days now) as they havnt provided the written info. But Ive since decided I wont bother, as I do have an email stating my entitlement to the offer, so i guess thats as good as it being on the receipt in the first place, do you agree? ie theyre not likely to think "oh we can rip him off, he doesnt have anything in writing.."
  10. Hey, just wanted to say, righteous, noomill. Fight the power!
  11. hey, thats great help, thanks. Though there was no "wording of the contract", because there was no written contract really- nothing was signed by anyone. i mean, what counts as a contract? Because all those grounds for suing you mentioned require reference to a contract. I do have two things in writing. I could show the court a receipt and a sheet of paper listing what we need to give them ie the references required along with our names, the adress of the property and when we need to give the deposit by etc- but its not signed. The receipt basically says that we gave them £250. It doesnt say exactly what for, but has the words agency fee scribbled on in small print. One small point though- the receipt refers to us only by our first names. All I could prove to the court is that I gave them £250 and what they have done on my behalf (post two standard letters/forms). Yes it would be my word against theirs with regard to them saying it was refundable. Will the fact that they have not stated its non- refundable have any relevance? So i guess my only ground for suing would be that the charge is way excessive for the work done (provable) and i could claim that i was duped into it anyway (my word against theirs), right? Would the court still do this 'fair amount' assessment, in the absence of a written contract? thanks in advance.
  12. ****ing hell, are you kidding?! Im surprised companies would go that far for profit, what with it being completely illegal. I trust you told him to go **** himself?lol.
  13. come on, Mr Shed. you know lots about the law, what do you think? can i av em on verbal false pretenses (about it being refundable)?
  14. I dont really have an arguement with anyone, i just want to know if i have the right to cancel and who i have to write to, to cancel.
  15. barracad; It was online. So, what do you reckon? michsienna; yeh, they'll lie through their teeth, they have no sense of honour or self- respect. I think youd have to be very unempathic to be in that line of work. Ah well, if they dont pay and you cant do anything, take it as a lesson in life.
  16. Ah cool, thanks for clearing that up. Yeh, well the things is, in writing, CPW have said very little. Other than sending me a reciept detailing the price, the phone, the contract length, ive received nothing. ANd orange hasnt really sent me anything either. Do i need to worry about Orange, or is my contract soley with CPW do you think? They do inform you that you wont be able to cancel the contract once the service has begun, but only on their website, within a link for terms and conditions- and that isnt a durable medium, right? Am i right in thinking that this means they havnt provided what they should have, in terms of written information, under the DSR?
  17. I just found this, anyone understand what it means? Could be crucial, although it is dated 2000. Quite old. Regulation 8 is about having to provide said info in writing. Services performed through the use of a means of distance communication 9. - (1) Regulation 8 shall not apply to a contract for the supply of services which are performed through the use of a means of distance communication, where those services are supplied on only one occasion and are invoiced by the operator of the means of distance communication.
  18. I went for one of those tempting, but stupid evil cashback offers with The Carphone Warehouse and Orange (yeh, theyre just as much to blame- they know all about it). It arrived a week ago without any mention of the cashback offer, surprise surprise! I phoned them and apparently "they have no record of the offer on their system", for my account. After some hassle, the operater said shed put a note on my account to let others know i was eligible for the offer, but refused to send me proof, such as a revised receipt with it on. She didnt put the note on either, as i phoned the next day. though they did send me a mail to confirm the offer. Now I cant be arsed to trust them to pay up, so i did some research into my right to send it back under the distance selling regulations. Usually you get 7 days to cancel a contract, but the CPW snuck in an agreement (in the t and c) to start the service early, thus nullifying the 7 day 'cooling period'. However, the regulations also state something about providing certain information in writing such as your right to cancel, the service, the price etc- which they didnt do and still havnt done!! All orange have sent me is a direct debit instruction thing and a bill. hence the contract is not enforcable! so the cooling period is extended up to 3 months! And i have the right to cancel the contract!!! Or so i think. I wanted to see if anyone could find fault in my arguement, before i write to cancel everything. I dont want big companies like orange and CPW on my back, unless im confident i can stick two fingers up to them! Think ive got a chance? Also, would an email from them confirming the offer hold up in court if they didnt pay me, saying i didnt have the offer etc, or does it have to be written into a reciept? Id rather not the hassle of cancelling, u see.
  19. Well, i think if i did take them to court, it would be with regards to the service, rather on anything to do with the tenancy- like false pretenses or something. i just wish this country had some sort of free legal advice, other than the useless cab.
  20. Anybody know about how my not registering affects things??
  21. gizmo: thanks for replying. that makes sense, though i dont think anyone else could have taken the place anyway as i transferred into the second year (ie way after they had already alotted places). So its not like i transferred into the first year and used up a place another applicant could have had. Term started oct 3rd, i first attended in november (due to late application), for about a month, had christmas holiday and then took exams in jan. jen: thanks, and thats a good point about my possibly preventing someone else transferring, didnt think of that. Although, i applied really really late (term almost started) and they only just agreed to create an extra place for me after interviews etc (they said if it were any later they wouldnt have). So realistically, i think the chances are very small that if i didnt take the place, someone else might have applied after me and gotten a place. And about those forms, no i didnt fill any in, but I didnt have to fill any forms in to leave Oxford when i transferred- just a letter of withdrawal. I think it depends on the uni. My main leg to stand on is that i didnt register, so am not subject to the rules/regulations of the uni (ie i didnt agree to them). I know that usually the uni just forces withdrawal if someone doesnt agree/ register before a certain date. in my case, i think they somehow overlooked the matter until quite late on and so decided to charge me instead of forcing withdrawal. And morally, my leg to stand on is that i really cant see how i caused them much cost- as i said, my place was created for me- it was in addition to the 60 or whatever places that they usually allow (my £1200 was going to be a bonus on top of their needed amount). And as i was so late, i doubt i prevented another transfer student. what do you guys think? am i just wrong?
  22. Ive been sent a letter by Bath University threatening to involve debt collection agencies and possibly court action if I dont pay a £1200 tuition fee charge. Only i was never really a student there, in that I never fully registered. I transferred from another university into the second year, but was never too sure about it all and so didnt have that much to do with the Uni. I attended only a few compulsory days and a few early 1st semester exams. After the exams, I decided continuing was unfeasible and wrote a letter explaining this (which they now claim they didnt receive). I had no contact since, except for this letter. Id be willing to pay a reduced fee to cover real costs incurred, but having talked to them, its obvious they wont budge. Finance just goes by dates the department give them, and the department wont alter the dates. I didnt apply for a student loan and so cant afford to pay. As far as I can see they are charging me for a service I didnt receive, I have caused them hardly any extra cost (being a transfer student, i havnt taken a place another potential student would have taken), and I didnt make any agreement to pay the fees anyway (paying, or agreeing to pay is part of the registration process that i didnt do). All i did was accept the place and attend a few days. Is someone legally obliged to pay the fees simply because they accepted a place, or must they first make some sort of contractual agreement, as in registering before they must pay? thanks for any advice! hopefully £1200 pounds worth of thanks!!
  23. Plea to anyone who knows about consumer rights regarding services, false pretenses and letting agents: Responding to a rightmove ad for a flat, we phoned 'Abode lettings' in Bristol. We handed over £250 to secure the flat, whilst references were checked. At this point we were told the sum was refundable if any problems arose preventing us from taking the flat. A few days later, they phoned and told us my girlfriend's work reference wasnt valid because she was not continuing the work throughout the tenancy (kind of obvious seeing as we were moving 60 miles away). The next day, they told us the Landlord had added an extra stipulation, that we provide 3 months rent upfront. We couldnt meet these conditions and were refused tenancy as well as our money back. They said they needed it to cover service expenses- the receipt does say 'service fee' in small writing, though there was no mention of exactly what services we were supposed to be buying. We wrote several times, without response. My complaint is that a) they didnt provide a full service (eg writing up the contract-all they did was send two letters) and £250 is excessive for this. b) mainly that we were told several times that the fee would be refundable if any problems arose, hense the whole affair was under false pretenses. c) the only problems were from their side, ie additional stipulations- we did everything asked for. Now im pretty sure that if you ask what it reasonable, we should get our money back. But what I would like to know is if you ask what are the legalities of the situation, would a small claims court be favourable? We have a reciept for the money and a form saying the necessary reference is a 'work reference' with no mention of it having to be a continuing work reference and no mention of the 3 months upfront. Oh, and this was about 5 months ago- too late?
×
×
  • Create New...