Thanks Lula, it seems there's nothing i can do for the moment They have informed me that "even childminders have to have paid holidays" which is great bu i already pay her £150 per wk for 6hrs a day. She earns a lot from me because £150 is also the very same amount she charges full time per wk i lose out because she charges me per hr instead.

Hi and thanks in advance. I have a really lovely childminder whom i normally get on with and who my daughter loves. My daughter is treated as one of the family. Problem is (i know i should have read it properly) The contract i signed over a year ago says that i have to pay her no matter the reason if i don't take my daughter to her as my childminder would otherwise still be available. BUT, i also have to pay my childminder if she goes away on holiday (granted half price). I do not have to pay her if she can't look after my daughter due to an illness. There have been many occasions when i have paid her for doing nothing but as it was me who chose not to take my daughter there, it was ok. I really do object to having to pay her anything at all while she is away enjoying herself especially when i have to pay someone else at the same time! Recently, she went on a romantic holiday and normally i don't bother with invoices i just ask how much. this time, i asked for one for tax credit reasons, that's when i saw it "holidays charged at half price" Main question, is this an unfair contract? can i get her to change it or is it just best to find a new childminder? Any advice would be appreciated

well mine is all done for the time being. I've applied for the defence to be truck out. AQ completed so Tues i'm off to court to hand it in. Gary h i'm intrigued by your last comment. Can't wait to see what you have up your sleeve! I did email our dear Inga a while ago who did say that she would be applying for a stay and in no way was i going to get a penny and the matter of penalty charges needed to be clarified which is why they are going to court, i did ask that if the matter was not clear at all, why did they apply charges and why do they continue to do so if they are unclear about the whole thing. Never got a reply.

Well it seems i have no choice, unless i want to appear awkward which is not a good 1st impression. The home visit is on the 5th, not sure how long for. i guess in some ways it will be good for my son to get to know his teacher. We'll see how it goes

bp V Abbey Amount claimed: £704.60 Claim no: 7ED03619 Edmonton County Court

brilliant i wonder what the judge was doing all that time!

I must admit i love watching the auditions, i can't believe some of these people! don't they have family/friends who love them enough to stop them from humiliating themselves? And while i'm at it, wot happened to the last winner? what was her name? leo-something what was the point?

Quick Q, since i'll be applying for a strike out, will i still need to complete my AQ and pay the fee? Got to return my AQ by the 31st of Aug.

I received their new defence dated the 11th Aug , mine only has 12 sections, i still have a copy of their prev defence in April so will be including that as well, i've closed my acc so won't be getting a copy of their new T&Cs.

Hey Lula hun thanks very much. I guess i'll just have to send the usual strike outs but include a copy of their prev defence. first thing, need to find out if they have asked the court for a stay.

Quick update, i received the usual letter, Abbey will be asking for a stay of my case, they've acknowledged my case twice! and today, i got a copy of their defence. This defence is different from the other one back in April. Does anyone know if a copy of their new defence is posted on this site somewhere? 4.3 if the defendant honoured the payment instruction in question, the Defendant thereby accepted the claimant's offer. 4.4 Accordingly, the claimant became bound to pay interest and charges in relation to that loan at the stipulated rate. 4.5 That liability does not at common law, constitute a penalty charge. So these are longer Breaches of contracts but loans? Anyone recognises this? Is this the new standard defence? Thanks in advance

Before anyone says, i know i was stupid, i had a parking fine which i genuinely forgot about, too many personal thing happening. Anyway, while sorting through my paperwork, i found the ticket, i called the local authority and they told be that it had been passed to a bailiff comp and that they would be in contact shortly, to be honest i wasn't in a hurry to to contact them so i just left it waiting for them to contact me instead (i didn't even ask for the name of the bailiff) this was after my being on the phone for over ten minutes and being told that Waltham Parking don't speak to callers and i should put everyting in writing or call an automated phone line! this morning at 7:30 am, the bailiff officer turned up stating a clamp had been placed on my car, and the cost, £557.58 i haven't even got £5 in my acc. I know for a fact that they have NOT contacted me because i've been looking out for any letters. Is there anything i can do? Forgot to add that the bailiff is TASK enforcement

well she's a busy woman1 this is her reply The whole purpose of the commencement of the Test Case is to clarify the law in this area. Abbey will continue to post updates on its websites to keep customers informed on progress of the Test case. I feel like sending a message asking why if this issue needs clarification, why has abbey applied thse charges and why does still apply them while the issue is going to court?

I decided to be a bit cheeky and asked her if this new strategy of avoiding paying out money also applied to abbey suspending all future charges from its customers accounts? lets see if she replies to that!

thanks Michael, just found the link. Sorry i was just being lazy! On a lighter note, right under Inga's email was "Ashurst, winner of law firm of the year 2007" God! i wonder what they had to do to get that? fob as many people as poss? offer lower amounts to claimants thereby still saving their clients money?