Do they even give incapacity benefit these days for depression? Not an expert on housing, but I'd say that because you've made yourself unemployed, you won't immediately be entitled to anything...I only know this through experience with family members trying to claim JSA after resigning from a position. With regards to depression and panic attacks, I've suffered with something similar and I'd advise seeing a therapist rather than spending money on private doctors.... Also, do you work in an office?? What you described is pretty much the norm. you learn to live with it, or find another job. Paranoia is usually part of depression, so, "There's a lot of gossip and bitchiness at my workplace; snobbery from both working class snobs and trust fund brats"....that sums it up....the thought that people are gossiping and bitching about you behind your back eating away at you...not nice. Can you withdraw your resignation? I would personally try to do that, go to the doctor, get indefinitely signed off, during that period look for another job, and take therapy courses...rather than having countless drugs shoved down your throat....sorry, I'm really anti 'medication'! I know its hard because you don't want people talking about you and your problems, but your problems are confidential and no one elses business. It's got to be easier to swollow your pride than getting kicked out of your flat, which will only result in further ongoing problems.

Hi all, Little help required regarding Natwest taking my JSA benefits. Recently they charged my account £120 in 3 weeks. The first thing I did was go to the CAG forum and I came across the following template letter: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/letter-templates/138290-letter-get-charges-back.html I sent them this letter genuinely thinking I was covered. 3 days after I sent the above letter I discovered the sticky thread entitled, 'Social Security Administration Act and Tax Credits Act ' which, as I am sure is known and understood, states that by 'charges', bank charges are not what is meant and therefor not covered.... As I thought, I today received a standard letter from Natwest outlining where the OFT V Banks test case is currently at, how long it will take and that they are logging my complaint. It is obvious they had not read my letter because the Social Security act was not mentioned. So.....Can I use the Social Security Act to reclaim my JSA or not? ....if not, which is pretty much where I'm at....How do I stand with regards to the test case? Should I still continue with a claim? wait until the test case is completed? If, in my case, a response should be issued, what response should I send them? Thanks in advance.

excellent. I've already claimed over a grand back from Smile and I was working then, unfortunately I don't have time to wait for them to refund me....could really use the money now.... I just find the way they can choose when and what dates to put on my incoming money laughable, but it's a whole different story when they're taking out charges.

As the title suggests, Natwest have taken £38 from my account on the 9th of May for going £2 overdrawn.....my jobseekers money went into my account on the 10th May, yet they dated it the 12th May on their system...... when speaking to an advisor, this was so that "they" could let me know the money was there....yet they were quite happy to still take the only money I have to live on. Is there not something that says they can't do this? I politely asked for a good will gesture as I'm unemployed but this robot says she couldn't do that and I'd have to write in. Also before I mentioned the charge was unlawful, she said that all charges have been deemed legal... Also, in the banking code it says that they will notify me 14 days prior to taking any charges from my account...she did say that this doesn't apply to these type of charges, and having read section (5) charges again, I can see that this is for standard charges....quite misleading??? I'd appreciate any guidance???

The good news is we don't own anything of actual value....Our TV is currently suffering from 'sound' problems, so I would class as being faulty, the 2nd TV is about 5 years old, and we don't anything else in the flat.....although they could take the stero I suppose, they might get a fiver for it.

Hi all, Firstly I'm sure the advice required here will be very familiar to many.... I've had a letter through from CCS Enforcement Services Ltd today with regards to unpaid council tax....we have fallen behind slightly, mainly due to loss of employment and change of circumstance... The letter, which I believe is scaremongering, goes along the lines of, they will be attending our property on or before the 4th March....That confuses me because underneath it says that they are entitled to remove goods in our absence, and that they would prefer us to be present so that we can personally agree the inventory of chattels seized...The part that confuses me is how do I know when they will be attending so that I can be present? Could I please have some advice on what to do with this? The letter states that the liability order was issued 9th July 2007, yet this letter is only dated 27th February 2008....How has it taken a year for them to contact us? and I have no recollection of attending court or recieving a court summonce...surely I would remember??! Any advice would be greately appreciated.

Hi, Your guess is as good as mine???? One minute we're discussing our situation with the Council and the next we receive a "visit"... The situation is that I moved in around 3 months after my flatmate had been living there. He'd broken up with his girlfriend, so I moved in to help pay with the rent, but the council tax had obviously fallen in arrears during the interim period. I would have thought there should be a need for a court order or something, or even a court date....?

Hi, Not sure if I'm posting in the correct section but I couldn't find one for council tax..... My flatmate and myself have today received a letter through the post after a knock at the door from a firm called CCS Enforcement Services Ltd, threatening to take our possessions away until we pay the outstanding arrears on the council tax...we obviously didn't answer the door as it was early in the morning. The letter says that he will keep calling early morning, night and on a Saturday. I'd really love some advice on what to do? There is a number, which I intend on ringing, but I need to know what my rights are regarding my possessions.....surely he'd need a court order prior to seizing of our property? and we haven't been to court or anything, and this is the first time I've heard from this firm. Thanks in advance.

because I can't afford the payments, and I got behind due to financial difficulties. They are one of about 4 cards I have.

what is likely to happen shoud I miss 6 payments with MBNA?

Hi, No, you are right. Why should I pay for the incompetence of paypal? I had the same arguement with Ebay. Someone bid £1000 on a laptop I listed, obviously winning. After a while it became clear they had no intention of paying, and were clearly [causing problems] me - They asked me to ship the item to an address in Nigeria. Because they won the listing at £1000, my Ebay fees rocketed, I refuse to pay a money, where there has been obvious fraud and [causing problems] involved. Ebay didn't want to know, and are probably still after their money. I have no problem paying for a listing that never sold, I do however have a problem with [causing problems], and Ebay's lack of security / Customer Service. I'll send Robinson Way the SAR and see what happens from there. Perhaps they will go away, or I can pay them a percentage to dissapear. Does anyone kow if they can effect my credit rating?

The supposed debt has been around for over a year. I basically sold a phone over Ebay, they buyer paid straight away, I used part of the money to pay for my Isle of Wight 2006 ticket and transferred the other half to my bank account. A day later, Paypal came back to me to say they were investigating the transaction as potential fraud and had frozen my account. I queried this, after several unhelpful E-mails later, they came back to me to say they had returned the money directly to the card - with no explanation. This now left my account in arrears by around £140. I tried reasoning with Paypal, but I am sure many people around here can understand, there is no reasoning with Paypal. They make their own rules and their customer service is non existant. Hence a year later, and I am being hounded by Robinson Way, who treat me like ****....it was NCO at one point, not sure what happened to them. Thanks for taking the time.... Jase.

Hello, I am being hounded by a firm called Robinson Way & Co. due to the incompetence of Paypal. Could someone please provide me with some advice on how to get rid of these jokers? They send me letters every week, and constantly phone my work number. They always seem to be quite rude, and when my friend phoned the number back last week, they tried to say that it was a business call. As she is also my supervisor, she stated her position and if it is a business call, they should be able to divulge the nature of the call to her.... they got really arsey and refused, then they hung up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jase.

Hi, I have had the same response, which is drafted word for word exactly the same as a letter my brother received from Barclays. (Mine was from Smile) I'll tell you what I am going to do, you can make your own decision.... I intend to continue my case, as I don't believe anything the banks send us by letter or tell us verbally. I would rather get to court for the court to tell me that all cases are on hold, rather than accept that the bank is being truthful..... However, I did hear that the FOS stated they had suspended all complaints until after the case. Got nothing really to lose. We all know that if it gets to court, the banks will lose, prior to the precedent being set. If it gets to court and the courts say all case ARE on hold, then I don't lose. If it doesn't get to court, then they will have settled up.....

I'm confused.... If they're advertising the same shed, it's not like they can't supply you. If there was one shed in the entire world and no way of building another due to a nuclear winter destroying all forestry, then I'd say you can't win and have no case. However, they have commited to selling you the shed at £999 and must forfil their side of the contract. Don't see how they can refuse. Even if they get a replacement shed brought in from another store. Shouldn't be a problem. But then again, the Manager probably doesn't know the law and is unlikely to be interested in settling the dispute, so I'd write head office a letter. Get the managers name too, and quote that.

I think that if they've sold it and it no longer exists, it's gone. not a lot you can do. Try negotiating harder with them. Tell them you will go to one of their competitors. At the end of the day, they should be willing to negotiate and do business with you.

Did they not offer a full refund + £50? Sounds good to me. I think it is unfortunate that they sold your shed twice due to an internal error. Can you not go and buy a similar shed from another store? or ask them to order in the same shed for the same agreed price?

My experience of the job centre has not been too dissimilar. Apologies if there are any employees of the Job Centre here, but they are a bunch of jobsworths..... They make it far too easy for people to sit on the dole for 6 months too... Shouldn't be too hard to get this emploee the sack, if you have the recording. If you are customer facing, which this person is, then they should adhere to a code of conduct.

bugger, thanks for the incite. I am still going to "screw" Smile over, even without claiming the unlawful charges back. They jumped the gun by sending me back a list of charges incurred on my account and by attaching the cheque I sent them. I intend to send them another letter reminding them of my request for STATEMENTS and not a list of charges, and providing them with the remaining time they have to fulfil their obligation...

well, I intend to plow on as intended becuase I don't see how, after so many years of basically admitting liability, the banks can now set a precedent?? I think the courts will in the end side with the banks though.....just a hunch I have....

hmmmmm, ok, does the fact they have settled out of court not signify an admission of guilt though? why pay back all that money if all along you are completely innocent?

Hi, I am sure by now that many people have received a response from their bank outlining their position regarding the recent developments surrounding reclaiming bank charges? Just a thought, but how can the banks now go to court in order to set a precedent for this situation? To the best of my knowledge, the reclaiming of bank charges has been going on for at least two years, with many many refunds being given. Surely a precedent has already been set by the bank's actions to refund unlawful charges? The action they have taken thus far, is in my eyes, is already an admission of guilt on their part. I'd be interested to hear some other opinnions surrounding this, as I am considering pressing Smile for a refund, even after receiving the 'sod off' letter that seems to be the same as the one my brother has received from Barclays....

Hi, A friend of mine has recently some trouble with her knee, which has resulted in her being in quitea bit of pain and not being able to walk properly. This was over a year ago - She visited a Doctor who referred her to a so-called knee specialist. (All charges were covered by the BUPA scheme) The specialist, who was seen in Feb 06, diagnosed that an operation would be necessary, the operation was carried out and she was off work for 3 weeks. Over the last year she has often been in considerable pain and culminated in a massive lump forming on her knee a couple of weeks ago. As she was in so much pain and obviously concerned at the lump on her knee, she visited her GP again, who then referred her to a different specialist. This specialist has told her in no uncertain terms that the first specialist mis-diagnosed her condition and an operation should not have been required. The diagnosis this time was to visit a physiotherapist once every week and perform several exercises, daily.... I would be interested in hearing an opinnion from the CAG forum on the best course of action to take over the first specialist. My friend is obviously angry about the mis-diagnosis and would like to let BUPA and any relevant party know of the anguish she has been in over the last year and a half. ....she would like any advice on possible legal action to take gainst the first specialist....? Thanks in advance, Jase

We are in Portsmouth. I'd appreciate some additional advice from anyone that may have gone through a similar situation...

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?