Hi Everyone, I’ve come on here to see if I can get some help as my landlord carried out an illegal eviction 3 days ago. It’s a long story and I’ve tried to include as much detail as possible so my apologies for the length. I think this is a really serious case of harassment which has concluded with the illegal eviction but I know I’m going to be biased as I’m emotionally involved with it and so I would welcome anyone’s take on it all. Background. We’ve had problems with our landlord ever since we moved in as he failed to protect our deposit, promised it to return it to us (I sent a written request basically saying either protect it or return it) and then broke that promise. He has now eventually protected it however he has ignored all my requests in writing to provided with my prescribed information which I have never received. We was stupid enough to view the property and sign the contract when he was working on the house and he promised us so many things would be done however when we moved in we found that no of the promises had been kept. We were even told new carpets would be throughout however when we moved in we found that he had put the old carpet back down which was previously outside the property. It was saturated in animal urine from the previous occupant which meant that we had to buy new carpets for everywhere. He has persistently refused to put right what he had originally promised. In fact some of the problems were quite serious and included problems like toilet not flushing, water pouring from whole in kitchen ceiling when bath is run, lock not working on rear door and much much more. Anyway, we made several calls to him asking for them to be done but he still refused and then, in our last telephone call we had with him he told us that we should basically think twice before upsetting the landlord. It was at this point that we stopped all verbal communication and switched to written; this was back in April last year. Since then (April – Present Day) things have got really bad, and weird!!. He now drives past our house at least once a day, every day (it’s a quite side road and nowhere near his home which is in a different town). As he passes he slows down to about 2 or 3 MPH and stares in as he goes past. Luckily, since this started back in April, I have been in constant contact with shelter (updating them about the case, making sure it’s all on record) who have been giving me excellent advice.. One of these tips were to get a webcam and record everything, which is what I did and so, all of this driving past every day at a snail’s pace has been recorded and logged. Could anyone advise if the above would be considered harassment? Recently, he served a section 21 notice on me which I have challenged due to no prescribed information being supplied (We now have a court date for Nov 1st for the section 21/possession hearing). Since I have challenged this things have gotten even worse, he now has followed my wife and elderly mother in her car and we have found him parked up a side street with his engine off watching the house. Anyway, as you can imagine we are really scared about his behaviour as we were constantly having to make sure one of us was always in the property in case he tried to come in (we suspect he has done in the past but can’t prove) and so we decided enough was enough and found a beautiful new property. Our plan was to slowly move out of this property over the month and when all valuable and personal items were in the new place we could then give him our notice as the last thing we wanted was for him to know that the house would be empty at times as he may try to come in. So we had started to move some small items on the 3rd and 4th of October. On the 5th after one of the journeys between the new and old property, my wife discovered that he had been in and changed the locks, preventing us from getting entry to our other items. I have managed to get in touch with his solicitor who was dealing with his section 21, and the landlord is now trying to claim that he had a right to do this as the property had been abandoned and is now refusing me entry. His solicitor is saying that we can arrange an appointment at his client’s convenience to collect our items but we will be supervised. His solicitor is also saying that the state of the property was uninhabitable.. Its true, it was. But that's what we’ve had to live in because he never did anything to fix any of the things. I can prove this as I have been constantly sending letters to him and his solicitor listing all the problems the house had. I obviously have copies of all of these. I also have letters back off the solicitor acknowledging these letters I sent and saying that “they will pass on the contents to their client”. Can anyone help with how i can prove the damage was not done by me as it seems that what hes going to try and do.. Are my previous letters enough proof? Back to present day So now im having to argue against abandonment although shelter have already told me that there is no way he can claim abandonment, heres why. He or his solicitor never contacted us in any way even though they both have my tel No, postal address and email address. Rent is still being paid No warning was ever given saying he suspected the property of being abandoned and asking me to contact them Neighbours were not asked; in fact I have spoken to our neighbours who are all happy to give statements saying that we were still living there. Actually, the night before we had the neighbour’s 8year old round as I was spray painting his skateboard for him in our garden. Property was lived in with food in cupboards, watered plants, no build up of post or newspapers (we have papers delivered) Also, while my wife was there on the 5th, she actually noticed him parked up in the side street watching the house, by now she knows the drill so she grabbed her phone and started to walk towards him in his car. As she did this he drove off passing her in our street, she then managed to take a picture of him, in his car passing our house. This same picture also clearly shows our house with the windows wide open, bin bags outside waiting for collection and a kitchen fitters van at our neighbours help, which was only there on that day and so it dates the photograph. I think that this can clearly prove the landlord had absolutely no reason to believe this was abandoned and so would have had no right to enter the property however I can’t find any sold law on this and would welcome anyone’s opinion here. Just a bit more info Since this has happened we now have our own solicitors on the case but they can’t get us in till the 12th October so no movement their yet. I have also been communicating with the councils Tenancy Relations Officer, as advised by Shelter (Apparently these council officers have the power to prosecute a landlord for illegal eviction) but she is absolutely useless!! I know that sounds ungrateful but when she started off by telling me that illegal eviction is not a criminal offence my heart just sank. Apparently she has negotiated with the landlord and is meeting him at MY HOUSE on Monday and im not allowed to attend. She says that she is going to try and the keys for a couple of hours so that she can supervise us removing the rest of our things. After this she will then return the keys to him. I also asked her about prosecution to which she replied.. “Oh Noo, I don’t do that mate”! I've told shelter about this and they say that they have no right to stop me attending and that I need to complain about her... Again, any advice here as I don’t know what to do. So, welcome to our nightmare.. Ive read so much great advice here in the past and im hoping that there may be someone who can help, I know it sounds daft but at the moment my wife is in hysterics and I feel completely powerless so, if anyone has any ideas at all I really really welcome some input. Thanks everyone, Have a good day

Hello everyone. heres my problem. i went after a new double bed last month and got turned down..... i went home and got a credit report done of myself to which it come up saying i had a CCJ from northampton CCBC (bulk centre lol) with an amount of £388 pound. so I phoned them right up and they said its capquest and here is the account number. phoned up capquest and they said that i now osed them £588 how can i owe them £588 when the ccj is at £388.. can anyone help me on this matter as this account i know they have not got any of the paperwork for as i have asked them for it with no reply from them in a month. many thanks in advance

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19429936 Personally I fully support this move. I've read too many horror stories of people returning from holiday or hospital to find their homes taken over by squatters and facing lengthy (and costly) legal battles to get their homes back, then when they finally get back in the place is trashed. Of course whilst it's technically illegal if they force/break their way into the house, squatters can easily just change the locks and then claim "Door was unlocked" or "Window was open" and it's very difficult to prove one way or another. So, any other thoughts/opinions on this?

On 23rd August 2012 I received a letter out of the blue, text of which I have copied below. It is an attempt to extort money from me by intimidation and actually expresses an intent to steal property from my house. I received no contact such as normal demands for a payment before this letter. I believe many people will be scared into paying this company because of their tactics and I think it unlikely that any part of any payment, thus obtained, would find its way to the council. It has a ring of authenticity about it because it does refer to a possible genuine magistrates order from 15 years ago! I did attend a magistrates court around that time. It was not really a proper hearing because my name was never mentioned in court and I was not given any opportunity to provide a defence. I talked to someone from the council about arranging payment after the event and have no idea if it was paid or not as I have no records going back that far. The Limitations Act 1980 makes to illegal for anyone to pursue this debt because there has been no contact in over 6 years. No judge would therefore give an order to permit a bailiff to take property. -- start of text of first letter -- newlyn plc, letter heading and footer REMOVAL NOTICE MAGISTRATES' LIABILITY ORDER DATED Sept 17, 1997 ARREARS OF: Council Tax Standard & DUE TO London Borough of Hounslow TOTAL OUTSTANDING: £ (amount between £500 and £600 was written in pen) I have today attended your premises with the intention of levying and removing your goods and chattels to the auction value of £ (nothing written) I will be reattending and goods may be removed even in your absence. If you wish to avoid this distressing course of action TELEPHONE IMMEDIATELY WE WILL RETURN 25AUG (written by hand) -- end of letter -- Nobody came on 25th Aug. I took the first letter to the police, they took a copy but the officer did not show much interest. I believe others will be scared into paying. That is the reason I have posted this here. I am also curious to know how large this problem is ? I believe that it will become a much larger [problem].

Hey all, Currently I have a Bank Of Scotland Credit card. I have been paying the balance in full each month and then using the full balance to pay off other debts. Which are nearly paid off, however the bank recently reduced my credit limit and after numerous phone calls has not restored the limit. The problem is that they reduced it below the original limit while the card was charged above it. The limit is only £150 by my own choice and yet although the card was at 147 when they reduced the limit, they still continued do so anyway. Causing me arrears. I was wondering if it is illegal for a bank to through you into debt and financial hardship with no evidence of the card not being paid correctly. There has been no late payments or fees in the last year and the full limit has been paid off each month. An additionally piece of information is they did not inform me of the limit decrease. So I could have taken appropriate action to reduce it at the time. Thanx for the help in advance. D

Evening all, I have had a letter from the 'wonderful' Westcott Credit for a debt owed by my sister in law. She has given my address to her credit card company who she has now decided not to pay. The debt has gone to Westcott who are sending letters to her that aren't sealed hence I have read them. I don't have any contact with her or my brother, so I can't ask them what they are up to. Can anyone tell me if it is illegal for her to put the wrong address down and whether I should ignore the letters or conatct Westcott? I have debt problems of my own and don't want to go near Westcott but on the other hand I don't want someone knocking looking for her cos my neighbour put the nose into nosey. Any advice would be HUGELY appreciated

I currently have a liability order from a local authority over council tax. I asked the bailiff company for a breakdown of the charges as the amount they state I owe is £290 more than the original liability order. The amount stated on the liability order from the council is £1175.54 The breakdown of charges from the bailiff company is as follows. 13/01/2012 Debt £1214.54 16/01/2012 Visit 1 £24.50 17/01/2012 Visit 2 £18.00 29/03/2012 Levy Fee £59.00 29/03/2012 Attendance Fee £150.00 Visit 1 and 2 was to an address I previously lived and was not living there at the time they visited. Can they charge me a visit fee for an address I was not living at? The levy fee and attendance fee was at my address but they never made it past my front door and also did not sign anything, I live in a second floor flat so they could not levy any goods in a garden or look through my windows. The bailiff company made me a goodwill gesture and removed the levy fee and attendance fee. Can I still make a formal complaint over illegal fees even though they have now removed these charges?

Hi all. I hope someone out there can help me. I've got a very strange situation. My bank (Nat West) has frozen all my accounts, containing some £6000. They have given no notification for doing this. I have received no letters, emails, phone calls or other correspondance telling me why this has happened. They won't talk to me about it. They wont pay any direct debits, nor can i get into online/mobile banking. In fact, its as if they've just said "were shutting you down but we aren't telling you why". I have been left with zero funds, and no way to get paid. I have no debt with the bank, the account doesnt even have an overdraft facility or credit cards. I cannot get any answers and I'm frustrated. I have made an appointment to see my local MP to try to get him to raise the issue with them, but I don't really know whats happening. Any help would be appreciated.

I have a creditor making a claim against me using a firm of solicitors who appear to be behaving incorrectly. The claim has been made and a defence will be filed. However the solicitors have proceeeded to send me two e.mails with PDF versions of the claim complete with responce pack, then amazingly the details of claim appeared at my workplace in an open envelope with no address or covering letter. God knows how many people have had access to this info. This must be unethical, and possibly illegal. It appears just to have been done maliciously in order to bring pressure to bear. Could you give me some advice how to proceed against the solicitors please.

Can someone explain to me how British Airways can continue to sell tickets to fly to Greece on the 19th and 20th of October when the Greek Air Traffic controllers announced a 48 hour strike last Friday (14th October)? This is scandalous and since you know they cannot possibly fulfill these tickets they're going to be left with very unhappy customers.

Advice sought on potential illegality of Capital One breach and mis-use of personal data I am a UK citizen who currently lives and works in Brazil at an International school. I return to the UK in December and July each year for around 5 weeks each time. I have a Capital One credit card. I told the company I live in Brazil and have given them my phone numbers in Brazil, but they never use them. I am late with my last 2 payments but can not make the payment until I come back to the UK in a few weeks. However, here`s the thing - Capital One have somehow gotten hold of both of my elderly parents` mobile numbers (without my consent) and are calling them several times a day (sometimes at 8am or 8.30pm) to hassle them about my debt. I do not dispute that I owe them money and that I am late with payment - that`s my fault; fine, and it will be dealt with, but I have 2 questions here: 1. I am very suspicious as to how they obtained my parents` mobile numbers. The numbers are not listed anywhere and I have never given them out to anyone. The only way they could have done it is by accessing phone company or (police?) database info. Is there a law which allows the company to obtain my parents` phone numbers? 2. Are they allowed to call up and hassle relatives of a client who owes them money? I am concerned, suspicious (about the legality of their actions) and very angry indeed about the hassling of my parents, one of whom has a serious illness, so I would be very grateful to anyone who can help with this in any way. Thank You for reading, and for your time and help.

Hi All, I signed a tenancy for my new flat at the start of August. Being worried about [problematic] i googled the 'landlords' name and found his facebook and myspace pages, i signed the contracts in his office on oxford street, i even got ownership details from land registry. I had asked him for proof of ownership but when i saw that the owners on the tenancy matched the land registry info i relaxed my guard and thought everything was above board!!! How wrong could i be!!! I get a knock on the door today, answer it and a guy in a suit asks me who am I and am I squatting the place. I showed him the tenancy and basically the geezer who rented the place to me had started a tenancy with the owners in march or april, he has added £200 to the rent & unlawfully subletted the property to me!!! Whats more he didnt pay the real landlord for the last month and had given notice asking the real landlord not to come round till a few days after my rent was due to be transfered into his account. Luckilly i have now stopped all payments to his account!! The owners first said they would think about having me as a tenant, he even said they may pay me my deposit back if i move out. I went to the police who were not interested in the slightest, wouldnt even take my statement, said it was a civil matter between the owners and previous teanant to be taken to small claims court!! Then the owners call me and say theyve thought about the situation and want me out by the weekend!!!!!!!! I think they are hoping i dont know anything about housing law and are trying to get me out fast so i dont have any time to find out. Unfortunately for them i squatted for 12 years & know a thing or 2 about my rights!! SO am i correct in saying that I am now a sub tenant and to evict me the owners have to give notice and follow normal eviction procedures to evict the previous tenant. I have a tenancy agrement between me and the legal last tenant, dodgy [EDIT] that he is! Also have receipts for rent paid and most has been by bank transfer!! I cant believe the nerve of the guy to do this in his real name from his place of work!! & the police, dont give a stuff!! I know im an idiot, i should have demanded to see proof of ownership but i honestly thought i was being so careful!! Any help or advice is much appreciated Thank you all!!! pat

Hi. Need help with writing a letter to my landlord, things have gone too far now. Briefly, I am late with my rent by 2 weeks, it is a periodic tenancy; I have lived in the property for over 5 years now, it is not first time that I am late but as far as I am concerned it was not a problem as never received a single letter about it. My landlord begun to threaten me to change the locks, to 'blacklist' me, as well as making sure that I will not be able to rent again from local letting agents by giving bad ref; it all started about a month ago. At first I tried to explain to him that for the past 3 yrs I was a full time student I often had financial difficulties and that he should now by now that I am not going to run away (I have a full time job now, but have not been paid yet), he would not take a notice. He sends me lots of text messages giving me the dates stating when to leave(3 different so far), he also says I am staying in the flat illegally as there was no new contract signed, I am know that he is not right. Now he says he does not want money, he wants us out by Fri. He also said,( without seeing the flat!) that he will keep half of my deposit to cover the expenses for cleaning carpets which are surly as old as I am(I have a dog, L agreed to it about 4yrs ago, but changed his mind recently, ordering me to get rid of the poor animal). I am assuming he thinks that I have not got a clue about the legal proceedings etc Websites like this one help a lot! What do I tell him in the letter; want to keep it short, polite but clear of what I am asking for. Should I report it to any authorities, just do not want to find myself homeless after getting back from work on Fri evening. Never been stressed that much, really want it to stop.