I had a Carron woodburner installed 2 years ago,and had nothing but problems with the top plate cracking, and the paint splitting.That was replaced only for the replacement to do the same thing.That was replaced only for the third one to do exactly the same, but on a larger scale. After the Derby Fireplace Company limited sending someone round to take measurements, photo's etc, and emailing them to Carron,they finally admitted that the woodburner was too powerful for the chamber(7.0kw output), and that the woodburner was actually too far back.I was then told that I would be getting a replacement 4.7kw woodburned, DFPCltd, would install it, and they would refund me any difference. After around 4 weeks or so of no response to my emails, and refusing to answer the phone,I looked the company up on Companies house.It turns out that they are now in liquidation!! So,I now have a woodburner with the enamel cracked and split on the top plate, a flue pipe that has paint coming off, and no response from DFPCltd. Where do I now stand in getting this issue resolved once and for all, as I am currently around £3,400 out of pocket and have a woodburner with defects.

Have had two loans with WFS - one pre 2005, one post 2005. The latter PPI claim was settled as an offset of a claim against me. I agreed not to make claim against WFS. The DJ said he couldn't include the pre-2005 PPI but said I needed to make a separate claim. I did so in April, but received a letter back today saying there is no money left and WFS is going into liquidation soon and they have been advised not to pay claims. I would need to claim against any liquidator when appointed but I am likely to only receive a few pence in the pound. My question is - would it be advisable to take out a county court claim directly against WFS. We are talking about £3000. Are they likely to pay it ? Also. can a claim be made against the insurance provider rather than WFS ? Thanks.

I normally get a pension payment from Belgium the day before the end of each month. Nothing today (I realise it's a Bank Holiday) - It's a BAC payment so why did it not happen today and I am likely to get it tomorrow

This may seem odd but I have just received a payment into my bank account from Fredrickson International. 10 years ago we lost almost everything we had to a business fraud. In the intervening period, we have rebuilt credit and established a new business. However, at the worst time, Fredrickson were one of the hardest and nastiest companies to deal with. I have never, to my knowledge paid them anything or given them my new account details so am mystified that a payment should suddenly appear in my account. I told my bank I do not want this money but they told me there is nothing they can do. Is this a part of some new harassment tactic? Does the payment establish some kind of business arrangement with Frederickson? The idea of going back to that nightmare time is very worrying. If anyone has any information/ thoughts as to what might be occurring, I would be grateful to hear from you. Thanks.

Just some advice needed here, I know ideally I should ask my sister to come here and make the post. A car in a Salisbury's car park was reversing and almost knocked someone over, before hitting the front of my sisters car. The person then refused to give any details and drove off. My sister has pictures of the woman and her car, and has got her reg number. It has been reported to the police as a hit and run. The damage is a split front bumper on my sisters car. Nothing too major. The advice I am looking for is will this affect her premiums if she made a claim though the insurance of the other car (using askmid.com)? I know she needs to inform her own insurance company, but that shouldn't affect her making a claim should it? Thanks

I appreciate this may be a little complex, so I will try and be clear. The first paragraphs are background, skip to the for the issue. I am Sales and Marketing senior manager for a business, with 8 outlets. I am responsible for all sales and marketing activity and measured by sales performance (revenue). Each outlet has a manager, and they are responsible for the day to day operation of the unit, and measured against the profit. This structure is a little unique in our industry, where usually the unit manager has control of local sales and marketing, and would be measured against both sales and profit, and my role would be a head office support role. So in effect I have more control than usual and the unit manager has less control than the norm. The unit manager and I are on the same rung in the hierarchy, reporting into the MD. One of the units was added two years ago, and was an underperforming unit. We knew it wasn't a great business when we bought it, but the plan was to invest in it, and turn it around. But we were having to undo many years of neglect and poor management. The unit manager joined when we bought the business - we'll call him P. P and I have had a rocky relationship, and he doesn't agree with our business structure, wanting to have more control over his unit. This has caused us to lock horns on a number of occasions. I have backed off a little of recent, as I was worried I was becoming seen as a 'problem'. Recently our relationship has been better, but only because we avoid discussing anything controversial. P's unit has had major investment, but business is slow to turn round. And last year was pretty poor. We are battling with a long standing poor reputation, and the service levels are still very poor and there is no real change forthcoming. Until these improve, I am restricted with how much more revenue I can generate. :?: The MD is off sick long term, so the CEO has become more involved in the day to day business. - having not been very close to what is happening for a number of years). I have been asked to attend a meeting tomorrow, along with P and another senior manager, the purpose is to explain the poor performance and how we can turn it round. This is where my challenge arises. At this meeting, I will have effectively two options, accept that the performance is not good enough (I.e. I am not doing my job - not that I believe this is true); or pass the blame to P and the continued poor service (I can prove this as we use a 3rd party monitoring service - which I administrate), but this will enviably be the final nail in our poor relationship, and likely leave me unable to perform my role in the long term. Either way. I really feel like I will end up on rocky ground and my career in jepordy. The stress of this meeting is making me sick. Part of me just wants to walk away from the whole thing, but can't really give up the salary or company car without knowing I have some certainty of another role. Roles at my level are limited, so I can't just walk into a job, and would likely have to take a lower paid and lower seniority role. Help!!

Hi, Hope someone can help, we applied for attendance allowance for my 85 year old mum, she had to send her PO details on the form, but unfortunately when she got the details of her account from the PO help line, the last number of the sort code was put down wrong, whether they told her wrong or mum put it down wrong we don't know, her account number was correct, £411 was paid out in back pay to her, but obviously didn't get into mum's account, when I phoned DWP they said because we had put the number wrong, and mum had signed it there was nothing they could do and suggested calling the PO, on calling the PO help line we were told, there was nothing they could do and it was up to the DWP to sort it, I believe that this money has been sat in limbo for the past 2 weeks as it hasn't been sent back to DWP. Can anyone help my mum is getting very distressed about this, and both sides seem to just wash their hands of it, I cant understand why the DWP are happy just to leave £411 going nowhere!!!

My Step-son has been insured with Hastings since passing his driving test at 18 and buying his first car. In 2014 a claim was made against him saying he had run into the back of another car. As my step-son did not have an independent witness he was unable to prove it was not his car and the claim was settled with my step-son losing his 2 years no claims. This was despite Hastings giving my step-son the incorrect date for the alleged accident for 8 months and my step-sons car's towing hook being on the drivers side when the dent to the third party car being on the passenger side rear!!!! The latest problem is that he was hit in the rear by another vehicle (Nissan Qashqai) Step-son's car being a 2009 Mini, while waiting to parallel park in a space on a side road. Step-son was stationary at the time as he was checking if it was clear to reverse into the space. He had reverse gear engaged ready to reverse in the space as soon as he could see it was clear. The road he was using was an entrance to a supermarket and is at least 50ft wide. Step-son said he felt a bump so he put the handbrake on then the Nissan driver was banging on his window shouting at him saying Step-son has hit his car. Nissan driver was foreign and was very aggressive saying Step-son's reversing lights were not working. Police were called who attended and managed to get the other drivers details. They even checked that Step-sons reversing lights were working perfectly. Accident was reported to Hastings the following day. Solicitors were instructed by Hastings to pursue the other driver. Hastings then wrote to my Step-son in February informing him they were settling the claim as the other driver said Step-son had reversed into him. Hastings say that as my Step-son was the manoeuvring party then he is liable as Step-son cannot prove he was stationary. The solicitors are fuming as Hastings have done this without consulting them. I am still in contact with the solicitors as my Daughter (who was 15 at the time of the accident) was a passenger in my Step-son's car. Can anyone give us advice on what we can do next?

A mother, furious at waiting more than 48 hours for her online shopping, stormed into her local Asda and took it from the shelves herself. Danni Leadbeater, 30, ordered a £50 shop from the supermarket for herself and her two young children last week. However, it failed to turn up twice after her order was cancelled by the store and then re-booked. And after waiting more than two days, and being charged twice for it, she took matters into her own hands. She went into the Eastlands superstore, opposite Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium and began taking the items from the shelves and piling them into a trolley. After a stand-off with staff and security, and an intervention from the company’s HQ, she was eventually allowed to leave without paying for it again. However she has slammed the store for the way she was treated and has vowed never to shop with them again, reports Manchester Evening News. Full Story

Hi My parents wanted to close down their investment accounts with Standard Life and have the money in their banks so they could access their money more easily. They are in their 80s and are not that bothered about earning interest. We wrote to Standard Life, at their request, quite clearly stating which bank account to deposit the money. They paid the money, £27,500, into the wrong account. They paid it into a joint account, which is shared with my brother. Because my brother has been helping himself to the money, we have had to use my Dad's sole current account for any deposits, ie his pensions. Of course now my brother has stolen the £27,500, transferring it online to his own bank account. He also stole £94 from their joint account. We are in the process of freezing the joint account. A complaint has been raised with Standard Life as to how they could have made such an error. The woman I spoke to on Thursday said it was their error. Therefore, if my brother will not pay back the money he affectively 'stole', I would say it is up to Standard Life to recompense us. I would also like compensation for the stress their error has caused. My Dad has not asked my brother for the money back because he is slightly frightened of him. Do you think it unreasonable to ask Standard Life for compensation as well as refunding the money? If you think it is reasonable to ask for compensation, how much would you suggest we ask for?

Hi all, Hoping somebody may be able to shed some light on my question.. I have a judgment against an individual. I have come to realise his name is misspelt on the judgment. Have been advised by the court to make a formal application to correct this using an N244 form 'Notice Application'. My question really is regarding what court fee I am supposed to pay. Ive read the official fee guide but it doesn't make it very clear regarding this type of application. Any thoughts? Ive already emailed the courts to ask but thought somebody may have the answer on here. Thanks in advance

Hi hoping for some advice. I am currently 10 months into my bankruptcy, I did not get an IPO at the time of my interview as my disposable income did not allow. I have been offered a new job which will obviously change my situation. Should I hold off until I am discharged before taking a new job? What would happen if I didn't say anything how would they find out / or do I have to say anything? Appreciate anyone who has any experience in a similar situation.

Imagine some Eurocrat with his finger on the nuclear trigger. If the EU gets its way, it may soon be a possibility. There is a saying amongst diplomats that the EU is an economic giant but a military pigmy. This accusation stings the Europhiles so much that they have decided to address this and create a European Army. As if an army of bureaucrats wasn’t bad enough, now they want to have an actual army as well. Post Lisbon, the EU has harboured fantasies of being a militarised superpower able to project its ‘values’ throughout the world. It now oversees operations with 2,800 troops deployed. Many of these missions, conveniently, have a ‘dual purpose’. That is, that appear to be civilian-military co-operation when in actual fact they are heavily militarised and weaponised. They are also in some of the world’s most sensitive trouble spots like Kosovo and Gaza. British participation in an EU army was agreed at St Malo in 1998, where Tony Blair agreed in principle to an EU army. He did this because he was trying to be seen as a ‘good European’ in light of his desire to be a future EU president. Also, he believed that by agreeing to an EU Army, he could use that as a good will gesture to get France to agree to sweeping CAP reform, knowing that CAP was an unpopular scheme with the UK electorate. France (shockingly) did no such thing, but Blair had already committed. The German think-tank, the EU-funded Konrad Adenauer Foundation, has argued that Germany can get its Euro Army by a different tactic. Instead of going for a Euro Army at one fell swoop, it aims to create ‘islands of co-operation’. That is, to persuade smaller countries in Eastern and Central Europe too co-operate with Germany in creating smaller building blocks of a Euro Army which at a later date can be put together. Given Germany’s economic dominance of these countries, it can easily ‘persuade ‘them to co-operate. In mid-2012, the Foreign Ministers group of the Future of Europe Group produced a report. This is a group of 11 foreign ministers from important EU states, but not the UK. The report calls for the creation of a European Army, with a veiled threat to a UK veto in the Council. The report states it wishes to “introduce more majority decisions in the CFSP (Common Foreign and Security Policy) sphere or at least prevent one single member state from being able to obstruct initiatives”. Guess which member state they mean! Clearly the core EU states know how unpopular a Euro Army would be in Britain, so are making moves to render Britain’s opinion irrelevant. So much for our famed ‘influence ‘in the EU institutions. In October 2013, a spokesman for the British Foreign Service told the international security journal, Courcy’s Intelligence Brief, that “today there is in London a genuine desire and commitment to making CSDP (Common Security and Defence Policy) as effective as possible in supporting international security and protecting Britain’s and Europe’s borders from potential threats. We are now increasingly aware of the helpful role the EU can play in bringing to bear the common will of 28 of the world’s most advanced economies.” This suggests that amongst the Whitehall Mandarins there is a growing appetite to form a Euro Army. The successor to Baroness Ashton is Polish diplomat Radek Skorski. He has said that since America is no longer willing or interested in security crises at Europe’s borders, the EU has to militarise itself so as to deal with these crises. He argues that the EU’s Operation Atalanta against Somali piracy saw a drop in attacks of 70%. In actual fact, the drop was due to aggressive Russian, Chinese, Indian and American anti-piracy patrols. They have a slightly more simple method of dealing with armed pirates, and it doesn’t involve briefing them in detail on their human rights. This reminds me, when I think of the young men and women who died in the British Army. One source of comfort for the family members is that that died fighting for Queen and Country. Very few British mothers would be comforted knowing their loved one died for Herman Van Rompuy and the Single Market.

Its been almost a year since I took up Hastings Direct insurance and discovered they immediately turned my 17 years no claims discount into 9 years. I complained and was told I would not lose any discount despite their systems only logging up to 9 years, and despite a number of reports here that customers who did not notice that Hastings had truncated their NCD DID lose their NCD above 9 years. The renewal of my fully comp (which apparently isn't actually what I understand as fully comp with Hastings I have since discovered) with 17 years protected no claims at taking it out is being shown on the document as 9 years NCD. Luckily I haven't had to make a claim and hence be sold of to some third party shyster company to inflate costs and require me to sign credit agreements for cover that should be included in a fully comp policy ..... Lets see what happens for me.

Hi everyone im quite desperate. I just made my new account at barclays less than 2 weeks ago with the switch service and yesterday i got a letter where they say my account is gonna be closed on 18th jan, 2016. The letters date is 17th nov. Also i recieved another letter with the date of 20th nov, which says my switch process has been successfully completed from my old bank (santander) to the new barclays account. I called them a lot of times but nobody could give me a proper reason why they want to close my account. Some said, ( also in the letter says) the bank made a review on my account and thats why, and in the letter says i broke thr terms and rules of agreement. But how? I didnt do anything. I mean until the 17th i havent even used my card. I requested a pin change on the 17th because i entered it incorrectly too many times.one day before that i called them and asked if i can transfer my money from santander to barclays without waiting for the switch process to be done. They said yes, it was on 16th. I paid in one check on 19th. Nothing else happened. Any chance that its just a mistake letter? Help me pls what can i do?

Daniel Head can’t take credit, move banks or even secure a new mobile contract because his bank mistakenly put a fraud flag against his name and refused to remove it Daniel Head has worked hard to build up a strong financial base and an excellent credit rating over the years. He has never fallen into debt or suffered financial difficulties. But he can’t take out credit, move banks or even secure a mobile phone contract because Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) , his bank for 12 years, mistakenly put a fraud flag against his name and refuses to remove it. Financial institutions (NasdaqGS: FISI - news) have almost unfettered powers to share concerns about customers with other companies through credit reference agencies and fraud prevention registers such as Cifas and the National Hunter database. https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/paid-us-cheque-barclays-account-080751591.html

Dell admits security flaw was built into computers A security hole that could allow attackers to access users' personal data was inadvertently placed on Dell computers, the company has admitted. The hole represented a "profound security flaw" that could allow access to bank details and other personal data, experts said. Dell has issued guidance on removing the software that produced it. READ MORE HERE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34910649 This is the direct link to Dell article and removal instructions: http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN300321

Someone has kindly driven into my car in the office car park. I am hoping that there is evidence available in the form of CCTV so that I might find the culprit and deal with the situation appropriately, but looking at the photo attached, does it look as though new wing/door are needed or that the damage will t-cut out?

so on my way home from a friends locally in July 26th there was an RTC and the police were there stopping traffic, I stopped, I wasnt going fast anyway as the road was wet, however the driver behind didnt see my brake lights, or the policeman, or flashing lights on police cars, and crashed into the back of me. details were exchanged, we were both on our way but my back bumper was rubbing my wheel, I only had a mile to do so got it home. boot floor had collapsed, trapping the spare wheel, tailgate was bent in, and once opened would not shut I have gone through Easidrive an accident management company who are local and we know somebody who has used them with success, they got us a courtesy car, engineer came to inspect my car and it is deemed uneconomical to repair. its now october 17th and we still have the courtesy car, the other driver is saying my car had no damage, he doesnt dispute crashing into me, but refuses to believe my car was damaged, he hit me - I was stationary, he will have been doing about 30mph. Am I likely to lose this case? how long does his argument last for? why hasnt HIS insurance co. sent somebody to look at the damage?

Sadly we lost our dad on 21st sept 2015, naturally all of the direct debits and standing orders got cancelled, now looking through dads bank statements, we noticed that he had been paying £15 per week into a savings account by standing order, lloyds bank say they are unable to tell were the payment was going to as the standing order had been cancelled. now we know there is an account but have no idea were and lloyds say they cant tell us any help or advice on this would be great . thanks Lets

The Bear Garden is a place of variety. A place where people can say what they like,discuss,debate and have a fine old time. So i thought i would put this on to cheer us up. Say what you feel.

Hi-I was just wondering if anyone knows how far they can actually make you travel to these appointments, at the moment they are making me travel 30 miles just to do job searches on the computer etc. its an hours drive at least cos the traffic is awful or 2hours on public transport. Also, am currently on a sanction because my wonderful "advisor" sent me an email telling me to attend the wrong office for my appointment so obviously I missed it (they have one 12 miles away from me as well but she reckons they only see esa people there...?) so obviously I have no money whatsoever until my hardship payment comes through in 2 weeks-my mum spent her last money filling up the car so I could get to my stupid appointment and so there was nothing left for parking,I was running late cos I had to drop her off at her work on the way over there and I didn't have time to park far away where it's free so I parked in a pay spot without buying a ticket thinking I'd only be quick and I could buy a ticket when they gave me the petrol money back- I told her I needed to be quick or else go and move the car and then come back but she deliberately kept me over an hour and then surprise surprise I got a parking ticket-so I went back to the office,dumped it on reception and said it was a present for the advisor,the reception lady called after me saying she cant pay it and I shouted back that I don't care it's her problem now and I can't pay it. (I then bought a parking ticket-I'm hoping if I write to the council with the ticket and an explanation they'll let me off the fine) I can't get into trouble for like harassment or something ridiculous for this can I? I was just making a point lol Its not like I was acting in a threatening way.probably the wrong thing to do though cos now she knows shes upset me

Hi All I'm due to have my yearly review shortly and I have been pre warned by a senior manager, although not my direct report, that it may not go well and that I may possibly be forced into a demotion and that this may be due to perceived performance problems. Can they legally take this course of action, should they not at least offer some sort of improvement plan? I must state that this is all theory an conjecture at the moment, I've heard nothing from my managers, and why this manager has warned me isn't entirely clear.. Many thanks in advance..

I was recently tricked into agreeing to a new three year energy contract with Opus Energy by a broker who led me to believe they were calling on behalf of my energy supplier, e.On UK Energy Services Ltd. When someone called and identified themselves as calling from UK Energy Services Ltd (note the similar name; my hearing isn't good), told me I was on a residential contract (true) and should be on a business one (true), I went along with them and agreed to switch to the business contractor, Opus Energy, thinking they were still part of e.On. I was wrong. Unfortunately, this misunderstanding persisted long enough for me to agree to the switch; by the end of the call I had realised something was wrong and started to protest so they put me through to their manager who informed me there was no cooling off period whatsoever and nothing I could do. I emailed them the moment I received their confirmation email stating I wasn't happy. No response; they had their recording of the moment I accepted the contract and as far as they were concerned I was now going to be with Opus Energy for the next three years. I was well and truly tricked. After doing some research online, the next thing I did was call Opus Energy that afternoon, who spent a long time arguing that 'their lawyers' knew that this method of selling was completely airtight, fair, and reasonable, and there was nothing I could do. They were extremely pushy and unreasonable, but in the end I spoke to someone who said that there was one possible solution: I could call my current supplier and object to the transfer. Since it was scheduled for 8th August (the date of this sorry business was 27th July) I would have enough time to raise an objection before they tried to take over my supply - but it would be best to call them that week because they would make their first request in August. I did not know at this time that the transfer request had already been made. Opus vindictively wasted my time by telling me a lie and letting me think I was able to stop the transfer, when they knew that it was already going to go through. This is disgusting behaviour. I consequently called e.On - at 17:15 the same day I spoke to the broker - and made a formal complaint saying I had been tricked into a new contract by a broker with a similar name. I also asked to be moved to a business contract with them, because I was advised that this would help support my complaint. Fine, they were less pushy than Opus so I'd be happy to be in a contract with them (especially as I thought that was what I was agreeing in the first place). I called them again the day after (28th July) to follow up and confirm the contract. This would give me plenty of time, I thought, before Opus requested the transfer of my supply. A few days later an engineer came unannounced to our premises from Opus Energy to fit a new meter. No need, I told him, we were staying with e.On. He left after making a note following the visit. Flash forward to today - we received an invoice from Opus. Surprised, I called e.On only to be told that we were no longer their customer; they had tried to protest the switch but because it was requested before I called them on 27th July the objection failed and Opus were allowed to take over our energy supply. Their records say the loss notice was received on 0:00 that morning before the broker even called me, Opus says their records put it as mid-afternoon (not sure of the exact timing of all the calls I made that day), but either way the result is the same. e.On apologised and listened to my complaint but because they were no longer the supplier it was impossible for them to take us back without Opus Energy's approval. So I called Opus again, pretty annoyed at this point. The amount of time I have wasted on this problem had already been significant. This time, I ignored their sales team and said I wanted to make a formal complaint. I was put through to the customer care team who seemed very pushy (a trait I am rapidly coming to associate with the brand) and assured me that a full investigation would take place and I would hear from them over the next five days. A delaying tactic, no doubt, when they already know how upset I am and I have never disputed that the original call recording of the agreement exists. I know I was tricked. That's not the point. I still believe that the contract was mis-sold and wish to stay with my original supplier, all the more now that I know their sales team lied to me about preventing the transfer in order to shut me up. They protest every time I refer to UK Energy Services Ltd as 'their broker' but the actions of the actual Opus staff have been little better; as long as they have this recording of me blearily accepting this contract they insist that there's nothing I can do and feed me time-wasting lies to try to discourage me from complaining. The customer care rep was forceful and 'reassuring' but her words were calculatedly chosen to promise nothing, and I fully expect to wait the requisite five days only to hear that actually, 'the lawyers' say the contract is solid and there's nothing I can do but wait out the three year contract and grind my teeth. Nothing they have done so far has led me to believe otherwise. I do not deny that I was stupid for agreeing to the deal and not checking who Opus Energy were (Monday mornings aren't my most alert times), but the way I'm being treated by Opus has been manipulative and calculated to break my spirit so I'll stop protesting and stay with them. Forcing customers to stay with you is a terrible way to do business and I am at the end of my tether after wasting so much time already trying to get them to exercise basic common sense. The stupid thing is that I would have been perfectly happy to have moved my contract to them if they had treated me better from the start. As it is, whether I have to stay in the prison of this mis-sold contract for three years or not you can bet I'm never going back afterwards. A terrible, terrible experience with a terrible, terrible supplier. And don't get me started on the broker who caused this sorry chain of events in the first place. I shall of course be escalating this complaint as far as I can in the next three years, but I implore Opus to step in and set things right as soon as possible. Since their internal system is designed to stifle complaints, I'm airing mine here instead.

Hi Can someone help me. Because I gave out the wrong account number to a supplier a payment pf £850 was transferred into the wrong account. The people who were paying me tried to get the payment reversed by Santander who have responded that they have tried to get in touch with the recipient but can't. They now say there is nothing more they can do. Does anyone have any experience or understanding of what I can do next? Any help gratefully received Thanks