I am renting a room in a house which has 5 separate occupants the LL doesn't have an HMO licence. Can this make the tenancy agreement void? I've only been living here for a month and the house is not in good shape and would not meet the health and safety standards required. I moved in at the last minute because I was let down by another landlord and had no other choice and would like to get out of this contract and get my deposit and fees back.

hello. today i recieved a letter from tv licensing.ive missed my last 2 payments,amounting to £11.00. they told me to pay immediatley or they will send my account with them to a debt collection agency. written in red at top of the page. i always pay my licence payments usually.just that over last few weeks i didnt have it spare. was wondering about what happens if i stop paying it etc ? i can probably pay this amount i owe by end of next week. but with them threatening me with debt collection i feel like not paying now who do they think they are ? any help would be appreciated

Hi there, i haven't change the new address on my licence as i haven't using it for almost 2 years. Now i went to online section and i see a question for how long i live in this address. Do i gotta get a fine if i put 2 years period on my new address?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29114235 Ministers are to review how payment of the TV licence fee is enforced amid concerns about the number of people appearing in court for evasion. Culture Secretary Sajid Javid will say more than 10% of all cases heard by magistrates involve TV licences and question whether the system is working. The review should conclude early in the next Parliament, he will say. It comes as Rona Fairhead, ministers' preferred candidate to chair the BBC Trust, prepares to face MPs' questions. The former Financial Times chief executive will be questioned about her views on the future regulation and funding of the BBC when she appears before the Commons Media Select Committee. The Conservatives and Labour have said they are sympathetic to calls for the decriminalisation of non-payment of the licence fee, which is used to fund BBC services. Legislation currently going through Parliament would give a future government the power to move towards decriminalisation if it was deemed to be in the public interest. Taking evidence In a speech to the Royal Television Society, Mr Javid will say the question of how the BBC enforces payment of the licence fee - currently £145.50 a year for a colour TV - must be considered now. "In 2012/13, almost 200,000 people ended up in court accused of not buying a TV licence," he will say. "More than 50 were sent to prison. "When over 10% of magistrates' court cases concern this one offence, you have to ask whether the current system is really working. So that's exactly what I'm going to do. "The government is committed to launching a review of decriminalisation once the Deregulation Bill receives Royal Assent. But we can't afford to wait that long. This needs to begin now. "Very shortly I will be publishing the terms of reference for a review of TV licence enforcement. I expect it to begin taking evidence in the autumn, and to conclude early in the next Parliament." 'Loved services' Mr Javid will insist the review will not pre-empt renewal of the BBC's royal charter, the process of agreeing its future funding and governance arrangements which is due to take place in 2016. "This will allow it to shape the future of the BBC in a way that works for both the corporation and those who pay for it," he will add. A spokesman for the BBC, which is is obliged to ensure its collection arrangements are efficient, appropriate and proportionate, said it hoped the review would be thorough and "not rushed". "Licence fee evasion is low which maximises investment in the programmes and services that audiences love," he said. "Changing the system could lead to higher evasion, so it is important that any decisions are made as part of the Charter Review process." A BBC Trust spokeswoman added that this was an issue that should be discussed "in the round", including the "potential impact on licence fee income and BBC output", with any decisions made as part of the BBC's charter review process. She said the trust looked forward to engaging fully with the review when the time comes. The BBC's director of strategy and digital James Purnell has suggested the time taken up by licence fee cases in court was actually much lower than often stated. "The last fact we saw was that it took up 0.3% of time because most of these cases are processed pretty quickly, about three minutes on average," he told BBC Radio 4's PM programme in March.

Hello, Three years ago I changed my polish driving licence to UK one. I was wondering if it's now possible to change it back to polish? For example if I would be moving back to Poland.

just wondering if anyone can help with this, my son was on a drink drive ban about 11 years ago and not been driving since, now he has applied for his licence, paid the 90 fee and was sent a letter to arrange for a medical before he can get his licence, they have given him 6 weeks from the 22nd April to get the medical done with the cost of £98.50 for a blood test ect., he has not got the money until after the six weeks they have stated, could this result in him losing his original £90.00 fee for the renewal and have to re-apply with a further fee of £90 Please can someone give some advice on this.

Hi, hope someone can help me. In February this year my daughter answered the door to the TV Licensing person who she allowed into the house. I was out at the time so couldn't do anything about it. She had to give answers to some questions that were recorded on a statement. When I got home and heard about their visit I rang the TV Licensing office who assured me that if I bought a licence then we would not get a summons. Bearing in mind I'd only had the TV a month because we'd only just moved into the house. Anyway today my daughter has received a summons even though I bought a TV licence. She is really worried. The licence is in my name but summons is in her name. My daughter had only just turned 18 years old at the time of the visit and felt intimidated by the fact that she was read out the caution - ie you do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence etc. What I would like to know is I have just found the TV licence, which although I purchased mid February, states that it expires 31 January 2015. This means that when the enforcement officer came to visit on 12th February, it appears that the TV licence was valid from 31 January 2014 when in fact I didn't purchase it until after the visit. Does this mean that my daughter can plead not guilty?

The cost of renewing or applying for a driving licence is set to fall under proposals announced by the government. Fees would fall by a third for digital applications and 15% for paper. Drivers who apply for their first licence online would see a saving of £16, with the cost dropping from £50 to £34. Drivers who renew their licence after 10 years would benefit from a fee reduction from £20 to £14. And all driver tachograph cards would reduce to £32 from £38. The proposals are part of a public consultation on driver licensing fees - the changes would save drivers nearly £18 million and the industry around £2 million every year. Subject to the consultation and parliamentary process the new fees are planned to come into force by 31 October 2014. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/driving-licence-fees-to-fall

A friends daughter is being told that she has to travel to Burton on Trent for a court hearing re TV licence. She is being told that it cant be heard in hanley which is a combined county/crown court is this correct

Hi, newbie here. I'm trying to find information on what makes a bus, a bus. If I have a cat C licence, I can't drive a bus / coach - cat D. If all but 8 seats were removed, would the vehicle still be a bus, or just a heavy vehicle? I can't find any literature regarding this as it seems quite a specific question. I'm thinking that if there are insufficient seats - the vehicle could not be regarded as a psv / pcv... where would i find relevant legislation on the subject? thanx guys, take it easy.

neighbour has a 21yrs old son he got caught last year driving alone on provi licence. [one off silly mistake whilst parents were away] got 6 points for no ins/£200 fine. all done paid ended he has now passed his test they want to allow him to drive their second [wifes] car she has her own full comp insurance on it. she is the owner/keeper can he be put on her insurance as named driver? can he get his own full comp insurance to drive the same car? if he does do they have to tell the wifes insurance provider? can you have two separate policies on the same car? sorry not my game

My TV aerial fell off the roof (in the storm) so I rang up asking if I still had to pay as I could not get reception (not even through the Internet). I then discovered that I had overpaid by this method of fortnightly installments. Not really worth cancelling my licence but I was pleasantly surprised I did not need to pay for 6 months and I was £109.80 overpaid. Worth a try if you have been paying for a bit.

I thought I might share this news:- The OFT has refused to renew the consumer credit licences of debt purchaser HFO Capital Limited, and two associated debt collectors, HFO Services Limited and Roxburghe (UK) Limited. http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2014/08-14#.UvM2NIUZNRq.

I am 34 years old and have been living in Weston, on and off, since about 1994. Nearly 2 years ago i passed my full motorcycle test (Cat A, which, at the time cost over £600) with a company in Weston called Ridesafe. Everything was fine until a little over a week ago i received a letter from the D.V.L.A. informing me that back in the year 2000 i was disqualified from driving for 2 years and ordered to take an extended test and because of this my licence has be negated and must be returned to them. i immediately contacted Ridesafe to ask my instructor about this and was told that if this were the case he would not have been able to book the test in the first place as it would have flagged up against my driver licence number. i have since been to the Citizens Advice Bureau and was told that the D.V.L.A would simply say it was my responsibility to inform them i needed the extended test. if i had known about this then i would have told my instructor. problem is that several years ago (over 5 years but less than 10) i developed a bruise on my brain (cerebellum) causing me to have an illness called 'cerebellar ataxia'. for several years i was unable to walk or talk, among many other symptoms, some which have remained including poor concept of time and virtually no memory of my past. i had no idea i needed to take the extended test. had i known, it would have been done at a small extra cost. the D.V.L.A are implying that i will now need to start the entire process from the beginning (CBT, theory, module 1, module 2) which will cost around £700. for nearly 2 years i have been riding around thinking all is well only to be told that i have been using my bike unlawfully, whilst disqualified and with an invalid insurance policy

One of the site team has received an email from their Neighbourhood Watch scheme regarding the following:- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/motorists-warned-about-driving-licence-reminders-received-by-text-or-email So please do be aware of this.

My son had a visit from two officers from TV licencing he did not have a licence in place and told them that he froze it back in September because he was going to Scotland which he did. He contacted them a few weeks back to reinstate the licence and was spoken to like a criminal, the guy was most unhelpful and demanded payment eventhough he asked for a payment card, he did not have any cash in the bank as he is on JSA. The guy was so rude my son put the phone down on him, being a hot headed person. Hence the visit, they asked for his reasons which he explained and they seemed to be quite understanding. But I have my doubts as they read him his rights and gave him a Tv payment card. Do you think it will still go to court? Any advise would be greatly accepted. Not sure where to post this? mashmallow

Not really sure where to put this so please move if needed i brought a TV licence outright (paid for the whole year) in May this year (2013) but ive just had a email saying my licence has expired on 30th November 2013, The only way this could be possible is if they backdated the yearly subscription if i didnt have a licence from november 2012-may 2013 (i may not have done, i can't honestly remember) but even if i didnt i had no one knock on the door or prove i was watching TV from november 2012-may 2013. So what can i do as in my eyes my TV licence should not expire until May 2014.

Hi I would like to find out what the law is on European driving licences, i would like to do my A2 licence in Poland where it is legal by EU law to do your A2 at the age of 18, my question is would i be able to use that european driving licence in the uk where the age is 19?

Except that I have, and it's paid in full. A brief background. The Licencing people - is it still the home office ? - have been supplying a receipted licence for eight years to this property following a one off payment. This is the first year it has been done totally online to save paper and a stamp. I have bank statement proof that I paid on the day and that it has not been refunded at any time since. The issue which has led to a summons is, from what I can gather, a change to the house number as a result of a postal address change, that Royal Mail have confirmed was modified by the TV Licencing office themselves in 2011. I have confirmation of this in a letter from the local sorting office. I had one of their 'inspectors' come round and since I have a licence I saw no reason not to let him in last month, and show him the Royal Mail correspondence. The problem is, the contents within their statement supplied in the court summons is completely different to what happened on the day, he states that I never showed him the letter and asked him to leave after an argument ensued. Since I can prove a licence is valid, why should they ask me to appear in court, wasting a day of my time for no gain ? Secondly, I have to send something back to the court, pleading guilty or not guilty, of course I'm going for the latter. Am I entitled to claim for the lost time and costs of scanning and printing all the valid documentation at the local stationers when I turn up ? Thirdly, as a direct result of the postal alteration, I have lost some mail, other mail has gone to another address a few miles away, and I have lost two appeals, one for a parking ticket and another for a self assessment penalty, through the timing of correspondence back and forth exceeding that required by HMRC. Can I also claim for these penalties back from TV Licencing ? Fourthly, how does one state in court correspondence that the TV licencing people and their 'inspectors' (Capita ?) are cretinous without actually using such a word, by their fabrication of a witness statement and the detail within the database they have at their disposal, simply to go for proceedings via the court ?

I had a minor accident a couple of weeks ago and my insurance company rang up on Tuesday to request a conference call with DVLA. During the call the DVLA suggested I ring them back which I did. They informed me that my licence had been revoked since 1998. I knew nothing of this. I asked why. They said that I had not sent it in for an endorsement to be added but could not tell me what endorsement as their records don't go back that far. They also cannot supply me with copies of the letters they say they sent me requesting my licence as their records don't go back that far. I told them that I can remember a policeman knocking on the door years ago saying he had been sent by the DVLA and asking to see my licence. I showed it to him and he said it was fine and left. I asked why this problem had not shown up when the police had stopped me a few years ago and done a PCN check on me. They said that was strange! They have told me to apply for a new licence which I have done but I cant drive in the meantime and I am now concerned that my insurance company will find out, cancel my insurance and charge me for all of the costs of the accident. I do not know what is going on. What should I do?

According to this section of the site https://www.gov.uk/become-lorry-bus-driver/licence-validity-and-renewals Drivers over 45 will continue to renew their entitlement as they do now. When you renew your licence at the end of a 5-year period, you’ll need to provide a medical examination report. therefore, a 47 year old that has had the C/C1 class entitlement installed automatically on their paper licence when they passed their test in the mid 80s, will now need to upgrade in the same manner as before, which is - do nothing. However, will/does this situation change if the licence is upgraded to a photo type one based on the following link ? https://www.gov.uk/exchange-paper-driving-licence

Hello everyone, I am in need of advice with regards to the next steps to take with Marston Group Bailiff. Three weeks ago I had a letter hand delivered saying I owed £275 for a TV Licence fine plus £270 Bailiff costs. I was out so bailiff didnt access the property. I rang the agent back and he gave me two days to get the money. As I didn't have the money I sought the advice of the National Debt helpline and wrote to the Court about a repayment plan which they refused. Eventually I swallowed my pride and asked my father for the £275 for the fine which I immediately paid directly to the Court. After being told the bailiff fees still applied I then offered Marston a repayment plan for the fees. I just got an email from them saying that they can't accept a repayment plan and that my case was sent back to the Court and that I had to deal with them directly. Now the fine is paid (checked with the court) and they are satisfied with it but they weren't sure about what to do with regards to the bailiff fees. Will the court try to enforce the bailiff fees although the original fine has been paid? (I also found out that I overpaid the fine was £245 and not £275 as claimed by Marston so Court will send me a refund check...) I hope this makes sense and if there is anyone out there who can give me any advice I would greatly appreciate it. Even National Debt helpline is not sure about the next step to take. THANKS!!

Hi All I wonder if you anyone would be kind enough to give me some advice on my following situation? I recently moved property and my sister moved into my previous address, I have just found out today that she has been hiding post from me! I had a speeding ticket come trough at my previous address which I did not know about, this has now gone to court and I have ended up with a £300 fine. I have dealt with this side of things. As a result of me not dealing with it another letter which I have now found has come through to me saying as I did not return my licence back to the DVLA to have my points added, my licence has now been revoked. It states I need to apply for a replacment. Does anyone know if there is anything I can do? Thanks so much in advance

Afternoon everyone. I have received a letter from that lot at the BBC saying:'because I haven't responded to their letter they may ask me to go to a hearing at court'. Is there anyway they can do that without proof that I watch/have a television? which I don't It also said that they are sending enforcement officers to visit.Would that be the usual sales people that they send round regards