Currently I receive income related ESA and have done for a few years now. Presently I live with my parents but my significant other has just bought a house and wants me to move in. My significant other earns over £30k a year so that takes use above the limit for being eligable for benefits I believe so I need to inform the DWP to inform them of the change and my benefit money will stop. The house they have bought needs a lot of work done to it and so I don't think I will move in until september at the earliest as due to my illness I am unable to live there while work is being done. I would like to know when I should contact the DWP about my change of circumstance. Can I wait until I move in then just write to them telling them of the date of the move or should I tell them in advance and if so how much in advance. What should I expect should I just call them, do they send a form out? I am not long through an assessment period, will telling them I am planning to live with a partner trigger another assessment?

Hi guys, Going to try keep this short. in November 2014 I started looking at upgrading my phone as it was playing up. O2 couldn't offer me a suitable deal. So I moved to 3 in December 2015. When I got my PAC code and told o2 that I was moving they said any remaining monies would be taken from my account. That's what happened with my broadband account as I moved them both at the same time. Fast forward a year later I get a call from Lowell saying am I aware of a debt that's owed to o2. I told them not because I moved over a year ago and have had not contact from o2 since, only emails entitled, "Your monthly bill" and when I open them it simply states there's nothing to pay this month. Lowell got back to me saying that they contacted o2 and the debt was still outstanding. I then contacted o2 my self to make sure it wasn't a [problem] or anything and was shocked when they told me I still owed. I instantly paid the £154. As I'm sorting out a mortgage I decided to check my credit file and to my amazement there's a default on there from Lowell but no mention of o2. Ive had email contact with o2 referrals team but they are hopeless. They gave me a number to ring to get a refund and said I must pay Lowell directly. I have phoned them yet, I wanted to ask her first for advice. I'd be wary of o2. I've been there for 10 years, if there was money owed, they could've wrote, emailed or phoned. What to do now??

In the dim and distant past when I first left school and started earning my own living, I also started contributing to an insurance plan which promised me a wide range of benefits in return for a proportion of my salary. According to the rules then, once I had been in the plan for at least two years I would receive at least enough money to live on, for as long as I needed it, should I become unemployed or unable to work due to illness or disability and, once I had contributed for 20 years, I would receive a pension when I reached the age of 60. I dutifully contributed to this plan for 24 years without making a single claim, but then a sequence of events left me permanently unfit for work and so I claimed. At first there was no problem - I was so clearly severely ill and disabled that there was no question of not paying the promised benefits until such time as I was entitled to be paid my pension instead. At some point during those 23 years the age at which I would be entitled to my pension had increased to 65, but that didn’t really matter as I still had my ill health benefits to rely on. Unfortunately the company paying my benefits came under new management and decided to change the rules so that I now had to meet very stringent criteria to continue receiving any benefit, and unless I met the most stringent of these, I would only be paid for one year. Also, they increased the pension age by another 3 years, meaning that if I didn’t qualify for the ill health benefits, I would have no income for 17 years. I am one of the lucky ones who did continue to receive benefits beyond that single year, but there’s no certainty in it because not only can this company apparently change the rules whenever they like, I have to rely on those rules being fairly applied not just once, but every time the whim takes them to reassess my claim, regardless of any and all medical evidence suggesting that not only will I not get better, but that my condition will only deteriorate. I am now at the stage where I need more and more care, but we can’t afford for my husband to take early retirement to look after me as we can’t reliably predict if our income will permit it should the rules be changed again. Even if he doesn’t retire early, he’s in a profession in which he cannot continue beyond age 60 but his pension, from the same company, won’t be paid for 8 years after that despite him having already contributed for 42 years, making it even more vital that my ill health benefits continue to be paid. Had we not contributed to this insurance plan, indeed had we not worked at all and relied on handouts, we’d be no worse off so a combined 66 years of contributions has earned us precisely nothing and there is unfortunately nothing we can do about it. The company is of course the government and so they can apparently do whatever they like, whenever they like. Can you imagine the furore if a private company had continually moved the goalposts like this?

Hi all, I have been living in the Netherlands for four years and now in the process of sepearating from my husband - i left debt in the UK around 7k (bank overdraft, pay day companies) with the intention of repaying when i started living here, unfortunatley as my husand was out of work for much of the time i lived here i was unable to pay back. Can anyone please advise on the best way to tackle the situation. Thanks in advance.

Ok this is one that affects me directly so guidance is needed. I work for a large retailer and as part of my job they can change my shifts / hours to "suit the needs of the company". Because of this my shifts have been changed on 3 occasions causing major upheaval and stress within the family as we try to juggle time. I originally started on days then was moved to nights then twilight then back to nights all to suit the needs of the company. However now they have decided that they are changing the way replenishment is done ( Not my roll ) however this means the closure of the night shift which I am on ( Not through choice ). I have been reliably informed that the roll I am doing is not being made redundant but is being moved to an earlier twilight shift which I am happy to move to. But now I am being told that as the roll is moving to twilight I will have to re apply for my own job ( To make it fair to others? ) what about fairness to me? A job I have done for 8 years I think they are doing this in order to force redundancies of over staff and possibly as a way to change my contract to remove my Sunday premium which makes up my wage. My argument against having to re apply is that the company have used the " needs of the business" speal to change my shifts on 3 previous occasions and I was never required to re apply but now they want to change the goal posts to push though their agenda which could ultimatum lead to my redundancy cos as a union rep I am sure I would be in the firing line as the new CEO Is anti union. I am getting ready to address the current situation through the consultation process but would like some guidance on recourse, questions to support my current concerns and ultimately highlight any areas to take further should the worse scenario play out. At 50 I know if I end up out of work I will probably never work again. I have worked almost continually since leaving school.and cant see myself unemployed. Advice please. Cheers Bill

Hi I left the UK in 2012, paid off most debts but still had a couple outstanding.. I popped home in Nov 2015, opened some of my post and found a couple of CCJ court letters. I can't remember what they said but they were from the court, issuing proceedings. They were dated 2014. I am returning to the UK long term soon. I will be unemployed to start with as I need medical care. What should I do with the CCJS? Ignore or face them? Is it worth declaring myself bankrupt? Cheers PPP

Hi, I have been a Virgin Media customer since February 2011 when I moved into my current address. I have made occasional changes to my package (e.g. added Sky Sports in May) but other than that my services have remained unchanged - TV, phone & broadband. I am moving house tomorrow and have just phoned them to ask how to go about transferring my services over and was told they (probably) can't service the new address and I will be subject to a £190 termination fee as I have 6 months remaining on my "contract". As far as I'm aware, I haven't signed or agreed to any new contract in the 4.5 years I've been with them. I did receive an email in May after adding Sky Sports thanking me for "agreeing my new contract with them". I then received an "update" email confirming the changes I had made to my package - the wording used in this email was "changes to your package", not new contract. So I am confused. I wasn't aware I even had a new contract, since all I did was add some channels. And surely it isn't my problem if they can't supply the new property with their services? Any advice would be much appreciated. I am being absolutely robbed in letting agents' fees and cannot afford an extra £200 for nothing!! Thanks, Anna

Hi, I recently moved out of a room I was renting in a shared flat. I gave what I thought was supposed to be one months notice about a week before my contract ended. After giving my notice my landlord informed me that it was supposed to be two months notice and I would have to pay rent until they found a replacement tenant for the second moth. I then told the landlord that I would stay for the two months. He said that I can't stay two months as he wouldn't be able to find a new tenant that close to Christmas. After I emailed him telling I would be staying for the months if there's a chance I would have to pay for it anyway he replied saying I was messing him around and I should move out immediately. After this I phoned him and we agreed that I would move out in two weeks. It has now been 10 days since I moved out. I have emailed him several times about my deposit and still haven't had any reply. Where do I stand with this? My contract does say that I should give two months notice but then he said I couldn't live there for the two months and to move out immediately. Is it worth using the ADR of the deposit protection scheme or should I just accept that I won't get my full deposit back? Thanks.

Well, generally I am a supporter of sky, BUT alongside the £1 increase in line rental (heck they all are) sky are removing the included calls effectively reducing the worth of the package in addition to raising its cost. Now as if the double whammy there wasn't bad enough they are 'automatically' moving people on to an additionally charged calls package - as that gives the nearest call package to the free included ones you had. How are they notifying folk of this - buried in the detail of what superficially looks like just another rubbish mail shot. and to add further insult to injury, the link in the letter to tell them to get some sage, onion and breadcrumbs and apply ... doesn't work. AND of course the phone line are all blocked up with folk telling them to pull their sphincter over their head and whistle dixie. Surely automatically moving folk onto a charged add-on package is illegal - its certainly immoral. Ah well, positive side is many can use the changes to walk away from your contract with them and take up someone elses. Darned disgraceful.

Hi All, We are moving home at the end of next week and have begun the process of transferring utilities etc.. We have been customers of NPower for some 8 years and have always had a credit meter for both gas & electric which have been paid via monthly DD. Today we phoned NPower to notify them that we were moving and that we wished to remain customers of theirs. The property we have purchased is already supplied by NPower and presently has credit meters fitted so we expected no issues. NPower ran a credit check and have informed us that our only options are: a) Have prepayment meters fitted. b) Place a security deposit of £200 per fuel to be held for 12mths and continue to pay by direct debit. Admittedly our credit files are not squeaky clean (though clean enough to obtain a mortgage) but we do not see why after 8 years of customer loyalty we should have to either have prepayment meters fitted or pay a substantial security deposit. Although we could switch providers, we are concerned that the whole industry credit checks and we would essentially find ourselves in the same position. We are concerned that time is ticking fast as we are due to move into our new home next Friday, so we may not have time to sort prior to our move date, which raises another question.... This may sound stupid but we are first time buyers so please bear with us... the property we are moving into has working electricity and gas obviously not looking to defraud but is it the case that electricity/gas cannot be used until a provider is sorted? Any help/advice is greatly received.

i have a contract with a broadband provider for 8 more months. its 18.40/month, i've moved and they want me to pay £100.00+ moving fee and wait 27 days to connect it at my new address. the contract is for supply of broadband/phone so can i cancel it based on the fact that they have broken the contract ? and cancel all further payments?

I've been doing a lot of research this week and have decided to make an account on here to get some advice as I'm a bit lost what to do. So I've made some bad life choices, I'm only 23, but I'm moving to egypt with my family. However, I'm 8 months into a 4 year car pcp. As with all cars you can imagine there is a large amount of negative equity, the total amount I am unsure because I'm confused with my options. At first I was considering declaring myself bankrupt, this way the debt, which is potentially upto £6000 will be written off. But the problem here is that to get a residency visa in Egypt I have to show my bank statements, I only have around £3000 in the bank, which I have slowly saved since I moved out when I was 18. What are my options regarding the car, as when I move to egypt I won't have a job for the first year so I will have no income.

Last month I applied to be a volunteer for a charity. They asked me for a standard DBS, which they will pay for, and it will be sent to my address. I have registered with the online DBS tracking system and it is still halfway through. In the meantime I am moving and I won't be able to receive the printed copy of the DBS. How can I inform the authorities involved that I am moving and would that invalidate my DBS? Thanks.

Hello looking to get help regarding my debt. I live in Scotland. I work part time and i sell on ebay as self employed From over 2 years due to overseas sellers use fulfilment my profit went down. Never was big but now just doesn'r exist. On top of that my landlord want to increase my rent. Every month i have more debt so me and my wife decided to comeback to our home country(in EU) Where we can get some help from our family My debt is 2500GBP on credit card 300GBP bills And 1100 GBP for rent I can't afford to pay those money so i would like to know what is best option? Should i just leave and don't say anybody? Could they find me over there becouse it's EU country? or tell my creditors that i move aboard but don't say where? I really don't know what to do and any help would be good

Hey guys, I've stalked the forum for a while and gathered various information but I'm having some trouble. As of next week I'll be moving away. Now it will take me over 30 minutes (free of traffic) to get to my gym, and again on the way home. I have a gym literally across the road from my new house. I politely emailed X4L to see if there was a way I could cancel my contract now that I would be moving. Apparently because I'm now 9.1 miles away I'm not eligible. I have to be 15 miles away. So despite me asking to appeal this and for contact details of her manager I've been told my claim won't even be looked at because of the distance. Now the 30 minutes is based on being in a car, I have to use public transport unless I get a lift, so I'm looking at 2 hours total travel time just to attend the gym, which is ludicrous. I know it's not their fault I've moved away, but it's also not mine. I'm not even in the same county. Is there anything I can do about this? I think I'm about 5 months in to a 12 month contract but the staff at the gym have no interest in my request. Help!

Hi, I am an Australian/British citizen (Dual Nationality) and I have lived in the UK for the past 11 years. Unfortunately I have made poor choices whilst I have been here and I am in debt. I have been paying a DMP for the past 2 years and I have roughly £9,500 in total left to pay to various creditors. I have to move back to Australia in about 3 months time due to my parents ill health and this move will be permanent and I have no intention of returning to the UK. I would like some advice on if I will be chased for this debt in Australia if I just leave without paying? Also, is there anything I should do in the next 3 months before I leave? I do not want to give them my address in Australia but should I notify them that I am leaving the country? Thank you for your advice in advance

Hello everyone, I will be leaving the UK soon to move to Australia and set up a new life with my partner. I have debt on credit cards and loans with a few different banks. With circumstances over the next couple of years probably won't be in a position to pay them back. As I need to move to Australia soon I was just going to move and then when I was in a position to pay them back personally and financially in a couple of years get in contact with the banks then. My question is, is it better to: 1) Just disappear and not tell the banks I have moved to Australia so it reduces the chance of debt collecting agencies chasing me in Australia or 2) Tell the banks I am living in Australia so they cannot get a CCJ against me at my last known address in my absence. To be honest I was just going to move without contacting the banks and deal with it all down the line. However I have read on here that Australia has a reciprocal enforcement agreement that could be enforced if a CCJ is logged against me. Therefore am I better telling the banks I am outside the uk so they can not give me a CCJ as unless I am mistaken the only way I could get trouble in Australia for my outstanding debt is if the CCJ is given then enforced. But if I tell them where I am living will I not just get bombarded with calls and letters harassing me?? Any guidance would be very much appreciated. Thanks

Hi all Me and my partner are currently on a joint DMP with Payplan (in the sense my outgoings to PP are noted in the household outgoings for me, and vice versa) We currently rent a private property and all income/expenditure is based on this place. Her folks are moving abroad and can't sell their property, so asked if we'd like to move in there for the time being. It's a larger property than we currently rent. They won't agree to a tenancy agreement, but will agree to a Licence. In this Licence, it will stipulate they agree for us to live there until they return from abroad, and will lay out what we are expected to pay. This will be the mortgage and all associated bills (everything, basically) as one lump sum payment due on the 1st of the month. This will be drawn up by their solicitor. My issue is they want to keep all bills in their name, and for us to merely pay them an amount to cover their outgoings. The licence would presumably be subject to change as things like gas/electric goes up and down. I approached PP and asked for advice but they were unable to comment on how the DMP may be affected by this change. I don't need to move, it would be fine to remain as we are, but we'd be helping them out by taking over the place and covering their outgoings (mutually beneficial arrangement) I'm just worried things will go south if we go ahead, a creditor might take exception to this and we can't prove our outgoings aside from the agreed payment as per the licence being paid over monthly to the parents. I feel its a non starter, but I worry too much as it is to be quite frank. Can anyone see any issues or offer any advice? If we move in and the DMP falls apart we couldnt resume the contractual payments on the debt. I don't think the move will cost more than we pay now, as their mortgage is less than our rent. The extra on council tax and utility bills will just about balance things out - so we're not saving anything by moving (may cost more). I'm just unsure it is a good move when on a DMP given the circumstances and would appreciate any input! Cheers

Hello everyone, I just joined this forum and have a small problem. I'll keep it as brief as I can. I was renting a room for 6 months in a private accommodation and recently moved to a different city. The problem is that my previous landlord is now requesting me to pay £200 or to find a replacement to rent out the room... and on top of that he gets to keep the deposit of £200. Now I gave him about 2 weeks notice before I moved out and never actually signed the contract which I did see in electronic form.We only ever agreed that I will stay for 9 months in verbal form. I am ok with him keeping the deposit,but do I really have to pay the extra money? He is threatening to take legal action and I don't really know what to do. Would really appreciate if you could shed some light on this matter. Thank you.

Hi, I am caring for a relative who is receiving P.I.P. I want to switch from Jobseeker's Allowance to Carer's Allowance there is a lot of information online about which benefits are available I can't find anything about how long it takes to be awarded Carer's Allowance, when I should notify the jobcentre that I am applying for Carer's Allowance, and if I can claim Jobseeker's Allowance until I get Carer's Allowance? I was also wondering if I am eligible to receive backdated Carer's Allowance and whether I would still have to be on The Work Programme? I apologise for all the questions, but I'm sure there will be other people in the same position as me who will also find the information useful.

Have there been any recent changes in what cca request we send ie Credit card cca and loan cca? Mr W

ok my situation is a strange one. i entered a trust deed (IVA) 2 years ago but i lost my job this year and all they said was as long as i make a token payment i will be fine. i have been offered a job in canada and seriously thinking about taking it, i need to be there before dec 31st. this month is the first month i have not been able to pay my mortgage as I'm not working also i doubt ill be able to make my payment to trust deed. my question is whats my best option here goto canada and forget about my debt send the keys to mortgage company. can i go bankrupt from canada, explain situation to trustee. I've been reading on here and i see a lot of situations but i don't see any like mine so just hoping for any advice. I'm from scotland so i believe its a different process than england. all advice welcome

I am hoping to move to a property with more parking available now that my daughter has passed her test. There is no room for two cars at my present property. I rented privately after a divorce, was not working and my daughter was then at school. I have been renting my current property for 8 years with never a late payment on the rent. I have not been working for last few years as I was a full time carer for my father who has now passed. I viewed a property through a letting agency and decided I wanted to take on a lease. I can provide a landlord reference, a character reference, there is no reason why I would fail a credit check (I recently had a credit check for a new phone contract and passed). I have £30,000 in the bank which I have provided two months bank statements for, but the agency is saying it is unlikely I would be accepted without paying 6 months rent in advance plus the deposit. Rent is £610 a month. I am looking for work now I am no longer a full time carer, my 20 year old daughter who they insist has to be on the lease, has only just finished college in June and has started up as a self employed nail technician but obviously has no accounts as yet as only set up for a few months. I just feel the agent is being "unhelpful". They claim I could go on a wild spending spree and spend all the money in a few weeks!! (I am 50 years old not a young idiot) , by the same argument the landlord could have a mortgage and the property could be repossessed, they could not carry out any repairs when they were needed and something could happen structure wise making it inhabitable there is risk either side with a new tenancy. I nor they know the landlord well. I would have no leverage, I am feeling put off the property by the negativity/rudeness I am feeling from the agent. I feel that as there is enough to pay the rent for at least a couple of years in my account, I am active in looking for work and my daughter has set up a business we are credit worthy. Do you think this is reasonable or would other agencies be more realistic in my providing references, bond and have ample funds in bank for a six month tenancy agreement. i have no assurance this is a long term let and would have to move anyway if the landlord decided to sell house or something., When i rented the present property I was told I can stay as long as I like, and the tenancy is now a periodic tenancy. The property has been empty for at least 7 months so surely it would be in the landlords interest to get a tenant in as soon as possible. several other properties have gone before i have even had a chance to view so it is not like anyone is champing at the bit to sign up for it. I had to wait a week to view, then we couldn't get in due to lock being seized and agent didn't have a key for the back door with them, then I had to wait another 6 day before they could reschedule, then when we did view half the lightbulbs were missing and we had already seen damp on one ceiling so decided to view again in daylight (Old damp patch no leaks as builder looked, just needs repainting ceilings which they say landlord will do) Three weeks on the books and not taken and like I said, lots go within a few days. Was empty for at least 6 months before they took it on their books as I remember seeing it up with another agent and being empty and garden all overgrown so decided against a viewing at that time. Why couldn't other agent rent it? Should I walk away or would i have same problem with another agent?

Hey all, hope someone can point me in the right direction. My Mother-in-Law has moved house and tomorrow is the day the 'old landlord' is coming to have a look and check everything is up to scratch. She would like to take a letter with her for both of them to sign to say that everything is satisfactory with the LL (assuming it is [it should be]). Is there a template she could use on here, or could someone draft something that would be acceptable? The reason we're a little bit wary and want this is because the LL himself died recently and we're dealing with his wife, whom we've never met and we've no idea what she'll be like with all this. No estate agent to go through unfortunately either.

I defaulted on one of my credit cards on 17/07/2008. Over the last year I have purchased my £2 statutory credit report from Equifax a few times (Jul'13, Nov'13, Apr'14) and each has shown the same 17/07/2008 default date for my credit card. Last week I purchased another report on the 18/07/2014 expecting this default to no longer show but despite the report being a 'snapshot' of my report 6 years and one day after the default it was still showing. Not to worry I thought as a search on the web has shown that Equifax dont normally knock defaults off until 1-2 weeks after it should have. Just checked my report again today 27/07/2014 not only is the default still there but they've sneakily moved the original default date over 6 years ago to a few days later to 21/07/2008 (should be 17/07/08). I thought the default date was immoveable? Can they keep shifting the default date at will? By the way I have pdf copies of my previous reports on my hard disk showing the original date.