A friend transferred some money out of his bank account to an etrade account as he thinks he will lose his job in a couple of months, and wanted less than £6,000 in the account, but worries that housing benefit and DWP will do data matching or go into his accounts and see the transaction and then look into the etrade account (which isn't trading at the moment). Will they notice the money being sent out, do they monitor transactions three months before and do data matching? Does the DWP employ credit reference agencies who pick up on these transactions and etrade accounts? He's thinking of closing this bank account and opening another one in another bank. To stop this transaction being fund for £6,000 out of account. Obviously, he will get contribution based benefits after working for four years.

I have an old Scottish Power debt from my last house. About £1200. They want me to pay it off at £50 a month. I am struggling to do this. What are my options. I am not with them now.

my account has been sold from a catalogue company to lowell i did not receive a default notice only a letter of assignment on my credit report the default date is shown as 14th October 2014 with a default balance of £2400 when i log into my catalogue account online there is a credit of £150 on 14th October 2014. Balance on the 13th was £2550 however after the credit the balance is £2400 - i'm told this is an administrative charge and £2400 is the alleged default balance. However on the 16th October 2014 the catalogue added this £150 back onto the account bringing the balance back to £2550. Lowell are now chasing me for the £2550 however since the default balance is lower, how much do i actually owe?!

:!:Hi all, Just wondering what options my sister has. She need to pay rent on the 01/01/2015 but she spent too much on Christmas and has no more saving. She is thinking of paying late or a payday loan. She needs to pay £375 What would be best for her to do? Thanks Andrew

Hoping to go away a few times this year and am looking at travel insurance. I've been given quotes that range from £30-£100 ish. But is there really that much difference between the insurance that each company offers? I've had a look on compare the market and put my details in to see what comes up. I am aware that some compaies won't come up on comparison websites.

I am self employed and my earnings vary a lot often for a short period oftime. My housing benefit claim was already close once because my earnings weretoo high. However the problem is that my earnings vary a lot often for asmall period of time and it is inconvenient for me to make a new claim forhousing benefit each time my earnings vary. I would like to know how to explainmy situation to the housing benefit department to avoid that my claim is closedeach time my earnings vary temporarily I would like to know if there is a specific law for self employer or if I have to file a specific form

I couldn't help but over-hear two men in their mid-twenties while sitting at a bar. One of the guys says to his friend, "Man you look tired." His buddy says, "Dude I'm exhausted. My girlfriend and I have sex all the time. I just don't know what to do." A fellow about (72), sitting a couple of stools down had also overheard the conversation. He looked over at the two young men and with the wisdom of years says, "Marry her. That'll put a stop to it!"

Hi, My girlfriend has received a court summons for a speeding fine (36 in a 30) and failure to provide details of the driver. This has gone to court as the previous paperwork had gone to a previous address. We will go guilty to the speeding offence by post so what sort of fine will we receive ? But the failure to provide the driver details we will go as not guilty as we never received the original requests for them, so again we will expect a fine but roughly how much please ? My girlfriend is a low earner and takes home roughly £950 after tax. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hello All - Ist time post. In seeking further disclosures from the Respondent prior to ET, is the correspondence to and from them able to be discussed at the ET hearing?

Today Received a form from Northampton Court/Restons Solicitors claiming £8635.55, apparently relating to an M&S card, contract dated 'on or about 17/7/1989 and assigned to the claimant on 20/02/13. It was sent to an old address and it is is in my old married name. I had an M&S card but don't think I owe anything to them. I haven't had any credit cards since I sold my house in 2010. My husband died jn 2006 and he had several credit cards, one of them an M&S card, it may be his debt? Can you tell me how to respond to this, there is no evidence that the debt is mine, they say I owe £8345.55 plus court fees of £190 and solicitors costs of £100 making the total £8635.55. Any information you can give me as to how to respond would be greatly appreciated,I no longer live at the address the Claim Form has been issued to and the name it has been issued in is incorrect. Many thanks

Hi, I have a problem with my left foot which is being investigated by my Doctor, I have to have x-rays to establish if I have a Fracture or another problem. My doctor has not signed me off work and I have told my employer that I can drive or walk fine, however my employer has decided that I am sick and unable to work until I can prove otherwise. They have told me I'm to stay off sick but this is something which I really cannot do as I don't get sick pay and have a family to support. Where do I stand with this? Can they determine I'm unfit for work even though I've seen a Doctor and he didn't think it necessary to sign me off, or are they making their own rules up and have no right to insist I stay off sick? All this was decided by my manager last night at 6pm so it was too late for me to speak to HR or get back to the Docs for a fit for work certificate and as I'm due to work today I'm already missing out on a days pay. Thanks for any advise

Hi everyone. I am in the process of seeking other employment. The reasons being that I am unhappy in my current job and have been told it may not be safe anyway as work has recently been lost by the company. I work away from home all week at the moment and was going to move my family to be with me in July, however i cannot take the risk I may not have a job by October or that i may have a job but somewhere else in the UK. This would mean selling our home and moving our kids out of school at GCSE time for a job that is not cast iron, so you can see my predicament. I have the chance of another job near home but my current employment contract states i have to give 12 weeks notice. I have been here 7 months, 6 of those were probationary. I know if i am offered this other job, they will not wait 12 weeks. What i want to know is, is there anyway i can give less notice? I need another job before i leave this one, but 12 weeks seems a lot and i know prospective employers will not wait that long. I am desperate to get back home to my family. Thanks.

Hello I joined two companies over ten years ago fashionworld and brilliantgift shop from which i bought items, and over the last ten years sure i have paid for the items fifty times over by now, have got into such a mess with them, I would only have to miss a payment then there would be further late fees added on, and not to mention the admin fees, I dont get much money as im on sick benefits and suffered from mental illness all this time, for the last ten years they have been taking so much of my money, a friend mentioned to me that I could reclaim the late fees they had been charging and I am completely new to this have no idea how to go about it, I wondered if anybody could be any information on how to start going about claiming back? This month I owe them about hundred and fifty pounds to them, because i missed some payments, I cant go on like this I cant afford these charges anymore seems to be getting worse, now Im worried because I just decided i cant bear parting with that much money and have spent the money on something else and this means next time the charges will be even more still got to my wits end with this now, I am always worrying how the hell im going to pay, is there anybody could advice me what to do ? thank you

Please bare with me as I am new to this. Daughter born oct 1997 lives with her mum PWC. paid £40 cash weekly to her mum as we had a friendly and amicable relationship. Saw daughter most days and had her overnight twice a week. met my new partner in 2003, had our first child in nov 2004. she is from Cardiff so moved here when her mother was ill and eventually died in April 2005... continued to pay child support and visit every other week until July 2005 when her mother said I could have no access and didn't want a penny etc. my new partner continued to see my daughter in order to keep a relationship with he new brother until june 2008. Also another ex partner insisted I was her child's parent, I contested this due to casual relationship and other factors. I asked for a DNA test and this PWC refused and I heard no more of this... UNTIL in Feb 2011 I all of a sudden get an AOE .... for both cases! I lost my job in June 2011.... Money was taken from my benefits. I started a new job in October 2012 and was paying the csa once again. I have 4 children with my partner I've been with 12 years. We had to send birth certificates to the csa to prove they existed.... they lost them, but they did send us a giro for £18. My second child is deaf and registered disabled. Thought I should note this. The CSA have always had my address and work details...I have always co-operated. I have now earn £1233 after tax and recieved a letter this morning saying an attachment has been sent to my employer, I apparently owe £11,000 in arrears and they will take £453 a month for child support and arrears payments. I am fully aware that I should be paying child support, like I said ive never hidden or refused to pay and always sent wage slips, change of circumstances and proof of my other children etc But £450 a month will mean I cannot meet the costs of other commitments and essentials. It costs me £50 a week to get to work! I have the letter if anyone that can help would like to see etc. my protected income is £690 If ive missed something I apologise and would appreciate any help.

Hi, I work 2 days a week (weekends) for a small boutique and have been there for 7 years. I have been offered a new job and have accepted this. My contract states that I have to work 8 weeks notice but I need to leave after just 5 weeks. I know I will be in breach of contract, but small shops, employing part time wont wait 2 months, which to be fair does seem excessive. Can someone please tell my what could happen to me if I leave after 5 weeks instead of 8. My boss is pushing for 8 weeks notice and is not answering her phone so I have put this to her in writing.

Hi everyone I took a job last year in the North, meaning i relocated from the south. I was told I would be overseeing and working in the North at various location (7 to be precise) over 2 weeks, which were not too far apart. I was also told one of the locations was around 1.5 hours drive away but that i would only be there occasionally. Since starting the job, i have been at this location twice a week, taking me 2 hours to drive there and 2 hours to drive back from where i live and apparently its goping to be like that permanently. The other locations are a lot nearer, the furthest being 40 mins drive away. I have also been sent to the Midlands to cover locations with staff shortages etc and this has been at least once per week. I am having to finish my work of an evening, drive to the Midlands which is about 3-4 hours, stay in a hotel, work a full day then drive 3-4 hours to get home again. I am finding all this driving far too much and its not what I want from a job. My contract says i may be required to cover other locations in the country and i am happy to do so, occasionally, but this is getting too much. i do not want to be away from my family overnight on a regular basis. I have tried discussing it with my manager but he tells me that its part of my job. As far as i was aware the area i was supposed to be working is the North and that is what my job title states,(North Area), not the midlands, london or anywhere else. I am being asked more regularly to go to locations not in the North and feel like I am living out of a suitcase. My company give me a car and pay for the fuel so that isnt a problem, but I am so worn out and stressed with all the driving, Im no longer enjoying this job. So my question is.. . how much driving is too much? even though my contract states I can be sent to other locations in the country, what is reasonable? I do love the work, but all this time spent driving is ruining it. Thanks

Hi all, This is my first post of this nature. I have done some reading on the internet for help and from what I can see this forum offers some excellent advice, of which I hope to receive. I have several debts outstanding from the last few years, of which I do really want to resolve to clear things from my credit profile etc as I hope to maybe start a family in the next year or two and look to buy my own home. I do not dispute the majority of these debts, just the way I am being chased on them, I am not going to say that I know nothing about them, I just want to be honest to receive some solid advice, even if it's not what I want to hear. My main concern at the moment is with Marstons. They are chasing me on an ourstanding Council Tax bill from last year. I simply couldn't afford the bill and struggled on the monthly payments through one reason or another. It was passed to Marstons. They told me several months ago my outstanding balance was £894 approx. I informed them I would struggle making the monthly payments but they said I must make these or my debt would increase. To the best of my knowledge (waiting on bank statements to confirm) I have paid £500 of this debt. Their agent has phoned me a couple of times in the last 2 weeks but due to me not currently having any money I avoided answering his calls. Now I've manned up and want to sort the matter out. He left me a voice message yesterday saying if I did not pay a further £250 they would visit my home which would incur an additonal fee of £140 for the visit, whether I am in or not. So I have messaged him this morning via text as I now want records of my dealings with their agent. I explained that currently I am struggling financially and do not have £250 to pay. He messaged saying that if a payment of £125 is made before 2pm tomorrow (1/04) he will hold proceedings and set a new arranging for me, at £133 per month and that he can do no more than this. He also said my remaining balance is £524. I asked him to clarify why my balance is £524 as I believe I have paid £500 so the remaining would be £394 or there abouts. He replied this is due to "further fees for late payments over the last 3 months" and that further attendance would incur further charges. I have asked how much are the late fees and where I can see these, I said to him that whilst he has told me about the £140 fee for visiting my home, I've no record of late fees being mentions and I've asked him for a breakdown of them. He replied: Mr XXXXX - The balance of hte information I have to hand. I will confirm and come back to you. It is important payment is made this week. I advised him that i would make a payment if I was financially able this week and that I would require a breakdown of these fees. Is there anything further I can be doing to avoid any further fees and to set a more manageable payment plan? - To my knowledge they have only visited my home once, when they put through the first letter to which I contacted them and made the subsequent payments, 1 of £200 and another of £300. Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated. I am concerned that if I am unable to pay the £125 he is demanding by tomorrow I will incur further charges including £140 to just visit my home... which I see as a little excessive, but this may be standard? Please note I have no experience of dealing with baliffs or debt collectors despite they contacting me. I do have other things I may need assistance with but I appreicate that people offer their advice on their own time and I do not want to clog up the board with all my issues, as this is the most pressing issue I will wait until I have resovled this before seeking further help. I am just glad for any assistance. Thank you for your time.

A firm of licensed conveyancers, both partners of which are solicitors, has quoted me £125 + v.a.t. for completing on line HMRC form SDLT1. According to the HMRC website, this form can be completed by anyone in 10 minutes. A comprehensive guide to its completion is provided on line. When I queried this with them they offered to reduce it to £100 but this still seems to me to be excessive remuneration for a few minutes work. In any case, why is this not included in their legal fees as most mortgagors insist that the payment of SDLT is done by a solicitor.

changed my mind on posting this

Morning all. a friend lent £700 to another friend, with the promise of returning £750 once a 4000 cheque had cleared. this should of been within a week. 6 weeks later and the person has told my friend he wont be getting the money because he has spent it. This person works and earns over £400 a week as well as his wifes income. My friend would like to issue a county court claim for the money. there is no paperwork but a series of texts showing money owed. As well as interest what other expenses can be claimed? If i did all the paperwork could i charge a reasonable fee? if so what? And if it went to court could my friend charge for lost earnings? Thanks in advance for any advice.

I have routinely seen the following advice posted; "for pdls, work on the basis that you owe the loan, original stated interest and a default fee. If they want the charges, they can justify that that are fair and proportionate first" Is there any basis for this? and does paying rollovers class as part of this repayment?

Hi, I'm new and would like to thank anyone for any help in advance. I had a payday loan for £100, £129 due, with repayment on Thursday. As I have a new bank, they could not automatically take the £129. However, I bank transferred it on the due date (as it said it can be on their website). I sent an email and telephoned them informing them of the payment. All fine... but then: I kept getting calls/texts on Friday and I had also transferred £50 to that old account to cover another bill and PDE took £25. I phoned again, they apologized, said they would issue me with a £25 refund and pass on that its been paid. They took another £25 yesterday and I will face a bank charge aswell as a direct debit rejection charge from talktalk. Is there anyway I can claim the charges back from the mess that is PDE! So annoying! Thanks, Susan

Hi, was just wondering if anyone has sent a hardship letter to their creditor(s) asking for their outstanding debt to be written off and if so, have you been successful or unsuccessful? Are some creditors more than others likely to agree to write the debt off and is there a limit to how much they will write off?

Morning everyone, Just received my post and I've had a letter from DWP about an old social fund loan I have with them, I know I have this and it needs paying back, that's not the issue, I'm willing to pay them monthly when DH gets paid however they want almost £20 per week and we just can't afford this, do we have to pay them back at that amount or could we pay them less? I'm disabled so can't work so DH is the only income we have for now until my illness stabilises and then I'll be wanting (needing haha!) to find a part time job. How do we go about telling them that they are expecting too much? Thanks to anyone who replies.

I'm writing on behalf of my partner. Cut a long story short, he is on ESA WRAG (IR) for severe depression and anxiety. He has been claiming for just under 3 years now, he has failed all 3 medicals, but succesfully gained enough points at tribunal to be awared ESA. (with the help of me and his father, and a rep from cab). He is worried sick about the new mandatory work programme and work placements he can be put on, and if he refuses, the sanctions he will face. We are in no position to be sanctioned, but he is also in no position to be, (well the equivalent) of working full time. My partner is on high dose Anti-D's aswell as going to group therapy twice a week (one is CBT), and counselling once a week. The counselling is 2 hours in the middle of the day (12-2) and it takes an hour transport there and back. The group therapy is 10-4 and takes the same amount of time, if not a bit longer. My partner cannot use public transport on his own without panic/anxiety attacks or just breaking down and wondering around aimlessly. I go to all these appointments with him (luckily they are both close to his parents, so I stay in theirs while he is in the app until it's time to pick him up again. He had been waiting for the counselling and group therapy for over 2 years, they all only started in the last 3-4 months. Partner has been mentally ill since his early childhood, has seen many psychologists/psychiatrists and counsellors, none of which have helped. He has been on many different types of anti-depressants over the cause of about 6-7 years, none of which have made any significant change. He has never worked, never finished a project in his life, left school with no gcse's, attempted college courses but never completed any. When he fails something (which is often), this spirals him into a very dark place. One were he secretly plans his own suicide etc. Not one that is pleasant. My main concern is, if he put on a work programme or work placement, what will they do about the app my partner has throughout the week? Will they make him stop these appointments? He finds the counselling/group therapy VERY stressful, so having to 'work' every day, when he isn't at his appointments also worries me, as he needs a day off. I'm not sure how my partner is expected to get to the job center on his own, nevermind work programmes and work placements? Partners doctor is quite helpful, though, and I, aswell as him, beleive my partner COULD get into work, with the right help, and slowly into it, however being forced into something like this, is not something I think will help him in the slightest, and I worry it will put him back in that dark place. Dr is convinced we are stretching the truth, and it will not be as bad as we say it will be (and many others saying it will be). I'm very worried of my partners wellbeing. And I doubt he will ever make the support group. Any advice? Sorry in advance, I'm both tired and very stressed.