hi. I`m self-employed working for an employment agency. Used to work for them on day rate £120/day and then I was paid at 1,5 for Saturday and double time for Sunday. About three weeks ago they changed how they pay and now I`m on £16/hour. Sounds great, but since they changed it they don`t pay me extra for Saturday and Sundays, which means I`m paid through all week at the flat rate of £16/hour. For example, before changes for 60.75 hours I done I was paid £840 after tax, after changes for 61.5 hours I done I was paid £787.2. how can I make them to pay me at rate 1,5 for hours done on Saturday and double for hours done on Sunday? can they change things like this without telling me? thanks ps. I have pictures of all time sheets signed by manager and all the payslips

Hi advice really appreciated ? I have just returned to work 16 hours a week but have now realised as im no longer recieving Job seekers allowance that my mortgage interest payments have stopped . If i were in rented accommodation i would get help but im not . Obviously as a single mother with two kids , keeping a roof over their head is my main concern. So stressed its a nightmare !! do i go back and say im not able to take the job , although i started last week , do i get the sack which then goes against the grain as i want to work ? anyone else been in this situation ? Tracy

hi Hope this is in the right section, basically i had a bill with british gas so they told me to pay in installments every month to clear the outsatnding balance, i was told that this wouldnt affect my credit file and i set up DD, payments were made and 1 payment was paid a few days late by card, and then also another payment was a week late.4 months apart i was told that it doesnt affect my credit file. i was checking my credit file and see i now have 2 missed payments on my file. i have contacted BG and they apologised for the information I was given and said theres nothing they can do i even went to the energy ombudsman who said they cant do anything and that bg offered me £25 compensation for the bad service. they tried to locate the recording of the information i was given b ut coulddnt locate it, so my tough luck my problem is i dont want £25 so i refused it and they couldnt close the case as i wasnt satisfied. i want to clear the late payments on my credit file as i was told by a bg rep that my credit file wouldnt be affetced i have never recived a t & c, or signed any agreemeent any options how i can sort this out thanks ang

Hi there. Ran into difficulty paying my t-mobile bill, which has now ended. Contacted by a company called Buchanan Clark and Wells demanding payment of £155.21. I checked my t-mobile account, and am still able to pay off my balance on their website, which comes to £140.21. I emailed BCW saying if I can pay them, why should I pay a DCA? I then to be safe set up a payment agreement at BCW's website, and paid on the 14th September by bank transfer. Received however a letter today stating that they would be making a home visit as the agreement has not been honoured, despite having my own evidence that I sent the bank transfer. Despite this, the balance has not been changed to reflect this. I have sent an angry email along these lines to ask why a payment has been ignored. I refuse to communciate with them by phone, only be letter or email. I will soon have enough money aside to pay off the tmobile bill, shall I just pay tmobile directly and tell BCW where to go? Thanks!

We moved into this house in March this year the supplier was for the gas supply was with British Gas, I had tried to change suppliers to another company, however they blocked it claiming a bill hadn't been paid, this bill was for £16.68, and yes I had missed it, the letter they wrote stated that the reason for blocking the supply was this unpaid bill which was fair enough even if it was only for a pathetic £16, this was then paid and I thought nothing more of it, and expected the transfer process to go ahead. I next received a bill at the beginning of August from British Gas for £372.24, stating this payment is due by the 9th August, things went into a panic as there was no way I could afford that. I had never agreed a contract with BG, and tried to move away from them, I am also on the standard tariff which is far from the cheapest. "then followed a letter which says in large bold letters across the top Your gas is now at risk of disconnection" My wife called their very unhelpful call centre and offered all we could manage right now which was £70 every month starting on 15th Sept (payday), he said no chance and they want £150 by the 20th September or it would be going to court. I wrote to them following this call letter below clearly expressing the fact that we could only afford to pay £70 per month I received a response to my letter basically saying they are refusing to set up a payment plan (the spelling/grammar mistakes are not mine) I have no intention of calling them after they way my wife was spoken to on the last call, they were extremely rude abrupt and demanding, and wouldn't listen to a single thing she said, simply saying that the offer wasn't enough and action would be taken unless we agree to their terms, we only use gas for cooking and hot water, we hardly ever have the heating on, the only reason this bill was as high as it was is because we had a burst mains water pipe in the loft causing a lot of damage, the heating was on full for around 3 weeks constantly to try to dry everything out before work could begin on replacing the electrics, sorting the plaster out and putting new floor down. When she called he also said there's no way we know that you have set up a Standing Order so you could be lying to get more time, so we sent a printoff from online banking showing the payment was set up as she told them. There is also no way they are fitting a prepayment meter, I have had them before they are terrible, and also much more expensive. Now today (our anniversary which should be a happy day but has just been destroyed) received another letter from BG, the paid was made successfully on 15th for £70 we said it would hence the lower balance. If they had switched suppliers at the start after I paid the pathetic bill I received then this wouldn't have happened, I forgot to mention that in my letter, after the bill was paid they had no legitimate reason to block the transfer, they also never contacted me to set up onto a tariff at any point they simply started billing I had no idea how much we would be paying until the bill came through the door. This isn't we don't want to pay, its that we cant pay the amount they are demanding, as I have said we have set up a SO for the most we can afford right now, yet they are refusing this, can they do that? Also can they refuse payments simply because it is a SO and not a DD which they can set to whatever they want without us having a say in it.

Hi im not sure if i have posted this in the right place, but need some advice about the continous payments, I had quite alot of paymnets taken from my card costing roughly £600, I tried to cancel this so many times and changed my bank card but they still managed to get my details and take payments again, i closed the account and opened a new bank account, i just wanted to know if it was [possible to still claim the money back as i no longer have the account .I would have stayed with barclays but as they wouldnt stop the payments going out it was my only option to change banks

After joining CAG I realise DCAs have cash cowed me for years. I'm about to CCA them. Can I claim back payments I've made if they can't produce an original CCA?

Over two and a half years ago I contacted the CSA to request that my sons father be assessed and asked to pay Child support. To cut this long and frustrating story very short, the CSA made an administrative error, which they have admitted to, which meant that I lost out on payments from Jan 2011 until Dec 2012. In Dec the admitted to this and also paid me £50 compensation for the delay in dealing with my complaint. After my ex had paid six months of CS payments I asked to be referred to the Special Payments Department (on the advice of the Complaints Resolution deparment) to resolve the financial loss I suffered through their mistakes. After much "faffing about" and delay tactics this case has now been refferred to the mysterious Special payment Dept, (they arent allowed to speak to me or the CSA main office....just emails apparantly), and have been waiting for 30 days so far. i have no written acknowledgment of this refferal, although it has been confirmed several times on the telephone, and I appear to be sat in limbo waiting for them to make a decision. Does anyone have any experience of how long this particular stage of the process should take? i have read their guidelines to the payment officers, but cannot find any reference to time limits. i have already spent hundreds (literally) of punds on phone calls during this battle, and cannot seem to find any other agency or body to help. i do not wish to involve an MP as, reading others accounts, this only seems to complicate matters, and I believe that ICE only get involved once a decision has been made. So sick and tired of being penalised for the mistakes of an incompetent and poorly administrated Govt body. I am clearly one of very very many who are suffering because of this. Any advice is appreciated.

Well, apologies for what is going to be a very long post, but tbh my head is fried and a few weeks ago attempted to call my life a day sadly. Selfish i know, but half way through stopped and went to hospital - mainly due to me finding my ex cheating on me. I am in a very awkward situation and I am not sure where the law stands, where I stand and until i find out cant sleep - not even with the anti depressants i am on. My Situation I am 38 I have 2 children from first ex aged 15 and 13 They get £150 a month (private agreement) 1 child aged 5 from my recent ex gets £75 month (private agreement but dont trust her hence why on here) We were not married. My Finances Earnings are £33k before tax and a £5k Car Allowance on top (due to the mileage i do) Take home pay therefore is £2300 a month Outgoings come to £2200 leaving me £100 month for clothing and going out (altho if i stop smoking this will help) All bills (which are a struggle) are paid like amenities, mortgage, council tax, fuel, food, catalogues, phone, house insurance etc My House We bought the house in joint names in 2008 from Barratts on a 75/25 scheme. We at the time bought the house for £158,400 which was the 100% value. However the mortgage payment is £550 for the £123000, and the other 25% is held as a second charge on the property of which during the next ten years following purchase means a remortage to pay the oustanding sum. The property is now in £33k negative equity which doesn't help The issue She has never paid a pennny into the mortgage or towards any other bill - not even a tin of paint. I have proof of this. She states that the CSA have told her she is entitled to £355 a month due to my income She states she can have that as I didn't go through official channels for my other 2 children from previous ex Ive explained that if she wants that money i cant afford the mortgage which means she would have to be half liable to the property -( is that right?) costs - she seems to think that as she isnt working she wouldnt or couldnt afford to pay it. So for the time being she has agreed to £75 month the same as my other 2 get. She lives with her mum and dad now with my little boy. I have no idea what she is claiming benefits wise She cannot get a property with the council as they have refused her application as her name is on the mortgage. She cannot get her name off the mortgage beacuse of the negative equity plus my credit file shows a few late payments from other stuff (not the mortgage) I believe that if she does get her name off the mortgage she will then go to the csa screwing me over. Child Arrangements I have all 3 children from Friday - Sunday 3 weekends of the month. This week due to BH and the fact i am off from work for a week, I will be having them from Friday until Thursday. We shall be going out for day trips, plus obviously I need to feed them both when out and both when at home. Due to her going to her mum and dads and the fact that our son has some learning difficulties it has meant the fact that he has had to move to nurrseries and is unable to get a school position until Janauary 2014. I dont seem to be fully informed about any progress of my son and what is happening Other She bought a pc for me for xmas in 2007. She fell behind on payments etc. Cut a long story short, she got a ccj, then a charging order on the property we are in . The finance was in her name. Her mum and dad have forced me to sign saying that I will pay it at £25 a month. I am stuffed beacuse if i dont pay it then HFC will or can enforce sale of the property. So like i say, I aplogise for this massive amount of information, but i think its important that I have divulged everything. I just need to know where i stand. I am so confused and my head is so battered and well due to work commitments Ive just not had chance to speak or see anyone and I am certainly not in a position to pay I am confused as according to the CSA calculator I need to be paying £58 a week which i cant afford and is odd that that seems to be a big difference from £355 she had been quoted. Like i say I dont know what she is claiming, and according to it, if she is claiming various benefits and given the amount of nights my son is here, I dont need to pay anything?? Please can anyone help me with any of these issues and questions i have raised? I am so confused with it all. Thanks in advance Ian

I currently claim JSA as well as visiting that dreadfull place Ingeus! I also get mortgage interest payments from DWP (when I'm not sanctioned). My wife is a pensioner and should be able to claim pension credits. So, should I be able to sign off JSA, thus dumping Ingeus, and rely on my wife getting pension credits instead? There should not be much difference payment-wise.

If you plan to declare yourself in some months, and have 4 credit cards you have been paying the minimum payment for every month. But your expenditure has increases, and you have no disposible income int he bank account, which was paying the 4 credit card minimum payments, so for the next 2-3 months you wont be able to pay off your credit card minimum payments. (due to lack of funds) and in month 2-3 you will consider declaring yourself bankrupt so you are leading up to an ongoing problem of debt, that you cannot repay, you have no money from your expenditure to pay these credit cards, you have no disposable income left, as it is all spent on your daily/weekly expenses so as a result of this you have no money in your bank account wot pay the 4 direct debits, then them credit cards will not be paid. (There is also a loan aswell, which is with a bank), and all credit card are popular high street banks. Basically you will Not be paying your minimum payments to your credit cards, due to lack of funds, for 2-3 months, so what would happen? What would happen then, within them 3 months? - as a worse case scenario ? a) from the credit card companies point of view? b) from the bank/bank accounts point of view, where the direct debits are coming out from? (eg, additional charges, letters etc) c) From your credit files point of view (which is already negative and damaged ) d) The OR meeting, what would he ask? or just he would see that you are getting more and more into debt, and can't pay your cards, (as expenditure proof will be given) - what would be the worse case scenario with their meeting? if any ? e) Would CCJ's occour? f) How many months worth - would they consider using CCJs against the debt? Why considering BR in 3 months? they are looking at Debt management companies, and have had some unexpected personal family problems. but were just wondering the worse case scenario for NOT paying your debts for a 3-4 month period, what would be the worse that would happen to you, your credit file, your debtors, your meeting with the OR when that happens) --------------------------- Here it is in another simpler form: If considering bankruptcy in a few months, and currently you are in credit card debt, and loan debt (paying the minimum payment every month) but 2-3 months coming up towards the time you will consider declaring yourself bankrupt you 'dont' pay any minimum payments to them 4 credit cards, and loads as you don't have the funds for them payments (due to your expenditure increassing) then within them 2-3 months (now until 2-3 months in the future) ...what is the worse case scenario that will happen? as you will be Missing your minimum payments to your credit cards + loan for months(as you have insufficient funds in your bank account) so your minimum payments of the 4 credit cards will NOT be paid... so asking within them 2-3 months would could happen to you/your credit/ your credit file etc? (eg letters could be sent to you ) --------------------------- What would happen then, within them 3 months? - as a worse case scenario ? a) from the credit card companies point of view? b) from the bank/bank accounts point of view, where the direct debits are coming out from? (eg, additional charges, letters etc) c) From your credit files point of view (which is already negative and damaged ) d) The OR meeting, what would he ask? or just he would see that you are getting more and more into debt, and can't pay your cards, (as expenditure proof will be given) - what would be the worse case scenario with their meeting? if any ? e) Would CCJ's occour? f) How many months worth - would they consider using CCJs against the debt?

Could someone please explain the pro's and con's of making these payments. Does it improve my credit record etc. The account was defaulted about 6 months ago, and I have very little chance of making meaningful payments due to long term ill health. Making these payments on time mean no hassle for a few months, but am I just delaying the inevitable - account being sold on and on....... If the account is sold on, is there a way in which the token payments could be a condition of the sale. Don't know how to explain it better but I'm sure you will understand what I mean.

Hi Everyone I would like some advice regarding Unum who my employer has PHI through. I have been on long term sickness from April 2012 with me/cfs. I am signed off by my doctor. Today I received a letter from my employer stating Unum have decided to stop my payments. I am unable to contact Unum directly so emailed my employer who stated 'Unum can stop payments at any time'? I advised I think this is discrimination and asked for the reports as to why. How can they just stop my money with no explanation not sure where to go as my employer is also looking to get rid of me so waiting for a date for 'formal long term sickness meeting'.

Hi Advice please re-my son. He has been on JSA since Oct.2012 and is doing voluntary work set up by the local Council. They have funded him on 2 courses related to the work he's doing.(Gardening and site clearing,brush cutting tool usage) He has seen on the local College site that the next couse that would be appropriate to go on (Chain Saw use etc) the College state that people on JSA will have their fees waived. On enquiring today at his JC, they have advised him that they only "fund training" if there is a job at the end of it. Is this correct ? as I cannot see how without any training very few will be able to get jobs, or is this statement the usual JC brush off ? Advice appreciated Peter

Just want to claify and establish correct thought process I pay my TV Licence on a weekly payment card ( God knows why the programmes are crap) So I have a licence from 01/01/2013 to 31/12/2013 This has been paid for in full by mid June Now, I am receiving texts and letters fr5om TVL threatening all sorts for outstanding amounts, as this increases with every letter, I must presume this is not an outstanding balance of the 2013 account. I have notified them that the account is paid in full, see you on 01/01/2014 and of course this has been completely ignored. Now, is there any legislation/statute or legally binding requirement for me to make payments in advance, bearing in m ind the will not pay interest on payments made in credit? Or should I invite the Feckers to take me to Court for non Payment? ( have all payment receipts) and counter hit them under ss1-2 of the Protection from Harassement Act 1997 and the Administration of Justice Act (section 40) to name but two P.S. Just to make life further complicated, I am a JP !

Hi, I just wanted to know where I stand on stopping finance payments for something that Ihas not been done correctly. I had my eyes corrected at optimax which cost me £5500 back in February, they are still not correct, I have trouble seeing out of them and now cant drive at night, I have been back to Optimax several times and I feel they are fobbing me off (now getting a second opinion at a hospital). Optimax keep saying they will take time to correct, but they seem to be getting worse and it feels like the lenses they implanted are not sitting well, all my other friends who had the same procedure could see immediately and have had no problems. What I want to know is, can I stop the finance payments to force opyimax to actually take me seriously and sort out my eyes. The problem I see is that the payments are being made to a finance company and not optimax direct, I am assuming optimax have already been paid in full by the finance company and as such my payment contract is with the finance company and if I stop payments are worried they will take court action to claim the outstanding money. I stress I only want to stop payments until optimax sort out the problem.. Thanks for your help Kev

Regulator orders Banks and mutuals to review complaints about not cancelling recurring payments from November 2009. Consumers who have set up a regular payment from their account will now be able to successfully cancel that arrangement by contacting their card provider, the Financial Conduct Authority said. The FCA has been examining how easy it is for customers to cancel Continuous Payment Authorities (CPAs) due either to payday lenders or for other regular payments such as subscriptions or gym memberships. CPAs, which are also commonly called recurring transactions or recurring payments, are relatively easy to set up but can be hard to cancel, causing problems for consumers trying to manage their finances,the FCA said. Now, following the FCA review of how the largest high street banks and mutuals process requests to cancel CPAs, they have agreed that they will ensure that when a customer asks for a recurring payment to end, that will be sufficient to cancel the arrangement. They have also confirmed that should a payment go through by mistake following cancellation by a customer the customer will be refunded immediately. In addition to securing this commitment, the largest banks and mutuals have agreed to review every individual complaint they have received about the non-cancellation of a CPA and to pay redress where payments have continued to be made despite the customer cancelling the arrangement. This applies to all complaints since November 2009 when the Financial Services Authority, the FCA’s predecessor, began regulating banking conduct. Clive Adamson, the FCA’s director of supervision, said: “It’s important that consumers are confident that banks are meeting their everyday banking needs. Today customers can be confident that when they ask for a Continuous Payment Authority to be cancelled – it will be cancelled - and that it can be done easily. “We recognise that historically this is an area where some customers have struggled but the banks and mutuals have responded positively to our work on this issue. From now on we expect them to be getting this right. In addition, they have committed to review past complaints.” http://www.ftadviser.com/2013/06/28/regulation/regulators/fca-banks-have-to-cancel-recurring-payments-if-requested-UxbeHUuYQIy0SEYbGRE4tJ/article.html

Hi all. I need some advice. I received two letters from my local council recently both titled "Council Tax - Warning of Committal Proceedings", one refers to last years CT (2012), the other for CT (2010). The 2012 CT is outstanding and I have cash ready to pay in full (£832.33 inc court costs etc). The 2010 CT I believe has already been paid. I called the CT office expecting to be told it was an admin error and that 2010 had been paid in full. No such luck, I was told not only is 2010 outstanding, but also 2011 (I'm sure this was paid in full too). I was asked if I had a receipt to prove payment, if not the balance must be paid. I've been through all my paperwork and can find no receipts. My mother has checked her bank statements, as I may have paid using her bank card, but can't find the payments. The other possibility is that I paid cash (to the council or a bailiff), if I did it would be unlikely I kept the receipts after this length of time. What I find strange is that the council has not tried to recover 2010 or 2011's CT previously. They usually apply for a Liability Order, then threaten eviction (I own the property on a mortgage) or a Charging order, at which point I usually have to borrow the money and pay in full. Also, they changed their computer systems in late 2011 and sent me a letter stating I now had a new account number due to the new IT system. I'm wondering if their record of my 2010 and 2011's payments have been lost during this change over. I cannot afford to pay them twice and have no desire to spend 90 days in prison. When I called them they offered to transfer me to another dept, but said they wouldn't help unless I had proof of payment, as I was calling on a pay-as-you-go mobile I ended the call. What do I do next? Many thanks

Hi, I've been getting spammed by text message and phonecall by Moorcroft. They didn't identify who they purchased the alleged debt from. They did leave a reference number in a text message, which allowed me to log into their website and submit a message along the lines of: "Your communication by text message and telephone will cease immediately, and you will contact me in writing. Failure to comply will put you in breach of the Protection from Harassment Act 1999, and s.127 of the Communications Act 2003. Any future communications will be recorded and logged to be used in evidence." They responded by letter saying: "Thank you for your recent correspondence, I write to confirm we require a monthly repayment proposal you can afford and maintain, to enable us to assist you further." This seems to imply they won't stop texting and calling until I agree to hand over money to them.

I'm just trying to clarify how defaults and subsequent payments affect the CRA report. If a Creditor serves a Default Notice. I know that if nothing happens after 6 years the Default and indeed the whole account drops off the credit report. What I'm not sure about is what happens if there are payments (which don't clear all of the total debt) made after the default. My question is does the account drop off the credit report 6 years from the date of the Default or is it 6 years from the date of the last payment. I've got an alleged debt which I'm 99% certain is statute barred - I know that the alleged default was substantially more than six years ago, my CRA reports don't mention the alleged debt at all - I'm now being chased by debt collectors who claim that there was a payment made on the account around 5 years ago and that it's not SB -I'm 99% certain that I did not make the payment that they claim. The issue is whether if there was a payment it would show on my credit report... Any advice Guys would be gratefully received. Thanks IGNM

My son is claiming JSA and has been advised he may be entitled to interest payments on his mortgage. At present I am keeping his head above water until such time his job prospects perk up. I have advised him prior to this interest payment offer not to advise his mortgage company (Santander) of his unemployment as even though it's being paid and he's not in arrears that they may "black list" him. If he takes up the offer of having the interest paid ( I will continue to pay the rest) is Santander likely to "flag" him up as a prospective bad debtor etc ? I have read in the Press of Banks/Mortgage companies doing the "dirty" on people when they really ought to be helping. Not much change there then. So do we leave sleeping dogs lie or get the help ? Peter

First of all hello,this is my first post having been a long time lurker. My question is how do i go about asking barclaycard to reduce my payments, i am currently experiencing financial difficulties at the moment due to a drop in income, am i best to ask directly over the phone or is it better to put everything in writing. my wife returns to full time work in september so this should only be a short term problem do i need to ask for a six month timescale ? thanks in advance

Hello. my first post on here, so i hope that i have posted in the right bit I am currently on esa and cannot afford the minimum payment on my two credit cards with my long term circumstances doubtful of changing, regarding employment. I have every intention of paying off the debts but wonder if i wrote to the companies involved, would they accept say £10 per month each if/until my circumstances were to change. I have tried to juggle everything for months and months but now feel swamped in it, with weeks going by living on nothing more than toast and tea and not being able to heat my house. Any advice would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks

My partner and I split up and she moved out of the house we rented together. I have had the assessment from the CSA and I have been moved onto the New Rules (having previously been on the old rules with a child from a previous relationship). So I now have to pay 20% of my net earnings. Due to now paying the full rent, bills etc. the figure they have quoted me will push me into a position very quickly where I am unable to afford to live i.e. a lot more going out than coming each month. I do not have a high paid job and I want to support my child financially as best I can. If I sublet a room in the house, with the land ladies consent, would this effect my payments to the CSA? Would it be better to have the tenancy agreement re-drafted to show both names or better to keep it just in mine. My understanding is that under the new rules you are adjudged on your net earnings so would this change in circumstance constitute "income"? i don't really want to share my home with a stranger as I help raise my children and I'm not trying to get out of payment, just be able to pay maintenance without loosing my home and then not be able to provide anything! I have discussed it with the CSA but so far their responses have been underwhelming! I was quite up together with the old rules but am new to the "New Rules"

Well today I have received a letter from DWP, claiming that I owe over 6k pounds. They also said not to ignore the letter. If I cannot pay off the amount still I need to contact them and arrange a payment agreement. They also threated me saying I don't they will eiter pass this to debt collection agency or recover from my employer and this will affect my credit scoring. They also said they conted me before but as far as I know I claimed JSA back in 2008 for several weeks as I was made redundant so to keep my NI contribution I claimed JSA and after about 3 to 4 weeks later I found a job so infomed DWP and stopped JSA. I would be grateful if you could please confirm whether they have the power to recover the sum from my current employer. Thanks very much for your attention. Kind regards Monmoy