Hi guys, I'm going to try to keep this brief and I hope your not going to mind, but I'm not going to mention names in order to avoid jeopardising the on-going case. Recently I've had one of the big six utility companies install a boiler for me. Unfortunately:- 1. They didn't clear up properly and left a lot of mess 2. They have also done some damage to the bath panel, bathroom floor and hallway carpet has been left dirty with debris 3. The electrician has incorrectly re-wired the circuit breaker for the boiler and now when one of the living room light switches is used, it triggers all the house electricity to go off from the circuit breaker (short circuit?) 4. Some of the pointing has not been done properly outside. 5. The boiler enclosure that was also covering the electrical switch and pipes was never put back on after the electrician took it off, leaving parts exposed to someone touching or water splashing. Due to an injury, I had to get the help of my family to clean and it took us a very long time. I complained and emailed them the photos and their manager/inspector came out and agreed that the damage done was wrong and apologised. He promised that he would put it right and asked for a couple of days to create a report and resolve the problem. I waited and got no response, so when I rang him directly on his mobile, he said it was being looked at. He didn't get back and after calling him and texting him, I realised that my calls were being avoided. So after chasing up, I managed to get hold of the area complaints manager, but here's the shocking news...they have received the report which has told them the opposite in that there was no issue to resolve and all work carried out was inspected and was safe. Even after seeing the photos, no damage or mess could be seen according the advisor. I as you can imagine was furious and told them that I was given the false hope of having things fixed, but instead I'm being fobbed off. There is a lot more to this, but I want to keep things in perspective. I would be most grateful if anyone can pls advice on my rights and what I can do to get things done. What are my chances of success?

My wife has 2 charges which is against the house, we were separated when this happened, I moved back in just before the house was re processed, she is living somewhere else, and I was wondering if I am still liable for her debt or if it will work 50/50, any advice on this would be most helpful

I have been issued with a small claim of £1239 for "decorative and improvement works" carried out on a property myself and my ex-partner were trying to sell. I had moved out of the property and my partner continued to live in the property despite neither of us continuing to pay the mortgage. She herself then moved out of the property. The works were carried out despite my continued instructions that the house should be sold as-is and under any circumstances and that I would not pay another penny into our "bad decision" that was going to probably be sold at a loss as it was. The house did indeed sell at a loss with us both having a ring-fenced debt imposed on each party of £12,000. My partner is now claiming that I pay her half of the monies spent on the property for these improvements. It is also worth noting that prior to these works being carried out an offer was made on the property for £142,000, my ex-partner refused the offer directly and the party lost interest. I was fuming! The house eventually sold for £122,000, resulting in a 24k inequity from our mortgage provider that we split. My questions are: 1)]Does she have a valid claim on these works? 2)Is the claim valid if there is no receipts as evidence of the costs in question? 3)Her new partner "bought" and installed a boiler (he is the owner and she is the Director of his plumbing business), but I'm being charged what is seemingly trade-price rather than cost - is this legit? There's no way he would've charged her that sum in reality. 4)If I did contest this, do I have to pick up her Legal costs (not court costs but advocate fees)? I am pretty easy going and reasonable and if there is validation that I am liable for these sums then I'll write a cheque and finally close this chapter of my life, however I feel slightly aggrieved that she repeatedly refused offers in excess of £130k, spent money on the house making improvements against my wishes and advice and further the "improvements" did nothing for the value of the house which sold at £122k. Any advice or thoughts would be most welcome. Thanks.

I wrote this all out and it disappeared because I was automatically logged out. So again... although a little quicker this time as I need to go to sleep soon. The shorter version: In 2008ish I invested my life savings (about £8,000 - £9,000) in a too good to be true Hungarian property development. (Yes I know I'm an idiot. A very naive idiot. I feel ashamed and awful about this every day when I'm not managing to block it out of my head.) I was told the rental yield would be 12% and the rent would easily cover the mortgage. This wasn't true and also tenants were for some reason not easy to come by. I fell behind on mortgage repayments in mid 2010 and when I attempted to contact the bank to re-negotiate some type of terms or a freeze period or anything they kept demanding the money till last year (April 2011) they terminated the mortgage. I had recently changed companies to try and find some tenants but put that on hold as I assumed that the bank now owned my property. I received no more contact from the bank. The lawyers who I bought the property through told me to sit and wait till I heard something. A week or two ago I received an email from an estate agent of sorts whose clients include many of the investors in this development. He said he wanted to help negotiate terms with the bank. At first I was suspicious so contacted the lawyers I had bought the property through. They said they had a meeting with him at the end of the week. That was last week. The burden of this debt which at point of termination converted to approximately £100,000 has been a dark shadow in my life and I have lost a lot of sleep these last ten days. I had hoped my initial approximate £10,000 investment would have provided me with a decent pension in a few decades not a massive debt. I simply couldn't wait till the end of the week and so I contacted this agent. I am currently four months pregnant with a high risk pregnancy and have been told to avoid stress. So I thought by speaking to him at least I would KNOW where I stood. Turns out he can't help me as the bank had the mortgage terminated last year. He recommended I sell the property before the Bank auctioned it off for less and then try and deal with the rest of the money I owed them. The lawyers I had used sent me a similar email after their meeting last Friday. I contacted the lawyer saying I would very much like to speak to the Bank again and could they tell me who to contact. I kind of know this is pointless as the bank were so very unable or unwilling to help or negotiate last time. They're not likely to suddenly change their mind. I did think that perhaps I could clarify if I should sell the property at least. The lawyers said they would find a contact and number for me to call. I chased them up this morning and they said they had been told that my case was already with the "collection company". I was given a contact and told they would be able to help me. I called immediately this afternoon. I got straight through to the contact who told me he was at the gym. He asked for my address, telephone number and email address and told me he would call me back tomorrow. He also said my debt was still with the bank. I didn't feel like giving these details to him and so I told him that I was busy with my toddler and would call him back. He then asked twice more for my details, my number and my email address. Asking for just my email address one last time adding it was quick and easy and I should just send it over text. The more he asked the more I kept insisting I would just call him tomorrow. The thing is, I can't bear the dark shadow that this debt has cast over my life. I would very much like to come to an affordable arrangement where I could pay it off at a reasonable pace and never have to think about it again. I know very much how stupidly naive I have been and both that fact and the potential damage that it has and can cause are making me very very unhappy. BUt I want to know what my rights are if any. Who this man and his "collection company" are. What my best options are. etc. I had wanted the bank to take the property from me and take a monthly payment for the rest for the rest of my life. but I suppose I was afraid of the interest on such a deal and they obviously didn't think it was worth it either. But is this collection company part of the bank? Will they be charging me interest and are they allowed to? I was very lucky to have a website which talks very much about debt collection agencies forwarded to me this evening and have read the whole site. It also directed me to this website. I'm very glad my instincts told me not to tell this man at the gym (from the "collection company") anything about myself but 1. I don't know if a collection company and a debt collection agency are the same thing and 2. what rights he has. 3. what rights I have. Just to clarify that everyone except me are based in Hungary. This is including the Swiss bank although they deal in Swiss currency not Hungarian. Should I ask all contact be through the lawyers if they accept such a set up? This is only if he doesn't know my address. Should I call him back tomorrow? I would very much like to as I have said I want to deal with this sooner rather than later as I don't want it to affect my life any more. Should I try and contact the bank again? Or are they completely, and happily for them, out of the picture and useless to me? Should I sell the property even though I'm not sure if it's mine? Then who gets the money that's left after fees etc? The bank? Or the collection company? Thank you so much if you've bothered to read this. Maybe it's a blessing that the first draft was deleted as it must have been twice as long as this one. And super duper thanks for any advice especially that which goes easy on how stupid I've been . I know. I really really do know. If anyone has any questions that would help them answer my questions or offer advice please do ask me to clarify. I know this may be a bit of a rambly post. I am not in a great mental state at present.

Hi All I'm hoping that someone has used a good litigation solicitor that they highly recommend. I need to commence court proceedings against the house builder of a new property I purchased as I've had constant problems with the boiler and they have not bothered to respond to my last email. It has cost a small fortune to sort out the problems but I want to get good advice before filing a claim. Your help would be much appreciated as this has dragged on for a little while now.

Hi, Can someone help me out there to get to the bottom of my problem. When we first moved into the bugalow we had a small dyke adjacent to our property. Over the years it has slowly be giving way, so instead of us being able to stand and cut the conifers it is now just straight down. We have been in touch with the people who dredge the dyke 2 or 3 times a year and they have said if we pay £4000 and an annual maintenance fee they will do the neccasary work to fill the dyke and stop it slipping away. I asked if the land would then become ours and they said no it belongs to them. I have tried taking it to the ombudsman but because North Level drainage are not FSA registered he cannot help us. So I am asking anyone out there if they could give any information or even take the case on for me. Thanks P Weston

Hi all, Firstly, thanks for taking the time to read this thread. I'm not sure if I'm posting this in a sensible place, but googling the problem I'm posting about lead me to another similar post in this forum. If there's a more appropriate place to ask this question, then I request that a mod moves the thread. Thanks! I'm writing this on behalf of a friend of mine, in relation to a dispute over the sale of a property jointly owned and the division of any equity such a sale releases. The person in question purchased a property with her partner. They were NOT married. No legal documents were drawn up at the time to determine a specific ownership position for either party, but both their names are on both the mortgage and the deed. He provided the initial deposit for the mortgage, after which time they split all mortgage payments and associated sundry costs (service charges which include ground rent, buildings insurance and maintenance charges for the development) 50/50. After a few years of joint residence, due to irreconcilable differences, they went their separate ways. At that time, he simply moved out and cancelled his mortgage repayments. My friend had to increase her payments to cover the full cost of the mortgage. In the following months they attempted to reach an agreement for how to proceed, discussing both my friend buying her ex partner out, and sale of the house. However, no agreement could be reached on how to divide the equity, which they were advised by solicitors should also form the basis of any buy-out agreement. In other words, that to buy him out she should offer him the amount of equity he would get, as per their agreement, in the event of sale. Those negotiations ultimately broke down and communication ceased. Since that time, my friend has covered the full cost of the mortgage as well as any sundry costs, and her ex partner has presumably paid rent in order to live somewhere else. Several years have passed in the intervening time. This brings us to the present moment in time. My friend has approached her ex partner again with the objective of resolving the dispute once and for all. She has proposed that they sell the house, and they are currently engaged in discussion on how to divide the equity between them. However, I fear negotiations are destined to follow a similar trajectory as last time.... The crux of their disagreement centres around her ex partners desire to treat the deposit as a fixed cash sum which he should be repaid, as if it were a loan, before any discussion on how to divide equity, irrespective of the sale price of the property. In other words, if the equity released from sale only adds up to the equivalent cash value of the deposit (the value of the property has decreased since purchase) then he effectively believes he should get all that equity and she should effectively be left with nothing. If the property were in her name only, and he had provided her with the money to purchase the property, then I could understand this point of view. However, in reality, they have jointly invested in the property and must jointly bear the brunt of any reduction in value. Similarly, my view is that he must recognise that a deposit contribution is essentially equivalent to capital repayments made against the mortgage, and does not constitute a debt which would be repaid first (i.e. like the mortgage itself). My friend has sought legal advice which clarified the official legal position as being that both her and her ex are joint stakeholders in the property, irrespective of how much either has paid, and are consequently both legally entitled to 50% of any equity released on sale of the property. Similarly, she has been told that if they go to court, that will be the ruling, and that costs will likely exceed the equity in the property anyway. So, my friend feels in a difficult position. She has been strongly advised by solicitors not to accept less than 50% of the equity since that is her legal entitlement, but that leaves her and her ex partner at opposite ends of the negotiating table with seemingly no common ground. My friend has proposed ways of calculating an equity split, based on total contribution to the mortgage and property by each of them, but her ex partner is only prepared to talk about dividing equity AFTER he has received his deposit back first. My friend feels as though her ex partner just moved out and stopped paying when he decided he didn't want to live there any more, and now, as a consequence of her trying to do the responsible thing and take over mortgage repayments rather than allow them to default, she is stuck in a position where she can't sell without his consent, and he is unlikely to give it because - as she sees it - his demands regarding equity division are so unreasonable as to be unacceptable to her. Is there any legal remedy she can pursue to compel a sale? Is this likely to be any more or less expensive than going to court to split the equity? Is there any way they can agree to sell the house on the grounds that the equity will be held in trust by a third party until such time as they can agree a fair split? That latter option seems like the best idea to me. It has the disadvantage of fixing the equity in cash terms at the point of sale, but equally, it allows her to move on with her life and doesn't require her partner to accept an equity split he feels he can't, just to get the sale under way. Thanks very much for your time, if you've got this far! I appreciate it's a long and torturous tale Any help you can offer would be much appreciated! EDIT: Anyone know whether I can edit the title of the thread to fix that typo?

Hi I'm hoping someone can advise on how best to proceed on the following matter. My youngest son left school last year, and is currently in his first year of college. However he is still yet to receive his examination certificates. We contacted the school just before christmas as to why his certificates had not arrived and we were told, his certificates had not been release because I allegedly owe £50.00 in transport fees from his time at the school. This is totally wrong, the coach fees which they refer to are paid per term. In the last term of his study at the school, he did not use the school coach service, we took him ourselves and picked him up as he was on study leave and the times he had to be in school were outside the operation hours of the school coach service. Last week I issued an ultimatum to the school via e-mail, I stated that they (the school) had no right to prejudice our son because of their belief we owed the school money from transport costs. I stated either release the certificates within 10 working days or i'll use the court process to get his property back. I would be grateful if someone could advise on the next step as I have a feeling they want court papers to land on the headmasters desk, I feel I have done all I can to get his property back including speaking on the phone to the headmasters secretary right through to writing and e-mailing the school, as so far they are sticking to their promise of not releasing the certificates. I have contacted the local education authority and they won't get involved as the school is an academy and falls outside their ability to get involved in the matter. So it is my belief court is the only available option to me, but I am unsure how to go about it as it is a non money claim and I am not sure which forms I should use or the correct process. Any advice most welcome.

Hi hopefully this can be placed in the right section, as I could not find the best place for it! My Question is as follows I own a House, and have recently got married, and Iwant to add my wifes name to the deeds of my house,if i go to a solicitor to have this done will the land registry send a letter of confirmation to my property (I live in her house) and as I have people living in my house,I do not want them to know my business, or will all the paper work go directly to the solicitor?

Hi, Does anyone know anything about Reliance Property Loans? They apparently have taken over my debt with Ocean Money. Some years ago in a moment of weekness I borrowed from Ocean, secured against a property. The current balance is about £10,000 and the loan interest rate is 10.428% The payments are far too much for me but I am about to receive the tax free cash part of my pension as I have just reached the qualifying age. I would like to discharge this debt as I would have no hope of making the approx £300 monthly instalments now that I have retired. Is Reliance a DCA? Am I likely to be able to negotiate a settlement figure? Any advice would be most welcome please

My husband and I have done all we can to settle any debt incurred while he was out of work. Now we have received more than 1 letter from UMS in connection with a 'debt' to HFO Capital Limited, which I can't recall offhand. The letter shows large, purple letters stating: PROPERTY VISIT before saying they have been instructed to organise a visit to our property to collect the full balance due or make arrangements for this 'long-overdue' debt to be repaid as quickly as possible. I've just drafted a CCA letter to send and was just wondering what else I need to do or be aware of. Do I need to keep my house door locked?

Hi All In July 2002 I could not get a mortgage and my father took out a mortgage on a property i have lived in, in his name for which I have paid ever since. A verbal agreement was made that the property was mine, however the deeds are in his name. In the last month he has decided that the property is his and is trying to sell it and keep all the equity. He is also now claiming he was a landlord for the past 12 years although he has done zero maintenance etc. I can evidence the payments for the house every month to his bank account. This puts me in a difficult postion, proving the verbal agreement, losing considerable equity in the property and also means I have lost 12 years I thought i was on the property ladder and of course potentially homeless. I could really do with some advice on my legal position here. Please no comments on how I should have got something in writing, i didnt think my own father would do this. I was thinking along the lines of "implied trust' - that we must have had an agreement for me to pay for the home, or else why would you have paid for all the the repairs, improvemensts and monthly payments etc. Also, can I withdraw implied right of access to the deed title holder? Thanks

I was the first person to arrange a viewing for a certain property before it actually went online. I agreed to take it on the spot, the letting agent gave me a ride back to their offices where I signed the below document, paid a hefty holding deposit and agreed on the moving in date. I then left the country and came back today only to get a message from the agency saying that another offer came through and that is not certain that I will be the one to get the property now. I was supposed to move in next TUE, and I am meeting the agent on MON only. Is it really possible that despite me paying a holding deposit I may still lose this place? Is this deposit really worth nothing? If so, can I at least get ALL my money back despite the terms of the payment stating that they might keep the admin charges. I also noticed that one day later after paying my deposit, the property started to get advertised online, with a higher asking price, with the latest ad dated only yesterday! What are my options here please? I am desperate to move in since I gave my current landlord my notice 2 weeks ago and I need to vacate.

We moved into a 3 bed semi detached property may 2013, from the offset weve had allsorts of problems, bei it curtain poles falling out of the ceiling to rainwater coming in and flooding the kitchen. Time frames are ridiculous, getting things repaired ie. in September 2013 we complained the chinney was looking dangerous due to a small tree growing out of the back - a contractor quoted the landlord and the neighbour to re-render the shared chimney but the neighbour refused to pay, as its our side of the chimney that is damaged. Still the chimney hasn't been done, still I feel its going to fall down and possibly injure us should we be sitting in the garden. This week took the biscuit, our oven stopped working, the guy came out to look at it after two and a half weeks of faffing (one guy came quoted and didn't hear from them again week 1, then the handy man came out then a week later the REAL guy came. He was alarmed, the earth had been wired up wrongly, a cable had burnt out laving a fire mark, and the earth had been wired up to the negative - We have old type fuses, which the man said was the reason for it not tripping - they were forcing the current through, for it to work. He was baffled it worked at all. There are no smoke alarms at the property, we bought in our own to be safe. The whole place is just cheap fixtures and fittings and bad workmanship, being even dangerous, who knows what other dangers lurk. Should we not have had an electrical safety check before we entered the property? If so, it clearly wasn't adhered to. Being without a cooker for almost 3 weeks, with 3 kids, We've had enough! My point now is - what options do we have? We have signed a 12 month contract, ending in November, but wed really like to get out asap as we're sick of the constant repairs, bodges and dangers we unveil. We've looked through the contract and there's little we seem to be able to get out on, what are the chances of reducing our rent period? Can we claim damaged as per our contract, if so, what? It seems if we breech the contract we're out on our ears with fines, yet he can provide us with a crap service and theres nothing we can do to break the contract because of them. Please help.

Hi again everyone. I'm in a position to make offers on two outstanding debts, one of approximately £10 k to TSB which I've been paying off at £50 a month since the court case (in which I defended myself and lost (quelle surprise)) back in 2009, the other to LINK who shafted me a couple of years back adding 3k onto my debt of approx 5k making it 8k of debt and I foolishly didn't get back to the court in time to object, so I've been paying LINK £10 a month since then. Both TSB and LINK have charges on our property which is why I'm keen to get these debts repaid first in priority to others, as our mortgage is interest only and only has 10 years to run and we need to remortgage and get an endowment and start paying it off, but can't remortgage until these charges are cleared from the property. So...how much should I offer TSB for their debt of 10k? I'm thinking of offering 2k. And how much should I offer LINK for their debt of 8K? I'm thinking of offering 1k. I know that different banks and CCCs have different reputations regarding what proportion of a debt they'll accept in an offer but don't know the details which is why I'm asking for help. Is my CAG buddy andyorch still here by any chance? (waves hello if you are!)

More than 200 tenants on benefits have been served eviction notices by a Kent property mogul worth millions. Landlord Fergus Wilson has decided not to rent any of his more than 1,000 properties in Ashford, Maidstone and elsewhere in the county to people receiving housing benefits. The 65-year-old tycoon said he prefers to rent to eastern European migrants, who he claimed are more likely to pay their rent on time. He estimated more than 50% of his tenants in Ashford - and around 90% of those in Maidstone - come from eastern Europe. Mr Wilson said: "This decision is only down to money - it has nothing to do with the personalities involved. "When it comes to money, over half of people on benefits were defaulting on their rent, and when it comes to people who are working, we've not had one single person default on one single penny. "You can appreciate why. Rents are going up in line with the price of houses, and housing benefit levels are dropping at the same time. "Tenants from eastern Europe, places like Poland, have been here a number of years now and have built up a good enough credit rating to rent privately. "We won't see the impact of more recent migration for years to come, but people on benefits are having to compete with them. "My message to people is 'get yourself a job, and you will get yourself a house'." Ex-maths teacher Mr Wilson and wife Judith have built up a property portfolio thought to be worth close to £225million. "My message to people is 'get yourself a job, and you will get yourself a house'..." - buy-to-let tycoon Fergus Wilson The couple, from Boughton Monchelsea, near Maidstone, made their millions through buy-to-let investments. Mr Wilson added: "We sent out section 21 notices telling people on housing benefits that they have to leave after six months. "I look at other landlords, and every one of them has done the same. "A lot have gone from natural wastage, as they can't afford to stay." He added: "The problem is that you have a finite number of houses, but more people wanting to rent them than places are available. "With that pressure, what tends to give is the poorest people at the bottom of the economic pile. "We are going to be in a position in the next 20 years where it becomes more and more difficult for people to find housing, and no one seems to have an answer. "You tell people in a place like Ashford that they need more housing and they're likely to lynch you - they are sick of being built on, but it's a fact." Landlord Fergus Wilson, pictured with wife Judith, is refusing to let properties to people on housing benefits Housing charity Shelter said the refusal of private landlords to accept welfare claimants as tenants is forcing some to leave their home towns or accept poor quality housing. Original Here : http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentish_express/news/fergus-wilson-10923/

My ex husband and I bought a house together in March 2010. The house cost £110,000 with a 10% deposit (£7,500 paid by me and £3,500 paid by my ex). The property needed modernisation, and so we started stripping out the property in preparation for central heating, new windows and doors, re-plastering and new kitchen and bathroom. Prior to and following the purchase, my ex and I lived with my parents and our son at their house. In October 2010, my ex walked out on me. He had taken a lease out on a flat, and told me that he could no longer pay his half of the mortgage repayments, as well as his flat rent and maintenance for our son. I agreed to pay the full mortgage repayments alone, and for him to pay £100 maintenance for our son a month, with him walking away from the house. He agreed to this, and I have paid the mortgage since. I completed the work on the house, paying out everything on it myself. My son and I moved in to the property in October 2012. In 2012, I sought advice from my solicitor in relation to formalising this agreement. My solicitor wrote to my ex and he agreed to sign the deeds to me, following me getting a mortgage on my own for the property. I went to the bank following this, but was told that I had too many debtors (1 credit card, 1 loan and a car lease), to allow them to give me a replacement mortgage, even though they could see my current account was managed, and that I had not missed a repayment on any of my debtors. The situation remained unchanged, while I waited for my loan and car lease to be paid off. Because our arrangement was sorted, we decided to divorce. It was an online divorce to save us both money, as we'd both moved on and had new partners. Ex agreed to pay me half of the fees (not had them to date). During the Summer 2013, my ex asked whether he was still on the mortgage and deeds. I explained that I hadn't been able to get a mortgage as hoped, but was going to try again within a couple of months (once loan and car lease paid off). My partner and I decided that we would like a bigger home together. We decided to put the house on the market. Estate agent required my ex to sign an agreement to this, which he did. We sold the house within a couple of weeks. My solicitor then told me that the previous agreement my ex had signed was that he was allowing me to take the mortgage alone and consequently walk away from the house. She explained that due to the wording, that this didn't include me selling the house. My solicitor wrote to my ex again, requesting that he sign the deeds due to the change of circumstances. My ex claimed to have signed and returned the papers. Solicitor didn't receive anything. My solicitor again sent him appropriate form to sign, but again has not received anything. Whilst picking my son up from him yesterday, we begun arguing over a separate issue. My ex said "Remember I hold the key to your house" referring to the deeds. I now fear that he is going to refuse to sign them, meaning that we lose out on the sale and a property that we'd put an offer in on. I don't think that he is really entitled to anything, especiallIy as he'd agreed to walk away. I feel that he has become greedy, as I have sold the house for £135,000. What can I do to prevent losing the sales?

I recently found out that there is an interim lien on my property placed there some three years ago for council tax i do not owe. Anyone know if & how i can get it removed? Thanks

Hello Peeples Several months ago, I ordered something from a business at the other end of the UK from me. The funky little gadget never worked since it arrived, but I was told to leave it plugged in charging... So I did do this, and *kapow* the power supply cooked while I was out, melted into a grotty blob of goo (no damage to my property luckily). I notified them, (this is going back 12 weeks) which only told me that they were sending a replacement unit.. . Nothing was mentioned about me sending this unit back. Well I threw it in the skip the building has for electrical goods. 4 weeks ago, they call me up asking why I hadn't sent it back. I was never told to, never asked about it, they were clearly told I was going to sling it as it's hazardous waste. They've made promise upon promise to have it picked up my UPS, which never seems to happen that's another 4 times I've had to sit in ALL day waiting for nothing. What do I do with equipment like this? I've seen stories on various websites about this company, and that the moment ANYBODY sends it back via registered mail etc... it mysteriously vanishes and they wind up with a ca. £350 bill for the item. What's the time limit on selling goods to 'defray expenses'? At the end of the day, it's taking up space in my business unit and there's nothing I can do with it. I've written to them twice, which prompted phone calls from the continent, yet again promising me a pickup... I can't afford to sit in 'between 8 and 5' hoping UPS will rid me of this thing. Any ideas? Cheers, A

Hi I live in a block of flats which is currently under the management of a Property company, they are not landlords as ALL flats are privately owned by the tenants. The reason we got them in is because one of the flats was sold and the person who sold her flat used to look after the running of the property, i.e. arranging a gardener to do the lawn, window cleaners to do windows etc. after she left we all decided that due to work commitments it would be best to hire a property company to manage our block, We are all Directors as we have a residents association for the block and pay a monthly service charges into our residents bank account, which is also used for repairs etc The problems started when we started receiving letters from the management company informing us that all items in the hallway need to be removed, potted plants for instance. We were told that due to H&S fire rules etc that they need to be removed as it invalidates our insurance, bearing in mind that most of us within the block have been her over 15 years and never had a problem in the past with getting public liability insurance. Just recently a contractor came into the block at the behest of the management company and removed a couple of items under the stairs, stating that its an obstruction in the event of a fire!.. which is fair enough, except that said items were completely not in the way of the exit as they were literally un-seeable and the flat owner who lives at the bottom of the stairs said that they are not in the way at all. Apparently, they wrote to all tenants informing everyone that items would be removed if we did not move them. All I want to know is can they do this? no date was given on the letter as to when we should move the item and can we get them back. We have had nothing but problems since they took over, emails have been sent to them to repair a light bulb, which took 3 weeks!! We have have structural work done on the block and they were reluctant to use the building company we as tenants wanted, because their quote from their building contractors were astronomical, We are having a meeting this week without the management company present to vote on if we should dispose of their services, which judging by all the feed back, we will not use them any longer. any help would be appreciated regards Nik

Hi, We have a routine house inspection planned for this coming week which has happened every six months for the last 5 years. During the last inspection the estate agent said it is now part of their procedure to take pictures of every room, which they then forward onto the landlord to show them what their property is currently like to give an impression of the type of people living in it. We agreed because we felt very on the spot but rang up later to say we weren't happy & they said this is the case with many of their tenants and they will have to rethink. Now, they have hired an external agency called Pinstripe to carry out inspections. On their website it says they too take pictures of the house. We have rang them to say you can take as many pictures as you like of the walls/doors/curtains everything that belongs to the landlord & the landlord is welcome round in person anytime, but we don't want our personal possessions in the pictures. They said we (as tenants) have no choice that is what they do and we have no right to stop them. If we had young children would we have more rights? Or can random people come and take pictures of their bedrooms? We will have all of our electrical goods and personal items on display to a number of people who have access to our house! Please can someone provide any info on this subject and of any rights we do/don't have. Thank you

I'm new to posting here, so apologies if this is in the wrong place. I'm looking for some advice on removing a very old caution on our property by paying the claimed amount. A quick summary: Back in 1990 our business failed in the recession that was occurring at that time. We paid off everyone except our business landlord, and in December 1996 we were hit with a Judgement for Plaintiff in the amount of £4492 "for debt and interest to date of judgement", plus £50 costs, making a total of £4542. Previously, in 1992, the landlord placed a Caution on our property. We now are in the process of changing our mortgage, and the new lender won't complete the deal until the caution is removed. We applied via Land Registry for it to be removed, but the landlord has objected (first time we've heard anything of him since 1996). As I'm just about to retire, I'd like to get the matter settled quickly so that we can go ahead with the mortgage - which we're only taking out 'cos our old mortgage has just expired and we've been unsuccessfully trying to sell our house for the past year. I can take out a sensible rate bank loan for the money and pay off the landlord, but.... 1)The "Name and address for payment" on the Judgement is a solicitors who tell us the creditor has not been a client for over 15 years, and they hold no paperwork on the case. Are they still the people I should be dealing with, or should I go straight to the creditor? 2) As the debt is unsecured and is under £5000, can the creditor claim any interest? He'll certainly try! 3) Should I deal with this myself or employ a solicitor to handle it? I realise that my problem is minor compared to those of many of the people asking for help on this site, but I would appreciate any advice you can give Thanks Steve

Hello everyone, I'm new on the forum although I have been reading here for some time, I am hoping somebody could give me some advice on some issues I am having with my landlord. I am a Housing Association Tenant with an assured tenancy. In May of this year the roof began leaking water into the flats above me and then into the electrical cupboard which is adjacent to my flat. This issue was reported but nothing was done until I made a complaint regarding the matter and then two months later a scaffolding appeared and we were informed that the problem had been fixed. However, following some days of heavy rain in August the roof began leaking again and this time came through into my flat, ruining my carpet, a rug and the paintwork on the walls (all of which are my personal property). I made a complaint regarding this matter and in the mean time I consulted a solicitor, who advised that I should disregard their complaints procedure and write to their chief executive and asking him to provide compensation for the damage. However, my landlord has responded to my complaint by saying that I should claim on my own contents insurance (which I do not have) and but if I do not have contents insurance I must submit a claim to my their insurers accompanied by quotes for replacements and they may consider my claim. I would just like to get peoples opinions on whether I should play ball with the insurers or whether I should contact the CEO as per the solicitors advice. Also my second question is, am I entitled to refuse access to one of my landlords agents? I do not wish to deny my landlord (the Association) access but there is just one of their employees that I am not comfortable dealing with due to their past conduct and attitude towards me and I just do not want them either in my home or contacting me. How does the law stand on this matter? I would like to thank everybody in advance for taking the time to read/respond to my thread.

Hi Guys, I had a disagreement with Severn Trent Water some years ago which ended with them getting a charging order on the property, I understand what this means basically that if I sell they will get their £2500. I currently owe 25K on my existing mortgage and property now worth 225K and was thinking of re mortgaging the home for around 60K this would clear all my debts, C/Card and a car loan and of course the water bill mentioned. It would put me in a nice position having a good fully disposable income of around £1100 pm after all bills and about 20K back up for perhaps some special treats etc, as I am late 50's and wished to do and see some places while i'm still fit enough. Question. will a Bank or building society take me on with this charge on the proviso that the proposed re mortgage will clear this charge first, I have no judgements or defaults and a credit score of Excellent 963. Any advice appreciated.

Hello, I moved property 3 months ago. When I chose this location, there were several factors which were very important to me. 1) A NTL connection had to be available, which the estate agent told me was available, and they even showed me the NTL connection. 2) That there was CCTV around the entire property, which there appears to be by various cameras placed around the property. Since I have moved there, I have found out that: 1) The NTL connection is infact a dummy and does not work. I approached the letting agent about this and got the following response: ********** Response: With regards to the NTL. This is the first ive heard about it. And as far as i am aware if you are in a non serviceable area then NTL would'nt install a connection point. If there is a connection point Joseph would assume like anybody else would, that NTL would supply a connection there. ********** 2) The CCTV camera's are ALSO dummies... I also approached them about this and they came back with the following: ********** Response: With regard to the CCTV this would be down to the Managment Company (SLM) TEL: 01482 328068. ********** Now why do I feel like I'm being fobbed off here and that the buck is being passed on. What options do I have to sort this out? Also in light of this, can I dispute the £120.00 administration cost which they said was for 'administration and credit checking'? Thanks and Regards Adrian