Though from the U.S. this is relevant here too: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/05/16/the-terrible-luck-of-long-term-unemployment/

I have encountered issues with my employer for the last 2 years, initially after maternity leave. sly remarks regarding absence etc, since returning have had sickness episodes which I have been hospitalised for mainly same issue that I was due an operation for. Several months ago I had an accident in the workplace and had to take time off due to an injury obtained, I was formally reprimanded for this as I hit a trigger, it was escalated to a disciplinary but this was stopped as I involved HR who advised it does not escalate as an injury at work. Since then I have felt intimidated and bullied by my managers to the point of wanting to leave my job, I enjoy what I do and have been in post 16 years. Last week I was planed to have an operation regarding my reoccurring illness, I was initially told NO to leave for the op by line manager, I again took it to H.R who agreed the day before the op I could have time off but had to sign to state if my sickness was longer than a set period I would be disciplined, bearing in mind I cant foresee my recovery. Line manger disagreed and through her contacts my operation was cancelled last minute due to a senior nurse's input. I have been told formally its bed shortages but also informally by consultant it was done by the management. I cant go on like this and there are many other instances of victimisation and bullying. I have made complaints which have not been actioned so am going to submit a formal grievance. My accident at work was there fault they have made trust wide alterations reflecting the cause of my injury, but have never been apologised to and have minor permanent damage due to it, they have shown no compassion. I am employed obviously by the nhs as any other employer would not be able to cancel my op, sadly its the same trust operating that Im employed in. Advice is needed urgently as this needs to be addressed, also they have no notes of any formal meetings and in my last meeting regarding a sickness for the reason I was due to have operation I was told in so many words " you have not long had a baby maybe you should reconsider your employment" Any advice would be appreciated, many thanks

I am fuming my son received a message to set up an account with them regarding a debt? He is not in debt but did as told just incase there was a debt that he did not know about. He gave them a reference number and he put it it and said it was wrong name so he tried my name and my details just incase and it has bought up my debt. Surely they have no right to message a member of my family with any reference numbers as they would know my personal details. Who has given them my sons phone number? An Absolute disgrace. How to I go about complaining? I have phoned them up but they want reference numbers etc so i didnt go into any details with them. I have told my son to keep any message from them.

Dear Dell Customer care , On 27th May,2013 I bought a "DELL INSPIRON 5521 Base (Service Tag : xxxxxxxxxx , Express Service Code : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)" at Peterborough,United Kingdom . Unfortunately, your product has not performed well since the very beginning . I am disappointed because I had to replace my faulty hard disk within 4 month of purchasing the laptop . Now before completion of 1 year , the LCD screen has turned into white and I am not being able to see anything on the screen. I have already communicated the same to the customer support centre of Dell care . Please note, my Laptop is still under warranty period . The damage caused by the electronic failure and not caused by any external pressure , still the Dell customer support centre still wants a fine of amount £130 for the repairing of the LCD screen . To resolve the problem, I would appreciate if you kindly repair the LCD screen without any fine considering that the laptop is still under warranty period OR refund the entire money to my HSBC bank account as I do not want to face any other problem with the laptop. Enclosed are copies of my records : Order confirmation . I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my problem and will wait until 17th April before seeking help from a consumer protection agency or the Better Business Bureau. Please contact me at the below address or by phone : Mail id : Ph no : Sincerely, xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

when i log into my case screen on money claim online. it shows my activity but will it show the plaintiffs. for example if they decide to proceed with the claim. or will i find out in due course. thanks in advance.

Its hard to word this correctly so i apologise it all sounds a bit back and forth / repeated. I work for a security firm, for the last few years its just been self employed, everyone does their own tax etc at the year end. We however dont invoice the security company who "employ" us, we are contracted to them, but we get paid from another company (Amber pay). There recently was the budget released making changes to the uk etc, and now we have been told that under new legislation, we have to sign new contracts saying amber pay are going to pay our tax and national insurance - yet we can still claim back on expenses. It seems they are trying to take the best of both worlds of PAYE and self employed - paye for tax and NI purposes, self employed for not having to pay holiday and sick pay and other benefits? Apparently people in the same industry havnt heard much about this, but to me it sounds like something isnt quite right? For example DJ's to a nightclub are contractors, they get paid as normal and are self employed, the club isnt in charge of paying their tax and national insurance, yet we are contractors for security and are being told the company paying us now has to pay our tax and ni, but we are still self employed? Sounds a bit like an umbrella company type of thing? Surely we should have the option to go either PAYE or Self employed, not a mixture of both? Its a bit of a pickle.. I fill in everyones hours worked, they get faxed off to the security office, who then pass the hours on to amber pay, who then pay us.. Any help? :/

To cut a long story short - I got into financial difficulty in 2009. Most of my creditors defaulted me by 2010. Ok, I accept the defaults, I deserve it. However, Lloyds kept accepting my DMP payments until 2012 before defaulting me. In my opinion they have punished me for trying to pay my debts off when in reality, I would have been better ignoring them for 6 months and defaulting. Are they allowed to do this as the defaults would now be nearly 4 years old as opposed to 2 years old. I thought banks were only supposed to accept DMP payments for a short period before defaulting you? 2 years seems a bit of a **** take in my eyes? Thoughts?

As I split up with my partner a while back I have now been able to put in a claim for ESA, I am on the assessment rate and received my ESA50 last week. It has to go back within the next 3 weeks so I wanted some advice about filling it in. I was going to ask my GP for a supporting letter quoting Regulations 29 & 35 but I doubt she would do this for me, although it might be worth trying. I am planning to ask them for a home visit too for my assessment as well as it being recorded because I have several conditions and struggle to go out often so very little chance of me getting to an assessment 50 miles away. I suffer from chronic Asthma, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, hiatus hernia, B12 deficiency, gastro reflux disease, widespread pain (possible Fibromyalgia waiting on seeing the Rheumatologist) and also unilateral headaches (a form of migraines.) Any advice you can offer me? I have scanned copies of my prescription showing that I am on 7 different medications, I have scanned copies of a Neurological Report stating I have fatigue, balance issues, short-term memory problems, tingling, twitching and suffer from a form of Migraines and some anxiety etc etc, I also have a copy of a recent Spirometry showing that I have an obstruction in my lungs and that my Lung Age is 74, despite me being in my 30's. I also have some reports from ENT's and Gastroentrologists regarding my irritable bowel and reflux disease and abdominal pain and swallowing issues. I am just trying to get as much evidence as possible to send with the ESA50 in the hope that I won't be called for an assessment as I know some people aren't, however I would have to hope for a miracle on that one. Thanks.

Hi I am just looking for some advice regarding AC. I can see alot of people have had many problems with them and I don't know if my problem is a new one? I just bought a nissan micra 1.2 from them (Linwood - Paisley Volkswagen Branch) and picked it up on Friday 22nd Nov 2013. It was from their used car range and something that currently fitted into my budget. On the Thursday when the sales person had called to say the car was ready, i had asked if the temperature dial that had a crack on it had been replaced as well as the chipped paint work on the rear end of the car. She confirmed the paint work had been touched up but the temperature dial knob hadn't been replaced as she wasn't sure about what temperature dial knob I had notified her about and now that she was aware she would get it fixed. On Friday it turned out that the temperature dial knob will arrive on Tuesday and my second key for the car should also arrive then too. I therefore, arranged for the car to be picked up on Weds 27th Nov, from my work and dropped off after the repairs have been carried out on it. I quickly left the garage with my car as it was coming to 5pm and I didn't want to get too caught up in Friday rush hour traffic. On Saturday as I went to pick up my family to head out to dinner, when the back seat passengers went to clip their seat belts in there was nothing for them to click them into. This morning (Sunday 24th Nov 2013) I phoned the garage and spoke with the sales rep' explaining the problem. She asked me to double check that the back seats didn't have their belt locks tucked under the seats etc. I went out and double checked and this time took pictures. I called her back and told her there defo was not any seat belts locks tucked anywhere in the back seats and to help her understand what I was trying to relay across to her I was going to email her pictures . She told me she had customers to deal with and after dealing with them she would check the pictures and get back to me. I have not had a call back. In my email to her I showed her what was missing in the car and also sent her a picture which i took from the internet to show what should be in the back of a car for seat belts to lock into. I also pasted some info' that i came across about how car dealers are not allowed to sell unroadworthy cars and are liable to a penalty. I asked in my email that they come take the car from me on Monday 25th Nov and give me an insured courtesy car for that period to drive until they sort the problems out as I have a family to drive around daily and at present my car is only legally suitable to carry one passenger. Can anyone advise me on how to get this matter resolved and should I be contacting trading standards or VOSA? If so, is there an address or phone number someone could kindly direct me towards so I can get this problem sorted. Many thanks. sarah

Hi, I wonder if anyone is able to help me make sense here on whether we have any case against Arnold Clark, in light of our recent unpleasant experiences with this dreadful company. On 17th July 2013 my Mum went to the Bishopbriggs branch, and spoke to a salesman (I better not name him), about buying a new Dacia Sandero.(She has bad taste lol) Having gone through all the details, and explained that there was a 3 month or more wait for the vehicle, she decided to go ahead and order one. The finance was all approved by Santander, she paid her deposit, signed the paperwork and all that was left was to await a phone call to say the car has arrived. On 13th November, she received a call from her salesman to say her car would be available for collection on 20th November, and that all was ok. My Mother then arranged with her current finance company to do an early termination agreement on her current car, and return it to them under the terms of that on 20th November. On 19th November she received another call from the salesman at Arnold Clark. They had just realised the agreement was made 3 months ago, and as such Santander required them to re-propose the business. We were surprised at this, since it was all signed and sealed, however they went ahead, and Santander, for reasons known only to them, declined the application. They then went ahead, without permission, and proposed her business to another 5 finance companies, without asking permission, discussing terms, or referring to my Mum in any way - the multiple searches led to multiple declines, and her credit score has reduced as a result of this where credit is now going to be more expensive for her because of the impact of these unauthorised searches of her credit file. This deplorable tactic just stinks of a desperate salesman, but the consequences don't affect him. Or Arnold Clark. Having spoken to Santander, it seems they have done nothing wrong. The terms of their commercial agreement with Arnold Clark stipulates that where a customer waits more than 3 months for a vehicle, the finance will need to be re submitted, but that customers expecting such a delay should be clearly informed at the point of sale. Nothing of any of this was mentioned. My Mum is the sole carer for her elderly mother in law, who has Alzheimers and mobility problems, and relies on the car. She works for an NHS out of hours service inaccessible to public transport, and her car is essential for that. What they are causing her to do is incur considerable expense to rent a car, in order to go about her daily life, while sorting out car finance separate to any dealership, and then finds another car to buy, from anywhere other than Arnold Clark. I spoke to the salesman. He accepts no liability.He was not interested in even speaking. I have spoken to his sales manager and e-mailed him a complaint. He has not answered, and will not take calls from me now, or return calls. On the one occasion I spoke to him, he said he was going to try and arrange a hire car at their expense, but now he will not even communicate. I have spoken to their customer services, who have asked me to e- mail them. I have e-mailed the OFT and spoken to the FCA but still cannot find out if there is any actual legal wrongdoing here that they can be pursued for, it's very difficult. It boils down to the fact that they withheld vital information about a financial product they sold, which has resulted in expense and inconvenience, or have they?

All facts and no conjecture or opinion from me ,,the company I work for have recently restructured and openings have become available within other departments which I have applied for, the latest of which I was informed by 3 colleagues (1 management) who was `going ` to be successful,, and this was duly the case (despite the applicant being 45 minutes late for the interview, and clearly not the best person for the role).This is probably starting to sound like sour grapes but hand on heart isn't, now ive been informed that my manager and his immediate superior asked for 2 people not to get this job and likewise previous jobs purely on grounds he doesn't want to lose me. While very flattered ,I feel the hours spent on cv`s cover notes and applications as well as the actual interview were a clear waste of time, and am certain future applications are futile ,,,I believe I am getting what is termed as pigeon holed, Whilst im certainly not after any kind of payout ,what realistically is my best course of action to avoid this occurrence in the future without upsetting manager ,hr and interviewing manager? how I stand legally(if at all),and advice on resolving this would be greatly appreciated ,,,and as said at the outset this is 100% the facts with no spin or exageration

Hello all, I had a query with a water company at my previous address whereby they charged me water usage charges of £475 for a period of a couple of months As a person living alone and being at work all day, having no hot water other than shower, no garden to water and no car to wash, I found this to be a little alarming and queried the charge (As my usual bill was about £18 a month) - I was on a water meter. The company in question (South Staffs) had the usual drongos on the phone who of course were not able to help in any way. I pro actively kept chasing and calling South Staffs to say I would pay a normal water bill but not one for £475 which in my opinion is completely unfeasible given my setup. This went on for a good month and a half of ME CHASING THEM to resolve this issue so I could pay them. Today I recieved a letter at my new address from a company called INTER CREDIT INTERNATIONAL demanding that I pay the client (South Staffs) said £475 within the next 5 days. To me this isn't a bad debt, its an invoice query that they seem incapable of resolving. Am I right in saying that a court would have to order me to pay this before a collection agency could really do anything? Whats the procedure? It's not even a matter of I cant pay - It's that I will NOT be bullied by South staffs just because they are a big company into paying charges which are nothing short of ridiculous. Any advice on this would be most appreciated. Best regards Luke

Good afternoon guys, I have a strange situation I am in and wanted to get as much advice as possible as to what I can do or what my options are. I was in a long term relationship with a girl, throughout it we were both in and out of work, to be fair me more so than her. She moved in with me and lived with me for the best part of two years. Basically I ended up borrowing some money from her to the tune of around £1500. We go through a messy breakup and she wants her money back. That's fine so I start paying her on a monthly basis but what with losing my job, racking up debts I sometimes had to skip paying her to be able to pay my rent. as I mentioned we didn't end on the best of terms and she would continually threaten me with court action. one day I get a letter and she has filed a claim through the small claims court for £5k! I obviously refute this seeing as her breakdown included things like dominos pizza £30 (failing to make the point that she actually ate half of it, or broadband which was my direct debit etc) in other words making it up to pad out the figures. I call up the number provided and spoke to a lady who told me that mediation is the best bet for our case due to the facts the courts don't like trying to settle domestic disputes through county court judgement. she sends me a form to fill in on what I think the right amount is and then to await a call for a meeting together with a mediator to settle the case. I fill in the form for the £1500 and send it back. What happens next shocked me. I then receive a letter through saying that I now have a CCJ against my name for £1500 and that I will have to start paying her immediately. No mediation, no discussion, nothing. It turns out that because I agreed, I got lumped with a CCJ and she gets the last laugh so to speak. That was three years ago and I am looking for a way to get this settled and turned into a CCS. Any ideas? Cheers in advance.

Hello Forum I apologise in advance if this is answered somewhere else but I cannot find it. My ex-wife had a credit card with MBNA and amassed debts of £4700 on it. This was 7 years ago and I have only found out today that she is still paying this debt off. She is paying the minimum monthly payment which would appear to be mainly interest therefore she is never managing to reduce the amount. Today for instance her latest statement stands as follows: Balance from Previous Statement: £3411.06 Payment Received: £120.41 Cr Interest Charged: £89.02 New Balance: £3379.67 Estimated Interest Next Statement: £77.31 I have no idea as to how to work out just how much interest is being charged but to me it seems that she is never going to be able to pay this off and as she is now a pensioner, I envisage her getting more and more depressed over this. I would appreciate any advice you may be able to offer in how to perhaps approach MBNA to see if things could be improved.

Hi all - relatively inexperienced poster here, so I apolgise in advance if I have lumped this thread in the wrong section, anyhow feedback is welcomed on the following situation........ In May of this year I raised a cheque for just over £1000.00 as payment for services carried out to my home following a recent move. I sent the cheque in the post via a third party whom they were an associate of, to be forwarded on to the relevant payee as I did not have their current address details, but the third party did (an established local business who have carried out excellent work for me in the past). Anyway, I sent the cheque on its way (via regular mail) and thought nothing else of it. I had already budgeted for the debiting of the monies when reconciling my personal accounts (I have a list of unpresented cheques) and so did not pay much attention to the fact that the cheque remained uncashed for a number of weeks. To bring the story forward, I received a phone call from my bank (Lloyds) last week asking me to verify the details of a cheque drawn on my account. The cheque in question was that described above, and it soon become apparent from the details I was being given that the cheque had been altered. I informed them that the payee was indeed different to the original and correct one and was duly informed that they would reject the cheque and log it as stolen. Needless to say this was quite a surprise, I had up until that point forgotten about the cheque entirely and so was caught a little off guard to say the least. The lady from Lloyds briefly explained that the cheque would be returned unpaid, and that I would incur no charge for this given the nature of the situation. She also mentioned that collecting bank's fraud team would open an investigation into the transaction and that a copy of the cheque would be sent out to me, but my brain was that frazzled at the time I didn't push things much further. So the gist of my posting is that I am seeking advice from anybody who has experienced a similar scenario to mine, and what the due process is? Given that the bank have told me that an investigation has been opened by them, I assume that I am not required to inform the police etc?? Do I need to do anymore or should I just await the banks response?? Many thanks Matt

Hi, i wonder if you could give me some advice. I have recently received a letter chasing me for money from buchanan clark & wells on behalf of a barclaycard debt sold to hfo capital ltd. The first letter i got was asking if i was the person named and my old address. I ignored that letter then they sent me another letter dated 11/04/2013 which they stated was a formal demand. I ignored that letter as well. The next letter i got was dated 15/05/2013 and was a settlement offer which they said they would accept roughly half the original debt they were chasing. I ignored that letter as well. Today i got another letter stating it was from UMS stating that they were going to come and visit my property. They said that the BCW group had instructed them to visit me. I noticed from this last letter that although it is supposed to come from a different company the paper it is printed on is the same details rtc that have been on the other letters. I decided to call barclaycard directly to try and find out what all the details are on the debt and this is the information they gave me. I took out the credit card on 02/08/2000. The last payment i ever made on it was on 29/12/2004. The debt was sold to HFO capital ltd on 26/07/2007. From reading other things on the forum it looks like this should be statue barred by now if you go by the date i last made a payment or will be in a weeks time if you go by the date that HFO capital ltd bought the debt. Am i correct in thinking this and if i am correct what do i need to do to get them to stop sending me letters or contacting me again. I would be greatful for any advice you copuld give me.

Hey all, First post here, thought I would jump in at the deep end. I got a PCN last September, and wasn't in a position financially to pay it off within the two weeks and the local authority said I couldnt pay it in installments. I was saving up, then came the threat of being evicted and it got pushed to the back of my mind where it stayed. (Only recently started taking control of the debt situation!). In April a bailiff knocked with a near £400 bill. I explained that I am a single mum desperately trying to get back into work, and that I am dealing with other debts etc and I couldnt possibly pay it all off. The car was sold not long after the PCN because of running costs. He gave me financial forms etc to fill in and send to Collect Services, which I did alongside a letter explaining my circumstances and asked if they could take their crazy attendance fee off for me. The financial statement showed I have £36 left after all bills, but they emailed back and said they wouldnt accept anything less than £50 a month. Managed the first payment (had to delay paying something else to do so), but the second one wasnt going to work. I had to buy shoes for my son, and it left me with nothing left. I phoned them and they said I had to email, and they emailed me back saying it wasnt negotiable and that a bailiff would be round to collect the full payment because I was late on the second instalment. 1st July I phoned the bailiff and he said it was tough. Just after I got off of the phone I noticed he had put another letter through the door, a "notice of intended seizure of goods and inventory", listing the car I no longer own, and all the furniture and electrical appliances. I phoned him back and he claims he knocked (he didnt!) and was an hour or so before I rang him. I asked them for a breakdown of costs etc, and mentioned to them they couldnt issue a levy without coming inside the house and they said: "We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 1/7/13, the content of which has been noted. We have spoken to the bailiff who has advised that he did knock when he called but received no reply. He also confirmed that he told you he called about 8:20 when you telephoned him later, however the electronic call report shows he actually called at about 8:45. This is confirmed by the GPS data from his vehicle. The letter left by the bailiff is notifying you of his visit and the type of things which could be seized if payment is not made. The fees have been correctly applied in accordance with the regulations. A constructive levy is where a Notice of Seizure is issued but the bailiff is not able to remove the goods for example if he listed goods seen through a window. A sample copy of a Notice of Seizure is attached for reference. A new arrangement of £50.00 per month was agreed, the next payment being due by 3/8/13. A statement of the account detailing the charges and payments is attached." The Financial breakdown is as follows: 18/4/13 Costs £7 18/4/13 Debt £165 19/4/13 Letter Fee £11.20 VAT £2.24 Total £13.44 30/4/13 Visit/Levy Fee 1 £52 VAT £10.40 Total £62.40 30/4/13 Attendance Charge £143.75 VAT £28.75 Total £172.50 20/5/13 Payment by D/C £2.08 VAT £0.42 Total £2.50 1/7/13 Visit/Levy Fee 2 £64 VAT £12.80 Total £76.80 Are they allowed to charge this?! I am struggling so much, I simply do not have the money. I have reduced all other debts to £1 a month, some have put my account on hold just to give me some breathing space. Also, why are there levy fees if they claim my "Notice of intended seizure of goods and inventory" is not a levy?! I am getting so stressed out about it all, as everyone does. The £165 charge is the parking fee, and that is fne I owe it and its my fault for getting it in the first place and I am happy to pay that. Please help me, I am struggling with this one Laura

I have a number of debts as detailed below that I have been making reduced payments against, for a little while in some cases. My age and circumstances now make it unrealistic to expect to continue doing so, and actually clearing the debts impossible. I am about to contact all and advise accordingly requesting that the balances be written off. If they aren’t I will reduce payments to a token £1 per month. At intervals I have been asked to increase payments, and I have responded that I am unable to do so and have volunteered an Income & Expenditure statement to bear this out. I have occasionally been offered a reduced lump-sum settlement opportunity including writing down the £24K mortgage debt to just £1,200 however, so I hope they will see the reality of things which is that at current payment levels the c£4K debts would each take over 60 years to clear, the c£25K debts well past 400 years, and I will clear the CCJ in 2085 aged 135! I'm not sure at the moment what approach to take with the CCJ, or even if that is possible and the debt will actually pass to my family/estate on my death … still looking in to that. Details, if it helps … My debts date generally from early-mid ‘00s and span a business collapse (Sole Trader) from which I never really recovered despite a short-lived further attempt. There is also a CCJ. This all had a devastating effect, including eventually the repossession of our home just a few years ago since when we have rented our way in to retirement. We have no assets and just state pension income. All debts are with DCAs except for one which is with the original debt-holder Cheltenham & Gloucester/Lloyds TSB. These are: Intrum Justitia from Nat West, Business Loan, Bal now £3,931, paying £5/mth since ‘03 Link from ?? (need to check), Bal now £3,702, paying £5/mth since ‘04 Fredrickson from HSBC, Cedit Card, Bal now £3,862, paying £5/mth since ‘07 Moorcroft from Nat West, Personal loan, Bal now £3,118, paying £5/mth since ‘04 Direct Legal and Collections Shortfall on repo sale of home by mortgage lender, Bal now £25,852, paying £5/mth since ‘10 Chelt & Gloucs/Lloyds, direct. Shortfall on repo sale of 2nd property mortgaged to release working capital, Bal now £24,000 +/-, paying £5/mth since ‘99 Also a CCJ in '02 for £50K at £50/mth since then Some have been with other DCAs too so they actually go back further .... for example Phoenix Recoveries, Lowells and Robinson Way at times as some were reassigned, but because of moves and more I just don’t have all correspondence anymore and can’t tie them down now. So …. I think my plan is sound, however before making contact to see what I can achieve I'd welcome any advice/comment ... good idea or not, any best way to go about it, anything further I might do to help myself, anything I could say in order to help, or avoid because it would hinder … that kind of thing. I’d love these to disappear so I can breathe easy now. Thank you for any assistance.

I have recived a ccj of nearly £3000 after a final hearing. i do feel there was an error in law and wanted to appeal. However, the appeal form is £115 plus solicitors cost of £100 per hour with £500 upfront. I cannot afford this at all and dont feel its right but theres nothing i can do. i am not entitled to legal aid as i am in a good job. my partner is out of work so i am running the whole house including two dogs. i have rang the courts and asked can i pay this in instalments. they have said the form will cost £40. dont knw what to do. further to that the claimant was told he could claim and file further additional partciular of cliam but it had to be done by the 4th of june. He has sent the letter today saying he is in the process of submitting further particulars of claim and shall revert to me in due course. will he still be able to claim? so incredibly stressed. cannot afford any legal help. cannot aford to pay full stop. felt the whole case was unfair. can anyone help? been trying to get through to cab all day but no joy. :sad: thanks

Hello I would be most grateful for some urgent advice I was sent a ATOS medical questionnaire to fill in and return to ATOS. Unfortunately my doctor whom I have built a strong rapport with and is the one that |I see regularly and has a strong understanding of my medical history has been out of the country in the US. I informed ATOS about this and they asked me to put this into writing which I did so that there could be a delay in me sending the form back as my doctor would need to assist with this and include the details of my medical history. I did not hear back from ATOS for some time and I called them last week to ask them what was happening as I had heard nothing. They told me that it had gone back into the system which I assumed meant that I would receive a new questionnaire. I have this week received a letter with an appointment for me to attend in the first week of June. As I have not had to attend the ATOS interview last time due to my condition this was decided once they received the information from my doctor. How can I get it back to this stage where I can send in the medical questionnaire as they have not yet had the chance to see this and I feel that the decision of how to proceed should be based on the information supplied in the questionnaire. Thank you in advance for your help and assistance.

Hey everyone this is annoying me now. I took all the remainder of my belongings with me in the middle of March after my parents had sold the house, the man who bought the house lives in Norway usually and is never at the house so obviously doesn't check the mail. On the sunday driving home from here back to Uni I am almost certain I got caught by a mobile phone. I was doing about 37 ish when I spotted it in a 30. It was parked just before a 40 zone, very cheeky and it was about 300 FT away so god knows where it was even aiming. But anyways, I sent off my license and registration on the wednesday after this as it was the first available option. My dilemma and worry is, if I did get sent something regarding that and it was sent to my old address (literally as my mail was on to the DVLA) can I be fined for the £1000 and not answering in 21 days? I have literally not been able to check the mail at this old house as the man is still in Norway. I believe he is returning shortly and I may get some mail then but it will be too late? I am frantically panicking about this as i'm in uni and I don't really hve £1000 or the ability to pay off 6 points worth of insurance. Also I only got my license back last week which was nearly a month after I sent it away

Hi, I am the user formerly known as BigGreenForest. I havent logged in in ahwile due to health issues while I've beein in and out of hospital a lot, or just too ill to do things. In that time I've managed to forget both my email and CAG passwords. Hotmail have now blocked access to my email due to too many failed password atempts, so I'm forced to start anew. Anyway, I'm in a mess. Regarding my ongoing battle with the Council accusing me of benefit fraud, that finally osrted out. They gave up after 15 months of effort, and my solicitor gathered some evidence that thier manner of what they were doignwas unethical and malitious, that he would have used in court. I'm releived it's all over, but it cost me thousands in solicitors fees. I am in a bad rut in so mnay ways. Before all this happened, and I was working (then got fired when I got ill), I swore I'd never go near benefits again. But then things changed after I lost my job, got ill, and couldn;t find anything else. Despite my health issues (I have ongoing mentail health issues with panic attacks, anxiety, major depression, plus a lot of physical pain, and newer issues such as dizzyness, disorientation and concentration problems since an operation last year) I have been trying to find some kind of part time work. I have not been claiming any benefits so far, and have been living on help from my grandmother, and what savings I have left. But things are starting to run out, and I have a big grey area. When I was working I put some compensation money I recieved into what the bank caleld a Tracker bond. At the time I was unde rthe impression I would be working full time for a loing time, so it made sense to put it into this, where the interest was good, but the catch was that I wasn;t allowed to access the money in the Bond until Mearch 2014. At the time it seemed like a worthwhile sacrifice for the interest, under the impression O would have wages to manage on. in my current situation, with no work, and no benefits, my remaining money has been dwindling at a much bigger than expted rate due to things like a lot of prescription charges and rpair work to my home, which is an ongoing issue. I am due to have to spend something in the region of £2500 on more urgent repairs to the house, I have an £800 council tax bill this year, plus the usual bills, and I am already £450 behind on my energy bill, which I am paying in installments. Quite simply put, I will run out of savings long before I can access the money that's locked in the Bond until next year. What are my situation here? How does inaccessible money count with regards to benefits? I will have a 'dead zone' with no money. Can I resort to council tax benefit and JSA when i run out of money I can gain access to, or will they (as I think), say that I have the money in the Bond, and deny me any benefits as a result? This is an issue I never expected. None of it, the unemployment, the health issues, the problems with the council fraud people, this weird savings grey area. Does anybody know what I can do? Thanks

Hi I just thought I'd introduce myself first as I'm new here. I bought a used car from Evans Halshaw a couple of weeks back and boy is it giving me problems:oops: To start off with the clutch is on it's way out so Evan's Halshaw have offered to fit in a new clutch. Secondly, each time I push the clutch in to change gears, for some reason the revs go up :S Thirdly, one half the dashboard lights don't work at night which I think is a simple fix as a bulb/wire maybe loose. Also, the car is very rough at idle which my local mechanics said is due to the engine box (or whatever it's called, it's the area where you put your oil top ups into ) not having washers on so the engine keeps rattling as it's not being held still. Another problem is the 1st gear is veryy stiff sometimes and doesn't seem to want to go in, all the other gears seem fine. Then another problem I just identified was the extremely low mpg for a small Toyota Corolla, it's only averaging 17-18mpg on the trip meter :/ The car's going in for repair next week but I doubt Evans Halshaw will be able to solve all of them problems so I was just wondering where I stand since I've owned the car for less than 30 days? I've been told there was some 30 day law in which I can give the keys back to any car I've purchased and demand a full refund?

Hi all, please move this if it's in the wrong place. Need some advice on this one. To cut a long story short: Jan 2012 - HP DV6 purchased Feb 2012 - fan fails Nov 2012 - screen develops a flickering issue (cable) Jan 2013 - plastics damage caused by the repairs (chip/cracking) Mar 2013 - fan develops rattling problem - debris, possibly plastics broken off during repairs for the plastics It's really testing my patience now. Apparently I should have been offered an exchange when the fan failed in Feb 2012, but they said nothing about it. I had to send it in for repair, which was quite annoying considering it was a month after purchase. This is where it gets weird - the damage caused by the repairs after Nov 2012 don't count as a fault, and it's not covered by HP as a result (in terms of replacement or exchange). The only thing they can supposedly do is repair the laptop again, and to be frank I don't trust them not to screw it up even more. I can't escalate the case higher, apparently the customer relations department is the highest I can go. So I put it to you - where do I go from here? I've drafted the following letter and I'm going to send it to HP's UK registered office (some people on another forum helped me with it). Any suggestions? Dear Mr ---, I am writing about my HP dv6-6b08sa (S/N: ---) which was purchased directly from HP on the 9th January 2012. Around one month after purchase, the fan in my laptop failed (repair case ID: ---). On the 7th February 2012, I contacted HP via email and received a reply from a support agent. They stated that a replacement unit of equal specification from HP would not be possible, and that the laptop would have to be repaired despite my insistence that the laptop be replaced. This defect was repaired by HP and I received the laptop back on the 28th February 2012. In November 2012, my laptop had an issue where the screen would flicker pink when the angle was adjusted (repair case ID: ---). Again, I insisted on a replacement unit as a second major defect in less than a year had occurred and I was told this would not be possible. This defect was repaired by HP and I received the laptop back on the 31st December 2012. On immediate receipt of the laptop, I noticed two cracks in the plastics of the laptop on the right hand side hinge that was not present before the repair (repair case ID: ---). This damage occurred during the repair of the screen. I lodged a complaint with HP, and the laptop was taken for repair on 19th February 2013 and delivered on 28th February 2013. Despite this, another defect has occurred as of last week where a plastic part, most likely broken off during a previous repair, has caught in the fan and causes a rattling noise when the unit is moved whilst powered on. As per previous occasions, I have strongly argued for a replacement of the laptop due to continuing hardware issues and like previous occasions, was rebutted by the complaints department as it was not HP policy to do so. It is interesting to note that the support team told me that the last two issues did not count as ‘defect or fault’ per se, but rather as ‘human error’. This strikes me that HP was trying to wrangle out of any other action than a repair. In addition, I was told nearly a year later that in February 2012 I was entitled to an exchange but this was not brought up. In this case, I feel that HP has deceived me. I have therefore come to the conclusion that this product is inherently faulty and that your repairs fall below an acceptable standard. In addition to this I have not had any significant period of use of this product in the way it is designed. As a result, I demand a brand new replacement of equivalent capabilities or a full refund according to section 48B of the Sale of Goods Act. Failure to comply within a reasonable period of 30 days will result in a claim being filed at the small claims court so that I may seek remedy to this unreasonable situation. Any additional costs I incur due to this process I will also seek remedy for, and as allowed by the court. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully, scrlk

Hi people Forgive me if i have posted this in the wrong place i am new to this site. i have a esa question that i need help with i have put all the info below i hope it makes sense. basically i went for an atos medical and failed i got 0 points the nurse lied on most of the report sent to the decision maker anyway i asked for a reconsideration but the decision maker who all so happens to be a doctor sided with her original decision not to adward me it saying the nurse never lied etc etc i appealed to the independant tribunal and won i got 15 points i was placed into the WRAG the judge stated i was not to be reassessed within 18 months. So after waiting 5 weeks they phoned me and said they were putting £440.96 into my account for backdated arrears which was fine etc i was told my normal fortnightly payments would start but this would take 1 week for them to open my esa claim again but after waiting i phoned them up again only to be told that i had no esa claim running and that i would need to make a new claim for esa again meaning i would have to go all this hassle again so after phoning the new claims i explained to the advisor that i was told to call this number and make an new claim however she told me that this is not the case she told me to phone the BDC and ask them to reopen my existing esa claim and ask them to pay what iam due so i did this only to be told that i may need to fill in another medical form so they can see if my illnesses are the same or not after he said this he said someone will phone my on monday i asked when will my payments start again he said monday. i am worried in case i need to go through all this hassle again i dont have the fight left in me anymore will i get my fortnightly payments i dont know how this has happened as its only been 6 weeks in total since i won the tribunal and even at that the judge said i was not to be reassessed for 18 months so i dont understand. please if anyone can help then i would be grateful for any advice i hope i have made sense thanks