Dear sir, Will be very grateful if you can help me regarding unreasonable charges levied against me for not paying service charge ,reserve fund and service charge deficit fees. I agreed to pay the original charge in 3 instalments which was agreed to by the management company HML Anderton in september 2017 . I failed to make the last 2 instalments which were due in february and march 2018 for 500 pounds and 490 pounds becaue I forgot . They claimed to have sent me a reminder letters which I never received. I have now received a letter from PDC property debt collection company dating 26 april 2018 with the following charges Service charge - 670.33 Reserve fund - 390 service charge deficit - 45.67 Reffereal fee - 300 managment fees - 96.00 PDC instruction fees - 240 PDC additional costs - 10 I called PDC to make payment of what I initial owed of service charge,reserve fund and service charge deficit which was 1106.00 but they refused and wanted a payment of 1751.90. Can please advice how I go about this . The letter sent to me includes 1. register of title 2. information sheet 3. reply form Have filled the reply form saying am only prepared to pay what i owe and need an explanation for unreasonable fees added. will appreciate the help Regards, Dennis

I was on repayment plan with Uncle Buck paying £20.00/ Month and always on time, anything missed (3 payments already) now I received this email We have reviewed your account and currently our recommendation will be to either instruct an external debt collection agency to collect your outstanding debt or pass your details to an external litigation company who may instigate legal proceedings in the form of a County Court Judgement, Third Party Debt Order, Attachment of Earnings or Bailiff Enforcement. You will receive further communication about the course of action we intend to take within the next 7 days. We also have plenty of ways for you to make your missed payment. The fastest way you can do this, is by using one of the options below: Visit our payment portal here. Or login to your customer login portal here. Alternatively, you can telephone our automated payment line on 01959 543400 and choose option 2 and follow the instructions If you would prefer to speak to a member of the team, all you need to do is call us on 01959 543400 and choose option 3. We do not want to take this form of action, we would prefer you to speak to us and discuss a way forward so please contact us immediately. You can also provide us with a copy of your income and expenditure via our website. It’s so simple, just visit our Budget Planner page and once completed we will be in contact. “ Why they doing this if I was repaying? Outstanding 180.00£ no problems never with my payments

I applied to a job Ad from a Recruitment Agency (XYZ) to work for a big IT Consultancy firm (ABC). I got interviewed by ABC and got selected. The job contract was signed between Myself and the XYZ. I started the new contract with ABC on 12th September and they asked me to work for a Government client. After 3 weeks of working, one day (3rd Oct) when I was at Gov client office, I overstayed and worked till 8.30pm and I was alone in the office after everybody left. On 4th Oct, when I went to office as usual, Gov client asked me to leave their office immediately as I had breached their security. I was on visitors badge and as per the rule I was not supposed to be alone and one of the regular badge holders should have been with me always. This was not briefed to me before I started at Gov office by the ABC or ABC staff instructed me leave the office on time. On 5th Oct, ABC called to their office and informed me that they are not happy with my work performance and they are terminating the contract with immediate effect. They did not mention anything about incident happened at the Gov office. ABC said they would pay for all the work till date and additional 1 week for the notice period. After the termination, I sent the invoice for the number of days worked to the XYZ. On 17th Oct, I received letter from XYZ saying that, The reason XYZ was unable to continue its contract with the Client (ABC) was due to the services not being performed by the Consultant Company (myself) to the required standard. As a result of this breach XYZ has incurred losses, such losses amount to £xxxx.xx + VAT. In accordance with clause 3(f) and 10 of the contract, XZY shall deduct this sum from outstanding invoices. I totally disagree with XYZ because, - There is no defined performance standards or metrics mentioned in the contract - When ABC is happy to pay for the work done and for the additional 1 week notice, XYZ should not have any hand in this. - I don’t think ABC would have sent a letter to XYZ with the reason for terminating the contract I won’t let XYZ to go ahead with their claims at any cost. They have provoked me with this unethical and unfair business practise and won’t let them carry on. In responding to XYZ’s claim, I am including the following points in my letter: - How am I responsible for the loss - In what way I failed to perform the contract work - How did they arrive at the cost I need your help please to fight against this rogue XYZ agency and for them to pay the full amount for the work I did. Please advice on how I can respond to XYZ claim. Thank you PS: I have extracted section 3(f) and 10 from the contract and shown below. 3 (f) Whenever under this Contract or otherwise arising from the relationship between XYZ and the Consultant Company any sum of money shall be recoverable from or payable by the Consultant Company, the same may be deducted from any sum then due, or which thereafter may become due, to the Consultant Company under this Contract, or any other contract between XYZ and the Consultant Company (or any of its affiliates). 10 Indemnity The Consultant Company shall indemnify and hold harmless XYZ against any and all claims costs expenses losses or damages whether direct or consequential arising from the Consultant Company's breach of any provision of this Contract including all administration costs and all claims costs expenses losses or damages arising from the negligence or acts or omissions of the Consultant Company or its employees agents or subcontractors.

Hello newbie here, My Husband & I have been dealing with a Debt Collection Agency SMD Credit Solutions Ltd since April to collect a Debt owed to our Company since November last year. A little background: We were owed £38k and the debt was in dispute by the company who owed us. This was construction industry dispute where we worked for contractor (2) who was working for main contractor (1). Main Contractor (1) refused to pay contractor (2) citing poor workmanship therefore contractor refused to pay us. So it was quite in depth but it was being dragged out and being a small company we needed to get a resolution. SMD cold called us but it just so happened we were in the process of looking for an agency after them phoning us everyday for weeks trying to persuade us to agree for them to take the debt on we agreed. We had lengthy discussions about the whole case and we were upfront about everything before we even agreed for them to take on the debt. We knew it wouldn't be straight forward so wanted someone who knew what they were doing. They wanted to charge £2000 + VAT for a reg fee but we simply couldn't afford that so they dropped it to £1000 + VAT payable in 2 instalments. After we agreed we sent them all documentation regarding the debt including invoices owed, purchase orders we received, emails and a report from the main contractor (1). Needless to say SMD were useless, they never answered or return our phone calls, they never returned or answered my emails. In their initial 'guarantee email' they claimed to keep you updated every step of the way and give you a full refund of the reg fee if they don't at least recover the cost of the reg fee. Eventually after quite a few weeks I was emailed and told that SMD had had to obtain legal advice on our behalf and had to pay out in excess of £3000 in order to do so. After weeks of getting nowhere and no answers SMD finally advised us in mid June to set up a meeting with Contractor 2 and main contractor 1 and thrash out what we could get paid. We advised them that we would look for an alternative agency who was specialised in Construction industry disputes and we would like our reg fee returned to which we received no reply and no refund. We then received the official In Administration letter from contractor (2), and I left a negative review on SMD company facebook page. Nothing defamatory or untrue just stating our disappointing experience and that I would not recommend them. Oh and I hope they don't keep telling people about their 100% success rate which is what they said to us. Today I get an email from them saying that unless I remove the comment they will charge us £10,000 (10 x the reg fee) plus the £4000 costs as per their T&C's. They claim we mispresented the debt by not telling about the report Can they do that? Sorry for the long post

Environment Agency seeks Boaters’ views sought in consultation on proposed charges READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/boaters-views-sought-in-consultation-on-proposed-charges

I hope I can explain this so you understand, My mother past away on the 30th of January 2018. Pension was originally paid to my father until his death where a part pension was then paid to my mother. She was until 20 months ago receiving the pension payment that was stopped by Capita because they didn’t receive a response to a letter they sent her. I guess it was a prove your still alive letter but that’s just a guess on my part. County Council social services department contacted Capita to inquire as to the missing payments and they advised that a family member needed to send a change of address to capita which was done on a couple of occasions. No acknowledgement or response at all to these letters. Payments have not been made for 20 months despite no change in bank details. My mother was placed into a nursing home two years ago suffering from dementia and relied on that pension payment to pay her residential care needs and was assessed by social services using her pension payment from them included in that assessment. Not receiving payments resulted in financial hardship up to the day she died. I was not made aware of any of this until my mum passed away. I intend to claim back all money not paid to her until her death. Where it can at least go somewhere to paying some of the funeral costs. Any thoughts on this from my good friends here on CAG. Cheers.

Hi. I set up a payment plan for a £300 council tax debt. Managed to pay the first instalment (£20), but due to lack of money missed the second payment. Just had a Schedule 12 Taking Control of Goods letter delivered. They also added £235 for the enforcement fee. Is it possible to contact the council again and renegotiate, and avoid dealing with the bailiff? I also have a motor vehicle outside (old car worth under £500) . I take it's a good idea to park it elsewhere? I'm keeping the doors/windows closed, and refuse to answer the door. But my main concern is that they'll force their way in. Will this happen? Thanks.

Got PCN at hospital in NI. Ticket says no valid disabled badge on display. Disabled badge was on display and was visible in my opinion, though which side was up I couldn't say due to extreme stress. The badge belonged to registered owner who was in hospital and who in fact passed away a few hours after the ticket was put on the windscreen. The registered owner was not the driver but there was a key family member who was a passenger with mobility difficulties and so one of the disabled bay spaces was used. This is brutal and I am wondering how to address this as quickly and easily as possible without having to disturb those affected in the deceased estate. I am a very close relative and this very upsetting. This happened in the last week. How do you suggest I proceed on this. Thank you.

hi,i have just has a debt collecter from marston holiding knock on my door for a debt my daughter had.....he was dressed as a police officer look a like..he ,had a stab proof vest on with arrest officer written across the front and on his sleeves.....I have cctv and caught him on camera. he said he was here to arrest my daughter for a £57.00 debt issued via the courts..... he gave me a form with arrest notice on it saying if not paid he would arrest her..me being quite old panicked and said I would pay this....thinking he was a police officer... it says on the form failure to resolve this she would be liable to arrest either by a marston arrest officer or a police officer.. my question is was this legal and can a debt collector have the power of arrest... really confused on this thanks paul

In 2011 whilst awaiting a redundancy payment from my previous employer I received a payment of £3600 into my bank account. As I had been waiting almost 6 months for my payout, I assumed this was some sort of interim payment and used it for living expenses as I was unemployed. After eventually receiving my full redundancy payment, it became clear that the initial £3600 payment was made in error by my previous employer. I arranged a payment plan and have dutifully paid this initially at a rate of £40 per month reducing to £20 per month when I submitted a new RFI due to a change in circumstances, ever since, In January this year, my previous employer changed their bank details without informing me and I was therefore unable to make payments. I had initially assumed that the problem was with my bank and even spoke to my previous employer regarding the matter in May, but they still didn’t inform me of any change of bank details. I heard nothing more until I recently received a letter from a debt collection agency for the recovery of the entire debt (£2000). I have contacted the sundry debts manager for my previous employer who has agreed to put the recovery action on hold until 28/9 and asked me to complete an RFI from. I have done this and offered to pay the full amount of missed payments and reinstate my £20 per month payments. They have stated that they now wish me to pay £40 per month and despite lots of emails back and forth are unwilling to accept anything less than this. I don’t want to incur any debt recovery charges but am incensed that it was their neglect to inform me of a change of bank details that caused this and now they are demanding a higher amount each month. Do I have any rights?

I'm emailing in respect of Temp work problem.I have registered with an agency to work on during the weekends. I joined the agency in May and I have been working for the agency ever since.I did not singed a contract with them and all I did I sent them my Security licence ,NI,British passport ,proof of address and bank details. Everything was fine I used to receive my pay slips and get paid on Fridays.The agency hire me to work for a company to cover luxury shops and night clubs and bars in London. on the 25th of August around 22:30,I was working in a bar in London, I got a call from from the company that hire the agency and asked me to go to work on an other site.,I said to them ,that was too late and there was no agreement between me and the agency to stand by and mobilize so,I did not go .The lady who was on the phone told me that I was not get paid. for refusing to go . I phoned the person in charge on the following day and I told him what append.He told me that I was his employee and get paid by him NOT the hiring company, and if that company wanted me to be stand by they must tell at 20:00 to get myself ready.He asked to work normal on Saturday ,26th and Sunday,27 as agreed.On Saturday,26th around 22:00 I missed a call from the company that hired the agency because my phone was charging and I found a message asked me again to go work somewhere else.I found the message a round midnight and replied saying sorry the call was missed and message wasn't read because the phone was charging. I had to get paid on Friday,the 1st of September ,but I was not,I phoned and texted the person in charge ,but no answer .I emailed the agency they ignored my message. I would to mention that no holidays were paid since I joined the agency and NO contract was singed but, I have got the pay slips. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

The Consumer Action Group Guide to understanding how the Credit Reference Agencies work. The guide to help you understand what Credit Reference Agencies are and how they impact on your lifestyle financial decisions and the information that is shared with Financial Institutions . Credit Reference Agencies.pdf

The Consumer Action Group Guide to understanding how the Credit Reference Agencies work. The guide to help you understand what Credit Reference Agencies are and how they impact on your lifestyle financial decisions and the information that is shared with Financial Institutions . Credit Reference Agencies.pdf

The Consumer Action Group Guide to understanding how the Credit Reference Agencies work. The guide to help you understand what Credit Reference Agencies are and how they impact on your lifestyle financial decisions and the information that is shared with Financial Institutions . CredAg_WIP.pdf

The Consumer Action Group Guide to understanding how the Credit Reference Agencies work. The guide to help you understand what Credit Reference Agencies are and how they impact on your lifestyle financial decisions and the information that is shared with Financial Institutions . Credit Agencies Guide.pdf

Hi Looking for some advice please. I was a customer of First Utility they stopped being able to issue me with a bill after almost a year I referred the case to the Energy Ombudsman and the complaint was resolved to my satisfaction. During this time I switched my supply (October 2015), I agreed a final amount with F/Utility of £111.52 & this was paid. Today I received a letter from their credit management company stating that I owe them £112.50. I'm reluctant to respond to the letter to be honest but I don't want the situation to blow up. Surely F/Utility should have made contact with me if I owed them money!? Thank you

Hi there, Thank you all for considering my enquiry. I will try to keep it as to the point as possible. I have sought advice from many advice bodies and a couple of solicitors but I'm receiving conflicting information and a friend recommended I try here. SUMMARY DESCRIPTION I engaged a tradesperson for a range of works which were quoted at £1740. The tradesperson completed some of the works over 2 days. On the 3rd day, the tradesperson was late and sent an offensive message. Based on the offensive content of the message I refused to allow him onto my property further. He agreed to reduce fee based on works not completed. He offered a reduction of £240, total £1500, which I said was not fair based on the works left to complete. I paid a portion (£1240, 83%) of the fee, with a reduction of £500 from original quote of £1700 based on an average of 3 quotes from local providers for the remaining works. He returned the payment and engaged a debt collection agency. Debt collection agency has given 5 working days to pay full amount or they are taking me to court. Full description and timeline below. AMOUNTS Original invoice - £1740 Tradesperson offer after reduction - £1500 Amount we paid - £1240 Amount debt collection agency is seeking - £1500 + interest of £10.23 QUESTIONS 1. I have told the debt collection agency I dispute the debt. Is my best bet now just to wait until they start court process? 2. Am I correct in thinking, because of the amount in dispute (they want £1500, we paid £1240 which they returned, so effectively £260 in dispute), this will be considered as a small claims issue? 3. Were I to lose the dispute, I would be required to pay the £1500 + small amount of interest + court fee of £100-£200? So I wouldn't have to pay his legal costs or cost of using debt collector? 4. Would this type of issue (full details below) be likely to go to court? Or will it be considered on the basis of submissions? 5. Given we're talking so small amounts here, I am obviously wanting to maximise value from any legal advice. Would the best use of money on legal advice be to ask a solicitor who specialises in consumer issues to review my defence form, N9B? Thank you very much for any advice you can give. FULL TIMELINE & DESCRIPTION 28th Jan - Having found a tradesperson through an online review site I asked for a quote for some work on my property. They emailed a quote of £1740 (I'll round the figures for ease of reading). 30th Jan - I phoned the company and asked them to start work as soon as possible. 7th Feb - Tradesperson started work on the property. 8th Feb - Tradesperson attended the property. 9th Feb - Tradesperson doesn't show in the morning. I ask where they are and am told they'll be there later. After I have asked when they will arrive, I receive a 'pocket call' with a recording of the tradesperson where he calls *somebody* a 'f-ing bird, b-tching about when tradesperson will arrive'. We speak on the phone where he considers the situation a joke and calls me a 'b-tch'. I say I don't want him on my property anymore and he agrees to discount the fee for the incomplete work. 13th Feb - Tradesperson confirms work left to be completed and offers discount of £200 (total £1540). 14th Feb - On the advice of the Equalities service I submit a formal letter of complaint about the comments which says that no matter who he was talking about I find the comments offensive on the basis they are about somebody of my gender which violates my dignity and creates a hostile environment. On the advice of Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) I say I do not consider discount fair for the work that is left to be completed and will be seeking to show market rate as part of negotiating process under the Consumer Rights Act. 17th Feb - Tradesperson apologises for comments and offers discount of £240 (total £1500). 25th Feb - On the advice of CAB I seek 3 quotes for the remaining work from local providers which show market rate to be £500. I offer tradesperson £1050. 3rd Mar - Tradesperson rejects offer and threatens debt collection if £1500 is not paid by 6th Mar. 4th Mar - I transfer £1240 (original invoice of £1740, minus £500 fair market rate) and say that is our final offer. 6th Mar - Tradesperson emails to say he will be returning the £1240 and engaging a debt collection agency to seek £1500 from us. 6th Mar - On the advice of CAB I send a formal letter questioning why he has engaged a debt collection agency when we have paid £1240. 11th Mar - I receive a letter from a debt collection agency demanding £1500 (plus interest of £10.23) to be paid within 5 working days, or they will begin court process. 13th Mar - I speak to debt collection agency who try to debate the merits of my dispute with me. I say we have not received any of our payment returned. They say it was sent Friday. I say I do not wish to discuss the issue with them and just wanted to check the address to correspond with, they end the conversation saying "see you in court". On the advice of the Debt Advice Line, I post a formal letter confirming my disputing the debt and evidencing previous correspondence.

Need help and advice please. My son recieved a letter on Monday his first name and also his surname was spelt wrong on opening the letter it was from a debt collection agency called Collectica based in Leeds demanding a payment of approx £600. My son rang them to ask what it was for because he had no debts and also the name was spelt wrong and they must have made a mistake. They asked him his date of birth and he told them they said it was the same date of birth it was a debt he had not paid 18 months ago when he lived in Sunderland. if he didn't pay the money the balliffs were coming to the house. He told them that he had never lived in that part of the country and what exactly was this fine for, they said he would have to ring leeds court to find out that information. He rang leeds court and they told him it was motoring offence no insurance and driving a car that was not roadworthy they said that he lived at a certain address in leeds at the time of the offence. He explained that he had never lived there and it was not him they told him he had to got to court in 2 week time. This is really distressing does he have to go to court if its not him that owes this debt.

I used to send complaints to the OFT, Consumer Credit Fitness Department, now everywhere just seems to refer you to make a complaint to the Debt Collection Company themselves, then after months of waiting for a final response go to the Ombudsman. Can the Ombudsman fine them, revoke their license or order them to comply with something? If not, who can now the OFT isn't dealing with this? Who monitors if they are behaving lawfully and in accordance with their license terms etc.? I have found the Ombudsman to be a joke in the past and they usually just return everything to me and tell me to wait for the company who is ignoring me to reply. This is no help. Can local Trading Standards do anything? They usually fob you off and to go to the Ombudsman too. Maybe the local MP can do something but we don't have one now for 3 weeks. I am not seeking compensation. I want someone in Authority to be informed as to how the DCA are behaving and adding fees unlawfully to accounts and other dodgy practices.

My partner has been working for the same employer for nearly a year but is an agency worker as a Forklift Operator. He is allowed annual leave but not sick pay. His role involves moving pallets of soft drinks and loading and unloading them. A few months ago he was asked to pick up a pallet but as it was not balanced properly due to the way it was originally placed he dropped it when trying to pick it up. It was reported to the Manager who asked him to complete an incident report and asked what happened during the incident, at no point was he informed that he has a warning or anything just a discussion about the accident. A few days later he was retested on the Reach forklift and was allowed to use the machine again. On Monday he was driving the Reach Forklift again and a trainee was also driving a forklift, the trainee was in front of him but did not honk his horn to let him know that he was coming, as he was meant to do, as my partner briefly turned around to check that no pallets fell, he hit his Reach forklift into the trainees but no damage was caused. He was taken off the Reach and asked to complete an incident record again and placed on another machine. On Tuesday he was called into the office to discuss the incident, he was then informed that he has a Final Written Warning. My partner informed them that he didn't know that he even had a first warning and was told that the first incident was placed on his record but he was never informed of this. I am sure that this is not the correct way to do these meetings. Please could someone advise and does he have any rights?

I have worked as a temp for an agency that pays out for “holiday pay” where the holiday hasn’t been taken. The problem is I wasn’t aware that I had to manually claim these payments during the year and that, according to them, they cannot be rolled over. I worked for them in 2015 and 2016 (and this year) so I have in effect lost these payments as I have not adhered to their policy. (their policy is on their staff portal website and I think their contract, which I don’t recall ever seeing). I am annoyed as in the various numerous training I have had with them in terms of being compliant with their admin/paperwork as part of my duties they have never mentioned I had to claim these payments. In other words they have been very on the ball where it suits them. Does anyone know if this is legal? thanks

Good evening all, First time posting here and I'll try include everything in this message. I would really appreciate anyone's help on this matter. I sold an item on eBay and the buyer claimed back even though I sent proof of postage, it was a signed for service but I do not have their signature but tracking shows the item as being delivered. They didn't accept my case. PayPal didn't care as the initial case was with eBay. My PayPal account was in minus for a sum of £900 for around a month and a half, PayPal wouldn't listen to me just kept forcing me to pay even though I didn't have the funds to. Last week I kept receiving phone calls from a random number and 2 days ago I received a letter from Wescot. They claim they are acting on behalf of their client to recover the initial sum (no added fees or charges). How do I proceed? I don't intend to pay as I've been robbed of a laptop and my money. Couldn't care less about them limiting my PayPal account either to be honest. I've read loads of forums about the 3 letter process. I found templates on [removed] do you advise I do this? I don't really want any of these people carrying on chasing me. If I send these letters will I still have the option of entering a repayment plan if they still keep pestering me? I've not made any contact with them as of yet. Just need some advice. If you require more information I will happily provide. Thank you.

Hi I received a parking charge notice at work at the hospital in February and today I received a letter of the parking enforcement agency, I ignored the parking charge notice as I pay parking every month and there was nowhere to park and was going to be late I parked my car on the yellow Lines next to the disabled parking I went out numerous of times to move my car, eventually there was a space a few hours later and moved it! Shall I ignore this parking charge notice or do I need to pay it? Thanks

Hi Ladies and Gentlemen, Have currently been made full time by my current employer. It has been 3 weeks now. I was working for an employment agency ( removed by site team ) worst agency I have ever worked for, never paid the correct wages and took weeks to sort it. They have a finger print scanner to clock in and out, my new clock card system sits next to this. So, baring in mind I am full time and this agency knew I no longer worked for them, I occasionally just put my finger on the scanner just to confuse them, It was only a couple of times. On the 14th of April I got all of my holiday pay as expected. Last Friday the 21st of April, I got 40 hours of pay, the agency are saying I clocked in Monday to Friday. However, I was not even in work on good Friday. I have put the money they paid to one side, however, how do I stand on paying them back. It is obviously an admin error. They have an online payslip checker, and the payslip in question has been deleted, unlucky for them I have a copy on my mobile phone. Kind Regards Jason

Dear all, My first post so apologies beforehand if I should follow a certain procedure. Congrats for the fantastic content and advice -- although at times not easy to follow. I got today on the post a £100 Parking Charge Notice from a PCP Enforcement Agency I honestly do not remember parking there; in fact, I don't even know where this is exactly. In any case, the whole letter seems to be written to deceive - maybe what you call a Speculative Invoice. I do think I may have parked in a spot with "clear signage" (eye for detail is not my thing, unfortunately). There's this thread: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?179567-Private-Car-Parking-Enforcement-Agency-(CCTV) from 2009 similar and at the same spot. I wonder what happened. More info - 22 June 2017; arrived in the post today, 20-august-17 - car parked at at Bristol Estate, Anchor Rd, Harbourside, Bristol, BS1 5DB How'd you advise me to do? Should I just ignore this? You do have a sticky thread saying not to... a billion thanks in advance Victor (Bristol) pcn.pdf