Hi all, Starting a thread for my new claim for my very old mortgage insurance claim with Countrywide Assured. Having looked around the site I see they are resistant to paying out, especially old claims. They tend to claim it's too old, not covered by regulation and the FOS can't touch them. Nice. Luckily I have old bank statements and tracked down all the monthly payments to the policies. Going to send a SAR tomorrow to see if they have any information on my accounts.

Good Afternoon everyone, Having had a read of these forums I have seen how helpful you have been with offering advice to other people so decided to register and post my own situation to see if you can offer me any advice. I am currently a private tenant through a letting agent. I originally signed an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement on the 1st October 2016, which was a 12 month agreement with a 6 Month break clause. This agreement was signed by both myself and my Girlfriend at the time, so this original tenancy has not yet ended. On the 12 June 2017 (3 and a half months before the tenancy end date) I was contacted by the letting agent to re sign a new agreement which would run from 1st October 2017 for a further 12 months, with a 6 month break clause, so this is still a month away from actually commencing. The tenancy is still in the names of both myself and my girlfriend at the time (with myself listed as the lead tenant). Since signing the tenancy agreement on the 12th June 2017 I have had a change in circumstances, in that myself and my girlfriend are no longer together (this happened in the last week). As such I am now in a rather dire situation where I face having to pay a minimum of another 7 months worth of rent (£1200 per month) which on my own I simply cannot afford to do, I don't earn enough on my own to cover the cost of this and council tax/other bills etc. I was wondering if anyone would be able to advise me where I stand legally with regards to now cancelling the tenancy agreement due to start on the 1st October 2017. From what I understand this is only possible with the landlords consent and I would be liable for any costs incurred to re let the property, however as I am the current tenant, at the end of the current agreement I only needed to give 30 days notice, so would this apply? I wanted to know what (if anything) I can do to cancel the AST from the 1st October. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Jamie

In August last year, I signed a 12 month AST Tenancy that was set up through a letting agency but the Landlord has taken over things since that was set up and signed for. In February, I asked the Landlord about extending the Tenancy and also so that should he ever require me to leave the property, I would have sufficient time to find alternative accommodation. On 1st March, he inspected the property and was happy withe everything and we talked about a Tenancy extension. We verbally agreed that the Tenancy would be extended by 6 months as of August 2017 when the existing AST would expire and it would then run until February 2018, and that if he wanted to, he could give me two months notice in December 2017 to leave in February 2018. We agreed we would do this without us signing a new agreement and without going back through the Letting Agency so no fee's would be involved. Also that the rent would stay the same and I wouldn't have to pay anything else or any extra's. So this was all agreed verbally, I wrote down that day what we agreed to cover myself, I also relayed the information to my partner and a friend of mine, the Landlord stated he would send me an email confiriming everything in the near future, he never did. I chased him several times and a few weeks ago, he was acting as if the agreement was never made, he now keeps stating he can give me two months notice next month should he wish to do so, also that anytime from the end of August, he could give me a months notice to leave. Today he sent another email stating and I will quote the most important parts: " When you speak to a solicitor he will tell you that, in the case of housing, verbal agreements aren't valid. This is to protect you. Your AST expires on 23rd Aug. I can give notice on 23rd June for you to leave and so can you. As I have already stated you can stay until 23rd Feb. However, under the Housing Act , your AST automatically reverts to a periodic tenancy . This means that as you pay your rent monthly the tenancy period is monthly- a rolling contract. If you want a 6 month AST, then you can have this but you will have to pay for the AST to be drawn up and pay 6 months rent up front. If you cant pay 6months up front then I will accept a guarantor. I am more than happy to talk to your solicitor, CAB or your housing officer if necessary" So now he's stating that a verba agreement isn't legally binding, he's still acting as if this agreement wasn't made, but notice he does state that I can stay until 23rd February 2018. But now he's stating about signing a new 6 month agreement and paying 6 months upfront or having a guarantor, when the agreement was made, it was made clear that the agreement was to be extended by 6 months and there would be no charges or anything to pay other than the existing rate of rent. For some reason and I have no idea why but he is acting like the agreement wasn't made or is just trying to change the terms to get money out of me but regardless this needs to be resolved as I am a disabled person with several long term chronic health conditions and as I only know a handful of people where I am, I cannot be in a position where I only have a month's notice to leave and that was one of the main reason that I asked him round to sort out a Tenancy extension. I did speak to CAB today who say I have a case and I have an appointment to see them in a couple of weeks time, however, I wanted some opinions on this from some of you if possible in the meantime. Thank you.

Hi, Can anyone explain legal term in Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement'...execusion of this agreement..' Rent in advance was paid on execusion of this agreement and then mothly afterwards. The agent twists this part. Thanks,

Hello, I am new to the forum having joined today. I'd be so grateful for any advice please. In September 2015, I signed as a guarantor for my son's first year student rental in a shared house. I understood then (as now) that each renter and guarantor were jointly and severally liable for any debt or damage incurred. This agreement was signed by each party on the understanding that there would be six tenants in a shared house. However the sixth tenant never showed up and the letting agency have failed to find a replacement renter. This has meant bills have had to be shared by 5 instead of 6. The letting agency gave a verbal assurance that the 5 renters wouldn't have to pay for the missing tenant and indeed the 5 students have been paying a sixth of the overall rental each month. Now they have received a demand from the letting agency for the missing rent from the no-show renter, backdated from September. When our son queried why they were not chasing this person's guarantor, they said they'd made several efforts to contact the renter and his guarantor, to no avail - so now the other renters and/or their guarantors were liable. Today the letting agency has admitted the missing renter never did sign any contract with them, so he has no responsibility to pay the rent and neither do his guarantors. At no point has the letting agency advised the 5 tenants to recruit a replacement, or warned them of their liabilities for the room not being let. Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Been having problems with Vodafone all year - they just get worse and worse! I called in Feb to report poor network coverage. They assured me it was just 4G upgrades and would be over soon. They promised that once the maintenance was finished they would refund my monthly tariff, back dated to when the problems started. In March, I was still having problems (ironically even the call to complain failed from my mobile as I had no signal!). Same story but conveniently they had no record of my previous call and compensation promise. However they offered £15 goodwill and a months tariff. Pretty poor considering I had only been able to communicate via imessage / whatsapp (anything using wireless but not Vodafone's line!) 90% of the time since December. In May I had had enough and with my contract up in June I called to discuss leaving. The representative I spoke to gave me my PAC code and explained that it's activation would be the start of a 30 day notice period. We agreed this would work fine as my contract was up on 6th June. I passed this code to my new supplier on 9th May and they activated it on 12th May. An subsequent online chat with another rep after this was the most dreadful customer service experience of my life! He was rude, sarcastic and unhelpful. I had got in touch again as my credits had not been activated. He agreed to arrange these then he also then told me I would have early termination fees added to my final bill! After 2 hours (!) online chat, he and a superior assured me that this would be waived due to the advice their other colleague had given me. So, obviously, on Sunday I received a bill including termination fees. A phonecall got me nowhere. The rep (again conveniently) could not see the online chat transcript promising to waive the fees. So I got back on online chat and the rep checked the transcript and again arranged to waive these and resubmit my bill. I am yet to receive the recalculated bill and struggle to believe that it really will be changed. Pretty sure they will take the money then I'll have the mother of all fights trying to get it refunded. More time, more stress. I don't think I can put into words how shocked I am that such a company has such terrible procedures and gaps in communication between departments. Never, ever again will I go back. Vodafone has a long way to go in terms of customer service (bordering on aggressive in some situations) and also coverage for their customers. They really do not care!

I currently rent my home from Home group in the North East. I have received my annual rent increase letter. However it has been brought to my attention we are paying a higher band of rent than a friend of mine who lives in the same size house just 10 houses away, on the same estate but different street. Now I'm not talking a few quid difference I'm talking £30 per week difference which i think is extortionate. With this in mind I did a bit of searching and found a valuation office agency electronic rent register and found tenancies in my street moving in after us where the rent is shown as £20-30 less than what we pay. Can anyone advise if I should query this and how I should do so? thanks for your time!

I have an assured tenancy in a housing association flat. I first moved into the complex in January, 1994. Due to my disability stairs were a real problem, so in February 2001 I transferred down to this flat which is on the ground floor. If I came into some money would I have to leave my flat? The amount wouldn't be enough for me to buy my own place and I wouldn't get a mortgage as I am not working due to disability. This flat has been adapted for me and can be adapted further should I need to use a wheelchair in the future. I would stop my means tested benefits and would then be paying my own rent direct to the HA. I'd welcome any info/advice. Thanks

I just moved into a new flat 3 days ago, but I signed the tenancy agreement 7 days ago (I couldn't move in earlier because the landlord hadn't cleaned/maintained the flat in a good living condition). Anyway, the matter is that I just got a job to go abroad for 6 months (Exactly the duration of the tenancy agreement) and I don't want to be paying rent here for an empty flat. Is there any possible way I can get out of the contract before the initial 6 months term? there is no other clause in the contract. Thank you.

I am currently an assured tenant after inheriting my mothers regulated tenancy. It's a home I've grown up in all my life and after my succession I've had nothing but trouble with the LL - they actually said, in court, they never wanted me to stay there and begrudge me living in the property despite it being my home all my life. I had a feeling this would happen but it appears the LL wishes to put the rent up. I was open to an increase because I can appreciate that the rent previously had been very low however I'm effectively being priced out of the property. He's increased the rent 4x for a property in which all the fittings, fixtures, carpets etc are mine. I don't think this is fair and when I've challenged it I was told my option was to leave. I know exactly what his game is.. I know that my situation is relatively rare so I can't find much in the way of advice on Assured Tenancy rent increases. Is there a limit to how much he can raise the rent by? I feel begrudged being strong armed into paying what I feel is quite steep for a property that has been maintained by family and myself in recent years; market rate is one thing for a place that's got all the amenities but the bathroom and kitchen need some essential work and I don't want to be paying him over the odds if he's not going to come in and put all that right either. I've also been told there are no fair rents for people in my situation; the tribunals are all gone. All help or advice is appreciated

Hi all, Thought I would share with you my current battle with the lovely Countrywide Assured! Well I will cut a long story short.................... Back in 2000 I needed a mortgage offer urgently as going to auction for the house i was renting. I had never had a mortgage before, and the advisor told me that there was a new and exciting product on the market called a half endowment/half repayment. I trusted the salesman and signed all paperwork. 18 months down the line I realised my critical error and swaped over to all repayment and cancelled all of my dealings with Countrywide Assured. I did try to get my money back at the time, but was advised that as i had paid less than 2 years i had no chance (paid 18 months). Now then, years down the line and seeing various tv programmes i decided to complain. After a bit of to and froing they did uphold my complaint about the mis selling of the endowment part and i snatched their cheque for that. However they did not uphold my complaint about the mis selling of the lifetime protection plan that ran alongside. Financial Service Ombudsman says he upholds my complaint as the product over ran my mortgage term by 6 years!!!!!!......... But Countrywide must have a novice in the office.....Listen to the response...... "I feel that a critical illness benefit amount above the mortgage amount would have been suitable for the client at the point of sale. Beyond the repayment of her mortgage, had she been diagnosed with a serious illness, she may have had to give up work, have her house adapted or required a carer's assistance and would need funds to assist her.!!!!!!! REALLY................................... Well this has now been refered up to the main Ombusman....Lets see now??? Your comments plese

Hi all, I wonder if someone could clarify something that is bugging me.... We recently indicated to our letting agent that we were thinking of terminating our Short Term Assured Tenancy Lease. She came straight back to say that as we had started the lease on the 4th of the month we must start our one months notice from the 4th of the month also, otherwise we would run into the next month and could end up having to serve almost two months notice.. Is that correct or could our one months notice start from any point in the month?

Kids are a bloody nightmare. As above, my Son and 3 mates have had a 12 month FT AST from 8/9/2011 to 7/9/2012. This is managed by Leaders. They recieved an invitation to extend the contract from 8/9/2012 to 7/9/2013 (intention to renewal or similar) and have continued to live at the house. My Son popped into Leaders last week to ask for the current Tenancy to see if there was a leaving early clause as they all finish in May this year and didn't want to pay rent for the 3 months they wouldn't be there. They were given a copy of the original Tenancy and have never signed for 2012/13. In addition, the original has been signed on all 15 sheets by all 4 boys but the Owners have not signed the agreement. I take it, that as no Tenancy has been signed for this year, that it has become a Statutory Periodic Tenancy now, or am I mistaken? Sorry for the long post for such a small question!

Hi, I was travelling from Redditch station at midday today but arrived as the train had arrived (left packing slightly late ended up running to the station) i asked at the counter whether it was possible for me to buy a ticket on the train, was referred to the conductor as it was his decision. He was making his final announcements so i waited on the platform until he had finished and then asked him. His reply was it would cost £3-4 more than the ticket machine but I could if i couldn't wait for the next train (Every half hour from the station would have made me late for my coach). So I thanked him and got on, for him not to appear during the journey at all (I was sat money in hand waiting to purchase my ticket on the first carriage next to his compartment). As i got to Birmingham New Street I proceeded to the barriers where i told the man checking tickets upon exit I had no ticket. He called over a ticket officer who proceeded to tap on a board while giving me a lecture about it. I explained multiple times and offered to pay the cost of my ticket to get this sorted quickly as I had to leave for my coach (another 15 minute walk to the station). He proceeded to ask for my details, telling me i was receiving a penalty fare, which i gave and asked him how long it would take which he replied with 'However long it takes'. Very Useful! As he took his time slowly copying out my details onto the form I asked him to please hurry up as I could not miss this coach (To Portsmouth where i'm at uni, I had the funds for my ticket on the train no money for one back or another coach booking!). His response was that 'You should stop acting aggressive or I will call the traffic police and have you arrested!' I told him very sternly that this was ridiculous and I had offered multiple times to pay for my ticket after assurances from the conductor of the train in question, i suggested phoning/radioing through (however they communicate) to which he just replied No and threatened me that I was close to breaking ticket evasion laws and as such could be liable for a £1500 fine and 3 months imprisonment. Safe to say I asked him to hurry up once more (to another lecture of let me do my job and i can be as quick as you like, as he reads every sentence describing my details etc) I took the notice and then had to run to the coach station so I wasn't late. My question is where do I stand in terms of an appeal, there is CCTV of the Redditch platform which will show me speaking to the conductor before boarding, do I have any legal grounds to appeal this as I clearly stated that i was willing to pay yet this was waved away by the officer (He took none of the payment of the £20 penalty fare not even the cost of my single although offered) Thanks A very confused Smiley!

I jointly own a 5 bedroom property which we let individual rooms. In 1991 we obtained planning permission for three flats and instructed our managing agent to give everyone 6 months notice to quit and have the property empty by march 1992. The agent then informed us he had a allowed a single mother with 5 children into the property with out any form of shorthold tenancy agreement. We took him to court regarding this an rents he held on our behalf, he went bankrupt had everything in his wife's name to we were left with a tenant without an agreement. Over the years she has been behind in her rent and we have a court order instructing her that she can be evicted if she is behind by two months. However she waits until the last moment until she pays. There have been a few unsavoury incidence such as drugs on the premisis and a caution. She complains the house is too big and the utilities high as she is there(allegedly) on her own now and doesn't get so much housing benefit. We have offered to move her and pay her first 6 months rent. She has yet to find something suitable. I now need the money from the sale as I one of us are currently unemployed and cannot receive any benefits as they own this property. Although vacant properties sell for approx £180k swift capital, who say they deal in this type of property offered £105k. but, when we came to exchange, they changed their offer to £82k so that was a wasted exercise with solicitors costs etc. . Can anyone help in the best way to regain possession of our property??

Hi all just registered on here as i need a little advice if anyone here can help me out please I'm in a privately rented semi-detached property which is let out from an Local Estate Agency this is due to end at the point of writing this on the 1st of October 2012, My short assured tenancy agreement states i have to give 2 months notice to leave the property which by there way of think is i should have put my notice to them on the 1st of August 2012. Im having loads of problems with my next door neighbours and it basically kicked off last night when they had a party and my wee 2 year old girl was constantly being woken up, i went to the door to ask them to calm down with all the banging etc (very polite ) i have had to go through to them about 4 times about this. to cut the story short the family became very agressive and so did there quests i called my landlord about them for the 5th time and he told me he only rents the house out to me and there was nothing he could do even though he is friends with them now my question is. if i give notice now 2 months and the date will now run over the 1st of October will i have my tenancy renew to a periodic agreement even though i want out of here no longer than the 1st of October which i believe im legally required and expected to pay full rent til that date if this makes sense, i dont mind paying my rent at all i just dont want to be stuck here for another 6 months when technically legally only signed up to be here until the 1st of October but feel im being forced to stay here and the Estate Agency are tell me i have missed my date of putting notice in and im now stuck here from now til the 6th of August and a further 6 months there after is this correct Any and all help really appreciated and hope this has made sense

Hi I intend to move to an Assured Tenancy accommodation at the end of September. The new letting agent has had references form my 2 previous landlords and a personal reference as well. My previous landlords have confirmed that I left them with no arrears.the rent was always paid in full and on time etc. The new landlord now wants a financial reference and has requested me to provide him with full copies of my last 3 bank statements showing all monies paid into and out of my account along with details of where monies came from and where payments went out to. I feel this over intrusive and have offered to provide the summary sheets of my statements which show the total monies into and out of the account but he says he wants all the detail of the payments. I am not happy about having to do this although I have nothing to hide. Should I ask him to obtain a financial reference directly from my bank. I am not sure where I stand on this issue, can anyone offer any ideas on how to handle this. Thanks loring

Hello all, some advice please. We have lived in our current home for almost 5 years on annual SAT's. when we last renewed we gave verbal notice of our intention to purchase our own home and negotiated a month-by-month arrangement with 2 months notice to quit. We have purchased a new home with an entry date of 31/8/12 and have given more than the required notice to our landlord. Notice has been accepted. The acceptance of our notice came with a message that the landlord intends to put up marketing boards and give us posters to display " for let". In addition the landlord assumes that the property can be marketed and viewed during our tenancy with or without our agreement. We have always had a good working relationship with our landlord but now feel this intrusive.We will not unreasonably deny access but equally do not wish the landlord or agent showing their rental vehicle(our home) to strangers prior to the end of our private arrangement. How do we stand? and any practical advice please.