I've been on benefits due to health issues for quite a long time now, I was on Incap Ben until Oct 2013 when they moved me to ESA and that's been static since then. Not had any kind of increase in 4yrs. In 2014 I finally had a diagnosis of one of my health issues that had been ignored for years by doctors... Dismissing my issue as weight related when it was in fact a condition called Spinal Stenosis... which is 'made' worse by being overweight. This explained the shocking spasms in my lower back which could turn my legs to jelly and make me slump to the floor at any time and I couldn't walk more than 20-30yrds without getting one. Since then I have lost over 140lbs the condition has remained and not gone away as previous doctors claimed. I have also been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my knees which is further impacting my. the small increase in the distance I could walk has been decreased again by limited movement and pain in my knees. I've also got early stages of the condition in both shoulders and struggle to lift my left arm above my shoulder but can rotate it, whilst my right shoulder doesn't rotate properly but my arm can be lifted above it. Back in either 2014 or 1015 I got the forms for PIP but never sent them in... to say it was a confusing mess of questions that repeat themselves over and over again and with reports that the vast majority of claims are simply dismissed anyway put me off ever sending it in. I'm not getting any better and losing over 10st hasn't had the kind of impact that I had hoped it would... I admit that my weight was out of control due to severe depression and 19 deaths of family and friends between 2008-2016... In short I was broken and whilst I'm still broken, my financial situation continues to deteriorate. I can just about cover the rent due to the fact I rent from family (all legal, proper tenancy agreement in place and council know everything) at a rate well below average (they're doing it to give me a safe place to live not to make a profit). I can just about cover utilities and household expenses, but there's not enough for anything else and although I do have a car it's 12yrs old and I limit how much it's used due to the cost of diesel, insurance and car tax. Without transport I would be housebound and unable to get out and about on my own... I can't even make it to the local corner shop which is about a 300-400yrd walk. On a very, very, very good day... I might make it to the corner shop, but would then struggle to get back carrying anything I bought. By the time I got back (after stopping repeatedly to sit and let the pain subside) it could virtually incapacitate me for hours and I'd be unable to go out again for a few days at least. When I am able to go out to do shopping (once every 2 weeks on average) I have to normally go with some one and require a trolley to hang onto to support myself. Even then after doing a small amount of shopping, we stop at the supermarket cafe for a rest and a drink before carrying on. I tend to load my shopping in small amounts into multiple sturdy bags with handles, so I'm not carrying heavy ones into the house. I can park on my drive so the boot of the car is no more than 6-8ft from the front door and it's an estate so a low tailgate means no bending to lift things up. I know I could do my shopping online but I actually look forward to doing mine as it gets me out of the house for an hour or two. The arthritis needs me to keep moving more not less, but I can't do that where I live due to the area, hills and so forth... it would be nice if I could drive down to the lakes nearby a couple of times a week and do a little walking there, as they have benches and rest points all around them... But parking isn't cheap. After reading so many threads on here about people applying for PIP and being refused... it's making me wonder if I should at all... I'm not asking for expecting a disabled badge or motability car... I desperately need a little extra help so I can perhaps pay for a little more fuel each month, or parking charges... an extra £20 a week would have a huge impact provided it wasn't taken away from my other benefits like ESA/LHA. If I get the forms... where can I get help to fill them in... a lot of it seems designed to confuse and deliberately make it as hard as possible to complete. I think doing it my own will only result in me not bothering like I did last time... which is what I now think is the main objective of the form.

I've gone through the first level appeal for PIP at Tribunal (twice - the first tribunal was disallowed for legal reasons). On receiving the latest tribunal's refusal, I got home and immediately reapplied for PIP. I'm honestly beginning to have doubts as to whether it's worth it - I feel my one piece of supportive evidence has been turned against me. My long-term condition involves chronic heart failure and type-2 diabetes. I would maintain that my condition has not improved and in some areas has certainly got worse. The tribunal said that my condition was insufficient to qualify for either the daily-living or the mobility components of PIP. In the course of the tribunal, I admitted telling my doctor (of nearly 30 years) that I was unable to walk for long, before stopping to catch my breath. The interpretation of this was that I had put words into my doctor's mouth. I can't see how I can have led my doctor in the course of an everyday examination. When you see your doctor, it's reasonable and expected that you would tell him what's wrong, and he would then do what he could to heal you. My PIP medical was a year ago. Getting to this point has meant enduring a lot of stress and a large drop in income. My heart-rate has never slowed, meaning I have been even more exhausted than usual. I'm bowled over by the negative outcome.

Capquest have had my friends' old Skycard account for several years. In 2012, I got her to write to Skycard, with a £1.00 cheque for the CCA - the [by return], letter stated, that "No records exist now", and the cheque was returned. She had been paying CQ at the rate of one pound per month, so, knowing that there was no CCA, we requested one from them, [i love it when they are well screwed to start with!] After 14 days we got the usual "We are sending for it/ account on hold/will not hear from us until we get your CCA", letter, so we put them in default and she stopped paying. They had previously had a letter from her in 2010, telling them that all communications are to be via me, in writing, at my address, and now four years later, I am getting silent phone calls from them - last week and this week. My friends Credit ref files from the "Big 3" are totally clean, we sent for them last month, just in case, but I suppose that "CQ" realise that the last two years are ticking. Should I write to them, reminding them of the fact that they should only communicate in writing, or just keep jotting down the dates and times of these calls, and wait until they pass everything on to another bunch of no-hopers? Sam

Ultimately it was a chain of failures by Thomas Cook that lead to us making the complaint. Without going into too much detail - I raised a complaint with Thomas Cook about circumstances on the flight that exacerbated my partner's (insured) medical condition that is still affecting him. This was alongside being given very incorrect information by a TC rep that was supposed to help our situation but quite obviously didn't. We were then let down at the airport by the complete lack of rep to support us. I had offered to provide insurance documents and doctor's information to Thomas Cook but they never requested it. Today, exactly 28 days after the complaint was made, I received an email (despite asking to be contacted by phone) with no more than an apology. If that wasn't maddening enough some of information quoted back to me in the email was incorrect to the original complaint... Not massively incorrect, but enough to make me believe that the complaint was only glanced over. The question is - do I pursue this or will I just be wasting my time? I'm not wanting a refund or anything like that but we were expecting to be compensated for the inconvenience and the fact that my partner is still struggling now he's back to work. Any gesture more than an apology would have been enough for us but now we just feel angry. Like we've been swept under the carpet. Any advice or similar experiences would be a great help Thank you Kxx

It doesn't really matter if you don't pay, the odd few that come to sites like this and see they don't have to pay are few and far between so they still make a pretty packet. Government statistics show nearly 1.17 million electronic requests were made in 2010/11 by private parking companies for vehicle details from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Figures show drivers are paying more than £93 million in charges, based on a private parking fine of £80, compared to £21 million five years before. The latest DVLA figures were obtained by Nick Smith, the Labour MP for Blaenau Gwent after he received complaints from constituents about a car park in Ebbw Vale, south Wales "I do not believe that British drivers are becoming less law-abiding,” he said. "Some motorists believe that some car park operators are only interested in penalising the motorist at every single opportunity for the most trivial infraction."