Firstly a bit of background. I have a secured loan with blemain finance (we all make mistakes:-x) It was taken out in may 2007 and is for £10K also it is cca regulated. They have added over £4K in charges in just 2 years, I have requested the charges back and after lots of letters i have they're final bog of letter. so i am now debating whether to take then to court for unfair credit agreement or go to the fos, i have phoned the fos and they have taken details and sent me out the forms to carry on with my complaint,but as yet i have not sent them back.so i have all options open to me and some advice in which way to go would be appreciated. Also i have a suspended possession order after they went for repossession, now the thing is i think when they took me to court they first sent out a default notice, but i think that it is non compliant and would like a second opinion,and some advice on how to deal with a suspended position order that they got on the back of a dodgy default notice. my issues with the default notice are a]That they didn't give me 14 clear days to rectify. b] No specific date to remedy (they say 14 days from date of letter) c]The paragraph saying that if you dint understand this then seek advice from CAB is missing the following is word for word what it says on the default notice and the only date on the notice is at the top of the page. 1] To remedy the breach you must pay the total arrears of £xxx within days of the date of this letter. 2] If the action required by this notice is taken before the 14 days, no further action will be taken in respect of the breach. 3] if you don't take the action required by this notice before this date then the further action set out below may be taken against you. 4] FURTHER ACTION: on or after the date shown above we shall apply to the court for an order for possession and sale of the mortgaged property. so any advice on how to proceed with this would be greatly appreciated and thanks for looking. welshperson (from bridgend:-))

Hazard perception test now features more weather conditions READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hazard-perception-test-now-features-more-weather-conditions

I've decided to post this in the Homelessness section, despite there being several issues at once and I need your advice, but mods, feel free to move this to a different section if necessary. My situation: - Just about to become 50 - Have lived in a terrible and dodgy guest house for 2.5 years. It wasn't dodgy and terrible when I went there - When I went there I had a job and a single room. Now I've been on the dole for some time (on and off) and I am forced to share a room with other people. - New people and new staff have come through the years and they have brought... how can I say.. dirtbags! Dodgy and abusive gits, people with a hefty criminal record, etc. - The owners are the same but have given up on patrolling the place. They only come every now and again. - Over the months I've been verbally abused by both staff and guests, mainly because I'm not in their circle of booze and drugs and what have you. This afternoon I was threatened by a fellow guest for petty reasons. I managed to speak to the owners. One of them says he'll do what he can but I can't trust him anymore. - I'm struggle to find a job and leaving the place immediately is not an option. Virtually no landlord would rent to a 50yo unemployed, at least not in my area. So, in other owrds, I'm stuck here. - Part of the staff (the dodgy ones) hate me and they told me straight in my face that they'll do what they can to convince the landlords to kick me out (I have no formal rental contract. I pay month to month) and I think they are very close to their goal. So my questions are: 1) In the immediate what can I do? I was thinking of calling the police but what can they do? And the landlords have already hinted that if I call the police, my future at the place is at stake. 2) If they do kick me out, can I receive help as homeless? I'm on benefits, but I have some savings (under £6k). Please I beg you not to think I'm just an intentional bum. I was in IT circa 10-15 years ago but my career is finished and I have nowhere to go. Thanks for reading.

Did not pay NI conts in 14/15 and 15/16 as I was below lower earnings limit. I am now unable to work due to a health condition. If I opt to pay the contributions for both these tax years is it likely I will then satisfy both of the contribution conditions for an award (I know I am not entitled to income based as my partner works). The second condition is really confusing me!!! The guidance online says:- You qualify for contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) if you have paid sufficient National Insurance contributions. There are two contribution conditions you must meet: First contribution condition - in one of the last two complete tax years, you must have paid Class 1 or 2 contributions on relevant earnings at the lower earnings limit for at least*26 weeks. This means you must have worked for at least 26 weeks of the last two complete tax years; and Second contribution condition - in both of the last two complete tax years, you must have paid or been credited with, Class 1 or 2 contributions to the value of 50 times the lower earnings limit. Anybody?? Please

Have just received a letter from the Management Company restricting the type of vehicles allowed to park within the residential development. - they are trying to ban large vehicles, specially stating "no commercial vehicles, vans trucks, campervans, motorhomes, minibuses and caravans, unless authorised. The justification given is limited car parking and blocking sunlight to flats adjacent to roads. As a considerate resident, I park my small campervan, based on a Peugeot Boxer away from any flats so as not to block their light. The footprint of the vehicle is no bigger than a large car. My lease grants me the right to use the roads as long as I do not hinder the access and parking of other. There are no allocated spaces, some are well away from flats and do not obstruct light. On the occasions I could not park here, I have parked on a public road. I am looking for advice - could the new restrictions be a derogation of grant, as lease does not specific type of vehicle. I want to fight this, as it is one or two individuals on the Management company who inflict this o the many. Regards

Posted on behalf of a family friend who is employed as a wagon driver and normally receives a monthly bonus of £500 which is due this Friday. He has been handed a letter today which he was told he had to sign to continue receiving the bonus. The letter contains conditions which he feels are unreasonable and he feels are an attempt to avoid having to pay the bonus. These conditions include: The vehicle must be in immaculate condition inside and out at all times. (The role includes delivering blocks and concrete to building sites.) Your attendance during the month must be 100%. Managers discretion may be used for genuine sickness, otherwise phoning in sick for work will result in loss of bonus for the month. You will have a flexible attitude to work to suit the needs of the business. Any incidents of not carrying out your duties as requested will result in forfeiture of monthly bonus. In the event of you giving notice to leave your employment with the company your monthly bonus will be forfeited. Can his bonus be stopped if he doesn't sign the letter and can the company impose the new conditions legally? Any advice would be appreciated.

I paid them for a couple months via Monthly Standing Orders which i set up, this was after the Debt Management Company I used folded, I then stopped paying all of them recently ... I have just received a true copy of my original CCA from Halifax, back dating to 2001, so will now need to sort a repayment offer with them They are the only 1 from 5 to provide thus far, so tbh i still had a great result This is very true, i assumed info from a company like StepChange would be best i would get, not a mention or suggestion of doing CCA's came from them Sometimes their hands are tied to give certain aspects of advice and as I say CAG was a blessing in disguise when i read what people were saying about making CCA requests I have just received a true copy of my original CCA from Halifax, back dating to 2001, so will now need to sort a repayment offer with them, they are the only 1 from 5 to provide thus far, so tbh i have still had a great result ! Better late than never, very true

Can anyone PLEASE offer me any advice on how he can apply descriptors to conditions? We have absolutely no idea how to apply these things? Can someone point us in the right direction? We really need some idea of how to link his condition specifically to the questions they ask you? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Hi I've worked for the same company for 15 years as an office manager. There are 6 girls employed by the company in head office 4 office workers, 1 worker and 1 shop worker. We have always done the following Cuppa first thing in morning then more throughout the day, taking it in turns to make it. The smokers go out once an hour for a ciggie. We have a half hour for lunch. I agree that these are quite excessive however, it's been done forever. Now the boss has decided that we will have 3 cuppas at 10, 12 and 3 and the girls can smoke at the same time. (Fair enough). But the big thing is we are now being expected to clean the offices/shop/toilets, taking it in turn. My bug bear is that there are 6 girls and we are all being made to take turns in cleaning (I was never employed as a cleaner). Any advice please

Hi, Hopefully you can help or give advice on what to do regards talkmobile and their total lack of understanding regards the issue I have at the moment. I have chatted online to them and was told they had escalated the matter and I should expect a call with 48 hours. After 2 weeks of no reply I rang them, The gentleman on the phone was firm and I was not put onto his supervisor/manager to discuss the matter. They stated they do not offer an sort of payment plan and the sum needed paying straight away or the phone will be cut off, it has already been cut off for sending texts or ringing people, although texts phone calls are still coming through o my phone for the time being. Here is the issue I have. My 16 year old son has issues with gambling, He maxed my credit card 6 months back to the tune of £800, which I couldn’t claim back as I had left my card for him to have easy access to. I would have paid anyway as I feel I am my son’s dad so have a duty to pay off any debts as he is still a Minor and worried he may get done for fraud if I make a complaint??. After this I have blocked all sites on my router and made sure he has zero data on his pay monthly sim (I spoke to the lady when setting it up and she put a note on his record to allow 0 data on his 3G phone) My son rarely goes out and when he does he goes to his friend’s house who also has the same issues as my son regards betting and having spoken to their parents they also have full blockage on adult related sites, and his phone is very old so has no option to connect to the internet. My phone was coming up for an upgrade and I chose talkmobile as they had a Sony Aqua for £12.50 per month which I felt was a very good deal. However my son used my phone to access gambling sites via my 4g and paid for these gambiling sites via my phone, I hadn’t a clue you could do this so did some talking with talkmobile and it was with is a company called Boku who deal with gambling sites along with other sites which are much more legitimate. My main issue is he raked up £400 and the only reason I knew is when outgoing calls were blocked. I told the webchat team that when I signed up I had a £50 maximum limit (this is in their terms and conditions) so how could charges go all the way up to £400 and I not be informed of an issue on my account, I asked for a breakdown and all charges were to Boku. As I said at the start, it is my son that has caused these charges so it only feels right I pay for his errors, I have made sure my son has paid for his stupidity and had both his mobile phone and laptop removed indefinitely at least until this matter is resolved. I asked talktalk for a payment plan and they refused outright and demanded full payment, I will not be able to pay £400 in one go, so I checked all their terms and conditions and these two stood out the most which may help my case?? Their Age restricted content states that :- Your Talkmobile phone is automatically set to block access to all age restricted content. Age restricted content is anything that has been classified as 18+ by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), or any 18+ sites that might contain any of the following: • Adult humour • Pornography • Alcohol/tobacco • Gambling • Violence/hate/racism • Weapons • Cult/occult • Illegal drugs • Personals/dating • Chat/instant messaging We block this content in accordance with the OFCOM code of practise and UK and EU regulation in order to protect underage and vulnerable people from potentially harmful content. The content block means that you can protect anyone under the age of 18 from seeing any potential adult content. This could be useful if you have children who have Talkmobile phones, or if anyone underage has access to your phone. I checked the age restriction policy and pornographic sites were blocked but no gambling sites at all were blocked. Is this a breach of their terms and conditions?? They also have an allowance limit in their terms and conditions which state :- The allowance limit is designed to protect your account from someone using your phone fraudulently. Once you hit £50 of billed usage we'll restrict your services. This means you won't be able to use your phone but you'll be able to receive inbound calls and texts. To remove this restriction you need to make a payment to bring you below the £50 allowance limit. Then you can carry on using your phone as usual. Is this another breach of their terms and conditions?? as they allowed my account to go all the way up to £400 until they cut me allowing to make calls or send texts, thus making me aware and getting into contact with talkmobile, at no time did I receive any correspondence from talkmobile. As I stated at the beginning I feel I should pay for my sons issues with gambling as he is a minor and I have a duty or care (I am in contact with a charity who have said they will may with his issues) the issue is talkmobiles refusal to even get in a discussion regards a payment plan which has really annoyed me mainly due to ineptitude on their part and my fault for leaving my phone lying around so my son had easy access to it. but with the age restriction block on I felt it would be fine. I know this is long winded but I have no clue of the law and was wondering if it was worth writing to their complaints department to hopefully resolve the matter and sort a payment plan out?? Also is there a template letter at all that covers things like this? Thanks for your help and if you have read all of this you will need a cup of tea lol. Thanks in advance for any advice. Kirk

Hello, I have a very quick question I was hoping someone could answer please. I have a Tomlin order which dictated I must pay monthly installments towards a debt by the 1st Day of each month. My job has changed and my payday has changed with it. I have altered my standing order for this payment and money will be transfered instantly on the 1st or the next working day. Let's assume the 1st falls on a SAT, then Monday is a bank hol. This means they won't receive payment until 4th day of the month. Is this ok for a Tomlin Order arrangement? As it is the next working day?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3557310/Inside-secretive-Chinese-iPhone-factory.html I find the factory conditions mentioned in the above link disturbing. I am sure these workers are glad to earn money, but i suspect that they don't get paid enough. No wonder American workers can't compete.

Which? don’t think that you should have to read endless pages of baffling legal jargon just to make sure there are no unwelcome surprises in a contract. Earlier this year Which? launched a campaign to simplify terms and conditions. The Government has now announced that it has started a review of complicated terms and conditions, including a call for evidence. The Government hopes to reduce the risk of ‘nasty surprises’ hidden in opaque or lengthy T&Cs. This could involve fining businesses that don’t comply with consumer protection rules. http://press.which.co.uk/whichstatements/which-response-to-bis-announcement-on-tcs/ The Government is seeking views from the public, consumer representatives, businesses, trade bodies and regulators on how terms and conditions (T&Cs) can be made more user-friendly and on proposals to introduce fines for unfair terms. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-terms-and-conditions Consutation closes on 25th April

HI All I signed up to a boot camp, stayed for over a year then went through the cancellation process, which stated notify in writing and send back wrist band. No notification of a fee extra. I advised them due to health that i was cancelling, would send back the wrist bank, and i have just paid a full month so that was ok. They sent me a note back say they cannot accept my email as cancellation i would have to go online to their form and fill it in. Ok so got on there and filled in the form, then saw it wanted me to accept new terms and conditions on cancellation! No chance, so i got back to them said im not agreeing to new terms etc etc. they tried to threaten me with third party etc but i told them getting someone to change terms on cancellation so you can then get payments including and amin fee is unlawful. Can any of my CAG friends help with confirming the law on terms and condition changes, i believed we should have been notified and acceptance given. and that coercing people to sign on cancellation is unlawful. But need the correct legal bits thanks in advance

Hi all I am in the support group for ESA and also receive PIP, I have several conditions/illness related problems that prevent me from working. I have developed two new problems, the first being postherpetic neuralgia, a neuropathic pain after having developed Shingles. The second problem is I am now having to take medication for High Blood Pressure. I am not sure if I need to report these to the DWP or not, any advice as to whether I should would be most welcomed. Regards

I have had an ongoing claim with Jet2 for compensation following a fight delay in Feb 2011. There are six family members in the group, my wife and I, and four children under 16. I am the lead passenger and paid for the flights and the booking was made using my Jet2 account. It was a technical fault and they have been using the “unexpected circumstances” excuse since 2011, and most recently said they were waiting the outcome of their appeal to the Supreme Court which they said would affect the outcome of my claim. When the Supreme Court refused permission for them to appeal, I wrote again asking for the full amount plus interest. They have now asked me to submit a separate claim for each individual or they won’t consider them. This is the first time since I first claimed in 2011 that they have made such a request. After my initial claim, they made a partial pay-out for our allocated seats booking-fee, all on the same claim. So they have the all the passenger details and they have even partially paid out on the claim. I am inclined just to go straight to the County Court now because they are obviously just time-wasting. In my most recent letter, I said that if they did not inform me within 14 days of how and when they are going to compensate me, I would pursue the matter in the court. Am I now justified in taking them to court? Is it reasonable of me to expect a reply in two weeks after an almost four year on-going case ? Their normal reply time is six to eight weeks. If I don’t submit the claims again individually, would they be able to use that as reason for not paying if I go to County Court? Many Thanks

Hi I purchased a washing machine in Dec 2012 and paid for a premier insurance so if my washing machine could not be fixed in 7 days I'd get a new one. On the 10th July I called as my machine was not emptying or spinning. It came up with an error18 which meant a blockage somewhere in the machine. I had to wait 4 days for an engineer. He came, replaced a part and left. My machine worked for 2 loads then the same error appeared the next day. I called and they couldn't get an engineer for another 5 days. They said if it needed a part then they'd order one. I mentioned my policy was a 7 day but they said it was 21. As I had the paperwork it clearly stated 7. In Dec 2014 as I had a few products insured they suggested i go on a multi care policy as it would save money. All the advisor done was put me on a multi care policy. He explained nothing about anything changing such as the terms and conditions. I know I'm also to blame as they sent through the new policy and I didn't read the terms and conditions as I wasn't aware they'd change. Now they say it's tough. It's my fault I didn't them. I recorded the call when I changed to the new policy and he mentions nothing. I thought they have to at least mention the change to make sure it was suitable to me but they say it's not there responsibility it down to me. I have 3 children and a disabled husband and can't be without a machine which is why I purchased a fix or replace in 7 day policy. I have little faith in the engineers they employ. As the machine suggested a blockage he done nothing to locate it just sorted the spinning problem.

DWP site has been revamped and the A to Z of medical conditions has a new link which is below: A-Z of medical conditions - DWP This is a very good informative site http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/s...al-conditions/ Once on this page use the A-Z to find your condition then look to right of page and click the link once there look to left of page and you will see a heading called CARE AND MOBILITY CONSIDERATIONS click that and it will give you an idea of what you can expect to get according to the variation of you condition. Is also a very good resource of information. Originally provided by pompeyfaith

Or as they advised.... "changes to our small print". Have just received a letter from Npower advising they have made changes to their terms and conditions. Which apparently came into effect on 22 June 2015. Should they not have advised their customers that they WERE making changes before hand ?

I've an ongoing saga with CABOT regarding an OPUS card which they say was my CITI card. Shouldn't I have had some notification of some sort from CITI when this change occurred? I've been waiting years for a CCA for my CITI card, but none has been forthcoming.

We are fighting a case with the council for breaching the terms of the tenancy . This tenancy is a secure tenancy from 1985. They are presenting the court with conditions from 2014 trying to say they are true tenancy . Can they do this or can I get the case thrown out as they are relying on this for their case . I am in court tomorrow without any legal help only advice. thanks in advance

Hi all, Just looking for some advice on a dispute I have with an online retailer. To give some background, I placed an order way back in April and paid for it then and picked it up towards the end of August. On their website it stated that "If you are in any way unhappy with your purchase, please notify us within 7 days of receipt. We will issue a full refund of the purchase price once the item has been safely returned to us". When I picked it up, all the individual goods (25 quantity) were wrapped up and box sealed and it was closing time of the shop.. .there was no way I was going to spend an hour or more in the shop checking all these therefore I believe I had reason to check my order out of store within a reasonable time. Which I did and emailed them back saying I was not happy with the order and therefore wanted an exchange/refund. I received a reply today saying they were not going to refund as my items were specially ordered (I ordered 25 rather than just one or two so fair enough as they said they would have to make a special order for this) and they quoted a paragraph from their terms and conditions. The thing is I took a screenshot of their terms and conditions the day I sent my email in case I needed it, and it indicated no such thing so they have just added this paragraph to their t&c's today to backup their argument! Like all t&c's they reserve the right to alter and amend without prior notice but surely they can't just do it like this otherwise any business could amend their t&c's to what they wanted! FYI: The business is a small online retailer with one shop and two or three employees so I'm not sure if they just think they can get away with this. Can anyone here advise me on what to do here? It would be much appreciated! Thanks

Hello everyone, I wonder if anyone has any advice. I have been offered a contract with a client via an agency. The agency terms and conditions are very heavily weighted in their direction. The specific term that I wish to have removed is that they or the client can cancel the contract without any notice and not owe me any money. The client can cancel without any notice period and the agency will not owe me any money. The client can claim my work is not suitable and cancel without any notice and give no evidence as to why the work is unsatisfactory. I am a Ltd business but it's just me and my hubby who does the admin and I do the work. I am going to ask for these clauses to be removed but have already been advised that these are their standard terms and if we don't accept them I cant have the work. My argument is that they are forcing us to agree to the terms under duress - ie: agree or loose out on the work. No other agency is currently recruiting for the job so I cant go to someone else to get the contract. the terms are heavily and unfairly weighted in their favour. I have to give notice and if I don't work the notice I am liable for all their loses They are an established million pound company and we are two man band. This is the standard terms and we cant afford to get every contract reviewed by a lawyer. I have suggested to my hubby that we ask for the relevant clauses to be removed and if they refuse write an email to say we are signing to accept the terms and conditions but only under duress and if any dispute occurs we will use the unfair terms act of 1977 to claim that they forced us to agree to an unfair contract. would that be OK? also if they say we cant have the contract if we do not sign without that caveat can we go to the client directly and ask them to agree the contract between us directly and cut out the agency altogether? any advice very much appreciated.

hi just had front rooms of my house passed to a1. as i live in the town center and there are plenty of shops,small village with about 30 shops parish council being a real pain and have had the below restrictions imposed which seem ridiculous as there are other shops selling the same as each other why should i be so restricted any help pleas Following your visit to County Hall earlier today, I have checked further into the outcome of the Committee Meeting yesterday and an additional condition was imposed by Members to be included within the Notice of Decision. The additional condition will specify that the retail element will be limited to the wedding business only and no other retail use and can only occupy the front room and it will only be allowed to be run by the occupiers of No. 77. Members felt that if any other retail use were to occupy the premises it could have a detrimental impact on adjacent properties and the area in general. Kind Regards

Hi all. I took out a world wide annual travel insurance policy with xxxxxx insurance. Since taking out the policy I have been diagnosed with a condition that they would not ordinarily cover. I can't really make much sense od their rules and regs. Am I likely to be fully covered as I had no idea I had the condition before I took out the policy or is it like car insurance where if circumstances change you must tell them? Cheers.