Hi all, just interested to know what a 'trader' is classed as when selling a company vehicle. Does the term apply to any business - such as a Ltd Co Florist that decides to sell a company van? Sold our company van which broke down on the private buyer after a few days. Said they were going to take it in and get it looked at but heard nothing more until 5 months later they are trying to claim a few thousand pounds off us saying the fault hasn't been identified yet and they have spent a small fortune. Is this reasonable? They are now claiming I knew about the fault too and i wonder how the hell I can prove I didn't!

I bought a Denon AV receiver about 7 months ago from an online retailer. I now need to return it for a replacement power supply as it is making a humming noise. The retailer tells me I need to purchase packaging, arrange a courier and they will contribute £10 for carriage. This is a large and expensive item so packaging it safely will be a big job and I am not sure that £10 will cover carriage and insurance. They tell me repair could take up to 4 weeks which is very inconvenient as this is a critical part of our media system and used daily. I realise being without films and music isn't the end of the world but on the other hand I am annoyed that such an expensive item has failed so soon and is causing this inconvenience. I see The Consumer Rights Act says: What constitutes "significant inconvenience" and should a large item be expected to be returned with all costs, including packaging refunded?

Last week i received my van insurance renewal which had went up from £220 to £445... I went on line & found the same cover for £325 so i contacted my insurer (Budget)....I wanted to know why my premiums had doubled....They waffled on not giving me the answer i was looking for but said because i had been with them for a couple of years they would reduce my premiums to £335 which i accepted... When i downloaded my documents i noticed that my medical condition ( Diabetes)..wasnt mentioned & neither was my 3 year restriced licences....Today the renewal insurance came in for my car ( £258 )....So i thought i would call Budget & ask about the omission of my medical details & at the same time get a quote for my car..... I first i brought up the medical details & as soon as i mentioned the restricted licences they put me on hold for 11 mins when they came back they said their underwriters had refused to accept my restricted licence...EH...i asked why & the lady said because i had ticked the box saying i had a full UK licence..as far as i was concerned i did as i always thought a full UK licence was the next step up from a provisional licence....But no Highway the underwriters have decided that if your licence is restricted for whatever reason its not a full UK licence....Ive been left feeling like im being penalised because im diabetic.... Theres was nothing in the documents fine print which explains what constitutes a full UK licence.....Fortunately i went to Adrian Flux & got both vehicles covered on a multycar policy for £500 & when i downloaded the documents i saw that they said i had a full UK licence aswel as my licence being restricted to 3 years

Hi all, Is there any truth in the rumour (English law) that a court won't convict on the evidence of a sole witness ? Also, is there any truth in the rumour that witnesses must be independent - i.e. ruling out 3 close members of a family effectively being 3 witnesses rather than 1 ? Mike.

Hi, Final question for today I think, what constitutes contact when considering a statute barred agreement? I've noted this in another post; "If the lender or owner has been in regular contact with the customer during the limitation period, the firm may continue to attempt to recover the debt." Surely if you write to a DCA that constitutes contact? If so how do you deal with them (other than ignoring them) or dispute anything? Or am I misunderstanding the requirement? Do you still have to admit the debt or pay something to restart the 6 year period again or is simply corresponding with them enough for them to say they are in contact? Confused ! Can anyone help? Bongo

Hi All, I have more news about the overpayment situation my son is facing. It is alleged, that an overpayment of Income Support from 05/09/2011 - 23/11/2012 of Income Support paid to my son of, Total amount overpaid: £8997.49 He received a letter a few weeks ago, notifying him of the overpayment and that it would be recovered @ £20.00 per week, from his JSA. They gave no further details, have proceeding with taking instalments from me. I had written to them on receipt of letter, requesting further info and asking if they could 'halt' any recovery until the overpayment is made official. They have not responded, so my son telephoned DWP to make enquiries, he had phone on loudspeaker so I could hear conversation and note any relevant comments/advice received. This is a quote from that telephone conversation:- Reason? The overpayment occurred because on 05/09/2011 your circumstances changed and the office that paid your benefit was not told at the correct time that you no longer meet the conditions of entitlement as you were no longer in receipt of Disability Living Allowance. The overpayment must be repaid under Social Security Law. They decided not to apply a Civil Penalty for the overpayment, but must be repaid. (I took notes of the call and what was being said!) My son felt they had been aware of his being turned down for DLA -claiming again and that he was appealing the matter. His appeal against DLA decision had not been finalized until December 2012. (reduced rate only). So whilst he did not formally write to IS Dept to specifically notify them of this matter - they were aware of it; as had been referred to many times during telephone calls to them with various queries and requests for info. My son would have had no idea of the various 'components' applied to his payments (eg: premiums added); he would just assume Income Support as one payment, furthermore - don't the Disability Division within the DWP have a responsibility to disclose such matters to their colleagues in the Income Support Dept; given that such payments are made based on criteria known to these two departments? ie: should they not be penalized, for failing to communicate with one another? (or failure to disclose information to external departments, within the same establishment?). The 'disclosure' rules seem very one- sided, ie: customer expected to notify every tom dick and harry of any changes to their circumstances, yet depts. working under same umbrella, different offices - keep quiet about their individual practices??? they are to put this in writing to my son - but in the meantime; anyone who may be able to make sense of this disaster, would appreciate your 'disclosing' this information with me ! - lol many thanks Nadia