For the full story : - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-40069986

I bought a pair of expensive reputable headphones from a high street store that also operate as an online retailer with good reviews. I purchased directly from the physical store as it was easier. In less than a year the headband formed cracks from normal use on the left and right ends. The manner which they appeared flagged a design fault or a material defect. I took pictures of the cracks, eventually one side snapped. The headphones are not usable, so not fit for purpose. I went to the store with the entire box, headphones and purchase receipt and asked for a replacement. The seller invoked 2 year manufacturer warranty and claimed he had to follow the repair/replacement process and send it to the manufacturer. I explained that my approach was merely based on SOGA rights, the product failed and it is not my fault as easily proven hence I wanted a new one. Because he was cooperating I tried not to make a big fuss and went for the warranty which I now regret. He admitted the damage is not repairable and as soon as they check back with the manufacturer they will replace with a new pair to avoid a delay on my end. I believe they should have given me a new pair and deal with the manufacturer on their end. On the other hand if I refused, it may have looked as they tried to provide a solution but I didn't comply with the process. Still I have to be without my headphones for unknown time...they claimed 6-10 days. I have in the meantime spotted information online that suggests there are batches with this problem and I plan to use it. I am not keen on the "repair" element, just want a new pair. I wanted to know if I got things wrong here, 1. would I be within my rights to demand a new pair if not satisfied? 2. shouldn't the seller replace the product? Why retailers persistently disregard the SOGA terms? 3. I have the option to invoke a credit card refund if not happy after all else...

Last year at a show in Oct we ordered a Kampa Air Ace porch awning with an electric pump for our caravan paying for it with a Barclaycard. We changed our minds the next day and ordered a bigger awning plus an awning carpet paying the balance with the same card. The awning and carpet arrived in November. We were only able to erect the awning at end of November for 1 night and all seemed well, however on first use we found the carpet to be faulty and returned it. This was exchanged for another type of carpet. Both carpets are "custom made" in bulk for this particular awning. The electric pump only arrived in late February so we could not use the awning in between as we both suffer from arthritis and pumping up the awning by hand was difficult and painful. We then used the awning again over Easter and then noticed quite large marks on the roof in the centre of the awning which only shows up in a certain light. Another mark was a large X with the number 2 next to it. We tried to brush it out but to no avail. We also used the curtains for the first time and found one to have a broken clip. We then used the awning again 3 weeks ago and one of the other curtains on second use had started to fray at the bottom as the stitching was coming apart. We also noticed that we had heavy condensation in the awning. We do expect some but not to the extent where you touch the awning roof and it is like an Amazon forest rainfall inside the awning. We also has some heavy rain and this gathered in a large puddle on the roof of the awning and the concern here is the weight of the water stretching the material. We had to keep emptying the area every hours. Luckily we were at the caravan as if we had been out for the day, who knows what may have happened. We have approached the supplier who has bent over backwards to help us however the manufacturer cannot supply replacement curtains until later in the year when the caravan season has ended for us and neither can the manufacturer supply a replacement awning until later in the year as it has to come from China. BTW there is a label on the awning of the Union flag with the words "Designed in UK" which could possibly be construed as being manufactured in the UK. As we think waiting several months for replacements is unacceptable is unreasonable and even then the replacement may suffer from condensation or water pooling on the roof, the supplier has agreed to take back the awning only at this point for an inspection but how will they test it for pooling on the roof and condensation? At this point all we want is a refund for the anwing and other associated items. Is this a reasonable request even if they inspect the awning and cannot actuall "see" any issues like the water pooling and condensantion issues. Many other people have complained about the latter two issues and a Google shows up these issues.

Hi guys, I am having some issues with a client and would appreciate some good advice as to where to go from here. We have been working on several projects with this client however in July they began to drop further into arrears with their account. In August we asked them to settle their account as their was an invoice since April and they had failed to make payments several times. This led to several reminders and several times they promised to pay only for them to not make any payment. Finally I had no choice but to suspend the account. This is normally enough to quicken the payment up however they accused me of blackmail! After receiving some good advice I offered to unsuspended the account if we received 50% of the payment and we could discuss what their issue is with payment. They soon demanded that they had full access to the website which we have denied. The problem is they owe a large proportion of the fee for SEO and for a different project. I also provide them hosting and have control of their domain name which is part of this outstanding fee. I have asked why they are withholding the remaining 50% however they say they have no issue paying it but want to do it in person. I live in Spain and they are in the UK so it is not suitable for me to go there to collect the money nor do I believe they want to be my friends when I arrive. What do I do? Option 1.) Suspend all their accounts until full payment is made. Option 2.) Give them 24 hours notice that we are cancelling their hosting and give them their website (this is fully paid for however the SEO work is outstanding and domain fee). Option 3.) Keep their website live and then open a small claims court? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Hello I am new here, and trying to work out how to go about rebuilding a garden wall that was blown down last winter. Finally managed to get a straight answer from my local city council about what plans they need, but a design and access statement? Who from? I have read the guidelines but they seem rather excessive as they refer to developments and changes to buildings which this is not. Yes, we live in a conservation area, the house is listed, but the wall is not. So we do not need listed building planning for it, or so we are told by the city council, having been previously told that we do!! We started this rigamarole months ago, when, having got a builder in to give us an estimate, we realised that we would have to build the wall slightly differently because it has a tree with a TPO in our garden, next to the wall, so the wall will have to make room for it. We had an arboriculturalists report done on the tree, which gave precise descriptions of what would be needed for the tree and the wall. At this point the owner of the house next door (it is let to someone else, she does not live there) then decided to go for permission to cut the tree down. After a frustrating and wasted three months, the tree still stands. So...tearing our hair out, we are now facing a lot more cost - we think, if we do have to go the route of a design and access statement. We cannot get any sense out of the City council planning people, they just refer us to the guidelines on line, which tell us little that is helpful about who does these statements, and if it is really necessary anyway for a replacement garden wall!!! We put in a claim to have the wall rebuilt, back at the beginning of the year, and got some of the money from the insurers, but had to stop the process because of all the fuss about the tree, and now we are not sure if we can go ahead, or if it will cost us even more. Please...anyone? Any help very gratefully accepted.