Hi all, thanks in advance for reading and any advice. I'll try to be as concise as possible. I have an iPhone provided by my work. It states on the iPhone Policy that if you lose the phone or it is stolen, you will have the price of the iPhone taken off the next payslip. The only exception is if you can provide a police certificate that it was stolen, but there is a sub-exception here that states you still have to pay if the theft was facilitated to clear negligence on your part, e.g. leaving it unsupervised in a public place. In November 2015 there was a fire drill at work. I immediately left the building. When the drill ended and I returned to my office, my work phone had been stolen off my desk. When I informed Asset Management of the theft, the person at the desk seemed understanding and stated verbally that this should be OK and I shouldn't be charged as when there is a fire drill, you must leave immediately and not stop to pick up personal belongings. I was provided with a new work phone a few days later and there were no other comments made by them. Come end of November, I have £300 taken off my payslip for the cost of a new iPhone 5. Before even considering whether they can do this, the price is not right. They currently retail on Amazon at £251, and I strongly suspect my employer gets them at a far lower price seeing as they order hundreds for their employees. So they are making a profit on this. By email, I questioned the deduction (and the price). In their email reply, they didn't dispute my story but said I was negligent as I should have taken the phone with me. I pointed to the fire regulations, which state, word for word: "...evacuate the building immediately and do not stop for any personal belongings. Delaying the evacuation to gather personal belongings risks the lives of you and your colleagues and may constitute gross misconduct." Their reply to this was that it was "obvious" that small items like your phone don't count in this rule, as your phone will be sitting on your desk (where we have a dedicated power cable for our phones) and so you will lose no time in picking it up. And they said making a police report for theft is pointless as it was now "too long ago" and in any case I was negligent (see 1st para.). I also raised the fact that there is CCTV - not in my office, but in the hall adjoining it. I.e. my office door is in clear view of the camera, so can see everyone who enters or leaves the office. This is the only door to the office. Even if the phone isn't recovered, I told them they can at least find out who stole it, on a matter of principle/ethics. They replied "data protection" and were extremely obstructive. What's the point of CCTV in this location if not to stop things being stolen from the premises or find the people who do steal? I issued a written reply by recorded delivery, challenging the deduction by quoting the fire regulations and stating that no exceptions are listed. I received no reply. I waited for my December payslip and there was no £300 refund. Where do I stand here? I was simply following the fire regulations. I am not in a trade union. Would CAB be a good start? Could I also claim interest on the money they are withholding from me? I have been careful not to mention legal threats as I know most people who say this never act on it. I am now at the stage where I would be happy to leave/lose my job to fight this. Threatening with going to the press would be futile as they are a very large company that has had a few controversies in the past and couldn't care less about negative coverage. Even if I can't get a refund on the facts, can I challenge the amount that they deducted as it is considerably more than the retail value of the phone? Thanks in advance, sorry for the long post!

Grenfell Tower fire: support for people affected READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/grenfell-tower-fire-june-2017-support-for-people-affected

Emollient cream build-up in fabric can lead to fire deaths READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/emollient-cream-build-up-in-fabric-can-lead-to-fire-deaths

I wonder if I can ask for some help with a round floor flat....some months later I am finding that the surveyor has neglected to pick up that the basement is a fire trap because there is no means of window escape should there be a fire. Should a surveyor have flagged this up because it does not meet building regulations safety standards. The walls have been plastered and painted with wrong materials which is now causing damage to the walls and skirting as the paint is not breathable. Also I was advised that a DPC is required, however now told not to put one in as will make situation worse. Also the sound proofing is diabolical and my ceiling is showing signs of cracks and nails popping because flat owner upstairs has wooden floor stairs not covered with carpet. I cant afford to go to a solicitor at the moment so all help and guidance appreciated. Thank you

Health advice for residents affected by Saddleworth Moor fire READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/health-advice-for-residents-affected-by-saddleworth-moor-fire

hi we moved into a house association property when we Received the property there was no fire alarms in property. Who should have been responsible for this as a company is renting out the house With my knowledge there should have been a fire safety check done and they should have fitted them as before I moved in someone else was living here and surprise when they renovated they did not fit fire alarms.

Hi all, I have a car on finance, which two days ago caught fire and is a write off, can I terminate my contract with the finance company under 'frustration of contract' as the finance company can now no longer supply the use of the vehicle to me under our contract? Just wondered what people's thoughts are on this. Many thanks for all and any replys Moonlandings

People trapped in huge west London tower block inferno – reports A 24-story tower block on Latimer Road in west London has been engulfed in a horrifying blaze, with reports saying people have been trapped in flats in the upper stories. The massive fire has engulfed the Grenfell Tower in North Kensington from the 2nd story to the top floor, the London Fire Brigade has tweeted. It added that at least 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters have been battling the blaze. Live.RT. https://www.rt.com/uk/392135-west-london-tower-inferno/ BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/live/bbcnews

HI last week I had a fire at home that started within 10mins of plugging in my washing machine, I was upstairs when the electricity tripped went in the kitchen to check and the plug was on fire, it was plugged into extension cable on the floor. I phoned fire brigade and got out of house along with daughter and dog, the fire took hold and destroyed my fridge, microwave, tumble dryer and severely smoke damaged my walls and Kitchen cabinets that I had fitted last week. I phoned Beko who sent out an engineer took photos of damage and washing machine, he stated to me he could not say whether the plug had or had not caused the fire as the plug was not there to examine, I honestly dont know what happened to it it was just a blob of plastic with everything getting thrown out in the garden I dont know where it was, he didnt even cut the cable from the machine to check that. Friday I got an email to say that after their visual inspection their machine was not to blame, and thats the end of that. I was told I could discard the machine the scrap man has taken it now I dont know which way to turn, I am not insured after saving up for 2 years for my new kitchen its totally ruined, well the doors are. I would be grateful of any advice what to do next, after I received the email on Friday I did get a little angry and emailed back I would be taking them to small claims, just wondering if this is an option?

Hey, This is going to be a long winded post so please bear with me whilst I try and put my issue into some form of logically forum post..here goes.. My 4-month-old BMW 420D caught fire on my drive in the early hours of yesterday morning through what appears to have been an electrical fault which started under the bonnet and quickly engulfed the car, melting the engine, melding the front of my wife's park which was parked in front of it (nose to nose) and even damaged the side of the neighbor’s car which was parked approx. 3 meters away. Now I say that this was an electrical fire based on the opinion of the fire investigator who came out to inspect. There were no signs of "foul play" and no accelerants were used. The evidence under the bonnet shows where the fire started so they are satisfied that it was a manufacturing defect. The BMW was a lease car from Arval and had company insurance from RSA, my boss has been made aware of what happened and told me to pass the insurance details to the neighbor’s as well as my own insurance company who cover my wife’s car (One Call) . It looks like 3 claims will be going in against RSA as the BMW was responsible for the damage on the 3 cars. I have uploaded some photos of the damage and have yet not really done anything with these pictures - the link for the images are here . https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/BMWFireRescure11.08.2017.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/BMWAfterFireBrigade.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/TowedBMW11.08.2017.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/BothCars11.08.2017.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/NissanDamage11.08.2017.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/BMWEngine11.08.2017.jpg https://www.imageupload.co.uk/images/2017/08/12/BMWSide11.08.2017.jpg So that's the background of my issue. Now here comes the questions. 1) All the signs and the experts say that this was an electrical fire leading me to believe that there should be some involvement from the manufacturer - can or should I approach them for help and do they have a responsibility? 2) My wife's car is a Nissan that is on HP - we used a 3rd party finance company (Money Barn) to lend us the money to buy the vehicle from a Nissan dealership. As far as the dealership was concerned we were cash buyers and repay monthly repayment to Money Barn as part of a 60-month agreement. When we spoke to the insurance company on the Nissan they advised the car was worth £9750, however, the outstanding finance on the Nissan is approx £15000 leaving us with some rather nasty negative equity. What can we do about this in the event of the Nissan being wrote off ? Do I just accept the insurance write off, use the payout money to purchase a new car as cash and continue to repay the same monthly payments essentially not telling Money Barn what has happened or will the insurance go to them, we have the replay the negative equity still and end up car less but still making payments (as situation I really do need to avoid like the plague)? 3) The BMW catching fire issue is actually more common than I assumed, a quick Google search showed pages of hits with BMW's catching fire whilst parked leading me to believe that this is a known issue that BMW are / having been keen quiet on. Should I challenge this with BMW or do anything about this issue at this stage? Fully appreciate that anything mass produced will have an acceptable failure rate but this is my life and the lives of my family that was in immediate danger here. We were woken at 4am yesterday to the sound of the fire brigade on the verge of kicking in my front door to wake us all up as they thought the cars were going to explode. Metal and plastic can be replaced but my family can’t so I do very particularly bitter about what has happened. Right now, I am left without a car, the BMW was collected yesterday by a company called Copart on behalf of the business insurance, my wife’s car is being collected today on behalf of our own car insurance and the neighbor is sorting their car out themselves with their dealership. What are my options? Sorry to ramble on as there will no doubt be spelling mistakes within this post, I have tried to make it as factual as possible but I am sure some emotion will have been added. Cheers

Dear whom this may concern, Cut a long story short. I purchased a tumble dryer from Argos it became faulty l had a replacement under warranty believe it or not it happened again I received another replacement then the 3rd machine set my house on fire and made me and my family homeless. The manufacturers insurance company hired a fire investigator 'hawkins' so they can conduct a report after months of chasing the insurance company they have told us that the report says it could have come from outside or inside the machine they will not pay a claim. Me and my family lost everything there is a initial fire report that the London fire brigade took when the incident happened that mentions the fire was caused by the tumble dryer. If anyone can help with some advice or what rights I have it would be greatly appreciated I believe they are diminishing their rights I can't believe they are not paying a claim. Thank you Lyes K.

Fire safety in tower blocks to be examined by Assembly Committee - National Assembly for Wales READ MORE HERE: http://www.assembly.wales/en/newhome/pages/newsitem.aspx?itemid=1732

Scottish Housing Regulator Fire Safety Advice - Letter to all social landlords can be download here: https://www.scottishhousingregulator.gov.uk/publications/fire-safety-advice-letter-all-social-landlords

As many as 850,000 Vauxhall Corsas could have a wiring fault that can cause them to catch fire, a newspaper investigation claims. The fault is similar to the one that forced the motor giant to recall hundreds of thousands of Zafiras. Experts told The Sun newspaper that Corsa D and E models built since 2005 are potentially dangerous and can catch fire, with dozens of cases of owners reporting flames coming through the cars’ dashboards. Vauxhall has denied any knowledge of Corsa fires caused by the heating system. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2344371/million-vauxhall-corsa-cars-fire-risk-uk/

Amazon has emailed customers urging them to replace their charger if they have either the Amazon Fire 7" or Fire Kids Edition 7" tablet after it discovered a flaw that could lead to an electric shock. Only power adapters with the model number FABK7B are affected. You'll find the model number on the reverse of the plug just below the top pin. If you do have one of the problem plugs you don't need to replace your USB lead, just the adapter itself. How do I get a replacement? Read more: http://www.which.co.uk/news/2016/03/amazon-fire-tablet-chargers-recalled-over-shock-risk-435246/ - Which?

Please move this to the correct topic if this is not the right place please. This is my first post so go gentle My girlfriend (who is also deaf and disabled) took out a RAC membership last October (2015) with RAC Parts and Labour cover which provides cover up to £750 in the event of a parts failure. She also added courtesy car cover. She did this because she knows nothing about cars and wanted complete peace of mind. *Parts and Labour cover seems to be provided by a third party warranty company called The Warranty Group (TWG) In January 2016 her car wouldn't start at the top of a high rise shopping centre car park. RAC came out to her and diagnosed faulty starter motor. The RAC patrolman decided that he would replace the starter there and then and purchased a brand new starter from Euro Car Parts. It seems the RAC bore the cost of the new starter, rather than The Warranty Group for some reason. He replaced the starter in the pouring rain and when he had finished the car started once, then would not start and run again. The RAC man gave up and said it needed to go to an RAC approved garage. It was taken to a RAC garage while my gf was provided with a hire car under her cover. The next day, the garage made contact and said that the car was fine. They tried starting it and it fired up right away. They had not carried out any work or done any tests and it was ready to be picked up, no charge. She picked it up. Fine for one week then battery light came on. RAC came out and diagnosed failed alternator. Back to the same RAC approved garage and the alternator replaced at great cost. She had to pay the bill herself because for some reason her parts and labour cover with The Warranty Group was not live, despite being purchased in October (now Feb) so a ghost claim was set up where she had to pay the bill and claim it back. Fast forward to two weeks ago, September. I was with her this time. She tried starting car and it would not start. Smoke started coming from under the bonnet, opened the bonnet and the starter motor was on fire!! Next to the house and several parked cars. I managed to get some water very quickly and put it out but this could have been a potential disaster. Starter motor is directly under the battery and if that had caught fire it would have been a catastrophe. Called out the RAC who had a look and immediately disconnected the battery. Explained the history to him and he said he would put in his report that the starter had caught fire etc. He took the car away to another RAC approved garage (the one we had used before was no longer RAC approved for some reason) When we received the email report it just stated check all electrics. Nothing about the starter or the fire. Hire car provided to her for 3 days as per her cover. Now we come to the problem. Rang the RAC and spoke to customer care about the fire. My girlfriend believed that because it was fitted by the RAC and the part should still be under warranty, there wouldn't be an issue replacing it. However the RAC appeared to be reluctant to accept any responsibility. First saying that the report doesn't mention anything about the starter so there's no proof that it was the starter. Got put through to a different dept, who then said that because they were treating it as 'an allegation of damage' that it was her responsibility to get the fault investigated and get a report to show that it was the starter at fault and they she would have to pay for all this! They also said that The Warranty Group would not consider a claim (even though it wasn't TWG who fitted the starter but the RAC) as it was an allegation of damage again the RAC. The garage that the RAC had taken it to were not able to look at it for several days, by which time the 3 day period on the hire car would be up. My gf said she would have no car to get to work and as a disabled person she couldn't use public transport. This made no difference to the RAC. Report finally came back from the RAC approved garage, who we discovered had only done a visual check because they "didn't have the equipment to do any tests" saying fire damage to starter motor, wiring loom from starter to fuse box and fuse box. It said in the report "suspected high resistance in wiring" (based on nothing but a visual check) and quoted an estimate of £640 to repair. The RAC jumped on the "high resistance in wiring" bit and said that showed it wasn't the starter! Despite the fact that a manufacturer fault in the starter can cause wiring problems. They then said that they would pass it to TWG to see if they would cover it (even though it wasn't the TWG that fitted the starter but the RAC) TWG came back and said no, they don't cover wiring looms! (checked the terms, and it does say they don't cover wiring looms) The RAC were basically trying to wash their hands of the whole thing. A few emails back and forth and they've now said they'll send out an independent company called Hoopers to check the car and do some tests but they can't give us a date. It's been 2 weeks now that she has been without her car. The RAC simply do not seem to care, the fact that she is also disabled does not seem to matter to them. I think the whole thing is shocking. She took out the top cover with them, with Parts and Labour cover to cover mechanical failures up to £750 and hire car cover so she would not have to worry about being without a car. Instead she's had nothing but worry with this company. *The starter motor itself was replaced by an actual RAC patrolman, not a garage under The Warranty Group. *The patrolman fitted it in the pouring rain, and the new starter not working may be down to the patrolman making a mistake, or failing to notice an existing issue. *The car was taken to an RAC garage where it SHOULD have been investigated to see why the new starter was not working, not just turning the key the next morning and saying it's fine. *The alternator failed 1 week later, this may not even have been the alternator but a failing connection between the alternator and the starter and should have been a clue for further investigation. With the RAC being the last people to have any contact with the starter and the associated wiring, I can't see how it falls down to my gf to have to foot the bill. Apologies for this very long post, and hope I haven't switched you off before you can offer any advice. It's advice I'm after about where she stands in regard to this. Thank you for reading.

hi guys newby here so please bare with me and I hope this is the right forum for my questions, last year my 17 year old daughter purchased a 1988 ford fiesta as a project ( needing work ) for when she passes her driving test, I was tasked to do the work on the car as i work at a garage involved in vehicle repairs and recovery, I asked my employers permission to bring the car into work and use one of the car ramps for the repairs needed and was granted the permission to do so in my spare time, a few weeks after the work had started in October 2016 the garage was broken into and a fire started which caused some significant damage to the car, blistering paintwork melting window seals carpets roof lining dashboard ect rendering the car beyond economical repair, at this time the garage was deemed unsafe and closed down for over six months before the companies insurance started the work on repairs and emptying the garage, about 5 weeks ago the fiesta was removed from the garage by means of a winch dragging it out causing more damage to the underside as the rear wheels hubs and fuel tank had been removed for repair purposes and then being left outside for 2 days before the insurance company sent another recovery company to remove the car, im actually a little upset at this as at no time as the insurance company spoken to me about the car to ask for value details or to inform me or my daughter of their intentions with the car, now in the past couple of weeks ive asked my employer 3 times for the insurance company details as I wish to contact them regarding the car but the answer from him is he will ring them to see and they are out of the office, this seems to me to be a stalling tactic, my problem is not knowing who is liable for the car now, the garage that employs me or their insurance ? as the car wasn't on the road my daughter didn't take out a policy of her own and now she as no car ( as we don't know were its gone ) and no pay out for her loss, can anyone shed some light on whether or not I have a right to make a claim against either the garage or the garages insurance for the loss of the car. many thanks mark

It could take Whirlpool more than three-and-a-half years to service and modify all of its fire-risk vented and condenser tumble dryers, new Which? research can reveal. With owners of fire-risk dryers already being told to get in line and wait up to 10 months for their machines to be serviced, it’s emerged that it could take Whirlpool several years to service the almost four million machines it says are still in UK homes. 5.3 million fire-risk dryers were sold to UK consumers between 2004 and 2015, made up of 127 models from Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Swan and Proline. Parent company Whirlpool hasn't released the names of the 127 machines, and is instead asking customers to check online or call to find out if your dryer poses a fire risk. But even once you find out your machine is at risk, you could be in for a long wait for a repair. What you can do if you own a fire-risk dryer If your dryer has a green dot sticker on the back panel, inside the door or on the door rim, it will be a newly produced machine and not affected. If there’s no green dot sticker, it will need to be modified – call 0800 1510905 or go to safety.hotpoint.eu (for Hotpoint, Creda and Proline) safety.indesit.eu or safety-swan.eu to register for a modification. Read more: http://www.which.co.uk/news/2016/04/three-and-a-half-years-to-fix-fire-risk-tumble-dryers-438193/ - Which?

I am hoping that you well-versed guys can help me. My wife and I were married in Italy in May 2015. However, the outbound flight (07/05/2015) from Manchester was delayed for around 3 hours, then ultimately cancelled due to a fire at the destination airport (Roma Fiumicino). We were given a full refund (around £175) and the Jet2 staff were amazing in trying to help us find alternative flights. Eventually we found the last two seats on a RyanAir flight leaving the next morning from Gatwick. We hired a car (£30 +£25 fuel), a hotel (£90) and the flights (£490). I also incurred around £15 in telephone costs. I telephoned the travel insurer immediately on finding out about the cancellation, as per the terms and conditions. Upon returning to the UK we were refused any sort of compensation due to the extraordinary nature of the cancellation. I sent a forceful reply citing their lack of meaning description regarding the 'extraordinary conditions' section of their terms and conditions. Eventually, they paid up £140 as a gesture of good will under a delayed flight rather than a cancellation. However, they would not pay out on the extra costs we had to fork out just to get out of the country. It is these that were most costly and I would like to get the money back. Any thoughts?

My partner and I live in a 1 bed flat in a house conversion. Our bedroom is above the kitchen/living area of the problem tenants below us. For about 2 years we have been complaining to the landlords about the noise from these tenants. They run a loud extractor fan at all hours of the day and night, bang doors and cupboards, shout at each other and their kids. Now they have a crying baby!! The walls are paper thin to the point where the heating cannot keep the room warm at all. The landlords have written them multiple "warning" letters and had one meeting with them, where they agreed to keep the noise down. This didn't happen. We kept complaining so there was a meeting between us and these tenants, which they denied making the noises. Again it didn't change. I then wrote a formal complaint, in which they reply was saying we are now alleging the noises are happening, even though in the past we have provided recordings of their noise! They also said if we agree to have the landlords come around and do a sound test (which involved one person in our room and one below shouting and banging doors). It clearly to them failed. They have now organised their building contractors to come around to investigate further - but their solution was a bead of silicone around the skirting boards?? This is yet to happen but will not solve the issue. Are we within our rights now to start formally telling the landlords that we are withholding rent payments until this problem is fixed?? It's reached a point where my partner now sleeps on the couch in our living area because the noise is just too much. The other issue is parts of our flat and the building are i believe not up to fire safety standard. By the way the landlords own the entire building. When we first moved in the building inspector and the boss builder did an inspection. The large window in our bedroom needed to be replaced - it was classed as a fire escape and should remain completely open to roll out of. But it just keeps shutting. The builder was told to replace it. Also our front door should have a furry seal around the edge, but didn't and again, should have been installed. To this day, 2 and a half years later, they have still not been corrected. Are the landlords in breach of our contract and fire safety standards?? Could we ask for a rent reduction perhaps?? And should we seek some form of legal advice?? We are at a loss here - the landlords do nothing and the only time you really here from them is to do with rent payments. We are contracted until mid 2107, and couldn't afford to move now, unless the landlords gave us our full deposit back before we moved out - not going to happen! If anyone has any sort of advice, it would be greatly appreciated. Or any more elaboration about anything i have written, please leave a post. THANK YOU!!!!

I have forgotten if I would be entitled to a full refund or not in this case. On 6/12/14 i got a halogen heater 3 bar after getting hypothermia - will worry about electricity bill next week. Within a few days one of the bars broke (did not come on) would prefer a full refund rather than a repair or replace - since I dont like the hassle of bars breaking like this and difficulty getting out. I have kept the receipt but not the box. Am I legally entitled to a refund? The shop Manager thinks not, was rude and says his store is closing down this week. Time is running out to get it sorted. Thankyou for helping. Clear33

For anyone who has not received a letter , please visit http://www.hotpointservice.co.uk/dishwasher-model-checker/

For anyone who has one of these and not received a letter about it then please visit http://www.hotpointservice.co.uk/dishwasher-model-checker/

i have a kindel fire for some reason has stoped working . It wont turn on the :-xscreen:-x. Now the totally unbelievable part, at 10.30 last night i loged into my amazon account to see what if anything i couold do and there was a help button so i pressed it and somebody came up in chat , explaned about the fault and they must have someway to see into the account they are talking to as they came back with the model and when i bought the fire. they then said its a known problem with some fires and because it was still under one year old they would send out a replacement free of charge and i would have it in 2 days, i woild also have a free postage box to return the non working fire. now thats customer service for you , i never expected to recive the relpacment untill i had returned the old one for sevral weeks whilst they investigated.

I rent a flat and the door to the balcony has never been in operation, I am concerned that it is a fire hazard and I would like an extra exit from the property in case the stair well is out of action for some reason. I have never bothered to ask the landlord about fixing it until now as I was sure he would refuse. Is there any legislation regarding safety regulations in rented property that may help to back me up when I do ask him? I am hoping he will be reasonable and see the fire risk but if he doesn't I would like to have some information to fight my case with. (My flat is in such a position that on the left hand side of the house all the windows open up to a steep drop as it's a first floor flat, but on the right hand side where the balcony is there is a bank and a wall that runs directly under the balcony that you can hop down onto safely in the event of a fire). Many thanks in advance! Blinky