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  1. Hi everyone, I am a single parent of 2 children (2 years and 2 months old) which I take to the park every week. I don't have a lot of money but still I go to and pay for parking every week in the same place (Willen lake in Milton Keynes). What happened on this occasion is that after I placed the ticket on the dashboard, I then had to get both my children out as well as the push chairs and so on out of the boot. Whilst doing that the ticket must have been blown over on to the seat as it was a windy day. When I got back I found the ticket upright on my seat after returning to the vehicle. The company is an IPC company called Napier Parking Ltd and I was issued with a Fixed Charge Notice. I contacted them immediately and showed them photos of my ticket and explained my case to them. They replied by rejecting my claim and showed me pictures of my car (obviously not my car seat) and said I could try contesting this by contacting the IAS. I appealed for this case through the IAS and was absolutely dumbfounded by the "independant" services response: " In all Appeals the Adjudicator is bound by the law of contract and is only able to consider legal challenges and not factual mistakes nor extenuating circumstances. Once liability has been established only the Parking Operator has the discretion to vary or cancel the parking charge based on mitigating circumstances. In this case the parking charge was issued because the Appellant parked his car on private land without displaying a valid P&D ticket in the front windscreen or on the dashboard as is required. The Appellant maintains that he bought a ticket which allowed him to park there that day prior to the issue of this parking charge at 13.53. The ticket provided by the Appellant does not show the time when it was issued but the cost of £2.40 should be able to confirm whether it was before or after 13.53 which would have an impact on his mitigation. The responsibility for making sure that a P&D ticket was properly secured in place so as to be able to be read is the motorist's and even in windy conditions that is still the position as well as with the difficulties of coping with young children. However much sympathy one may have for the Appellant this is not a matter of law which is the extent of an Adjudicator's remit as set out above and as a result this Appeal must be dismissed. " I am now in a position where I can no longer appeal anywhere nor can I pay the reduced fee. It really makes me angry why I must still pay the fine even though I have a valid ticket and also why I am at fault in the adjudicator's eyes for not having a ticket which shows the start time . .. I mean, the company who prints the tickets should be at fault there right? As for the parking company, these are simple reasons why I feel their actions are simply to make money off of fines: 1) Why am I not allowed to show you them my valid parking ticket which should still be proof of payment after being accused of not paying? 2) Why is there no start time (ticket issued time) on their tickets? 3) Why don't they have a system which makes you enter your registration number? 4) Why don't they have the sticky backs on their tickets? Does anyone have any suggestions? My fine needs to be settled by 02/08/16 and is £80 Thanks in advance!
  2. Hi All, I recently had my car breakdown and after being diagnosed by the AA as a fault that needed a garage to repair it the car was recovered to a local AUDI main dealer thinking i would be in safe hands. They diagnosed the car with a sensor fault to begin with and they replaced that at a cost of just under £500 including fault diagnosis, however, this never fixed the fault they said and the car still had the original fault. So they carried out futher tests and then told me after 14 days that the car and a major ECU fault that would cost at least an additional £1500 + vat and 8 weeks to get the part. All this time i required a hire car as they didn't have a spare courtesy car. Not happy with the service or the diagnosis, and the fact that i was expected to pay for the initial repair of £500 that they said wasnt the fault it was the ECU. I also at the time of booking the car in for the original fault explained i had AA repair cover and they said that fine, as this cover provides me with the ability to have upto £500 of repair costs meet for a small payment of £35 excess. but it has to be a reputable garage where to work is carried out, and the car has to be repaired to be able to claim. Having some knowledge of cars and car repair, i wasnt happy with there diagnosis or the initail treatment, and i said i would take the car elsewhere for a 2nd opinion. Knowing the car could originally be driven i aksed if that was possible but they insisted i pay the original bill, to which i argued and they reduced it to a still unsatisfactory £360. I asked if the car could be driven to a garage 3 minutes drive away and they said now, it now wasnt running, so i had to arrange a tow truck to recover it. This i did and when the tow truck got there and i went to collect the car the car did infact drive. We still recovered the car to the garage as the tow truck was they and the other garage started to fault find, and they sent the ECU for testing with a specialist company that after some time discovered infact there was no ECU fault as the main dealer had stated and after the ECU being placed back in to the car some 57 days later the car has run fine since. I would like to ask as i have directly incurred a substantial amount of cost (£2000) due to the inaccurate fault diagnosis which they charged me for, and i would like to find out if it is possible to take action against this garage for failure to diagnose the fault correctly? I havent approached the AUDI dealer or AUDI as yet, as i wanted to find out what rights i have before i go fighting this with them. For armed and all that! Thank you in advance for any advice. Mario
  3. Hoping this is the correct forum so apologise if not. After a good two years being ill I managed to get a job starting last January at a local SEN school as a Teaching Assistant. Upon calling me with the news the Head told me not to get too excited as it was only until July. A few days after I started I was conversing with the HR Head about something else when I mentioned to her about this Fixed Term Contract. She told me that I was on a Permanent Contract so I assumed that the 6 months the Head was talking about was the 3 then 6 months probation. Got through 3 months fine but today I was called into a conversation with the Assistant Head and was told my contract was not being renewed because next years student numbers have dropped and the student that I was partially one to one with is no longer classed as one to one. For clarification I was helping many students as I was told that one to one is in name only and I was working in the class with all. However I mentioned to the Asst Head that I was a tad confused as HR had told me I was on a Permanent Contract. The Asst looked a tad confused themselves and said they would look into it and mentioned that if I was on a Fixed Contract they would not have done any probation which confused me again because it was this Assistant Head that received my Line Managers 3 month probation form so you would have expected it to have flagged up a possible contract error. A massive kick in the teeth is that I also received a staff email later on that says they are recruiting for Teaching Assistants for next year and yet I am told I am surplus to requirements because they don't need any more TA's despite at the meeting being told that all feedback on my efforts are positive and that my contract isn't being renewed purely down to numbers not being required?! If I am honest I have never got on with this particular Assistant Head. They belittle many people and are generally disliked by a larger proportion of the staff and from day one I could tell that she had a problem with me for whatever reason. So I wouldn't be surprised if they just want me out. However if they have had a breakdown in communication and whilst I was originally meant to be on a Fixed Term Contract but HR accidently put me on a Permanent One what are my rights here? I have gone through the contract with a fine toothcomb and I cannot fond anywhere where it says it's Fixed Term and whilst there is a commencement date there is not expiry date. If they have made an error they may try another excuse but if I have been already told that the only reason for my dismissal is that they do not require me next year then what can I do if another excuse/reason is put forward in another meeting? I love the job and obviously feedback on my performance is positive and whilst I would love to stay this is an incredibly awkward situation for both sides but if I am correct and I am on a Permanent Contract and they have made an error what if any rights do I have? Most appreciated.
  4. Hi All, I have been issued a FPN for spitting on a bush inside the land from where the Street is around 10 feet away in Hounslow. The foremost thing is , I am not aware of this offence at all. i DONT SEE ANY NO SPITING SIGN BOARD ANYWAY INSIDE OR OUTSIDE the land. There is an office in that land . When I came out of the premises I felt some saliva struck inside throat and before enter into street ,I spitted on the bush grown in front of premises. Oh suddenly I saw an officer came running towards me and started to say I committed an offence as spitting on bush which has been recorded so that a FNC will be issued. I really shocked . The penalty is £80. I clearly explained to the officer came from the council that I ddnt know anything about this law and also promised him I will never do it again. He was very adamant and never accepted my cry. He issued a FPC and told me to pay at the council. Its really a miserable situation for me. After that I just googled for spitting and penalty . I get only the penalty for spitting on the streets. Even though without keeping a sign board NO SPITTING , how can I avoid doing this ? I dont understand this type of enforcement at all. Please advise me how to appeal and make the council to waive off this unfair and irrational penalty .. I will be very much thankful for all those who advise.
  5. Hi there, My Brother In Law has just discovered that his bank had fixed his Mortgage for 5 years at 3.89% without his consent. He has demanded to see the signed document the bank could not produce the signed contract he has been into branch and seen on the computer also that the contract is not signed in the signature box. What should he do in this situation? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks
  6. Hi, thought I'd see if I could find any useful advice here. I'm very anxious so any good pointers much appreciated! I'll keep it as brief as I can: I'm a one-man IT dept for a medium size organisation - permanent position that has risen in seniority over 12 years. My line manager is proposing a reorganisation that will end my current role and replace it with an extremely similar role on a 2-year fixed term contract. Redundancy is an option, and I am unsure as yet if 'they' are keen for me to take it, or take the new role. I want to stay on, and I believe the new role is precisely my current role just with a new job title and an improved job description. My current job description is pretty vague, but the new role describes precisely the work I have been doing for years. The only real difference is that some more junior responsibilities will be removed and given to a new, junior role (which is great). If I take the new role on 2yr FTC, I presume I will not get redundancy at the end of that contract if they choose to let me go. I cannot afford to lose my job security like that! I have a 1st consultation coming up, and I will argue that the new role represents what I do currently. So my questions are... Can they do this? If I can prove that the new role describes precisely what I currently do, can they still make my post redundant and leave me with the choice of changing to FTC? If I took the FTC, might I nevertheless be considered to have been continuously employed for my 12 years+, and would that render the 'fixed term' irrelevant as I would be considered permanent in law? I don't know, but this is a possibility I have gathered might be the case from googling around. If 'they' would rather I left, can they even make me redundant when they are replacing my role with such a materially similar one, albeit FTC? I have absolutely no history of failing to perform or being told of any problems with my work, so there are no grounds for dismissal. As I said I'm going to argue that the new role is my current role, I want it, and I don't want to be FTC. I think I have a good case, but I'd love to be able to reference actual laws that back up this position! Thanks again if anyone has any guidance.
  7. Can the terms of a repayment mortgage contract that was a fixed rate for 5 yrs be altered during the 5 yr fixed term to a SVR? Does a fixed rate mean the amount to pay each month would remain the same for the 5 year term and not go up or down? Would that be a breach of contract if it's altered? Is it lawful? When mortgage interest is charged daily, how would that appear on a mortgage statement, each month or once a year? Thanks
  8. Hi there I am 41 months into a 48 month standard HP agreement. I paid by DD on the nose every month until around the 30 month time, when I became unemployed (no PPI by the way). Since then I have failed to make some payments on time, but NEVER have been more than 30 days late. I'm no angel this I realise but as I type this at least i'm up to date. Every time I fail to make a payment a DN comes out etc etc but I always pay up. As I have 7 months left to pay and my payments are £400 (but the last payment is £550) I should have 6 x 400 plus 1 x 550 or £2950 left to pay. But my credit file which was updated in April says I owe over £5000? The HP company have said this is because of charges incurred for late payments and a home visit which was £75? I checked the date and time on my CCTV and not one person visited my house that day. Are they having a laugh? I advised them that the payments under a HP agreement are fixed and that in October on my final payment they should remove my vehicle from the HPI register - but they said they will not until the full amount on the account is clear. I expect to pay something for my late payments, like I said I'm no angel in this matter, but this is ridiculous; could someone tell me where I stand please?
  9. How to fight / complain about a council Norwich city council / Norfolk county council (both names on letters) that you believe are idiots and or committing fraud Actually in credit (£35) with rent account and council tax as we pay shortfall ourselves... but I'm a carer for 1 of 2 of my autistic daughters and my missus works for fixed salary with no chance of overtime ever.. so you'd think h/b and c/t benefit would be fixed. Not a chance when missus worked 5 days a week we got around £10 per week h/b, now same job but 3 days only, as original job holder has come back from maternity. we got just £1.10 a week ... no sense or reason. Asked for written explanation from council, both verbal over counter and via telephone, 6-8 weeks later no response. we have done and have receipt for change of circumstances from November ( 5 to 3 days work ) from council. now April time and suddenly we got a letter from housing officer with projected housing benefit from council (not the council ) saying they would be paying £55 1 month, £97 the next month and then £45 the month after that.... problem is we have a paper debt of £538 rent arrears. This I sorted myself and it's purely a computer error from projected h/b to actual h/b received (i.e council say gonna pay £100 but only pay £40 so a -£60 debt occurs on paper but not in account as we pay short fall) I've done the letter requesting a detailed written breakdown of all housing benefit since claim beginning - ignored ( 6- 8 weeks now) asked for a review of it - nothing but recalculates showing different amounts every week! ( just the standard letter -no explanation ) I've phoned and read from council letter saying please ask for a detailed breakdown made very clear this was what I was asking for - the response was I can only print off letters you have already received !! how do I fight someone who basically knows its wrong but wont admit it? who is the person to complain to in charge of h/b or higher? would SAR's and / or L.B.A ? be next step?
  10. Hi all, Last Friday I was taken by a surprise to have received a 'Conditional Offer of fixed penalty' from Met police for the alleged offence. Use of a motor vehicle with tyre with any of the ply/cord exposed. Now the reason I was taken by surprise is because I had no knowledge of it but car and details are mine. I can prove that I was not even in the country so it could not have been me. the date is early November 2016 and speaking with close family, It dawned upon me that my cousin who holds a provisional licence took that car on that day and when stopped used my details. Now my cousin is no longer in the country and have moved back to Switzerland. If it was only a matter of £100 fine, it would have just paid and be done with it but i read it says 3 points too.. Any suggestions?
  11. Am I correct that the prescribed terms for a fixed sum variable rate consumer credit act agreement is: a amount of credit b interest rate c amount of payment Credit £25,000 Interest £9.319,57 applied at 4.5% above banks base rate 5% payments £408.68 x 84 Theres no total amount payable as this could alter due to an interest change throughout the time of the agreement. However, the amount of credit plus the interest applied to the credit do NOT equal the initial monthly payment? £25,000 plus £9.319.57 = £34,319.57 divide by 84 payments = £408.56 This payment appears to be 12 pence less than the payment stated on the agreement. Anyone clued up on this? Paul
  12. I have received a fix penalty notice for depositing a cigarette end out of my car window. I have attached the evidence they have presented to me which I had as being the registered keeper. The ironic thing is I dont smoke and have not done for 4 years (I now vape instead) I wish to challange the ticket and I have attached photos of the paper work I have had. I notice there is also an error on the ticket with the date of issue being October instead of december. I am seeking some advice please. Many Thanks
  13. Hello all, In 2010 we had a CCJ granted against us for an unpaid invoice. It was for £5200 and we accepted the amount. The creditor secured a charging order for the amount. We wrote to the creditor in 2014 and were advised the outstanding amount was £4300. The creditor sent us a statement at that point which showed that prior to lodging the claim with the courts they had added £600 to the account for recoverable fixed costs. We did not know about this £600 figure until 4 years after the CCJ and charging order. We are now in a position to clear the debt of £4300. We wrote to the creditor again and they sent us a figure of £8000. We are going to write to them asking for a breakdown. Is it possible to have the CCJ figure looked at again by the courts? It seems as though this figure of £600 was added to the amount to allow them to receive interest on the debt. When the court cases (CCJ and CO) were heard they only managed to recover court fees. Any help will be appreciated.
  14. Dear all A current AST comes to an end on a property on the 17th August. When my agent enquired whether the tenants would like to renew, they told him they were splitting up. On this basis my agent advised issuing a S21 as he was concerned about affordability. The tenants are an unmarried couple with three children. One of the current tenants (male) is now starting treatment for a serious condition and now the partner of the sick tenant has texted me offering me 6 months rent upfront to stay when the AST ends as she says that they are working on getting back together and don't want the stress of moving. There is a guarantor already in place for this AST plus 6 months deposit. I am tempted to accept this as it will avoid a void period. Is there anything to be concerned about? I know Johnson V Old has ended concerns about registering rent upfront as a deposit. If I accept this, should a new 6 month agreement be put in place (as my agent suggested)? Or should I let it go on to a monthly rolling tenancy? What about the notice period and serving a S21 when the 6 months draws to an end? The female tenant apparently told my agent 3 weeks ago when we sent the S21 that she would stay on regardless (seems to have backed down on this though) - so I am slightly worried about her volatility. It would have meant I would have had to get a possession order. My agent's renewal charge is 4 %. Would you expect that a 6 month renewal means that I would pay 4 % on the 6 months rent? Sorry if this post is confusing. I guess I am asking if anybody thinks it might be a bad idea to let them stay on after the threat of staying after the AST expires. Obviously they still might if the council advises them to stay and the 6 months upfront would mean this potential disaster is abated but what are the issues after the 6 months elapse? Thanks in advance for any advice
  15. Hi there guys, On a nice Sunday morning en route to work I was cycling on a designated two-way cycling path which runs along the main road in London. However after one point there was a ROAD CLOSED sign on the main road right after crossroad with traffic lights which I obeyed. Some people were cutting trees or doing some other maintenance. There was red CYCLISTS DISMOUNT sign on the SIDEWALK on which I DIDN'T go, instead staying in the cyclist lane. On the cyclist path there was a lorry parked which was taking 80% of the cyclist path but still enough space for me to go trough. I slowed down to the point of barely moving in order not to hit anyone behind and after everything cleared I, normally accelerated back to cruising speed to be scared by a policeman that jumped right in front of me shouting "why hadn't I stopped as there was cyclists dismount sign earlier". I panicked and I lied that "I didn't see the sign" which is really plausible as the sign was positioned on the sidewalk. long story short - I didn't manage to talk my way out of it and got a fine - I didn't argue with them or insult them, I just didn't think to explain that I'm one of the few student's that spends his sundays in the summer to work and catch up on money for next year. When all the others are on holidays or something. NEVERMIND, I've accepted that already lol.. Yesterday I dug into the internet and actually found out that the CYCLISTS DISMOUNT sign is not enforceable but instead is just advisory and if you don't obey it you are not actually committing an offence. Right afterwards about 6 cyclists who were riding just as me got told off but NO FINE, which was really taking, but I've accepted it as well. It's no problem to pay the fine, is just my finance is really tight and if it's just to simulate work - it's not gonna happen. I also got only Fixed Penalty Notice - Part 1 - Payment slip. Is there supposed to be something else like describing the offence or anything? As I currently have only instructions on how to pay, my address and Court hearing request at the back which is not really an option as I can't be bothered with all the other happening at the moment.. . Self sustaining student in London can make you lose your mind, I'm serious! Please advise what are your thoughts on this situation. Regards, lizzard As I didn't make it clear in the original post: according to the policeman the problem was that I didn't dismount from the bike and used the walking path for the closed section, which was really a minute-long walking. And the policemen were from the Cycling Police division so I thought they really know what they are doing and will do it just.
  16. Hi all, We need your advice a Parking Ticket. Received FCN attached to Windscreen on 10th July 2016 at Willen Lake Car Park, Milton Keynes. Parking company is Napier Parking Reason for issue: Failure to Display a ticket The Driver had Bought Ticket and displayed it on dashboard, then went for a bike ride. The Driver opened the driver door and the ticket blew into the passenger side door pocket. The ticket was still valid at time of the FCN and had 2 hours remaining. The Driver did not appeal Napier Parking after reading various cases on CAG and wanted to wait for the NTK. Received a Notice To Keeper (NTK) on 16th August (issued 10th August but only read it on return from holiday 16th August). The NTK did not provide photographic evidence NTK mentions Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) in the header but not Section 4 The Driver has NOT APPEALED after receiving the NTK and it mentions an appeals process but only after the driver has contacted Napier and appealed. What are the next steps? Thanks Fudster Napier Parking Ticket July 2016.pdf
  17. Hello Caggers, I have been having a discussion with Barclaycard because I noted, in May 2016, that the period between the date my bill was issued and the date my payment was due had been shorted by several days. This very nearly caught me out as the payment is had always before and since (I now realise) been due on the 15th working day of the month. In May it was "due" on 11th working day of the month. I had a look on their website, it says: "Your payment date is fixed to a particular working day of the month...". I take that to mean it is fixed - in my case to 15th - working day of the month. So, for example, this month (August 2016) the 15th working day of the month would be 19th August. Am I wrong in my understanding of this sentence on their website?
  18. Hi and thank you for reading my concern with Scottish Power I have recently come to the end of my 12 mth fixed term contract and found a cheaper supplier when i informed scottish power they took an extra £60 from my account for the last months payment and then informed me I was £258 in debt even though over the last 10 months they had reduced my payment by £15 I informed them I was £150 worse off because of them and they have offered me £60 off my debt because `i managed to cancel my DD before they could get their hands on the final amount.. .Good job really as I pointed out they would of taken £389 form my a/c in one month is this right ???? Many Many Thanks For all your very kind help with this worrying situation Kind Regards
  19. To cut a long story short, my car broke down 4 weeks ago. Took it to my local garage who, after 3 days, diagnosed burnt exhaust valves. This shoudl take less than a week to fix and put back together. However they still have the car, in bits, after making various excuses about things going wrong, the latest one today is they need to take the head back off and send it to a machineing shop for some more work, and I 'should' have it back early next week. This will be over a month since I first took it to them. I've completely lost confidence now in their ability to fix my car. Do I have any rights re; taking my car back in its current state, would I be liable for any repair/parts costs? Thanks for any help
  20. Hi everyone I need some of your expert help please, so here goes. My hubby was standing chatting while in town, he had a cigarette and when finished smoking it stubbed it out and put it in his pocket. Seconds latter a environment officer issued him with a fixed penalty of £75.00, Hubby asked why, he replied I have just seen you throw the cigarette over the fence. My hubby replied I didn't here it is, and showed him the stub The officer replied I have you on camera, but would not show the footage. We have written an appeal letter stating all the above, What can we do next or what will there next steps be. Thank you sunnydee x
  21. Hi, I just had a Fixed Penalty Notice (fine) for dropping g a cigarette end on the floor and quite rightly so. So I'm not disputing the fine at all. When I came home looked on the Councils Website, it clearly states: I then logged in, attempted to pay and voila.. It asked for £80... I contacted the Council and asked to speak to the team which deals with this to get the correct amount put on (as I received the fine today) and was told that I wasn't able to speak to them. I explained about the website, they confirmed this; Her manager confirmed too that the site indeed IS incorrect and that as per 1st April there isn't a reduced fee any more. Luckily for me, I: 1) Took screenshots of the entirety of the page (including the date etc... in my computers status bar) 2) Printed off a copy of the page 3) Saved a copy of the page With the above quote in it. I was then assured that a manager from the team will contact me back this afternoon as they were unable to override the amount on the phone with me. Can I hold them against this £60 (rather than £80) that they quoted on their website? I've just confirmed now (58 minutes later) that the websites been amended... Lucky I took a load of screen shots and that Cheers, Ade
  22. Hi everyone, newbie here needs some advice, i received fixed penalty from the police for being parked on dyl, i stay in a village actually its two villages that are joined, muirhead and birkhill, on the fixed penalty it says my car was seen in edward pl, birkhill, where it was edward place, muirhead , is this enough to cancel the ticket , thank you in advance, boab.
  23. Hi, i was speeding on the motorway and wish t plead guilty and pay the appropriate £100 fine and take the 3 points. I have been waiting for the [/b]conditional offer of a fixed penalty notice[/b] It never came on the post?! Then I receive a postal requisition to be heard in court. Can I not contact NYP and state that i did not receive the offer of a fixed penalty notice? surely this is unfair to go straight to court if I haven't received the offer to pay via the fixed penalty notice. Any tips or forms or letters i can send as my response guys would be most appreciated? i want to pay plead guilty and have done with this but haven't had the bloody chance. We also live at a new house and our address is proving really hard to locate for many org/co. Lots of mail goes to another house half a mile up the road! Genuine reason and I want to clear this up and pay.
  24. Hi I'll break it down as I have a few queries. SITUATION On 3/12/2013 I signed a Subject to Contract form at the letting agents, and paid the deposit, first months rent etc before moving in on 6th January 2014 on a 6 month AST. at the end it then rolled onto a periodic rental, which I then signed up for 12 months fixed contract in December 2014. I received a leaflet called "What is the Tenancy Deposit Scheme" and in my tenancy contract it says "It is protected by the following scheme - The Dispute Service www.tds.gb.com" I do not hold any further information on the deposit. 3-4 weeks ago, the letting agents telephoned me saying I needed to come in to sign up again, and that my landlady is increasing my rent (about 9% per month extra) I explained that as I was looking to buy my first home, I cannot commit to a new 6/12 month tenancy. He said that I had to sign up, and I explained that last year I had been on a periodic contract for 6 months, before renewing for a further 12 months, and my landlady had previously had no problem with this. He then called me back after speaking to my landlady and informed me that she was not happy with this as her financial situation had changed, and she cannot rely on me giving 1 months notice on a periodic tenancy. I explained very politely that I had already given my reason why I am not committing, and he became very pushy saying that house sales take on average 12 weeks to complete, so if I was to start looking in February, then I would be able to move out after the 6 months AST expires in early June. (Ok, no one tells me what to do!) I briefly explained that I'm a first time buyer, and there are plenty of houses in the area with no forward chain, so the sale could be a lot quicker. He then said that if I don't sign up then I would not have much choice, and finding another property for a short-term let whilst waiting for my house purchase to go through would be very difficult, as most agents sign for a minimum of 6 months. I panicked (all bravado went out the window) and offered to give my landlady 2 months notice to quit if she let me stay on a periodic tenancy, and I also agreed to the rent increase. He has phoned me twice, asking me to confirm this. I returned his call after his first voicemail, confirming this with his colleague, and when he called me again and left another message asking me to confirm, I didn't bother returning his call as I was pretty fed up with him by now. Question 1. I emailed the letting agents to ask about the deposit, and they said that they hold a copy of the certificate - would I like to see it? Is this a breach of any law by not automatically providing it to me? TDS website says it cannot find any record of my deposit using the information I provide - name, postcode, deposit amount. Question 2. Even though I have verbally accepted the rent increase, should I receive proper and legal notification of rent increase, before I pay the higher amount in December? Question 3. As I agreed verbally to provide 2 months notice to quit when I go onto a periodic rental tenancy, to avoid my landlady serving me a Section 21, do I have to do this by law? Question 4. My copy of the initial 6 month AST has not been signed by the Landlord/Agent - should it have been? From memory, I think they signed the copy they kept (they had printed off 2 copies, as opposed to giving me a photocopy of the original one). Question 2 and 3 relate to that I really did panic, as I don't want to have to move out for maybe 2 months before moving into the place I hope to buy, as I'm worried how the mortgage lender will view this in terms of credit scoring, making sure I'm on the electoral roll etc. If I do have to commit to the rent increase, and 2 months NTQ then fair enough, I've learnt my lesson for agreeing anything under pressure. It's since I've tried to locate my deposit, that alarm bells are ringing. It took my landlady 6 months last year to replace broken fence panels, which really peeved my neighbours off. They understood it wasn't my fault and that I had chased it up 3 times. When the fence was finally replaced, it was a 3 foot wire one provided by the council (the landlady had bought an ex local authority house conversion flat). Why it took so long, I have no idea. We were all laughing when it was fitted, as had we of known, we would've spent £20 purchasing it ourselves, rather than waiting for the council maintenance department to fit it. The tenant downstairs is a local authority tenant and asked me to contact my landlady as the guttering at the back of the property is leaking badly every time it rains. This was 3.5 weeks ago, and we've heard nothing. Any information is greatly appreciated. Thank you
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