My first time, so hope I am posting this in the right place? I've got a judgement set-aside against (hey!) Hoist Portfolio regarding an old Barclaycard debt (last payment made August 2011). Judgement was yesterday afternoon (6/11/2017) and now I have to launch a defence regarding BC mishandling of my original offer to settle in first quarter 2012. they ignored all communication from my solicitor and sold the 'debt' on to MKDP without telling us anything about it. Being that BC owed my nearly £8k in PPI at the time, (this was pointed out by my solicitor) and they went on to sell the whole thing on as a bundle, I said in court yesterday that I felt they had mis-sold the debt to the DCA. Once the PPI was deducted it brought balance down to just over £5k - is that how it works? I'm not sure. Has anyone got as far as this, and what is your experience? The Judge told me to get in touch with the CAB. If I keep using my local solicitor I'm going to be out of pocket very quickly, even though she's been the most useful person so far! By the way, Hoist Portfolio were asking for over £20k when my research suggests they probably only paid £120 for buy the debt off Robinson Way/MKDP/Barclaycard. Your thoughts and experience welcome - are CAB the right people to deal with this? Fanx!

Charity removed and trustees disqualified following terrorism investigation READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/charity-removed-and-trustees-disqualified-following-terrorism-investigation

Does lending money to a friend create a legal contract..

Could anybody help by suggesting what reasons a bank as defendant could apply for Strike out and or summary judgement for a court claim issued by a depositor as follows. Claimant opens a fixed term savings account online and deposits by debit card. The bank adds interest and after the term ends, the claimant writes a letter of instruction as the T&Cs require asking for the money back by cheque as the bank can pay by cheque, FPS etc. This is refused, claiming fraud, signatures does not match (bond was opened online so didn't get a signature at the time) etc. What excuses do you think could the bank use to get the claim stopped before allocation to small claims track?

Hello, I am having some problems with council tax. I may not need to go into the background. My question is very specific: If I am sent to prison for non-payment of council tax, will the council still be able to enforce the council tax debt after I have served the relevant sentence? If anybody knows, I would be very grateful for confirmation of the legal position. My understanding is that while the debt remains in existence on paper, enforcement is barred once the prison sentence is served, however I'm not entirely sure this is correct. I have also seen cases where a person is imprisoned for non-payment and the debt is reduced by £X amount for each day they spend in prison. I assume that is because the Magistrates order the remission as part of their prison sentence.

Long story short, 18 yr old son purchased a brand new car in October and as part of the deal the dealer offered him £2300 for his PX without seeing the car but I assume they ran a valuation on it and HPI check etc at time of quoting the PX figures etc..... This week my son has just received an email and recorded letter from the dealership headed final before legal requesting he pays £500 to the dealership as the PX only fetched £1800 at auction as a consequence of the car having apparently been written off under Cat D damage that my son had no knowledge of having bought the PX privately about 18 months ago. Surely the dealership has no grounds for redress given that they would of been aware of the cars history when they provided us with the PX price? Secondly had the car fetched more than £2300 at auction would they be writing to me to say they they owe me the difference over and above the PX valuation? I somewhat highly doubt it. They are saying my son signed to say the PX had not been involved in any accidents and was not subject to outstanding finance or being written off but he genuinely didn’t know that the vehicle has been previously written off as damaged but repairable. Can anyone offer advice as surely the purchase was concluded back in October and the PX provided by the dealership is a risk that all dealers / traders take especially as the car ended up going to auction.

Hi I've just got a letter from HMRC regarding tax credit checks saying that they think my payments maybe wrong. I am on JSA and due to mental health problems applied for PIP taking the advice of my support worker. They want to see all my details,proofs of children living with me and proof of all my job searches since September. There was no change in my circumstances.The only change is my eldest turning 18 in January but continuing non-advanced education. They requested my details from 05/04/17. I have almost all the information they are asking for but receipts of spendings. Should I be worried?Is this a common process?

Hello, I was recommended to post on this site and time is also not on my side! I appreciate any input and advice, thank you a) I went insolvent in September - since the date, I went to the HSBC branch with my wife to remove my name from the joint account and sign over responsibility to my wife as a sole account holder (including overdraft £900 and joint consolidation loan £326p/m on 18k). She did IE sheets and was telephoned across, approved, and we signed. The joint loan was part of my bankruptcy I understood it that my wife would take responsibility of that, hence going to branch and doing this. b) Since then, she was issued a final demand notice out of the blue, claiming default on arrears (there are no arrears, never have been) and 18 days to settle balance in full (£18k). No mention of any BR, just a final demand which is inaccurate in it's detail for the reasoning - and as it transpires, resolving it. c) 3 days of calls, and about 5 hours of speaking and on hold between departments because nobody seemed to know what was going on, we were told by the Financial Guidance Team to do nothing, let it ride out as they needed to charge off the account because of my bankruptcy - they'd even refund the latest payment which was automatically made after this demand letter. But doing this, of course would result in a default marker for my wife. and the recovery department would be in touch to collect the debt. Not knowing who to believe, I was passed to the 'insolvency team' who told us that my wife must get back in touch with the Financial Guidance Team, do a I/E and set up a repayment agreement BEFORE the 18 days. Needing clarity, and being frustrated at being told different things between departments (as well as being emotionally crushed, not to mention the psychological damage of listening to that HSBC hold music), we went to branch to have someone work with us to resolve. She made a call to the department on the final demand letter, who also said - get in touch with the Financial Guidance Team to do an I/E and set up a payment plan, if she does that then the default will not be passed to the CRAs. She put us in a room to make a call to the Financial Guidance Team, but then the whole fiasco started again... d) The Financial Guidance Team are adamant that they will not allow a payment plan. One guy we dealt with even went through a I/E with my wife but then came back after speaking to his manager, sorry, actually, that this isn't possible. I have spoken to the Manager who also insisted that it simply is not possible to set up a plan because of my bankruptcy, the account needs to be charged off. Period. I have argued that this goes against the terms of the loan in that she has not had the opportunity (actually denied!) to resolve this and she is being forced into default unfairly. The original contract has a clause about calling in the loan if bankruptcy happens to any party, but there is a line also that states that such action won't happen without notice and an opportunity to resolve, which is what I believe is being blatantly breached here. The manager raised a complaint for me - I have the reference number and intend to follow this up with my version not knowing what the complaint that he has raised references. Even after I spoke to the manager (who I suspected had either got this very wrong or has is own agenda), I asked to get put through again to the insolvency team again, who again stated the same - 'speak to the Financial Guidance Team' and get it sorted before the 18-days! Stalemate. My final call with the Financial Guidance Team yesterday, I spoke to a very nice woman who looked into everything and took it upon herself to speak between departments, not me, and get back to me. Her news: anyone who has told me that you could set up a payment plan is incorrect and has probably not understood that the final demand was generated because of my insolvency (even though the final demand says nothing of the sort - it even gives a reason it has been sent which is due to previous notice of arrears [not true]).. . the insolvency team I was repeatedly passed to was the 'wrong one' based in India, not in Birmingham... and apologies for the mix up but 100% we cannot set up a payment plan, the account needs to be charged off and your wife will have to speak to the recoveries people after. e) So what now!!? For our efforts, we are totally unable to resolve this through a payment plan, it's 18K or default. I have a complain reference number. They say that expect about 4 weeks for a reply to the complaint but maybe up to 8. I understand that I cannot do anything with the Financial Ombudsman until I have a reply (or 8 weeks). To recap - my issue is that my wife is being forced unfairly into default with every effort and the ability to repay with amounts of the original agreement. a black mark on her credit reference with a default. Plus, we have no idea even if there is no escape from this situation, what demands will be placed by the recovery department (i.e. currently the loan is 60 months at £326 p/m). But then, if my wife has a black mark anyway, what options are there for her to make a reduced offer or anything of that nature? We're in territory that we didn't expect and don't really understand. Perhaps naively, we expected the burden of the joint loan to simply fall on my wife, not being called in with a £18k demand. I'm also unsure what to do in the interim - if I'm raising a complaint, do we get any period of grace here - do we commit to whatever collections dept gets in touch after, or hold them off? Any help is very very very appreciated - our 18 days is up on 3rd Nov, and we've wasted a week speaking to them on the phone and getting absolutely nowhere! Thank you

I went off sick from work mid Feb 2017 following several meetings with my managers regarding increased workload (we had a mass increase in patients - in the hundreds!), not enough manpower or hours to cover the workload etc. I was also prohibited from working overtime and so were my staff (I am a Practice Manager working in a GP Practice for the last ten years with an unblemished record) and eventually I started slipping behind in my work as I was unable to keep up with increase and very little was being put in place to support myself or my staff. Hence I could not cope with the stress and went sick. However, prior to going sick I had taken the petty cash home with me (I often take work home and my managers are aware of this, although they aren't always aware of what exactly I take home but I'm trusted to do so on my own judgement). I still had it with me when I went sick but then returned it to the Practice and advised that I had taken it home. I heard no more about it and as far as I was concerned, that was that. However, I went for my return to work interview almost five weeks after going sick and was given most of my personal belongings by the covering manager prior to the meeting and when I questioned why I was given my belongings in the meeting, I was asked to leave the room. When I returned I was suspended (on full pay) for an allegation of suspicion of theft. By all accounts the petty cash was down. However, during investigation it was all accounted for, and it was found that no money was missing at all. So... they changed the allegation to potential theft as I'd taken the petty cash home without prior authorisation and it was escalated to disciplinary (there is no policy in place to seek authority to take it home; it was, however, common practice for me to take work/work things home frequently and my managers were aware of this). I attended for disciplinary and recorded the meeting with the consent of everyone present. During the meeting, it was clear that my manager hadn't paid a great deal of notice to the investigation as they were questioning me on things that had been addressed at investigation, but weren't aware of the answers I was giving. I practically had a rerun of the investigation, to the point where my union rep had to intervene and stipulate that the investigation meeting had already taken place. My manager also threw lots of irrelevant things at me and tried to make me feel like I'd been emotionally manipulative in the past as I'd become tearful on occasions when I'd felt out of my depth with the increased workload that they were more than aware of. The outcome took two and a half weeks to be reached and I was given a final written warning on the basis that no such work should be taken home in future without explicit authority (by no means will I be taking any work home from now on after what I've been put through!). However, when I questioned when I would be expected to return to work, I was told that it hasn't been decided yet and that they need to discuss my return to work with my union rep, which I thought was rather odd. I assumed that since an outcome had been reached and I was in receipt of this in writing, I was no longer suspended and should return to work at the next available opportunity. My other issue is that I feel this was orchestrated from the start because not only was I pushing for extra wages for the staff (they are on minimum wage and have huge stresses and responsibilities for patients), but also extra staff hours to meet the demands of the increased workload. On top of this, there was conflict between myself and one of the partners (has been for some time now) and her conduct towards me. She often goes over my head, undermines me, speaks rudely to me, speaks down to me, shouts at other staff members which I've had to address, has interfered with recent job interviews that I've had in order to ensure I didn't leave the practice (leave them without a manager; not because they didn't want to lose me particularly). They even offered me more money and a position to manage another practice as well in order for me to stay, although neither came to fruition. This resulted in me trying to address the conflict formally with my other managers and we had to have a mediation meeting just a few weeks prior to me going sick. I'd also formally requested that they review my wage to reflect my role and duties as I've verbally requested this many times in the past and it hasn't been done properly. While being off sick, they managed to find cover for me in the form of a retired practice manager who gave up a full time job elsewhere to cover me initially for four weeks. This has obviously rolled on but has made me think that now they realise they can find someone to replace me and they won't be without a manager in post, they are now keen to get rid as opposed to keeping me (and the likelyhood of the covering manager pushing for extra wages is very slim, not to mention being 'fresh blood' in the practice so no animosity between her and the partner I've been having issues with; therefore being less of a nuisance to the Partners). Prior to the disciplinary meeting, I also requested access to my work emails because I felt that there were things that would be pertinent to the disciplinary meeting, which was granted under supervision (naturally). However, when I got there, I was already logged on (the interim manager had my login details NOT provided by me and without my knowledge) and some of the emails that I was looking for had been deleted, and the deleted folder completely emptied. She had also been using my email account despite having her own NHS email account and instead of my "out of office reply" being amended to contact her email address in my absence, it was taken off completely so there is now nothing to say I am not in work. I work under the NHS but in a private practice and I've attached part of their email misuse policy: I also thought that this may be contravening the Computer Misuse Act 1990, attached info: On top of this, I am also a patient at the same practice and while I do not generally see one of the partners, I am in the process of joining a different practice as this is a huge conflict of interest. However, I have been alerted through an appointment with another clinician there that my records have been accessed many times by the Partners (my managers) after me attending the surgery to see either a locum doctor or a nurse. I don't think this is acceptable as I feel they were checking what I was saying to the clinicians and trying to preempt what, if anything, I was planning to do about the conflict with one of the partners. So my questions are: 1. Am I to assume that I am no longer suspended? 2. Should it just be as simple as returning to work or will there have to be further meetings to move forward? 3. I feel that this has been blatantly blown out of proportion in order to try and get rid of me now that they have someone else in post on a lesser wage than me who will be less of a nuisance to them. Am I in a position to do anything about this? 4. What should I do about the email situation? Do I report it to the NHS or the data commissioner or someone? 5. Should I report the GP's (my managers) for accessing my medical records for employment reasons (or rather, no clinical reason)? They had no reason to look at my consultations and had they not been my employers, they wouldn't have had access to do so. I have been offered a conditional offer of a post elsewhere, pending references,which I have accepted and I am planning on telling my new employers what has gone on (this all happened after I was offered the post so I didn't NOT declare it at the time of interview). However, I cannot hand my notice in until I've received an unconditional offer and I know the new job is safe. Once this is in place, I will be handing in my notice. One thing I've learnt is that loyalty and dedication to the job counts for nothing these days; we are but a number on the payroll, a bum on a seat. HELP!!!!! Save Save

If you are self-employed and you are owed money from a company (construction) for an unpaid invoice and you start court proceeding's can they close the company down before it gets to the court date and if they can is their any way of stopping them doing this Thanks

The following is from the BBC News today: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4057088/Car-clampings-double-tax-discs-axed.html

I haven't been able to find a link to the actual decision, but an Upper Tribunal has apparently now decided that 'cannot follow' means both cannot because of some physical or intellectual disability AND cannot because of e.g. anxiety, thus clarifying whether all of the descriptors can apply to conditions such as agoraphobia. There were previously two contradictory decisons on this subject, and of course DWP guidance reflected the most restrictive so people with agoraphobia who were able to leave the house could only score a maximum of 4 points and were therefore being denied any rate of mobility. I suspect it will take some time to update DWP guidance for assessors, and I doubt they'll be backdating any previous claims so if this may affect you, it may be worth considering putting in a new claim if you were previously turned down completely or effectively reporting a change of circumstances if you believe you should have had an award of standard or enhanced for the mobility component. In the latter case, be aware that your existing award can be reduced as well as increased. If anyone can find a link to the case report, it was apparently last month, I would be grateful.

I have mentioned before on the forum of the dangers that debtors face when they visit popular 'social media' sites and apply to join 'closed groups' that claim to offer advice to anyone who has received a letter or a visit from a bailiff. These sites profess to help debtors. Don't be fooled. In the case of this particular thread, the social media site page in question has one aim only and that is to ensure that payment is never made to a bailiff. That is their overriding aim. Debtors joining these 'closed groups' wrongly believe that what they post remains a secret. It does not. Almost all bailiff companies, debt collection agencies, mobile phone providers and banks etc are members of these groups and can recognise the debtor immediately from the documentation frequently exhibited. Yesterday was one of the most serious examples of appalling bad advice from inexperienced members of the public that ultimately led to the debtors vehicle (worth £4,000) being taken by a High Court Enforcement Agent. The poor and inaccurate advice also led to the debt increasing by well over a £1,000.

Hi, I am an employee on a Zero Hours contract. I work with Mr. X and had to take him to court and won the judgement. The 14 days deadline has passed and he is yet to make payment. I have a question about how to approach the working environment with Mr X who I took to court and was awarded the judgement which hasn't been paid. The case took two years to go to court during which time I had to endure being harassed at work. Before the court case, I sought Mediation to avoid court action and complain about being harassed. The meeting was held by my line Manager at work who chaired an impartial meeting with Mr. X. Following this meeting Mr. X went to H.R. and then another meeting was held and I was advised / warned to only engage in work related discussions with him going forward. The entire Management Team support him (apart from my line Manager who's hands are tied). Therefore I cannot follow the standard grievance procedure in the staff handbook (i.e. speaking to Management first). We still work together and I haven't seen him since the court case but will do tomorrow. He is discussing the case with colleagues at work and stating the 14 days given to pay doesn't matter as long as he pays within 30 days, he can get the CCJ taken off his record as if it never happened. I am concerned that Mr. X may approach me at work regarding the case. Where do I stand legally? I have contacted ACAS and understand about my rights to work in a safe environment (mentally and physically). If he approaches me at work to discuss the case, would I be considered reasonable to advise him to send me a recorded delivery letter for any further discussions regarding payment arrangements? If I have to make the payment to go back to court to make him pay will the Judge see my behaviour as unreasonable and that I am supposed to talk to Mr. X on his terms? Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi All Is there a difference between a court hearing for Possession and / or Repossession its probs a silly question and I know the answer but I ask because I have just recieved some paperwork re my court appearence on Monday 6th Dec, hence the title O M G. Mr Very Worried at the momment however I am sure that will change in the next few hrs.

I am writing on behalf of one of my neighbours in my block of flats, as I am already registered with CAG. Following the exceptionally heavy rainfall a couple of years ago, my neighbour had a lot of damage in her lounge which needed repair. She had Designers Guild wallpaper on her walls - this was an expensive product. The managing agent is treating her in a very odd way. The firm is refusing to acknowledge that she had the expensive wallpaper and are trying to palm her off with the barest minimum work. Apparently someone they sent over gave her a rock bottom quote including the supply of wallpaper without even asking her what she wanted. Now, the managing agent says that this guy isnt even interested in doing the work and, needless to say, she will not be able to find anyone else who will do the work and supply half decent wallpaper at that rate. What should my neighbour do?

'Just before Christmas, the Government announced a consultation on the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) process, in particular on aids and appliances in the context of the PIP daily living component. Aids and appliances, such as wheelchairs and walk-in showers, help people live independently. This is only two years after the introduction of PIP to replace Disability Living Allowance, so has the Government suddenly found out that it doesn’t work? Do the 105 claimant cases that the Government’s consultation is based on really reflect the 611,121 current PIP claimants? Apparently so'. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/iain-duncan-smith-already-slashed-7217871 More information here >> https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/personal-independence-payment-aids-and-appliances-descriptors An MP is writing about this here >> http://www.debbieabrahams.org.uk/2016/government-plans-to-slash-support-for-disabled-people Also picked up here >> http://locumtoday.co.uk/article.php?s=2016-01-12-government-consultation-on-aids-and-appliances-for-pip&catTitle=allied%20health%20professionalshome%20page%20featured#.Vq1ApiZWI2w Thoughts anyone?

Hi Guys I originally joined CAG about seven years ago to seek advice after being sued for a personal injuries claim. Judgement was made by default - court papers being sent to a previous address by recorded delivery and not received by me, so I was unable to defend myself in court. My subsequent application to set aside was dismissed. Quantum hearing was heard in August 2009. An oral examination was also conducted as to my means. It was evident that I was not in a position to pay and I offered £1.00/month. This was considered "unacceptable" by the Judgement Creditor and I have never been advised the amount that would be acceptable. I have only made payments totalling £6.00 in the early days after the case ... I have never received any correspondence relating to this case from the Judgement Creditor's legal team and no payment enforcement has ever been attempted. This morning I was handed a summons to appear at court for another oral examination later this month. I have no assets, am self-employed, in receipt of WTC, HB and CTR -- my weekly income is considerably less than the £72.40 the law states I need to live on each week. I'm sure the oral examination is just a formality really .. but if anyone could offer any sound advice, I'd appreciate it. Best wishes Imp

Hi, I hope you can help me. I posted a negative review on a website of a removal company. That company is now threatening me with defamation and false accusations unless I remove the review. I instructed the website to do this via email (I have no other means of contact) and copied in the removal company contact. It states, however, on the website that it can take up to 7 business days to remove the review and, after 6 business days, the review is still there. Note I am not able to remove or edit the review myself. I explained to the removal company that I cannot remove the review and that it can take up to 7 business days to have the review removed however they said yesterday, 6 business days after requesting the review to be removed, that they will issue court proceedings. I noted that there are other reviews on the website for that particular company that I would consider to be similar in nature and have been there for several months. My questions are: 1. Can the removal company issue court proceedings to me despite no longer living in the UK? 2. What exactly is the process for issuing court proceedings? Does someone have to physically give me something to do this rather than online? 3. Is there anything else I can do if the review is still not removed after 7 business days? Any help would be appreciated!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/giant-house-spiders-are-invading-british-homes-following-wet-and-warm-summer-10467050.html

THE DVLA is to overhaul its new computerized system for driving licences following chaos as holidaymakers tried to hire cars abroad. Last month, when the UK scrapped paper licences, drivers had to access the DVLA website and obtain a code to prove they were legal to drive, yet the code was only valid for three days. This left drivers trying to hire a car more than three days into holidays having to search for somewhere to get online or run up roaming charges by connecting from mobile phones, leading to a flood of complaints. Now the DVLA has announced it will change the system so codes last for three weeks, expected to cover most holidays this summer. http://www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.15/news/on-euro-weekly-news/uk-news/130898-dvla-changes-tune-following-car-hire-chaos

i wrote my car off in an accident on 14th feb i admitted fault but insurance keep saying they are waiting for a police report before they pay out. I am still paying finance on the car and monthly insurance installments. how can i get them to speed things along everytime i phone i get a different story.

I wonder if anyone could give me some guidance......... A relative has been involved in an accident while using the vehicle for 'social, domestic or pleasure'. Following the accident they have studied the policy and noticed that it did not cover business use which the last policy did as they use the car for minor diy jobs. Having used the car for business during the current policy, but was using it for pleasure on the day of the accident, is the policy void? If the insurance company was told the vehicle was used for business previously are they likely to void the policy? Having read various websites, it looks like they have unwittingly committed insurance fraud. Where does leave them? Any help would be gratefully received as my elderly relative is going crazy with guilt and wants to tell the insurance company that the car was used for business during the year even though not on the day of the accident. Thank you

Hello I moved into a HMO approximately 6 weeks ago. I am a mature student and everybody else is a professional. It's a big place with about 10 people in total. I was speaking to one of my house mates (Josh) who told me that the landlord is crap and never carries out repairs. Josh has lived here for 6 years and he hates the landlord. He told me that he went 3 years without hot water, despite asking for it to be fixed - this was eventually resolved with help from the CAB. He also told me that although the boiler was recently checked, it hadn't been done for 3-4 years prior. Whenever the landlord moans at Josh for leaving his work tools in the house, Josh requests to see the boiler records for the past 3 years and the landlord immediately drops the issue. Is he supposed to have boiler records for three years? I don't understand. The house is a terraced one covering four floors with no natural light in the hallways. I have requested that they put in emergency lighting because I want to see where I'm going should there be an emergency. When I told Josh he laughed because he thinks that the landlord wont do it. How long should I wait before I follow up on this? Upon moving in, my room was dirty so I offered to paint it. I was given paint and brushes and I cracked on with it. I've done about a quarter of the room but because I have exams I have decided to put it on hold. If I moved out without finishing the painting would I be liable for anything? Further to the aforementioned, can anybody tell me what exactly my landlord is responsible for? I want to ensure that he is following protocol. Thanks.

Notice of intention to impose a financial penalty following an investigation into compliance by InterGen with Article 14(1) of the Electricity and Gas (Community Energy Saving Programme) Order 2009 Read More Here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/notice-intention-impose-financial-penalty-following-investigation-compliance-intergen-article-141-electricity-and-gas-community-energy-saving-programme-order-2009