Hi all, firstly I'm posting on behalf of my step son & GF, as they are unsure of how to respond to/progress with their currently situation. Background BF / GF living with GF's parents. GF becomes pregnant. Both 'kicked out' - asked to find alternative accommodation. Accepted as 'Homeless' by the Local Authority, and that they have a 'priority need'. Currently in emergency Council-owned accommodation (pretty decent actually) in the centre of town. GF doesn't drive, BF has small mbike only. BF employed locally. GF was in college locally before pregnancy but now not. They have made applications to the Local Authority allocation scheme for housing, placed an interest bid on a property they were matched with, within the local area. Upon visiting, found it in poor condition, at the far end of a maze-type newish estate, and around 1.5 miles outside of the town centre. Please see attached the Local Authority letter, informing them that if they reject this property then the Council will discharge their obligation to house them. Since this letter has been received there has been a significant change of circumstances - BIRTH. GF has giving birth at 27 weeks ! A lovely baby girl, who is doing really well - as is mum GF & daughter are in a NICU approx 90 mins away from home town and will be for a substantial length of time. Clearly there will be a significantly increased requirement for local hospital interaction in the short term. Issue: BF & GF want to reject the visited property, but are worried the Council will them wash its hands of their housing requirement. Their reasoning is mainly that the location will leave GF isolated from amenities and her support network. Clearly the latter is now more important than it was at the start of the application, due to the significant change in circumstances. So, how do they proceed...? I'm presuming they should write to the Housing Advice and Homeless Manager specified on the attached letter, but what should they say..? Is there something standard available, or should they just blurt it all out and hope for the best..? Can the Local Authority really remove them from their care following such a change in circumstances....? Look forward to your comments... CLST1 2018-06-05.pdf

Hi All, I have been a regular reader of the forums in recent years and have now decided to sign up as I am in the early stages of what I feel is going to be a long, drawn-out process with Nissan regarding my Qashqai. I purchased a 2010 Nissan Qashqai 1.5dci Acenta from CarGiant in June 2013 with 32K Miles on the clock. The car came with 2 Nissan Main Dealer service stamps in the book, plus an additional service/check from CG. I have had the car serviced at the recommended intervals set out by Nissan albeit by my local garage (with receipts/history provided). The car has given me 2 years trouble-free motoring up to June 2015 when it needed a new clutch, in my opinion prematurely but c'est la vie! Anyway, whilst driving to visit family this past Thursday (February 18th), the car suddenly lost power and I managed to get it off the road and call a recovery service. The recovery driver suspected cam belt failure and so I opted to have the car recovered to my local Nissan main dealer as I felt that the cam belt has snapped prematurely. The dealer confirmed that the belt had indeed failed and it would cost me £114 for the diagnosis, but if I wanted them to strip the engine down to inspect further damage this would cost another £450+ in labour. At this point I explained that I would expect Nissan to accept some kind of ownership of the problem as the stated cam belt change intervals of '100k miles or 72 months' (quoted by initial service clerk) had not been met. The clerk told me that he would speak with the service manager and get back to me today. He called me this morning to explain that the dealership would offer no gesture of goodwill as the car was not known to them. I explained that it was known to Nissan though and if they were trading under the Nissan badge then it should not matter. Anyway, he was polite enough and was just acting as the mouthpiece for his manager who obviously did not have the tacks to call me and explain himself, so I thanked him but then asked again what the cam belt change intervals were for my vehicle. He then went off to speak to a technician and eventually came back and said "76K miles or 6 years". This contradicts his colleague and also he kept referring to a timing 'chain'. I know from research that my particular engine is belt driven, not chain like all other Nissan engines. So, my next option was to call Nissan Customer Care to raise a case, which I have done today and have been given a 48-hour timeframe for a case manager to contact me. I have read various stories of the same issue, Nissan apparently issued a recall for due to the timing belt rubbing against the water pump but I can't seem to find the recall on the VOSA website. I've also read on various other forums that the cars that were recalled were inspected only for the belt to fail a short time after. The results seem to be mixed, some people receiving no gesture of goodwill at all, some receiving an offer of Nissan to cover the cost of parts and some actually getting the full repair done free of charge. The concern for me is simple - I can't afford the estimated £6k cost to replace the engine which is inevitable as I was travelling at around 50mph when the fault occurred and I've not read of a similar story that hasn't required a replacement engine. My other concern is that Nissan do not seem to be able to give me a conclusive schedule for having the cam belt changed! Any help/advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Good Morning This is my first post so please bear with me. Basicaly we purchased a three seater and a two seater sofa and foot stool from Sofaitalia an online company that was in process of opening a store in Stockton on tees we orderd from the store and took delivery end March 2010. the 2 seater sofa cost £950 . We also purchased a staingard cover for £240. The suite wasnt used between April 2011 and Dec 11 due to house move . We noticed about three weeks ago that one of the back cushions at the head neck height the colour has faded right to base leather ( sold as full grain semi aniline) we contacted staingard who inspected and informed no action as its wear and tear and colour fade is not covered . I contacted Sofaitalia who agree with Staingard. However I do not believe under the SOGA that a sofa of this quality and price should only last less than three years with light domestic use there are only three of us in the family . We are far from happy I'm sending Sofaitalia a letter quoting SOGA and my precieved rights as a consumer . Can anyone help point me in the right direction of what we can expect or even if i may be expecting too much in that I would idealy like the sofa replacing at the very least a good repair. Any help or advice greatly appreciated

Hello, I recently bought a 2011 Citreon Berlingo Multispace diesel with 98k on the clock. I paid a deposit on the understanding that the clutch would be fixed. They did fix it and I went to pick up the car a few days later and paid the balance. On the drive home I lost control of the vehicle and had to pull over. I put this down to getting used to the car. As a precaution I put the car in to my garage the following morning. It was found to have play on the steering, shock absorbers at the front were gone, front brake discs excessively worn with 2mm lip and a bald and punctured tyre. I informed the shop that day that I wanted a refund and they told me they don't do refunds. They said I should drive it over to them and they would fix it then decide whether I would be able to have a refund. I have refused to do that. They offered me a car in the interim while they fixed it and said one of their men would drive the car back. I refused that on the grounds that I wasn't sure of the legality of borrowing one of their cars and that the car cannot be driven. They offered to tow it over. I refused as at that point I had firmly decided I did not, at this time, want the car to be repaired as I required it to remain in it's current state so the faults could be proven once they sent someone to inspect it. I have now formally rejected the car on the grounds that it was unroadworthy and unsatisfactory. The garage are refusing the hear my complaint unless I take the car over to them. I cannot do that as it is not fit to be on the road. I have offered for the garage to come to my mechanics garage to view it but they are refusing to do so. I have also offered for them to pay for an independent report so as to prove my case. I have also offered that if the report shows my case to be false and the car is roadworthy I will pay for it. My question is: was I premature in rejecting the car? My argument is: The car is in a poor condition for it's age and is has been sold illegally. These faults were spotted on a simple visual inspection by a qualified mechanic and therefore should have been noticed in the pre-sale checks all garages are obligated to carry out. The garage has told me I will have to take them to court. I have told them I don't want to do that. EDIT: Sorry, didn't say I paid £5450 for the car. £3950 n cash and £1500 for my previous vehicle.

Hello there, just looking for some advice on the situation I've been placed in, My apprenticeship was recently terminated due to not completing my coursework, for a Level 3 course which I should never of been on, as my contract states intermediate apprenticeship meaning Level 2, I had no warnings prior to the termination, and was literally put into a meeting with a HR manager and she made reference to the apprenticeship agreement I had signed, which she only made reference to the a agreement I did not comply with, which was not completing the college work, I told her this must be irrelevant because it's not the course I should be on anyway. I have appealed against the decision, I've been researching on the web at current legislation's and it states that, the apprenticeship agreement should include the relevant apprenticeship framework, which in my case should be Level 2, the reason for me failing level 3 was generally lack of knowledge, I don't think I even qualified to be on the course, yet was still placed on it. My question is this apprenticeship agreement must be illegitimate if it does not state the RELEVANT apprenticeship framework? If anyone has any advice, please post.

I have an ongoing claim on a card formerly with MBNA, now with one of their DCAs. (I'm deliberately not giving details at this point.) I have original correspondence from MBNA, including an invalid default notice with the usual mistakes: 1. The wrong broken term on the agreement. 2. Period of less than 14 days from service for remedy. 3. No statement of arrears, only a demand for full repayment. Also as usual, MBNA sold the debt to a DCA before the end of the remedy period. I have a letter of sale from MBNA, a copy of the comms log from a SAR, and a letter of assignment from the DCA. As usual again, the date on the letter of sale is seven days before the date of the notice of assignment. The notice of assignment is dated to match the final day of the remedy period. I believe the agreement is unenforceable for other reasons I won't state here, in addition to the usual reconstructed Ts & Cs. So I'm fairly sure my defence is strong. But I still have questions before I file my defence. 1. On what basis does a demand for a full repayment count as early termination/rescission? Is this because it implies the creditor no longer accepts that I have the right to pay arrears and bring the account up to date? Can anyone point me at the legislation that applies? 2. If I send a letter acknowledging unlawful rescission to MBNA does that leave me liable for outstanding arrears (even if they are limited to lawful arrears - i.e. no punitive late payment fees and interest on same.) Again, what legislation applies to this? 3. If the claim is wholly unenforceable, does that make claims for arrears remaining after rescission unenforceable too? I thank Caggers in advance for any help.