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  1. I don't know if this is a question, a warning or a rant but having just experienced the worst car journey of my life, I am feeling pretty traumatised and having flashbacks of the nightmare I had yesterday. These are just the highlights. I was driving from North Perthshire to Lancashire and just as I was south of Glasgow, the car jolted and my car's amber engine light came on along with a red light with a message saying ENGINE SYSTEM ERROR. I pulled onto the hard shoulder, switched the engine off and then restarted. Everything seemed fine for about five minutes and then it happened again. The car's revs were capped at 2,000rpm and due to the road and driving conditions, this meant that there were long stretches of incline that I could only achieve 20mph. I have 'Silver' breakdown cover with Eversure/PEX (for reference only, I have included the details below) I phoned them and explained my situation but the operator refused to offer any assistance saying that my policy did not cover warning light issues. I tried to explain that it was not a just a warning light, there was an error light. I was told that so long as my vehicle could move, I had not broken down. I asked to speak to a manager and was passed to a supervisor and got the same story. Eventually, I got to speak to a manager but he just said the same although he did offer to send a truck to remove the car from the motorway for £100 but said that it would probably take an hour and a half before they arrived. I refused this because I was so outraged that I was being denied assistance and I had no way of paying it. I was told that it was standard within the breakdown industry not to cover warning light issues and kept telling me to read my policy documents (as if I had access to them right then - they were e-mailed to me and were on my laptop). Again, I tried to explain that it was an error light, not a warning light. In the heat of the moment, I said something which later realised was not true, I said that this was the first time I had ever needed breakdown assistance with any company and was disgusted that on the first occasion that I needed it, I was being refused. However, I later remembered that I had an old camper many years ago for which I needed assistance (with either the RAC or AA - I don't remember), once for a broken fan belt (the battery light had come on), once for a burst radiator and once for a detached exhaust, none of which, by their criteria, would qualify for assistance - I could have driven until the battery was flat, I could have kept filling the radiator with water and I could have carried on driving making a racket with no silencer. The upshot was that as far as they were concerned, there was no reason that I could not continue my journey, even if it meant limping along at 20mph with trucks driving three feet behind me flashing at me. Consequently, I had no choice but to drive up the hard shoulder until I reached the next exit which was Abingdon Services where I tried to think what to do. I was 190 miles from my destination. I figured that I could maybe take the back roads but no matter how I tried to configure CoPilot on my phone (strictly avoid motorways), it continued to present a route which took me onto the motorway. Eventually, I changed the satnav vehicle to bicycle and it got the message. I hadn't really got a clue where I was or where I was going. I drove about thirty winding miles along ancient bumpy, pot-holed roads linking villages and hamlets imagining the carts which passed a hundred years before me with my car juddering away thinking that I was in a nightmare that would not end. I then found an A road and after some time hit Carlisle at rush hour so it took almost an hour to get from the north to the south and heading to Penrith. Still having to stop to let the understandably impatient past and then stopped for half an hour to let the traffic calm down. In the outskirts of Penrith, at one point, the satnav told me to turn right but before I even considered it, immediately to my right, the road I was supposed to take was blocked by this: I just found the photo on a local news site. I had thought that my memory had exaggerated it. Still at the mercy of the satnav to avoid the motorway, I realised I was heading into the Lake District and followed it blindly until I saw a sign for Kirkstone Pass which, for anybody who does not know, is 1:5 in parts (20%) and by this time it was pitch black. The prospect of retracing my route was too much so I attacked Kirkstone Pass ascending in first gear at about 5mph. After a while, I then came to a turn which seemed a bit wild but did as I was instructed which led to a track crossing a dual carriageay. I followed this for a mile or so until I came to a farmyard with a locked gate. At this point, I reverted to car mode and I had no option but to go back and join the dual carriageway on which I just kept pulling over to let traffic past. Each time I pulled over, I switched the engine off and restarted it which gave me a few minutes of grace before the error came on and I suddenly had no power again. After struggling through Kendal and trying to get onto the A6 but found myself on the M6. Thankfully, by this time, the traffic was fairly light and although there were still lorries who seemed to enjoy driving right up my backside when there were two clear lanes to overtake, I eventually reached my destination. It usually takes just under five hours but I was in the driving seat for eleven. Everybody I have spoken to is outraged that the breakdown company refused to help including the mechanic who is now hopefully fixing my car. The policy document does state under things which are not covered, 'Assistance whereby your vehicle dashboard warning lights are activated, however your vehicle has not broken down and is not immobilised'. As a former aircraft mechanic, I consider amber lights to be warning lights, red lights are faults. The LCD display said ENGINE SYSTEM ERROR, which is not a warning, it is saying that something is wrong. Every web page I have looked at today says that red dashboard lights tend to mean that the car requires immediate attention. Red means stop in every language, doesn't it? I'd be curious to know what other people think. When I get home, I intend to look into getting this clarified and make a formal complaint. Information from the insurance certificate: Section 1: Basic Cover Roadside Assistance 30 minutes Local Recovery Up to 25 miles National Recovery Transport to home or destination Section 3: Silver Cover Offers the following in addition to Basic Cover Benefits: Onward Travel i) Alternative transport ii) Overnight accommodation (£75 per person, £250 in total) iii) Replacement vehicle (£100) Home Start At or within 1 mile of home address Callout Limit 6 callouts Claim Limit Max £2,500 total claims per year
  2. My energy supplier is Eon Energy. They have been very aggressive to try to provide me a smart meter. They come and visit me and want to talk to me but they never make an appointment. They call me all the time. I am most upset that they also decided to get in touch with my psychiatrist. I have no idea how they even know the name of this person and the contact details. Needless to say that I am horrified. I have sent Eon Energy a SAR request but no reply at all. I have contacted them by sending them letters and complaining about their behaviour but no reply. I have chatted with them online and I got the transcripts. All Eon Energy wants to do is to talk to me. But I don't like talking. I feel that my privacy has been violated. I don't think Eon Energy needs to contact any medical professional and get my medical records so that they could provide me a smart meter. I don't think I even need a smart meter. How would I handle this matter? Information Commissioner's Office? Energy Ombudsman? Or something else?
  3. my friend cancelled his JSA claim today and has appointment booked with his ingeus advisor tomorrow, he has asked me if he can still get sanctioned for not attending as he is switching from JSA to ESA? sorry to keep going on but he keeps asking me.
  4. A few months before my father's death last year, a family member (who frequently helped him with his online banking activities and was therefore privy to his passwords etc) liquidated £145,000 of his shares and transferred the proceeds to themselves. We believe that this was done without my father's knowledge or consent. Barclays advise us that they called to check that this activity was in fact authorised by my father. These phone calls were recorded by the bank. We believe these voice recordings will prove the person claiming to be my father and authorising the transactions was, in fact, the family member who benefitted from these transfers. Barclays has refused to provide copies of these voice recordings and has offered written transcripts of the recordings instead (these have not yet been delivered). Clearly, identifying the person claiming to be my father from a written transcript will be impossible (apparently they answered security questions correctly). It is only by identifying the voice itself that will prove that fraud has taken place. N.B. We have the legal power of attorney to act on behalf of our mother (these were joint accounts in both parents names), as she is mentally incapacitated by Alzheimers and unable to act on her own behalf. Does anyone know of any way to compel the bank to provide these voice recordings?
  5. Employers need to provide details for all Benefits in Kind READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/employers-need-to-provide-details-for-all-benefits-in-kind
  6. Car hire sites to provide full costs upfront after CMA action READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/car-hire-sites-to-provide-full-costs-upfront-after-cma-action
  7. I left talk talk after several years up to 2017 and had no yearly contract to honour due to it expiring. Quite simply they didnt provide me a working internet, blaming some issues with their line management software. I finished with them and didnt pay them for the time the line was not working. They sent me bills but I just could not pay them due to the principle of it. I tried to call their staff to explain that I am not going to pay when I didnt receive service, but wasted effort of course. Now talk talk are threatening credit score points against me if I dont pay. Is there anything I can do after they put this on my credit file. Its the principle of it that gets me, I just dont want to pay them after all the hassle and expense they put me through. As I was having to buy mobile broadband until I had a BT line put in. I have lots of credit I hardly use so its not the end of the world anyway but surely there must be a way to challenge them ?
  8. Hello everyone, I'm currently a single mum of 2 and claim working tax credit and child tax credit. My boyfriend and I are thinking of moving in together (him moving into my home). I said I will inform Tax Credits accordingly and make a joint claim once he moves in. The problem is, he has made it very clear that he will not provide proof of his wages etc (it's his privacy). He said that he wants to provide and we won't be eligible for anything so I should just call them and close my claim. My question is: Can I just call to say I wish to end my tax credit claim as my boyfriend will be living with me?. Will they not ask for his employer, salary details etc? I don't want to end up with an overpayment. Also, is there a best time to close tax credit claims because my friend said that I should wait till end of tax year April or July? Really confused so any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
  9. This is yet another important decision from the Local Government Ombudsman and one that once again makes clear that if a debtor who is subject to bailiff enforcement considers that he may be 'vulnerable', he must be prepared to provide evidence and outline how his 'vulnerability' affects his ability to deal with the debt. In brief, Mr B's complaint was as follows: Mr B incurred 5 penalty charge notices. He believes that there is a law from the year 1600 that means that he can’t be fined and so can park anywhere. He and his wife both have Blue Badges and he considered that being granted a Blue Badge means that he has meet the criteria for ‘vulnerability’. Mr B told the Council he was a vulnerable person. However, he had not explained why he considers he is vulnerable. He was of the opinion that it is the Council’s job to prove he is not. Mr B complained a business centre issued the warrants rather than a court and so were invalid. Mr B complains that the bailiffs did not have the correct warrants. The Council has said the court sends the warrants electronically and so there are no paper copies. PS: A copy of the decision can be read in the following post.
  10. Devon County County (16 017 119) Decision date: 17th August 2017. Published on the LGO website: 17th November 2017 Vulnerability and bailiff enforcement is a subject that is of great importance and sadly, it is a subject that is very much misunderstood. The LGO have made a number of decisions regarding the 'definition' of vulnerability and the following case is another one where the LGO confirm that a 'vulnerable' debtor must provide evidence to demonstrate how their vulnerability affects their ability to deal with the debt. PS: The following is a shortened copy of the decision. A full copy can be accessed from the link at the foot of the post. Background: (9) Mr B has received 5 penalty charge notices (PCN) for parking offences since 2014. A parking enforcement officer placed two on the car and Mr B received three through the post. On the telephone, Mr B told me that he did not take account of parking laws as he believes there is a law from the year 1600 that means he can’t be fined and so can park anywhere. (16) The Council has said that Mr B first used the words’ vulnerable’ about his wife and him both having Blue Badges on 3 December 2015. (17) The Council said it advised Mr B on 5 July to contact the bailiffs for them to consider his ‘vulnerability’ and for him to provide them with whatever evidence they need to confirm his status as vulnerable. The Council advised Mr B that if the bailiff did deem his to be a vulnerable household the Council would withdraw the warrant and cease activity. (18) The Council said Mr B did not supply the bailiffs with supporting evidence. It has said the blue badge issued to Mr B, shows they have met the criteria of limited mobility to have a blue badge issued but may not necessarily be vulnerable. (19) The Council says that Mr B thinks that his vulnerability means that he is exempt from paying these fines. The Council says it disagrees with Mr B’s interpretation. It considers he is still liable to pay these fines, but any vulnerability means the Council has to consider extra discretion over how these fines are paid, e.g. deferring payment periods, accepting lower instalments until debts paid. (20) The Council has asked Mr B to provide supporting written evidence of his ‘vulnerability’ for it to find out if there are other conditions from which he suffers that may fit his interpretation of vulnerability, e.g. Mental health, depression, post- traumatic stress, at risk of self-harm, inability to understand and engage with the process. The Council says that if Mr B does meet any of these criteria, then it may withdraw the warrants and close the cases. Mr B has not provided supporting evidence. Analysis from the Local Government Ombudsman: (23) Mr B complained a business centre issued the warrants rather than a court and so were invalid. The TEC is the court appointed by the Secretary of State and the Department of Transport to deal with registration of debts arising from penalty charge notices. I can find no fault on this point. (24) Mr B complains the bailiffs did not have the correct warrants. The Council has said the court sends the warrants electronically and so there are no paper copies. For completeness, I will ask the Council to send me its electronic records showing the warrants but I can see no evidence of fault on this point. (25) Mr B believes that under the Taking Control of Goods National Standards 2010, (updated 2015) as soon as he told the bailiff company finds out he is vulnerable (with no explanation) they have to withdraw. He believes that he does not need to provide details of his details of his vulnerability; it is then the Council’s job to prove he isn’t. (26) The Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013, part 2, regulation 10 set out the circumstances in which an enforcement agent may not take control of goods. It says an enforcement agent may not take control of goods of a debtor where a child or vulnerable person is the only person present. The legislation does not give any further guidance about how a vulnerable person is defined. (27) Mr B told the Council he was a vulnerable person. However, he has not explained why he considers he is vulnerable. He considers that it is the Council’s job to prove he is not. (28) It cannot be right that a person can say they are vulnerable and all outstanding debts are written off without them giving further information. If this was the case, then there would be no way for the Council to enforce any debt collection as anybody could claim vulnerability without evidence. I do consider it reasonable for Mr B to explain why he considers himself to be vulnerable. (29) In any case, a vulnerable person still has to pay the fines, but any vulnerability means the Council has to consider extra discretion over how the debtor pays the fines, e.g. deferring payment periods or accepting lower instalments. It should also allow the vulnerable person time to get help and advice. (30) I have found no fault in the Council’s actions. The Council gave Mr B the opportunity to appeal the PCN’s and to appeal to the court. No further recovery action has been taken once he told the bailiffs and Council he is vulnerable. However, I do consider it reasonable for him to give details of his vulnerability if he wants the Council to consider removing the warrants. http://www.lgo.org.uk/decisions/transport-and-highways/parking-and-other-penalties/16-017-119
  11. My son bought a vehicle approx 6 months ago. After 1 week the vehicle broke down and it was returned to the dealer for repair under the warranty. They had the vehicle over one month and then it was returned. The same problem has occurred. The warranty has now expired but the fault on the car was quite a major one and I believe the work should have had some form of guarantee but the dealer is refusing to provide information on the work carried out and where the repair was completed staying that due to data protection they can not provide this and that they do not keep records. This all sounds dodgy and I would appreciate some advice on where to go next . Many thanks
  12. The following regulation has been discussed for many months, and was finally laid before Parliament a few days ago (11th April). It comes into effect on 6th May 2017. The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/554/made
  13. Dear All, I need some advice for my wife. We have had a terrible postal problem; after reporting our postman for an incident over a year ago some of our mail seems to simply go missing - I wonder why? My wife received last august a witness statement for a court date for speeding and failure to provide - we had received no NIP, no reminder and no summons. We contacted the ticket office and explained about our post, and they agreed to fine her and give her 3 points for the speeding, but drop the offence under 172. Later on in 2016 a neighbour brought round a summons for, wait for it, failure to provide and speeding. We initially thought that this was for the ticket earlier on in the year but realised it was a separate incident at exactly the same GATSO! This time, we hadn't received the NIP or reminder, and the Summons clearly addressed to us at No 14 was delivered to no.29 round the corner, and the lady asked around and found out we lived at 14 and brought it round. Guilty of the speeding or not, my wife couldn't keep accepting points and a fine like this, so we decided to plead not guilty and to explain to the magistrates. We have had a letter drafted and signed by our neighbours confirming the above, and have had Royal Mail conduct an investigation into our mail not being delivered. The investigation is ongoing, but they have found no wrong doing at this moment in time. However, what they have said is that the Courts use proof of posting only, whereby bulk mail is signed for by the postal service as collected and therefore "posted". But they have also stated proof of posting IS NOT PROOF OF DELIVERY to the recipient, and that the recipient has NO CONTRACT with Royal Mail, their customer is the Court in this case and it really should be them that complains if their mail that they have PAID FOR is not delivered. They have looked at our complaint only on the basis that several items of our mail have gone missing over time and that there may be an issue. So we were going to go to Court and to state that the NIP etc was not delivered within the 14 days allowed, arguing that the post is the Court's responsibility, therefore both charges should be struck out. I know that there be many cases whereby someone simply states they didn't receive the NIP, and that the Court "get around this" with their proof of posting as is taken as papers are deemed served, end of. But surely if there is a genuine doubt if the NIP has not been delivered then this should be listened to? Whats thrown me today is that the CPS have written to us (again similar to last time) offering that the charge under 172 be dropped if we change the speeding offence to that of guilty and accept points and a fine? Really don't know what to tell my wife to do? Suggestions would be appreciated.
  14. The following is another very recent decision from the Local Government Ombudsman on the subject of vulnerability. Once again, the LGO confirm that evidence needs to be provided if a person considers that they may be 'vulnerable'. Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council PS: The following is a short version of the decision. A link to read the full report is at the end of this post. The complaint Mr X complains that the Council has unreasonably taken Council tax enforcement action against him despite his vulnerability. What I found The law says people must pay their council tax before the installment date stated on the bill. If people pay late on more than two occasions they lose the right to pay by installments. The Council can then demand that they pay the full amount which is due for the rest of the year. If they do not pay the Council can serve a summons and ask the magistrates for a liability order. A liability order is an order confirming the person must pay the council tax and costs. Further costs are incurred when magistrates grant a liability order. If someone does not pay the council tax, and the costs, the Council can ask enforcement agents to collect the debt. Enforcement agents charge fees which must also be paid. Mr X has council tax arrears from 2013/14 and 2014/15. The Council has provided evidence of Mr X’s non payment of Council tax and the courts upheld the summonses when they issued the Liability Orders. Mr X did not make any arrangements to pay his council tax arrears. In November 2014 Mr X told the Council he was a vulnerable person. The Council asked him to provide evidence and held his account for a month to give him time to provide the evidence. Mr X did not provide evidence of his vulnerability and the Council sent his account to enforcement agents (bailiffs) for collection. Councils can use enforcement agents to enforce Council tax debts. Mr X says they should not be used as he is vulnerable person. The enforcement agents wrote to Mr X in November 2014 asking for medical evidence of his vulnerability signed by his GP or a medical professional. They did not receive any medical evidence from Mr X. In September 2015 Mr X sent the Council a copy of a letter from his local mental health team inviting him to an appointment as evidence of his vulnerable status. In October the enforcement agents wrote to Mr X detailing the amounts he had to pay to clear his council tax arrears. Mr X provided the council tax department with a copy of a letter to the Housing Office on 25 January 2016 about his mental health. The Council told the enforcement agents who arranged for its welfare team to deal with him as they are experienced in dealing with vulnerable people. The enforcement agents returned Mr X’s accounts to the Council as they could not contact him. The Council contacted Mr X numerous times about the arrears on this council tax accounts. The law allows councils to instruct enforcement agents once the court has issued a liability order. The law also says that the court costs and fees charged by the enforcement agents must be paid. Although Mr X says he is a vulnerable person, he did not provide evidence of this to the Council until January 2016. Without evidence to support Mr X’s contention that enforcement agents should not be used, there is no evidence of fault in the Council’s decision to utilise them. Final decision There is no evidence the Council has been unreasonable in its decision to take enforcement action against Mr X for council tax arrears. http://www.lgo.org.uk/decisions/benefits-and-tax/council-tax/16-001-201
  15. Good morning! I have an interesting issue here. Last week a friend of mine came to a Post Office branch at Canning Town. There was already a small queue of just 3 people. It was Saturday. Closing time was 12:30. She came to the branch at 12:10. All she needed was to register her biometric details. The procedure normally takes around 4 minutes. But the staff of the Post Office refused to service her, because otherwise they would have to stay at work later than 12:30.. After several minutes of arguing my friend had to leave the branch, it was 12:20, still 10 minutes before closure. What should my friend have done in that situation? I'd like to know if the Post Office staff violated the law by doing so? If yes, how could the girl make them act in accordance with the law?
  16. The fun never stops eh? Although this is on behalf of a relative, not me this time. As succinct as I can keep it: 1) Relative joins nPower January 2013 shortly after moving to a new property 2) Meter readings provided - nPower setup a monthly direct debit for £65 (dual fuel) 3) Relative became aware in June '13 that account had been setup incorrectly. Relative was only being billed for electric. 4) Took a couple of days to sort and more than one phone call, but a new direct debit of £90 was setup. This included the arrears as a result of nPower's mistake. 5) In September '13, relative had some maintenance work carried out on electricity supply. Discovered during this that they were still only being billed for electricity (although direct debit of £90.00 was being sent every month). 6) Relative was eventually told by nPower that there was a serious error with their account and the issue would be escalated. Was promised a return call - this did not happen. 7) Relative called nPower in December '13 as had still not heard anything. Was advised account issue still remained unresolved, and also that the account itself was showing as circa £300 in credit, plus a direct debit/dual fuel discount on top of this. 8) No return call from nPower. Relative phoned again - was advised complaints team were handling it and would get in touch the same day. This never happened. 9) Towards the end of December '13, relative phoned nPower to inform they would be switching to another provided because she was unhappy with their poor service. 10) Relative switched to another provider in January 2014, more or less 12 months after joining nPower. 11) Relative heard nothing more from nPower until April '14; they received two reminder letters from nPower for a combined total of circa £800. One letter was for gas, one for electric. 12) Relative spoke to nPower; disputed the sum and was advised that a full breakdown of charges, payments and usage would be sent in post (they initially refused to send this unless a letter was sent in, although they eventually changed their tune). 13) Relative contacted nPower again (need to check date but think June '14). Was advised this issue would be escalated to the executive complaints team. Was also advised more reminders would be generated automatically and that they could safely be ignored until the complaint was resolved. 14) Relative began to receive (what they presumed to be) nuisance calls that were essentially just prerecorded messages. As it turned out, these two companies (Westcot and Pastdue) were actually two separate debt collection agencies instructed by nPower; each sent a letter in September '14. Interestingly, some of the information printed on one of the letters was also incorrect (e.g. account number) 15) Realising now the earlier advice of nPower to ignore payment reminders was false/incorrect, a letter was sent to each of these DCA's stating the account was in dispute. A statement was also made regarding OFT debt collection guidance (unfair to pursue when in dispute). For good measure, Westcot had their implied right of access to the property withdrawn (as they had stated they would visit the property to collect payment). Relative also filed a complaint with the ombudsman around this time. 16) Pastdue wrote back to relative confirming they had received letter. Stated that account had been placed on hold and they would try and obtain invoice showing full breakdown of balance. No further correspondence received from these guys. 17) Westcot also wrote back. Merely stated the balance, that it related to the electricity supply and provided a billing period (which was seriously incorrect!). Stated they looked forward to receiving payment within 14 days. They have started phoning relative daily once again. 18) Ombudsman rejected complaint, stating that the date from the original issue was too far back for them to investigate. However, did advise that if relative obtained a deadlock letter from nPower they can then investigate. 19) Relative wrote to nPower towards the end of October '14. This outlined the dispute, a summary of the (in)action so far and a request for a deadlock letter. Sent recorded delivery, confirmed delivered, no response so far. 20) Relative wrote another letter to nPower last week (similar to above). Sent recorded, not showing as delivered yet. Considering resending later today if not arrived. --- Other misc. information: - Relative has log burning stoves and only uses anywhere from £6-10 a month in gas for hot water. No heating of any kind (excluding hot water of course) is necessary from ~March to ~September due to property being extremely well-insulated. - Current electricity consumption averages about £45.00 a month. - nPower is instructing two separate debt collection agencies to collect a portion of the "debt" even though the account was dual fuel. As per Citizen's Advice regarding harassment from creditors: "Using more than one debt collector at a time to chase you for payment" - so does this count? - Relative has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Self representation is unlikely to go down well. - Relative has sadly not recorded all phone calls. They have however, kept detailed notes, dates and times of each phone call with nPower - including the person they spoke to. --- Next steps: Should relative: a) Just keep sending letters to nPower at £1.72 a pop until they hopefully provide the information? b) Send a final LBA to nPower detailing the harassment (if applicable), filing a small claim if ignored? c) Wait for nPower to take relative to court (if ever) and potentially claim on legal cover provided by house insurance for representation? d) Something else? Personally, given the chain of events, problems with the account and overall billing issues nPower has had recently, it would sound like they are physically unable to account for the money they are demanding. Who knows.
  17. Hi I had a default placed on my account by Lowell Portoflio 1 limited. It only appeared about 4 months ago and had no relation to anything else on my credit file - it appeared out the blue as a default with a value of just over £100. I've since sent an initial letter that I found online, talking about how as they are the data processor they are responsible for providing with certain pieces of information etc. I have gone back and forward with them using letters - I had a response from them telling me they were unable to provide any of the information relating to the account or the default notice as they didn't keep this on their records. They have advised that they will also not remove the default. They mention in their latest response that the default is from a debt relating to a Vanquis account - I;ve only ever had one account with Vanquis and it clearly shows on my credit history as being a well managed and then settled account with no missed payments. I'm stuck as to what to do next! Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks
  18. For my daughters 21st birthday we have arranged a boat party on Thames. We have agreed the price for the boat, food, entertainment and 1 glass of champagne We have also paid £500 for the drinks at the bar so the guests could order what they like. We informed the company that if the drinks will go above that amount our daughter will settle the balance. There were about 35 quests. At the end of the party the company produced a bill on their headed paper for further £1131.50 which she had paid. We thought that £1631.50 for 35 people drinking for 4 hours was rather excessive and asked the company to provide us with itemised bill to see what drinks were sold. This they have refused saying that there is no till receipts for the drinks. We asked how they could come up with this total if the drinks were not recorded in the till. We were told that they only put the drinks through the till if customers are paying, So why we are not classed as paying customers if we had to settle this bill at the end. We had no further response from them. I would very much appreciate for any advice how to go forward with this as we cannot think of any industry that will bill you without any details of what they are billing you for.
  19. Hi, and welcome to the CAG Benefit Forum. Here's a brief guide to the sorts of information posters here will be looking for to help give you prompt and accurate answers to any questions you may have. You may not know, or be unsure about, some of the things listed. That's OK, but the more information you can give the better. Not every question will be relevant to everyone, of course - this is just a general guide. Take care to post nothing that will allow you to be identified in the "real world". Which benefit are you claiming? For example, Jobseekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Child Tax Credits etc. If you're unsure, please let us know the basic reason why you're claiming: are you out of work, sick, looking after someone full time etc. If you know whether your benefit is contributory or income based please tell us, as the rules for each type can be very different. If you're not currently claiming a benefit but are enquiring about what might be available in your circumstances, many of the questions listed here will still be relevant. Please also see the questions in the section below. If your query relates to non-receipt of a payment you expected, when did you expect the payment? If you have contacted the DWP or other paying agency regarding this, what explanation (if any) did they give? If your benefit has stopped because of an adverse outcome decision, have you requested a reconsideration or appeal? Examples of adverse outcome decisions: You are claiming ESA because you are sick. The DWP has determined that you are fit for work. You are claiming JSA because you are looking for work. The Jobcentre has decided that you are not doing enough to find work. You make a claim for a Personal Independence Payment because you have a disability that means you need extra assistance in getting around. The DWP has rejected your claim for benefit because it says your needs do not qualify; or the DWP has made you an award at a lower rate but you believe you should qualify for a higher one. Where do you live? We don't need your street address or hometown or anything like that. At the very least, please tell us whether you are in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, as there are some small differences in the way benefits are processed. This is especially relevant if you are in Northern Ireland. If your question relates to Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit, it might be helpful if you felt able to say which council area you live in, but if you'd rather not, we fully understand. If you currently live outside the UK and are enquiring about benefits available to non-residents or to returning expats, please let us know. If you are not a UK citizen, please tell us your status. For example, are you a citizen of another EU country? Do you have Indefinite Leave to Remain? Or some other immigration status? Do you have a partner? This means someone (of the same or opposite sex) to whom you are married, or with whom you live as if you were married. If you do have a partner, does he or she work or have any other source of income? If you are worried about a fraud or compliance matter, have you been asked to attend an Interview Under Caution (IUC)? If this is the case you will have been informed in writing, and the letter should clearly state that it relates to an IUC. Finally, please tell us any steps you've already taken to resolve the problem: phone calls, letters you've written and so on. This will help make sure we don't advise you to do things you've already done. ------------- If you are enquiring about what benefits may be available, here are some additional questions: How old are you? Do you currently work? If so, how many hours per week? Have you worked and paid National Insurance Contributions (sometimes called "stamp") in the last few years? Do you own the place you live? If you rent, do you rent from the council, a housing association, or a private landlord? Is your landlord a close relative? Are you fit for work and looking for work? Are you unable to work because of illness or disability? Do you have savings over £6000? Over £16,000? Do you have any disabilities? Do you have any children? If so, how old are they? Are you a lone parent? Do you care for anyone for more than 35 hours per week? Does anyone care for you for more than 35 hours per week? Again, if you're unable or unwilling to answer all of these questions, that's fine. Just tell us as much as you can.
  20. Hi, where does a driver stand if they have appealed using the parking firms own process (which was turned down), which included a request for a POPLA code, but the POPLA reference was never provided?
  21. As the title says,a proposed plan has been put forward to build and revamp an existing hotel, there will be 3 hotels with a total of 182 bedrooms.Looking at the proposed plans it looks like there is car parking space for just 20 cars at the most. Does anyone know if,by law,they have to provide a certain amount of car park spaces or does it not matter(by law) if they only have a few spaces for guests. Any help woud be greatly appreciated.Many thanks indeed. Penny Lane1960
  22. My son has a Samsung Galaxy S4 on PAYG which was locked to Orange when he bought it 2 years ago. He has requested the Network Unlock Sim from Orange as he wants to change providers to Vodafone. He paid the £10.00 admin fee and waited. This was over a month ago and every time he rings them he gets a different excuse or fob off as to when he will receive the code. The second call he made after waiting 10 working days for the code, he was told the IMEI number had been taken down wrong by Orange, and he will have to wait another 10 working days for a new code. Yesterday he was told he would be emailed the code by midnight. Nothing arrived. Now he's being told because his phone no longer has a Orange number, there is nothing Orange PAYG team can do to help, goodbye. Surely this can't be right. All he wants is the code so he can start using his phone again, because he hasn't been able to for over a month.
  23. Hi all, I will provide the edited version here - any advice wold be greatly appreciated. ATOS agreed to provide a taxi to take me from my house to their Medical assessment, and return me home again afterwards. This was as a result of medical evidence provided by my GP. On the day of the appointment I was to be ready 1 hour before my appointment, when the taxi would pick me up. It was a journey of around 25 miles. No taxi arrived. No phone call from ATOS. I called ATOS who told me that my file had been marked "Failed to attend" and sent back to the DWP. No explanation was forthcoming for them not providing the taxi they said they would. It's out of their hands now. I received a form today from the DWP asking for my reasons for not attending, and making it quite clear that my benefits are at risk if I don't have a reason that they define acceptable. I suspect that there are alarmingly few acceptable reasons, irrespective of what they are. I have written a 4 page letter detailing every aspect of my involvement with atos, including them not providing the transport, which is the main thing. The whole thing is ridiculous. How on earth can my benefits be at risk because ATOS didn't fill their part of the bargain? I'm quite concerned about this.
  24. I have an old outstanding debt from Littlewoods which was sold to Drysden / Capquest. The debt is from 2006 and I don't think any payment has been made since 2007 which should mean it should have come off my record. I entered a CCA request to them and also asked Experian to look into it and eventually I had a reply that they couldn't complete the CCA request but what they did have was a screen shot of a payment I'm supposed to have made in 2010. Is this something they can even do, shouldn't they still respond to the CCA? Can anyone advise what to do next? Thanks
  25. I've received an appointment letter from Ingeus which gives the usual date and time of appointment but underneath has the following:- "Your activities for your next appointment are: Please attend appointment to review your work related activity, alongside providing evidence of job application. During your appointment you will undertake job application activity providing documentary evidence of vacancies applied for during this time." I am aware I am under obligation to provide my job centre adviser with said documentary evidence of job applications each fortnight to be paid my JSA, which I do, but do Ingeus have a right to ask me for the same "documentary evidence" that I provide my job centre adviser each fortnight? Am I under any obligation to provide this "documentary evidence" to Ingeus? Also, at a previous appointment with Ingeus I had a face to face interview with an Ingeus adviser who spent their time typing up what I was saying on the computer, I could see her typing notes into boxes on screen under my name and I was wondering if I have a right to see what is being typed into these boxes?
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