Hi all, Simple question. As per the title, is it illegal for the council to refuse to accept payment for council tax? The story is quite simple, our council tax account has been passed to the bailiffs and as such the council are refusing to accept payments (to the point where they even appear to have blocked me from using their online payment portal), and insist that payments can only be made to the bailiffs. I've no intention of paying the bailiffs anything as a number of years ago (10-12 years) they stole money from us intended for payment of council tax, later telling me it was used to pay their own fees. Long story short, we lost our home as the council eventually made me bankrupt. Our solicitor advised an FVA and the equity in the house was used to pay all their legal fees, effectively leaving us with nothing. We're now struggling again hence the question. The reason I ask is I remember reading somewhere, some time ago that there is an old law somewhere that states that it is illegal to refuse payment for a bill or debt. That's what i'm trying to find out. *** PLEASE DON'T GIVE ME ADVICE ON HOW TO DEAL WITH BAILIFFS, THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M ASKING*** Thanks

Hi all I made a mistake and tried a ppi agent to deal with Cap1. they paid them and the agent deducted their commission and sent me the balance together with Cap1 letter calculations. Cap1 determined that since i was aware of PPI in 2005 when i cancelled the ppi then i was not entitled to receive interest since it was over 5 years ago. I wrote back asking them to pay the interest since i cancelled the ppi because i could not afford it... NOT THAT PPI HAD BEEN MISSOLD... DIDNT AWARE OF THAT UNTIL MY CLAIM WAS SUBMITTED. They will not budge their offer was final. Questions: do I have a reasonable case for interest? should I lodge complaint with FOS or go to court?? thanks

Hi, still trying to calm down after my visit to Currys today:x We bought a cooker there less than 2 months ago and its been faulty from the start, the oven cuts out during cooking leaving food half done and only fit for the bin. This happened in our second week of ownership but we weren't sure if it was us or the cooker, now we know for sure its the cooker at fault as its happened 4 times. We went back to currys today to complain but were told the manufacturer would only consider a repair and it might take a month So I've been looking up our rights and would appreciate some help from the forum First, they insisted we could only get help from the manufacturer, but our contract is with Currys, no one else, do they have the right to fob us off in this way ? Second, the fault has been there since we took delivery, do we have the right to a replacement or refund or do we have to accept a repair ? I know we're over the 30 day limit but its not our fault, this seems so unfair, any advice ?

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?

Hello Try to be brief. had a ltd company back in 2005 with an overdraft linked with a personal guarantee. The company is now dissolved and Lloyds obtained a CCJ against me for the bank overdraft of £7900. I did not know about this until I searched Land Registry and saw a charging order on the property. The charging order was dated 2009 I contacted Lloyds who inform me that they no longer have the debt as they sold it and passed liability first to Hillsden and then to Cabot and lloyds. I have requested from lloyds all the copies of the original loan details, Ts&Cs etc. They have refused to pass on these documents as i am "Not Entltled" to these documents as the company does not exist. I have had no communication or updates from Cabot. Lloyds say that I must ask Cabot to release the charging order although in the name of Lloyds. Is all this correct? Any advice appreciated

At the beginning of February I went to Grand Canaria for a winter break . The problem was I forgot one of my prescription medications. My son immediately packed the missing medication ( a control for high blood pressure ) in a jiffy bag and went to local post office and asked for quickest method to get the package to me , telling the clerk exactly what was in the package . The Post Office counter clerk suggested Parcel Force Global Express for the sum of £47 ( for a small jiffy bag ! ) He duly filled in the dispatch form clearly marking it “medication “ The package was accepted , and the clerk said the package should arrive in 48 hrs ( posted on Monday , arriving Wednesday morning ) At no time was any mention made of possible delays due to customs etc . Following tracking ,I saw the package arrive at the “clearance depot “ Wednesday morning , and there it sat , until it was eventually delivered to the hotel the following Monday , whilst I might add still showing in transit ,even when we arrived home a week later , it was still in transit ! though I had possession of the package As you might expect we submitted a claim for refund , and as you might expect it was refused . Citing , A/ Medication excluded B/ not their fault , customs delay The only time medication is mentioned in exclusions , is under perishable goods , the medication has a shelf life of over 2 years . I repeat , no mention was made of any possible delay due to customs and content of package Simply , do I send a LBA , giving them ie Parcel Force AND their agent the Post Office 14 days to cough up , or without further reference to them , go to small claims procedure ?

At the beginning of this year i was shocked to see 2 companies that i didn't recognise taking money out of my TSB bank account via my debit card. Add's up to approx £15k i was oversea's at the time i called and informed that these were not my charges [ one charge after the other]. They would tell me the correct person was not there or that i had to speak with someone in fraud department but could not have the number. They had to call me. I waited and got no calls. I was shocked that despite informing the bank of these fraudulent charges that new charges from same company kept being debited. When i finally got a chance to talk with fraud dept i was told they would not put these charges back and that i had to call the companies directly. The companies have been no help to assist me. What kind of step should i take next?

In para 69 of the Supreme Court ruling in R (on the application of UNISON) v Lord Chancellor [2017] IRLR 911 SC the Judge stated "The case also illustrates the fact that it is not always desirable that claims should be settled" Would it ever be possible to argue that a particular case shouldn't be settled because it holds Public Interest? I noticed he didn't state it as a ruling but in passing Please, if there is a Case Law, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

Hi, I wonder if anyone could advise me here on my next step as I am disgusted by the service I have received from Samsung. I bought a Samsung 8+ from carphone warehouse around 4 month ago for over £800 all of a sudden the volume button jammed, I did not drop it or anything, it just stopped working all of a sudden. I took the phone into my local repair centre who said it would be £40 to fix, but as it is still under warranty to contact Samsung and get it repaired for nothing. This is where the problems started. Firstly they send a courier round to pick the phone up and it does not go to Samsung, it goes to a company they use called Anovo which is based in Norwich. I then get a email a week later saying the repair is not covered under warranty and so it will be £63 to repair, press accept or decline, if you decline the phone will be sent back to you within 48 hours un-repaired. They also sent numerous emails out with mine to others as I got them all, saying the same thing to other customers and the same price to fix. I got a little suspicious with this and googled their name and I have never seen such disgusting reviews for a company in my life. The accusations are constant, saying it's not a problem thats covered under warranty and then people refusing to pay, taking it elsewhere and finding out it is a phone problem, so a blatant attempt at [problem]ming people. Some saying they invented repairs like smashed screens in transit, people refusing to pay and the phone coming back with no crack at all. Phones not been returned at all and Samsung or the company refusing to answer them. Repairs paid for and then returned and the work not being done, phones coming back in a worst state than they were sent, the list is endless with 90% of people giving them 1 star. Google anovo phone repairs and you will see. I obviously refused to pay and asked for my phone to be sent back, this was a week ago and after the promise of 48 hours I got in touch with Samsung through message on Facebook, they have stated my phone is still at the centre !! I then went back to the reviews and a lot of people stated they were waiting weeks or it never came back at all. The reviews also stated they do not answer their phone, I tested this theory out and its true, I have rung numerous times with no answer, Samsung say they can't do anything, even though they told me to use them. Although its only a week, after reading the reviews I have a real fear this phone will be there for weeks/months or I may not get it back at all and if I do it will be worse than when I sent it. I cannot go without a phone for weeks on end, I should not have to. This phone is under warranty and they refuse to fix it, they are keeping hold of the phone for no reason as its still there a week after me demanding they send it back, they refuse to answer the phone, Samsung wont do anything, if it was under contract id cancel my payment, but I bought it outright. Is there anything I can do at this stage? Also what would be the course of action if this phone does take weeks or does not come back at all? Thank you for any advice on this, I am done trying to get help from Samsung and can't get in touch with the repair centre. Paul

Hi I have really complicated situation where santander are refusing to return some money. My santander bank account has had money taken out from it by a building company to the tune of £4100 and building suppliers company to the tune of £2800. We reported this to santander they came back to us saying the transactions are genuine due to them matching the email address used to one used with a different company. the problem is that we never used this email address in the past we found out the email address used was the one used by one of our tenants in the past we have a record of a few communications from them using it We have informed the police and obtained the crime ref number. the Bank are still refusing to return the money again confirming they believe its a genuine transactions. We have contacted the building company and they refuse to return the money saying we have to take matter the to court to get it settled. Due to this incident we are in big financial trouble. Account completely wiped off and we have been left with no money I have two little kids age 4 and we have been left without any money to support them. We contacted the bank a number saying we did not use this card the bank refuse to listen and repeating state the same thing again and has closed the case and the decision has been made on the account. Due to this stress our family are completely broken down. I have to contact food bank for food. we contacted the bank asking if this was not fraud, as they say the transactions are genu, can we not claim the money back under debit card chargeback scheme as we did not receive any service from these companies, but bank advisor refuse to do that. Can some one please help us out about this matter or freelance solicitor to look into this matter we need serious help. .. Please

Hello I wrote a complaint letter to Barclays asking for a refund of my charges due to hardship and the fact i blamed them for irresponsible lending. Back around 2003/4 barclays allowed me to go overdrawn on my account ,it gad no overdraft facilities. I was charged £30 then £30 for being £30 overdrawn then so on and so on. However, whilst overdrawn even upto £500 barclays never declined or stopped me using my debit card, (I know j should have stopped but i was you stupid ans was suffering awful post natal depression) Barclays have replied to my letter saying they will not refund me, We do offer our customers tools to keep track of thier banking (not me) Your acct went overdrawn as you continued to make payments from your account, you knew about these charges as they were set out in our terms and conditions. Then goes on about section 5.1.4,treating customers in hardship fairly, however the court ruling on 25.11.09 confirmed bank charges are a part of the price of having a current account so are not unfair, We dont believe we have treated you unfair or caused you any hardship. Having reviewed your history I can see in 2007 you made a payment of £399 to haven holiday , we would class this as a luxury ( my 8 year old sons 1st holiday! 4 nights in a caravan. .. paid for by his grandmother,hiw very luxurious. ...) As of this luxurious purchase you should have considered the financial impact as you continued to be overdrawn till oct 2011 when you clised your acct. I therefore conclude Barclays are not at fault. Please can someone help me, do I have a leg to stand on? Or shoukd i just accept this? Many thanks in advance. Sorry for all the typing errors,I hope its readable

We recently made an PPI Claim against Halifax. and we got a letter back from them saying that my wife hasn't had any dealings with them no mortgages or loans. when she had a mortgage with them and PPI and also badly advised on a endowment policy. unfortunately we do not know the policy numbers and don't know how to find them anyone help with this please??? these started in the 1980's

Sadly I went onto VF website last week and realised I was due an upgrade. I ordered the new iphone6s plus under pre order. it was meant to be £59 per month and £309 upfront cost. When I got home that night I noticed that my monthly payment had been billed at £120. I rang vf customer service and was told that I was more or less lying and that I could not cancel over the phone and would have to do it online. There is no where on line to cancel a order. over the next 36 hours I spent a total of 7hours 12 mins with customer service who said everything from 'you can only cancel within 1 hour of placing on line order' or 'your order has 100% been cancelled' to 'I am not allowed to cancel your order' I have now tried to leave VF and requested the PAC number to port to another network. They now say that I am in contract with them and if I want to retain my number (which I have had for 20 years )I will have to pay them £708 pounds. They are also refusing to unlock my handset from their network as they say I have not paid my bill for 3 months. All of this is complete rubbish. My bills are paid via direct debit and come out on time every time for the past 3 years with vf. I even went into a Vodafone store on Saturday and requested cancelation there which they refused. I asked her to write it on a bit of paper that she was refusing and she point blank refused to. All in all Vodafone are breaching just about every distance selling and cooling off period law, threatening customers, lying to customers and what amounts to stealing from me. I am disgusted, stressed and out of pocket from these fraudsters. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM, IT WILL END IN TEARS.

Hi everyone, I need some help fast!, To sum my story up this is a letter I wrote to Dell yesterday (one month after receiving a brand new laptop and 3 weeks after I reported the breakdown. "Official letter of complaint for faulty goods and refund refusal I bought a laptop from you on 27th August 2015 and it was received by me on 4th September. I paid £429. On Thursday 24th September the Internet was shutting off at will, I contacted my provider Plusnet on my old computer, obviously the connection was fine as I was chatting to them online. Upon chatting with your technical advisor XXX for 2 hours on Friday 25th September, it was conceded that the Internet hardware had a fault and needed to be repaired. XXXXX said she would book a pick up on Monday and the collection would take place Tuesday 26th September. I was to expect a call between 5-6pm Monday evening to confirm pick up on Tuesday of the laptop. I received no call, so I contacted XXX XX again. She told me the booking did not go through and to expect a call Tuesday for pick up Wednesday. I informed XXXXX that I would give Dell another chance but it had to be Wednesday as I wasn't available from Thursday to Sunday. I also told her I am on holiday in a couple of weeks so I want the laptop fixed by that time. Wednesday came and the booking did not go through again and apparently UPS would not review it until 4.30pm. They called me in the evening and said it would be collected Thursday. By this time, I was understandably angry so I asked for it to be picked up after the call the same day (Wednesday). They refused, so I contacted XXXXXX and asked for a refund. I was told she was waiting for a "review" of my refund! So it came to be that I gave Dell another chance, still very angry, that they could pick up the computer Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday next week but I want the refund by Friday as this is my right. Friday 2nd October I was offered a new computer in 7-10 working days! No, I wanted a refund. I was then told the "earliest" Dell could collect was Wednesday 7th October. I said this was the latest date as I wouldn't be at home and you would refund within 3-5 working days. Monday 5th October (a week after the original collection booking) it apparently was passed over to a "manager". Later that day XXXX (XXXX manager) offered for an engineer to come and visit and "fix" the laptop. Tuesday 6th October XXX wrote again and said refund isn't an option she can provide! She was sending up to "higher management"! Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) goods you supply must be fit for purpose. As there was a problem with the goods when I bought them, I requested that you pick up and repair the goods at no cost to me. I gave you two chances to do so, you have refused my refund and offered me a new computer and engineer, although I clearly stated I wanted a refund. I have all the e-mails sent by XXXX and XXXX and all I have sent including the original chat log confirming that there was a hardware problem with the laptop. The laptop failed within two weeks of receipt, the repair options were handled really inefficiently and my refund request was replaced with "other" offers. There should not be a problem, by law you owe me a refund and passing it around the Dell office is not making the problem go away. A copy of this letter will be included in a report to Trading Standards with all the relevant data. Please respond within 5 working days of this letter." After receiving this, a very arrogant man called me and basically talked down to me (he was very sure of himself). He told me an engineer would be coming tomorrow to attempt to repair the laptop. I told him I had given them many chances to repair it and now I want a refund. He refused point blank and sais that was not going to happen and they should be able to attempt one repair. I said I would take this to Trading Standards and if I have to, to court, he very arrogantly said "go ahead with that sir". He was actually egging me on to do it! Am I in the right thinking I do not have to accept a repair if I don't want to, and ask for a refund? If so, does anyone know what to suggest I do next? This has been going on too long now and I anxious for a solution. Please help!

Recently, I had some UPVC windows fitted.. Shortly after the job, I noticed that there were a number of defects with the glass and frame i.e. cracked glass, damage to frame etc As per the company's guarantee/policy I contacted the firm. I was then told to email them detailing the issues. I did this immediately, however they ignored my email. So a week later I called again. I was given no apology, instead I was told to provide some additional details, which I did. In my follow up email, I politely asked to be contacted within 7 days to arrange for remedial work to take place... Once again, they have ignored my email. I am looking for advice on what I should do? If it helps, the firm is a 'check a trade' listed company.. However I am shocked that a firm would act like this.

I received an email from cash plus asking to contact them. I did as requested, and spoke to a gentleman called 'Zwelli' who proceeded to ask an uncomfortable line of questioning. I was asked where my money was coming from, and I explained I have a business PayPal account and that all the payments made into the account are electronic payments which can be accounted for. Every single penny has documentation to show how it was earned and where it came from. This gentleman insinuated it could be money laundering - impossible as 99% of all money deposited was electronic payments made by BACS transfer from PayPal, and each PayPal transaction can be accounted for. I emailed a piece of information to them that they asked for, a url link to an advert posted online. Although I asked for confirmation that this was received, the email was not acknowledged. The following day, I suffered further humiliation when I found my card had been declined and I could not withdraw money from the ATM. I phoned the following day, but head office were not available as it was a weekend. I phoned the following Monday at 9am, only to be told by all staff that head office refuse to speak to me and will contact me in due course, with no set time frame or any information or reason to why my account was frozen. Them simply cite 'technical difficulties'. This has lead to literally hundreds of phone calls from myself in an attempt to pressure them into giving me answers but they refuse. They refuse to reply to my emails, and they refuse to talk to me. I obtained the head offices number and when I attempt to speak to them they divert me back to customer services who then tell me the same thing "head office are citing technical difficulties and won't speak to you". Either that or they are rude to me, tell me not to call them anymore and hang up the phone. The department dealing with my case refuse to talk to me at all and when I get put through to them they immediately put down the phone on me. Apparently they held a meeting to discuss the fact I won't stop calling them. This piece of information slipped out of one of the staff I spoke to on an unrelated department, the finance department. Yet still they will not call me and will not reply to my emails. I have now obtained the CEO Rich Wagners email address, and emailed him directly, he also will not reply to my emails. I have tweeted him on twitter, he doesn't reply. I tweeted the company and they blocked me. They currently have £1500 of my money, I can't use my card or log into my account, and they won't even speak to me to resolve this issue. I have offered to provide all documentation for every penny that went into the account - no reply. I don't feel I need to provide any information as I am entitled to my privacy, but I am willing to do it if needed. It is only a prepaid master card for people with bad credit history, not like I should have to jump through hoops when it's an account with no benefits. They will not let me close the account either. I only had this account as I had a poor credit history and my financial situation improved dramatically. Once I resolve this and have it closed I'm going to try and open a proper account again. However this does not help with the situation I'm currently in. In conclusion I am a sole trader, and without access to this money I am now sitting at home unable to work. I need the money to purchase stock and run the day to day operations of my business. I have explained this to the department handling my case and to the CEO Mr Wagner, but they do not care, I get no reply. It is bad enough they blocked my card and account and are withholding my money, but the fact that they refuse to even speak to me is the most frustrating thing. I have never, ever dealt with customer service as poor as this, and have told them I will be contacting media outlets and the financial obudsman. I do hope if anyone can help me that they please get in touch. I have found that they did the same thing to an 82 year old woman, froze her account and wouldn't let her close it until a journalist Tom Hazell contacted their CEO. I'm sure others must be having problems with this company and I would like to unite with those people to have Advanced Payment Solutions practices scrutinised. What they are doing to me is just plain wrong.

Hi I wonder if anyone can advise, will try and keep it as short as possible. We have sent a SAR to the NHS for my son, NHS being difficult to say the least as the consultant basically does not like us as they breached the DPA 3 times and we put in a complaint and they accepted liability. We sent a SAR and we have received a letter back, basically stating we cannot have anything. We requested everything held on my sons file, his school had to complete some questionnaires to which we would like to see what they have said. Below is the paragraph from the letter which states we cannot have these questionnaires I must advise that we will not be disclosing any information sent to DR XXXX by either XXXX School or XXX school unless the questionnaires were completed by our staff from our organisation. They know the school completed them as thats why they sent them to the school in the first place. Can the NHS withhold these questionnaires? We also know the ED Psychologist has sent several emails to the consultant to which we have asked for copies again they have refused. Below is the paragraph. XXX Health and Care trust is not the provider organisation responsible for the provision of Educational Psychology Services, this means we are unable to assist you with data. All the above information we require is held on our sons medical file at the NHS. Can the NHS refuse to give us this information.

Hey all, my Brother-in-Law went to an interview today with Company A. He is currently suspended pending a Disciplinary at Company B (over an accident in the workplace that severely injured my Father-in-Law). At the interview the manager conducting it said they would not be able to offer him the job because they know that he's under investigation at Company B, and went on to say he knew of it because he knows someone that works at Company B. Is he allowed to do this??

Hi all, Been mulling this over for about a year now as I was fobbed off by HSBC for my PPI claim. Here are the basics: Had a loan with HSBC in 1997 as I was 19 I was advised I HAD to have PPI for the loan, as I was buying a car and paying off a credit card. Loan was for £3000 Xmas 97 extended the loan to £3500 and again (I remember sitting at the desk in the Crawley branch) and being told, as I was extending the loan that PPI again PPI HAD to be added as they are 'helping me out'. '98 was going through debt problems and my father took me to HSBC branch again and they took my debit card off me and restructured the loan again with PPI till I paid it off in 2000. Now I followed all protocol for the information of the accounts and statements, but none was forthcoming. HSBC eventually (after 9 months) sent me the loan account numbers but said there was no PPI on any of them. I spoke to two different HSBC people in two different parts of the UK. One guy stated that he has all info in front of him, but can not 'verify' I had PPI and the lady I spoke to just said that she cannot confirm that I had PPI as it was too long ago and all details are destroyed after six years. I stated to both of them that if all details are destroyed after six years and no data stored on Microfiche, how can you send me details of all loan accounts and statements? Both staff said that if I can provide the PPI certificate, I have a claim. Now this was last year, The Ombudsman agreed with HSBC that there is 'no proof' that I had PPI, but I know I had PPI. Where do I stand. Barclays paid out on my PPI for years 98-2000 and I had no info for that. What I want to do is file at County Court for say £3000 for PPI Mis-selling and see how far I get until they settle or I go to Court. I have nothing to lose apart from my fee's for the County Court, and maybe HSBC might find my information? Look forward to any replies.

I've had an issue with a PCN going on for a little while. Essentially I got no ticket on my vehicle and no communication from the LA, the first I heard of it was when the TEC sent the order for recovery I completed a witness statement which was accepted, then the same thing happened again. Again I completed a witness statement which was accepted, this time the LA said they wouldn't accept it and would continue to pursure for recovery under the order (which had been cancelled!) After I challenged the legality of this, they eventually issued an NTO. I raised representations which were rejected so I took it to the TPT. At the hearing my appeal was upheld and the TPT confirmed in writing that they had directed the council to cancel the ticket. I am well aware that the council is aware of the hearing since they send a bundle to it and I've had no communication from them in over a year (the hearing took a long time). The council has now ignored the hearing outcome and sent out a charge certificate on what is now a cancelled PCN! There can be no claim of 'crossing with post' as this has been sent 5 weeks after the hearing. I've already fired off an email demanding they withdraw it, but this is now the second time the council has acted what I believe to be illegally. What's the best way forward if they ignore my email and escalate it to the TEC again? Is there any action I can take based on the actions they've already taken?

Hi I wonder if anyone out there can be of assistance. Just over 2 weeks ago it was my daughters christening. A very good friend of ours is a priest and he agreed to perform the ceremony. He actually lives in Texas and has visited UK on numerous occasions so we were thrilled when he said that he would pass through UK (perform baptism) on his way back to the US after visiting Nigeria. The christening was actually scheduled to take place on the day that he was arriving (1.30pm). As the flight touched down at around 7am we thought that would allow plenty of time. He secured the necessary transit visa and when he touched down at Heathrow he called to let us know that he had landed. An hour later (around 8.30) he called to inform us that the booking agent in Nigeria had made an error with the return flight. Return flight had been booked for 09:45 the same day. He tried changing it but the problem was that he needed to pay a surcharge but the American credit card he possessed was not able to process the fee. I said that I would pay but the airport officials said that I could not do this over the phone- only in person. Around 9.30 am I rushed over to Heathrow and made my way over to the excess fee desk. I explain the situation to the desk attendant and provide the Fr’s details and flight reference no. The attendant informed me that a new return ticket would have to be issued with a return flight either that afternoon at 2pm ($200) or the next day (£881). We opted for the next day as the christening was happening 1.30pm that very afternoon and there was no way that he would have made the 2pm flight. Before he authorised me to purchase the ticket he was confirmed that purchasing the ticket would allow him through. I purchased the ticket and waited for him to come through. I waited and waited. Around 10.30 I called him and he informed me that Immigration was not allowing him through. When asked why the immigration officer told him that a visa does not automatically allow anyone into the UK and that she has the authority to reject any visa and that she is using that authority now. He was told that he would be leaving on the next flight out to the US and that he could either leave peacefully or she would instruct her colleagues to bundle him onto the flight. I was shocked and could not believe it. No explanation was provided. In fact I spoke with Fr when he arrived back in the US and he told me that there were other junior immigration officers present that were sympathetic and when the senior officer left the room they apologised profusely and informed him that this particular immigration officer was anti cleric. Fr was put on the 2pm flight and I rushed back to the church and arrived an hour late for the service. Luckily our resident priest had been kept in the loop and had agreed to perform the service (solo). However before leaving the airport I had instructed BA to cancel the ticket and demanded a full refund. They tried to refund the money back onto my card but said that as the flight was paid in dollars it was causing problems (not sure why exactly). In fact no less than 3 members of staff (each more senior than the next) had attempted to give me a refund but ‘the system’ was not allowing it. They were only able to refund £87 for some reason. The rest they couldn’t do. I was provided with a customer service number which I tried later that evening only to be given a reference number for the issue. I have since received a response from BA- see below. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I think I probably have a strong case for the mere fact that Fr did have all the necessary papers and secondly I had cancelled the flight and BA had already attempted to give me a full refund. However before I respond I would like to know if there is anything else I can say. Thank you.

Hi all really need some advice am so worried. We have c/tax arrears for 2015/16 which up to today we had left 596.20 the last payment we we're due to make was late by 7 days due to my partner being self employed and the way payments fell due to Christmas. Anyway we have always made payments as agreed with jbw never have we not paid(over a £1000 has already been paid to them) well today I received a not so lovely visit from two bailiffs who to say the least we're not the most pleasant of people I have ever meet. They issued us with a enforcement notice for full payment which now stands at 831.20 due to 235 in fees. I said to the bailiff could we not continue with the current payment plan of £250 a month to which he replied well how much can you pay today I said £20 as I paid you £250 less than 7 days ago and that's all I have, then the next payment of £250 would be made as normal on 18th Feb. But refused this offer. Now I don't know where we stand there is no date on the letter as to when they will be back either. I never let them into my home and never offered them in either. What worries me the most is if they turn up again when my daughter who has a disability is here lucky enough today she was at school but what about next time she would not react well to these thugs in suits turning up and behaving in the manner in which they did today. I'm really at my wits end I don't know what else to do. Any advice would be grateful. Thank you

Hi all, it's been a while since I last posted here, but have a bit of a question that I hope someone may be able to help with. My girlfriend has recently renewed her car insurance, although her existing insurance does not lapse until the 1st of Feb (a few days a way yet). The insurance she has just payed for is not due to become active until the old insurance lapses. Basically she has paid for her renewal early. Unfortunately her car has developed a major fault, so she now wants to cancel the policy before it actually begins. She had phoned her insurance company on the 25th and dealt with someone on the phone who took payment on her debit card. She has since phoned to cancel and has been told that she will not get a full refund. They want to charge a fee for legal cover, a fee for making a change to the policy etc etc. I suggested to her that she politely end the call and to say she would look into it and get back in touch with them, which she then did. I was of the understanding that under Distance Selling Regulations, any purchase made on the internet or over the phone that was not a "custom" order must be refunded in full within a 14 cooling off period. I would understand if the policy had already come into force, but it hasn't. Does anyone have any views, experience or advice surrounding such an issue? Many thanks in advance, Loaf..

Hi All. Thanks for the add to the forum. I realise the forum is littered with Stemologica threads, but I feel each case is individual so would appreciate help. I 'fell' for the free trial thing back in June and unfortunately got stung for £97.95 back in June. After a very distressed call to them, they agreed to refund my money if I returned the products within the 14 days, got proof of posting blah blah blah I did all of this. Emailed them the tracking numbers and awaited my refund....and waited...and waited... 6 months later, 6 fretful phone calls later they tell me they can no longer give me a refund and can offer me 'free of charge' some creams! Free of charge even though they have effectively stolen £97.95 of my money! After my call this morning I was left aghast at how these people operate! The can 'no longer' give me my money??? What the hell??? I have now spoken to Citizens Advice Consumer helpline who suggested I send an email accusing them of breach of contract. In the mean time I receive this email from Stemologica: "Dear ***** , Thank you for your proof of postage. Indeed, you appear to have returned the goods as per our instructions, and in principle, would qualify for a full refund. However, since the payment processor your transaction went through no longer accepts credit cards of the type you registered with to initially order, we will be unable to refund you, unfortunately. We could, however, as a means of compensation, send you the identical product, completely free-of-charge. You will receive one Stemologica for free and one Beautemer for free. Please let us know how you wish to proceed. Kind regards" So basically they have admitted that they owe me money but 'can't give it to me! Its almost laughable isnt it? In the mean time I have called Barclays who within hours have refunded me the money AND compensation for the stress its caused. Incredible! Stemologica have already replied to my email accusing them of breach of contract with this..... "Dear ***** , Thank you for your proof of postage. Indeed, you appear to have returned the goods as per our instructions, and in principle, would qualify for a full refund. However, since the payment processor your transaction went through no longer accepts credit cards of the type you registered with to initially order, we will be unable to refund you, unfortunately. We could, however, as a means of compensation, send you the identical product, completely free-of-charge. You will receive one Stemologica for free and one Beautemer for free. Please let us know how you wish to proceed. Kind regards" YES! The same original email despite me threatening them with Trading Standards and the e-fraud Team. What next? Its no longer about the money...its the principle of the matter. They have my money, and no doubt hundreds of others who can't find a voice to speak up! :mad2:

Hi, I'll just explain the situation. Mother in law used to live with us. Mother in law had a catalogue debt at our address. She moved and Cabot have sent collection letters to her new adddress. Debt seems excessively high. Mother in law is a typical doddering old lady and doesnt understand what is going on. Debt was with cabot and she was paying it, they sent it to fredricksons at which point we found out about it and realise the amount is almost double what she owed. We send Freds a request for credit agreement and statement of account. Freds send it back to Cabot as they were only acting as agents of cabot and cannot supply the documents. At this point we with mother in laws permission send cabot a letter stating we are going to administer her account for her and all post it to be sent to us in her name at our address (the address she originally set up the account at). Mother in law signed a declaration on this letter giving us permission to act in her name. Cabot have not answered this declaration, of note Fredricksons did use us as her contact address. We sent Cabot a long letter explaining that the amount on the account is disputed, that we wish to see a statement and credit agreement, also that all contact is to be via letter in mother in laws name at our address. We also stated as Freds had been unable to supply docs that the account was in dispute. (Cabot received the demand for docs on 25th Feb recorded) Cabot are STILL sending Mother in law demands, means forms to fill in and general debt collection letters to her address, they refuse to deal with us as her reps and seem to be ignoring the requests for docs and disputes etc. Mother in law getting very upset at letters, she has even tried ringing them (obviously we told her not to do that any more) Is there any regulations we can use to force Cabot to deal with us in her name? What is the next step to take with regards to them not supplying docs? Do we complain to financial ombudsman? It seems to me they know we are playing by the rules they cannot follow so they are instead bullying Mother in law who they see as a weak link.