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  1. my credit score had plummeted. I used Clear Score to do a bit more digging recently and found a CCJ for £316 in April of this year. I am now assuming this is some sort of PCN for the same car, after I had sold it. This is very stressful for me as I already suffer with anxiety, currently have a 4 month old baby and have a mortgage. I know I cannot defend myself against the CCJ by applying for a set aside as they will just argue that the whole situation is my fault. My question is, has anyone ever been able to negotiate with the original creditor? I'm wondering if it's possible that I pay the CCJ in full but that they might have the power to remove it from the Public Register. I'd even pay more if it meant that it would go away. Do they even have the power to do this? I feel I have suffered enough for a very silly mistake. Yes, I know I have made a mistake. Yes, I know I've been ignorant. I'm already very upset and beating myself up about it as it is. So, I please ask that there are no comments making me even more aware of this.
  2. I wanted to share my story. I had my eyes tested in February with the intention of getting some varifocals fro all day use as I am both long and short sighted. When I went to pick them up at Specsavers in Stratford Mall East London I found that I had to turn my head a lot for lateral view and the reading sight was too low in the lens so I was looking at my nose to focus. The shop tried to tell me that I needed to get used to them however it was too extreme especially as I paid for the elite or tailor made lenses which cost me a lot more. They said I should try them out so I did but it did not change and in fact I got sore eyes after a short time. I went on back to get a refund and get a cheap reading pair and was persuaded to by two pairs for reading and distance. They call you sir and madam and convince you that the care and give you a false sense of security but they will do anything to take your money and as much as is possible. I complained to LLoyd's bank Credit card to recover and from the start they were dismissive. Losing my telephone complaint. Delays in reply and not considering statement properly. I am now going to stop my credit card and bank account out or principle.
  3. hello everyone. I am in deep mess with harlands, due to automatic membership renew. i joined Bromley Self Defence in May 2013 with my son. Monthly fee was ridicules but because I was attacked carjacked few months earlier I would pay for anything that will restore confidence and ease the stress. I paid monthly £80. anyway I have signed the contract. from what i understood i was tied up for 6 months, but after 8 months I realized that they keep charging me. at that time me and my son didn't attended classes anymore. I cancelled my DD and start receiving letters from Harlands demanding monthly repaiment and admin fee. I contacted Bromley Self Defence but received information that my contract stated that i will be renew with contract after 6 months if didn't cancel in advance and that also Harlands sent me letter saying i have two weeks to cancel or will be renewed. i didn't received any letter. now my balance is £210 and I seriously don't know what to do. please advise me, this is beyond my understanding.
  4. My ex employer (LTD Co) has found a novel way to avoid the companies debts. The director dissolved the company while still trading, without informing employees, or any other creditor, until after the strike off. Redundancy notices were issued, but now the director is trying to avoid paying. any suggestions welcome. Thank you!
  5. Hi, I have read quite a few stories on here which has helped me in writing a formal complaint letter to the CEO Les Matheson and also CC'd to Customer Complaints but i have a funny feeling I am going to have to take my case to court. My story is below.. (I can email my letter that i have already sent to the bank to anyone who is willing to give me some advice or post the contents on the board if needed.) Story: In 2014 3 different cheques of £4,000 odd were paid into my NatWest account. They all was sent back to me at my home address where the bank had let me know that the cheques had bounced and were fraudulent. At the time i received the letters i immediately called the bank and let them know i didn't pay these into my account and that they should check the CCTV at the branch the cheques were paid into my account. As per usual, NatWest wasn't any help and closed my account and put a 1st party fraud marker against my name. I have tried on several occasions to contact the bank explain i am a victim of fraud but there has been no success i have been sent automated responses about how they won't be providing me banking facilities when the subject has always been about the CIFAS marker i how i would never want to bank with such a bank again!!! I contacted the FOS which was a long hefty process they upheld the fact that NatWest was right in filing the CIFAS marker what does confuse me is the lack of evidence to show that i was compliant with the fraud on my account. I then took it to the MET Police who couldn't get the CCTV from NatWest as it had magically gone missing . The FOS had made me aware that there was standing orders set up on my account for the money to go into other accounts that weren't mine when investigated by the police, they wrote an official letter stating that they have investigated haven't found any connections between me and the IP address i thought this would be helpful - it turns out the FOS think they're a higher authority then the police!! I have filed a complaint to the CIFAS in regards to the fact that there no evidence that would be upheld within a court of law against me for these cheques being paid into my account as NatWest didn't make sufficient checks. CIFAS has upheld the listing and have told me that there was enough checks for the listing to withstand which really does confused me as there is no way in hell they have any incriminating evidence that shows I have agreed to these cheques being paid into my account neither have I physically gone into the bank myself. What advice i am asking for is after my final formal complaint letter i have sent, would you suggest i wait for a response? I did say that I will wait 10 working days before taking further legal action against the bank. How would i go about the county court process and do you think my complaint will be dismissed within court or is there grounds for me to win this case? I'm so stressed out i have been dealing with this for years upon years and I haven't had any luck and after coming across this board via a google search I was given a sense of hope! I look forward to hearing from someone!
  6. I have been a member on here for 11 years give or take a month or two. When i joined i worked for minimum wage at a bacon factory in Blackpool, it was an ok job, i enjoyed it, but the money was very poor, i was in debt, paying the bank in late payment fees every week, switching banks due to owing money etc, Constantly playing catchup with car finance. which was £50 a week!! i was in a right ole pickle, i had 3 kids a wife and a dog, lived in a rented home. only benefits we claimed was Child benefit and WTC In 2006 i heard about the bank charge reclaiming that was going on, on the Jeremy Vine show on radio 2 iirc. i set about on my last bank which was Barclays, recovered £1600. i made the car finance people a lump sum offer of 1200 to pay the finance off and the accepted it. meanwhile, i was no reclaiming Halifax, capital one and a couple for wifey too. Christmas 2006 was best ever, we had recovered about 6k more, paid off all out debts and had about 2.5k left for xmas. We had always wanted our own home, but as you would expect, we were always laughed out of the bank. At this point, our credit history was really bad, credit score was -1000 lol. after xmas we had about £1500 left, a cloud loomed, back to square one with debt?? £1500 wouldnt last long, so wifey n i stuck our heads together and came up with a plan, with the remainder, i went to an IT auction and bought a load of I.T.tech, which included computers, laptops printers etc, St start of my business. I fixed up 10 of the laptops and sold them on ebay. put that money, profit n all, back into more stock. a so it went on, i was buying and selling allsorts by now, things off carboot sales, local auction houses, found a local guy who would sell me cheap laptops, Two months later i handed my notice in at my work. i then set about repairing our credit files, taking off all that was out of date etc, that took about 12 months to get sorted. The home we rented had fallen under massive disrepair as the LL lived down under 10 years down the road, we had saved up 21k, on May 20th this year, i took possession of the keys to my own home with a 16k deposit, mortgage with RBS who i have to say,were fantastic, at the ripe old age of 48, i now have a pension worth 22k,not much by some standards, but to us, its a win win, all thanks to this site and a little reading from else where. Been self employed for all this time now and loving it, we were able to help put my daughter through university by letting her live rent free etc with us, she still needed student loans tho. Thankyou to Bankfodder and the team for this site. I have donated along the way as its only right. Any one else any one else out there with similar stories
  7. I thought this little bit of history was interesting Read more : - http://cag.tw/22rr
  8. In November? 2015 a solicitor sent us a letter telling us we owed them money. A bill arrived in March 2016 which contained no specific details. They were claiming that they'd done work for our family. We had not contacted them previously or engaged their services. There was no contract between them & us, verbally or in writing. So obviously, we've not paid the amount they claim we owe them. There is a little background to this. In 2012 the county council were involved in an incident with my mother in an attempt to frame me. They used this 'investigation' as an excuse to remove Mum from our home and put her into care. The police dropped the case vaguely and Mum was returned home. As the council had failed in involving me, they had another go. This time they accused me and my brother of ill-treating Mum. Again the police were involved and this time charged us both. Mum was forced into care again. Having had experience of where the legal process goes wrong (aka by using lawyers) I represented us both in court - firstly in magistrates and then in Crown Court. At the second hearing in Crown, following my submission of a preliminary defence, the prosecution admitted it had no evidence and my brother and I were formally found not guilty. Mum was still in a care home and the Court of Protection had appointed this Solicitor to look after Mum's finances. About a month later, Mum committed suicide - and the Solicitors have not provided us with any evidence to show they have done any work for the family. We've heard from this Solicitor since but not for a while - but until they show us some evidence of having done any work for us, they'll not be getting a penny. Incidentally, does anyone know whether the county courts are running anything like smoothly ? Cases seem to be dragging on a lot this year. Mike.
  9. Hi all, First message on this forum, I thank you all for the answers you provide to other people in various topics, it already helped me a lot. Long story short, I was caught for shoplifting at a Sainbury's. I complied, store security took my name & address and issued me a banning letter. So far so good. They also called the police, they provided them with my name, DoB, address and a physical description. We waited for them for about 20 min and the police station eventually called back to say that they had more important stuff to deal with at the moment so that no police officer would show up and that they would deal with the matter later on. The store security thus let me leave, after I had paid for the items I attempted to steal. Now here is my question: since no police officer show up, what are the possible outcomes of this ? Can I still get a Fixed Penalty Notice afterwards? Is there any chance I will be facing charge? Or I don't have anything to worry about?
  10. Hi so back in 2005 my wife became ill and had to stop work for a while and we entered a debt management plan, we still owe about £20 000 mostly credit cards but also studio cards etc over the years we have moved a few times but carried on paying payplan, the last few years we avoided our annual review but carried on paying. we have been at our present address for over 2 years with no contact from our creditors for years. payplan have emailed a couple of times say some of our creditors want our address but we havnt replied our credit reports are clear with scores of 536 with clearscore and 633 with noddle so we have good credit my question is what would happen if we just stopped paying, how long before we get found thanks all
  11. Hi in 2009 i had personal problems and got into financial mess. I went overdrawn on bank account and took out many many payday loans. I was taking out loans to payback loans. After putting my head in he sand for many years i decided to sort finances out. I complained to each of my lenders on grounds of irresponsible lending and here are the results Wonga 5 loans £1000 outstanding written off due to technical error? Quick quick 16 loans many rollover £1000 written off plus £250 compensation did take several letters before agreement Payday express 2 loans £1200 written off 1 letter of complaint Lending srream 4 loans several months of complaining then went to FOS interest refunded plus £250 compensation Merligen investments £150 written off 2 letters to complain Good banks Barclays had 2 loans and overdraft which they lump together in on loan with 0% interest. Then 2 years later after paying £100 per month offered settlement of £2400 on a amount of £12000 Hlaifax accumulated £600 of bank charges after I had been paying for a couple of years phoned them and they wrote the balance of £400 off Bad banks Natwest had to continue write go to FOS for ppi compensation still fighting for CPP before 2015 Trition evil phone me nightly and threatened to take away my house and told me i would lose my job they made me worthless to the point one night after a particularly nasty call i thought about suicide and only did not because i knew my 4 year old son would find my body. I acknowledge that i was an irresponsible But so were the lenders. . In many cases such as quick quid i paid double the amount written off in interest. If you feel that lenders have been irresponsible complain
  12. Car Boots.-My experience so far-observing people talking and buying and selling.Four weeks now and still going but have learned a few lessons.And boy have i had some fun. And met people you would not believe perhaps to meet with many tales of the unexpected which i prise out of them. Well anyone who reads some of my threads it does not take long to realise old Tawny sometimes struggles a bit with today's modern world where things seem to cost so much. So tries anything to make a few quid.Many fail but some work if only for a while. Money is needed for the most basic things. Rent,Council Tax,Electric,Gas,Food,Insurance,Petrol if only a fivers worth. Many of us must be struggling,surely i am not the only one.I know i am not. So i think of things to try to make a little extra.Whether from nothing,things that you can collect for free and sell on,or a little buying and selling.And i mean a little,anything over a tenner makes me shiver. I will admit to being 60 now and five years ago had a heart attack that i have to admit though do not want to has affected me slightly.Whether age,medication i do not know,but after standing or moving for a few hours i usually have some pains. Not complaining but can not do what i used to do,but try.Hospital check recently says i am ok,so that will do for me. But had to change construction job. Now recently i thought to myself you have to find a few more pounds from somewhere but how. So got a cleaning job in the evening.Just a couple of hours a couple times a week. Not enough,mmm what else. So i do not know if this will help anyone who may be struggling but this is what i do to try to earn extra. I will share with you,and if you have any ideas to make a few pounds let us know. I am not keeping them top secret,why do that.Life's to short. 1-I have been collecting Driftwood for a few years now.Which people are telling me is worth a few pounds. Will mention more another time.. 2-Propagating plants and selling on.Beginning to make a few pounds,though expected perhaps this time of year. But due to me loving plants,the garden is full and so is one bedroom, resemling now a Rain Forest people say when i let them in that is.House plant department. Now let us get to the Car Boot Part. Really raw start to my latest adventure,a little story for you.Usually i would put a story on that takes more than 5 minutes to read on a Saturday,but hey does it matter. Started 4 weeks ago.Not suggesting anyone tries this a little risky perhaps. Took a look at the weather forecast on a Friday,dodgy Saturday,frosty night then Clear frosty,calm Sunday. Right,what can i do,need a Sunday Dinner,it was that bad,hard to believe perhaps but true,so loaded a few things up in boot of car,put back seats down and put there as well,as well as paste table,retrieved from old days of paper hanging.Just random items,that were not any use to me.And not worth a lot.Of course i had not got the eight pounds cost of standing as they call it but am the eternal optimist and set off.After scraping ice of the car.And defrosting eyebrows etc. Seemed to myself the middle of the night. Opened door for wifey and settled down for ten minute drive. Set off 6-30,of course in the wrong direction to where i wanted to go,wifey giving me the knowing look but quiet,possibly thinking where she went wrong when meeting me many years ago.I got lost as usual,turned round and followed a van with trailer and pasteboard tied to top of roof hoping that within the next ten minutes i would not be on the M6 heading to Scotland. A mystery tour was on the cards perhaps.. Once headed to Manchester Airport and ended up on the moors somewhere in Yorkshire. Luck would have it he was heading to where i wanted to go.And later when talking to him i told him and we had a laugh about it. Said he had done it for 30 years.Wondered why someone was going slow behind him like a tracker dog.Or the taxman. 7-30 arrived,place was packed and ended up at the back of a field.Slight thoughts of will my car when the frost melts,with escape later when frost goes. MMM,i thought what a place to be but never mind.Wrens, Blackbirds singing, geese, flying over,Even a couple of Swans did a flypast. Frost on the ground,pennines in the distance tops covered in snow. God bless the Dealers,they usually are first there i found out and are ready to spend. Made enough in 30 minutes, for breakfast,Bacon Roll,Barm,and steaming mug of tea.7 quid,note went to head said, Flask and sandwiches next time boy,thoughts of dent in profits. Forgot about the eight quid that would be asked for,never mind. Slowly confidence rose when next 10 pounds was collected,enough To pay the rent when asked for. Started chatting to a few people and listening to their stories.I am nosey but like a story or two. One chap had sailed the Atlantic single handed,started tours around the Bahamas afterwards and was a healer as well. Was doing fine till decided to buy a bigger boat,large to do bigger tours,engine went bang,he went bust and nearly ended up rowing back single handed.But had had a fascinating life all the same. I will tell other tales of the car boots as the thread goes on,i do not want to go on to long or this will turn into a book.But already i have at least four.That may surprise you. I am registered with the taxman for this kind of business.No use covering things up at my age,forget what i have said after a day or two if not written down.And no need of a offshore tax haven yet,will pay what is due or not. So where was i upto,ah yes.About half twelve people started packing up so did i,put empty boxes that is back in boot,80 pounds in my money tin. After expenses,rent,tea,food etc. And headed to Aldi for nice piece of beef,yorkshire pudding and vegetables.And enjoyed it immensely. Though shortly afterwards went out like a light for a few hours like a contented cat. Now i also look for bargains,not knowing much but if under a fiver when i am flush will buy them,and sell them on online sites.although shaking when i part with a note. Here is a tip for you that i have bought and sold a couple of times and are around it seems. Will pop one or two on now and again,and i hope you will to.let us help others make a few pounds perhaps. So join in this thread,tell us your experience,i will put stories on about Dealers,people,traders i have met and many other stories as things hopefully develop.And i am sure you will find them interesting,and will surprise you. Tip one. Bells Whisky Bottles-The ones you save your coins in.Usually around 50 pence to as much as 6 pounds,i have paid. They always sell for upto 50 pounds plus postage.On online sites.Now stop rushing around i know you have one. Plenty of time. Last thought today,i know perhaps many people perhaps are not able to,due to illness,disability many reasons to not be able to do such a thing.And may need a few pounds extra to help a little.And perhaps have many unwanted items. Well ask a friend,form a group perhaps think about things anyway.I am,but a story their for another day. Well enough for now i feel,popping down to the Tip shop to see what has been Donate d . Bye Tawnyowl.
  13. I have been harassed by a neighbor because I wont be his friend. I am from a domestic violence background came out of a refuge and I am an attractive woman in my 20s with mental health issues of anxiety and depression (also recently diagnosed with PTSD due to current events) The HA placed me between two older men, this wouldnt usually be a problem but they both became obsessed with me. I had to tell both of them to please stop knocking on my door, I am private. This is when the false noise complaints from downstairs firstly came however I wasnt the victim because he was elderly means he automatically will be believed despite having noise recorders with no evidence and me going out my way to put thick underlay and carpet which nothing in my tenancy states I must do so still I was apparently harassing him with noise. when I told upstairs to leave me alone and not knock on my door he would purposely make noise. He use to pretend to be someone from outside by ringing my doorbell because I never answered when he knocked on my flat door. I found this really weird and after he knocked on my door for about 20mins I told him to leave me alone, he was only knocking to ask me personal questions. After I complained about upstairs noise this is when his counter claims came to avoid prosecution. Said I threw things on his door and slammed doors. Agin he has noise recorders and nothing. I however had noise recorders and it stated he made loud bangs like I said however the HA did nothing and suggested rugs. The neighbor upstairs was also caught liasing with the one below me to make up complaints about me, which was admitted by the one downstairs to the manager (now the manager hates me she is denying he ever admitted this to her) the manager was fine with me until she spoke to the man above then suddenly she turned against me, I have no idea what I did to her but she started to ignore my complaints and be really rude to me on the phone. She also denied he not allowed laminated flooring and cannot provide me with the apparent previous tenancy which states he can have laminated flooring. the HA have been blocking me from going to the Housing ombudsmen by longing out my complaints and not allowing me to escalate or give me replies. This neighbor however went on to key my car, write die on my flat door, push me (when I was pregnant), kick my door whilst threatening me, put dog poop on my car handle and make several false complaints about me. I got the police involved who were useless to the point I made a complaint about them this they did not like then their harrassment against me came. I asked for the neighbour to be issued with A Harrasment order and the police reluctantly did so. However around a week later i was also issued with one based on his false complaints. I have challenged this, how is this proper procedure? The police gone on to make false claims I making reports to crimestoppers about the neighbour and told the HA this. the police also have come to my address several times banging on my door and invited me for an interview on neighbor false allegations. The police tried to bring charges against me for court. However when it got to court even the CPS said it is clear I am the victim due to the amount of calls and dates ect and they told the court they did not want to pursue the case against me as it is very one sided and seems like a witch hunt. Even the prosecution saw what was going on. of course the police did not like this because I still have a complaint against several officers with strong evidence of harassment and breaches of the law and data protection. However now after some weeks the police have again come to my address this morning to "deliver" me a letter from the housing associaiton, since when are police used as personal post men for housing associaitons? I know the HA manager was .... I never got convicted or it even went to court, she hates me and wants me out and I know the police are also .... I do not know what this letter is but I am guessing an ASBO because they can issue these based on the police word and HA word alone. If it is this how do I challenge this? The HA manager I have a complaint against her with several organisations due to her breach of data protection and harrasment against me so she is also trying it with me. The HA or the police wont even let me present my strong evidence or prove my innocence that this neighbor is a liar, they dont even care they just want to shut me up for complaining about things they have choosen to do which are against the law and human rights rather then just deal with the case against the neighbor. I know they are trying to break me but I cannot lie it is working, I am broken. I feel like maybe I should of just given into this mans advances because then I wouldnt even be going through this and despite sending them proof of my medical evidence they refuse to move me, they want me out. It is bullying and I do not know where to turn because they are blocking everything. (there is another thread on here from 2011 which someone else complained about this HA and their bullying tactics so I know I am not alone) I know I need to stay strong but it is hard, they are now trying to issue with me an ASBO which means even on medical grounds I cannot move because before i couldnt move because i had "court proceeding" against me, now I dont they need to make something else so i cannot move and the complaints about me keep coming or I break and leave and be homeless. I hold a lot of paper evidence, witnesses and recordings. I have several complaints with the professional standards with police. I have a complaint with the housing ombudsome who obviosuly cannot help until The HA complaints has finished I have a complaint with the ICO due to data protection breaches By them issuing me with an ASBO I can go to prison and since the man makes false complaints it is likely i will so another way to get me out and ruin my life.
  14. Hi everyone, I'm just new to this and have never been able to talk about what I've been struggling with so want to start by writing it all down and getting it out of my system. I know it's a long story but support is really all I'm after right now (and any experienced advice!) . I'm 19 years old, Male, A student and I work part time. I've previously worked full time and had good paying jobs and didn't have a worry in the world until I turned 18 and had my first "offer" letter from a credit card company. I applied, and was rejected. Then I got deep into the internet and discovered what a credit score was so immediately sent away for a copy of my own. To my horror, weeks after my 18th birthday, I had a credit score lower than 250 and 3 defaulted accounts listed under my name at an address I had lived at in my early teens. But I had just turned 18 how could this be? Exactly my thoughts... The accounts were all in my name but had a date of birth that had been reversed (1979 instead of 97). The accounts were active from 2009 to 2012 when I would have been aged 12-15. I immediately raised this with Equifax and 2 of the accounts were quickly removed from my file after I provided proof of ID. However, there was an account from Studio 24 that still had not been removed. I contacted Studio (Express Gifts) in July 2015 both by letter and email. I provided proof of ID and Address and copies of my credit report which showed the defaulted accounts. I was passed from pillar to post until March 2016 when they informed the account was now closed and the notice removed from my credit report. All seemed well with the world and I had no need for credit at the time so chose to push the whole fiasco to the back of my mind and enjoy my last summer before University. Cut to July 2016 and I receive a letter from Cabot Financial informing me that my debt of £845.87 had been sold to them by Express Gifts. The initial default amount was £120.94. I called Cabot and they rectified the situation in around 2 months, Express Gifts sent me a cheque for £85 as a "goodwill gesture." During the whole ordeal, I also had contact with the police who believed I had been a victim of ID theft (we moved out of the property in question in 2008). However, nothing came to light of it and I have since moved away from my home town and don't believe anything will ever come of it. As a result of this right royal muck up by a business years before I could even get credit, my score has always remained at the lowest tier (as far as I am aware, removing default notices will not up your score but will simply change your report). I have never been able to obtain credit and couldn't even get an overdraft facility or a student credit card. I still can't get the latter but have managed to obtain a £500 overdraft on my student account with RBS which has been excellent help. On top of this, I have now fallen into the trap of payday loans and have probably had in excess of 10 since I moved away from my hometown, became estranged from my family (I had a fallout with my parents as I believed my mother was the one who used my information to obtain credit), and started out myself. I now only owe £250 to wageday advance but this is after 1 deferral payment last month. On top of that, I have an Aqua credit card with a £100 facility that I had for emergencies - which of course sods law I had to get my washing machine repaired right before payday so used that. My plan is to be debt free by August, I wan't to have everything paid off and not have a single line of credit bar my interest free student overdraft and £100 Aqua card which I may shut down as my score has lowered even more since getting it. I just really wanted to write everything down and see if anyone else has ever been through the same thing as me, I'm miles away from home and have no one to talk to about it. They told me life'd be hard, but I never thought it would be as bad as this.
  15. Hi all, Just in case any one is looking to make a complaint about irresponsible lending to cash convertors- I was helping a friend, follwing advice from here- and I have to say, they are the easiest company i have dealt with so far. The statement of accounts was there within an hour of requesting, and following an email complaint on Thursday, a final response has arrived today, with an offer of almost £1500. She is more than happy with that figure, and looking at the loan history, although she has paid more over the years, I really dont think she would do much better with FOS, so she is happy to accept it. The contact details i have incase anyone is struggling getting a reply- Without the spaces- Im not allowed to post email addresses yet! Good luck
  16. Cleaning Jobs. Well old Tawnyowl decided due to one of my entrepreneurial adventures not moving fast enough yet to pay all the bills to do a little work in the evening. Not in perfect fitness but can graft flat out for a few hours before tiredness creeps up. So thought to myself i know you need work in the evenings or early morning,you will become a office cleaner owl,that is the answer to your problem. So managed to find one,negotiations were held,prices set and went for it. I work with another person in this adventure who is far more experienced than myself. Has been a caravan cleaner on holiday parks,done deep cleaning,govt work,and massive stores.By themselves. Female. Now do not forget i have worked in construction,go to gym perhaps 5 days a week,just a little exercise that is all and used to hard work.Or thought i was. So let us see what i do. Windows,boardroom,hallway,3 toilets,male female,and disabled access toilets. Big 30 metre office,empty baskets,clean desks,hoover.Mop floors. Kitchen,clean fridge,micro,anything in there really,work surfaces,any washing up,clean sink,empty bins,mop floor. Other office,20 metre square.Same procedure. Make sure all cleaning materials are bought and correct for the purpose. Now someone who does cleaning will understand what that entails I tell you this,i come out of those offices aching from head to toe,can hardly walk never mind talk. And after a short while and looking around i see that most cleaning jobs are paid minimum wage. I feel cleaners are very underestimated for the work they do.Vital to a business. Been in some places where you think,how quaint nice grey sinks only to find out they are white really. Some places have not been done for months.Perhaps years on outsides. Nice when people,and they do say ,hell what a difference you have made. So any cleaners out there i now know what it entails and how hard you work for your money. And maybe you then go home and clean there as well. If you are a cleaner,anywhere let us know how you are doing,what you do, and how you feel about things. If you have the strength to write.
  17. Took my complaint to FOS for irrisponsible lending after Fancyapayday rejected my complaint - FOS upheld my complaint - removal of 5 out oof 8 laons from my credit file, refund of all loan fees, charges etc plus refund of the £700 they took from my account using a CPA. So thats around £1500 refund fancy will probably escalate to the ombudsman, lets see what their next move is
  18. I took out 16 loans with 247Moneybox over an 18month period starting back in 2011. All but one successully paid back, the last loan I defaulted on. Usual story, started out with 1 PDL then had to take out a new loan at the end of the month to cover shortfall then another loan with other PDL companies. So I complained to 247 re the amount of loans provided and asked that all loan fees etc be refunded and the default loan to be cleared using monies from the refund. They said nope, we were responsible lenders etc etc. So off to FOS and FOS have upheld my complaint so am now expecting something like £1k of refunds after deduction of defaulted loan, plus all data for the loans removed from my credit files.
  19. Man rescues fox and finds his new best friend (VIDEO) Read more at http://www.dogheirs.com/george/posts/1632-man-rescues-fox-and-finds-his-new-best-friend-video#iZpGPJDHBpTUi9hk.99 There are two videos,one showing Foxy boy having his bath and being blow dried. Likes looking his best. A day in Foxy Boys life. Jack he is called. I have taken quite a liking to Jack the Fox and his owner. Feel free to post pictures of your best animal friend.Pet or wild one you have befriended perhaps. Then anytime you like you can come back here and remember your friend. Days,weeks,months,years later perhaps. Looking forward to seeing your friends. Feel maybe many are wanting to post pictures and are out there in webland. Somewhere in the world. Just register here and off you go.Come to the Bear Garden tell us your story.A picture perhaps. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/register.php
  20. http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/news/13630865.Westbury_mum_fighting_back_against_incorrect_parking_ticket_at_St_Stephen_s_Place_in_Trowbridge/?ref=rss Would need to see the appeal wording but on face value a quite astonishing judgement by POPLA...
  21. I know i am, it's not just because it's about people claiming benefits, but all the inaccuracies contained within these programs, the one on channel 5 about benefit cheats, is the latest, a Liverpool lad , claiming what was described as sickness benefits ,for PTSD told the undercover reporter that he was getting a total of £1,500 per month ,inc DLA , I find that very hard to believe, which makes me think of those IDS and his sanctions work leaflets that were based on lies , Also are those that are cheating the system really that dumb that they will boast to someone they hardly know about the hows and why's of what they do? Are these tv companies paying for stooges for entertainment value, and to help keep the governments hate propaganda against people on benefits alive ? if it isn't about cheating the system in some way, it's about their health conditions ie" too fat to work" ect
  22. Hi, been reading a few different threads about this and in a similar pickle, took some tips from some of the great replies but just looking for what anyone thinks I could do next. Took out the 9.99 12 month contract in January 2014, this subsequently rolled over and I thought as it's now just a rolling contract, I'll cancel the direct debit, seemed to get the standard letter from Harlands, owe £25 admin fee. I sent this email "Dear Sir or Madam, I refer to your letter of 11 August 2014. I have attempted on various occasions over the past week to get in touch with yourselves over the phone, however, heavily extended periods of hold time to get through or the telephone constantly ringing without a message centre has made this task unachievable. I now accept that I should have given you a month's notice when I cancelled by Direct Debit mandate. Accordingly, I am willing to pay you £9.99. However, I will not pay you any Default Fee as this is an unenforceable penalty which bears no relation to any loss suffered by you or Xercise4Less caused by any transgression on my part. My contract with Xercise4Less was fulfilled and completed in January of this year. Also, I do not accept that I have to pay a cancellation fee of £9.99. When you confirm that you will accept my offer to pay a further £9.99 in settlement of all monies due from me in respect of my Xercise4Less agreement, I will pay you promptly. My views are based on the Penal Order made by a High Court Judge, Mr Justice Kitchin, in his 2011 Penal Order made against Ashbourne Management Services Ltd. which confirmed that one may cancel a gym membership in various ways. If you believe I should pay a "Cancellation Fee", please confirm where this is referred to in the gym's T&C's that I signed. If you continue to make demands in excess of this, your actions may be reported to The Office of Fair Trading. Regards" They hit back with "Thank you for your email Our apologies that you were unable to contact us via our helpline; although we receive a high volume of calls and administration, we endeavour to answer as many members as possible in a timely manner. We are only able to take inbound calls for this reason, we apologise for any inconvenience caused. One of the terms of this agreement, which you have agreed to be bound by, is that “If you fail to pay any monies due under this agreement or if any Direct Debit is returned unpaid or if any cheque is returned unpaid or if any other form of payment is not honored for whatever reason, you will be charged. If you would like to cancel your membership with Xercise 4 less, we would advise that you contact them directly, as we are unable to action anything without recieving a confirmation from them (directly) to do so." I've been into the gym and they said I can't cancel as there is outstanding debt with Harlands, they gave me the cancellation form to fill in to scan and email to them after I had sorted it with Harlands. All seems ridiculous to me! Anyone any ideas please!? :s Greatly appreciated!
  23. Dear CAG, I have had similar issues as other forum members with LA Fitness engaging ARC Europe to chase for 'debt'. I received a number of letters from LA Fitness claiming I owed a months membership, then two, then that they were referring the issue to an outside agency. In fairness, I ignored this as I knew I did not, and had followed the cancellation policy correctly. Eventually I started receiving phone calls, text messages, emails, letters, and voice mails from ARC. The initial phone call I answered as it came up as a mobile number and I did entertain a couple of other calls to no result. They were fairly non-threatening, until they started escalating the costs and the severity of their threats to court and legal action. The language used was always hypothetical; 'if', 'could', 'may' etc. and because of that I was still fairly unconcerned about their legitimacy. However, I eventually received a call from a chap who was rather more threatening and aggressive in his manner - his tone and approach was quite invasive and he started putting immediate time limits on when I could pay by. He suggested that if I didn't pay by 8pm that evening there would be consequences in terms of the progression of the issue. That was enough for me, so looked on-line and found this website. It instantly validated my scepticism, and having found a couple of threads with example letters, used their content to draft the below and sent it to ARC. Given I was getting contact on a near daily basis, I haven't heard anything for a month so consider they have received and understood the letter. I would like to offer my thanks to the forum, and particularly 'slick132', for their patience in assisting others with their dealing with these companies. I can definitely understand how the nature of their communication would very easily scare many people into giving them significant amounts of money that they do not owe. I hope the below letter helps to prevent this as well. Best Dear Sir or Madam, I refer to my monthly membership at LA Fitness *location* gym. I visited the gym confirming my need to cancel. I followed this visit up with a phone call to head office. I cancelled my Direct Debit mandate via my bank after the months’ notice period on instruction. These actions are adequate notice of my cancellation of the gym agreement, as per the case of The OFT v Ashbourne Mgt Services Ltd in 2011. I am now being pursued for further payments from ARC which I will not pay. If LA Fitness or ARC continues to seek payments when I have cancelled my membership properly, I will report the matter to The OFT and Trading Standards without further warning. I owe LA Fitness nothing and I will not pay you any more. Yours faithfully,
  24. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?446548-Re-How-to-defend-against-a-charging-order-for-council-tax-%283-Viewing%29-nbsp
  25. It is really worth reading this story linked to here http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/maxherve-george-the-man-fighting-a-merciless-legal-war-against-insurance-giant-aviva-10168427.html Aviva are going to have to come up with a deal that is going to cost them a lot of money.
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