Hello, My Housing Association has informed me that they are applying for a warrant of possession due to the continuous climbing of my rent arrears. The current arrears is at £3485 (I know it's high). It got this high because of issues with Housing Benefit (it got stopped). This was a big hit and I wasn't sure how to deal with this. I was not immediately aware it was stopped. I'm only now just recovering from that and will be able to make monthly rent payments again to compensate for the lack of Housing Benefit. I'm a full-time student and the University have given me some part-time jobs to do that would aid in me paying the rent (I've told them my situation). My Son and Daughter have also found jobs, so they'll be able to help out as well. Now, I've tried to get my Housing Association to not apply for a warrant by offering them a payment plan. However, they are not going for it and just keep saying how the rent climbed continuously from February 2018 and they cannot wait until I'm able to clear it off in full. They want the full amount now. My plan was to pay what I could now (about £100-150 over the next couple weeks) and get my children to cover some more in a month's time and month's thereafter (when they actually get paid) and in September 2018, use some of my student loan to clear the remaining debt (it's enough to pay for it and leave me with something) In September, it will drop to 0 due to the large lump sum. Does this sound reasonable? I don't have the money in full now, but I will eventually. I'll also be able to prevent further dropping into arrears after clearing it due to a change in circumstances (for the better). All I needed was to find something to replace Housing Benefit which I now have. Since I can't get the HA to drop the warrant, I've read I'll need to try go through the courts instead. How are they with suspending evictions? Do they favour Housing Associations more than the tenant? Does my proposed plan sound reasonable enough to convince a judge that I should not be evicted? The reason they are able to apply for a warrant quickly is because I've had issues in the past with them but it got sorted provided I stuck to the agreement back then and paid off the arrears. I paid that off and my account went into credit for some time. It's only since February that it took a downturn and caused the arrears to climb out of control. I know it took time to act but I'm acting now and I'm able to clear it soon. I do not have the notice yet. I don't currently know when I have to be out. I'm just panicking and trying to take action now before it's too late. How long do these notices take to get served and how long do they give you after you get it? I'm just worried sick about losing my home and what hurts me more is knowing I'll have enough money to clear it off soon. Time is pretty much against me right now.

Hi all Wondered if anyone could help or offer some advice as I am in quite a stressful situation at the moment and this forum has been very helpful in the past. I was recently involved in an accident on the 5th April 2017, I am technically at fault as I went into the rear of someone at around 15-20mph, put Pedestrians went to cross a zebra crossing and the car on approach slammed his brakes early in realization of this and that forced the car in front of me to slam his and I was unable to break in time leading me to go into the back of this vehicle. Aside from me asking if we can handle the incident privately he still decided to claim through insurance after agreeing with my verbally to handle it privately. My insurance (Insure Your Motor) has an excess of 3k, they will not ask me for whatever the estimation is below that and ask me to pay as I am at fault most likely... I am worried as I simply cannot afford any of these payments in my current situation and just wanted to find out what the following steps were. Do they get debt collectors to try and retrieve this... Is there any way feasibly right that I can somehow not have to pay such a ridiculous excess or is there any way I'd be able to get my way out of the debt collectors at a later stage? I had no other choice but to go with these insurers with 3k Compulsory excess as every other price at the time was above the £300 figure a month and this one was £247 monthly. Any help or advice would be appreciated Apologies for the essay Kind Regards

some time has lapsed just a recap that i sent our letters from my parents address, however this didnt stop them from continuing to send letter to their address for me, even though i didnt live there. and also sent them letters from my current address to inform them that i didnt live there. my mum moved from the address in January but from around December i noticed i was getting unusal mail....from Lowell i came home on sunday after recovering from an operation, opened up my letters today to find a letter from Lowell Solicitors. Letter of Claim dated 17.02.16 We have not heard from you regarding the shop direct account and are instructed by our client, Lowell Portfolio 1 LTd to commence legal action and issue a claim against you in the County court bulk centre, in respect of this debt. you must contact us to make arrangements to pay within the next 14 days or a claim will be issued without further notice to you. if a claim is issued you will become liable for further court feed, solicitors cost and interest which are estimated below: current balance: 1457.89 estimated interest £116.63 estimated court fees £105.00 estimated solicitors cost £80 estimated total £1759.52 the letter does go on to say failure to respond will result in ccj entered against my name and they could take further action with warrant of control, attachment of earnings, and charging order there are a few things that bother, why didn't anybody in their office notice that i was contacting them from my current address, whilst they were still bombarding my parent? i even offered £250 as full and final payment for the debt. i find it odd that they have only been sending me mail since the start fo this year (i think) why have they reved things up their client has already said on a previous ppi claim that they didn't have the relevant contract so therefore see the claim as closed. if my mind serves me correctly im sure the debt if about 7 years old now. My current situation has changed as i was made redundant in November from my career, and currently on income support of £143 every 2 weeks...Yeah!!! logged on to Noodle and i see that Shop direct have made a log against my credit for an account which they deemed in their words - unable to locate a copy of the original signed credit agreement, we will not be pursuing the the above account for the outstanding balance. then there's another log with Lowell Account start date 03/12/2008 Opening balance £ 1,058 Date of default 18/01/2012 but i believe its older as this is probably when the debt was sold to them where do i go from here? i cant bare to go to court, i also cant have this ccj against me either. do i pay them? so far i have done the following: Posted to Lowell solicitors - County Courts Pre Action Conduct - Request for Further Information posted: CCA to Lowell financial Posted CCA & Sar to Shop direct financial

Hi Firstly I am extremely upset/embarrassed by my son's behaviour - but I am trying to be practical in this post..... My 15yo son was caught shoplifting in our Sainsbury's Local this morning He was stopped by a shop assistant as he had put packs on condoms (!) in his pocket. He was stopped by the sandwich section near the door. My son admitted to nothing, nor made any excuses. Just handed the packs back. The store assistant took his name, address and mobile number, and said he was calling the police (he made a call, there and then at the till, and then bragged to the person on the other end of the phone about how good he was as this). All this happened in the store, he wasn't taken anywhere, no other member of staff was involved and there was no paperwork shared or anything, just a scrap of paper with my son's details taken. He was also told he was banned for life. So my questions are Why was there no paperwork? Surely there s some sort of official documentation? I would have expected that he would have been sat down, explained the seriousness of the accusation, told what happens next etc? Why was he accused when he hadn't left the store, he could have been buying a sandwich and put the condoms in his pocket as he was embarrassed about carrying them in the store? Did the shop assistant really call the police? Surely my son would have been detained first? Others on the forum who have been banned have been given a piece of paper -my son was given nothing Will the shop tell the school - just so I can be prepared for this when they go back after Easter. Also, they let my son go before my husband was called, and he was obviously very upset by what happened he didn't come home for another hour and we were very worried about him.....it feels irresponsible for a shop to allow a minor to leave without a parent coming to get them..... Any advice gratefully received - do we need to get legal representation? Would it nake a difference? Thanks for any help and advice

Hi, I live with my husband, we are both self employed, I had a baby in September and receive Maternity allowance. I was also receiving Working Tax Credits and Child Tax credits, around £80 per week. My husband is currently quiet with work so we asked the council for rent help, they told us they can no longer help and we need to apply for universal credit. We did this (horrendous application system!) and in the meantime our working and child tax credits stopped, we were never informed this would happen, i wish i had just left it as it was. We were relying on that money and now it has just stopped! We both had a job centre interview yesterday which is part of this ridiculous process and my husband has to go back yet again with business details. He only earns around £5000 per year , they basically want to see if it is worth him running his business, if he earns enough, if not they will make him look for other part time work - how on earth can he do that around a self employed business that is on demand (ie it depends when his customers want him!). This is all if we want to claim universal credit. So, i assume they will say he does not earn enough and will have to find other work....we do not want to do this so my question is, if he says no to looking for other work, will we just get no help....even with a new baby. Am i correct in thinking that £5000 per year approx will not meet their requirements? Just wanted a little bit of advice before we see them again. The whole new system is ridiculous, i have worked and paid tax all my life yet when we need a bit of help we have to fight for it, yet people who dont want to get a job, try their hardest NOT to get one, receive all the help there is out there!!! Any advice appreciated

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and hoping for a little bit of help and advice, if possible. Briefly, I owe cira £20k on credit cards and loans. All were taken out within the last 2 - 3 years and, as yet, I have not missed a payment on any of them. The breakdown is as follows: Nationwide Loan 8k (taken out 2015), Nationwide Credit Card 5k (taken out 2014), Virgin Money Credit Card 4k (taken out 2016), Sainsbury's Bank Loan 3k (taken out 2015). Like I said, to date I have not missed a single payment on any of the cards/loans (I'm frightened to do so) but due to a big change in circumstances I most definitely will be missing payments soon. I suffered a heart attack a couple of years ago and have been struggling in my job ever since as it was a very physical. Unfortunately I had to give it up in June this year as it was affecting my breathing. At the time I lived in England but moved to Northern Ireland to be near family last month and for a new start and less stressful life. I am not currently in employment and as yet, I have not tried to claim any benefits (I struggle with that concept). Up until now I have been living on what little savings I have but these will be exhausted in the next few weeks. I've read through a lot of the threads on here but am getting very confused. I guess what I am asking is for some advice on what to do first. Should I let the debts default? Or should I contact the lenders now, before that happens? I'm in Northern Ireland so I know the rules regarding debt is slightly different. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Worried51

I was on Incapacity Benefit at one time and years ago was sent an ESA50. I filled it in, sent it back, and was granted ESA WRAG, and never had a WCA. Now another ESA50 has arrived, and now I'm thinking they're going to haul me before a WCA this time. I'm also afraid that this means that my ESA has already stopped. Is this so? BTW, should I take my time in sending it back, or send it back as soon as I can? Should it also be Special Delivery?

For years I have been struggling with debt but I got in contact with payplan and applied for a DRO. All the paperwork was set up with all my debts on. Council tax is with Marstons. I then received a letter from Rundles saying they were recovering council tax. I thought the council and changed agents and now everything was with Rundles. I informed payplan and they amended the paper work. I was just about to pay the £90 fee when last week while I was in bed asleep after a nightshift. An Enforcement guy...tapped on the front door and walked in scaring the life outta my partner who was in the living room. He demanded that I pay £420 or he would take my living room items away (tv dvd player units ect) Tried to explain that I was paying my DRO fee at end of week. He was having none of it. I was scared and shaken up...I did not receive notice that he was coming. I didn't have the cash and he was adamant he was not leaving till I paid £420 or take my goods. I made some calls and manged to get about a months wages from my boss.( Agreement from boss that I pay from my wages straightaway which means at the moment i don't have money coming in to live on) Anyway I paid him and got a receipt. He was now arranging a payment plan for the rest. I told him I couldn't afford anything but he was insistent...All I wanted to do was to get him outta my house so I agreed to 20 a week. He made me sign what I thought was the payment plan but in fact was a control of goods I later noticed after he left. He also left an envelope on table which had inside a notice of attendance letter dated that same day in pen with a stamped date of the warrant for the following day. I got back k in touch with payplan who advised me that now that I had signed a control of goods order the council tax can not be included in the DRO. I am mortified as council tax is the main debt. I am now ready to pay the fee but holding back as I don't know what to do or where I stand. Oh and to add it,2 days ago I've received a letter from Marstons warning of a notice of attendance... Now I thought everything was with Rundles. I have checked the reference numbers and it's all from different years. Confused and scared is not the word!!! I don't know what to do. I am finally facing my debts and this happens a week before my DRO is finalised

Hi all, just for bit of advice really. Few months ago I had a court fine of around £200 for motoring offences. Sorted out a repayment plan but payment card never came and lost the original letter (kids tidied up!) and couldn't contact the court as I didn't know the name of the court. Around the second week of December I received a letter from Collectica saying the debt had been passed to them and they wanted payment of £276.54 in full. I couldn't pay in full as I'm a single parent, currently on JSA as I lost my job in Sept I called them and they came up with a payment plan, that I also couldn't afford to pay. (they wanted £82.98 within 2 days and I only had £115.34 to my name and that had to last a week get food shopping, kids school lunches, gas and electric). I asked the guy on the phone what would happen if I couldn't pay and he said I would probably receive another letter and they would add £75, which I thought was fair enough, after christmas I would have been able to sort stuff out (Fingers crossed. I was also due to start another job which fell through on tuesday). Lo and behold I had 2 bailiffs turn up at my door this morning asking for payment of £511.31. I explained to them I don't have that kind of money or access to that kind of money, all my family work and have bills of their own to pay, and my kids father isn't worth asking. I let them look around my house, everything I have in here worth anything is in my kids room, which they explained, thankfully, they can't touch or even go in. The guy was kind of sympathetic, didn't take any inventory of anything but did state he can take everything from my front room, kitchen and my room (all of it still wouldn't come near to £500 as its all second hand or broken) and have given me until the 31st of December to pay. I've just worked out if I kept every penny I get up until the 31st I still won't have enough to pay it, or enough to cover what they take. He already said they would come back with a locksmith if I don't pay. What can I do now? I gathered by his tone he wont budge on the date. I can't get money from anywhere to help.

hi looking forward to finding my way round this forum we have debts and i am looking for advice via the information i can find on your forum thanx

Just opening a thread on Carers. What benefits they can get. How earning a small wage can effect them,anything really about carers. What troubles they face. Where they can find help and where. What charities will help them with things they may need.For the people they care for. Whether a unpaid carer or paid carer. Maybe you are a charity and see many things and help so many.Good on you. Whether a Carer who is employed by a company and shoots round all over the towns and cities, what pressures you or they face. Does the company you work for treat you well. What pressure are you under. Too much paperwork do you feel. Do you think you are doing things you are not really trained for. Anything you want to say feel free. I personally have just finished helping someone care for someone and saw how hard it could be. Made a few observations in the little time i cared for someone. And wondered how it really is all over Great Britain.For the Carers in our communities. So soon i will find articles. Just wanted the thread out there. Another thought out of a cluttered mind. Are you a carer .How old are you. I believe many carers are young,some are pensioners i believe. What is lacking do you feel.If anything. The population is getting older,many more carers may be needed. Have your say. The Country would be lost without them of that i am sure. If you are outside looking in just register and have your say.We are a friendly lot. There you are. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/register.php

I'm in a situation with Newlyns. Because of an ON/OFF relationship I've not been getting a lot of post, and a parking ticket seems to have slipped through the net and now its at the warrant of execution stage. I still didn't know until i was parked up at the side of the street last week and a spy knocked on my window and introduced himself to me as agent 007 (not really) from newlyns and that ANPR had picked up my details and i owed £400. He gave me his mobile number to "deal with it" and sent me a reference number. I called the office and set up a payment arrangement with them to pay £50 per month (8 payments), on the understanding that they send me something in writing which states that enforcement action will stop whilst I'm up to date with payments. they said id have to email in. Payment due on the 8th... still nothing this morning i rang again and spoke to "Colin The Manager" who told me he couldn't send any such email/letter because the council have to vet everything they send. I told him I'm not sure how i can be protected if theres nothing in writing stating so, and he just said "ok ill take the arrangement off and your vehicle will be seized" Banter occurred where i said "ill hide the car" "Then we will take your goods" He said "How?" i replied "By coming in and taking it" he said. "And you think ill let you in" i said "we have ways" he said scarily. blah blah blah They wont send me this tiny little piece of security i asked for, i'm asking if I should be worried or is everything likely to be ok if i keep up payments. thanks UKD

Hi I just got yet another letter from tax credits saying we owe them nearly £3k! They have already got our totals wrong and wrote back to them last week with new totals, this came today and is dated 9/6/16 It says I get over £8k a year,, wish I did, only get a state pension. The ex claimed tax credits for himself and added me but they were informed of my pension which stated last year, they have our combined income at in excess of £25k! He is on £7.20 a hour, 45 hour week,,, was on £6.50 till NMW came in, we worked it all out for the years 2015 to 2016 taking into account the NMW and new living wage, I guess have to wait for them to get the new details that were sent last week but how are we supposed to pay £3k back, we do not have it. I am shaking and upset right now and the ex is not here! Sandy xx

Hello there I have not put anything on here before but my daughter has and so she has introduced me to this. I am in a pickle and feeling the stress and at almost 70 I could do without it. I was a guarantor for my son for a loan a while back and he got into a terrible mess and tried his hardest to pay the huge monthly payment but had gotten behind with repayments along with a mountain of debt form elsewhere. Now me myself, I too am in a lot of debt and it is worrying me to the point I am awake at night just about my own mess. I own my home but there is a lifetime motgage on it as I released the equity in it a while ago. Does this mean I can't be forced to sell it? I am so worried about losing my home. Today I received a letter saying that if I don't pay the arrears of 900 pounds within 2 weeks, they will take court action against me and send the bailiffs. I can't pay 900 pounds but I am willing to pay something each month, as is my son. My question is, if this goes to court what happens? Will the bailiffs come to my house or try to make me bankrupt? I am worried sick over this thank you.

I am currently on ESA SG and in the middle of being reassessed. I am as always worried about losing my ESA. I am also due to be moving in with my partner in a few months and as they earn over the threshold I will lose all money anyway but at least if I am on ESA my stamp will get paid so I will still qualify for my pension in future. If I lose my ESA it won't change the fact that I am currently unable to work but I won't get my NIC paid. I s there anything I can do to get round this issue? Could I for example become self employed and just pay my stamp myself it it wouldn't be too much money each month. My plan is to become self employed anyway but I think it will be sometime before I can make an income. My partners salary also takes us over the threshold for anything like tax credits so I won't be applying for anything like that. My partner knows the situation and is happy to support me financially, the main issue for me is to still keep my national insurance contributions up without being hassled by the job center or work programme.

Hi, I have just received a CCJ and all I got back from the courts was a letter telling me that the creditor sent the court a letter after they had received my admission and offer of monthly repayment, and that they had complained that the offer was too low. The court has now ordered that I pay a larger amount each month and that the first payment should be paid to the creditor by the 22nd of this month which is a week before I even get paid. I won't have the money by then and it's also more than I was expecting. Will the bailiffs come if I pay a week late? Or do you think the creditor will allow me to make the payment on the 29th if I explain my situation? I do feel like it is a bit unfair as they have decided that not only do I have to pay more than I offered, I also have to find it in just over a week. Any help would be much appreciated.

Hiya Everyone. I am in a pretty complicated situation and I'm very worried about it. I am posting in case anybody has any advice about this sort of thing. I'm self employed and last week I received a letter asking me to prove my self employment. They want all the details from August 13 to November 13th, and they want these details by December 13th. I work several self employed jobs. As an adult phone operator (Have done since 2007) in May this year I opened an etsy shop, and more recently I have started working on another text chat system. Whats making me so nervous is proving my hours worked and income etc. The hours worked on the phone job each week vary from 5 -15 hours weekly. The past few months the hours I've worked have been on the lower end. I have invoices to send them, but the hours 'talk time' shown on them can be very low. I sign into the other text service, but proving hours worked is actually impossible, I have never received any payment from it as I am yet to receive a single text. On etsy. I've only had 8 orders since may (2 refunded). As you can see I am going to have an extremely hard time proving that I've been doing 30 hours and I am so nervous about this that I just don't know what to do. I spoke to them earlier today and the lady told me to 'just go back on the calendar and write down what you think you've done'.........that really doesn't help. I am just wondering if just having the Etsy shop counts? I mean even though I'm not getting that many customers, does having an open shop count towards self employed hours? The same way it would if I had a physical shop that wasn't receiving any customers? I'm pretty stressed about it. I'm worried they are going to say I haven't been doing the hours I should and fine me/stop my tax credits. Or that they'll want me to come in and see them (I'm a very socially anxious person who finds it hard just going to the shop, so I would find it physically impossible to have to do something like that, especially being question etc) So any advice at all would be amazing at the moment, Thank you

Hi Everyone A friend of mine advised this site as I am going through a very stressful time regarding my ex marital home which is in negative equity of around £25 thousand Arrears of £1500 and a Suspended possession order attached. In 2006 my now ex husband went to a broker to find a way of re mortgaging our property to consolidate some debts I never went with him as I was off work with stress and depression at the time I would just sign papers that he brought back with him. we ended up getting a re mortgage with mortgages Plc on an interest only which i didn't understand at the time. In 2009 we divorced and my ex left the property and I was left with paying the mortgage and £3,000 arrears which is how I got the suspended possession order I have been paying the mortgage plus an extra £100 pound off the arrears for the last six years. I now want to move in with my partner and no longer want the house but here is the problem my partner and I are now full time students and can no longer pay two mortgages (my partner has his own mortgaged home) I have no money for fees to sell the home plus I would have to keep paying the mortgage and arrears which I can no longer afford also there would be a shortfall of around twenty thousand. If I hand the keys back there will be a bigger shortfall as the mortgage company will sell at auction. Also Mortgages PLC are adding £54 arrears monitoring fee every month plus fees for visits three to four times a year they having been doing this for the past six years. My ex has no interest in the house although his name is still on the mortgage he has also told me nothing was put in place to pay off the mortgage at the end of the term (WHAT:|). I also don't want to go bankrupt as it may effect the job I'm pursuing when I finish Uni. Any advice would be welcome as I'm stressed and worried every day which is now having an impact on my studying. Thanks

I was caught shoplifting some earrings from Topshop yesterday by the LP officer. I know what I did was totally wrong and I am completely and utterly ashamed of myself. I feel dreadful and I deserve the scare they gave me. They approached me outside the shop and asked me to come with them to the holding room. When there, I admitted I had taken a pair of earrings and gave them back. The LP officer kept asking me about a gold necklace that I knew I hadn't taken so I took all my stuff out and showed them I didn't have it. I was in a real state of shock and fear and had (honestly or maybe just in fear) forgotten I had taken another pair of earrings which he had thought was a necklace. They did not get the police involved or mention the police at all. They took my photo, name, and address from my driving license and gave me an exclusion order from any of the shops in the Arcadia group. I then paid for the earrings and was escorted out. The thing I am mostly concerned about is, would they (having dealt with it in house and by giving a ban to me) bother reviewing the CCTV tapes regarding the earrings I did not give back? And then pursue further action based on that evidence? The items were only about £5 if that makes any difference. I am so so worried about this. I have never stolen before and feel totally disgusted with my behaviour. Any help would be so so appreciated. Edit - I gave back one pair of earrings and paid for them. The other pair were in my pocket the whole time so I didn't give them back but the LP officer certainly suspected/knew I had taken something else. I was panicking so much I think I just completely forgot about the other pair. It's the fact that I didn't hand these over and think it will be on CCTV that worries me about further action.

I have just looked at my credit file and in the last two weeks 15 separate insurance companies have done a search on it. I have not contacted anyone for any insurance purposes, nor been on any comparison sites. I do not need insurance. Should I be worried? Could it be identity fraud? What other explanation could there be?

Hi, I'm not sure whether there will be a problem here but don't want to wait util there's a crisis before posting. My friend lost her job last year when the young disabled man she was caring for went into a home. She also lost her home at the time as his dad had bought a house for his son to live in. Although the family gave her time and space to adjust this has worsened her existing health problems and she'sapplied for ESA. She managed to find accomodation and apply for ESA. She had her appointment with the dreaded ATOS and keeps telling me "I know I'll fail". The woman who she saw at her appointment was "chatty". (I and other friends warned her to avoid trick questions, and she spotted them but I think may have fallen into the trap.) The problem is that when she moved she had to register with a new GP. The new GP is not sympathetic. My friend has diabetes(which is seriously affecting her sight), asthma, chronic fatigue, mental health issues and chronic pain. She is undergoing tests to find out what is causing the pain. The job she was in before she could do at her own pace. She worked from home, the boy she cared for was at school during the week and she looked after him at weekends and during school holidays. She was also on call for any incidents during the school week. It's unlikely she will find anything similar despite an excellent reference. She has few qualifications and had been doing this for almost 20 years. She tells me herself that she just needs a short space of time to get more clarity over her health, maybe get a treatment plan in place and recover from the shock she's been through. I would be seriously scared for her to be thrown onto JSA and the sanctions regime as there are so many jobs she couldn't do. I feel she would be sanctioned very quickly. If she does (as I dread) get zero points she has nothing to live on while the mandatory consideration takes place so tells me that she has to apply for JSA. Is there anything else she can do? I have advised her to contact the council should it happen to get her housing benefit etc reinstated but I'm scared that she'll fall into a deep depression. I don't live anywhere near so I can only help her by phone/internet (she lives over 400 miles away.) Any advice appreciated.

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

Hi, I am new to the forum so please be gentle. About 3 years ago I was caught shoplifting from Boots. This was something I am extremely ashamed of, as when it happened I was going through an extremely difficult time after suffering a miscarriage. The item in question was ovulation test strips, hence the connection to the emotional pain I was going though after loosing my baby. I know there was no excuse. I received what I can only vaguely remember was a lifetime ban from either that particular store or all Boots. I learnt my lesson and have never done anything like this again and never intend to, I was just in a bad place at the time. Anyway, today I needed some bits for my miracle little 1 year old and for myself. Since he was asleep and Boots was the closest shop with what I wanted to purchase, I decided to go in. I promptly got what I needed, as I felt very anxious being in there and even had help from one of the staff members that I requested. Nothing was said and no one approached me. Now I am in a total panic that I am going to be arrested after the fact for criminal treaspass as it was the store I stole from. Can someone please give me some advice. Am I overreacting?? What would have happened if someone recognised me? Would I have just been asked to leave or would the police have been called? Can they inform the police that I entered the store while on ban, even though I paid for my items and made it a point to have a staff member talking to me the whole time as to not be accused of intending to do something. I just feel so guilty and ashamed even to this day and it's been 3 years. Any answers would be great, feeling very anxious and scared as I learned by my mistake and realise I was not well at the time of the original incident. Thanks in advance.

Hi , on March 27th I sent a letter by signed for as it contained a driving licence ( not mine and not to DVLA ) I expected it to be there the next day or on Monday but it has not arrived, not been signed for either. It says it is in their system? I paid extra for peace of mind but where is it? There is a deadline for the Licence to get where it is going as it has to have points put on it, the fine has been paid and then once that is done you send the licence off. I photocopied the letter and have reference numbers and the address the letter has to go to, like say it is not my licence ( mine needs renewing! ) I phoned the number on the receipt only to be met by an automated machine asking questions, then it said it could take 15 days! Help!

Hello Everyone, I took out a car insurance policy with Tesco Bank Car Insurance on 16.03.2015 and emailed my proof of NCB on 19.03.2015. I was told by them that I should receive an 'auto-response' email, which I did. It was stressed to me however that I should receive a confirmation email that the NCB had been accepted and applied to the policy, which I haven't. I therefore rang them today to ask them for this confirmation and they said that all calls were recorded and could confirm that they had indeed received and applied the NCB. They said that because I hadn't supplied a mobile number they couldn't send the confirmation of NCB, as they usually do this by email and text message (even though they have my email address). After hearing horror stories about Tesco Bank Car Insurance I was immediately concerned as something didn't feel quite right. I stated that I would still prefer something in writing, and they said (begrudgingly) that they'll get "someone from the back office" to put it in writing and I should receive something within 10 working days. I also rang them because their policy states that the main driver (me) and the named driver had held a licence for 10 years, when in fact I've held a licence for 17 years, and the named driver 25 years. They said that because I applied online it defaults to a 10 years maximum. Could this be classed as incorrect information should a claim be made? After hearing that people have had their insurance cancelled without their knowledge, the question is, should I be worried about any of this? Best wishes, Milly