Hi AFW, I have had many successes on behalf of others with shop direct, you can rest assured that they will reject every claim you put forward to them, the FOS is not a viable option as they are pretty much useless and unhelpful in these situations, as the other guys have said on here if you are not prepared to go to court then personally I would not bother as they will push you this far without doubt, I have never had an account with these people but have made claims on behalf of family members and successfully won every one - choice- great universal - littlewoods - very, I am currently running 3 claims against them on behalf of my mother and have a hearing date for one in June. Documents were to be presented to court and each party by 8th April nothing received so will be interesting to see what they rely on as the defence contains nothing of legal value! You have to ask yourself - can s/d come to a hearing and successfully show that their charges do not exceed their actual costs - £12 for basically nothing or occasionally a letter, they will state in their defence that the charge is fair but in any event can be taken off the arrears on your account - this is correct under civil procedure rules,but this ensures the accounts are paid off, this also shows that they have no defence. Go for them as you will win but don't go if you are not prepared to take it all the way. Remember to keep all correspondence as they will ignore you most of the time but in the extremely unlikely event it ever went to court you can show you followed all pre court protocols. The easiest way to make a claim is at http://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk Heres a couple of email addresses for the CEO - although your response will be from Simon Westhead and the head of legal affairs Andrew Connelly customerexcellence@shopdirect.com these may consider repaying earlier than just contacting the regular bunch mark.newton-jones@shopdirect.com andrew.connelly@shopdirect.com cheers

Had enough of the entire corrupt greedy system now in all honesty. Doesn't matter how you look at it, the whole thing is set up to line the pockets of those who are in any position of power, real or imagined, at the expense of those who are least able to afford it, including the vulnerable (or should that be "especially the vulnerable"?) And I'm not even just referring to the banks and debt collection industy, but I think it's fair to include government in that statement, ESPECIALLY the current one. And as for the so called regulatory bodies that are meant to be there for the people...imo they're not even worth the paper used in their own toilets.

Hopefully some helpful info on references. The underlined bits are by me. What should an employer say in my reference? Anyone providing a reference has a duty to take reasonable care not to give misleading information about the employee. Employers should avoid being unfairly selective in the information they provide and avoid including facts or opinions that could create a false inference in the mind of a prospective employer. Does a previous employer have to reveal any problems that occurred in the past employment? Where an employee has performed at an unacceptably low level or has been dismissed for a reason that would cast doubt on his or her suitability for future employment, the person giving a reference can: provide no reference at all; provide only a basic, factual reference, giving the dates of employment and the job title; provide a detailed account, including references to any negative issues What can I do if my old employer provides a bad reference? If you believe your past employer's reference unfairly harmed your future work prospects you may be able to sue for negligent misstatement. To do so, you must show that: the information in the reference is misleading; providing such misleading information has had a detrimental effect on your standing with a prospective employer; your former employer was negligent in providing such a reference. Alternatively, if you think there is an element of discrimination involved, you can bring your former employer to an employment tribunal. So, whilst it is not true that a former employer cannot provide a 'bad' reference, any negative comments must be accurate, fair and balanced. Also, from the Direct Gov website, it does say that: "Once you start working for a new employer you can ask them for a copy of any reference they've been given from your previous employers. They should supply it to you under data protection law."

Hi Mandy, First things first... try not to worry. Councils normally have an agreement with the local court, to set aside a full day, to deal with all the arrears cases that are on the council's books, for any outstanding amounts. Contact your council, inform them all that you have posted here. 9 times out of 10 they will make/set up an arrangement whilst they look into your individual concerns or visa versa. IMPORTANT - if the council insist you pay their court charges anyway or want them adding to your overall bill, object to them immediately. Council's often make profit (yes profits) from these routine council tax summons - heres how I avoided paying them for a friend two years ago. I rang the court myself and asked what the court costs would be, if I was to bring a small claims case against another party for the amount that was said to be owed on my friends council tax - if memory serves me, it was around £250 of arrears. The court person informed me it would be approx £50 in costs. The council summons was claiming the arrears PLUS £80 for costs. Now i dont know if this is common place in all council tax arrears cases, but in our local court, on the day they have a council worker who sits outside the court and greets people who are to appear. Prior to going into the court they attempt to put in place an arrangement for the arrears plus the costs the council send out in their letter. If both parties come to an agreement, the council's worker notifies the council officer who is speaking before the judge. When the council officer comes to the case in question, they make it known to the judge that an agreement has been put in place, saying the person admits they owe the arrears (liability), how much the total claim is for and its put through and they move onto the next case. Armed with this knowledge, I rang the council prior to the court hearing, questioning why the council were claiming £80 costs when the same amount as the arrears outstanding, put through as a small claim, would result in significantly less in costs. I suggested that maybe it would be better for me to attend the court and argue the costs before the judge, as I know that the actual court charge is less than the council were claiming and I know that the council use an ordinary council officer to represent the council in court - ie, no solicitor - who would be working for the council on a normal days work anyway (he wasn't drafted in specially for my friend's case). I suggested that I would be generous and allow 10 minutes for the council worker to read out details of this particular case, that council worker would not be paid the extra £30 the council were claiming in costs. The onus is on the council to prove that the costs they are claiming off any individual case, are genuine. If they cannot do this or they are simply not warranted, then the judge will rightly refuse them. As if by magic, not only did the council set up a payment arrangement, but also wiped off all court costs associated with the council tax account claim. Give the council tax office a ring as soon as possible, I am sure they will come to an arrangement, but more importantly, don't let them try it on regarding adding court costs to your council tax account. Council's don't realise it, but when they make any claim for council tax arrears, they stipulate a set amount on the judgement, i.e. they claim £100 which is for example £60 arrears plus £40 costs - if any individual questions the costs, its viewed as a partial defence and costs are often not granted. Apologies for the long winded reply, good luck.

Barclaycard contact No 0844 556 0066

The statutory requirements for a bill of sale to be valid. 1. The bill of sale must be in the correct form and contain the prescribed information contained in the 1882 act. 2. The bill of sale must be registered. If either requirement is not met, the bill of sale is void (that is, the security will not be enforceable, although the underlying debt may be). Form and Content of a Bill of Sale. The language for some of the wording is is archaic, which most ordinary people today wouldn’t understand. Nevertheless, if not in the prescribed form, it renders the bill of sale void. It will be rendered void if it does not contain: The date of the bill The names and address of the parties A statement of Consideration An acknowledgement of the receipt of the advance An assignment by way of security of particular goods, capable of description Statements of the sum secured, the rate of interest, and the instalments by which repayments are made, Agreed terms for the maintenance of security A clause limiting the grounds of seizure to one of the following: Default with the repayments or any covenant of the bill Bankruptcy or seizure of the goods for rent, rates, or taxes. If the granter fraudulently removes goods, or arranges for their removal If execution has been levied against the goods [*]A schedule containing a description of the chattels [*]Execution (signature) by the granter (borrower) [*]A statement in the form of the 1882 act [*]Attestation by a witness not a party to the bill [*]Registration The consideration is the amount the borrower receives for the bill of sale; NOT the sum secured by the bill (which would include interest and costs). For example, if the agreement is regulated by a consumer credit agreement, it would have to use the amount that was advanced to the borrower BEFORE charges, costs and interest. The bill of sale must contain a statement in the form provided by the act. Here is the wording: http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+ Legislation&title=bills+o f+sale&Year=1882&searchEn acted=0&extentMatchOnly=0 &confersPower=0&blanketAm endment=0&sortAlpha=0&TYP E=QS&PageNumber=1&NavFrom =0&parentActiveTextDocId= 1055715&ActiveTextDocId=1 055738&filesize=2273 . This is often missing. If a credit agreement regulated by the consumer credit act is secured on a bill of sale, and the bill of sale is void, the credit agreement may also void by virtue of the act, although the law on this is VERY unclear. I would recommend getting into contact with the national debt line on this issue. So. You’ve got a copy of the bill of sale, and it is a rare bill of sale that complies in all respect with the acts. Can it be enforced? Registration A bill of sale can only be enforced if it was properly registered. Since this is an expensive and difficult process, it is rare that this actually happens. However, failure to register the bill of sale renders it void, and so renders any security on goods void. Consequently, before allowing any creditor to gain possession of your goods, ask to see a registered copy of the bill showing the supreme courts seal. You can also call the national debt line, and ask them how to search the registry yourself. Requirements of the consumer credit act Most bills of sales are also regulated by the consumer credit act. Such a security will be no more valid than the consumer credit agreement. The requirements of the consumer credit act include: A description of the security should be included/embodied in the credit agreement The bills of sale must be presented to the debtor at the time the credit agreement was signed The creditor will normally have to issue a default notice before calling in the debt. The terms of the bills of sale must be consistent with the credit agreement. The agreement must not be extortionate ( if made before 2007) or constitute an unfair relationship(after 2007) All the other, normal requirements of the consumer credit act apply. It is also possible to apply for a time order to prevent the repossession of goods under the consumer credit act 1974. Enforcement of Bills of sale Before you are required to give up your property, they must (if you ask for it) provide a valid bill of sale exists, that bears the stamp of the Supreme Court. However, repossession does not need to be carried out by a certified or professional “enforcement officer” given this, the professional conduct of those actually repossessing goods is of serious question, AND I ADVISE ANYBODY when presented by a bill of sale to call the police immediately, informing them that you are afraid of a breach of the peace and asking for their attendance. MANY THANKS TOMTERM

Ah, Black Horse again !! Well done for being on the ball with them. Your right to send the SAR. Sometimes it does take the CRA's a couple of months to update their files. When you have the info back you can right to them, include a copy of the letter and ask them to change the dates. Lex