Hi I took out a bos loan in nov 1999, along with this i also opened a preference account credit card. Over the last 8 years or so i have used the card normally up to the limit paying only the minimum amount each month. I now it's very silly but i have only recently taken a closer look at the statements. I now see a payment each month being taken for credit care. I have written to bos asking them firstly to cancel these payments and secondly explain to me what they are. I have recieved a letter back saying ( in Brief ) that when the loan was taken out originally the preference account was opened at the same time with the option of creidtcare, they say there is no evidence to indicate the sales process was not conducted correctly, they have also sent me a copy of the signed agreement (one agreement for the loan and creit card) with a x in the box confirming i want to take advantage of the credit care on the card account. BOS say i would have been sent a welcome pack at the time, within this would have been documents from the insurer explaining the policy details. I should have read these and realised the policy was no good for me, and as i have not made a complaint before they cannot uphold my complaint now for mis selling of the credit care. Although in the original letter i sent i only asked for the creditcare to be cancelled and an explination of what it was and how long i had had it i never mentioned mis selling. Is it worth persuing with the bos or should i give up now. i can not prove if i had the info they say or not, and also it has been 8 years since it was taken out and i am only now complaining. What do you think? thanks carole

Hi Npower have been supplying my electricity for the past 5 years, i recently had a letter from them informing me my contract was at a end, and giving me new electricity prices. The new price is nearly double what i have been paying, i have spoken to the renewals team who say with all the price increses this is the best price they could offer me. I said i would change my supplier to a cheaper one as i had quotes from others offering me a much lower rate. They said if i was a new customer they could give me a much better price. I was told i could not change supplier as i had signed a contract 5 years ago, and to get out of it i must give them 90 days notice BEFORE the end of my contract, meaning as my contract had been automatically renewed i would have to wait another year before i can change. I argued the point that surely i should have been informed the contract was going to be renewed 90 days before it was so i had the chance to cancel if i so wished, they said it is not their policy to do this and that it is explained in the small print of the contract. I do not recall ever signing a contract with them, i have asked over the phone and written to npower asking for a copy of the contract i have signed but have recieved no response. What can i do next? If they can not produce a signed contract does that mean i can leave them? I would be grateful for any advise about this.

Thanks for the reply, So does that mean if the council has not picked up on the breach of the planning permission within 10 years then there is nothing they can do about it. If so what proof.evidence do i need to give them to confirm the breach has been over 10 years. My concern is we have applied for planning permission for 2 new builds of holiday cottages, we have recieved a response from the council to say that permission will not be granted because they believe we are in breach of the planning on the original buildings and believe we would possibly do the same on the new builds. They have asked us to give them proof that the origianl builings are being used as holiday accomondation by giving them lists of names and dates people have stayed in them. We can do this but i do not want to shoot my self in the foot as we are possibly so near to being able to overcome the planning law by saying the buildings have been let on a permanent basis for x amount of years and fight the change that way. Any ideas? or where can i find out more info on planning laws. Look forward to your response

Hi, Can any one help, i am trying to find out about the 7 year ruling on planning permission. I have properties that have planning permission for use only as holiday accomondation. We brought these properties 8 years ago, when we brought them they already had permanant tennants in them,( contray to the planning permission) we have continued to let these properties on shorthold tenancy agreements since then. i have heard of a rule about planning permission called the 7 year ruling but not sure if it exists or if it can be enforced. Does anyone know if there is a ruling and what i would need to do to use it. Look forward to hearing your responses Regards Carole

I owe money for business rates 2007/2008. i received a court summons in May 2007 informing me that we were being taken to court. I have not recieved any further corrispondance since this date. i have recieved a letter from the baliffs saying that they have called to my address with intention to remove goods to the value of the debt. Firstly i telephone the council who the original debt was with to be told that they would stop the baliff action and re-send out the liability order that was made as i did not receive the original one, once i had received this i was to fill it out and send it back so we could then make arrangements to pay. As it is nearly a week since i made this call and still no liabilty oreder i telephoned them again only to be told that the council could no longer deal with it and i need to contact the baliff directly. The person i spoke to could not give me a reason why i was originally told that i would be able to make an arrangement to pay. I have now spoken to the baliff company who tell me i have to ring the baliff who is dealing with the matter, as he is the only person who will be able to help. The only number i can contact him on is a mobile. i telephoned this number and asked if it was possible for him to call me back as it was costing me a lot of money ringing a mobile, he said no. I then said I had a notice of attendance from him and would like to make an agrangement with him to clear the outstanding money. He says no arrangements can be made, he will accept any money i give him but will not make an agreement for the debt to be cleared. Can they do this? They haven't even listen to what offer i am going to make. I find it hard to believe that there is not a way we can deal with this, without the baliff keep calling back to me and adding additional fees to the bill each time. i can not afford to pay the whole amount in one go although i will be offering a large lump sum payment as the first payment, then approx 4 more large monthly payment to clear the debt in the shortest time possible. Surley there is a way round this, can anyone help please with any ideas of how to deal with this problem. I HAVE READ SOME OF THE ADVANCE GIVEN ABOUT COUNCIL TAX AND BALIFFS. IS IT THE SAME FOR BUSINESS RATES?? look forward to hearing from you

I owe money for business rates 2007/2008. i received a court summons in May 2007 informing me that we were being taken to court. I have not recieved any further corrispondance since this date. i have recieved a letter from the baliffs saying that they have called to my address with intention to remove goods to the value of the debt. Firstly i telephone the council who the original debt was with to be told that they would stop the baliff action and re-send out the liability order that was made as i did not receive the original one, once i had received this i was to fill it out and send it back so we could then make arrangements to pay. As it is nearly a week since i made this call and still no liabilty oreder i telephoned them again only to be told that the council could no longer deal with it and i need to contact the baliff directly. The person i spoke to could not give me a reason why i was originally told that i would be able to make an arrangement to pay. I have now spoken to the baliff company who tell me i have to ring the baliff who is dealing with the matter, as he is the only person who will be able to help. The only number i can contact him on is a mobile. i telephoned this number and asked if it was possible for him to call me back as it was costing me a lot of money ringing a mobile, he said no. I then said I had a notice of attendance from him and would like to make an agrangement with him to clear the outstanding money. He says no arrangements can be made, he will accept any money i give him but will not make an agreement for the debt to be cleared. Can they do this? They haven't even listen to what offer i am going to make. I find it hard to believe that there is not a way we can deal with this, without the baliff keep calling back to me and adding additional fees to the bill each time. i can not afford to pay the whole amount in one go although i will be offering a large lump sum payment as the first payment, then approx 4 more large monthly payment to clear the debt in the shortest time possible. Surley there is a way round this, can anyone help please with any ideas of how to deal with this problem. look forward to hearing from you

Thanks to eveyone for your response, i think i will take the gamble and hope no one puts in a higher offer. I will start the ball rolling tomorrow for the valuers etc. Thanks for all your comments Carole

hi hopefully someone may be able to help me, I am a first time buyer and have a mortgage agreed in principle, i have found a house and put an offer in which has been accepted, Because the house is a reposession an advert has to be placed in the local paper stating that an offer has been made on the property and anyone wanting to place a higher offer must do so now. We were told that this notice would be for 7 days. The add has now been placed in the local paper but the wording says anyone can make a higher offer until exchange of contracts, surley this can not be right, i am about to instruct a solicitor and valuer at my expense but do not want to do so if a higher offer can be made and accepted before exchange of contracts. The estate agent selling the property have tried from the start to get us into see there mortage advisor, but as we alreardy had a mortgage agreed there was no point us seeing him, they have been very forceful trying different ways to get us to have a mortage with them we have really had to stand our ground. Does anyone know the laws concerning selling a reposessed house can someone really leave it to just before the exchange of contracts to put in a higher bid although we have gone to the expense of valuation fees etc look forward to hearing from someone soon regards carole

Hi Freakyleaky, Yes I Have Filed A Court Claim, I Have Not Added Interest To The Charges. The Claim Had Been Acknowledged By Hsbc Who Say They Are Defending The Whole Claim. The Total Cost I Am Claiming Including Court Fees Is £116. There Is No Interest Included In This Amount. There Have Been Additional Charges Made To My Account Since The Court Forms Were Filed, In The Offer Letter They Say They Are Including These In The Settlement Figure, Although The Figure They Are Offering Is £1161.90 (not Sure Where This Figure Comes From) Which Includes Charges Applied Up To And Including 8 May 07 And Includes Accrued Charges Totalling £50. As I Said Before £200 Of Charges Have Been Added To My Account Since The Court Claim Was Filed, I Hope This Puts You In The Picture Of Were I Am With The Claim Look Forward To Hearing From You Regards Carole

Hi I Have Issued Court Papers To Hsbc To Reclaim A Total Of £1041.00 In Unlawful Charges. Since The Court Papers Were Issued I Have Recieved A Letter From Hsbc Offering Me £1161.90 In Full And Final Settlement. They Have Said They Have Included All Charges Up To And Including 8th May 2007 And Includes Accrued Charges Totalling £50. However I Have Checked My Account And There Is A Total Of £200 In Charges When I First Sent A Request For The Refund Jan 07 And 8th May 07. There Is Now Also £120 Court Fee On Top Of This. What Should I Do Now, Should I Write Back Asking For £1041 Plus £200 Additional Charges Plus £120 Court Fee Totaling £1361, Or Should I Count My Blessings And Grab The £1161.90. I Would Be Grateful For Any Advice On This Many Thanks Carole

yaffsimone1 my mother has been claiming pension credits and has had to open a bank account, this is the only way i can think people have got hold of her address, she has not applied for any further credit. she moved away in approx 2001 and came beginning of this year

Hi I am asking for some advice on behalf of my parents, They had been running a business (partnership)for some 20 years or so when things started to get difficult, they sold the business to one of their creditors to pay him back the money they owed him. This was done approx 5 years ago. once the business was sold ,they also sold their house and moved abroad. Once the mortgages were paid and overdrafts paid off there was very little money for them to take with them. my parents have now seperated and my mother has come back to the uk, As her husband dealt with the finacial side of the business she is unsure as to what money was still owed to who when they left. She does know there is still money owed to various people/companies. She now wants to start a fresh and delcare herself bankrupt clearing up any loose ends. The problem is we do not know how much money is owed or to who, can anyone let me know how we can go about sorting this mess out. We would like to get things moving as quick as possible because now my mother has an address in the uk she is starting to get letters from debt collectors, we do not want them knocking on the door if we can help it. look forward to hearing from you regards carole

Thanks for the info

I have contacted various legal advisors who tell me this is correct, The only way i could have gone was to sue the driver through the courts, but i was told that with any case like this it would be very unusual for a judge to be on my side. To be honest this happened a while ago and the claim and repairs have all been finalised. I am not realy asking for help with this but as I have just found the cag which is helping me through getting a refund of my bank charges.I thought this info might be of help to others. Thanks for your thoughts on this matter.

Until recently i thought all accidents were unforceen, or else we would not have them. I was unlucky enough to be involved in a car crash. The other person had a heart attack at the wheel and drove into the back of my car. Unfortunatly the driver died at the sceen. When putting in my claim to the insurance company i was told that as it was an unforceen accident that no body was liable and that i would have to claim from my own insurance loosing my no claims bonus. I understand that i was the lucky one in this accident as i walked away un hurt physically, but finacially i have lost big time. The other driver was fully insured and up to date with his premiums, but this is a get out clause that the insurance company uses to not pay up. I am told that the accident was an act of god and could not be forceen so no one is responsible. Luckily i had fully comp insurance which did cover some of my costs, but here is a warning to drivers on 3rd party ins, you may have an accident that is not your fault and have your car written off and not be able to make a claim on the other sides insurance. If i had been hit by an uninsured driver then there are companys i could have claimed from. But as the driver was insured at the time of the accident there was nothing i could do. just thought i would pre warn others who may find themselves in the same situation.