My daughter has just sold several parcels of used baby and toddler clothing on ebay, everyone has received their parcels but one, stangely enough the biggest one with 14 items in it...as the people didnt want to incur extra costs, none of the parcels had to be signed for, she will now probably have to send a refund,as,after a burglary she cant find anything let alone proof of posting.. this will wipe out the money she made on all the other items due to the fees and postal costs.. you live and learn dont you!! But everyone else will now have to pay more which doesnt seem fair really.

does this apply to buisiness or domestic, as i am really struggling to keep my business going and have been threatened with having my electricity cut off as i cant afford to pay off the outstanding bill at the amounts they want(british gas),I live above my premises so this would also cut off my domestic use and would close my business down!

Hi. linnikins here again!! I have found someone who may be able to help me (and others in the same position) they are at lease-advice.org ,and are very good at getting to the "nitty gritty" of landlord/tennant problems. There is an article on there about a massive [problem] by landlords and their agents on insurance "bills". I have never seen an insurance premium for this property, dont know what they are saying the building and rebuild costs are, and dont know what is covered in the policy!! You may think that this makes me quite stupid, but I have spoken to a number of business tennants who are in the same boat, (including my local insurance broker!!) lease-advice.org gives very good, legal advice, and can be reached by phone if you need. I was very dissapointed that no one else could give me advice on this matter on consumer forum, so I hope that my investigations may help others who are facing similar problems!!

Hi can anyone tell me what the up to date situation is regarding claiming bank charges back? I was in the process when I got the standard letter saying they werent being dealt with untill after court case, but it seems that some people hae proceeded anyway.Is it worth persuing it now or should I wait, I am in a severe financial situation and this is not helping!!

Many thanks I will try that.

Thanks for clarifying that.. thought you were being silly!! Still have not had any replies though.

thanks for these comments... I was really confused when I went to see if anybody had replied to me to see BUMP!!! All is clear, but I still havnt had any replies to my question about landlords overcharging for insurance.......

sorry, dont understand your reply!!

Hi, I wonder if someone can help clarify a situation I have with my landlord. I rent a shop an a fully repairing leease. It says in my lease that I have to pay the landlords bill for the building insurance. Several years ago my bookkeeper commented that my building insurance seemed very high.. so I had the place surveyed and valued, and after the valuation,got some quotes for insurance. My quotes were between £300 and £400 ... the landlords bill was then £1200!!! I contacted the landlord to ask if the bill was correct and he said he presumed so..but it was part of a block policy, I asked if I was paying to insure all his other properties (which didnt go down too well!!) The following year the bill was reduced by about £600, but has slowly risen back up to this new bill of £1005.Is there any way I can appeal against this amount, it is far higher than other people are paying in this area, or can the landlord just charge whatever he wants and get away with it, does he have to qualify what I am paying for and how they arrive at the amount he is charging me? Any advice on this would be very much appreciated!!

HI, I WONDER IF SOMEONE COULD CLARIFY A SITUATION FOR ME. MY SHOP IS RENTED ON A FULLY REPAIRING LEASE, AND I HAVE TO PAY THE LANDLORD FOR THE BUILDING INSURANCE. I HAVE JUST BEEN SENT A BILL FOR £1005, WHICH SEEMS TO BE EXTREMELY E XCESSIVE TO ME...THIS IS ONLY FOR THE BUILDING AND WINDOWS!! i QUERIED THIS A FEW YEARS AGO, AND THE NEXT BILL WAS CONSIDERABLY REDUCED BUT HAS SLOWLY RISEN AGAIN. I ACTUALLY HAD THE PREMISES SURVEYED AND VALUED A FEW YEARS AGO AND WAS QUOTED ABOUT £300 FOR THE INSURANCE. IS THERE ANY WAY I CAN APPEAL AGAINST THIS BILL...OR CAN THE LANDLORD JUST GET AWAY WITH GHARGING WHATEVER HE WANTS?ANY ADVICE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!!

help!! I have an outstanding bill of £838 with british gas. They suggested that I pay £100 per month to pay off the balance and this would include what I consume each month but no time scale was ever mentioned . Some time ago I recieved a phone call fron them and they said that I was not paying the bill off fast enough, and wanted to put the direct debit up to £180 per month. I have explained to them that I am struggling financially, and have an IVA, but they said if I didnt agree that they would disconnect me and take me to court to recover the balance. I have told them repeatedly that I cant afford more, and that £100 per month is a struggle, but that I will maintain that amount.I have since recieved numerous phone calls, some quite hostile,the last person that phoned said that this was now being passed to someone else to deal with and that they would not be anywhere near so lenient!! I have today recieved another letter saying that my direct debit will go up to £202.04 per month to pay off the bill. I can not afford this and cant understand why they are insisting on this revised amount. What can I do ?

If anybody has read the above, I still need help, the van still at the auctions, but hasnt been allocated for sale yet.I have sent a copy of the letter I sent them in July by fax this time, and a covering letter saying that if they sell the van they are breaking the law, but this hasnt bothered them before...I know that they will say they did not get any letter from me, and since we had a break in lately, I cant even find the post office slip to prove I sent it. What am i supposed to do... and can anybody tell me how I would stand if I could buy the van back from the auction ( obviously for less than they recon I now owe them.) Could they then come and seize goods from my shop for the money, or would it have to go back to court?

the debt was for hire purchase,which I got into arrears with. I tried to negotiate with capitol bank (while their thugs were on my premises) and they just kept saying £2003 or the van back. Even though I offered to pay in 2 installments they refused, and just kept repeating the same message. Eventually, it went to court, and I was ordered to pay £500 straight away, and then £230 per month,which I did. I paid well over £2000, and then asked for a statement from the debt agency which was dealing with it (direct and legal) to see how much more I had to pay. They didnt send a statement, but said I still owed another £2000!!! I disputed this, but had onother call from more "bailiffs" who were abusive to me,ie. called me a stupid bitch, said the van was going to be reported stolen and I was going to prison unless I gave them the keys,logbook etc. I just said "bring it on!" Direct and Legal then clamped my van, and sent more thugs round to get the keys etc. The only way I could get them to remove the clamps was to give the bailiff 3 cheques for over £1800, which I did. The first cheque went through while I was still trying to get a statement from them. When I eventually did get a statement there were over £1293 in "costs"... there were charges like £25 letters, £10 phone calls, some of £150 per week for supposed letters I certainly didnt recieve.I cantacted C.A.G. and was sent a draft letter to send to direct and legal saying that I didnt acknowledge the debt to them and asking them for various things, and specifying that all correspondence HAD to be in writung.I have not heard a word since, and have had too many other things to worry about to chase it up.... Lo and behold, my shop is always closed on Mondays, and they came and towed it away this morning. There is no number on the form they left, just a "bailiffss" name and the fact that it has been towed direct to birmingham car auction. I am furious, and now feel really helpless.I would appreciate any help here.. I really dont know how to handle these unscrupulous s.o.bs.

I had some problems with debt collectors some time ago, and thought I had resolved the problem. My van has just been removed from a private car park, no notice was given,and according to the document pushed through my door, it has been taken direct to an auction. What can I do now, if it is sold in the auction, they will send me a bill for any supposed shortfall! Can I try to buy it back myself? Urgent reply needed!!!

whats happening with bank charges now? Have just recd. a letter from Halifax after a month saying everything is on hold due to court case!