Hi, I've been made responsible for dealing with an elderly friend's car after her husband died recently. The chap died a couple of months ago and probate is currently in the hands of the solicitors. They offered to sell her car but the offered value was very low so she refused. The car sat for a while as it was broken (starter siezed). After her family at first said they would help and haven't come through, it has fallen to me to try and sort it out and sell it for her as even it being there all the time is a reminder for her and upsetting. I got it repaired, she paid and got a receipt for the solicitor. The lady did cancel the insurance a week or so ago which I now know was a mistake as the car was previously kept on the road outside her house - she didn't know about the continuous insurance rules and just thought it was money that she could get back. Luckily she left the tax in place. I had the car moved to the back of my drive which is off the road, it can be seen but it is out of plain site under a car port. I'm pondering covering the number plate . Although the car remains taxed it is uninsured at the moment - I checked on the insurance database online and it is not on there. So basically I would like to get this sorted for her (and us) asap and would like some advice. Firstly the DVLA - from reading here http://theprobatedepartment.co.uk/how-do-i-change-the-ownership-of-the-car/ As probate has not yet been granted I think we have to get the solicitor to tell the DVLA (fill in a section on the V5c) the car has changed hands to the lady herself. Can we at the same time declare the car as SORN ? I tried to call the DVLA but they refuse the call all the time as they are "unusually busy" - It's always "unusual" there isn't it ? The insurance issue bothers me a little, should I take out insurance on the car even if it is temporary and/or extend my insurance policy to include this car just to get it back registered as insured ? Also it will probably need this to be sold (test drives ?). In the meantime how can I avoid either myself or the lady concerned getting into a problem should a tax van or police decide to check the car or it gets "pinged" on their magic cameras - a family down the road from me was 'done' by one of these a while ago and on top of everything else she can do with avoiding that. I can insure it instantly online even if I'm not the registered keeper and then cancel it later - probably lose some fees though. Finally is there anything else I may have forgotten ? Thanks in anticipation.

Thanks. I'll send a combined SAR and writing only letter. And will be asking some difficult questions of mum.

The Agreement Number doesn't match any of the others.

PS to my PS - just a bump. Her T&Cs say that she has agreed to payment by doorstep collector - can I still send them the "I withdraw permission" letter to stop them calling or will they just say that we have an agreement and an appointment ? They have called on two different days of the week - once on a Saturday.

Thanks - I will take a look at that. I'm doing an SAR (trying to get all the agreement numbers together, up to 5 so far!) and also want to instruct them everything in writing and no callers. Also told mum to refuse entry to any callers and just ask them to leave. I suspect she has been "friendly" with them before so she will find this difficult. The card reference is on a small sticker which has on it which reads : This is your card number. Please peel this sticker off and place in your payment book Card Number : xxxx Agreement Number : xxx To de-activate your card is lost/stolen please call... I haven't frisked her fully yet but I suspect she has been talked into some kind of card - maybe something she can use to draw cash on credit at an ATM ? I might just ring the number and get it cancelled asap anyway. Finances are in a total mess, this is the last thing we need to handle.

Double PS - their terms state that collection can be made at the door, can I tell them in writing only and no visits ?

PS to the above - more digging I have found a current "agreement" in place, weekly - not been paid for a few weeks. And also reference to a card of some type ? What is the fastest way of removing these leeches from my mum, and also ensuring that they no longer contact her in person ?

Hi, Found out the other day that my mum has been taking out loans from some bunch called Provident Credit - a product called Handycash ? She doesn't have all of the documentation so I have no idea whether any there is anything outstanding - my mum is not "all there" at the moment and I'm starting to sort things out including power of attorney so I can get suppliers etc. to talk to me. Some questions : 1. Are these companies under any kind of obligation to ensure that the credit can be repaid, and the people signing are fully understanding it ? My mum is still denying these are loans at all and I'm not even sure if she still has any of them. 2. How do I get them to give me details instead of my mum - if she gives verbal permission is that OK ? 3. I assume an SAR is required for copies of all documents ? 4. Is there something I can put in writing to them that under no circumstances are they to call on my mum again - a bit of a complication is that I live 250 miles away and there was a "Hi I'm your new agent" hand delivered card through the door. I would rather she was not tempted. 5. Related to 1. if there is any obligation can I complain to FOS ? 6. Anything else I need to ask them, do with them or indeed to them ? Thanks

Hi, I paid by cash over the counter, they kept the card. The customs declaration is marked as merchandise with a value of $30. If it had a customs charge and that have VAT then fair enough. But the Royal Mail International sticker states : Import Duty £0 Excise Duty £0 Vat £3.35 Other £0 RMI Handling fee £8 I'm basically paying for nothing except someone in RMI misjudging whether my item needs to pay duty and then I'm paying VAT for that. I know that RMI gets paid a fee by the US Postal Service for handling it once it gets to these shores. Why should I pay twice ? As I tapped the guy who had sent it has sent quite a few identical packages to the UK.

Hi, I'm sure this has been handled before but I'll ask anyway. I received a DVD from the US. It didn't arrive instead I got a card asking for £11.30 (or near that) extra to get hold of it, the original item cost me $30. When I got it I found that the charge was made up completely of a handling charge and VAT, no customs charge at all. How / Can I start to claim it back ? I have made a complaint to their website but they just responded that they have to pass items for customs but there was, as I say, no charge and no chance of a charge. The guy in the US has sent to the UK before with no customs issues or additional charges.

One thing I forgot to mention - the letter sequence has a twist here : 1st ppc letter, owner is responsible, blah blah, 7 days. 2nd ppc letter, ahh so you choose to ignore us, WE WON'T GO AWAY YOU KNOW 3rd ppc letter, final 7 days or thats it mister... 4th ppc letter, another final 7 days... *quiet for weeks 1st debt collector threat 1 1st debt collector threat 2 1st debt collector - notice of intended litigation 1 - now we are really serious wah wah wah, toys out of pram... 1st debt collector - notice of intended litigation 2 - well you're ignoring us so we're going to get a big bruvver onto you *quiet for week. 2nd debt collector threat 1 2nd debt collector threat 2 with discount and final (for the 8th time) 7 day warning. 2nd debt collector threat 3 now you're really for it silence.

Just a quick update for those people who complain that when PPCs go away nobody comes back to update their thread. We have been giving everyone (PPC and 2 debt collectors (apparently)) the ignore treatment, no response, no phone calls, no appeals, nothing, nada. And we haven't had anything since my last posting above. No more letters, nothing. So the message has to be hold out and just take no bait. And if they come back we shall ignore them some more.

The popularity thing is beginning to get boring if I'm honest. Now if Lady GaGa was as demanding of me I would pay attention, but this lot just get annoying. I would like to send them a completely final pee off letter but I just can't summon the energy. In short I would like to be apathetic to them but I just can't be bothered. I come here to check in, provide updates and get guidence in case anything changes. And maybe to post stuff which may prevent others getting caught. Oh and it wakes up the 'thread updates' bot to let me know about those threads I've been too busy to follow for months.

Well I keep on hoping someone will flush but they keep coming back. New letter now from Pasrking Collection Services Limited. Apparently they list TPS as their client but the heading on the letter is "DEBT PURCHASED" which I assume means they are acting on their own behalf. Guess what ? They are offering me another discount as long as I pay in 10 days. This will be their ONLY offer. Its obviously not that urgent as they say the 10 days starts from the date of the letter, and they sent it second class. Assume ignore again ?

Well, here's hoping. In the meantime I'll put the letters in a frame on the back of the loo door with a title : "In case of emergency, break glass."