I'm thinking of trying to claim these back for my mum from K and Co (formerly Great Universal). In the past she has repeatedly told them she didn't ask for it, & that she's unemployed. They either fob her off & say "oh it's incase you damage the items" or if they take it off one month, they put it straight back on next month! She also got a bit behind and had a couple of £12 late payment & insufficient payment fees. Whats so nice of them is they charge the shopping protection & cover on these fees too! She bought a hoover before xmas for £140. When she asked to put it on buy now, pay later they've put it onto the high interest over 3 years account. In thory if she clears it by Jan 2012 there is no interest to pay, but they must have front loaded the interest already. She made a £10 payment last month & only 48p went to reducing the outstanding balance, the rest went on purchase protection and interest! Total scumbags Also how far can you go back reclaiming these?

Hi Guys, Mum has just been charged £95, £55, £95 unauthorised overdraft & paid referal fees for Nov, Dec, Jan & had accrued £110 for Feb. She had been silly and used her debit card for a few small purchases & withdrawn £10 at a time from the cash machine a few times whilst over her limit. Each transaction cost £15 paid referral fee. She hadn't realised she'd been getting charged & each time the charges were debited her direct debits went unpaid. She is unemployed with an 11 year old child & her benefits total approx £180 per fortnight. I suggested she plead for a refund of charges as she must be a hardship case, due to charges taking huge chunk of her income & causing a cycle of charges resulting in charges. Anyhow, one call to head office & they immediately agreed to waive all of the charges due to be taken this month. Given how easily they agreed to waive these charges do you think I should go straight after a refund of the £250 charges they've already taken? They haven't offered to refund the charges she's already paid. Your thoughts appreciated.

Yeah I am happy with the service I received! From past experience with big dealerships I have a genuine mistrust of anything they tell you. I have a garage that I'm very happy with, but they were honest and said they couldn't fix my boot as they are Fiat specialists and didn't have the knowledge of the circuit diagrams for my Micra. I forgot to mention that EH did try to sell me 4 new tyres, even though when I compared the measurements to the ones they did 4 months ago each tyre had grown 1 inch of tread! Before you ask I hadn't changed them within the 4 months

Sailor sam were you working at the garage? Went to collect my car, no charge, the car had been fully valeted (it was in a filthy state when I dropped it off) & I've had missed calls from them today asking me if I was happy with the service I received!

We are just about to leave a very big letting only agent in Leeds & they are wanting to charge £17.25 for providing a reference to Homelet. We are pretty appalled because we've just totted up they've already had about £500 in fees from us in the last 5 years. They charged us £60 each time we renewed, always trying to push for renewal every 6 months. They even charged us a renewal fee to let the tenancy lapse to periodic! We were particularly agrieved as they only treat you this way if they fully manage the property as I know many people who rent through them, but are managed by the landlord & they never paid renewal fees. The landlord got swindled by them too as they charged him £120 every time we renewed. I'm thinking I should put a complaint together to the OFT as you receive no notice that these fees will become payable at the commencement of the tenancy. What do you think?

Hi Guys, Thanks for the replies. I dropped the car off this morning & they just called to say that located a faulty wire that needed mending. Should I have to pay for this? Do you think they could have damaged this whilst they fitted the boot switch in May or more likely, it was a faulty wire all along, but they didn't bother trying to identify the exact cause of the problem but just replaced the biggest most expensive component they could find. If presented with a bill do you think I should suggest that maybe the boot switch was never faulty in the first place & they've already had £150 too much of money!

In May the boot of my Nissan Micra would not open. My usual garage (who are not Nissan dealers) couldn't find the cause of the problem, but suggested I take it to a Nissan garage as they didn't have the circuit diagrams. I took the car to my local Nissan dealer, Evans Halshaw. They quickly diagnosed that I needed a replacement boot switch at a cost of £150. This was replaced & I collected the car. The next time I tried to open the boot, it wouldn't open so I took the car back and they said they must have fitted a faulty boot switch. Anyhow, 4 months on & I can't open my boot again! Am I correct in thinking the repair should have been guaranteed for 12 months? Meaning I should be able to get it repaired for free. I'm sure my usual garage have always told me their repairs are guaranteed for 12 months, but I can't find anything for Evans Halshaw. I just want to know my rights incase they try to pull the wool over my eyes!

No, the whole reason for transferring to tiscali is that you pay line rental to them, which is cheaper than paying £11 to BT. Your line rental, free evening landline calls, cable TV & broadband should all cost £15.99. The only extra cost is calls. The tiscali website is plastered with "just leave it all to us, we'll do everything, your move to us will be seamless, you won't need to change your number, you'll have one simple bill" Paying both companies for one landline is not particularly seamless in my opinion!

Mum had been using Tiscali for Broadband for last couple of years & BT for the landline. As she can't pay by direct debit (she is on benefits) & was being stung by BT with £4.50 non-DD charges I suggested she take broadband, landline & TV from Tiscali for £15.99. Early August the TV was connected up & she was told she'd been transferred over. Her DD increased to the new amount & she paid her final bill to BT........ Three months later nice BIG bill arrives from BT (she thought she was getting free evening landline calls as per Tiscali deal), who deny that Tiscali has transferred the account. BT are getting very shirty about the fact she is late paying the bill & she has told Tiscali in no uncertain terms that they should be paying the BT bill as it is their cock-up. I shall be home at the weekend to check what documentary evidence she has from Tiscali. Where can she take it from here? Any help is much appreciated.

Renewal time has come round again, which I always find particularly stressful as it costs us £60 and I have to commit to living the next 6 or 12 months of my life. We've been renting the same property for 3 years & would like to buy within the next year or so. A periodic tenancy would be better as I'm aware it is virtually impossible to complete a house sale on time & I don't want to be stuck paying rent & a mortgage. I've argued until I'm blue in the face that by not signing a new AST, that I automatically lapse onto a periodic, but the LA say they will just take renewal fees from my deposit. What makes the whole thing really annoying is that I have colleagues that rent from the same agents who have been allowed to go periodic. The only difference I can make out is that in their instance the LA only finds the tenant & the landlord manages the property whilst in our case the LA fully manages the property as the LL lives a long way away. My landlord says he is happy for a periodic tenancy but the LA won't allow it because they also rob him of £120 each time we renew! I know I should just move out, but it costs an arm & a leg on administration fees to find somewhere else & I don't want the hassle of moving somewhere for the short term. Any ideas?

Hi Guys, Just a quick update. I think Mum got the £29.95 refunded in to her catalogue account for the Handbag Cover within a week of me sending the letter. I say I think as I haven't seen a statement & the letter seemed a bit confused saying they wouldn't take the premium & they had refunded it! Anyhow, regarding the Great Universal PPI the letter was sent early May. We have received no acknowledgement that they had received the letter & they cashed the £10 cheque 27th May. To date I still have received nothing. Do you think I should kick up a bit of a stink to them that to add insult to injury when querying unjust payments that they have taken £10 & provided me with nothing. Should I remind them that I am within my rights to report them to the Information Commisioner? As regards sending them a Letter Before Action, the amount in dispute is only £50ish. Surely, it will cost more than that to go to the small claims court. Am I not able to write to the Financial Services Ombudsman & ask them to resolve this case? Thanks

Thanks for the reply Sparklez30:) The handbag cover is provided by 08000 HelpMe which must be linked to Great Universal as they charged it to her statement. I spoke to someone to complain that they pressured her & sold her something she doesn't need. They cancel your mobile, credit cards & sort your passport. She has old pay as you go phone, no credit or debit cards & has never been abroad ever! I'm just writing a letter asking them to refund the fee. If they don't I want a copy of the phone transcript as it will be incriminating that they were overly forceful. If they say they don't have it I can suggest they have no proof that she entered the agreement so will threaten the FS Ombudsman. Regarding the PPI they are slippery buggers. I told her to cancel it which she did as she only works 5 hours a week. If you look up the terms of there current policy it says if you don't work 16 hours we will pay one third your monthly bill if you spend 5 nights in hospital! Wow so generous! I'm sure this is how they get round selling it to people who don't work. Con is the premium isn't a fraction of the full price considering they only provide a fraction of cover. Have cleared the balance but not closed the account & am going to send S.A.R.

Hi Guys, Bit of advice wanted please following conversation with my mum. She was sold Handbag Cover by someone calling from Great Universal on the day she came out of hospital following an eye operation. She doesn't know what the cover is for & said she pleaded with them to stop calling her to sell her things. Anyhow, next statement came through £29.99 charged. When she called to cancel it saying she hadn't signed they said she made a verbal agreement & only had 10 days to cancel. Also, they have recently added account cover back onto her account under a different guise. A few months a go I realised she was paying PPI & told her to cancel which she did. She said they called again to say that they had an account cover that suited her. She would have been paying PPI for over 10 years and she was definately unemployed during some of this period. When she was employed she only works 5 hours per week, I wouldn't have thought she would be covered by PPI for this? Was thinking of clearing the balance in full, closing the acount & then writing to request a refund. Is this the right order to do things? Do I need to get proof she was unemployed? Any help much appreciated.

Hi Guys, Just had a call from Churchill. The cyclist has admitted full liability, his insurers will pay in full direct to garage so I don't have to pay any excess & my NCD has been reinstated. I hope this thread has been of help to anyone else in a similar situation. It seems most of us are covered for 3rd party whilst walking and cycling on our home insurance. Cheers

Thanks for your help guys. It's a weird one & hopefully not a problem I will ever encounter. The tenant has trapped a number of mice with a humane trap, but was a bit freaked out when a much larger rodent was found dead wedged in the door of the trap! He had hoped the landlord covering over the holes had stopped them coming in under the stairs but has been finding they've still been nibbling away at his cereal & biscuit boxes! He definately hasn't been negligent the mice were apparent within a week of moving in.

I'm surprised that this falls as the tenants responsibility when it has been a problem for previous tenancies. I suggested a cat but your not allowed a goldfish with this letting agent!

Hi guys, Churchill were about to call/write to the cyclist on Monday & I'm pushing for his insurance to pay. If not then it is better for me to pay for the repair myself rather than make a claim for £375. I'd rather keep a clean NCD & only claim for a big accident where the repair bills are much higher. If you can cope with driving with a damaged car it is better to wait for the other party to accept liability before you get your car repaired. That way they have to pay the full cost of repairs & you don't have to quantify the effect to your NCD as you haven't claimed. I'll keep you posted as I hear.

Hi Guys, A colleague has been renting a house for approx 3 months. The house is a gatehouse in the middle of a field. He has trapped 7 mice in the kitchen. It has been reported to landlady, who has filled in holes (inadequately) to stop the mice, but they keep digging through into the house. He wants to terminate the tenancy but has been told he cannot leave before the end of the tenancy agreement as the letting agency don't like it. Can he demand the tenancy be ended & threaten to inform environmental health if they don't allow him to leave? Any ideas?

Hi Guys, Thanks for all your replies you've been a great help & I'm really glad I found this forum because you cover a wide range of topics. Saturday morning a letter arrived from my insurers for my claim, which is funny because however I reported it to said she was putting it info only! Anyhow, they tried to tell me to pay the excess & get the car repaired & they might chase it....sod that! I have to call another department on Monday to ask them to chase the cyclists home insurance. There is no way I'm claiming on my insurance as your right you can't truly quantify the cost of increased premiums for the next how many years. I'm currently on 9 years & although they're protected you have to be careful about how many claims you have in 3 years. I currently have them chasing up for damage to my rear bumper that was reported to me by a note on my windscreen. Even though I haven't had the car repaired they registered it as a claim. I should be entitled to 2 claims in 3 years but with this 2nd one they reckon I lose 5 years no claims bonus. I'd rather drive around with 2 bust bumpers than pay any more to my insurers! I'll keep you posted.

Do you think if I write to him that he will pass it to his insurers & they would cough up. He said they had told him I should claim on my car insurance, but thats typical insurance companies if they think it can be paid off another policy they will push that first.

My boyfriend laughed at me when i came out the police station saying at least I didn't have to spend the night there! About 2 hours after I got back from the station the policeman called to say that police have a book which details the hours of day & night. I said i'd checked the sunrise time & it wasn't looking to good for me, but he said 8.15 was not the time in his book, it was 7.45 so he said I was in the clear re the direction I was facing. Can the cyclist really stand up in court and say the accident was my fault because he could not see a car parked under a street lamp in the rain. I'm guessing if thats the case he wouldn't have been able to see a person crossing the road. My drive to work follows the route he would have took & there were plenty of cars parked the "wrong way". So he managed to negotiate all of them safely, only difference is he would have been going much slower as he passed them as they were on the flat whereas when he came past mine he would have been doing some speed as we're on a steep hill. I'm tempted to use a camcorder to walk the route he took to demonstrate that my car was no less visible than any of the others.

Just back from the police station. Have shown docs & described incidence. They won't report it as a road traffic accident as I wasn't in the car. They weren't too bothered about me facing the wrong way as they said 50% of cars are parked the wrong way round. He suggested I take multiple pictures of my car from varying distances to prove that it was perfectly visible since its always parked under a street lamp. Had a bit of info from a longtime traffic cop & apparently nighttime is considered as starting one hour after sunset & finishing one hour before sunrise so I can't be accused of parking illegally at night. I just need to weigh up whether I'm gonna open a can of worms & have to fork out compensation for his collarbone if they hold me to blame in anyway & is that gonna cost more than the damage to my car.

It was daylight, it was just a bit grey because of the miserable weather. It was bucketing it down. I've checked his policy with liverpool Victoria & he has cover under liability to public if he damages someone elses property in an accident. I will know where I stand better after I've spoken to the police. As they will tell me how serious an offence it is to park on the wrong side of the road.

Ah well I am off to the police station tonight to report the incident. I will tell them the car was parked in the wrong direction & I'll have to see if that is sufficient negligence on my part to have caused him to crash into my car and if I must be prosecuted for breaking the parking laws. Seems to me he has to take some of the blame for not paying attention to where he was going in poor weather conditions. I'll let you know, but remember everyone park on the proper side of the road tonight!

Cheers for the replys, just a bit of an update. I have informed the police that the cyclist was injured & they think it needs to be recorded as a road traffic accident so I need to take all of my documents down to the station. The PC thinks I should pressure my insurers to pursue his household insurance to claim against his public liability. I think they would only consider this if I paid my excess & then it is too late if they don't get the money, I have a fault claim. The only thing that worries me is that my car was parked against the flow of traffic & that if you consider 8.00am night time I was breaking the law. There are only houses on one side of the road, the other side is parkland so nobody ever parks on that side of the road. To park in the flow of traffic would require me to park as the only car on the other side, causing traffic to weave around me or perform a 3 point turn every morning in rush hour. Do you think potentially I could get accused of causing him to hit me?