I filled in an application form which had the usual stuff on the back, talking about the form and guarantor, asking if all the info i put on was true etc but i was in a hurry to fill the form in and hand it to the letting agents for fear of someone else getting the admin on the house first which would have prevented me from getting it. I must have had it in my possession for about an hour before handing it in. I did not get a copy of it given to me. Do you think I could ask to see my file?? Could they refuse to give it to me?

So what can I do? Would it be a case for Trading Standards?

Because that was what the process i was told happened by the letting agents - i pay the money for them to do the admin involved in processing my application for expenses and credit checks etc - ive never used a letting agent before, ive only been with a housing association and got this house from a friend of a friend so didnt know any different. Every letting agent but one does that in my town - they all advised me the same when i was aclling about houses so i had no reason to think this was wrong? x

Hi, just wondered if someone would be able to give me a second (or third!) oppinion? I needed to move house and paid an admin charge of £250 to a letting agent. was very unimpressed by their unproffessional attitude - they lost my contact details twice, didnt attend the first or second house viewing, didnt advise the current resident of my appointments to view until a few minutes before, did not advise me when the credit checks were complete, did not advise me that it was a compulsery part of the contract that i take out house insurance and were in general rude and uninterested - so it probabl would not surprise you that i decided to apply for a different house with a different company. The new agents were lovely, really smiley and friendly - the house was gorgeous! I went in with my friend and made it crystal clear repatedly that i needed to move by the 29th jan (when my notice was up on my current property) which at the time was 10 days away - they assured me that this would not be a problem and the checks usually only take 7 days at the most, sometimes only 3 days. I paid them £200 admin on this promise. I said i would call back on tues (25th) to see how the application was coming along they said that was fine. When i called on tues i was advised that the girl who deals with the applications had not been in all wk until the wed and nobody could tell me how my application was going because only she dealt with them. So called back wed to be advised that my file would have been looked at (make your mind up!) and they were just waiting on my landlords reference to come back and the credit check etc had been done - i asked how the application looked and she said ahe could not see a prob but obviously could not say 100% as the applications all get sent to an outside agency to be verified but the director who is the only person who can sign it off was not in until monday 31st. WHY wasnt i told before i handed any money over?? I let them know i felt annoyed and cheated but they just muttered about processes - denying that they had promised it would be done in 7 days. I called on monday and they said that they had sent the info off and would know by tues. On wed i received a letter advising that the application had not been accepted which was sent on monday - before the outside agency had approved/rejected it??? I called the agents who said that my guarantors credit rating was not quite high enough - believe me he has a perfect credit rating plus that had been done the wk before so why wasnt i advised of this?? There was no problem with my guarantors credit rating for the other agents? I just feel really cheated and strung along. The house was never taken off the rental market so who is to say that they never took "admin fees" off other people? Things just dont seem right?? Maybe its just me feeling sore for losing £450 in total on admin fees?! Does any of this sound wrong to anyone else? Sorry for ranting on but thougtht it was important to get every detail in! Thanks xx

watch out for your cars? seriously???? You just quashed any valid points you had by letting yourself get carried away like that. Speak for your own actions and thoughts dear not for others, you're doing no one any favours by putting that bull on here

Eeerrmmm ... about 35 days, give or take a day. Why?

Thanks, by a reasonable amount i was thinking along the lines of £280 - £285 - i have a tax rebate on its way

Ok, excellent. Its good to know that they have accepted this in the past. Il make them a reasonable offer and see what happens. Thanks

Hi godmother thanks for the reply, Do you know if that would work? Have you done that or know anyone who has? I know its only £9 but its just the principle of the matter more than anything else - even if the quote was £299!! When i questioned the rep she just said its because of the interest and became quite defensive when i asked wasnt that what paying it off did - cut the interest off? Im not sure she knows how it is worked out herself tbh she couldnt explain it just tell me that "thats just the way it works out" - not an explanation in my eyes. I also wonder if the fact that she comes round on a mon instead of the fri when it is due would make a difference seeing as it would make me look like i was late by a couple of days and pull the outstanding amount into an extra wk?

Hi I wonder if anyone could clear up something for me. I, as a last resort, took out a provident loan a few wks ago of £300. I have no intention of going full term and paying all the interest and requested an early settlement figure which they quoted me today of £309. Is this right?? I worked it out to be about £280ish - i dont understand how the settlement figure can be MORE than the original loan??? Here are the details of the loan - Loan = £300 APR = 272.2% duration = 51 wks repayment amount = £10.50 Total repayable = £546 I have made four payments so far. I thought that the repayment amount would be split into APR and loan something along the lines of £4.82 APR and £5.68 Loan per week - which would mean I would have paid off about £22 so far. Am I just completely wrong? Thanks in advance

Thanks everyone - i spoke to her today, it turns out that the bailiffs werent at her door that morning she just received a letter and has given a forwarding address for them to send letter to/call at, which they accepted. But il let her know that I was right about her not having to pay a penny so if they get in contact again she doesnt worry. Thanks again x

Hi, I am posting this on behalf of a friend who has had the bailiffs at her door thismorning threatening to take her goods. The debt is for an ex partner of several years back of whome has never lived at her current address - he has given her address as his own. She says that she has called the number on the letter and they were no help saying that they cant do anything because he has said he lives there. What should she do? Surely if she can prove he does not live there via tenancy or something? Also of she can prove the items are hers they cannot take them? Advice would be very apreciated, thanks.

As I said Im not 100% on the court order etc - in all honesty they dont normally go that far they just chase it for 90 days, after that time elapses it will "drop off" and the store would not be able to deal with the debt because after 120 days the debt is sold to an outside agency, which means bailiffs - real ones! But as you say the agreements are in the ex's name so I would say you are pretty safe but please get official advice, perhaps via the CAB only because you have signed the original agreements too

I would contact the store to see how the land lies with them. See what they say and then come back here with an update and to request further advice if needed. With you having been on the account previously Im not sure how that would lie - but if all the new agreements are in ex's name i would imagine that the payment still lies with him. However I would get this confirmed

It depends on your individual cover - you are best contacting them and asking. You dont need to tell them of the accident at this stage just say you are looking to buy off a hire purchase company and they have said that "your insurance needs to pay off the remaining balance of the agreement as well as replacing the item for them to take off their own damage liability cover" (standard response from BH) they should then let you know what you are covered for. From that you can decide who to claim from. BH DLC, by the way, will pay off the remaining balance owing on the item and not replace the product as long as the claim is approved. If it is not approved they will only take off the DLC and OSC and you will be expected to pay the remaining balance owing.