They have come back and decided that the original denial was in fact invalid. Based on the fact that the IMEI number although doesn't match as it's a non genuine part, that isn't now enough to deny claim They have now got to pick up the handset again as it was returned to me. Then they will send a replacement by return post Thanks everyone for your advice, and a good resolution albeit an annoying long one

Thanks for the advice. I have just got of the phone to them, I was going to ask where to send a formal letter of complaint. - I mentioned legal action a couple of times too... Miraculously they are now considering whether the denial is actually correct and will be consulting their underwriters. The whole claim has been escalated to a ”manager”. I was promised a decision within 48 hours. But I said that’s too long as I have now been without a phone for over a week. I asked to speak to the manager. At first they were busy, but when I said I wouldn’t wait 48 hours and would begin legal action, that got things moving and I spoke to a very nice person. So they will update me on the progress tomorrow. Sounds more promising, but I wont hold my breath!

Hi there Last week I managed to wash my iPhone. It went through about 45 minutes in washing machine and understandably is completely broken - both waterlogged and smashed screen. O2 have said they wont repair it under their insurance I have with them. The reason they give is that the IMEI doesn’t match what they have on record. They are reading the IMEI off the back case , which is a non-genuine Apple back fitted after the 1 year Apple warranty had expired. They claim in their T and C's that the handset must be maintained as per manufacturers instructions. But can fitting a non-genuine back out of warranty be sufficient grounds for denying my claim? Especially given that the phone has worked fine in the period between the back being fitted and then me washing it Any thoughts gratefully received! Martin

Thanks you Old-Codja and indeed jkdd77 , who PM'd me. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this is a [problem], as they are driving me mad! another demand came through a few days ago, with the threat of criminal proceedings, and of course the fee is now £40.. I'm thinking of writing to tell them to stop harassing me. would this be along the right lines, do you all think? Dear Patrick O’connor I am writing to advise you that I will not be paying the admin fee for the above case. I have sought legal advice and have been advised that indeed you are committing an offence yourselves, by sending harassing letters. If you continue to send any more harassing letters, I will be reporting you to the police for committing the following offence: Section 40 (1)(b) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970: *40. * Punishment for unlawful harassment of debtors. (1) A person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed from the other as a debt due under a contract, he— (b) falsely represents, in relation to the money claimed, that criminal proceedings lie for failure to pay it; I am hereby giving you 7 days in which to make a response to this letter, before I take this issue further. Best regards, Martin Porter

Good morning all I successfully appealed against a penalty fair issued to me by Southern Railways. They took over 6 weeks to respond to my letter of appeal, but found in my favour. The problem is, that RPSS who collect the penalty fairs , say that I am liable for a £20 ADMIN charge for late payment of the penalty fair? But they found in my favour?! (they are also threatening criminal proceedings) In any other appeals process, the clock normally stops during the appeal, and you would not have to pay a penalty fair first, then get it refunded if you win? Any advice? Regards Martin [The London Travel Watch Organisation, who looks at complaints against RPSS, have said they have repeatedly asked RPSS why the behave like this – but RPSS’s answer is that they can charge the admin fee, as it states on the letter any late payment will be subject to one. Here below is the email I sent to London Travel Watch, which details the times/events, if it helps:] Dear Sir/Madam, I would like to make a complaint against the Revenue Protection Support Services (RPSS) and/or the Appeals service. On 2 November 2009, I travelled from Upper Warlingham to London Victoria. I arrived well in advance of the train being due, but due to problems with the automatic ticket machine and a lengthy queue in the ticket office, I had to board the train without a ticket. Subsequently, I received a penalty fair notice at London Victoria. I wrote to the RPSS (please find a copy of the letter attached), to appeal. The letter was sent on the 7 November 2009, within the 14 day appeal time window. I did not receive a reply regarding my appeal but on 3rd December 2009 I received a first demand for payment (£20). This was past the 14 days of which a reply should have been received. In response to this, I rang the telephone number on the letter that evening and spoke to a gentleman named Raj (he did not give a surname) who said that RPSS had received my appeal letter and were still considering my appeal. I enquired as to why RPSS were invoicing me for the cost of the penalty when the appeal was still open and Raj said that he couldn’t answer any questions and I would have to write again. I mentioned that I had previously written a letter with no response. He then suggested that I fill out the online contact form, as he agreed that writing had not elicited a response to my appeal. I tried to complete the online form with much difficulty (as the online form would not accept my reference number), the website informed me that an appeal had already been logged, thus I was not able to send a message. I then rang Raj back and asked to speak to a manager. He said there were no managers available at that time , but promised that Mr Peter Smith, a manager, would ring me back the next day. No call materialised on the 4th December. Still no letter had arrived from RPSS, but yesterday, the 17th December, I received a final payment demand from them, with a threat of criminal proceedings. The amount due then increased to £35. I rang RPSS again and asked the same following questions: · Why hadn’t I received any correspondence regarding my appeal? · Why hadn’t anyone rang me, as promised, on the 4th of December? This time I spoke to someone who seemed fairly knowledgeable. She said that a response letter was in the process of being sent and should arrive by the 18th December (it did today). The Appeals service (who are apparently a separate entity from RPSS, but that isn’t clear on any of the correspondence) had upheld my appeal and had effectively negated the £20 penalty fair. However, because I didn’t pay the penalty fair during the appeal, I am now liable for a £20 admin charge! This is absolutely outrageous! Why is it that RPSS don’t have to respond back within the 14 days, after they received my letter? Especially when I only have 14 days to appeal? Why, during an appeal do you have to pay the charge? I feel that because of the lack of response from the RPSS/Appeals service, and the way in which it is difficult to speak to anyone (and letters ignored), I have fallen foul of the small print that says that I have to pay an admin charge. Also, why is the admin charge £20? I will wait your response.