hi all, I recently have had my income cut from £1700pcm to only £430 pcm for personal reasons which are not really relevant.. I have debts I was paying but am unable to continue to pay them. Currently my outgoings monthly are more than what I earn and I need to cut down my monthly spendings... As you can imagine you cant afford much with £430! I have done an online questionnaire with Step Change who based on my answers have recommended bankruptcy... I don't really know the implications and people are putting all sorts of scary things in my head! If you go bankrupt does that mean you can no longer have a bank account? I will still be working so will need to be paid my wages! Can you not have direct debits to pay for things anymore? So car insurance etc you would have to pay in full? Also will anyone be able to take my car? Its only an old 1989 Golf and I use it to get to work. Wouldn't of thought it was worth a lot! How long does it affect you being able to pay monthly for things? Does it affect anyone else living in the house? I mean it wont negatively affect their credit will it? Also if I have things bought on credit such as a sofa and dishwasher will they come and take them back? Thanks for any help

ok i got through to them eventually, she said that the account balance says £0 but then she goes in to statements and it says there £60.03 oweing but looks like it was paid but then regenerated?! we are both now confused. I have asked her to send me the bill out in writing so i can have a look...

Hi all, I used to be with Npower for gas and electric got fed up with not getting bills then getting 2 at once or them messing about with payments. I left them for another supplier on 26/02/2014. I got a final bill from Npower on 4th March 2014 which I noticed had the wrong readings. The readings they had estimated were higher than the actual reading. (i took the reading myself on he day my supplier switched) i called them and gave them the new reading which would of meant my bill was less than they sent. The lad on the phone said they would amend their record and if there was still money oweing I would get a new bill sent out. 6 MONTHS LATER I get an email saying my bill is ready to be viewing please log in. I try and log in and it says my account is closed and I therefore cannot log in. I am now really confused. They have either messed up and the email is a mistake or they have taken 6 MONTHS to change my final bill and have now sent it out even though i cant view it. This is just a joke. i rang the number on the email and get told by a robot voice there is a 19 minute queue!! Ive hung up obviously. If this is a bill after 6 months surely this is beyond a joke its taken them this long!!??

hi all, got a bit of a dilemma. I put my marine fish tank on ebay and had a fair bit of interest. I accepted an offer on it outside of ebay and agreed to end the listing on ebay if he paid a deposit to hold it and arrange collection. I did receive a £50 deposit via paypal £150 to be paid cash on collection. This guy arranged to come and collect last tuesday, he then didnt turn up and said hes been busy can he come friday so i said yes, friday he messaged and said hes going away for 4 days with family can he come tues or weds, so again i said ok but did warn him that i am going on holiday friday and if its not gone by then i will have to rehome the fish as i have no-one to take care of them while im away. I messaged him this morning saying you havnt given me a day/time yet when you will collect the tank and will need to leave work to meet you so need to know asap and again stressed im on holiday on friday. i have not heard back yet. where do i stand in terms of his deposit. im worried that friday will come and i will have to rehome the fish to the local fish shop and he will then kick off about it but i have warned him and did tell him it would need to be collected by friday. i feel like ive been messed about loads and had other interest and that really i should be able to keep the £50 he paid and re-advertise the tank. All the time im still paying for more salt water and food for the fish so im not happy. Any advice? Thanks

I initially rang Indesit because on the door there is a sticker which says about a 5 yr warranty so I called to register the product when I got it and I rang the repair number when it broke. I didnt realize I needed to ring Argos to be honest.

Just had a right nightmare. I called Indesit who were supposed to come tomorrow to give them my new mobile number, they said they have no appointment booked for tomorrow!! Earliest they can now come out is Monday! I then rang Argos and said im not happy, its full of water, i cant use it and I want a refund and they then had me on hold for 15 minutes while they cancelled the call out for Monday with Indesit and arranged for a collection of the old one and a new one to be delivered. I didnt bloody ask for that!! I said to the guy I paid for a washing machine which was supposed to come with free fitting. Indesit refused to fit it last time because the pipes are old in my flat. I had to pay a plumber which cost me £54 and now Im going to have to pay a plumber to install the new one because Indesit will again refuse to fit it!! How is this fair?!?! I am just livid. What would you do in this situation?

i like a good battle just for fun so why not! lol

so if i call argos tomorrow i say there is a problem with it and THEY have to sort out fixing it? The thing is, if its going to take a week or 2 to fix it its costing me a fortune down the launderette and im not prepared to be without one for that long. In that instance can I not demand they refund me?

ok i must not be talking sense sorry, the credit card was taken out in 2004, my last payment i made to it was in 2007 so not quite the 6 years ago to claims statute of limitations. The debt was sold from capital one to Arrow Global in 2011. They took me to court without me knowing and the CCJ was filed in August 2012. I only found out about the CCJ on my file in March 2013 when I was rejected for a flat rental. I then applied to my local court for them to set aside judgement as I was not aware of the proceedings. Today the Judge agreed to set aside judgement. I probably do owe the £200 remaining balance on the card and Im happy to pay it but im just wondering what he procedure is now. I presume both parties myself and the claimant arrow global will receive a letter regarding the judgement being set aside. Do arrow global then write to me asking to pay the outstanding amount or do they file another claim and serve notice to me at my current address or what? I just want a chance to pay before it goes to court again.

hi all, I bought an Indesit washing machine through Argos on 3rd April 2013. I did this over the phone and paid via credit card. The washing machine was delivered direct from the manufacturer about a week later. At no point did I receive a receipt although it shows on my credit card statement. The washing machine stopped working on Saturday. It is about 3 weeks old and smelt of burning and the drum was not going round. I called the Indesit warranty line and they said they will come out to have a look but if it needs new parts or a repair it will need to be sent off or parts ordered which will mean I will be without the machine for a length of time. I bought a new machine when I moved to save lugging the old one with me and I have kids so need this to be working, I generally do a load everyday and have already been without it for 5 days. indesit are due on Friday but did warn me that if it is not the product at fault they would charge £55 callout!! Not really sure what they mean by that as its not working! Anyway, Im quite dissapointed with it, not only has it broken within 3 weeks but its quite noisy and takes a long time cycling and Im not happy with it. Can I return it as not fit for purpose under the sale of goods act? Do i ring Argos and ask them to arrange collection as it came direct from the manufacturer? Not sure what I can do. Thanks

ok thanks, yeah i dont want them to file court proceedings again before giving me an oppertunity to pay.

it was a capital one credit card back in 2004 but the last time i paid something to it was 2007 but just under the 6 years so gotta pay it.

hi all, I found out about a CCJ on my credit file when I was rejected to rent a flat. I traced it and worked out they had written to a previous address and this is why I had no knowledge of it. The debt was from 2007 and for £200. I went to my local court and today was told it would be set aside as I had no knowledge of it. What happens now though? I didnt want to ask the judge as she looked a bit mean! lol. She said they would serve notice again to my new address, what does this mean? Will I get an oppertunity to pay it without it going back to court?

hi, i have been and got the N244 form you said about but i have no clue how to fill it out. I read the guidance notes but it says its an application for a court order. i dont really understand what im supposed to put on it. firstly do i put Northampton County Court in the top right box or do I put my local Court? And where do I send it? Question 3 says what order are you asking the court to make and why, i have no idea! Any help apreciated as im not confident in what im doing at all.

thanks for that info. Do i need to apply to the court where it was issued though, Northampton? Thats 300 miles away from where I live. Ive never lived near Northampton. Can i go to my local County Court?

Hi everyone, I have a bit of trouble I need help with. I was recently rejected for a flat that I wanted to rent due to a CCJ for £287 filed in Aug 2012. I traced where it came from and Northampton County Court told me its from Arrow Global and that they stated I have made an agreement to pay monthly but did not keep up with this. I never made an agreement with them!! I have 1 letter from then at my old address asking for £200 but I have written on the bottom that I called them to ask where this debt had come from and asked for the information to be sent through in writing as I am not acknowledging the debt without knowing what its for. They never wrote to me again after that so I forgot about it. I now have a CCJ!! I am annoyed because I have had no letters about this, I did move again in March 2012 but my mail was redirected to here so I would of got a letter. I also got nothing from the court telling me of a date, and nothing to say I have a CCJ. I mean, im on the council tax list, voters register everything so why have i had no letters?!?! I have traced this debt back using the reference number the court gave me and it relates to an old credit card I had 10 years ago. It was so long ago I have no paperwork for it but I definitely have made no payments or acknowledged a debt on this card for well over 6 years so I didnt think it would go to court. Obviously it is a debt company who has bought the debt I dont know how many times since the card company owned it but I have not once acknowledged it so I didnt think it would be acted upon. I now have a CCJ on my file for 6 years stopping me from being able to rent a flat and all for £200 which I would of just paid had I of been made aware of all this. DO i have any sort of re-course? The claimant in court stated I made an agreement but this is not true. Can i argue this as I was given no court date to attend?!? Any help apreciated.

bit more than a couple for not into the hundreds. will wait and see what its actually like when i get it!

hi, i have just won a bracelet on Ebay which was advertised as a heart charm bracelet which it is but in the picture you can see the heart is stamped Tiffany & Co. ITALY. I bid for the item thinking i was getting a bargain as its Tiffany and wasnt actually advertised as such so assumed it was being overlooked. Anyway, after the purchase I came across a document online saying how to spot a fake Tiffany product. I strongly believe this item is a fake hence why it wasnt listed as Tiffany. Now my question is, do i have to complete the purchase as I bought it stupidly thinking it was Tiffany? Has the seller commited an offence by selling it as the picture does clearly show it is stamped Tiffany? Or are they able to sell it as they havent in the writing section written that it is Tiffany? Thanks

I bought a musical bedtime toy for my daughter back in July. She uses it every night to go to bed and will not sleep properly without it. Last night it malfunctioned and the insides burnt! Very dangerous considering its a babies toy. I have written to the manufacturer but in the meantime I need to replace this toy for my daughter. I no longer have my receipt but I have the original packaging and also my bank statement showing a card purchase to Argos for £16.99 on that date. Is this enough to be able to exchange the faulty item? I know the sales of goods act covers non-perishable goods for 1 yr but is that with a receipt or not and is that in the store you purchased it from? Thank you

Thanks for the link, so i should be able to get the cost of the car seat refunded, but am i right in thinking i have to pay to post it back? A car seat will probably cost loads!

Hi all, need some advice as Ive had a problem and Im quite upset about it and kind of feel like if I let it go peoples kids are at risk! I am a first time mum and have a 4 month old daughter. She had a baby travel system from Mamas and Papas but has grown too snug in her baby car seat so I wanted to get a bigger one that is suitable from birth to 4yrs to give her a bit more room. I was told by a friend Kiddicare had a sale so I went online to browse their products. I was on the website looking at various car seats for about an hour trying to decide which one was best. I settled on my choice and read all of the information on the product page and that it could be fitted using the normal car seat belt which was good as my car is a 1996 and does not have isofix. I paid for the item online and it was delivered next day. Great, all good so far. The car seat is designed that it can be rear facing until 9kgs and then can turn and be forward facing when the child is older. I fitted it in the back of my VW Golf using the seat belt, I didnt think it was that sturdy but trusted that it would of been safety tested so I went out in the car with my baby in the new car seat. Whilst I was out I realised that when I turned a corner the car seat tipped to one side! I was shocked it had done this and went straight home. Worried that this cant be right I emailed Kiddicare who replied that the car seat is not compatible with a VW Golf which surprised me as its a normal hatchback! I was horrified that I had put my baby at risk in an unstable and unsafe car seat and asked for their advice. They advised me to come in to the store to have one fitted. Unfortunately I live 158 miles from their store so this isnt an option. I asked if I can have this one refunded and buy a different one and they could collect it when I get my new one delivered and they refused and said that as I had used it it was non-refundable! Now there are 2 seperate issues.. 1) that i am stuck with a car seat that they knew was not compatible but that I did not know and the information was not made available for customers before purchase. and 2) that my baby was put at risk because I was unaware the seat was not compatible. From the hour I spent on the site, to deciding on a seat to ordering it and arranging delivery it was never warned that it may not be compatible. There was a fitting guide video on the product page which I watched and this did not hint that it may not be suitable. It simply says it fits with a normal car seat belt. I also read through the written leaflet with the seat and it does not state that it only fits certain vehicles. I am worried that if I was able to make this mistake that plenty more people out there will do the same and will be putting babies at serious risk! Kiddicare said that they have a car seat buying guide on their website but it is very hard to find, I certainly did not come across it when I was browsing for car seats and I feel that there should either be the advice on the product pages that you should ring for vehicle compatibility or a link to their buyers guide. It still does not mention compatible or non compatible vehicles even in the buyers guide. They are failing to accept that they have a problem. The fact that I am left with a car seat that I cannot use it only half the problem, Im sure there are people out there using car seats that dont fit properly! Where do I stand and can anything be done?!

i have reported to rspca which i did online but how do i report to trading standards? their website gives me a link to consumer direct but then says consumer direct closed in march and redirects you to citizens advice which obviously are not the right people! anyone got a link for reporting to trading standards online?

hi all, i am a fishkeeper and have been for several years now. I will try and keep it simple for those of you who dont know about fish. My friend was sold a 20 litre tank a few weeks ago from a pet shop and was at the same time sold 4 VERY unsuitable fish for the tank. She was sold a plec which can grow up to 24" and a rainbow shark which is very territorial and can grow up to 6"!! I told her to rehome those 2 fish and gave her advice on maintaining her tank which was not given in the shop! I went to this shop today myself to take a look and what i found shocked me. The tanks were all dirty, some had no light, they were seriously overcrowded to the point they were swimming on top of each other to try and get space, there was a shark catfish? That was emaciated to the point it looked deformed! They had a sign up saying to have the tank running for 3 days before adding fish! They did not have any tap safe on sale or anything similar, no live plants. The women was cleaning the tanks supposidly, she open the filter in the neon tank, tipped out all the crap inside into their tank and took the sponge and washed it in a bucket of tap water!!! It was just shocking. Thats not to mention the 5litre tanks on sale with 2 fish included!! The shop also sold rabbits and other small pets which seemed to have no food available. Who can i report them to?

to be honest our casino is REALLY dead and obviously i know how many customers we have in on a day shift being on reception. some days we literally only have 3 customers in!! so theres not much chance of great tips. occasionally you get a nice customer and you may get a fiver or something but day shifts are pants.

its definately a tricky one as it seems upfair but i see its hard to manage with a small department. will have to wait and see what happens with the other women and see if she goes back. if not them i guess they can accomodate me but if she does looks like i need a new job. thanks for your help.