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Parcel delivery insurance is prohibited under section 57 – Consumer Rights Act – Read about It Here and in The Times.

imaginarynumber

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Everything posted by imaginarynumber

  1. imaginarynumber
    Thanks dx100uk. Not sure that I completely understand your reply, that said, thank you for taking the time to reply. I did follow your link to the GDPR thread and Subject Access Requests. I can't remember if that was the term that the ICO used. I am not sure that it would have been a SAR, my bank didn't insist that I apply in writing and ultimately it wasn't my bank that was being obtuse. Then again, it may well be the case that the guy at the ICO did indeed use the term Subject Access Request. As I said, I got a call from a 0300 number and decided to answer it, half in the expectation of it being a spam call. So is SAR a direct consequence of GDPR? If yes, it is ironic that I am using to circumnavigate Lloyd banks flawed interpretation of the Data Protection Act.
  2. imaginarynumber
    I emailed the Information Comissioner's Office for clarification. I explained the above and asked them if the DPA applies to firms. To my surprise, they phoned me today. Lloyd bank's policy of refusing to release information about corporate (ie business accounts) is incorrect. The fellow at the ICO told me I am legally entitled to ask my own bank to insist that Lloyds provide them with the info that I want. I cannot remember the name of the protocol but when i phoned my bank and explained that I had spoken to the ICO, my bank's operative spoke to a superior and confirmed that they would now start the ball rolling.dd
  3. imaginarynumber
    Hi all, Not sure if I am posting this in the correct sub forum or not... I have recently been working as a sub contractor. On Friday the home owner told me that they recently discovered that the main contractor was recently released from prison for ripping subbies and customers off. I googled his name and discovered that, yes it is it true that he want sentenced to 38 months. I have been receiving trickle payments but I now realise how much I am owned. At no point have I really known who is paying me. I can see the truncated name of the account holder on my banking app. Today i rang my bank to find the full name of the firm that has been paying me. Unfortunately they could only see the same truncated name on their system, They gave me the sort code and account number and recommended that I phone the bank that the account is held with. I rang that bank. They told me that they were not legally allowed to divulge the full name of the firm unless I submit a written "audit request" and that the said audit request will only be considered if the company in question agrees. The bank claims that the data protection act prevents them from divulging any information about the firm (including the trading name of the firm). I was under the impression that the DPA only applies to individuals and not companies. Personally I don't want to believe that he is going to rip me off. I like him but if I am being paid by a firm that doesn't actually exist I would rather know sooner than later. He has previously told me that he works for ABC123, the truncated name that appears on my banking app is ABC45 and not the ABC123a
  4. imaginarynumber
    So the penalty noticed turned up. I must confess that I am tad confused by a number of inconsistencies. To begin with, I am told that I have 14 days to pay from the date of the letter. There is no date on the letter! It arrived 8 days after I was issued the notice. Today is now 11 days since it was issued Adittionally, the cover letter says: But the FPN print out says: So the letter suggests that I only have two options- pay up or go to court. However the FPN seems to suggest something different, a third option. Does it mean that I can ask for the video footage? I am still convinced that I did not move away from the roll up and my defence remains that I had every intention of disposing of it appropriately. IF the footage shows me leaving it I will pay up immediately. Am I allowed to ask them for a copy of their by-laws? To date I am unable to find anything on their site that says that dropping a cigarette to extinguish it and then disposing of it is an offence. As mentioned in an earlier post, Ealing's telephone support refuses to give direct answers. The FPN mentions the Environmental Protection Act (1990) and Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (2005) rather than pointing to specific by-laws, so which takes precedent? The law handed down by DEFRA or Ealing Council's interpretation of it?
  5. imaginarynumber
    According to DEFRA "If the authority is to offer an ‘informal’ appeals process (there is no legal requirement for one), it should set out the grounds when an appeal will be considered and how it will be decided." AFAIK the only way of appealing is to go to court. Given that the maximum fine is £2500 and a criminal record, and the fact that neither the government (DEFRA) or the LA (Ealing council) seem to be willing to provide definitions of "litter", I would imagine that most people will just pay up. It may well be the case that the majority of people handed notices are content that they are "guilty", I still believe that I gave no reason to assume that I had intended to act inappropriately. I would definitely have engaged in an "informal" appeals process, but I am denied the opportunity. What is the point of allowing impartial 3rd parties to stand in the way of money for old rope? The only party that stands to gain here is the independent security firm (one which has received negative press coverage in the past). Ealing will potentially end up receiving a lot of negative will, and many innocent people will suffer both financially and emotionally.
  6. imaginarynumber
    Appeals processes are voluntary. Councils do not have to offer informal appeals. See the DEFRA link in my long post. I suspect that in the issue of parking/driving offences, they only allow then because of the potential public backlash. Regarding litter, if you can convince the public that you are pursuing hardened criminals, there will be less opposition
  7. imaginarynumber
    My GF rang DEFRA looking for clarity as to whether dropping a roll up and then disposing of it is an offence. They declined to answer and told her to contact the Local Authority. My GF rang the Ealing Council. She asked them, they declined to answer. She then asked other more specific questions, such as, if sitting at a table on the high street outside a cafe that has no ashtray, is it an offence to drop a cigarette and then pick it up after you have finished your drink. The answer? It is at the discretion of the enforcement officer. So I still do not if I have broken a bylaw or not, if the penalty was issued in error or not. In short it is impossible for me to make an informed decision with regard to contesting the case. We seem to have a situation where the Ealing council are happy to let private contractors (who have a vested interest in handing out fines) decide what is and isn't legal. This is Kafka-esque.
  8. imaginarynumber
    I too do not like litter. The fact that I am accused of leaving litter does not mean that I am actually guilty or that I think discarding cigarette butts is acceptable. I see the actions of the private company as being the thin edge of the wedge
  9. imaginarynumber
    I smoke I do not and have never owned a driving licence. Am I able to take the higher moral ground with regard to pollution? I am a 40 something year old who never knowingly leaves litter behind. I go through life trying to treat others as I would hope that they treat me. I try to be fair and reasonable. I went to bed at 10.30 last night, with the expectation of getting up about 5.37am. I could not sleep. I got up. I went back to bed. I kept waking up. When I eventually got out of bed ,I was freezing because my t-shirt was covered in sweat. It was so cold that I had to remove it. Am I really the kind of person that you want to be criminalised? I went to work today. I could not concentrate, I earned eff all . Call me a girl if you want but I am extremely upset about the situation. By and large ,I try to be the sort of person that improves the lives of other people and that has a positive contribution. You are perfectly entitled to damn me because I participate in an activity that you don't like. I do not, and have not found your responses to be particularly helpful though. I came to this site in the hope of receiving legal advice. I did not expect to be maligned for the sins of others. I suggest that you try to explore the differences between roll up smokers and those that smoke pre-made cigarettes. My experience of using websites suggests that you won't though. To that end, please feel free to assume that I deserve to become bankrupt/ go to jail and devote your time to maligning someone else.
  10. imaginarynumber
    So I have not committed an offence but I am probably better off taking a slap on the wrists because Ealing Council have decided that they would rather not offer people the opportunity to make informal appeal (and are possibly hoping that most people are to scared to go to court)?
  11. imaginarynumber
    Would I have been committing an offence if I let it on the floor for long enough to extinguish itself and then picked it up without leaving it at any point? Which is exactly what infact happened. There is nothing to prove that that was not my intention
  12. imaginarynumber
    After having replayed the incident in my head. I honestly believe that he intentionally grabbed my attention to distract me from either stubbing it out with my shoe and then picking it up or grinding it into oblivion. I was still standing over it at all times.
  13. imaginarynumber
    Well according to the following I am bang to rights (assuming that the following is correct or that I have understood it). http://kb.keepbritaintidy.org/smokinglitter/legislation/legis.pdf I think that means that dropping a cigarette anywhere outdoors is an offence, which presumably would include my own garden, a pub garden and so on. "and then leave litter"? As soon as the agent saw me drop it he grabbed my attention, I was still standing over it. Once he mentioned it, I picked it up. Am I legally obliged to prove that had no intention of leaving an item as litter, or does his organisation have to prove that I intended to leave it? and had I been left to grind it away until it became virtually invisible to the human eye, is it still litter? "It is a criminal offence"- So I am now a criminal? Well they can't chuck that at me The following lays out DEFRA's guidance to local authorities http://www.cleanhighways.co.uk/legislation/guidance-on-the-use-of-fixed-penalty-notices Defra recommend that agents should wear hi-visibility jackets, that those accused should be cautioned. The guy had a black coat, he didn't caution me but did tell me twice that he was recording me. Defra do not stipulate that there has to be an informal appeals process. Failure to give correct details is a criminal offence, however (even though I did) I did not legally have to provide proof of ID or my date of birth And again we go back to the question of intent
  14. imaginarynumber
    I guess that there are some people here that consider that I got my just deserts. My GF has done some research on my behalf and seems to think that one can not appeal against the penalty. You can reserve the right to go to court though, which is probably more money than I can afford to lose. AFAIK the penalty is a fixed £80, with no discount for paying early and not contesting the charge, unlike parking infractions. Is this standard practice? Or is it more likely to be the case that the private enforcement firm would not be interested in lower penalty charges. Additionally is anyone aware of any other councils that use these kind of firms to hand out litter penalty charge notices.
  15. imaginarynumber
    I did think that might be the case. I was walking in to a shop, and would have exit via the entry.
  16. imaginarynumber
    I am not certain if the property is private or not. The area was that outside the shop where they display their wares but perhaps it is indeed part of the pavement. I honestly don't know. There is a definitely line that seems to delineate the paving slabs laid by the council and the paving used by (what I assume is the freeholder). Had i known that he was an employee of a private contractor, i might well have ignored him. That said, i didn't. Ironically, after work, I popped into a Weatherspoon pub in Raynes Lane. It has tables and chairs in a section of the pavement that is cordoned off. There were no ashtrays. Had I been in Ealing and he had seen me drop anything, I guess that he would have attempted to hand me a penalty.
  17. imaginarynumber
    I did pick it up and put it in my pocket as soon as he mentioned it (there was no bin near by). He insisted that I had committed an offence and that picking it up made no difference. He gave me the impression that he was an Ealing Council environmental officer. I have since discovered that he was probably working for private contractors called Kingdom Security. As of yesterday they have offered to hand penalties out to the "criminals" in Ealing in return for a slice off all penalties paid to Ealing council. http://www.ealing.gov.uk/news/article/1347/council_launches_environmental_crackdown He had no incentive to allow me to pick it up. The set up is akin to the private parking contractors that operate outside Ealing broadway tube station. Drivers picking up/dropping off passengers are allowed to pull on to the single yellow line but many pull into an empty parking bay to drop off, thinking that they are being civil minded/considerate. In the meantime the firm are surreptitiously photographing the cars rather than warning them.
  18. imaginarynumber
    Putting things in context. I do not smoke cigarettes with filters (ever). On the odd occasion that I purchase pre-rolled cigarettes with filters, I snap them off and (always, always,always) put them in my pocket. A cigarette filter is typically 2 to 2.5cm long and most smokers tend to leave at least another 1 cm of paper/tobacco, resulting in (up to) 3.5 cm at 0.9 cm (diameter). That is (3.14x0.45x0.45x3.5) a total volume of 2.25cm cubed. A cigarette butt on its own would be (3.14x0.45x0.45x2.5) 1.59 cm cubed. My roll up was approximately 1.2cm long at a diameter of 0.4cm, (incidentally the last third is void of tobacco). That makes a volume of (3.14X0.2x0.2x1.2) 0.15 cm cubed. So I would have to discard 15 roll up "ends" to generate as much litter (by volume) as a standard cigarette butt. The key difference is that my "litter" does not persist. To demonstrate my point I have taken photos of a roll up and a roll up after it has been ground under heal. Unfortunately I am not sure how to upload the images. I would be very surprised if you were able to spot any "litter" after the event.
  19. imaginarynumber
    @bankfodder thank you for the reply. The officer was recording the incident. I shall however take additional photos.
  20. imaginarynumber
    @renegadeimp it was not a cigarette but. It was the end of a roll up. If it had been ground away to nothing then how could it be disgusting? Besides, I am asking for advice as to whether the council has authority on the section of land directly outside the shop where they display their wares.. I am not in a particularly good mood and would rather not receive a lecture about smoking
  21. imaginarynumber
    Earlier today as I was about to enter a shop I dropped my roll up on section of ground outside their entrance. I was approached by an environmental office equipped with a video camera who proceeded to fine me. I pointed out that it was on the shop's property but he said that it made no difference and that the wind might blow it onto the public highway. Am I liable for the fine? I appreciate that litter is a problem but by the time I have ground a roll up into the ground with the sole of my shoe, there is no visible evidence. His distraction prevented me from doing so on this occasion
  22. imaginarynumber
    ? What offence is committed if a pub provides 100% of a pint plus an additional head in an oversized pint glass? After 5 minutes, once the head collapses you will be left with a pint of liquid. Anywho, my question was about the point of oversized glasses. I recently purchased a pint of lager, it was sold in the branded oversized pint glass. The head was massive, I asked the barmaid to top the liquid up to the pint line, she refused, citing that it was company policy to refuse to. I would estimate that the glass contained 90-95% of a pint of liquid. The irony is that if I order a pint in the same pub that isn't served in an oversized glass, they seem to be happy to top up the pint on request, that said, the glass is seldom ever 100% liquid even after the top up
  23. imaginarynumber
    Hi there I am aware that the law allows pubs to sell pints that are only 95% full of liquid. I appreciate that pouring a full pint of lager (sans head) can be difficult. Does the same law allow pubs to refuse to fill to the pint line on oversized glasses? Tnx
  24. imaginarynumber
    Oh dear.... So NPA now have a disclaimer saying that the term "we" is a reference to their contractors and not NPA or the person that writes the articles. In previous posts Bell has stated that all work is done by independent contractors and NOT by NPA Two clicks from the front page we have this page http://www.neverpaintagain.co.uk/applications-textured-wall-coatings/ Take a close look at this picture http://www.neverpaintagain.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/applications-van.jpg Can someone tell me what it says on the side of the van???? (in very wavy writing....) Erm so "we" means them and seemingly "NPA" means "them" ????
  25. imaginarynumber
    To be fair I must have stumbled upon one of the older pages on NPA. The fact that the paints come from Andura is only one click from the home page. I am still bemused as to how one can offer a 15 yearr guarantee on a product that has a 10 year rating at the BBA. Mind you some of his competitors offer 25 years.... Whoops NPA do say that their coatings last up to 25 years on the home page Another click away from the home page he does resort to making outrageous claims like this We* guarantee that the exterior Wall coating paint finish applied to your house will NOT chip, will NOT fade, will NOT crack OR peel and will cure PENETRATING DAMP FOR GOOD! source: http://www.neverpaintagain.co.uk/guarantee/npa-offers-insurance-backed-guarantees-on-all-work/ Glad to see that his site does not work properly with ie9. I could tell him how to sort it out in 2 minutes but I'm not gonna....

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