Don't see why you couldn't sue them. Loads of people claimed against the highways agency for vehicle damage from potholes last year didn't they?

My nephew applied online for an account with Halifax the other Monday, and all the paperwork came through on the Friday so they seem pretty quick. One thing though, the cover letter said that he had to go into the branch and pay in £100 to 'activate his account' (something along those lines, I don't remember exactly), and the counter lady said he would receive his card in another 5 to 7 days. I'd never heard of anything like that before, did you get similar chelle?

Just to add to what dx said, there is nothing in 1&1 T&C about passing your details to 3rd parties (which includes Credit Reference Agencies) so HL illegal wont be able to either.

Thanks for replies guys. To answer in order: pretty much as I thought The only thing we had signed before was a generic 2-way NDA covering his company info and my personal info. No other agreements or contracts. (We did have a verbal agreement that any work coming from clients that were originally mine would be offered to me first, and that if the client offered any extra/bonus payments, they would go to me and not the company. That was always stuck done.) Each project we worked on had it's own contract unique to it regarding timelines, budget, payments e.t.c. John would organise the projects with the clients, send me the contract and brief, I did the work, then invoiced him. I charge different fees for different types of work. Some hourly, some daily, some per job, so no regular 'wage'. It says :- Based on the information you have provided, the worker is self-employed. AND The non-compete agreement only covered clients that I had personally brought to the company. From the little info I have found regarding non-compete (restraint of trade) clauses in UK law, they are quite restricted in their permitted scope. The employer would need to prove a legitimate business interest above and beyond just the threat of competition. I think he would have a legitimate reason as if I took all my clients, his business would suffer dramatically. (prepare for yawn) I am a digital designer. I create graphics for print and web, and also user interfaces for desktop applications and internet/intranet portals, and I visit client sites to help with integration. I'm not sure if non-compete clauses are the norm, I've never had to sign one before. They are probably normally tucked away on line 9000 in tiny small-print legalese. I've seen some work done by the new guy he hired... To be fair he is pretty good, but I have heard back from almost all my old clients and they are pretty disgusted at what has happened, and said to stay in touch and they will definitely want me back on side after the non-compete time expires. When I started doing this work, word-of-mouth and a few cleverly worded emails was all it took to get a new client. Now, it is nigh on impossible because of the amount of international hiring websites out there for freelancers and the like. I just cannot compete with the prices from asia/far east, and everybody has a bottom line to watch. That is the very reason I wanted to keep my existing clients with me. Am I just having a moan and feeling sorry for myself, or is there any possibility of fighting (and winning) this?

I have a feeling I am stuffed, but it's worth a shot. As in the title, I am self employed, and have been working with/for a guy for almost 6 years now. (Technically, he is a client of mine.) Lets call him John. John was just a one-man band working from his kitchen, I started working with him and helped him grow his company. Every client his company has, I have brought in. (Some of them were my own personal clients which I brought to the company as my workload increased, as I didn't want to lose them) Middle of last year, he moved into an office complex, and started having meetings with a guy down the hall who styles himself as a 'business angel'. John now starts 99.9% of his sentences with "fundamentally" or "going forward". Annoying, but fair enough, we're both earning well and business is good. Went into the office on Friday (I work remotely, mainly from home or clients locations) and he told me that he now wants me in the office monday to saturday, 9 'til 5. I said I couldn't do that as I have my own clients too and they prefer to work directly with me and not through another company. I also have family responsibilities which he is very aware of. To add to that, he still wants me to work on a self employed basis. No contract, no employee benefits, no employee protections! I said I would consider it if he made me an actual employee, but he said it would cost the business money to do that, and if I don't take his offer, there will be no more work for me. At all. I told him I would think about it, went home, and immediately started contacting my old clients and told them I was leaving John's company. They all said they would stick with me, and cancel their contracts with John. Saturday morning, John rang. He said if I would sign an non-compete agreement with him (purely related to my old clients) work would continue as usual, and he would take on someone part-time to cover duties in the office. I thought that sounded O.K., and went and signed the agreement saturday afternoon. 6:30 yesterday (sunday), I got a call from some guy. He now works for John, doing my job, and my services are no longer required He blatantly had no intention of continuing things how they were, and now I can't do any work for any of my old clients for 2 years. I spoke to one of them earlier, and they had received an email saying John would give them 50% off if they signed a deal for 12 months. I assume he has sent that to all of them. We had roughly 13 projects lined up through May and June, most of which I got signed up, and I was relying on the money from them. There is no way I can make that much work up with the clients I currently have. The non-compete agreement was just that, it didn't mention anything about work continuing as usual if I signed. Hindsight is wonderful Legally, is there anything I can do?

In my experience, they usually send new cards out at least 1 month before the old one is due to expire... contact Halifax a.s.a.p. and request cancellation of any active cards on the account and get them to send you a new one. Also, get them to give you full details of the transaction(s) you are not sure about, just to be sure that your absent card hasn't found it's way into someone elses hands. I often find transactions on my account dated 3 or 4 days after I made them, mostly online card purchases.

Yes of course you shouldn't record anything to do with any other customers, that would be wrong. But in the original post, layla said that their advisor is in a room with no other advisors around, contributing to her problem of proving what the advisor said. I don't know about other offices, but in my local Jobcentre, there are signs saying that video and audio recording is in operation... I see no issue with making your own copy for your own use.

Hi Layla, You might want to have a read of the Jobcentre Plus Service Standards booklet. You can download it from the DWP website as a PDF -> http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dwp1018.pdf It tells you how you can expect to be treated by Jobcentre staff (and reading through your post, your advisor appears to be missing the mark quite badly on most of the points!) It also explains how to escalate your complaint to someone higher up outside your actual Jobcentre office if you are not satisfied with how they handled your complaint. I would start with a written complaint to the manager of the Jobcentre where you sign on, and ask for their response in writing. If you are not satisfied, or still don't think they are taking you seriously, follow the points on how to escalate your complaint. A friend of mine had similar problems with her advisor once, and she requested a change of advisor and it happened, so it is possible. On a side note, if you have a mobile phone, and it has a sound recorder, and you accidentally left it on while meeting with the advisor, then that would be a real kick up the you-know-what for the manager if they tried to refute your allegations again

IMHO, I don't find it 'misleading'. ( even though you might need to borrow the hubble telescope to read the important info! ) To access the internet, you need some way of connecting to an ISP (phone line / fibre optic e.t.c) That is what the £12.99 per month is for with Plusnet. Then the £9.99 (or whatever it is in your area) is for the broadband and call package.

Thank you ims21, and yes citizenB it is very good news, she is very happy now She wants to say thankyou to whoever sorted it out so I am going to send the order refs to Paul and see if he can pass on the thanks to whoever it was.

I'm thinking along the lines of what Bankfodder said in the debt collection forum about recording phonecalls with DCAs e.t.c. If they say the call will be recorded, you have implied reciprocal consent to also record the call. In the Jobcentre, there are signs saying you are being recorded (images and audio) so what is to stop you recording them too?

Is it actually OK to record these "medicals"? I have to accompany my mum to her first one (she been on ESA since August 2010, recently had DLA re-assessed to lower rate, and now atos have sent her a letter) Read quite a number of atos nightmare threads on here, and I think a full & complete record of what was asked and answered would be helpful incase of appeal.

Well they arrived at just after 11 and sorted it in like 2 minutes Even waited while I chucked some towels in to test the fast spin. Can I change thread title to "Currys actually very helpful"?

It apppears so cB. I'm waiting in at hers tomorrow as she's at work, so will be back on at 12:16 if not! Michelle (mums friend) had called Currys again after I left and spoke to Kat(i)e, who seems to think the first C.S. guy misunderstood what her complaint was about. (in his defence, michelle doesn't half ramble!)

I just rang her to ask for the order info. She has already had a call back from Kate (maybe Katie) at Currys who was very nice, and said that someone would be with her between 8:15 and 12:15 tomorrow to sort it out, and it wouldn't cost her anything extra. Does that sound right?

Hi Paul, Thanks for replying. I will get the info from her this afternoon and PM you as soon as I have it.

Thanks citizenB! although, the SOGA page is not working at the moment (not fit for purpose? ) [edit: its working now] The machine, as far as we can tell, is fine. It is just not installed properly. She could have attached the water & outlet pipes herself quite easily, but paid the extra so they could level it to avoid damage like the last one. Ideally, I would like a definite answer to 'who is responsible'. Something she can put in writing to Currys or whoever. She is not very confident on the phone, and I tend to get a bit sweary when customer service people don't tell me what I wanna hear

Hi all, would appreciate some advice for a friend of my mums. Her washing machine went kaboom on Saturday (her floor is very wonky, and the machine used to rattle and bang as it wasn't levelled properly) She ordered a new one from Currys, and paid for installation, and it was delivered and installed yesterday. She told the knowhow installers about the wonky floor, and they said they would make sure the machine was level. Guess what? The new one is also rattling and banging, I was there earlier and it sounds like one of those pneumatic road-flattener thingys. It also wobbles and shakes. She rang Currys, they said that the installers would have levelled the machine, and that she must be using it incorrectly. Also, because she didn't take out their 'whatever happens' cover (she ain't daft), she will have to pay for a Hotpoint engineer to come and look at it. Hotpoint told her the manufacturer guarantee will not cover engineer callouts unless there is a manufacturing fault with the machine, and it is down to Currys to sort it out. Another call to Currys, same response as before. She paid extra for the installation to make sure it would be done properly and it blatantly wasn't. Where does she stand? Who is responsible? Thanks in advance for any advice!

As the account doesn't have your name on it, I think that would be very wrong. Even though it's your money, it's not your account. Not helpful, but they once credited a cheque I paid in to someone else, and it took almost a month to resolve. I got compensation after, so make sure you demand some on top of your lost interest!

I had no idea that the 12% mentioned was the actual maximum they could take. I think DWP could make that a bit clearer. Thanks ErikaPNP that info will be really useful for a friend I am helping with a similar situation.

Hi xemmax, From past research of benefit deductions, I only recall there being limits to the deduction amounts for things like fines and council tax, not social fund repayments. Also, I don't ever recall seeing anything related to an overall cap on deductions from a single benefit. Seems odd Maybe one of the more knowledgeable peeps can shed some light?? Extract from DWP website: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/technical-guidance/sb16-a-guide-to-the-social/crisis-loans/#loancl "If the benefits or entitlements you get are not enough for deductions to be made to repay the Crisis Loan, or if you are not getting any form of benefit or entitlement, then repayment may be made by cash, cheque or postal order. Even if you are not getting any form of benefit or entitlement, you will still be expected to pay back the loan at the same rate which you agreed when the loan was taken out." My interpretation of that is 'you have to pay it back at the agreed rate whatever your circumstances' which seems a bit harsh. Just my little contrib, I'm sure the cleverer people will be along shortly with some advice for you. Good luck with it!

It's not just links.... Images inside emails can also be used to track if/when a certain email was opened and viewed, as they can be loaded from a similar coded URL. Spammers (and devious companies) can use this to verify if they have a correct email address, and then possibly sell it on to other spammers. Most online email services block 'external content' by default and you can choose if you want to allow it. Check the instructions or Help File that comes with your email client for details of how to do it, and only allow external content from people you trust.

I had read right through it I promise! I just got a bit confused by the language and focussed too much on paragraph (1) It's paragraph (2) that is important here right?

Good letter hallowitch thanks for that. Just a couple questions about the legislation that is cited.... 1) The Council Tax (Deductions from Income Support) Regulations 1993 :- This has no mention of JSA in it at all.. Is there a seperate one for JSA, or is there another act/amendment which adds IB JSA to the interpretation of 'Income Support'? 2) The Regulation 52 of The Council Tax (Administration & Enforcement) Regulations 1992 talks about warrants of commital and what is/is not allowed after one has been made. Im not sure if I interpreted the text correctly, could you clarify how this one is relevant? I don't doubt you at all, and my friend and I are grateful for your help, but she could do with some answers to fire back at the bailiffs if they try to wriggle out of doing what she asks. She won't mind me saying she can be a bit 'ditzy' when under any sort of pressure, and I wanna make sure she has all possible bases covered when dealing with the bailffs as they have really scared her.

She doesn't dispute the fact that she owes the CT. The confusion arose because she was working for the company for around 6 years, moving from place to place managing land which was being built on. This time, however, the property where she was living was somehow seperate from the 'managed land', and her company did not make it clear to her that she would have to pay the CT for it as they had taken care of that all the previous times. She did tell the bailiff that she was on JSA and showed him proof. He didn't levy or seize anything, just demanded payment of £20 per fortnight or else etc. etc. What she wants to do is deal with the council involved directly, as that is what she would have done had she been made aware of this situation earlier, and it is quite unfair that she is being badgered for the extra charges (the original amount owing is around £210, bailiff is demanding £490) when she had no opportunity to put it right at the start. Would you suggest she contacts the council as a first step? EDIT: bailiff is demanding £590 not £490