On reading the judgement it appears that the title of this thread is misnamed. Man pays charges and enforcement costs but then raises action for the costs of a hire car, loses that, and costs are awarded against him for that action. Less catchy though.

Oh and just remembered the other thing - they promised copper pipes but fitted plastic. This is a rural property with mice etc and I was worried about plastic pipes being gnawed. After installation they assured me it will be fine as it is.

Its a small new local company. They seemed very professional. They did everything (installation and parts) Can they refuse to make it work properly until I have paid?

Hi We had a new central heating system, hot water cylinder and radiators fitted. Total cost was £14.5k We paid £2k before installation and £10k via a government loan, and have been paying the rest in instalments. Theres around £1k left. Part of the package was a check up inspection after installation. We had issues quickly. The heating worked fine and it gives hot water, but intermittently the hot water stops. We often cant run a bath. After about 2inches of water in the bath the water just stops, won't then come out of any of the taps in the house for 30 to 60 minutes. They didn't come to do the post installation check as promised and I emailed repeatedly about coming out. They didnt until 11 months after installation. They ran the bath and this time it filled, they said its probably a washer, and have refused to come back. I have chased them over and over to sort it out but they wont come out. They have chased me aggressively and threateningly for full payment. They now say how can I expect them to service it until I pay in full, and that by missing last payment I have broken my promise to pay. I'm not confident I'll ever see them again if I pay, and we'll be left never being able to run a bath. It's been a problem from the start and I have all my emails complaining to them. I have photos and videos of the tap stopping. It's a sort of stalemate and I'm not sure what to do next. I'd be grateful for any advice. Thx

I'd be happy to be on one meter. As we agreed only one standing charge didn't seem necessary to rewire. SP's deadlock letter said they would charge for 3. One isnt used at all as it was for old storage heaters that have been removed and was on a day/night tariff (I didn't know this). Right at the start SP said would be no problem to put them on one account with one standing charge. What I want to do is accept the finding in part and reject the part about standing charges but I don't know if its possible

Hi I moved into an old house with 3 meters, all with Scottish Power. When moving in they agreed to put them all on one standing charge and put the meters together on one account. Over the next year and a half they messed up the billing endlessly. No correct bills or communication other than apologies and that they were working on it, until suddenly a deadlock letter arrived saying they could not put the meters together and that was that. So it went to the Ombudsman. Ombudsman found their communication to be poor. Scottish Power had identified a workaround to put the meters together (one was unused entirely) but did not tell me. However the Ombudsman held that as there were 3 meters there should be 3 standing charges. (Ombudsman also however found compensation due, and that the backbilling procedure should be engaged limiting bills to the last 12 months) I disputed the finding about standing charges, as Scottish Power didnt dispute that they agreed to there only being one. I'd written to them plenty and each time confirmed this was to be the case. They appeared to be acting on that basis from their notes. I said to the Ombudsman that allowing the 3 standing charges was a windfall for Scottish Power and allowed them to profit from their own poor communication and handling; and also that the agreement was there should only be the one standing charge. The Ombudsman was unmoved. Now I have to decide if I should accept the Ombudsmans findings. The backbilling and compensation are helpful, but the standing charges are not. It's a mixed bag. Any advice on the standing charges and accepting the findings? Many thanks!!

Worked for me and when I trawled through the SELL SELL SELL I managed to get my report, a 51 page pdf plus it shows an incorrect default! l didn t know it was there- l returned a car on HP after half way no problems. Got new finance from Same company far next car. they recorded it As unpaid, late, then note it a defaulted, and hare me shown as gone away with out leaving a new address and wore there a 4 grand balance instead of NIL! Bah, some sorting to do...

You seem to be confusing criminal prosecution and civil claims here. In a criminal matter, the police gather evidence, and the crown prosecutes. To secure a conviction there standard of proof is beyond reasonable doubt that the crime was committed. The outcome is a penalty against the convicted - points, fines, maybe jail. In a civil claim (ie recovering compensation), the claimant will be successful if they prove the liability and value of loss/injury on the balance of probability. The outcome is a payment of money by the wrongdoer (the driver... or his insurer) to the injured person. You will not be prosecuted by the police on the balance of probability - you are right that the police need clear and concise evidence to prosecute, but that is a criminal matter and completely separate from a civil claim for damages.

Civil liability depends on wrongdoing, essentially acting below reasonable standards. That applies to both drivers and pedestrians. Having right of way is only a small part of the picture. In terms of valuation, it very much depends on the particular injuries suffered by each person. 2 people being hit by a van can have wildly differing injuries and awards of compensation. This claim could be worth anything from nil up to who knows. Hopefully the child isnt harmed at all... unfortunately only time will tell

Its 2 big loans and some smaller debts. No insurance taken. They did add some penalties but these are not excessive. The total is about 60k. Through CAB I've been paying 200pm, much less than the agreed amounts. Tbh the penalties they applied at the beginning are less than the interest they froze. They have been quite reasonable. Thanks to my dad I have the chance to try shift these. I think the best option is an offer in full and final settlement, no messing around, but just not sure if they'd bother if I'm only offering 10%. Or maybe they would accept that?

Don't think I have much chance of a future mortgage with all this, can't see much hope of that. I just want to stop owing and stop the monthly payments that we can barely afford, even at their reduced amounts. Bankruptcy and formal schemes aren't an option for various reasons.

Aha. Fair comment. Do you think its likely they will take 10% in full and final settlement? That's what I really meant. Many thx!

A lot of debate about claiming here. There's 2 separate issues: 1) liability. In a civil claim should a reasonable driver have slowed down? Sounds like it in the circumstances. Speeding is not the deciding factor, that's a criminal matter and is separate and not going anywhere here. Nice people who live in the same street do drive negligently, and it sounds like what has happened here. By the sounds of it, things could have been terribly worse. 2) whether to claim - certainly for the losses suffered. These do include reparation for the physical/mental harm. What the injured person chooses to do with it is up to them of course, to put it away for the child at a later date, to recuperate the best way possible etc. At the end of the day it's down to the insurance company to pay. There's something very wrong with this country where drivers are seen as innocent when battling on at 'normal' speed no matter what the road conditions, as if arriving quickly is more important than avoiding accidents!

Hi I've been in an informal arrangement (arranged through CAB) with all my creditors for a couple of years, paying about 10% per month and they have mostly been pretty good about it (although a couple of defaults registered). It's some loans and credit cards. I live in Scotland. Now my dad is offering me a sum, and I want to offer them 10% in partial settlement. Is there any chance they would accept this or will I be wasting my time? Any experiences or advice would be gratefully received! Thanks

(I think this may be the wrong forum for this! I'm going to repost in the debt subforum) http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?417538-Partial-settlement&p=4469197#post4469197 sorry all!!