Hi dx100uk, Thanks for your reply. Yes, I'm in Scotland. Regarding arresting my wages, I have so little in my account (and get paid so little) that there's nothing to arrest. Thanks for suggestion, though. Anyway, how shall I proceed?

Dear forum, I've been recently receiving summary warrant letters (one of them has been handed-in in person) from Scott&Co sheriffs claiming I owe over £1300 in Council Tax. This is amount that would cover more than 12 months CT for the property I've been staying in for just 4 months! The truth is, I haven't paid (I'm the sole person responsible for CT) CT because I work too few hours and can't get any benefits as I'm non-UK (I don't even pay the rent right now due to lack of sensible income, got a very understanding LL). I've looked through posts on the forum but it's not very clear to me what course of action would be best: a/ Should I ask Scott&Co to prove I owe the debt of £1300 and if I do (which is not true, it's much smaller amount), what is the amount and have them explain what the summary warrant is and why did they issue one. After all, I haven't been summoned to the court? b/ Ask the City Council if they'd consider writing my current CT debt off? c/ Or, should I pursue, at the same time, a and b options? It would be great if someone could point me to the relevant templates - again, I have looked through the forum but couldn't locate the right templates apart from a template asking City Council to write off the debt. Thanks, K.

Hi dx, Thanks for a quick reply. As I wrote above, they should've taken out 1/3 of £800 as I'm moving on the 10th this month. No, they haven't informed me. They just, I believe, forgot to cancel DD.

Hi floks, I think it's a reasonably simple issue (or so I hope). I have had set up by the property agency a direct debit for my rent of £800 from my account. It's been going smooth until today. The agency DD'ed the full amount - however, I'm moving out of the property 10th of this month. The agency, of course, knows about it as they have themselves informed me long time ago I had to move out as the landlord is sellling the property. I had in this bank account less than £800 so it shows right now that my balance is negative. I guess, it will have me incur, not because of my fault, various penalty fees on top of that. What next step should I take?

Got a MAN letter regarding appointment but the letter has arrived a few days after the appointment had been scheduled (perhaps Easter's got something to do with it). The Ingeus adviser thinks this is not true, since 'it could not have taken 10 days' for a 2nd class letter to arrive. Those are no signed for letters... how am I to prove that this is what actually happened - that is, I got it after the scheduled appointment?

I have produced a formal letter of notification of repair which clearly itemized what needed to be done as well as included pictures. This letter was sent to the agent signed for and a few days later I also emailed the letter to a number of people in the organisation (maintainance manager, supervisor of maintance, etc.) to make them aware of the issues in no uncertain terms. I think i was generous because they had almost two months to come up with, at least, a detailed plan of the repair actions. Sadly, this 'professional' agency hasn't replied to the letter of notifcation of repair and my emails so far! I had to spend money to buy radiators, endure cold temperatures in the house as well as not properly fiteed or working devices. At the same time I pay a hefty rent every month on time. I do feel like it is an injustice, not only to me, but also to the legal framework and the Housing Act. What do you guys recommend as the next step?

Hi P, Thanks a lot, that was helpful. However, what baffles me, all those guidelines are recommendations. My understanding is that recommendations are not lawful regulations, that is cannot be enforced. In other words, technically, the agent can shrug their shoulders, and say 'whatever'?

hi Stu, Thanks for your reply. I have made the agent aware, twice. I am about to send the agent a formal letter. I do not have contact details to the landlord. The heating is fully electric throughout the house. There is no radiator in the kitchen whatsoever. I have just checked temperatures: - in the kitchen: 12°C during day time, temperature outside 4°C, - in the living room 12°C during day time, temperatures outside 4°C - in the bedroom - there is a fixed radiator but it is too small and inefficient - after 60 minutes having the radiator set to max, the temperature climbed to 13.8°C during late evening, with the temperature outside 1°C. I feel cold in the flat all the time, despite wearing 3 layers of clothes, sometimes 4. K.

Hello everyone, I have a question regarding provision of heating in Scotland. I am renting a private accommodation and, as per usual, agent seems not to care, even though has been informed (emailed twice, now I am intending to send them a formal letter) the heating does not work properly. I have no boiler and only electric heating in the whole flat. Problems: 1) the radiator in the living room does not operate, tried all the switches that there are and it will not budge. (There is a small, fixed electric fireplace in the living room but it is only on/off and does not provide enough heat anyway when constantly on). 2) the radiator in a bedroom (smallish for the size of the room), whilst constantly on full power, never provides enough heat - as I am writing, being there, I feel cold, my fingers feel stiff and cannot bend them without minor pain. There is also draft due to improperly insulated windows in the bedroom and the the living room. 3) A heavy, vertical radiator in a bathroom is not properly fixed and is prone to falling of the wall which is a health hazard (apparently, the agent have been made aware about this by previous tenants as well and made no repairs). 4) There is no heating system whatsoever in the kitchen - is the kitchen excluded from provision of heating? My understanding is that the flat does not comply with tolerate and repairing standards and the issues I have mentioned above should have been addressed by the agent. I want to write a properly formatted, detailed letter to the agent but I canno find within the Shelter Scotland website (and others) or Scottish Housing Act precise information about the tolerable and repairing standards in respect of heating, that is: what are the exact minimum celcius temperatures in bedrooms and living rooms that the fixed appliances should provide at all times? I would be thankful if anyone could point me towards relevant legislation and/or guidelines as well as what the next step I need to take, should the agent disregard my formal letter of complaint. Thanks, K.

Do 14 days holiday mean that in calendar year I can take 14 separate days off? Also, do those 14 days include Saturday and Sunday or only working week days?

Hi there, I have a question about what to do about Housing Benefit being overdue. I've rented a room in a flat but found a flat with a cheaper room in the same city and decided to move in there. Because of this, the council said I need to fill in a new form and submit a new lease as well - all because 'change in circumstances'. I did that mid-October. In between moving to a new flat there was a week before I could move in to the new flat so, due to courtesy of my friend, slept at his couch (apparently this caused a partial overpayment). I don't think that this should bear any burden on the validity on my present claim, except of my having to pay back the partial overpayment. By now, I've been waiting over 6 weeks for the new claim to be re-assessed and all of my meager savings have been spent. I've called a council around 2 weeks ago and was told that the claim was 'being processed' and should be done in next 40 hours and that the council did not need any more documents from me. A full week passed and haven't heard from the council so called again, this time talked to another person and I was told exactly the same thing. Again, almost a week is over and heard nothing for the council. Each time I was asked If I've been receiving JSA (I have). This time I don't have enough mone to pay for my rent... Also, got a CT bill request I need to pay the full amount urgently, otherwise I'll face consequences, such as being in arreras, sheriff, etc. K.

Hi Steve, Thanks for your reply. To clarify the matter, what I know is that the LL is sort of an acquaintance of the tenant residing at the property. The LL is apparently doing some education related stuff abroad (I don't know for how long). The tenant mentioned that the LL would infrequently crash in the living room and, apparently, it happened only once in the last year. How should a clause incorporated to the lease look like to explicitily forbid a living in LL? I don't mind him crashing once or twice a year for a couple days but anything more is not a deal I'm looking for, especially paying a hefty rent each month.

Hi Lea, thanks for a very detailed reply, it is much helpful! I agree about the deposit scheme, though I'm not particularly worried about it as I can try to enforce it when the tenancy has already started. I know that the LL is not registered with the council. Again, It doesn't worry me that much for, as afar as I understand, it doesn't invalidate the lease agreement whatsoever (or am I wrong to a certain extent?). What, according to you, would be the most substantial aspects to be incorporated into the lease to protect my interests?

Hi guys, I have been served the following, ultra brief tenancy agreement and am not sure where do I stand with it (questions at the bottom). Here's the wording of the lease: ---Start Lease 1. The Tenant pays deposit of £____. 2. Rent must be paid on the first of every month. 3. Rent is £____ per month; bills not included yet. 4. The Tenant must notify the Landlord within 24 hours of entry of any disrepair or defect of appliances and report failure of appliances. 5. The Tenant agrees not to sublet the property in whole or part. 6. If the Tenant wishes to make changes to the confirmed booking, the Tenant must notify the Landlord as soon as possible. 7. The Tenant binds and is obliged to vacate the premises without demand at the end of the tenancy. Lease starts 01.09.2014 - until provisionally 31.07.2014, optionally to be prolonged through summer with first priority as well as for next year. Name of Tenant: _________ Name of Landlord: _________ Date, time and Place _________ ---End Questions: 1. Does the tenancy constitute an Assured, Short Assured, or some other type of tenancy? 2. Is this tenancy allowing the landlord to reside in the property? 3. Does the wording of the lease mean I'm renting the property or a room (There are two rooms, and another person who has their own lease agreement - exactly alike - and pays their own rent)? 4. Does the lease is generally missing some important information that should (or have to) be included? 5. Point 6. and 7. are not clear to me, what do they mean? Also, the landlord lives abroad and I'm not sure how to execute signing the lease to make it valid (witness, I assume)? Thanks, K.

Quite possibly the relation between Ingeus and Remploy is that of the latter being a sub-contractor. But then, can you explain what does that work like from a legal point a view? Why signing a contract by sub-contractor with a contractor gives the former a legal permission to access all the data that it wants? It doesn't add up (but I'm not a lawyer). For example, if X contracts to Y, (and then Y to Z, etc.), then Z now has access to data? This would be crazy, as any business would gain a permission to access data by virtue of signing a contract! The other thing is I've never been in a position to agree or disagree with what Ingeus just did - moved me to Remploy. You can't agree involuntarily, that's a contradiction in terms, by the way. It's not even the case of involuntariness. I have not been informed about me consenting or not about the decision that has been made. To me it seems that Ingeus is in breach of DPA but I'm not certain about it.

Hi Workaholic, Thanks for replying. No idea, guess they referred be because they do it after certain time? Apparently I'm with Remploy for some 14 weeks and if won't get a job by this time, then back to Ingeus. I have no idea what kind of relationship is between Ingeus and Remploy.

Hi guys, I've been attending appointments with Ingeus and over that time my adviser and myself built a basic CV for me which contained usual stuff - education, employment history, etc. Recently, I have been referred to Remploy. To my amazement, during the second appointment with a Remploy adviser had my CV on hand! I've neither signed anything while at Ingeus nor given my adviser a verbal permission to share my CV with another company. My understanding is that Ingeus has violated Data Protection Act by providing a third party business with my personal information. They have also failed to inform me that the would have provided anyone else with my personal data. Or am I something missing? What should I do about it?

No T&C have been signed but I presume that taking the place on a course and attending the course is equivalent to signing a document?

Only tuition fees, it's a postgrad course.

Hello everyone, My situation regards unpaid tuitions fees. I have started part-time postgraduate study in September without the money to cover tuition fees (looking for a full-time job and deferring wouldn't have sorted out the issue as this course's fees go up quite a bit every year). I hedged my bets I would get a part-time job that would allow me pay off the fees whilst studying on the part-time basis. I have received an invoice from the university in October to pay the fees. Needless to say, having no money, I have disregarded the invoice, nor proposed any alternative payment plan at this time. I can't imagine if I contacted the university it would have okay-ed my saying I hadn't a single penny to pay the fees. In March I have received an email prompting me to pay the full amount immediately. Since January, I have made some savings (having odd jobs here and there). To the email I received I replied by asking if they would agree to payment by instalments. Unfortunately, the reply was that the university "cannot agree a payment plan for making payment of your tuition fees," on the basis I had not requested to pay by instalements nor informed university of my situation beforehand. I was informed If I don't make the full payment immediately, the university will first ban all services and access to the buildings, then withdraw me from university, then undertake the legal action to collect the fees regardless whether I would be withdrawn or not. The fact is, I'm keen to pay, I just don't have the full amount right now. In principle, I could pay around 35-40% immediately and the remaining amount over the course of the following 4-5 months. The reply I received was from an income assistant who, I believe, might be following some strict policy guidelines. Should I get in touch either by email or in person (which is better?) with a person above, say - income manager or income deputy to sort out this issue? Can I make the university to agree to instalments? After all, they will be better off by getting all the money, though delayed and I'd be better of by continuing my education and, in the long run, getting better job (instead of, say, benefits) so could contribute back to the society by paying (higher) taxes. I can provide the university with stamped print outs of my bank accounts showing I don't have nearly enough to pay off the full amount now. I will not get bank loans (I tried) or possess valuables that I could sell. Any suggestions what to do now?

Thanks for reply, Antone. Yes, I live in Scotland. I do rent from a LL (I'm a joint tenant, the other person is a full-time student). I ran some online calculators and they show I'm not entitled to any benefits with this monthly pay rate. Should I go to the Council office and inquire? Will they be able to give me accurate numbers?

Hi guys, I'm not in employment and claim JSA + Housing Benefit, although have been offered a 15h/week part-time job. The thing is, the job would pay ca. £520/month. The calculations say I would not be entitled to any benefits if I take this job. Even worse, possibly Council Tax would kick in (or not?). All in all, paradoxically, taking the job would make me worse off by some £50-£100. I barely make ends meet now - on the job I will not even be able to pay up all the bills! Is it really the case the the government is happy enough to let the citizens get by making £520 or am I missing something in those calcuations and/or lack some information? The othe question, a bit unrelated. Is it possible to be fully exempted from water sewage and waste bill? I'm exempted from Council Ttax but need to pay reduced water sewage and waste, according to the Counil, Thanks for reading, k.

As far as I can tell, no. Should do so separately?

The CTR letter stated only the original amounts for the band the CT was calculated and the reduced amount. No explanation why this particular amount was applied. Also, it was me and the other tenant on the letter whereas, If I'm not mistaken, I should be the only one addressed since the other tenant, being in full-time education, doesn't count, right?

Well, tried to log on to 'Benefits online' today but get this: 'The 'Surname or family name' and 'PIN Number' that you have entered do not match. Please amend your entry.' Before, until a few days ago, it worked fine. I have applied for both Housing Benefit and Council Tax exemption (that is - Second Adult Rebate) at the same time, in the beginning of October, filled in and printed out the application form, took it the local office and got it stamped. Received my first cheque for October in November (still waiting for the one for November), on Saturday a letter about my Council Tax status arrived. No idea why 41%, possibly an error/mistake? I had it before, as well as other people whom I knew, that the letters contained misspelled surnames, wrong information from the council given when calling them, etc. - they are understuffed so I presume do things in a hurry and this would explain a mistake (if it is).