well done foxy, i know just how you feel! i gave up eleven weeks, four days and nine hours ago! after 53 years smoking! i went 'cold turkey' as i couldn't bring myself to take any substitute as i may have become dependant on the substitute! (daft i know but thats how i felt at the time). i too have frequent spasms where i could kill for a ciggy. your spot on about doing something with ones hands, so i bought some joke cigarettes, and 'voila' the urge is gone. the only real difference i have noticed, is that i dont cough anymore, especially first thing in the morning. food doesn't taste any different (contrary to popular belief) for me at any rate. i am determined not to start again. good luck, bartymuv.

i too had a problem with credit expert. got my rating to 999 after a long time. checked it 3 months later to find it had dropped to 466! checked my report and found to my horror that every institution i was involved with was shown in triplicate! my debts had risen from £18000 to £58000. i contacted credit expert by email, and recieved a reply stating that it was because my name and address had been inserted twice (not by me). they would correct the input and all should be well. 3weeks later and its done. back to normal, but its cost me £20+ to check! a nice little earner for the cra's me thinks.

hi ray, yes they have responded again, saying that they have deleted the duplicate entries. unfortunately im in antigua at the moment, so cant check my credit score. hopefully, this will have reverted back to its original status. i just found it incredible that these companys tell us how important it is to keep aware of our finances, by using them, and they end up ruining a perfectly good rating! thanks for your response, bartymuv.

i pay a monthly subscription to experian, as i like to keep an eye on my rating etc. a few years ago i had to declare myself bankrupt, and since then have been building up my credit rating to a point where i had reached the top rating of 999. this was about a year ago. i didntcheck my report regularly from that time, as my circumstances hadn't changed. my debts (loans etc) amounted to around £18k and no payments had been missed or any defaults incurred. you can imagine my surprise when i checked my report, to find that experian said i had debts amounting to £57,853! i went through all the listed creditors, and found that all of them were listed three times. i then checked my credit rating and found it had dropped down to 447! i contacted experian for an explanation, and they sent a response which said that i had put my name and address in twice, so that was where the problem arose. as i stated earlier, i joined experian quite a few years ago, so how i became listed twice is a mystery to me. my question to the forum is, do i have a case for deformation? i am not looking to take out any loans in the near future, except maybe for a car, but with my current rating, i could find it difficult through no fault of my own. thanks for reading, bartymuv.

sidewinder is of course absolutely right. i should have said 'we' opted out as a whole section, not me as an individual. on the other hand, we have opted out of having a meal break during a shift, and for that we get to leave an hour and a half early ie. 1230 instead of 1400. this suits us and of course the business. there is a tea break incorporated in that period as well, 30 minutes. we love it! lol. bartymuv.

mmm, 7 on 3 off 7 on 4 off! doesn't work for an airline does he? bartymuv.

i opted out of the WTD. my company operate a 24hr operation which means i work a three shift pattern. 0600-1400 1400-2200 2200-0600. my pattern runs as follows.....7 days on 3 off, 7 days on 4 off. every 3rd weekend is a long weekend off ie friday saturday sunday monday. overtime can include a 0600 start, and finish at 2200 and then start again at 0600 the next day, or indeed any comblnation of all three. there is nothing that says we have to have an 11hr rest period between shifts. as i understand, a 10hr rest period is what i opted out of. working 7 days on may sound alien to a lot of people, but, if i was to suggest to the people i represent that we were going back to a 5 day pattern, they would slaughter me. if you think about it, people on a five day week would have to take 10 days leave for two weeks leave, whereas i take 7 days leave for 2 weeks leave. sorry to rattle on. hope this helps, bartymuv.

hi andy, can you tell us if you were informed that you could bring a colleague or trade union representative with you to either your disciplinary or appeal hearing? if they didnt, it could be relevant if you get to a tribunal. your question regarding scribes (noteteakers) asking questions, usually (as i understand) you would be introduced to the investigating panel and each persons position explained. scribes can ask questions, with the chairs permission. obviously he wouldn't object because the scribe was one of his 'team'. i'm not a expert in industrial law, just a tu rep who has attended quite a few investigating and disciplinary hearings and all for one company. also none of my hearings have ever ended up at a tribunal for unfair dissmissal, so i cant comment on those proceedings. i think someone has already mentioned that even if your company didnt follow their disciplinary proceedure, it doesn't mean you will get your job back. i wish you luck. bartymuv.

ahh! thanks for that info pat. i was very lucky then when i got caught (39mph) . cheers, bartymuv.

if the current 9 points were not related to speeding offences, then i believe that an option to pay £95 and attend a speed awareness course without incurring the 3 penalty points would be offered. however, somehow i dont think this is going to be the case for this offender, unfortunately. good luck, bartymuv.

awelorun, this is the address on their pcn.......... parking control services 27 old gloucester street london wc1n 3xx website Parking Control Services - Solutions To Your Parking Problems hope this helps barty.

thanks for your replys, a brief outline of the case......a colleague of my wifes, a carer, attending an old lady, parks in the same place she has parked for the past 6 months. call takes 15 mins. returns to car, clamped! calls the clampers, explains she has to have car released as she has very young child expecting her at home. clamper returns 3 hours later. she argues that there are no signs and that she was on legitimate call with a note on her dashboard. clamper checks parking area and finds the notice on the floor, and puts it up in a temporary position. result, £75 plus £125 clamping fee =£200 for 15 mins. what really gets my goat with these rogues is that to contact them you have to call an 0900 number at £1.50 min. anyway, i'll let the lady know that she is dealing with cowboys, as i suspected. thanks for your responses, barty.

can anyone shed some info on the above company? just need to know if they are reputable or cowboys before i seek further advice on here. cheers, barty.

ok, just to close this, today i posted off my £60 for the second traffic violation. but, im going to ask them to up the wattage in their flash units so that at least i'll know when i've had my photo taken! barty.

well, their not hanging about! got my invitation to the speed awareness course today, so at least i'll only end up with 3 points on my licence. pat, that doesn't sound like too bad an idea to me! me in one venue and her indoors in another! lol. barty.