Could you tell me where you got this info please? Cheers H

I have requested a copy but it has not been forthcoming Yes one would think so but I did send in a copy of my residents permit but they still wanted to do me for failure to display which seems very petty and mean spirited but that's B&H Parking Services for you. Can I appeal on the grounds that their refusal to cancel the PCN even though I have provided a copy of my permit is vexatious (as in "frivolous, vexatious or wholly unreasonable") Cheers for the advice H

Hi All Just received a response to my letter requesting (quote) A copy of the policy document relating to the powers of discretion you hold under the DoT guidelines. Copies of pocket book notes made by the CEO at the time of the alleged offence and any photographs of the incident which you have not already provided and A copy of the traffic regulation order relating to the parking bay where the alleged offence took place. This has just arrived: Free file hosting by Savefile.com Free file hosting by Savefile.com I don't think they've complied fully with this request as I don't have a copy of the TRO (only a mention of the 'relevant part') or a copy of the policy document Could anybody advise me as to the best way to proceed with this? I intend eventually to appeal on the grounds that the bay is non-compliant All advice gratefully received Cheers H

Thanks for the compliment SH - it's good to know that 12 grand on an English degree went to some good use!!! Funnily enough the alleged debt that they're chasing me for might just possibly have been on an 'alleged' loan to tide me over at Uni How ironic is that!!!? You gotta laugh haven't you! Bye for now H

Hi again Thanks for all the advice and pointers - I have now collated this into a (final) letter which I am sending them today and posting here in case anyone cares to use it or parts of it in future (feel free to point out any glaring omissions or mistakes if there are any ) Here goes: Dear Mr Crap Pot Re Account Number xxxxxxxxxxxx Thank you for your recent letter containing a copy of your complaints procedure. I have elected to pass over stage one of the procedure as I feel that, for the purposes of clarity and verification it would be preferable to keep all communication in written form. Stage two requires me to inform you of the nature of my complaint and accordingly, I set this out below. I have on numerous occasions been obliged to counter your continued assertion that I owe your company a debt. I have clearly set out my reasons for refuting this debt, i.e. my firm belief that this alleged debt is now statute barred under the Limitation Act 1980 Section 5. I have written to you twice asking you to provide evidence of payment or written contact from me in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, but it appears that you are unable or unwilling to do this. Your response to these letters has merely been either to threaten me with court action or to re-iterate your assertion that the alleged debt is not statue barred because of the date of a default notice issued by M&S with respect to the alleged debt. I therefore suggest once more that you are no longer in a position to take any court action against me to recover the amount claimed as the alleged debt is statute barred. You have sent me a copy of your complaints procedure, along with a note, signed by you personally, (undated) which clearly states that you acknowledge that the alleged debt is disputed. I am confused by your subsequent letter of 13 January which arrived the very next day and which appears to be threatening me with enforcement action. As a Professional Debt Collection Agency (spot the deliberate mistake :-p) you should be aware that your letter is in clear breach of the OFT guidelines on debt collection on several counts, i.e: Demanding money on a statute barred debt violates 2.14(b) - it is unfair to mislead debtors as to their rights and obligations, for example, falsely stating or implying that the debt is still legally recoverable and relying on consumers not knowing the relevant legal provisions continuing to press for payment after a debtor has stated that they will not be paying a debt because it is statute barred could amount to harassment contrary to section 40 (1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1970. The letter claims powers which you don't have, and is in clear violation of 2.4 (b) - falsely implying or stating that action can or will be taken when it legally cannot, for example, referring to bankruptcy or sequestration proceedings when the balance is too low to qualify for such proceedings or claiming a right of entry when no court order to this effect has been granted and 2.4 (d) - falsely implying or stating that action has been taken when it has not, for example, that civil action has been taken or that a court judgement has already been obtained I feel that your continued attempts to press me for payment of this alleged debt, allied with your complete failure to acknowledge and adequately address the points I have raised in the letters I have sent to you, constitute aggressive practice, as defined by Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, and places you in breach of these regulations. I have already informed you that if you persisted with this harassment and with practices which are defined as 'unfair' and 'aggressive' under the above Guidelines, I would be referring this matter to the authorities, and I hereby put you on notice that I have instigated a formal complaint against you with the Office of Fair Trading and Trading Standards. I require you cease this unlawful harassment, and to send your written confirmation that this matter is now closed and that no further contact will be made concerning the above account after that final letter. In the event of your failure to send such a letter, or to resolve this complaint to my satisfaction within the time frame that you have set out in your complaints procedure, I will escalate my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. In closing, I refer you back to my previous letters, and state that my FINAL POSITION is that the alleged debt is statute barred. Unless you can supply proof of a payment or written acknowledgement within the last six years, NO FURTHER CORRESPONDENCE BY MAIL ON THIS ISSUE WILL BE ENTERED INTO. I now require a proper response to this complaint; any further template letters containing meaningless threats will simply be responded to by an email to cabotpr@cabotfinancial.com restating my position, as I feel that writing an individual response to such letters would be a waste of my time and money, and not conducive to moving this dispute forward. I look forward to your reply. etc etc Thanks again for all your help, especially ScabHunter, in compiling this letter. Will keep you posted Cheers H

Firstly may I thank you all (oo-er I'm coming over all Gwyneth Paltrow!) for those long and detailed responses - I really appreciate this info and rest assured I will definitely act upon it. I think the email template is spot on! Well done ScabHunter!!! Actually I'm looking forward to stuffing the b*stards... What a bunch of low life turds these people must be! It's such a nice feeling to know that 'people power' can be so effective in the face of these leeches who make their living by feeding off human misery - the John Lennon song 'How Do You Sleep' comes to mind - as does 'Power to the People!!! On that musical note I will bid you goodnight and thanks once again for all the info it is truly appreciated Naturally I'll keep you posted on any significant developments Cheers H

yes this is a direct quote from the letter - should I report them do you thiink?

Hello All Long post coming up but I just wanted to keep you abreast of the latest nonsense from Crap Pot and share some thoughts about the best way to deal with these annoying little turds that won't flush... Believe it or not they actually sent me a copy of their complaints procedure (see attached pdf) It was accompanied by a hand written note stating: "Please find enclosed a copy of our complaints procedure. May I take this opportunity to advise you that Crap Pot will be treating your concerns as a dispute and not a complaint" How nice of them to inform me. So they admit that the debt is disputed but then the very next day, I received a letter stating: Your account has been escalated to our Pre Litigation Department We've previously advised you that if you didn't repay your outstanding debt to Cabot, we would take further action. Your account has now been escalated to the next stage of our Collections process where a decision will be made accordingly. If we don't hear from you If you don't respond now, one of the following options will occur: • a Warrant of Execution - this instructs bailiffs to remove items from your home and sell them to repay your debt. • a Charging Order - a Charge will be placed on your property, which means if you sell your property, the Charge will have to be repaid from the proceeds. • an Attachment of Earnings Order - this is a method by which money will be deducted from your wages to repay your debt. • an Order to Obtain Information - you will have to attend Court to be questioned, under oath by a Court Officer. • an External Debt Collection Agency or Legal Agency calling on you. Contacting Cabot [oh yeah right that's what I'll do I'll call their rip off 0845 number and speak to one of the cretins on the phone] The most important thing for you to do now is to contact us, blah blah blah Yours sincerely (oh the irony!!!) Mr Crap Pot (okay made that bit up) Now I'm pretty sure that they cannot legally take, or threaten to take, enforcement action on a debt which they themselves have acknowledged as being 'disputed' Apart from this, this letter (I think I'm right in saying) contravenes the FSA Guidelines which state that if: "a debt collector threatens consumers with recovery of money by bailiffs for unenforceable debts. This could amount to harassment, coercion or undue influence. (Exploitation of circumstances and threat to take action which cannot legally be taken)" Notice that the letter doesn't actually make it clear that they would have to take you to court and win the day before any of this could actually happen. SO I think they've really screwed up this time (for a change) My only question now is how to respond with the minimum of effort and expenditure of time. Not because I am lazy but because I really have much better things to do with my day, and I refuse to play the game on their terms - what I mean by that is that I have begun to realise that these maggots are trying it on using a variation on the old principle of; "Throw enough sh*t against the wall and some of it is bound to stick" They know that legally they are on a hiding to nothing, yet they persist in sending letter after letter in an attempt to wear you down and make you cave in. By spending time on this, I am actually fulfilling their agenda, which I resent. If we can find a way to adequately respond to this type of nonsense with a minimum of effort, I heartily recommend that we all adopt the same approach and collectively pee on their bonfire I am very tempted to send the wonderfully concise suggestion from ODC in a previous thread which said: "To avoid confusing the halfwits at Crapbot keep your letter short. Dear Cretins Re your letter of xxxxxxx. Please refer to my letter of xxxxxxx in which I made my position quite clear. I have nothing further to add other than to inform you that I am reporting you with a view to prosecution under Y ss.5(2), 3(b),6 and 7 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR). If you do not understand the above I suggest you should seek some other form of employment. yours etc That will do for starters! Last questions: Are there any more contraventions of CPUTR (in addition to those mentioned above) that they have committed in their latest offerings, and which I could usefully point out to them? And does anyone have their email address? Any advice, as ever, gratefully accepted. All the best H scan.pdf

Just to keep you all posted - I've been contacted by the leasing co who have confirmed that the insurance is not valid, and offered to repay the premium. I pointed out that if they had not mis-sold the vehicle and the policy I would not have entered into a finance agreement with them and I now would like them to take back their vehicle and give me a generous settlement figure so that I can walk away from it. Having taken some legal advice, it seems I'm on fairly solid ground so I'm going to write to them today outlining my case and wait for their response. Will keep you abreast of developments Cheers H

Hi Jansus Thanks for your response and for your advice which I have taken on board. I spoke to my sister and she said that she has already exhausted their internal complaint procedures and the ins co are now refusing to enter into further dialogue with her other than offering a derisory figure in full and final settlement. The loss adjuster has also closed their files after my sis got annoyed with them after they had reneged on verbal agreements regarding what they were willing to recommend to remedy the damage to the property. When she asked for written confirmation of their recommendations, which they refused to provide. She then refused them access to her property until they complied with her request. Their response was to turf her out of the temporary accommodation she had been allocated, saying that she was being 'obstructive'. She is now back in the house which she feels is still potentially contaminated with effluent. To answer your specific questions, the water went under a kitchen floor and under the floor in the dining room into the foundations. They have lifted the kitchen floor, but are refusing to lift the dining room floor as they say it won't be necessary, but this is more likely to be because this would be a lot more involved and therefore costly than the kitchen floor was. Naturally this is causing her a great deal of distress and upset, which is impeding her ability to take on the task of dealing with the ins co and the loss adjusters. She feels that they are playing on this and that when she speaks to them they often deliberately try to antagonise her, in order to impede her ability to deal with the situation effectively. It's all a bit of a mess as you can probably tell. She has already contacted the Ombudsman over the phone but the problem is that it may have gone way beyond what the Ombudsman can deal with, given that they can't order the ins co to pay compensation which my sister feels she is entitled to given the way they have behaved and the amount of stress and upheaval that she has had to go through because of their mis-management of this claim. She is at the moment contemplating legal action to try to move things along more quickly, as naturally she wants an end to this nightmare asap. From what she has told me it seems that they are just behaving like a bunch of crooks, telling lies and behaving in a completely dishonest and devious manner. Any comments gratefully received as ever - will keep you posted as to the outcome. Cheers H

Can't claim on this insurance until the vehicle is written off so that might be a bit drastic! H

Hi I have posted this in the PPI forum but I may be a bit off topic there so I am posting here as well just in case there are any legal folks out there who may have any advice/thoughts. I've just found out that I have been mis-sold GAP insurance by the retailer who leased me a vehicle for my business. Things are getting a bit tight financially as I'm feeling the effects of the so called credit crunch (yes I know aren't we all) and I can no longer justify keeping the vehicle on as the monthly payments are too high. I have paid well over half the total finance and I feel that it would be justifiable to return this vehicle to them and pay a reasonable amount in settlement of the outstanding finance, but there are punitive clauses in the Finance Agreement which basically would give them every chance to screw me to the floor if I defaulted on payments, or asked them to take it back before the finance runs its course However, the finance agreement is covered by the CCA and I'm wondering if, as the PPI element was mis-sold, and this was lumped in to the finance agreement (i.e. part of the monthly payments go towards paying the premium) there might be a chance that I could claim that they are in breach of contract... Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Cheers H

The main problem is that her property was flooded by a blocked drain and some effluent from the drain seeped into the area beneath the house. My sister wants the floor lifted so that the damage can be assessed and the area can be properly cleaned/disinfected but the surveyors/builders sent by the insurance co are saying that this won't be necessary. She is getting an independent builder to make a report but she is so incensed by the way the ins co are treating her that she is considering legal action, part of which might be based on damages caused by their non-compliance with the SAR (hence the previous question!) Cheers for any advice H

Hi again Does anyone know whether, on home and contents insurance, there is supposed to be a contract drawn up by the insurers setting out the full terms of the insurance, a copy of which is made available to the insured? My sister just did a SAR to her insurers aking for a copy of this document (if it exists) but she has been sent a copy of the general terms of the policy and told that 'this is all there is'. Does this sound right? All advice gratefully received H

Hi I've just found out that I have been mis-sold GAP insurance by the retailer who leased me a vehicle for my business. Things are getting a bit tight financially and I can no longer justify keeping the vehicle on as the monthly payments are quite high. I have paid well over half the total finance and I feel that it would be justifiable to return this vehicle to them and pay a reasonable amount in settlement of the outstanding finance, but there are punitive clauses in the Finance Agreement which basically would give them every chance to screw me to the floor if I defaulted on payments, or asked them to take it back before the finance runs its course However, the finance agreement is covered by the CCA and I'm wondering if, as the PPI element was mis-sold, and this was lumped in to the finance agreement (i.e. part of the monthly payments goes to pay the premium) there might be a chance that I could claim that there is a flaw in the contract and so it is non enforceable. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Cheers H

Hi Just a thought, but it occurred to me that if I was mis-sold PPI (GAP insurance) and this was lumped in to the finance agreement there might be a chance that I could claim that there is a flaw in the contract and so it is non enforceable. I will post this in the PPI forum as well just to see if anyone there knows if this is a possibility, but I would appreciate any views you may have. Cheers H

Hi Nevos Thanks for the heads up I will check it out Cheers H

Hi Thanks for your quick responses! There is no PPI on the loan (thanks goodness) but apparently the same lady authorised both mortgages at the same time and did the same on the earnings for both mum and sister... As has already been pointed out they did accept and sign on the proverbial dotted line, but even so it seems as though the Abbey lady was more interested in earning herself a nice bit of commission than actually fact finding the application properly! H

Hi All Just wanted to run this by everyone as I need some advice about a possible case of irresponsible lending. My mum is a pensioner with a small mortgage and (obviously) a small income. She was recently lent £40,000 by Abbey secured on her home. The money was to help my Sister buy a house. The problem is that my mum's now struggling to make the repayments as my sister has lost her job and cannot do much to help at the moment. When I looked into it all, I found that the nice, helpful lady at Abbey deliberately bumped up my mum's income in order to get the loan approved. Is this legal and what redress does my mum have in getting these payments reduced? Thanks for any advice H

Okay I see - well thanks very much for the advice - really appreciate it! (sniffle!!!) BTW I just found out the buggers mis-sold me PPI (or GAP cover as they call it) so I've been paying for something that ain't worth the paper it's written on - don't suppose I can get them on that one? Perhaps I should just be nice and ask them very politely if they would take their truck back?!!!! H

Well actually it would be more cost effective for me to give them this one back and buy another vehicle outright so if I could 'breach' the agreement say by voluntary termination that would be my preferred course of action. However, I wouldn't want to do this if it were going to work out to be too expensive in the long term. That's why I'm hoping what this may be is actually Hire Purchase, which would give me the option of VT once I had paid off 50% of the total cost (which I believe I may have by now). At the moment I don't know how to differentiate between HP and personal leasing / personal hire contract... Cheers H

Looks like they will come after me like a pack of bloodhounds if this (from the Rental Agreement) is anything to go by (my comments in brackets): "Additional amount payable if this Agreement or the hiring ends following your breach, see further under paragraph 12 of the Terms and Conditions. You will have to pay: (a) all Rentals and other sums which have fallen due but are unpaid as at the date of Termination or the ending of the Agreement under paragraph 11 of the Terms and Conditions; and (b) damages for any loss we suffer as a result of any breach of your obligations; and © by way of agreed liquidated damages and in addition to any arrears of Rentals, a sum equal to the Rentals which but for the Termination would have become payable during the remainder of the Term discounted at the rate of 5% per annum from the date the Agreement Terminated or ended to the dates on which the relevant Rentals would otherwise have fallen due; and (d) any reasonable administration costs and expenses incurred by us as a result of your breach in accordance with paragraph 2.1.3 of the Terms and Conditions". ( + [d] = in other words an open cheque) "Less the net sale proceeds of the Vehicle after deducting cost of repairs, storage, insurance and sale and any other costs including legal costs reasonably incurred if the vehicle is repossessed and sold within 3 months of termination, or if the vehicle is repossessed but not sold within such 3 month period, the value of the Vehicle as reasonably determined by us." ('reasonably determined by us' oh look another open cheque) "Charges payable if you breach this Agreement: • any repossession agents fees/tracing agents fees, vehicle storage charges/auction fees, insurance costs and abortive collection fees which we incur will be charged at the rates which are current at the time we incur them we will charge an administration fee of £70.50 (incl. VAT) each time we instruct a repossession agent or tracing agent • any legal costs we incur will be charged (on a solicitor and own client basis) at the rates which are current at the time we incur them • if you have failed to keep the Vehicle in good repair and condition, fair wear and tear excepted, and the Vehicle is for any reason returned to, or repossessed by us, we may require that you pay the costs of such repairs which are necessary to put the Vehicle in good repair and condition." (They decide what's fair wear and tear - oh look yet another open cheque) Looks like I'm stuffed unless there's some way to wriggle out of it! I don't really want to contact the finance company at this stage until I've explored all my options, or at least until I know what my rights are under this agreement...will have to apply for a copy of the t's and c's which I don't seem to have got. Cheers for all your advice H

Hi thanks for your message. Do you know what options I would have if I wanted to do a voluntary termination of the agreement? I know I can do this with HP if I've paid off 50% of the total balance, but would this be applicable in this case? Thanks again H

Hi Thanks for your response After I posted this I realised I had probably put it in the wrong place so I reposted it here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/vehicle-retailers-manufacturers/176244-vt-possible-hire-agreement.html#post1903190 where there is also a link to a scan of the hire agreement - I would really appreciate your comments on this. The agreement is in my name rather than the company name so does this make it a personal contract rather than a business lease? Thanks in advance for your advice H

Hi Thanks for you response here's a link to the scanned agreement Free file hosting by Savefile.com would appreciate your views thanks again H