I have received a Notice to Owner from Lambeth Parking claiming I parked in a resticted street during prescribed hours. The Penalty charge amount is £120.00. When I called to advise them that I did not have a ticket on the car they said they had a photo of the car but not with the issed ticket on it. Can I appeal?

I should have explained in full. I wasn't at home when it happened but had put the machine on in the morning. My neighbour told me about it in the evening so my plumber arrived the next day and couldn't find any leak when he got here. There was no spillage in my flat and the plumbers have put in writing that this is "rather suspicious" they went downstairs and checked his ceiling and I quote "..went downstairs and checked his hole in the ceiling and it doesn't look right. If the problem had occured the day before it would all be soaking wet but it isn't. There isn't any sign of water damage to speak of.." Nonetheless, surely if you decide not to insure against risks like this then you are leaving yourself open to loss. Do I accept this as a claim on my insurance and lose my no claims when there is no evidence to suggest that I'm actually to blame?

My neighbour (who lives below me) is taking me to court for a replacement carpet and rug due to water damage from a leaking washing machine. The buildings insurance covered the water damage to the ceiling but he had no contents insurance and ripped out the carpet even before my plumber arrived. Surely his failure to purchase insurance to cover against accidents such as this should not be my responsibility to cover the replacement? I've made claim on my own insurance before and they sent out a carpet cleaning company who did a great job!!!

I gave a holding fee to an agent last weekend to secure a property that I wanted to rent. They claim to have tried to get hold of me by phone and finally 5 days later sent me an e-mail advising the landlord had accepted another offer made through another agent. They have offered alternative properties or my holding fee back in full BUT surely I have some more rights than this. I've advised my current landlord of the date I was due to leave and now I could be homeless. Can I claim for this from the agent / landlord?

I dont fully understand what you believe you can claim? You are being offered your holding deposit back. You also said "It did state on the Guarantors application that the guarantor must be available 24 hours prior to chck in" Please then think about WHY you didnt read this:confused: In your opinion not being told has caused a great deal of inconvenience, however it could also be sais that by failing to read the application forms you have brought it upon yourself:???:

Sorry Happy - They may well serve notice for you to quit - this is different to seeking possession by serving a Section 8 notice which is applying for possession and they will state the grounds of rent arrears. If the situation is caused by a delay to your housing benefit, you should write to your local Housing Benefit Office and request a payment within 14 days. If your Housing Benefit Office cannot process your claim quickly, you should ask for an interim payment. You should try and give the Benefit Office any information it requests. If you need further help in dealing with your rent arrears, or any other aspect of housing, I recommend that you speak to a housing adviser or try Community Legal Service Direct But I still say - SIT TIGHT they cannot evict you without a court order.

Sit tight and do not vacate. You have started your HB claim and advised the agents. They must not harrass you to pay or leave. Yes the landlord is moaning - of course he/she is. This is their income - but life sadly takes turns. I have been instructed by many clients to seek possession for non-payment of rental. However this cannot be issued until you are in 2mths rent arrears - at which point a Section 8 notice will be served advising you court action may commence - this gives you AT LEAST another 16 days before they can apply to the courts (if it is hand delivered) for possession. All this does take time and if you continue to let the agents know what you are doing - both them and the landlord are between a rock and a hard place. They cannot evict you until a Judge grants them possession. Normally by this point the HB will have sorted something out as it will cost them more to re-house you... Any correspondence you receive from the Agents - send to the HB.... keep on their case. Good luck

Thanks for the advice... I will use the template rejection of settlement letter with a request of part payment by cheque. However any links to threads on other IVA victims of unlawful charges would be very welcome so that I can follow their progress....

Thanks - I know I should advise my Supervisor of winnings - however I have a settlement offer from Barclays who say they will credit my account. Surely if an IVA is approved they cant take all the money for themselves? Wouldn't I need to receive it and pay it to my Supervisor to distribute accordingly?

You need to check how the deposit is held - this is the key. Most professional tenancy agreements used will clearly state that the deposit may NOT be used as payment of rental. However, who holds the deposit? Is the the landlord? Is it the Agent as "Stakeholder" Best solution is to call the Agent and explain your circumstances. If its a short term measure I'm sure they will take instruction from their client (your landlord) on how best to help. They are not the enemy. Things become difficult when you ignore the problem and dont keep everyone informed. Good luck

It has varied by in my experience but you can dispute all angles of this if necessary. If you entered into AST for a fixed term which has now ended and have written agreeing to stay but no new AST has been signed you can probably break as it may be seen as a Stat Periodic tenancy and you just need to give one rental periods notice. Even if you have entered into a new AST with a fixed term you can actually challenge this and win. The courts favour the tenant who wish to break so long as it is the same tenant in the same property. Best advice I can give though to keep it "clean" and not drag it through the courts would be to send your "notice in writing" anyway and ask the landlord to remarket to find suitable replacements. You could offer to pay a 2mth notice period or until replacement tenants are found (whichever comes first). Good luck

:idea: I have just received a Notice to Owner from our local authority about a PCN issued on 24/04/2006. My problem is that this car is used by everyone in the company as it's a pool car and no-one recalls getting a parking ticket on this date. We have a good bunch of staff who normally come in waving tickets they have been issued and mumbling obscenities of some description. What can I do if I have never seen this ticket and cant provide the name and address of the culprit:idea:

:idea: Has anyone seen a thread for advice on how far to go when in an IVA :idea:

:idea: Can anyone help me reply I have received what looks like the standard letter "...as a goodwill gesture and without any admission of liability, I am prepared to credit your account with the difference between the charges you have drawn to our attention and the £12 fee recommended by the OFT. This would amount to £xxx for the Visa and £xxx for the Mastercard. May I take this opportunity to remind you that the best way to avoid similar charges in future is to remain within your credit limit and ensure that your monthly payment reaches us within the required timeframe..." The help I need is that I entered into an IVA in March 2005 and I cant find any threads of people who have a similar situation. Problem in template reply rejecting the offer is that is doesn't point out that they have clearly taken no notice of "..I hope you will enter into sincere dialogue with me.... merely respond with standard letters...". Can they credit an account under these circumstance as the balance has already been accounted for? If so it's a case of they repay me and get it straight back.... No winners but them I certainly didn't have this with MBNA and have just received a cheque (which I hasten to add have only accepted as part payment).

:? I received the offer of settlement cheque in the sum of £512.00 as per Ms Pemberton's letter dated 5th September 2006. However I have written a response to settlement offer on 11th September 2006 advising I will "...accept the sum offered only as part settlement on the clear understanding that I will pursue recovery of the remainder..." Should I still bank the cheque received already? Any advice would be appreciated. M3SHL