Following on from my first post. Have sent email to cancell the account that was already cancelled and paid for. Response was, Thank you for your email I'm sorry to hear that you wish to close your Sage Pay account. There is normally a three month termination notice to close an account but this has been waived and your account closed with immediate effect. GUILTY or what. They know the fee of £69 was paid to cancel this in 2009. They only have sparse notes about their "so called" reinstatement, which did not happen. They are totally confused about the fact that I opened a new account with the new company. Any help with this would be appreciated!

Hi I have a small company and use Sage Pay. In 2009 the company was closed and the new one was opened. I have an invoice and evidence of bank payment for closing the account. Also have email evidence that I wished the account to be closed. I opened a new account in the new company name and they are now saying that I asked for the old account to be reinstated. They have been charging me for two accounts ever since, when it is plain to see that only one account has been used. There is zero transactions on the old account. I have emailed them to tell them this, but they say that I reinstated the account. They have no email or recorded message record, but have notes, which could just be made up to suit them. Please can you help with a letter or any advice on my rights on this. They can clearly see that there have been no transactions and that I paid the closure fee of £69. Thanks in anticipation Bankoff

Well done that woman. I issued a claim against ours, they resigned immediately. You just have to keep at it and stand your ground, the law is with us!

Hi I have just won on several counts in a Residential Property Tribunal. How does one go about reclaiming Service Charges that have been paid, and costs for bringing the claim?

Hi This is a slightly different problem which I would very much appreciate some help with. We have a lift contract which is costing us around £6K per year. We are 20 flats in total, so it is costing more than the required £100 per flat per year. When the contract was taken out in 2003 by a previous Director, there was possibly no requirement to issue a S20 notice. However, there is now. The Lift contract is with Otis, and it is was for 5 years, after which it rolls on for another FIVE years. The present Management Co, consisting of 3 directors and a managing agent who does the work of the Secretary, failed to read the lift contract, and therefore failed to give the required 3 months notice in February 2008. Do we have any contract expert out there who can say whether or not this is an unfair contracts or condition. I can email a copy of it should anyone be able to help. Many thanks in anticipation Bankoff

Hi Suggest you don't pay, the agent is trying it on. If there is not contract to pay this £400, then don't pay. Agents will try anything to make money on LL and TT contracts. If it went to court you would win.

Hi Latvia3 Have they given you a breakdown of how the Service Charge of £3K is made up. Look up the Leasehold Advisory Service for some info. How long ago did you pay any Service Charge, do you pay yearly or monthly, or what? I know a bit , but need more info of what the payments are supposed to be Regards B,,,,,,, off

Hi Rob, I was in this situation with my mother. See my thread from last year. I refused to move my mother into a home, saying to them that I wanted fully funded NHS care, the result was they had to reconsider her eligibility and move her themselves. I won the battle for Continuing NHS care by refusing to do their job for them. If they move her to a Nursing home then they should pay, don't sign anything and don't have any financial assessments. And last but not least tell them that Social Services have no role to play as your father has an illness not a social need. Regards Bankoff

Hi Recompense Have come into this a bit late. Have you visited the NHSCareinfo.com site. Would advise you refuse to move your father anywhere, then the onus is on them. They then have to do a proper CHC assessment and you usually get what you want. Heard an article on Radio 4 the other day, there are hundreds of beds being blocked up by the elderly, it seems more and more of us are refusing to play ball with them. I won my mother's case, but unfortunately she never lasted very long in the nursing home. These places are not as good as the cottage/community hospitals. Good luck Bankoff

Hi Emmaf01 Well done on your win against the PCT. I am so glad I was able to point you in the right direction. It makes posting on here all worthwhile. Just got back from seeing my mum, she was talking to someone on the floor who was not there,,,,,,,,, bless her. Keep up the good fight and pass it on to anyone else you know in the same situation. Bankoff

You say the state can't afford the cost but it comes to 3 billion pounds, which is a drop in the ocean when compared to the overall cost of all services in the UK. Look at the money that is thrown elsewhere: legal aid for career criminals, paying for documents to be translated into numerous languages for those who come to the UK and make no effort to learn English, a war in far away lands, aid being given to foreign governments totalling millions of pounds, putting the essential services to the extra efforts of collating statistics for virtually everything they do and a lot more besides. You could add much more to that list, but it's proof that the government don't care about care for the elderly. They try very hard to get their hands on the assets of families because they know the last thing on most peoples minds is to take on the state to claim what is rightfully due. Well said Rob S, my mother worked until she was 70, never went to the doctor for years, she has a mental illness and is very poorly, she has a right to NHS Continuing Care and I fought for it for her. Also what about all the younger people on drugs who have never worked in their lives, the state supports them, gives them a place to live and money in their pockets to buy more drugs. I have to agree with you,,,,,,, this government does not care about its elderly,,,,, no wonder we are all leaving this country in our droves to find a better life elsewhere. The person who invented the phrase "Rip off Britain" was absolutely right. We all pay a lot and get very little back!

Thanks GuidoT, I think I will be on a hiding to nothing,,,,,,,,, but,,,,,,,,,,,, thought it might be a mischeivous thing to do. However, would have to weigh up the cost as you say. I don't suppose it would be accepted as a claim as they would have paid me back - hence nothing to claim. I still feel its a bit 'off' to have to pay when you know the CT has been wrongly banded, and then not to get interest on it adds insult to injury. Good luck with your review Nannamoon1, am sure common sense will prevail and you will get a reduction. I suppose it is up to all of us to check what banding we are in every time we move, just to see that we are not in the wrong one. There appears to be a lot of discrepancies all over the country. The VOA appears to be very busy at the moment, especially now we all know about Reviews as opposed to Appeals.

Hi Further to my question re Statutory Interest, I have been told today that there is no Statute to pay or claim interest on Council Tax, they blame the valuation office for getting it wrong in the first place. Has anyone been charged any interest for late payment of Council Tax? I would like to hear from you. I would like to hear from anyone else who feels they have paid out all this money over the years, unfairly - and how about trying to get interest on it. Does BF or anyone with legal experience have any comments to make. Thanks in anticipation - Bankoff

Hi RCR50 Sorry to come into this so late, but have not been around for a few months. See my old thread on this very subject NHS - Should we pay for care, also look up the site NHScare.info, Stephen Squires is very helpful on this subject, my mother has dementia, I fought for her care to be fully funded and got it. I would not have won if it was not for the help and advice on this site. Regards Bankoff

Hi All I have just managed after a long fight with the local valuation office to have my Council Tax banding reduced to the same as my neighbours. (12 purpose built flats, all the same, three in Band D and nine in Band C - so not fair anyway). After about 4-5 years of trying am feeling very pleased. I followed the advice given on the BBC programme some time ago - Asking for a Review - not an Appeal. I would like to know from anyone else who has had a similar experience, can I claim statutory interest on the money they have taken from me over 6+ years? If so, as they work out the CT rate daily, then should I put it in the excellent spreadsheet that Vampiress produced for the bank charges.

Hi Emmaf01 Congratulations on your victory. Its very difficult to win. If you are dragged into their scheme of things, you get the first 12 weeks covered by Social Services I think. But you then agree to pay, so its a bit of a Red Herring to make you pay in the first place. I am still battling with £50 a week top-up fees,,,,,,,,,,, there is no mention of Top-up fees in the NHS Fully Funded Care manual,,,,,,, they have just invented them for my case. I have got ICAS involved but NHS PCT are trying to say that I agreed to them, which I did not. I had to get my mother moved for her own safety, she was being bruised on a regular basis. I think a solicitor is the next step. Anyway to any/all of you out there fighting for funded care for your elderly relatives I say GOOD LUCK.

Hi Emma Sorry for the silence, have just had another battle over the care home they placed my mother in. It turned out to be a nightmare, she now has bruising where they neglected to be careful with her, but have managed to get her moved to a decent one. The answer to your question is, YES do get on to the site and they will help you. I never agreed to pay in the first place. I just told them that it was a health need and as such mother was entitled to fully funded care. There is a very good message group on MSN which they run as well. I have added the link for you. Free nursing care information Good luck with the fight. Bankoff

Hi I think in view of the time lapse I would be inclined to threaten them with the VAT office, they cannot get money from you with VAT charged on it without a VAT invoice. They may be very interested in this one. Are they registered for VAT, they should be! Go to the office and state you are going to the VAT office to ask them what to do! This might just rattle their cage sufficiently. If this agent is doing his own cleaning, he should be providing invoices. If an outside contractor is doing it, then they should provide the invoice. Stick with it, don't let them get away with it. I was a bookkeeper for an agent, there is no need for this kind of shoddy behaviour from them. No good going to ARLA unless they are a member. Best of luck

Hi Phil Your friend can challenge this payment under Section 20. She has a right to demand that any payment over £250 per flat has to go through the Section 20 Consultation procedure. The Freeholder is obliged to send a letter setting out the works and the information on who is doing the work, and your friend has 30 days in which to question the cost etc and even suggest an alternative contractor for the work. If the Freeholder does the work without this consultation, then your friend can refuse to pay. You can download a copy of Section 20 from the Leashold Advisory Service at http://www.lease.advice.org Good luck

Hi Emmaf01 I started a thread on here "NHS and Social Services - should you pay for care", I also started another one called "The NHS and the great home robbery", was feeling rather angry at the time though, being told to pay or else. I have won my battle for my mother's fully funded care, but I would not have achieved this without the help of the NHS funded Continuing Care and the Coughlan case site, and Stephen Squires, who gave me lots of advice. You can fight for the retrospective funding, and win. Go to the site and they will help you. Your mother had an illness and as such was entitled to fully funded care. Good luck.

I have some experience of taking my then 87 year old mother TO South Africa, I had to get insurance for her at a cost of over £800. She had reason to go to a doctor over there before on a previous visit and it cost her as she stayed on for an extra 2 weeks, was bitten by a nasty spider and was not insured. They will charge us when we are over there in SA, so what is wrong with SA citizens paying for treatment when they come over here. I would have thought it is obvious that it has to be paid. Its difficult enough over here getting what you pay for in NI and taxes, the reason the NHS is so short of money has got to be the sheer numbers of people coming here for treatment, whether it be on purpose or by accident. Sorry ffocus, but have to agree with the majority on this one, but hope your Gmother is recovered and the bill is not too high.

Well after a long and drawn out battle with the NHS, they have now decided that mother is entitled to NHS funded continuing care, her condition is worse than that of Pam Coughlin, so they have made the right decision. Lets hope that more of you out there are prepared to question these departments and hold out for the right decision. Power to the people,,,,,,,, and thanks to Stephen's help. NHScareinfo.com

This is precisely the point I have been trying to make here. My mother is probably worse than this, dementia is a debilitating mental illness, and with it comes all the other problems, but people who have it are completely unaware that the NHS is getting them to sign away their homes, and as you said its unlawful. Having seen Panorama on Sunday night I find it unbelievable that the woman who ran the featured care home could actually charge more for the residents who were paying for themselves. If thats not unfair, then I just don't know what is, do you? I rest my case!!!!!!

Will be watching Panorama with interest. Have just been for a prelim meeting before Assessment. They insist that Social Services be present at the assessment. They say it is because of the Coughlin case. I did ask if I could request that they are not there. The answer was no, as usual. Nothing changed there then.

Thanks for that info. Stephen Squires is very active on the NHSCareinfo site. I have POA so they won't get past me. Did you read RobWills story, really dreadful. Do these people really care or what? I recently met up with the daughter of a lady in the next bed to my mother and she had gone into a home and had lost half her body weight and was covered in bed sores, they did not have the right equipment for her needs, and they did not bother to help her eat her food. Long, slow and painful death is what they seem to advovate in some places. And they have the cheek to charge upwards of £600 per week. Well I think the situation that has been uncovered in Cornwall with the mentally handicapped says it all don't you.