Hi folks, Could do with some advice here. I went for a night out in Edinburgh on Friday and stayed in the Hilton in Grosvenor Street. A friend stayed with me and left her car outside on the single yellow lines on Friday evening. We left around 9am on Saturday morning, having overslept, and discovered that my car had a ticket and her car had been removed as it turned out that parking restrictions kicked in at 08.30. Had it just been a ticket I could accept it and would probably just have paid, but I am really annoyed that her car was towed away when it clearly wasn't causing an obstruction, costing her £135. So, obviously I am looking for a way to appeal and get the money back. There have been roadworks in the street recently and the line has not been repainted, so I have taken some pictures and would appreciate any comments on the incomplete line. There is clearly no T-bar at the end, but I'm not sure if this is significant as the line is followed by parking bays. Her car was parked where the Lexus is in the picture. I will be back in the area on Tuesday, so will check for signs at the entrance to the CPZ. Image 1 Image 2 Image 3 All comments appreciated, even Green and Mean's inevitable, but completely pointless statement that it was her own fault, £135 is fair and that she should just accept it and be more careful where she parks in future!

Congratulations! I've just finally got round to sending a rather nasty letter to Lloyds TSB, following their refusual to pay my PPI back earlier in the year. To be honest, they really don't have a leg to stand on, so I'm hoping they will just roll over and pay out. I still have a loan and a credit card with them, so I expect they will just reduce the balance on one of them, but still, it will be nice to get it back. Fingers crossed...!!!

I'm with Conniff on this one. Contact the companies and verify the checks first to find out if there really is a problem before wasting more time, money and worry on this!

I can't comment on the company that the OP originally used, but as far as HPI is concered, this is what is included in their standard £19.99 service -

The companies who carry out HPI checks on your behalf generally provide a guarantee on their service, indemnifying the purchaser if their information turns out to be incorrect. You still haven't said whether or not you have re-confirmed the information with the two companies. This should be your highest priority - Double check the facts!! Out of curiosity, why did you decide to run a second HPI check after you purchased the vehicle...?

Thanks, Gyzmo. Always useful to have another pair of eyes and somebody else's opinion. I'll make the changes you suggest and email it to her

Hey folks, Mel, who left this thread, is my big sis, so I'd appreciate some help on this one. I have put together a brief letter for her to send to the shop, stating the problem and letting them know what she expects them to do to resolve the situation. I'd be grateful if somebody could give it the once over and let me know if you think it is suitable. To Whom It May Concern Dear Sir, I recently ordered and purchased a pocket sprung, leather suite from your store, ***** Furniture, at *** ***** Road, *****. At the time of purchase I was shown a demonstration model in the shop, which appeared to be of high quality, and I was assured that it was made of leather and was pocket sprung. I spent a considerable amount of time trying out the demonstration model and was satisfied that it met my requirements, so proceeded with my order, paying £600 for a three seater and a two seater, as per the marked price. I agreed a delivery time and arranged that my old suite would be removed by yourselves at the time of delivery of the new one. The suite was delivered within the agreed time. Following delivery, I unpacked the suite and was very disappointed to note that it differed significantly from the demonstration model I tried in the shop. Firstly, it had a different name and, although the label stated that it was pocket sprung, it has since transpired that the suite is, in fact, not sprung at all. Further more, the suite is not made of leather and is actually made of what appears to be very low quality vinyl. Following delivery, and to confirm my suspicions, I arranged, at my own expense, for an upholstery specialist to inspect the suite. He stated that the sofa is made of inferior quality vinyl and is not pocket sprung. More importantly, he stressed that the quality of material in which the suite is covered is so low that it is simply not fit for the purpose that it was sold and that the suite is likely to wear out within a couple of months. With these issues in mind, as I am unable to use the suite for the purpose I purchased it, I am writing to advise you that I am rejecting the goods and rescinding the original contract. This is in accordance with my rights under the Sale of Goods Act of 1979 , which states that – • Wherever goods are bought they must "conform to contract". This means they must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale). • Goods are of satisfactory quality if they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking into account the price and any description. • Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from minor defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety. • It is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible if goods do not conform to contract. • If goods do not conform to contract at the time of sale, purchasers can request their money back "within a reasonable time". I have tried to contact the shop by telephone to resolve this matter amicably. However, as I have been advised that the manager is currently on holiday and that nobody is willing or able to assist me until he returns, I have felt it necessary to put my complaint in writing. What I Expect From You 1. As per my rights under the Sale of Goods Act of 1979, I expect to have the original purchase cost of £600 refunded to me within seven days of the date of this letter. Payment may be made by Cheque, payable to Melanie Moore. 2. I expect to have my out of pocket expenses, amounting to £45, returned within seven days, for the cost of employing an upholstery specialist to examine the suite. 3. I expect to have my original suite returned to me within seven days, in the condition that it was in when it left my home. Alternatively, I expect compensation of £300 to allow me to purchase a suitable replacement. 4. I further expect to have the new suite removed from my home within seven days. For the avoidance of doubt, the seven days referred to in points 1-4, above, refer to seven days from the date of delivery of this letter, as per Royal Mail’s recorded delivery information. Next Steps If an acceptable solution is not forthcoming from your company in writing within seven days following delivery of this letter, I shall commence a small claims action in the County Court, without further notice, to recover the purchase cost of the suite, out of pocket expenses and any additional costs associated with this action. In order to avoid additional expense, it is in your best interests to resolve this situation as soon as possible. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely,

When was the agreement started?

Hi Sally, I've been a bit lazy recently and haven't written back to them yet. I'll do it this week and let you know how I get on

Here you go... When you fill in online application don't they send out a printed form for you to sign?

Landlords: The best £20 You'll Ever Spend!

There is a case ongoing at the moment between the OFT and Foxtons, as they have a clause in their contracts, like most agencies these days, to claim commission if a tenant they originally found renews or buys the property, whether they are involved or not. Totally unfair! It will be interesting to see what the outcome is. If successful they intend to enforce compliance throughout the letting industry, wherever similar terms are being used...

Or mention that, as this is a civil matter, it is not covered under section 172 of the RTA and you, as the registered keeper, have no obligation to provide them with details of the driver.

They can't. There are certain guidelines and procedures they must follow and you can easily challenge it. Start your own thread on this and somebody will be along to give you advice.

In that case, it's your word against theirs. There may not be a great deal you can do, unless they take you to court, in which case you would just have to argue your case. Sorry...

I had an interesting chat with a DCA who called last night about my numerous unpaid tickets to Central Ticketing. I explained the situation to him and told them that I wasn't going to pay them. He just agreed to send them back to CT, stating that there was no point continuing with collection as I knew my rights and wouldn't be paying the tickets.

I've got a nasty feeling that council tax is not covered under the five year rule in Scotland. I think it can be pursued for up to twenty years in Scotland!

Definitely better than going to jail Good luck sorting it all out. Let us know how you get on...

Hi Taxi, I did some asking around on Friday and started to write a reply, but work got in the way. Anyway, here's what I found out, although bear with me as I had nothing to write with, so am doing this from memory. Firstly, prison is always an option for serious tax fraud, but due to the expected sums involved which, judging by your earlier figures are likely to be around £1000 - £1500 / year in tax and NI, it is highly unlikely that this would be considered. HMRC simply don't have the resources to prosecute everyone who is investigated for tax fraud, so in circumstances where the person being investigated agrees to cooperate fully with the investigation they offer a procedure known as the Civil Investigation of Fraud. Under this process, known as the Code of Practice 9, you will be given the chance to fully disclose your tax history in return for a guaranteed civil settlement, thus completely avoiding criminal prosecution. You will be expected to attend an interview at the tax office where you will be given the opportunity to provide what they call a disclosure report. This will detail any irregularities in your tax history and assist you in reaching a settlement with HMRC, which will include interest and penalties. The penalty is likely to be as much as 100% of the unpaid tax. However, this can be reduced as much as 40% by fully cooperating with the investigation and by up to another 30% for volountarily disclosure, where there was no threat of an investigation. It is still very advisable to retain the services of a professional to help with this, but the process is relatively straight forward and should be a lot less painful than the many thoughts that have no doubt been going through your head recently. I'll see if I can find out any more when I'm back in the office, but this should hopefully give you something to think about. Cheers, FM

Completely understand where you're coming from, Barnsley Boy. There really is no 'one size fits all' solution to this. For now, I'm quite happy to keep receiving letters from Central Ticketing. Based on the amount of mail I have received from them over the past couple of years, they have spent about £150 on postage, not to mention stationary and staff costs. I have called them a few times and told them not to waste my time and their money, but they persist in sending more letters, so it's their loss

Thanks for clarifying. I'll do some digging and get back to you

Actually, no, you didn't make it quite clear enough for me, which is why I posted the questions. I can't tell from your original post if you only missed tax payments for one year or hadn't paid any tax since 1993, how long your partner claimed family credit for as a single person after you got back together and whether or not you were still doing the same job, although I guessed from your user name that you were. Your problem sounds quite serious and, due to my job, I am in a position to find out a lot of useful information from our financial and legal teams, many of whom deal with the tax office on a regular basis, which is why I asked you to be more specific. So that I could do some research and offer you meaningful advice.

Perhaps I'm being a bit thick here, but I'm not quite sure I understand exactly what the problem is here. Are you saying that - 1. You haven't paid any tax since 1993 2. You haven't paid the outstanding tax bill from 1993 3. Your partner claimed benefits as a lone parent whilst you were living together Please be more specific about the actual problem and I'm sure somebody will be able to provide more focussed advice

Assume they had made a mistake and leave a polite note on their windscreen. Obviously if they parked there a second time, though, I'd slash their tyres and pour paint stripper over their car!!!

Common sense? Why should I even bother remembering...? If I came round to your house every night and told you that you had to give me £100 pounds unless you bent over and kissed your own ass, would you do it or would you just stop answering the door to me? My demand would have about as much basis in law as a private parking ticket.