Thanks for the prompt reply and link. Much appreciated. 150yds!? Does that come with a moat and draw bridge?

Hello, I was wondering if anybody had any advice on a potential liability for damage to a retaining wall. The wall retains our garden set approx 2m above an adjacent busy road. The wall is constructed from stone, however the lower section of the wall approx 20cm above the footway is clearly eroding from surface water spray and salt spreading. The remainder of the wall above this level is in good condition. The footway is approx 1m in width. The road itself is busy with a high volume of HGV and buses throughout the day. The road is maintained by the local authority. We are concerned that the integrity of the wall will become a concern if the erosion continues to occur from the spray off the local highway. Especially as there is a bus stop on the street level adjacent to the wall itself. I am aware that as the wall retains my property I am therefore required to maintain it in good condition. Something which I am prepared to do. However as the damage is clearly a result of the traffic along the main road I was wondering if the local highway authority are in some way responsible and have a duty of care to protect the lower section of the wall from debris, surface water spray and salt spreading. And if damage has been caused by the above, is there an expectation / requirement for the council to contribute to repairing the damage to the retaining structure. Any help would be appreciated, happy to provide more detail of it helps. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the insight surfer01. Its funny you talk about transferring the wrong meter. There were some "erroneous" transfers to begin with. I'll try and explain.. When i moved into the property it had recently been converted from a house into four flats. i was recieving two bills from BG (one from the previous meter which was no longer at the property and one for my flat). I informed BG that the bills from the previous meter could not have been for my flat as they were dated from over a year before according to the bill dates. BG accepted this after some investigation and had the "phantom" meter removed a few weeks after i had moved in. I then used uswitch to change suppliers as discussed in my original post. This is the only time where i can see that things may have gone wrong with the meter serial numbers, but i've just now checked my bills against the serial numbers on the meters again (to be sure) and the ones i provided are correct. also, i only requested the switch after the other "phantom" meter issue was sorted, or so i thought. The bg dd was never cancelled by me, so it must have been done at their end and looking back through my statements they never took any further payment from me even though there must have still been an amount owed. It all seems to add up to the switch going through (which is what i thought at the time especially as the Npower DD started). As ive said before i have no idea what to make of it at this stage. Having bills paid for a year would be great, but i'd settle for being on anything but the BG standard tariff which i am at the moment. I'd like to change but to worried that this would just compound the issue at this stage. Like i said, i'll keep post up any worthwhile info here as i get it. It's only been about 2 weeks since ofgem have been involved, so it may be a few more weeks yet before i see any sort of resolution.

thanks for the advice. I have now raised a complaint with ofgem and sent all the correspondence etc. and will post here any developments and the outcome. at last it feels like something is being done. As an aside, npower tried again to take control of the account since my last post. i asked them what they were doing, but they gave me the brush off with "its not showing on our system" crap. my credit report shows the account opening at the end of feb and being closed a few days later. obviously, I've sent this info and a copy of the credit report to ofgem - but it beggars belief!

that is interesting. the outstanding amount was no where near £500. I have kept all of my bills etc from both utility companies. I will give ofgem a call tomorrow to see where i stand and then start the letter writing. thanks for the advice i'll post on here what happens next. hopefully some useful advice to anyone else in a similar situation.

I originally signed up through uswitch to npower. But as there was 63 pound on my old bg bill (back in may 2013) BG did not release the account - at least that is how i understand it. I even had a "sorry you're leaving" letter from BG and welcome letter from Npower". Yet Npower then continued to take money from my bank account even though it was an "erroneous transfer". Since i complained to them BG have told me that Npower have tried to take control of the account (10 months after the original switch did not go through). I've been completely reasonable with both companies, but it is getting beyond a joke now. Thanks for the heads up on the eight percent. I will look into that. But whio is at fault in your opinion. BG or Npower - I think it is Npower as they have no claim of the account. Should i be making the complaint against BG, or both?

Hi all, Could some one please give me some advice on a problem with Npower that I have. In May 2013 I used Uswitch to change my gas supplier from British Gas to Npower. As far as I knew at the time the switch went through and Npower started to send me bills and take my monthly direct debit from my bank account and I always paid on time. At the end of december 2013 British Gas sent me a letter stating that they were going to cut of my gas and elec for non payment of bills. I immediately rang Npower and asaked them what was going on as I had dutifully paid my gas and electric on time. Npower said the account was definitely with Npower and that I should call british gas, which I did. British gas confirmed to me that they had never given ownership of the account to npower and it was not their problem, "and by the way we have been reporting your missed payments to the credit reference agencies and if you do not pay £££'s now we will arrange for a DCA to come and steal your belongings". I then paid up the minimum payment they would accept there and then and set up a payment arrangement with them. Worst of all as it was a standard rate it was more than what it would have been had i actually been on Npower's tarriff. I then called Npower and asked them what the hell they were doing and asked why they have been taking my money by direct debit if my account is with British Gas - They could give me no answer. I started a complaint with them and expected the matter to be resolved immediately especially as they have hundreds of my hard earned pounds in their coffers. 6 weeks later and I had heard nothing back. I called Npower again to ask where my money was and they said that they were waiting for British Gas to release the account and would credit the overpayment to my account. I never told them that I wanted to be with Npower (why would I after all this?) So it now turns out they are trying to take over my account and lo and behold BG ask for a final repayment on what is still owed - which i don't have. I have 2 more weeks to go before i can invoke the wrath of ofgem (8weeks after initial complaint) and it has gone so far that i want to nail Npower to the wall for this given the stress it has caused me and my partner and the fact that Npower still have 6months worth of my utility bill cash which i need to pay off British Gas. I've been having a look around the site and can't find a similar thread so any advice welcome. Thanks.

Just reporting in after several months and still no news. Had a couple of dodgy phone calls from various obscure companies who i suspect are in some way related to restons. Haven't given any details. Hopefully this will soon be at an end. Steampowered, is it time to look at having this struck off or should i just leave it? Anyone else have any advice. Also, i look at having this struck off my credit file?

Just spoke with the county court and was informed that the case had been stayed. Good news (for now). Does anyone have any advice about what to do next? Am i supposed to just sit on my hands or can I petition the court to have the case struck off? Any advice appreciated.

Just a quick update. I still haven't received any info from Restons. The time limit is up and I rang the court to see if anything had been received by them. I was informed that there is a two week backlog so still waiting for some resolution. Will post on here when i receive any new info.

Quick update.... Acknowledgement of my defence received today from the court (dated 16th of July!). The letter stated that the claimant has 28 days to respond once they have received a copy of my defence, though the letter i have does not state when that is. If there is no contact from the claimant with the court during this time then the claim will be stayed and that the only action the claimant can take after this time is to apply to a judge for an order lifting the stay. Sound normal?

Managed to finally get on to the MCOL site (4 hours!) Anyway, defence submitted as per Citizens advice, with tweaks where appropriate. Lets see what happens next. Just for inf... I didn't make a counter claim for costs as I wasn't sure this was the right thing to do at this stage. If I am successful can I still claim for costs etc at a later timer - obviously any thing awarded will be going to CAG donation

A bit of help please, I've been trying for the past 3 hours to get on MCOL to input my defence and can't log in. I've had my pw and gov gateway number resent - still doesn't work! Tried ringing and also re-registering. no luck! has anyone else had this problem or know how to resolve am seriously stressing right now...

Thanks citizen . I'll post a draft of what i intend to put in my defence shortly. Tomorrow is the deadline,but im going to get it in tonight. i'll keep you posted.

So, as suspected no information has been provided in relation to the CPR request and the time limit has expired. I have to enter my defence tomorrow. Can anyone advise as to what i need to say? Citizen has given me the low down on what it will basically amount to but how do i word it. Also, HSBC haven't confirmed the statement so I cannot say that the account is statute barred. Any help greatly appreciated!