Just a quick query. My partner has been summoned by his manager and been advised that the company intends to change all contracts of employment to include a clause that everybody has to do at least 6 hours unpaid overtime per week. Everybody has been told to accept this change. Does he have to sign this new contract ?

Hi this is my first post and I'm in some need of advice please. I owe Anglian Water around £1700 and they have passed the debt onto Marstons, who ill be honest, we have ignored! As you can imagine they have added their fees and now the bill is for £2753! They have obtained a high court writ against us that is dated 8/1/2015. They have called at our property several times but fortunately we haven't been at home. The last letter we received from them said that as the judgement remains unsatisfied, further enforcement will no doubt be taken against us, and this may take the form of a garnishee order against our accounts, a charging order against any equity in any property , an attachment of earnings order if you are employed or in certain circumstances, bankruptcy. The thing is I can get hold of enough money to pay Anglian water the original £1700 but I can't afford to pay the £2700 that Marstons want! I rang Anglian water and offered to pay what I owe, but after the girl spoke to the debt recovery team, I was advised that any payments should be made to Marstons, as they are handling the account. I told them that my partner is pregnant and that we can't afford to pay what Marstons want and that we would just like to clear our account with yourselves today to get it over and done with as the stress is really starting to affect my partner who is 6 months pregnant. And again they said we had to deal with Marstons Could somebody please advise me on what to do next? If I could have paid it sooner I would have done, but I already have attachments on my earnings and really can't afford anymore. I was unemployed for quite a while and got into lots of trouble financially. I have managed to sort all of them except this one. Thanks in advance

Hi I have been offered a full refund on a faulty item I bought but I would prefer a repair. Do I have the legal right to turn down the offer of a refund and demand a repair? Thanks.

After sending a LBA to my previous LL, who had not secured my deposit (£650) with the TDS, they returned the deposit in full. I re-sent the LBA reminding them of the maximum penalties (3x £650) for non-compliance. The LL has now come back with an offer of £650 in full and final settlement, stating that they were unaware of the law - even though it was specifically referred to in the LL's rental agreement. What is the chance of a claim for the maximum penalty of £1,950 succeeding, now that the LL has made this offer?

Received my DSAR from CitiFinancial re; platinum credit card taken out in 2003. received copies of statements and original application form, which includes a ticked box for "Cardholder Repayment Protection" which statements show I paid an average of £20 per month , is this the same as PPI?? I cannot remember asking for this. the statements also shows numerous Late Charges and Overlimit Charges for £20 a time. Also, £5 charges for cash advances. Many advice would be welcomed.

Hi, I took out a TV, Phone and Broadband(free broadband lite) package a year ago with the dreaded SKY. 24 hours later they informed me that the broadband was insufficient for my needs and therefore they would be charging me for a compulsory upgrade. I sent several letters complaining that I should have been sold the correct package in the first place and had I been, then I would have declined as it was over my very tight budget and I could have got cheaper elsewhere. After being taken around the houses, twisted and turned until my brain was ready to explode, never once getting a relevant explanation, I then sent notice of my intention to cancel once my minimum term contract expired. This notice gave 10 months notice: my contract states that my contract can be ended at the end of the minimum term by giving at least 31 days notice AT ANY TIME[. As I have stated, I gave them 10 months. After I gave notice I received 2 emails from them acknowledging my intention to cancel. My final subscription was taken by DD in December which takes me through to Jan when my contract ends. After checking my account to see if there would be any charges (phone calls etc,) that would be carried over after my final payment I was shocked, and amazed (ridiculous considering it is SKY) to find that an invoice had been raised for a further month. Upon contacting SKY and arguing with them for the past two days (very difficult when one is deaf and slurred speech) the latest email states that I have given TOO MUCH NOTICE. They now inform me that I can give no more than 2 months notice but at least 31 days. Considering that I cannot find anything to that effect in my T & C's and have also checked their online T & C's, how can they insist upon this? In addition, whilst this drama is going, on block me from changing suppliers by refusing to release my phone line.

I emailed Next and Isme with a list of my income and outgoings and asked them to accept a reduced payment of £36 a month. I explained that I only have Carer's Allowance and Income Support totalling £72 a week. I have £18 a week left so I offered both catalogues half of this. Isme not replied yet but Next have refused my offer but said they will accept £54 a month with no interest or charges. Can anyone please advise me on how to respond as I cannot afford more than £36 a month?

Hi, my mum is buying a property (effectively in cash) using money from family members. large bulk of money has been transferred from her cousin who is 89 yrs old. Countrywide have had the building society account book to show her savings but then they said it wasn't old enough and needed to go back a few years and we've done this. then they said they wanted a letter stating the income and job of the cousin from when she started working as well as an account of her lifestyle to prove how she's accumulated her savings and we provided this but now this isn't good enough either, they now want details of the earnings of her dead husband (who died last year at aged 97)! We understand about the money laundering aspect but this is becoming increasingly ridiculous - even the tax man doesn't keep records going back that far! We've said we'll change solicitors but then countrywide sayif we do that we just have to start from scratch and we're supposed to be completing on 12th December. Bank statements from other members of the family have been accepted. has anyone got any advice, thanks. the sum involved from the cousin is £130,000 and will be a short term loan.

I will keep my experience with Thomson holiday as brief as I possibly can. My husband and I booked a week’s holiday for 2 in Lake Garda for w/c 25th June. My sister had flown over from Australia to allow me to go as I look after my 93 year old mum so I wanted this to be a holiday to remember. I paid £2108 for a deluxe room for one week, which according to the hotel when I e mailed them prior to booking was classified as a junior suite on their website. When we arrived at the hotel the minute the receptionist showed us into the room I told her it was not a suite and was unacceptable. She insisted that it was what we had booked and could do nothing about it as our booking was through Thomsons. I argued that a room with a bed, bathroom, two bucket chairs and a small table was not a suite and, taking into consideration the appalling view of an old building with underwear hanging from the windows, I stood my ground and told her it was unacceptable. As the hotel was full I was told that the only solution was to upgrade to a suite (not a junior one!) which would be available the following day at 80 euros a night. I told them this was impossible as we were on a budget and needed the money for any excursions we may wish to go on. At that she said she would contact the Thomson rep. She was lovely but her hands were tied so I asked her to contact her Manager so that a solution could be reached. I never saw the Manager and no solution was offered so reluctantly we stayed in the allocated room for one night and then decided to pay the 480 euros to upgrade the following day. When we arrived home I wrote to Thomson on 7th July detailing my complaint about the room we were offered which they received on 9th July. No reply was forthcoming so I wrote again on 16th August requesting their comments. I received their reply dated 16th September in which they stated:- “after double checking the details in your letter along with the information we have, we believe that the room you were allocated was in fact not a deluxe room as you had booked.” By way of apology they offered me a refund of £192 – being half of the cost of the upgrade – an upgrade that I wouldn’t have needed if I had been allocated the correct room. I was delighted to receive acknowledgement that I was right about the room and replied on 23rd September copying my letter to the hotel and the Managing Director of Thomson. I am afraid I do write lengthy letters but this is the most important part of it:- You may be aware that the definition of fraud is:- Knowingly cheating someone. Also for it to be considered fraud the person being cheated must not have known it was a lie. I believe this is exactly how I was treated. I was allocated a room which I was assured by the Hotel was what I had booked i.e. a deluxe room and, as stated in my first letter, I had no way of contradicting this so reluctantly had to accept their word on the situation. Now that you have confirmed that I was allocated the wrong room, I am writing to inform you that I am sorry but I am not prepared to accept your offer of £192. As I explained in my letter my holiday was severely curtailed due to the fact that I had to pay 480 Euros to upgrade to a suite. Now I have been proved right, I feel I am fully entitled to ask for:- • A full refund of the 480 euros I had to pay for an upgrade. • Recompense for having to sleep in an ordinary room on our first night when I had in fact paid for a suite. • Postage costs currently standing at £7.85. • Recompense for the time I have spent detailing this complaint plus printer costs. • Compensation for being put through this ordeal. I presumed paying £2180 for a weeks holiday in Italy would guarantee me what I was looking for - a stress free holiday. Obviously not – I was not only stressed but ended up having to pay an additional credit card bill when I arrived home. The reply was almost immediate, dated 30th September, where they have stated ‘that they would like to increase the gesture of a refund to 480 euros in order to close this matter for me. This does represent our final offer and is instead of the £192 offered previously.’ After all that my question is should I accept the 480 euros? I don’t want to as I feel I should receive at least some of the recompense I asked for. Is it worth carrying on or should I do as my husband says and take the easy way out and accept it.

Hi all We are in the middle of an outstanding account wrangle with our vets... The injury(s) in question was fully covered by our PetPlan cover and dates back some time BUT... One of the excess payments I made in cash - that never made it onto their system - they are saying I still owe it and they won't even entertain the notion that it wasn't entered, or worse someone pocketed the cash. One of the Lab Fees was processed 2 months after the last appointment for that particular illness, which meant the subsequent claim for this was in a new policy year, and was subject to a new excess which meant the entire lab fee was not paid by PetPlan......when questioned why it was processed 2 months after the op, they said that's just the way it is. I had been having email conversations with one of their senior vets early this year about what was claimed, and what wasn't.....before the emailed matter was resolved, they stopped replying.....they are saying they had asked for claim forms and payments in one of the emails which i didn't supply.....it is now too late to claim for these items, and they are saying I need to pay instead. For all of these claims, they had originally been supplied claim forms for, but they failed to submit them.....when questioned about this, they said they don't lose claim forms, I never supplied them. I have offered to meet them half way on the outstanding £315.24, but they have outright refused and say I am responsible for the total amount. They will not accept that they have made any mistakes AT ALL. So, what can I do? Fight it and take the dogs elsewhere....or....swallow the cost, pay it so they continue to care for my dogs. Obviously, this is all my word against theirs, but I was astounded when they wouldn't even meet me part of the way on the cost, given that most of this outstanding amount is due to them. Any advice gratefully received!

Good morning Can anyone advise me please? MBNA have had a DCA on my account for some time. I sent a DCA last year and they defaulted. so i sent them the default letter. They've ignored this so i sent it again a few weeks ago. They still ignore it. They are calling the house constantly and have written saying that they've sent a copy of the loan agreement so its now enforceable and collectible. I should add that they have never sent a signed copy of the agreement. Can i report them to some one as they are in default and still harassing me? Many thanks....

my husband is a hgv driver and has just received a letter from a council saying he drove down a road in his truck and didn't stop in that road. he works for an agency and hes phoned the firm up that he was working for and they wont give him any information apart from confirming he was driving that day. hes got 14 days to return the form to the council. he cant recall going through a sign but might have is it normal for the council to send these letters and not the police? the letter says if he dosnt return it in 14 days they will pass it onto the police who will take a statement. what does access mean in this case? is it access to that road? next street or what? could he say he was going to a shop but there was no place to park so carried on? thanks for your help

hello all I'm so glad to find these forums. I have been so stressed and losing a lot of sleep over this and it's all my own fault. I have a debt with Very (£3,200, so quite large). I have used them for years and always paid fine but I have fallen into financial problems. I let them know straight away and I was allowed to pay £60 a month for two months. My situation still hadn't improved and I corresponded with email to ask them if I could work out a payment plan with them and offered £100 a month, which I will still struggle with but thought it was a fair offer. They have responded saying thanks but it didn't reach their threshold amount of £220 per month and so they can't accept it. I was a bit shocked and again emailed to explain my situation and reiterate that £100 a month is all I can afford just now and that I would review it again in July. again, they said thanks but no thanks, it isn't enough. I'm now receiving letters saying I have three days to pay or they will pass it on to a debt recovery agency and that I am not helping myself by ignoring them. I honestly don't know what else to do and I feel like the worry about it is starting to really get me down. I don't know how else to pay them!? Please help me, I'm at my wits end. I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks as it is so I'm terrified of someone turning up at my door demanding thousands of pounds that I just don't have. Chelsea, Scotland.

Hi all , hope somebody can help. In October i reversed my car into another vehicle which also belongs to me , embarrassing to admit , believe me , i've had some stick over this not funny at all. Anyway , contacted my insurance Company who said that i could claim for the damage to my car that i was insured in with them but could not claim for the damage to my other vehicle because that was my own personal property and as such was not covered by my insurance within the Terms and Conditions of my policy under the section of Section C, Liability to Other People and Their Property. I had a quick look in the T&Cs and everything appeared to agree with what was explained so i did not push that claim any further and had the damage to my insured car sorted out with the Insurance Company . Over the Christmas period whilst having just 1 shandy in the pub , honest!!, we were talking and a friend said , heard about the accident you had and everyone started laughing . When things settled down we talked about it and queried why my other vehicle that was damaged was not able to be by my insurance , a few good points were raised as well as some stupid ones , one guy said , i'm sure a mates sisters boyfriends cousin 2nd removed drove his car into his garage doors and that was done on his insurance . Too much hassle to trace through Genes Reunited but some people believed i could be covered so decided to have a closer look at the Terms and Conditions section ,Liability to Other People and Their Property which includes the following .Struggling to attatch files so will add them below . Thanks [ATTACH=CONFIG]48571[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]48570[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]48571[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]48570[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]48571[/ATTACH]

We moved into this house in March this year the supplier was for the gas supply was with British Gas, I had tried to change suppliers to another company, however they blocked it claiming a bill hadn't been paid, this bill was for £16.68, and yes I had missed it, the letter they wrote stated that the reason for blocking the supply was this unpaid bill which was fair enough even if it was only for a pathetic £16, this was then paid and I thought nothing more of it, and expected the transfer process to go ahead. I next received a bill at the beginning of August from British Gas for £372.24, stating this payment is due by the 9th August, things went into a panic as there was no way I could afford that. I had never agreed a contract with BG, and tried to move away from them, I am also on the standard tariff which is far from the cheapest. "then followed a letter which says in large bold letters across the top Your gas is now at risk of disconnection" My wife called their very unhelpful call centre and offered all we could manage right now which was £70 every month starting on 15th Sept (payday), he said no chance and they want £150 by the 20th September or it would be going to court. I wrote to them following this call letter below clearly expressing the fact that we could only afford to pay £70 per month I received a response to my letter basically saying they are refusing to set up a payment plan (the spelling/grammar mistakes are not mine) I have no intention of calling them after they way my wife was spoken to on the last call, they were extremely rude abrupt and demanding, and wouldn't listen to a single thing she said, simply saying that the offer wasn't enough and action would be taken unless we agree to their terms, we only use gas for cooking and hot water, we hardly ever have the heating on, the only reason this bill was as high as it was is because we had a burst mains water pipe in the loft causing a lot of damage, the heating was on full for around 3 weeks constantly to try to dry everything out before work could begin on replacing the electrics, sorting the plaster out and putting new floor down. When she called he also said there's no way we know that you have set up a Standing Order so you could be lying to get more time, so we sent a printoff from online banking showing the payment was set up as she told them. There is also no way they are fitting a prepayment meter, I have had them before they are terrible, and also much more expensive. Now today (our anniversary which should be a happy day but has just been destroyed) received another letter from BG, the paid was made successfully on 15th for £70 we said it would hence the lower balance. If they had switched suppliers at the start after I paid the pathetic bill I received then this wouldn't have happened, I forgot to mention that in my letter, after the bill was paid they had no legitimate reason to block the transfer, they also never contacted me to set up onto a tariff at any point they simply started billing I had no idea how much we would be paying until the bill came through the door. This isn't we don't want to pay, its that we cant pay the amount they are demanding, as I have said we have set up a SO for the most we can afford right now, yet they are refusing this, can they do that? Also can they refuse payments simply because it is a SO and not a DD which they can set to whatever they want without us having a say in it.

to cut a long story short. after having the rear of my scenic modified by a muppet in a merc. and months of arguing with the insurance company. sadly we were both insured by the same company. i am due to get my car back soon. its been in the garage now for 3.5 weeks and this is its third visit. the problem is that the car is a renault. with it being 8 years old it seems theyve forgotten how to make the bumpers. the first one really poor and does not fit on any of the seams. it is physically too small. the made to measure trim (also new) doesnt fit. now the garage had ordered a second bumper and have shown myself and an engineer from hoopers that although better, its still very poor and still not a good fit. at this point the insurance company feel happy that the work they have done is ok and the fault lies with renault. they have basically said this is the best it will get and there is nothing more they can do. now for me i just want my car back to as it was before the crash.

Hi! I just had an appointment in Nationwide to open a current account and they would not accept my Biometric Residence Permit as proof of identity. How is this possible??? I am non EU national and don't have my passport. I have been granted a leave to remain for 2.5 years. They want to see my passport with visa. I found out they their requirements for opening new accounts is outdated and they asked me for identity documents that do not exist any more. Is there a way to fight them because it is ridiculous? Should I contact FSA maybe? Does anyone know what to do?

Hi, Hit a water covered pot hole on New years eve, it was in a country lane I was not familiar with, pitch black and raining heavily. Tyre blew, wheel dented, and upon trying to change it in the pitch darkness as nobody would stop to help me (I am woman by the way), couple of men stopped only to ask if i had a phone assuming I had break down cover, I didn't and the last time I changed a tyre was 20 years ago! As a result, put the jack slightly wrong place, because couldn't see the markers, cill crumpled and paint chipped. I have a mobility problems and on benefits, so couldn't afford to have it cill fixed or tracking which I was advised will be out. It took weeks before I could afford £96 odd for tyre, but did get fair estimate for damage caused to cill. I believe if the pothole wasn't there my car would not have been damaged, so sent a comprehensive statement and everything necessary for claim including pictures from immediately afterwards and in the day time too as well and the report I made of its existence (as well as the other craters which got filled in but mine didn't even a month later). The total damage was £587, they have come back with £106, my instinct is to say I don't accept that, but I thought I would check here first to see if anyone has pursued further and how or what they did. Would appreciate any advice.

I have started a few threads over the last week and with no disrespect to any regulars on CAG, as it is more my own perceptions that are causing confusion:|, I feel no further forward. In brief we have approx 30K's worth of debts with the largest being Black Horse who have taken over my Capital loan since the LSTB/Halifax merger:-( So in effect that one is still with the OC..... The rest are 5K , 3K, 2K, 1.5K and a few of around £200 - all of these smaller ones are with DCA's:| We have been running a DMP with Payplan for the last 2 years and have never had any problems other than the odd letter reminding us of our debts....not one offer of a reduced settlement:-x We have now sold our house and will be left with approx 5K in cash. Do we tell Payplan about the 5K and ask them to try for F&F's or do it ourselves? If we tell our creditors that we have sold our house and this is probably the last time we'll have access to anywhere near 5K will that help our cause? Do you think Black Horse will be happy to get their £55 per month till the tenth of never from Payplan? Do you think any of the creditors will put the squeeze on us if they get wind that we now have no more assets? All help and advice GREATLY appreciated:roll:

Hi all, Just got county court claim over my TMobile contract that was cancelled in 2009. I have had a contract with TMobile since 1995 - in 2009 I lost my job and couldn't keep up with my payments. They disconnected my phone and when I contacted them to arrange a payment plan they said that it wasn't acceeptable. I advise them that I had lost my job and had little or no income and then I didn't hear from them for a long time. At the time I owed them about £250. Then the next I heard was them was from Sigma asking for £500. I want to put in a counter claim saying that I had tried to come to an amicable arrangement but they went ahead and discontinued my service. Or should I just accept the judgement? Can anyone advise please

Hi Thanks for offering assistance in this matter. In the early 1990s I took out a Lloyds loan for £10,000 & was told that I would not be able to have the loan without PPI even though I had a secure job & was in good health, I was 22 at the time. Please note that I dont have any of the agreements in question & that the loan was sold on face to face tearms with my bank manager at the time. The loan in question ran from 1993 to 1998. I recently contacted Lloyds & expressed that PPI was not optional, I was told that PPI was a condition of the loan & was not asked if I had any other insurance or employment benefits. After waiting 6 weeks they replied with a letter of refusal to pay out on the PPI. This is what the letter stated! After considering the evidence & documentation available to me, I have not found sufficient evidence to agree with your alligations that your PPI policies were mis-sold. As such I am unable to uphold your complaint. Having completed all of these steps, I went to look at your complaint as a whole to ensure that we acted fairly towards you in relation to the sale of your PPI policies, given appropriate weight & balance consideration to all available evidence. I am sorry that you felt the need to complain about your PPI policies & appreciate that my decision may be dissapointing to you. However, I can assure you that I have fully investigated your complaint & all the surrounding circumstances. Your complaint Durind a telephone call on August 29th 2012 you said: 1) It was not made clear that PPI was optional 2) You were told that PPI was a condition of the loan 3)You were not asked if you had existing insurance or employer benefits. Findings In order to address the concerns you have raised , I have reviewed all the available sale related evidence, I have established that you applied for your loan PPI policies. To further assist my investigation I have also taken the following in to consideration. Your telephone complaint Our knowledge of our sales process & documentation at the time. It should be noted that prior to 2005 the sale of PPI was not regulated by the FSA. However, we were members of the of Association of British Insurers (ABI), which expected its members to conduct business with upmost good faith & integrity. All your complaint points have been fully considered . For clarity, I have addressed your allegations under the following headings. Optionality - Were you made aware that the policy was optional? Information & Disclosure - Did we give you enough information & help so you canmake an informed decision? Were our services & status explained correctly? Optionality - Relating to complaint points 1 & 2 I can confirm that ithas never been a requirement to take out a PPI policy in order for a loan application to be accepted. In addition, taking out a PPI policy would not have improved the chance of your application being accepted. I am also aware that the sales process at the time clearly demonstrated to you that your PPi was optional & I have concluded that the adviser did not mislead you in any way. I have therefore come to the conclusion that you were made aware of the optional nature of your PPI policies. Information & Disclosure I can varify that the adviser had no alternative policies to consider or offer to you. I am also aware that only where it was practical to do so we would have taken steps to identify your needs. However, we would have put you in a position where you could make an informed choice about the transaction that you were entering into & the insurance that you were buying. When considering the information available I can conclude that the documentation that we provided to customers at the time contained sufficient information to ensure you could make an informed decision as to wheather the policies met your personal requirements. It cannot therefore be concluded that the information & disclosure was inappropriate in the circumstances. Conclusion In light of my findings, I feel that our advisor acted fairly & reasonably throughout the sale. I believe the information provided at the time was a fair presentation of the feature of the policies & explained the policies' exclusions & the total cost of the insurance. I am also of the opinion that it was clear, fair & not misleading & therefore allowing you to make a fully informed choice. My review has not highlighted any failings with the sale that would lead me to believe your decision tp purchase the PPI policies would have changed. So I have 28 days to provide further supporting evidence, I have contactrd the FOS & they are taking on the case, however, due to backlogs it may take a year. I appreciate any help & advice on this matter

I am hoping someone can please give me a bit of legal advice ? I have 2 council tax debts with Rossendales which i have tried on numerous occasions to sort out,i have sent them numerous financial statements for them to say they have not received them(how convinient).they have now received them and ingnored my offer of payment,which is only minimal as i am struggling,i do not work and receive widowed single parent and child tax.they are saying that i have surplus income and excessive spending !!!! who the hell are they to tell me that ?? i have been honest as to what i get and i have more outgoings than incomings.Is there a limit they are allowed to take off you the same as the council have ? I have also had the bailiffs sending letters but i have not spoken to them OR LET THEM IN !! i have been told a few different stories regarding bailiffs,i know that if you have not let them in at all they are not allowed in,but i have also been told that a council tax debt is a criminal offence and they can enter when they like ? I hope someone can please help me as i live in fear of loosing all my stuff and i dont want that for my daughters sake

Hello, Well I really dislike Paypal, awful customer service, random money holds, closing accounts for no reason, confiscating money for 180 days, and I could go on. They seem above the law, but this really annoys me, I am essentially being told I have no right to ever leave pay-pal, So I will forever be bound to their agreements, however they are changed. They have sent me their updated terms, which basically add even more powers to Paypal, including sharing information with everyone on the planet. so it says if you do not agree with these terms, close your account.. So I go to do this, and I am told due to my limitation (which was for no valid reason, but that is another story) I cannot close my account until I have fully restored my account access... but paypal make it clear they will never restore my account. This can't be legal? Surely consumers should always have the right to close an account, and to refuse to accept new terms. there are also no ebay sales or any transactions that could be reversed or pose any risk in that sense. This must be illegal and abuse of a loophole on so many levels? ... instead of closing an account they put it into indefinate limited access. what can be done? To add insult to injury, they won't even let me ask on the official forum, since they have limited the account. Talk about suppressing peoples freedom. Really hope these cowboys are held to account, So annoyed with what they get away with, CAG should not use them to accept donations on principle of what they do to people (look it up online literally millions have been conned) there should also be a webwallet section. Thanks https://cms.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/?&cmd=_render-content&content_ID=ua/upcoming_policies_full

Hi, I was wondering where I stand with a council PCN I received today. I parked, mid afternoon, on a quiet side road with a contolled scheme. I tried to purchase a ticket from the on street parking machine but it kept rejecting the new 10p I had. When I looked closer, there was a printed note that had been stuck on to the machine that said it wouldn't accept new 5p or 10p. Now, potentially I could use the excuse that I left my car because I went off to get the correct change for the machine. However, I am wondering if the council parking legislation is effective where a machine doesn't work correctly, warning note or not? Any info appreciated.

Without hincriminating myself - or indeed selling myself short. Hi Folks I have just recieved 2 letters from Capquest and associated solicitor regarding a Lloyds TSB debt of just over £3k; The solicitor letter is threatening potential court action if I do not respond by the 15th Jan; The Capquest letter is asking me to call a number to discuss a settlement figure before the 25th Jan. It's very tempting to pick up the phone and sort this out - but - I know that this is the completely wrong thing to do as I should "only deal with these people in writing"... they have also added that "once the payment has been received and cleared, your account will be closed and your credit file updated to show that the balance has been satisfied with a special flag of partial settlement". I don't like the sound of a "special flag". The questions I have are:- what should I ask for; a suggested settlement figure of say £2k; for them to come back and suggest a figure; remove that sinister looking "special flag" and replace it with something altogether of a fuller and more final settlement nature; just clarify what they mean by a special flag; is the flag a red herring? I'm just drafting out the header etc to the letter and a quick line on why I'm writing and not calling - my leaning is towards asking them for clarification on both points that way I can always go back for more... what do you think? Thanks in advance - Andy