I am having nothing but trouble with Hastings Premier on behalf of my Stepson regarding a false claim made against him in August 2014. Hastings wrote to my stepson in Early September 2014 stating there had been a claim made against him. No details of where it happened or the times. My stepson then telephoned Hastings where they took a statement for him over the phone. He stated his car had been left (15 miles away from home) where he works as an apprentice. His employer loaned him a car to allow him to get home. Hastings then wrote back in January asking how the Third Party had got his details and also requested proof that his car was left at his work placement. My stepson's employer very kindly wrote a letter stating that the car was left overnight at his premises. This was sent to Hastings by recorded delivery in February 2015. I then telephoned Hastings myself (my stepson gave authorization for them to speak to me) asking if they had received the letter which they confirmed they had and I plugged them for information about where the incident happened and the time which they finally gave me (this was 5 months after they first wrote to us). I have had to continually chase them up by telephoning twice a month asking for updates. I ended up giving them my email address and told them to contact me. I received an email yesterday stating that they have recorded the date of the alleged claim as incorrect and have now given another date. They have given us 14 days to provide evidence that my stepson was not involved or they are going to pay out the claim. So after 9 months of claiming that it happened on a certain date they have now changed the date. I think it is ridiculous that they now expect my stepson to remember what happened 9 months ago.

Firstly, hello and thank you for taking a moment to consider reading this and helping A close friend used this before, said the advice and support saved him through a very tough time financially, as a result he came out the other side and contributed back to the forum, I hope I'm able to get some advice too. I welcome an experienced user moving this thread to a correct forum, I'm afraid I'm unsure which one is best. I'm reaching out to people to seek advice on a very tricky financial decision we find ourselves stuck in, I'm listening to as much advice as I can get, I hope you'll take a moment to read through it, I've tried to be brief. Thanks in advance.* Myself and my wife have been together 15 years and have 2 children (age 4 and 2)* We lost a long term family business to liquidation in which we were both involved; as a result personal bankruptcy followed immediately afterwards. Myself and my wife are now 5 months into the 12 months of personal bankruptcy.* After the initial assessment into our statement of financial affairs we were signed up to a three year income payment agreement and now pay £80/mth (£40 each) This was originally worked out on two salaries of £30k each and payments are due to be paid for a further 2.5years.* * As can be expected we've found the process incredibly hard, however I find we've gone from a happy relationship of 15 years to near divorce and now have regular (albeit free) counselling sessions. I've contemplated suicide for a while and come fairly close three times. We're short of money every month and have to beg from parents to cover one off expenses that were outside the budget.* On a more positive note, she has just been offered to transfer to a new job at £90k earnings. This is comprised of £40k basic and projected bonuses for around £50k. She's fully investigated and is happy with with proof on how realistic the bonus scheme is. These bonus payouts will fluctuate significantly on a month to month basis.* The income from this one job is far higher than the income for two separate jobs.* The job would involve a huge life change with personal sacrifices on both sides. It would probably also mean me stopping work to look after children full time. She would have to travel more, work away four nights of the week, see the children far less amongst other considerations, however in the weigh up in this area it seems at first definitely worth doing.* It's also worth noting our childcare expenditure is also changing soon with one child moving from nursery to school saving £350/mth and in January the other child's nursery fees reducing by £150/mth as the 15hrs/week childcare allowance kicks in.* There are plenty of variables for us to consider whether this is the right thing to do, we're seeking advice from this forum for knowledgable third parties on the main issue: It is to do with declaring the potential income and expenditure changes.* What to declare, how much is handed over, how, when and for how long etc etc. *Basically this would help us know whether to make so many life changes and if it is all (at least financially) going to be worthwhile.* Any input and ideas in relation to this issue would be gratefully received. Please also reference what experience you may have had in dealing with anything similar.*

I'm looking for advice on how best to deal with the problems I'm currently facing with my employer. I started working for this small company full-time in February of this year, having previously worked for them for a short spell in 2012. I was glad to be asked back and the first few weeks went fine. After a period of absence due to illness (one working week, monday to the friday, unpaid) I was told in the March that I still had a job but the terms of my contract had changed, and I was now on a temporary "zero-hours" contract for 4 weeks, after which I'd be put back to my normal "full-time" contract. They were still allowing me to take my weeks planned holiday in April but now I'd no longer be entitled to any holiday pay. This was all put to me verbally. I've never seen an actual contract at all in all my time there, and requests for written confirmation of any of these changes or to actually see the terms of my employments are met with replies of "I'll look into it". Fast forward to two weeks ago. Under the impression I'm now a "full-time" employee, the police roll in looking for me on a Thursday morning to tell me my dad unexpectedly passed away. Cue more unexpected time off work dealing with the shock, planning (and attending) his funeral and trying to sort out his estate. By sheer bad luck I'd had another few days holiday arranged the week of the funeral (authorised back in February), so I've been absent for about 2 weeks now. While my employer seems to be understanding that these are circumstances out of my control and allowed me time off work, I haven't been paid for any of it. Not even the two "holiday" days. Feeling utterly shafted. I know little about how leave due to bereavement works, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is correct and I'm not entitled to anything. But surely I'm entitled at least to holiday pay? They can't just keep changing the terms of my contract to [problem] me out of paid holidays can they? I'm getting increasingly frustrated. I have little choice but to return to work on Monday. I have little mouths to feed as well as my own here. But surely they can't keep getting away with treating me like this? Are they not obligated to notify me of any changed to contract in writting? Why don't I have a copy of my actual contract surely I have a right to see it? I hope someone can help. No idea where to start. I've wrote to citizens advice only earlier tonight but their opening hours clash with my working hours, so actually attending their local office could be problematic. Please, does anyone know where I should start? Feeling utterly shafted. Thanks in advance. Bert

I haven't been frequenting the debt sections on here for a while so perhaps I am a little out of touch, must admit to being a bit taken aback. My daughter received a N1 from Northampton center, for an overdraft she had 5 years ago, she had forgotten about it(she says) and eventually it had been sold on to Cabot. I said I would have a look , went onto MCOL logged in in here name and acknowledged ticked defend all. I thought the usual, challenge charges assignment etc. etc, it was for £550. Then I thought you know I cant be bothered with this so i rang the solicitor, i nice pleasant woman answered the phone, I started to explain who I was, she said she couldn't talk to me so I had to get my daughter to give her a call etc DPA fair enough. Anyway eventually we could discuss the account, i told her that i was considering fighting , but really cant be bothered and asked them if they would accept £300 full and final. We chatted some more and she was telling me about her kids and I was telling her about how you never cease to worry about them and how my daughter is 35 and married with five kids and she still comes to me with this stuff,(love it really). I digress, anyway she says yes we will accept that as full and final and will email you and you can pay on receipt , i say fine. I know there is stuff said about people backing out of FFs but personally I have never come across it, anyway I have the email. I am just about to give her my visa details and she says are you retired sir, I say yes, then she says "will paying this money cause you financial distress or make you in arrears with any priority debt heating or utility supplies", i say no why do you ask, she said we would not be able to accept the payment if you would have said yes.

Hi - I wanted to change my telephone calls back to BT but the company I am with now are telling me I have to pay a £195 cancellation fee to cover their losses, costs and expenses. Please can you tell me if they can legally do this even if I give the correct amount of notice. Thank you.

Tonight I attempted to change my Internet and phone service provider from Talk Talk to Plusnet. This became impossible because Plusnet would not accept my debit card details without a debit card nickname. I have no idea what a debit card nickname is and I am therefore unable to provide one to Plusnet. Does anyone know what on earth is going on here? My debit card details are correct, I have money in my account and a regular guaranteed pension income. I asume I will have to look for another service provider who is happy with my debit card details and doesn't require any crazy nickname. I would also like to mention that I have been with the same bank since 1977 and have never been asked for a nickname linked my debit card or anything else. My current service provider is happy with my debit card details and requires no nickname to obtain regular payments from me. I have also paid for many other things using my debit card and have never been asked to provide a nickname.

Hi. Have just been given a weekend paid for caravan at a Parkdean site by a friend who can no longer go. I called Parkdean to advise that my friend is no longer going, but she has given it to me. I was informed that there was a £20 admin fee for changing the name. Whilst i'm grateful that my friend has given me a free weekend away, i can't help but think that they're taking the mick charging £20 for changing the details. I sent a message via Twitter, and have had their twitter team call me and reconfirm that there will be a £20 charge which will not be waived. I've asked what it was for, they said it was to cover the manpower it takes to swap details and reprint the documents. I asked what documents, i thought it was all done electronically, which she said yes it is, no printing is involved, but still confirmed the £20 stands. I would have accepted a £5 fee as would probably take maximum 15 mins to swap details, and that is based at the ridiculously paid rate of £20/hour for data entry. Can anyone tell me if i should just accept it, or if i have any grounds to stand up to this charge?

I want to change my bank from Barclay's to Natwest which should be no probs but what happens with my JSA payments? Do I have to tell my adviser? call jsa up? and also as it sometimes takes a while to switch will I lose my payment wen I signed on as it may get lost? Know it prob sounds silly but just wondering?!

Hi anyone else recieve a letter from virgin about changing billing dates? below is the text from the letter . they now want me to pay in advance for my services and according to their website it doesnt give me the right to opt out of the contract without paying fees . Anyone with any thoughts ? I cant really get my head around it , and they say they are doing it because some of their customers are confused, I think lots are going to get confused. We wanted to let you know about some important changes were making to the way your billed .Please take a few moments to read this letter so you know what to expect Were always looking to improve our service, so in October we are making some tweaks to our billing system that simlify the way it works Some of our customers tell us they find it confusing that their billing date isnt the same day they get their monthly allowance of minutes texts and data. With our new system were able to bring these two dates closer together , and hopefully make things more straight forward. First things first you wont pay any more for your package than normal but you will have a new billing date . This means your bill will arrive earlier than your used to, and will continue to arrive on ( or no earlier than ) this new date in the future. So you can see exactly how the change affects your bill in the next three months have a look at this table Allowance date 30 sep 2014 31 oct 2014 30 nov2014 Earliest bill date 10 oct 14 2 nov 14 2 dec 14 direct debit 24 oct 14 14 nov 14 16 dec 14 I wasnt confused before this but now I am This is their FAQS on the subject BILLING All you need to know about Billing Bill Change FAQs 1. I still don’t understand why my bill dates are changing, what does it mean to me? Billing isn’t very exciting, but it doesn’t have to be confusing. In making the change to our billing systems, we are going to improve the way it works which means you will find it easier to know when you're allowances are added and when you’re billed for them. It’s a one-off change that we think will make things a bit simpler. 2. What is an allowance? Your allowance is how many inclusive minutes, texts or data that are included in your tariff. It’s easy to keep track of what you’ve got or how much you’re using. 3. Why are you making this change now? You’ve been telling us that billing isn’t as straightforward as it could be and some of you find it confusing as things happen at different times. So we wanted to take the opportunity to make the change as soon as possible. 4. What if I don’t want my dates changed? Can I undo it later? Unfortunately not, but if you need to discuss this with us, one of our agents will be happy to discuss it further and see if we can do anything as an exception. 5. What happens if I change my tariff or upgrade? If you change tariff or upgrade to one of our SIM Only packages after we’ve changed your bill date, the date your allowance gets added will change again. Don’t worry though, we’ll tidy this up by the end of this year without moving your bill date again.If you upgrade to anything else like another contract, it won’t. 6. Why am I being billed twice in a month? Currently your bill date and refresh date have a significant gap between them. As we bring them closer together, this means that your bills will be produced in quicker succession so you may therefore get two bills and two direct debits in the same month. Don’t worry though we’ll only do this once 7. Are you allowed to do this, do I have the right to cancel my contract without penalty if I’m unhappy with the proposal? From time to time we need to make changes to improve the experience all our customers get. If you were unhappy and wanted to leave without early termination fees that wouldn’t be possible. We’ve tried our best to give you the maximum warning to reduce any impact from this change and in some cases can discuss alternative solutions if there are no other options. 8. Is there any chance of a delay to when you make the changes, how will you let me know in advance? Any delay is unlikely, but we would take steps to tell you by SMS if anything changes 9. Do I need to contact my bank if you’re moving my Direct Debit? No, you won’t have to do anything, we’ll take care of all the details. 10. Since you’ve made the change I have two direct debits taking in the same month which I can’t afford, what happens? If you find yourself in that scenario we’ll do our best to help by giving you longer to pay. 11. What is a refresh date? Will this change too? Every mobile customer has a monthly date where your allowances are refreshed. This helps you track how long you have to use your voice, texts or data. Nothing changes, we’ll just be bringing the bill date closer so its all aligned around a closer period. 12. Will the change affect any promos or discounts I have? No. These will remain on your account as normal. 13. If I receive two bills in a month will I pay more than I normally do? No. You will receive two bills in a shorter space of time. Both will have a charge for your monthly allowance and any charges outside of this e.g. charges for using your phone abroad. 14. Will I get pro-ration on my bill? No, you will not receive any pro-ration on your bill. 15. Why am I getting two bundle charges on one bill? Some customers will experience this because you're bill date is being moved later so you will be billed as we apply your next bundle i.e. you will be paying for it in advance rather than in arrears. Therefore, for one month only, you’ll pay for two (the one from the previous month and the one for the following month).

After receiving £20 a month for 6 years Scott and Co decided to cancel a payment plan then request the full amount of the outstanding debt. With only 7 days notice giving no time to reply to a letter stating this they sent round a Sherriff office to attempt to reclaim the entire amount. The details of this debt are as such, it is an old council tax debt. Scott and Co issued a charge for payment 6 years ago and agreed a plan. The council have since received the on-going council tax and the plan has never been reneged on paying faithfully each month. Scott and Co claim to have sent a letter asking to up the amount, upon not receiving a reply they cancelled the direct debit and sent debt collectors to the door. IS this at all legal ? As the debt was being managed for Glasgow City Council would they not have had to go back to the court for a new Charge for Payment, would Glasgow City Council have had to request this action being taken ? After speaking to Scott and Co they simply claim an edict came down from head office with a report on all these small payment high balance debts and told them to chase them. Is this not outside their remit, this is not a credit debt this is a council debt dont they need the full court procedure to change the terms of a payment plan ? Sorry to ramble but it seems they just want to shaft us as fast as possible by claiming we didn't answer their mails ect, yet they drew the payment for the 28 sept, then cancelled the agreement.

I was told on Friday that I have to change my CV email from Hotmail to Gmail as no employers will go near me with a Hotmail account! I have done so but can't believe I will prob get in trouble if i don't? I haven;t been told that but don't want to find out the hard way lol. Anyone else been told that they have to change? Ain't just Hotmail they want people who use: Yahoo and Msn to change too!

Hi, Another question for anyone who can help! I asked my landlord (they are a property company) if I could change energy suppliers over the phone last year, they advised me I could as long as I provide them with the new reference number which I did. I've just moved out and on the check out form I see they have said if I've changed without written confirmation from them that it will be £100 admin fee. I'm guessing they would take from my deposit? I'm not happy about this, they told me I could but I have nothing to prove this, anyway it's my money paying for the supply surely I have the right to change to whoever I want as long as I provide them with the information which I did. In any case, how can they justify £100 admin fee, what is the cost to them that I have changed? Can I fight this in anyway? Seems completely unfair to me Many thanks Jess

Hi, I'm on JSA and currently attending the Work Programme at Ingeus. My question is about my JSA Agreement, I looked through the site yesterday and the replies to a similar question just confused me as there were so many different answers. My JSA Agreement states I have to apply for 2 jobs per week. Yesterday my Advisor at the WP told me I had to apply for 8 jobs per week (3 more per week than I have currently been applying for - I was told to apply for 5 per week when joining the WP). As I live in one of the areas of the highest unemployment in the UK; applying for 8 jobs per week is pretty much mission impossible. I was struggling to apply for 5 per week. I was also told to set my sites lower and apply for entry level jobs! My questions are: is my JSA Agreement still in effect?- I read conflicting advice about this when looking for an answer yesterday. I can't remember if I signed an agreement with the WP Provider but I must have done. Can the Advisor I'm dealing with (who seems to be a right a/hole) get my JSA sanctioned if I'm unable to apply for 8 jobs per week? I will appreciate any replies/advice given. Thanks

As the title says. Just been to renew my pawn shop loan (gold chains) and for the first time in years at least 5 been a customer they have changed the contract and raised the interest on me. Never in 5 years has this happened, the contract is just renewed with the same terms as the original but this time they have increased the interest. I had no choice but to sign as otherwise I would have lost my gold in 2 days. Can they change the contract on me like this making me pay out more each month in interest. Interest on the original loan was set at £12.50 and now its gone up to £13.89, While its not much it all adds up over the 6 months. Anyone any ideas if this can be classed as unfair terms so I can raise the matter with the fos. My wife and I do have quite a few pledges with the same company and if this is going to happen all the time we will never be able to afford to get the gold out. Regards George

Hi folks, we joined a debt managemetn plan with immediate finance a couple of months back after over a year trying to directly sort things with our creditors, I know that immediate finance have been paying £1 per month to each as agreed to keep the debt alive, however my wife has rung me to say one of the catalogues has sold the debt to a debt collector who is now chasing for it, is this legal? as I understand it they are not allowed to as long as you have made an effort to pay? will be ringing immediate financial when I get home to see what is happening but would like some advice first, thanks

The company I am working for has now told us we must work 7.30am to 5.30pm everyday, even though we have had to work 6am to 4pm or 11.30am to 9.30pm, depending on what shift we were on. Although working 7.30am to 5.30pm might sound nice to most people, it is not good for me personally. Can they make you work the new shift paterns, or do they have to go through a consultation period?

Gareth Pierce-Jones changed his name and has resorted to court action after he was linked to a serial debt defaulter with the same first name, surname and identical date of birth. His case highlights the intractable difficulties people face trying to rectify errors on their credit files, which are checked by lenders every time a customer applies for credit cards, mortgages or mobile phone contracts. Mr Pierce-Jones, 35, has been repeatedly hounded for another person’s debts since 2010. He changed his surname from Jones to Pierce-Jones in August 2012 to try to solve the problem, but the other individual’s debts remained recorded on his credit file. The debts were listed automatically on his credit file, and Mr Pierce-Jones had to contact the agencies and the debt collectors each time to request that they were taken down. Mr Pierce-Jones has been turned down repeatedly for credit cards as a result of these issues. “It has completely crushed my credit score,” he said. “I am due to renew my mortgage this summer and I want to make sure this is completely cleared up.” One particular debt collection agency, Motormile, began sending letters in 2012 claiming that Mr Pierce-Jones had defaulted on more than £1,000 of payday loans. Despite acknowledging Mr Pierce-Jones was a victim of mistaken identity, the letters continued to be sent to his home in Bracknell, Berkshire. He is now taking Motormile to a small claims court for compensation. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/10787200/Changing-my-name-was-only-way-to-escape-debt-hell.html

I had the misfortune to have a legal dispute with a neighbour ( a big corporate business) over parking rights. Knowing the history of the land and that predecessors in title had parked for over 35 years and being physically threatened and harrassed I went to a solicitor for some initial advice. That solicitor advised that a potential witness was a friend of his and we agreed that I would write to my legal insurance company to see if they would cover him undertaking the work, given his unique position. To cut a long story short, though I wrote to my insurance company straight away my solicitor did diddly squat in respect of contacting potential witnesses and thus provide my insurance company with the information they required to assess if they would cover my claim. I only found this out when he presented me with a bill. He only started doing any work after I received court papers from the other party some three months after I had initially visited him. It was at the point that he forwarded details of his costs and I discovered that my legal insurance only covered claims and not defences and I was f*cked financially. The other party settled out of Court and I won my right to a parking space but I was left with large legal bill. I complained to the Legal Ombudsman after complaining to the solicitors and getting no response within 8 weeks. Initally the Pre Legal Ombudsman found that there had been a delay but that there no issues re costs and that as I had no written evidence of my right to park it was doubtful that the insurance company would have funded the matter.. My solicitors had by then responded to my complaint acknowldeging a costs issue and offering a 20% reduction in fees which the pre Omdudsman person felt was fair. The firm presented me at this time with a bill for just over £5000. I appealed this given that the solicitors had accepted that there were cost issues and that the legal premise for my claim to park, prescriptive easement was based on there not being any documentation but witness's statements from those who had been parking there since the 1970's The actual Ombudsman then found that there was no delay ( no reason given) but that there were costs issues. He dismissed the fact that I could have had legal insurance to cover at least part of the costs on spurious grounds and found that the firms offer of a 20% discount was reasonable (what a surprise) but should extend to all the fees paid to them in the past and the future.He stated that he would not get into the reasonableness of the costs which I may latter wish to complain about but that I would have cause t complain if they did not offer a discount in the future. I was presented with a bill for just over £5000 to cover all the outstanding costs by the firm.. I have already paid over a grand to the solicitor and £2500 for the barrister. I paid £4500 and promised to pay the £500 + at the beginning of the next month. I hand delivered a cheque for the outstanding amount as promised and thought no more. Then I get another bill for just over £1700 relating to costs that I thought I had already paid when I paid the £5000 bill, especially given the firms letter of offer states that I owed just over £5000 and that following the Ombudsman's decision ( which I didnt accept) the firm again wrote to advise “that the total from start to finish of your case is £5000” inclusive of VAT taking into account the 20% discount offered. I knew this was incorrect as Id already paid them a £1000 and the legal Ombudsman seemed to arrive at a different figure but I just wanted to draw a line under the whole matter and move on and similarly to not challenging the Ombudsman's decision, which I could have as he gave no reason as to why he found no delay, I didnt challenge it and just paid it. As work was still continuing I expected a further invoice for approx £1000 minus 20% Anyway, I ignored the bill thinking they would realise that they had made an error but then a further letter arrived stating that I still owed monies but not specifying what they were. I checked my online account and noted that the cheque I paid had not been cashed. I wrote another cheque for the £500 + which I hand delivered and emailed advising that I had again hand delivered a cheque for the outstanding monies as my first cheque appeared to have been uncashed by them and highlighted the erroneous letter wanting £1700 Today, a four days later I receive a letter advising that owe £1000 for the continuing work which I have no problem with apart from them appearing not to have included the 20% reduction, and further stating that I still also owe a further £1000+ for some retrospective stuff. Included was an intinerary of invoices sent and paid, which is incorrect in that one invoice, the most recent I have never received and others dont tally with dates or amounts I have been invoiced, and a credit note for over £200 as they had made some other errors and miscalculations. Im finding this all absurd and stressful. Its a bill that wont die even though I make payments. I cant believe, well actually I can, the incompetence of the firm. Im mindful to send the a cheque for the £1000 + minus the 20% and tell them to sing for the rest. Ive paid what they have invoiced me for and in accordance to their offer given the mistakes. Can they keep changing the goal posts? Informed advice needed please. Thank you

Hi, I took early retirement in December 2012 and have 4 private pensions as income. I have been getting the same money which does not quite give me my full tax free allowance. Then I started to claim ESA for a disability , which prevents me from working, I have had for almost 2 years. The ESA income takes my money to just over 10.1K Now this where it gets interesting so be warned, lol. From January to September I have been getting the same amounts of private pensions with no change. From Jan 2013 I was claiming Jobseekers allowance, then that stopped in or around March 2013. Then I claimed ESA but that was stopped after about 2 months by the infamous ATOS. I reclaimed again in July 2013 and am getting a reduced amount of £44.34p a week. In Sepember HMRC sent me another tax code saying as I was receiving a further private pension, my main pension tax code was no BR, reduced from 839L, and 20% was taken from my monthly pension payment. After visiting my local tax office and telling them yet again what I was receiving, it was then changed to 358L. I asked about the extra pension I was supposed to be receiving and someone at HMRC had just put it on the system! Anyway, after being told who the company was, I contacted them and it was a mistake on their part and was told they would contact HMRC to put things right. A week or so later I recieved another tax code for my main pension and this was 339L.Up to this point no tax code changes were made to my other 3 private pension incomes. After going to see them, HMRC again, may main pension tax code was then increased to 655L, at last some improvement! They had wrongly assumed that I was getting a further 5K a year in benefits and pensions. On or about 10th November I spoke to a member of HMRC and told them about my incomes from pensions and ESA again, and was told that my new main pension tax code would now be 408L, and there would some changes to my other pension payments. So I have now received another set of tax codes, and my main pension one has gone down again as well as one of the others been different tan what I was told. Now, as the tax free allowance is £9440, and I get 10.1K, that works out at £696 to be taxed at 20%, which equals £139.20p per year. So far I have paid over £200 approx in tax, and this does not seem right. Every time I have spoken to someone on the 0300 number its a different person at a different office and it seems that one office does not know what the other is doing. They tell me one thing but do something different, and I am getting very frustrated with them now. Apart from going to see them at my local office yet again,is there anything else or anyone I can speak to so I can get some satisfaction over my ever changing tax codes.

Just a bit of a rant......with a good outcome Went to Glasgow dvla office to change the v5 taxation class only to find that it had closed down in Dec 13. So that was a day wasted for me. Popped into my local post office, told her my sob story and asked for advice and she said no problem we can do that for you. So the v5 was sent away and I got my new tax disc. So it actually can be done at a PO. Don't know if this is only due to all the closures but saved me sending everything to dvla and waiting weeks..

I'm currently helping a relative defend a case that was brought against her from a plumber who carried out sub-standard and unsafe works at her property. The Claimant is being represented by a Solicitor, The Defendant is litigant in person. The court proceedings are well on their way - hearing is scheduled later this month and both parties have now submitted their court bundles to the county court. To be fair things are fairly straight forward - the Claimant has openly admitted to failing to provide a notice of right to cancel (cooling off period) which should make the contract unenforceable anyway as per The Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer's Home or Place of Work etc. Regulations 2008, plus they are in serious breach of The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 which has been confirmed in writing from the local Building Control Department (they didn't inform the Gas Safe Register either!) Anyway, what I'm stuck with. In the Directions Questionnaire completed by the Claimant, it states they intend to rely on only one witness (himself) in court. However, upon receiving the Claimant's court bundle there are also an additional TWO unsigned witness statements (aka: a feeble character assassination attempt). Is the Claimant allowed to a) change the number of witnesses at this short notice and b) provide unsigned witness statements (with a view to getting them signed and sent to the court a few days before the hearing)?

Hi I know this is a small issue compared to the sleezy underhand workings of some of the banks on here but we bought a car Saturday and we were promised that we would by law be able to change our direct debit date as soon as our finance was setup. It turns out this is in fact true but the bank have sent a letter stating on it there will be a charge for this!! Does anyone know if they can justify this charge? Is it legally acceptable?

Hi I have received a repossession hearing date at my local county court due to mortgage arrears. I was made redundant last year and have only now secured employment (due to start next week) which is on the other side of the city. Is there any possibility of the location of the county court hearing to be changed from my local court to one which is much nearer my work. The reason for this is that as I will be newly employed after nearly a year out of work and I don't want to request time off straight away for obvious reasons. If the hearing took place near work I would have a much better chance of reducing the impact on work ie take minimal, if any, time off work. Is there a form or procedure for this or is this location set in stone? The mortgage company said 'their hands were tied' when I asked them if they would consider it I'm grateful for any guidance on this. Many thanks.

Thanks to caro for providing this. To read the full report : http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/professional-standards-in-the-banking-industry/news/changing-banking-for-good-report/

Have PPC's changed the rules? Reading on a couple of other forums, threads where the advice is "PPC's never do court", they have been followed by the first time papers have been issued. The old regulars seem to be sending them out as well. Results to come in yet, but it's a change, and seems across the board, so maybe the BPA is behind it. Even the two recent wins on defended cases have been on technicalities. One was an incorrect witness statement, one was that a "variation of contract" had been given to the customer. Even though the first one is an easy fix, the other one is particularly worrying, that would imply the judge recognised that a contract existed. Costs awarded appear to be very minimal as well, so apart from the principle here, it may have been cheaper to pay, unless you've the time to spare. And now the latest ticket reported is for £25, not the usual £80 or £90, so becoming a realistic charge as well. Maybe we need to keep a closer eye on them.