Hi I currently work for LA who are going through a restructure, I used to work full time and now part time due to my back problems. I had a discetomy back in April but I struggle with work I work 18.5 hours 5 mornings a week. It is a struggle especially as I can't take my full medication before I go to work due to the drowsiness. I have a 5 year old and live with my partner who is on ESA support group and lower dla care component. I know I physically can't carry on doing this job. I need to know where I financially stand if I had to go on benefits. The vr payment is not a lot but it maybe a good way for me to leave my employment. I did a benefits check on Turn 2 us I need to know if it's accurate. I tried CAB and they couldn't fit me in. I have a deadline for this Wednesday about my VR. Can anyone help? Thanks

Hi All, This is mostly for info - and comment Mum killed herself in July 2015 - dying on the 26th. On 19th Nov, we received a letter from a firm of solicitors claiming to have acted for Mum and hence seeking a payment from us of £573. The letter asks for our agreement to pay within 14 days ("accept our costs" ) or it'll take the matter to court. The first odd thing about this is that it's the first time I've come across solicitors doing work before getting their sticky fingers on money first. The second odd thing is that we're not aware of any solicitors doing work for Mum. Why should we 'accept their costs' ? we surely may accept Mum's costs, but not theirs!!! I just forwarded the letter to the SRA and stated that we're unaware of the firm and that no contract exists between them and our family. We have not heard from the solicitors again. Are we likely to ? Mike.

Hello, Summary: Recently found out I have a CCJ against me, which was made on the 07 April 2010 after signing up for a popular credit report/expert website and have done some research before deciding what action to take. What I know: The CCJ on 07/04/2010 will be removed from all registries after 6 years, which is only a few months away at this point The amount is for £194 If I pay the CCJ it will be classed as "Satisfied" If I do not pay the CCJ, it may come back to bite me in the proverbial ass in the future What I need to know: If I pay the CCJ, will it still be removed in a few months, or will it start a new countdown of 6 years since the date the CCJ became "Satisfied" What do I need to do (helpful if listed in steps) to resolve this matter without it blowing up in my face? Thank you very much in advance for any assistance provided!

More of a rant, the new manager I have always asks for the reasons why I want to book a day or half day off. It's not in a friendly "oh doing something nice?" way, its more of a "You should never take days off, you can do those things at the weekend" kind of way. Requested a half day for Thursday, got an instant response of "Why?". So I just said "Personal reasons". Does anyone else get this too? /rant Edit: one other thing, I once took a couple of hours off to leave early, thinking it wouldn't be a problem since I work late occasionally and do the odd weekend. He later put it down as a half day off. I reminded him it was a couple of hours, so technically 1/4 day off, he said tough, the system only does increments of half day. argh!

Hi there, I've been summoned to an investigation meeting at work regarding several allegations. This is the first time this has ever happened to me, so I'd appreciate some advice on their points? 1. Lateness - this is a total "fair cop". This has largely arisen from agreeing to change my shifts on some days and not realising it would clash with school run (my son is 4, so this is the first time school has been an issue) - however, it's my fault for not communicating this well. 2. Making mistakes - there were two mistakes made in my knowledge. However, my manager verbally told me "not to worry about it" and I haven't, in my knowledge done it since - they certainly haven't told me? 3. The potential biggies. I have definitely done these two, and will definitely admit this, but may have been naive. The situation... My 4 year old was ill (I can provide proof of this). I was unable to get medication for depression and anxiety before that point because of this , and, due to a recent relapse, felt it important to get it There was no manager to ask for permission, and my collegue said he was happy for me to go. However, I was spotted in town and reported. I totally accept this, and was probably naive, but it has become common practice for staff members to leave for "spurious" reasons - eg, coffee - and so I'd felt this was ok. They are also stating leaving the shift 10 minutes early. Again, agreed with colleages, and again, this has become common practice, with staff members leaving up to 20 mins early! Again, I think I was naive, but I'd also left an ill child in the care of my husband, who they are aware also has personal issues, and there was no manager to ask. Just preparing myself - I struggle with anxiety so preperation for me is crucial! I should just add my last appraisal was glowing so I definitely have a good record...

Ive never posted before and my spelling is really bad so I apologise in advance! I went to drive my car this afternoon and it was gone!! I panicked and called the police, they told me it had been towed due to no tax. I couldnt call the company because its shut. I checked online and said untaxed! I went in my direct debits and its still active, went to both dates (read somewhere they will take it 4 days after if failed) and a week either side of both and there is available money???! THEY HAVEN'T TRIED TO TAKE IT? Can anyone give me a reason why this would happen? I'm guessing the clamping place are going to be a problem and I'm going to have to pay the release anyway but can I claim it back? Also havent received any letter or email. .it was only supposed to be taken out last week on the 2nd?! Such a ball ache before christmas and majorly panicked as I thought it had been stolen! Didnt think they could do that, thought theyd clamp jesus! Many thanks for any help x

Well I had a business debt, I had written to the supplier several times as they hiked up the price on what was agreed when it was invoiced. Recently a bailiff they transferred the case to turned up - He had a camera filming me, he did not tell me this was happening or ask if he could film? I asked why - he said for security? as if a small elderly person against a big 6 foot ex army bailiff could become violent - I am not talking about a lot of money here but I want to know how these people that are there to terrify you should be treated. There had been no court papers served and had there been I would have happily gone to court and defended the case. This man suggested I would have to pay his large charges on top of the outstanding balance. He said coming pre court he was doing me a favour!! I thought high court bailiffs could only come threatening/intimidating once court action had been completed? these people are on television apparently - if ever there is a next time I want to know how to respond to them and share this with others so we are all prepared!

Hi, I have a very long ongoing problem with British Gas regarding my electricity account & I was now wondering if I can take them to court, so I'm hoping I might get some advice. Here's the problem..... For many years (at least 6yrs) I have been receiving large electricity bills, which I have queried with BG, as I kept getting bills with multiple readings & charges for my single electric metre. The problems started after BG wanted to change our old meter for a newer up to date metre back in 2009. We had an engineer turn up on the agreed morning, but he wasn't qualified to change it, so he came back in the afternoon with another engineer, who again was not qualified, so a third engineer came the next day & he did change the meter. So we had 3 engineers come out but only only one metre was replaced, by one engineer, but it turns out that the other 2 engineers, who were unable to change the metre, were logged as having changed the metre, so according to BG we had 3 electricity meters, but only actually had 1. We never noticed that our bills were wrong at first, but we had a G4S metre reader ask to read the metre, which we allowed, but he then asked where were our other 2 meter's, just to then say they all had the same metre number, so just put the reading in 3 times. He then suggested that we check our bills as he thought we would be getting billed too much, which we were. I rang BG at the time but I kept getting told that they had sorted the problem & our future bills would be correct, but they never were. I rang back at one point & spoke to a Customer Service Manager, who went on to call me a liar & told me I was 'Sub-letting' our property & that we did have 3 meters, this was even after him seeing photo's of our metre, he even told me to 'f-off' at one point & refused to take my calls. So I have kept on for years calling & emailing BG regarding the problem & I eventually got speaking to someone, back in July this year, who admitted I was being wrongly billed & that also admitted I was being billed for 3 meters not just the one. This person has now after a couple of months got our bills showing as just having a single supply, after having 2 removed from the National Database, which is great. However BG are still dragging there feet about confirming how much they owe us & are telling me I shouldn't expect much in the way of compensation. I was told by this person in an email that they would have the figure sorted out by 21st September 2015, but it wasn't, they decided they needed it confirmed by G4S that we did indeed only have 1 metre & that someone would be out to confirm this on the 30th Sept, so I said ok.....the person never turned up. I spoke rang again on the 2nd Oct, when I was told they never got the confirmation, so they had to again arrange for someone to come out on the 23rd Oct & they did indeed turn up this time. I had to ring back on the 30th Oct., a date confirmed via email, but the person who made the appointment, the person I had been dealing with for months, wasn't there, he was on holiday & wasn't due back until 9th Nov., so I saw red & was furious & ended up getting his manager involved. The manager tried to dodge helping me by saying he was unable to access details of my problem & could not get the confirmation email regarding my single metre, but I kept on at him & he ended up finding a way of getting the information after a couple of days. I was told by him that they had the confirmation & now they needed to workout the over payments, less VAT (which I have overpaid), so asked if I could ring back on 9th Nov., when they should have the amount......still no figure when rang. I was asked to ring again today, 20th Nov. & was told they would have the figure sorted, but also said I was only able to expect £20 compensation, for calls not resolved & that I shouldn't expect anything else. Now I know that's all long winded, but in all the time this has been going on I have been called a liar, been told to 'f-off', I have had to change all our phone numbers as BG passed my account on to Lowell's debt collectors, who rang loads & also sold our ex-directory number to others & they would not accept the account was in dispute. I have had someone from the courts out threatening to cut off 'ALL 3' electricity supplies, but who only found 1 & couldn't disconnect as I am disabled & so is one of my children. BG have destroyed my credit rating so much I couldn't get credit anywhere, so I have to save to buy anything we need. they have also said that any money owed is repaid less the VAT we paid at the time & we cannot have any interest on the money, even though we would have gained some interest over the years. So back to my main question, Can I take British Gas to court? I'll try to answer any questions that might help you give better advice, if you have any questions that is. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks

New series Is back on Channel 5 ... http://www.channel5.com/shows/cant-pay-well-take-it-away If you not watched Series 3 - Episode 1 http://www.channel5.com/shows/cant-pay-well-take-it-away/episodes/episode-1-829 Your see HCEO evicting a tenant who turned out to be a Letting agent and had been forging TA in some else name, so he could live there virtual rent free !

Hi All Just after a bit more advice.. It has just come to me that a couple of years ago, one of my PDLs sent me court papers. It was one I had been rolling, rolling for ages then payment plan which I could not keep to. I ended up settling by paying the full balance including court costs interest fees etc because the court papers freaked me out at the time. Can I still take this lot to the FOS or make a complaint based on irresponsible lending like my other loans?

Had grief from Virgin Mobile, with an unhelpful call centre staff member (not for the first time). They want to sell you a new phone, or a larger tarrif, but asking questions about the tarrif isn't what they want, and when I asked for help and followed their instructions : it didn't fix the problem.) I'm in credit with them, which credit runs out in 3 months (it was a PAYG SIM initially, topped up numerous times to get 'free data' the next month, and when it had accumulated a large balance I was never going to use, converted to a pay monthly SIM, to use up the credit balance). [VM suggested the swap to Pay monthly, given the credit balance]. So, I asked to disconnect, on a date in the future, once I've used up almost all of my credit, as one has to give at least 30 days notice. They (customer retentions) declined to take my cancellation request. Whilst I accept I have to give them at least 30 days notice (and 3 months is more than 30 days), they claim they also can't take notice any more than 30 days in advance. "It is the customer's responsibility to call us 30 days before, we can't take notice in advance" (the rep also agreed that if the customer doesn't remember to call exactly 30 days before, they will end up committed for another month's line rental...........) Is this correct? if it is, is it "sharp practice"? The best way forward? Would a letter, stating when I wish to end the contract, (sent by a guaranteed delivery (and signed for) service) work?.

Having read this Default Re: Royal Mail Customs handling Fee Response all what follows is pretty well useless Oh dear Looks like I have missed the boat. Hi all, Having had some time to think about my situation with FedEx a few ideas have surfaced. But before I start I will apologise in advance to anybody who may feel that I have misrepresented or distorted the facts to justify my hypothesise about the subject. These are just the type of thoughts and ideas that wander through one’s head in the early hours of the morning. So here I go. FedEx et all will never take any one to court over the admin fee as it stands to loose a massive revenue stream if it looses the case. Why? Current business model for £100 value item of weight 500gms for a casual importer. Offer to ship item for £22 from China to UK house address. Deliver said item to address. Send recipient a bill for customs fees (£30) and admin charge (£12). Previous year’s Model of costs £22 carriage and £8 admin. Hypothetical next year’s carriage cost £22 and admin £18. This is looking very good. Next year cost £22 and admin £24. This is looking even better. They have kept their offer price of carriage fixed at £22 but increased their revenue by approximately %150. And it gets better still. The logistics of getting a parcel from China to the UK is no small challenge. Whereas a few key taps on a PC key board is generating more revenue. It would appear that FedEx should become an admin company and subcontract the carriage I know that is could be viewed as quite simplistic, but it should give one a flavour of the idea. Well what about the other carriers. It would appear that they are all doing the same. Where is the competition? No need to increase your quotes just increase the admin. Cartel? Transparency? Confusion? So, If you refuse to pay what will any of the carriers do? Well originally not a lot. I noticed that most successful results against Fedex are historic. If you complained they would waive the admin cost. However a recent visit to Controlaccounts web site boasts For a leading global freight company weimproved cashflow by 12%, see how we can do the same for you. And who might that be? Now this is the Nub of the issue. Fear and threats work on most people where money is concerned and getting a DCA involved allows FedEx to be hands off. Threatening to sue clients is not their businesses. Also the task of defending your action against such a barrage of threats is quite daunting especially for £12 along with no guaranteed chance of winning against the might of a giant international corporation and no clear precedent. The outcome is pay up. However if by chance a valiant knight comes to the rescue and challenges the Dragon what might happen. Without doubt, FedEx would walk away long before it went to court as the last thing it wants is a precedent to be established about this very grey area against the plaintive. Why? They could lose, and that risk of £12 vs. £10000’s of annual income is not a good bet. And so for as long as this situation lasts one has two choice (1) pay up and shut up (2) Do not pay and be prepared for a long unpleasant time of threats, abuse, fear, anxiety, lasting over many months that should result in no £12 admin fee being paid.

I have been suspended from my job been 4 weeks now and in such a state cannot eat or sleep 15yrs service, no previous issues of anything not even timekeeping. I am not doing good with all this.

Don't know how these were missed. http://www.fca.org.uk/news/tougher-rules-for-payday-lenders-take-effect

Hi I need some urgent advice. Can a HCEO take my car which is on finance? V5 is under name but I believe that its not proof of ownership? If answer is 'Yes' to my question than what rights a HCEO will have if I sell my car to my spouse or my company of which I am sole director and shareholder, is that any good? Any replies would be highly appreciated.

DWP and UC it could take 6.5 weeks to get your first payment which is going to cause significant problems for claimants and the rise in use of the food-banks and the like, could you be affected by this? I have added a PDF with a substantial amount of Q&A's. This was issued by the DWP in August of this year, the link is here https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449218/universal-credit-and-rented-housing-faq.pdf or please read the attachment if you are unable to link to the site... Please use the links within the PDF to see if they can answer any of your questions If once reading the new PDF and you have questions please post them up here and we will see how we can advise you further... One question could be where do I get the information that you could have to wait 6.5 weeks before I get my first payment? The answer to that question is located at q10 of the attachment

It amazes me that Utility Companies treat us with contempt again and again and get away with it again and again. Today’s CAG newsletter “Npower ordered to give energy away for free” or E.On fined £7.75m Sorry, as a newbe I can't post links but everything can be found easily on google District Heat systems only affect a few hundred thousand of us at the moment but that number is expected to grow in to the millions over the next few years. District Heat – a block of flats has one boiler making hot water for all the flats. In theory cleaner and more efficient (cheaper). That hot water is passes through a “heat exchange” in each flat generating hot water for heating and washing Given the utilities companies history it is amazing but the government prefer to leave the companies to self-regulate on the basis that…… actually I have no idea why anyone would think that is a good idea So they have. There is an organisation called "The Heat Trust" which is managed by the, ironically named, Heat Customer Protection Ltd. They have come up with this wicked wheeze known as the “Heat Cost Comparator” upon which prices appear to based, it includes 1. How much it would cost if it were gas 2. How much the standing charge would be if you had a different supply 3. How much it would cost to service your gas boiler 4. How much it would cost to replace your gas boiler Add them together and that is how much you should pay for your heat Maybe it is me but I think 1. The price should be based on how much it costs to produce the heat not on how much gas costs 2. Our standing charge should be based on our costs not someone else’s 3. We don’t have a boiler and our heat exchanger is very low maintenance 4. The heat exchanger is expected to last a lot longer than a gas boiler and then be cheaper to replace This system has been, according to The Heat Trust, “reviewed and approved” by Which? and the Citizens Advice Bureau. I asked Which? and the CAB and they both refused to confirm or deny if they had “reviewed and approved”….. ummmmmm I smell a fish ARUP wrote a very interesting report which says that if this is the correct method then we are only being charged twice as much as we should be, page 8 says a 2 bedroom flat which should be about £350 a year is actually closer to £700 in the East London scheme In the Which? report Turning Up The Heat – Getting a Fair Deal for District Heating Users. March 2015. It was written “the lack of consumer protection had left many feeling vulnerable: It seems to be done with a certain amount of protectionism towards the companies and nothing for the consumer” The report goes on about how much it should cost. To give you an idea I moved in to my 3 bedroom flat on the 1st Dec 2014. By the end of June my Heat Bill has been £832, annualise that is £1,250. I keep writing to my MP Matthew Pennycook – that does me no good at all On the upside I have got the ASA to investigate E.On for their claim that District Heat is no more expensive than Gas. On the 7th July I received a letter from the ASA apologising for the delay “We have received a response from E.On, which we have assessed. We may need to go back to them for some further clarification” – yea I can’t get a straight answer from them either And I do have the Financial Ombudsman investigating them as well because the maintenance, repair and replacement is an assurance policy which should be regulated. E.On have bundled it in to the standing charge so it is not regulated. If E.On pull out of the market I lose my premiums. OFGEM will not look into it because their remit is Gas and Electricity and I am buying HEAT Maddest one yet, the Ombudsman for Energy will not look in to it because E.On have not signed up for their services. Ahhhhh???? So, the million dollar question. Why don’t I change provider? I can’t E.On have a monopoly! This is going to happen to loads more people. write to your MP. We need regulation NOW

Need a lot of help on this one please for a very good friend... Basically she had a mortgage with her Ex, but they split up and finally divorced in 2012. She just wanted to get away and basically waved all rights to the house, in the divorce papers it actually states that any property is to be treated as if death has occured unless there is a Will. She been asking her Ex for many years to be taken off of the mortgage, but it was one excuse after another, so today we decided to phone the mortgage company up and had on loudspeaker so I can listen. Basically the mortgage company have said unless the Ex phones up and says he wants her taken off the mortgage then there is nothing they can do. So she is literally stuck on it, an in reality at risk her self.. They say he has to satisfy criteria that he can take over the mortgage on his own.... But in reality she doesnt care what happens to the house, as no matter what she wont get anything.. What is the best way to move forward because in reality he knows he wont satisfy the criteria on his own despite paying it for the last few years, so he can just sit with her name on the mortgage for as long as he wants untill it suits him Please if anyone can advise the best way to proceed...

An interesting read today as follows "As a landlord, agent or solicitor, if you have used a High Court Enforcement Officer who did not follow the proper process, you could find that you’re liable for a significant claim for damages. In recent years, there has been a large increase in the use of High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEO) to evict residential tenants, which is no great surprise, as HCEOs can frequently enforce far more quickly than a County Court Bailiff (CCB) can. How could the eviction be illegal? At present, HCEOs can only use a standard writ of possession to evict trespassers, i.e. “persons unknown” such as squatters. For an HCEO to evict a tenant who remains in a property after a possession date, they MUST obtain permission from the County Court under Section 42 of the County Court Act 1984 to transfer enforcement of the order for possession to the High Court. Without this permission, any writ of possession enforced is invalid and any action taken under it will be illegal. Are illegal evictions taking place? In the last 18 months the High Court enforcement sector has seen a quantity of small ‘franchise’ bailiff firms, many operating under the authority of a single authorised High Court Enforcement Officer. Some of these firms are offering guaranteed seven day evictions of residential tenants, which does not allow time to obtain court permission to transfer up. It is our understanding that some of these firms may be applying for the writ of possession, without having previously obtained permission from the County Court to transfer up the order for possession to the High Court for enforcement, perhaps because they are not aware of this legal requirement. If any of these firms are evicting tenants under a writ of possession but without court permission to transfer up, then those evictions will have been conducted illegally. Exposure to claims for damages Whilst it is understandable that every landlord wants possession of their property without the lengthy delays regularly quoted by the County Court Bailiffs, the potential cost implications for a landlord for incorrectly evicting a tenant can be huge - claims for damages might come from both the tenants, as well as the local authority that had to rehouse them in emergency accommodation. As well as claiming for considerable damages from the landlord, the tenant may also make a claim against the bailiff company that evicted them and the authorised HCEO personally. If you think you may be affected If you have used the services of one of these ‘franchise’ HCEO firms, it would be prudent to now demand to see the court order allowing the HCEO to undertake the eviction. Be advised that this is NOT the writ of possession, but is a separate standard court order. If the HCEO cannot produce this, you could be looking at a claim for damages landing on your doormat any day soon. It would also be prudent to ask the HCEO company for details of their insurers." Story from Scoop today here http://www.scoop.it/t/lacef-news Info in full from here http://thesheriffsoffice.com/articles/are-you-evicting-tenants-illegally

Been having problems with Vodafone all year - they just get worse and worse! I called in Feb to report poor network coverage. They assured me it was just 4G upgrades and would be over soon. They promised that once the maintenance was finished they would refund my monthly tariff, back dated to when the problems started. In March, I was still having problems (ironically even the call to complain failed from my mobile as I had no signal!). Same story but conveniently they had no record of my previous call and compensation promise. However they offered £15 goodwill and a months tariff. Pretty poor considering I had only been able to communicate via imessage / whatsapp (anything using wireless but not Vodafone's line!) 90% of the time since December. In May I had had enough and with my contract up in June I called to discuss leaving. The representative I spoke to gave me my PAC code and explained that it's activation would be the start of a 30 day notice period. We agreed this would work fine as my contract was up on 6th June. I passed this code to my new supplier on 9th May and they activated it on 12th May. An subsequent online chat with another rep after this was the most dreadful customer service experience of my life! He was rude, sarcastic and unhelpful. I had got in touch again as my credits had not been activated. He agreed to arrange these then he also then told me I would have early termination fees added to my final bill! After 2 hours (!) online chat, he and a superior assured me that this would be waived due to the advice their other colleague had given me. So, obviously, on Sunday I received a bill including termination fees. A phonecall got me nowhere. The rep (again conveniently) could not see the online chat transcript promising to waive the fees. So I got back on online chat and the rep checked the transcript and again arranged to waive these and resubmit my bill. I am yet to receive the recalculated bill and struggle to believe that it really will be changed. Pretty sure they will take the money then I'll have the mother of all fights trying to get it refunded. More time, more stress. I don't think I can put into words how shocked I am that such a company has such terrible procedures and gaps in communication between departments. Never, ever again will I go back. Vodafone has a long way to go in terms of customer service (bordering on aggressive in some situations) and also coverage for their customers. They really do not care!

Hi all, i am wondering if you can help me. Ive had the most distressing phone call with an advisor from Eurdio. I was completing my deferment application and become quite concerned when I came to section 9 which asked for gross total income including state benefits. I currently receive rent that is heavily subsidised by housing benefit as I rent privately, I receive some council tax benefit, child and working tax and child benefit. My wages are only £900 per month but when I added the above benefits my gross total income was above their £2398 threshold for deferment. I contacted them to see if the above benefits were included in what they considered my gross income and I was told that they were. I tried to explain that the above were means tested that were used to help me pay my rent which is £1400 per month (I live in London) and my childcare and that I could not see how these could be used. They said that they had a list of all benefits that could be used in their calculations and that both housing benefit, child tax credits and child benefits could be. Is this right?, I have complained and will escalate to ombudsman if necessary Things are so tight for me at the moment I cant deal with another bill. Please help

Hello, I am a newbee...i got the details from the npower bot=ycott fcebook page and am after some advice please... The very short vesion is I have had shocking service from npower with bill reversals, countdowns and cheering on the phones and the wrong meter being read. I have complained and gone through the ombusman who wish to give me 150 pounds for customer service but upholding the bill. I wish to take them to court rather than agree to the ombudsman on the following basis... I paid 1100 to npower for duel fuel but they claim i owe them another 1200. i live in a two bed 1995 built house two adults and a six year old. My previous year bill with another supplier was 1400 and having swapped i am on course for 1400. Npower billing shows that in winter i used combined fuel totalling 77 per month but that in the summer we used 177 pounds...the ombudsman thinks this is normal. Does anyone think i stand a chance? How much does small claims cost? I have 12 days left to decide? Thank you. Anita

What if anything do I do next?? I have recently found out that Cabot have bought another of my old debts from Yorkshire bank, the difficulty is that Yorkshire bank took me to court in February 2011. after I gave them the request for my original signed documents they then wrote to me stating the debt was unenforceable. Should I tell Cabot about this or wait for another claim form?

Hello all, Friend of mine had a debt of a personal amount of £5400 outstanding that went to the Sheriffs Office. Its a long story but to cut it short her bank account was hacked and the bank agreed to settle the amount this week. So she is now in a position to pay the money back So here is the advice needed, the claimant has asked for a copy of her bank statement as proof she has the money which she is not comfortable with doing - are they entitled to ask for that - and they are also asking for compensation for the timeframe taken, she is happy to do this but she has found out over £2000 has been added on in charges and interest since it was passed on She is therefore unsure whether to write to the Sheriffs Office and ask them to write the charges off - or a large proportion or whether she writes to the creditor. The creditor has asked her to pay the £5400 to the Sherriffs Office now and the compensation to her but I have said not to as she will still have the charges to pay that way. I have told her to not do anything until you have something in writing Should she write to both the creditor and Sherrifs Office and what should she say? Forgot to add she has been signed off for the majority of the time and the Sheriffs Office have her medical documentation and in fairness to them have not been coming to the house etc but think its all interest charges on the whole

ISIL appear to taking more territory in Iraq and the question is whether the US And other powers will let them take over Iraq ? The U.S. Does not allow boots on the ground to fight ISIL other than special forces operations and training Kurds/Iraqi army. To defeat ISIL would require tens of thousands of boots on the ground with armed vehicles, working with air power. At the moment this does notappear likely ahead of the 2016 presidential election and I cannot see other countries volunteering their forces. I therefore think it is quite possible that ISIL will take over most of Iraq and only Baghdad will be defended. This may force Iran into taking action to at least secure part of the border area in Iraq. Question is why world leaders are not holding urgent talks to at least see what ideas there are for dealing with the situation. The longer they leave it to take action the more difficult it would be.