Ford Finance tell me that they have no record of PPI payments because the account was paid off more than 6 years ago. However a CMC tell me that for an upfront fee of £70 per claim they can get access to this information without any paperwork or account numbers. They call this fee a deposit which will be refunded on completion and suggest payment by credit card. They then charge 25% of any subsequent compensation. Any advice would be appreciated

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35925146 And of course the number is much higher than the ombudsman has recorded – and it is probably very much higher than anyone can possibly imagine. Vodafone is competing with npower for the worst possible systems and the worst possible customer service. Anyone considering getting a new mobile phone contract would do well to avoid Vodafone.

Capquest have had my friends' old Skycard account for several years. In 2012, I got her to write to Skycard, with a £1.00 cheque for the CCA - the [by return], letter stated, that "No records exist now", and the cheque was returned. She had been paying CQ at the rate of one pound per month, so, knowing that there was no CCA, we requested one from them, [i love it when they are well screwed to start with!] After 14 days we got the usual "We are sending for it/ account on hold/will not hear from us until we get your CCA", letter, so we put them in default and she stopped paying. They had previously had a letter from her in 2010, telling them that all communications are to be via me, in writing, at my address, and now four years later, I am getting silent phone calls from them - last week and this week. My friends Credit ref files from the "Big 3" are totally clean, we sent for them last month, just in case, but I suppose that "CQ" realise that the last two years are ticking. Should I write to them, reminding them of the fact that they should only communicate in writing, or just keep jotting down the dates and times of these calls, and wait until they pass everything on to another bunch of no-hopers? Sam

My Dad got work done at his house where I live 4 years ago. The electrician didn't do something he asked for so he cut of £500 from a £20,000 bill. Today I get a update from Experian that I have a CCJ under my name issued yesterday. Having spoken to the court it turns out that the Electrican issued a CCJ at our old address where we moved from 4 years back. I never got any of the letters or did I get any intimation from the court AND I am not a part of this at all. I only live at my dad's house and the claim should be between these two. I have nothing to do with the bills for the building of my dad's house. My Credit score just dropped from a 5/5 to a 1/5 for something I am not involved in or knew anything about. Spoke with the court who have suggested I pay £150 and do a application to set aside the judgement. Also spoke with Experian who say they will put this down as fraud as it has nothing to do with me but they will need to investigate and can't guarantee that this will clear my record. Also the claim is issued under a misspelt surname. Does that make any difference? What should I do????? Some guidance would be highly appreciated. I have worked hard to keep my Credit history good and one wrong swipe has just ruined it.

I have discovered that on company House there has been a entry saying that company where I work was to be strike off the register. It was given 3 months to comply. The strike off has been suspended as conditions have been met. Does this mean the company is in financial difficulty? as it feel like it is due to the lack of resources, atmosphere and comments being made. Is there a way of finding out if the company is OK or should one think about jumping ship

Hello. im new on here but ive been reading some of the threads with interest. In 2010 i took out a payday loan with Quickquid as my credit cards were maxed out at nearly 16k...... id just come out of a relationship that had left me financialy challenged. It was so easy to borrow from them ... had the loan and paid it off as planned. Anyway i had a 2nd larger loan when i needed work doing to my car....... this where it all went wrong because when it came to payday time i wasnt going to have enough money left to live on...... so i took out another payday loan with a different comapny. Yet again so easy to borrow, things just spiralled out of control and between 2010 and the end of 2013 when i finaly saw sense and seeked help id been using QuickQuid Payday UK Wonga Payday Express Lending Stream Pounds to Pocket 1 month loan Swift sterling Mr Lender every month for the time period, either rolling over loans or taking out new ones to pay off exsisting ones the borrowing off them again. I was so stupid, they ruined my life for 4 years, if id been turned down id have faced my issues sooner and got sorted.... at one point i was doing 80hrs overtime per month and still couldnt get straight. How could these companies not see by the credit checks that i was in meltdown? Last week i added up everything id borroweed and paid back to payday loans companies....... i borrowed £38,711 and paid back a whopping £61,409. Im worried about asking for refunds because i dont think i was honest about my disposable income...... i was in such a mess and not thinking straight, i was just desperate for the money, to pay tha payday loans etc. Im so stupid. Any advice? Thank you for reading this, Burke

I took my daughter to specsaver for an eyetest i explained to them at the outset that she is vulnerable unwell. Was hoping for some understanding. She did not like the glasses there so asked for the Nhs voucher to take elsewhere They scribbled and changed part of it so rendered it useless. Does anyone know what the rules are? What can we do to help her please?

Hi I recently allowed our home to be repossessed. The mortgage company got a valuation done before marketing the house but I was wondering is how many should the lender get. Many thanks

Hi, I was hoping to find a little advice on what to do with my defaulted accounts. I have 4 defaulted accounts that were passed to debt collection agencies after I lost my job and buried my head in the sand. I have been paying a token amount to the agencies to stop the letter. The defaults are as follows: Bank Account: £1083 - Defaulted 21/06/2013 Bank Account: £1399 - Defaulted 27/06/2014 Phone Contract: £420 - Defaulted 05/03/2013 Student Credit Card: £415 - Defaulted 27/08/2013 Total Amount: £3316 Experian Credit score: 502 - Very poor Recently I have had some good fortune and I able to pay these debts in full but I am confused as to whether I should or not. The questions I have are: 1.Will paying the debt in full mean it changes the default date and pushes me back in terms of getting a clear credit rating? 2.If I pay the debts in full am I able to improve my credit score within the next 5-6 years ready for when the defaults drop off my account or is there nothing I can do until they do? 3.When is it likely I could be accepted for a mortgage and are there any steps I can take that will help? I'd appreciate any help you guys can throw at me.

Hi, This is my first post on here. Please help! I received a letter last week from Concentrix on behalf of HMRC last week stating they were checking my claim for tax credits for the current year. I had put in a claim as an individual and they had information which linked someone else to my address and to me, and wanted to check if I should have been putting in a joint claim. My situation is actually quite complicated and I am now panicking that I may have done the wrong thing and really need both reassurance and advice please asap! Basically, my husband and I separated in January 2015 after I discovered he had been having an affair. At the time I thought this was a permanent separation. At this point, my husband and I separated our financial affairs completely other than him making maintenance payments for our children (we closed our joint account etc, I took over all responsibility for bills and payments for the family home) and he moved into a separate property, leaving me in the family home with our kids. One issue is that he didn't change his contact details on many of his 'affairs' including his banking (!) - obviously this wasn't my responsibility or my fault but I was aware of it, as I continued to receive post for him at my house. As our separation was civil (I wouldn't say amicable...) I was ok to keep passing his post to him as it arrived. I obviously didn't fully realise the implications of him not changing his address i.e. that it would link him to this address and to me, which could cause problems for my tax credits claim.... The main problem however, is that over time we did reconcile although very gradually and are still in this process (we completed our couples counselling just last week). He does continue to rent the other property and we have not resumed any joint financial affairs at all. I still pay for all elements relating to the home I live in with our children including all bills, and he pays for everything relating to his home. My main concern is that he has actually been staying in the family home on occasions since May (I also stayed in his house too...) but more and more regularly as time went on until he is now basically here full-time and has moved many of his belongings back into this house. I should say I was concerned about my tax credits claim as he began to stay back in the family home on occasion back in May and I actually contacted the HMRC customer service line at this point to ask how this situation would affect my claim. I was told by the person I spoke to as far as I remember as it was a while ago (and I recorded the time and date of this conversation) that there was no limit to how often my husband stayed in the home as long as he had another property which was his home i.e. he was paying for another property, paying bills, keeping his belongings there etc. I was surprised by this answer to be honest ie that there was no limit to how much he stayed, but I was reassured that I was ok to continue to claim tax credits as a single claimant. (I had said me and my husband were gradually reconciling etc and the advisor NEVER said I had to put in a 'change of circumstance') This may have been naive of me and maybe I should have looked into this further but I obviously went on what the HMRC advisor told me and didn't look into it further myself... To complicate matters further, I am now pregnant with our third child - this was a complete unplanned accident but it clearly confirms we are having a proper relationship, so to speak. Just to reiterate, there are still no financial links between us other than the historical ones - I am paying for 'my' home and he is paying for his and all the documents prove this. Of course, we do buy things for each other ie if we go out for a meal or a trip out with the kids etc... The plan is that he will be moving officially back into the family home as of December ie in the next few weeks, so we can have a fresh start with Christmas and the New Year and we will once again link our financial affairs fully and he has given notice on his house so that would no longer be in his ownership - I would of course then have informed HMRC of this, and reverted to a joint claim. I am now concerned that we have been overpaid as I should have been making a joint claim, (although when from I am not entirely sure - from when we agreed to make a go of it? the first time he stayed back in the family home? when he started staying much more regularly?) although I was only following the advice given in the phone call in May as to how our situation affected my tax credits claim. I have all the evidence which proves we have still two houses which we pay for independently as my husband is happy to co-operate in providing this (rental agreements, bank statements, utility bills, council tax statements) although the letter from Concentrix only asks for my documents. However, if you actually investigated fully (asking neighbours and so on) it would look like he moved back into my home a few months ago and obviously his address is still listed as being here on a lot of things and I am carrying his child ... I am now really concerned about the letter I have received as I genuinely believed I had done everything according to the 'rules'. I am feeling sick with worry that I have done something wrong (even if it was unintentional) and I am going to have to not only repay a large sum but may have to face a penalty and even criminal prosecution my husband and parents tell me I am worrying unnecessarily and if I send in the relevant documents, together with an explanation that I didn't realise the implications of him not changing his address, it will be enough to complete the check. Is this right though?? Am I better calling HMRC direct and explaining the situation??? What I don't want to do is to send off the documents as requested and a statement which then creates further questions but equally, I don't want to 'hide' anything and then have it come and bite me later on... Please help - as I say I am sick with worry. I am the sort of person who hates to do anything wrong and it is making me feel ill that I may have, and may have to face consequences for this. I just want to get it cleared up asap Thanks.

Hi Hoping one or more of the gurus on here can answer this for me. I'm 64 years of age and live in Wales. Since having cancer treatment I have been having dental treatment to remove plaque from my teeth. Initially this was done at a hospital dental department and there was no charge for treatments, due to a shortage of hygienists the hospital passed me on to my NHS dental practice initially for 2 monthly visits which have quickly been reduced to 4 monthly simply because I'm managing to do a reasonable job of keeping the plaque down myself. Since going to the NHS practice the routine has been a visit for a checkup then a second visit to see the hygienist . I have never spent more than 5 minutes (timed) with the hygienist or the dentist. From my first treatment onwards I have been charged £43 each time. I queried this and was told it was because I have deep pockets between teeth and gums but I have found no mention on the NHS Wales site that this is a treatment that does not qualify as treatment included in the fee for a check up which does include a scale and polish and which I do not have to pay due to my age. Should I be paying for these treatments.

A month ago, a regular contributor to this forum (Dodgeball) started a thread on here about the ‘sale stage fee’ of £100 and when it should be charged by bailiffs. The regulations were completely overhauled in April 2014 and there is (and will continue to be) a great deal of differing of opinion about the wording and application of the regulations and will no doubt not be properly resolved until a court makes a judgment. Unfortunately, Dodgeball’s thread was once again the focus of unwarranted attention elsewhere and with this in mind, the thread ended up running to seven pages. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?453200-Removal-for-sale-fee-when-can-it-be-charged I am reliably informed that because of the importance of this subject, Dodgeball approached the countries expert on bailiff law; John Kruse for his professional opinion. John considered that the question was important enough to be quoted is his regular Bulletin (that is available to the advice sector for free or available by subscription to the public). Given the popularity of this forum, it is frequently viewed by members of the the enforcement industry. Those individuals are unlikely to read a copy of John Kruse's Bulletin. Hopefully by providing a copy of his opinion on the charging of this fee it may prove useful to them. A copy of Dodgeball's question is below: I am currently engaged in an interesting debate about sale fees and when they are applicable- in particular if a bailiff can charge the sale stage fee whilst on an enforcement visit. Many, particularly HCEOs, are under the impression they can. My position is that they cannot. My arguments are these: Sch.12 para.13 TCE Act 2007- this section outlines the ways that goods can be taken under control; it says that one of the methods listed must be used. Since only controlled goods can be sold then presumably only one of these can be used and must be used prior to removal for sale. It must be noticed that none of the options relate to the sale of goods, in fact they all indicate that another attendance must be made, to removed the previously secured goods or to inquire about the failure of a controlled goods agreement. The mention of removing goods in para.13 is, as you say in Bulletin 27, for purpose of storage rather than sale, so a subsequent attendance must be made there also. The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations state that “the sale or disposal stage ... comprises all activities relating to enforcement from the first attendance at the property for the purpose of transporting goods to the place of sale etc.” The attendance at enforcement cannot in my opinion be for the purpose of transporting goods to the place of sale, because no goods have been seized at this point. There is also the matter of arrangement for sale as you mentioned in Bulletin 29. I do not believe that merely ringing for a van can fill these criteria as I believe the MoJ has suggested. Thirdly I think that the procedure was intended to be in three stages, so allowing the EA to circumvent the last stage by switching from enforcement to sale whilst in the enforcement stage is not what was intended. I would appreciate your thoughts.

Hi All Sorry to worry you but ignoring it may not be enough with this ****. I had the same issues with Lowlife and decided to ignore it until they stuck a default on my credit file. I have been trying for the last two years to get it removed and to get redress. In Jan 2014 they finally admitted it was not my debt. I expected they would do the decent thing and just remove the default. NOPE in June 2015 I received a CCJ for it from Bryants solicitors acting on behalf of lowlife. My defence was obviously the letter from lowlife stating the debt was not mine. I heard nothing from them even though the case was apparently dropped. I involved the FOS and they have been next to useless. I am still fighting to get the default removed still to this day. I have now advised the ICO and they have opened a case. The letters keep coming from other debt collectors still and the nightmare never ends. The FOS stated the following. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- my findings Lowell has confirmed that they accept that the account that they were contacting you about, is not yours. As per my email dated 19 August 2015, Lowell has told me that they have taken the necessary actions to prevent further contact being made to you by telephone/ text. Lowell has also confirmed that they have no debts that they are holding you responsible for. After Lowell received a letter from our service dated 23 July 2015, they wrote to your directly – the letter was dated 29 July 2015. Within their letter, they have said that the account that they had been contacting you about had been passed to ‘ Fredrickson International Ltd’ in March 2015. It would appear that it was this company who were pursuing a court claim. Lowell contacted Frederickson International Ltd, who has confirmed that the court claim was discontinued on 17 June 2015. You have told me that you have been in contact with the credit reference agencies for some time, in regards to clearing up your credit file. You have told me that you made the necessary actions to remove the information associated with another xxx xxxx. Unfortunately there is no permanent way to prevent lenders or debt collection agencies tracing your details, in the place of someone with the same name. All you can do is contact any company that you receive letters from to advise them of the situation. The credit reference agencies will be able to ensure that the information recorded on your credit file is accurate and may be able to offer you further advice in regards to what you can do. I appreciate that being linked to someone with the same name and bring contacted about their debt is inconvenient. However, as Lowell has taken the necessary actions to prevent further contact regarding this debt, I do not feel that there is anything further that I can ask Lowell to do. However, if when you check your credit file, there is anything relating to this debt (registered by Lowell) please let me know. Lowell accepts that they may have caused you distress and inconvenience when contacting you. Therefore, in their final response letter dated 29 July 2015 – they have offered you £250 compensation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SO with this details I tried to get the default of my Credit file. to which the response was ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm writing in relation to your recent query with: *Lowell Portfolio I Ltd (Account Started 22/09/2008) They have provided following details, "Our Complaints team are investigating this account and are in communication with the Financial Ombudsman. The case summary was forwarded to to the, on the 12/08/15 and we are awaiting their response. Once an outcome is known, if an amendment is needed we will action this in due course." They've confirmed that this information is accurate, so I'm afraid I can't make any changes to it. I understand that this may not be the outcome you were hoping for. If you'd like to discuss their decision, you should contact them directly.

A week or so ago a regular contributor on here (Dodgeball) started a discussion thread on the subject of when a bailiff should legally be able to charge a 'Sale Fee' of £110. The importance of this subject prompted me to approach CIVEA (The Civil Enforcement Agency) and yesterday they provided me with a copy of their official Guidance Note on the subject. A copy of this should be featuring on their website this weekend. Dodgeball's important and interesting thread on this subject has run to 5 pages and with 100 replies, I thought that this Guidance would get better publicity if it was posted on a separate thread. The original discussion thread can be found under the following link: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?453200-Removal-for-sale-fee-when-can-it-be-charged

To quickly outline my problem; I gave Vodafone 30 days notice to end my contract with them on 1st June 2015 (been with them for donkeys years (bills always paid,never missed one!) .Felt like a change so EE looked like a better bet for mobile internet .A week or so later Vodafone offered me an S6 phone at a very good rate to keep me so I took it ,the customer (dis)services operative arranged the phone delivery for the following Saturday morning,great!. Saturday morning came and went-no phone. Called VF (Vodafone) to query why my new shiny phone hadn't arrived and was told "Oh sorry,it hasn't actually been ordered", I straight away cancelled the order on the phone with this person (as I was entitled to with the 14 days cancellation agreement) and also informed them that I wished my contract to be cancelled as per the 30 days notice I had previously given,this was agreed and that was that. THIS WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING!!!!!!. After the 30 days notice was up,happy with my new EE phone, i noticed my old VF sim card was still working ,phone VF customer (dis)services and "Sorry sir,i'll sort that out straight away for you") .And so started 3 months of chasing Vodafone to actually cut off my phone and end my contract. In that time I must have phoned them 20 times ,spoke to Egypt ,India, South Africa, Scotland, England etc, every call taking a minimum of 30 minutes or so whilst I had to explain myself. I've spoken to just about every department they have, heard the promises of "I'll make sure this gets done for you" EVERY and I mean every time.... .and of course nothing ever happens, AND they just don't bother to get back to you. I received a letter from them about a week ago saying my phone services had been suspended???? REALLY!! and I should pay for the 2 months outstanding (the 2 months AFTER I ended the contract). I again contacted them, and the really pathetic thing is, when I now phone them, I ask the person I'm speaking to, to look at the notes on my account BEFORE we speak. They all, without fail, come back after looking and can immediately see that its Vodafones mistake that the account is still showing as active with payments outstanding. I always then get the apology and the "I'll make sure this get sorted sir". I fired off an email to the Chief Executive last Friday, i got a reply, obviously from an admin person, asking for my details the next day, sent them and waited with baited breath... ....still waiting!. Phoned again today, got passed to 3 people, the final of which told me "I'll go and get the account sorted and make sure customer (dis)services put a zero balance on your account a nd I will get back to you within the next hour or so"..... .obviously I didn't get a call back, didn't really expect one really and am exasperated with their disgusting treatment of loyal customers by their poorly trained staff. Final straw this evening is an email from Ardent credit services saying I need to contact them urgently ref my outstanding bill with Vodafone. I have and always have had a good credit history, no CCJ'S etc etc and this is precisely the thing which may ruin that through no fault of my own. VODAFONE - YOU SHOULD HANG YOUR HEAD IN SHAME!!!!!!!

Wonga... Should I contact them.... Took various loans over 2010/11 All loans were repaid but quickly built up resulting in me been unable to repay the last loan... This was defaulted in May 2011 by Wonga... Balance £1734 this was updated March 2014 balance still the same. This last loan was for £800 the rest would be the interest added over time..... During the period I was under a DMP with then named cccs. Owing little over 23k to different banks/cc/loans. Now repaying debts under a self debt management... Hearing all the news about Wonga I was wondering whether it was worth now contacting Wonga to ask whether this debt was written off or whether the amount is still owed. Contacting them wont make much difference to my credit file as already defaults on the file, although some do drop off shortly under the 6 year limit. What's peoples thoughts on me contacting Wonga to make enquires on this loan ? Is it worth writing to them to see what's what.......

It's a 'only wish it happened to me' moment, when Amazon (well marketplace trader) put the wrong price on an item in my favor. What is the position in insisting that I get the items I bought? I think much depends on 'the contract'. ie is it an offer and your acceptance -or- is it a contract? So far I have found in the "The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013" Under part 5 section 42 paragraph (3) states: Unless there is an agreed time or period, the contract is to be treated as including a term that the trader must deliver the goods— (a) without undue delay, and (b) in any event, not more than 30 days after the day on which the contract is entered into. So some hope? However, I note in my case, that Amazon have in their T&Cs regarding 3. PRICING AND AVAILABILITY "Despite our best efforts, a small number of the items in our catalogue may be mispriced. We will verify pricing when processing your order and before we take payment. If we have made a mistake and a product's correct price is higher than the price on the website, we may either contact you before dispatch to request whether you want to buy the product at the correct price or cancel your order." Anyone any idea how to test the validity of this clause?

I make the return journey every week from Redruth to Truro to drop my son off to my mum who works in the cafe, I either buy a ticket on the train or at the ticket office - there is no self service machine! and catch next available train back to redruth This week the queue was huge I got on the train which was packed so no conducter came round. Usually I have a buggy so I exit through ticket barrier (I have previously been unable to get a ticket once before and as I explained to a member of staff he 'escorted' me all the way to the ticket desk). This week I went across the bridge to the cafe so I never left the station. There was 15 minutes until my return train, my son fell off the chair in the cafe and hurt his head I completely forgot I didn't have a ticket for the return journey I just jumped on! When the conducter came round I asked to buy a ticket, short story is she was very rude, kept repeating I couldnt get on the train without a ticket and didnt explain what she was taking my details for or what would happen. I had explained the situation and that I fully intended to buy the ticket but she was having none of it, unfortunately for me she was a revenues officer! Received unpaid fare notice requesting £104.30 or they will proceed with criminal charges as per regulation of railways act 1889 and/or railway byelaws. no info on how to appeal. I researched the subject and I'm unsure if she should have issued a penalty fare. Truro is a penalty fare station but Redruth isnt, the fgw prosecutions unit said it doesn't count if truro was not my destination? online penalty fare policy is rather vague but nrcoc state if you do not have valid ticket in cta , sra define cta below. haven't looked for the signs but it is a gated station, waiting for my friend to let me know what signs they have and fgw are sending me their policy but that may be by post! requested this from the prosecutions unit and was told i can look at the nroc! any help please? if it's not a penalty charge then any advice on how to proceed would be much appreciated! ‘Compulsory ticket area’ means any area at a station identified by a notice which indicates that people may not enter that area without a ticket or other authority allowing them to enter that area, or to travel on a train arriving at or departing from that area

I have just moved into a housing association property and i'm just wondering how much CT reduction I can expect to receive? I'm a single person living there. I know the rate is 25% discount for that, so I assumed that I would pay 3/4 of the full bill (It's £120 a month So I would pay £90). However when I go on benefit calculators such as the turn2us benefits calculator, it says I will only have to pay £5 a week towards CT. My details: I'm claiming carers allowance and IS (£420 a month) Rent: £400 a month (Applied for housing benefit, shared rate as i'm under 35 which will be £60 a week off rent) A second relevant question is would the council be funny if i'm not moved in after the first week? I signed the tenancy yesterday and have started paying rent. The property itself is a complete mess. No carpets, no cooker, no shower. The previous tenants clearly had kids because the walls are stained and the wooden flooring is filthy. They housing association know its that bad too as they have given me vouchers for paint and wallpaper. Then there's activating gas and electric, as well as a big list of other things I need to do before I can move in. The place needs a lot of work and with bank holiday weekend approaching, I can't find anyone to transport my things to the new address so it looks like I wont be able to move in until the end of next week. Finally, will having £4000 in my savings account cause any problems with my HB and CT benefit claims? I know it may sound bad that i'm a council tenant with 4k in savings, but that money was built up since being on the housing list by being allowed to live in my previous property rent free so I could save up and also family donations to help with the new place. After factoring in the cost of moving in (carpets, electronics, moving van hire, etc), that £4000 will be gone. Thanks

Been in a DMP with Payplan since May 2013, was originally for 4 years but over the last couple of years due to a debt being added and monthly payments reducing this is now showing as ending July 2020! what worries me more is that even in July 2020 we still don't know if that wil be the end due to charges and interest being added. Not even sure if we can both get iva as we have 2 debts with link financial and I have been told they reject a lot of iva's. My worry about an IVA is at the moment of budget is not 100% accurate and would have to change as I know they require more proof of your expenditure. We are currently left at the end of the month with a bit of spare money which allows us to have a bit of a life (money for Xmas for my son and days out for him) on this plan but know we should really put everything into paying our debts off but this way it just makes life a bit for manageable. We currently pay 360 month to Payplan and have £21500 debt left and have paid 12000 off so far. I keep reading lots of stories about iva's that scare me but just want to get this debt paid off. Me and my husband both have old cars and I do worry about replacing them as we both pay lots of money in repairs and mot. Grateful for any advise

I had a quotation for a concrete garage from a local agent, part of the quote included the separate price for the base to be slightly extended and skimmed. This did not say estimate, it said quote. The person that does the bases apparently does not work for agent but they provide him with work, I'm not sure if they get any commission from his work. The agent quoted £800 for the base complete with prep to completion and said it would not change. The base builder came to view the job and said its £950 and that hes doing it cheaper as it should be £1100. When the base is done I have to pay him not the agent. I called the agent to tell them as I agreed to have the garage from them based on the overall quote but the person that did the quote was not in that day and the lady said she would inform her when she was back in which was last Tuesday 18th and she has not called me to discuss this as yet, I have a feeling she isn't going to either. How do I stand, should the agent compensate me for this extra £150 or do I have to just accept it and pay the extra? How should I go about handling this situation?

Hi i had a letter in the past from CCS Collect saying that i owe £250 from the dwp back from in 2009 when i had a budgeting loan from the jobcente r and that if i dont pay or arrange to pay by installments then they will take legal action against me,CCJ etc and have to pay court costs etc. They also said if no contact is made then they are getting the papers to file a case against me. I am not working and my partner is working part time and we only paid them once as we got scared they will take our stuff or take us to court. Should i contact them and pay them? will they take me to court? i dont want to be [problem]med IF they are a bunch of con artists as i am just starting out in life with my first property will high bills to pay. Please help as i dont know what i am doing or dealing with here.

Hi floks, I think it's a reasonably simple issue (or so I hope). I have had set up by the property agency a direct debit for my rent of £800 from my account. It's been going smooth until today. The agency DD'ed the full amount - however, I'm moving out of the property 10th of this month. The agency, of course, knows about it as they have themselves informed me long time ago I had to move out as the landlord is sellling the property. I had in this bank account less than £800 so it shows right now that my balance is negative. I guess, it will have me incur, not because of my fault, various penalty fees on top of that. What next step should I take?

Hello everyone, Over the years of university I have accumulated a few defaults on my credit report. I have finally landed a decent job and my wife earns a good salary also. This has led me to try and take a grasp of my finances. The defaults will drop off my credit file between 2017 and 2018. I would of course like to settle these amounts, but I also have 'live' debts I would like to pay off too. Should I concentrate on the live debts first, or is there any benefit in paying the defaults as soon as possible? My understanding is that actually paying them will have very little positive effect on my credit and that I'd be as well just waiting for them to drop off. Just to point out: I'm in Scotland and have purposely kept my finances completely separate from my wife (who has good credit). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

There is to be a debate about the return or amendment to the fox hunting ban, the most despicable rich mans sport ever.