I wonder if you can help direct me to the right place. I am married and living in the Netherlands. I was on ESA and before that Incapacity Benefit for 7 years, although not DLA even though I might have been eligible for it as I can't cook my own meal. In the Netherlands they wont let me register with the IND but say they 'cant kick me out' of the country. I read online that I can't claim back money for my health insurance but they give me that, and I read I might be eligible for help with minimum allowance (the council over there want to give it to me but the IND say no) My husband who is also disabled gets 10% less because I live with him. So we pay out about 130 Euros a month with nothing coming in for me. We have money for our bills but 0 for food and anything else. Below the minimum wage for one person. They say we have to wait five years and also say I shouldn't bring money in as they will also take this off my husband. I dont have money anyway. Meanwhile my contributions are lapsing in the UK (I mean that the government pay rather than I paid contributions) so I don't know if Im still insured in the UK when I go home for medical and going to the dentist, etc. I have lived in holland for 6 months, I am back in the UK for one month. My husband asked me to look into it, but it's harder from this end than his end. Only I don't speak Dutch so it is difficult for me. Obviously a lawyer might know but I'm not sure I'm eligible for legal aid or anything. It is frustrating because it's like we have the worst end of everything. We have to pay for insurance but I might not be eligible now for free insurance here. I am not entitled to benefits but my husband can get his cut or we might have to pay tax back if they decide that. The worst is they cut my husband by 10% a month and backdated as well so we have to pay 300 Euros back which is an extra 40 Euros a month less, with the ten per cent less as well that is around 120 less a month than for one person plus medical insurance too. They say I can naturalise in three years but the process costs a few thousand and I have memory issues. Plus, if anything were to happen to my husband I would want to come back to the UK. I am having trouble with that too. For example, can I still use a UK doctor when I visit?

I may be going abroad in a couple of weeks and I have some questions regarding signing off. At the moment I do not know if I will be going for definite or not and I won't know for sure until either the night before I go or the morning on the day I go. How do I go about signing off at such short notice? The day I will be leaving is a Sunday as well, which may cause complications with the staff's availability. If I go I will be leaving in the afternoon on Sunday the 13th and will arrive back in the evening on Sunday the 20th. For what period do I have to sign off? The 13th to the 20th? Or since I will be in the country for part of the 13th and 20th, would I only have to sign off from the 14th to the 19th? Edit: I seem to remember hearing before that we were permitted so many days off a year in holiday without actually signing off. I don't know if this is true or not. Can anyone confirm? Second edit: I believe I'm also allowed two weeks of sick a year? So could I take that week off sick (it will be the first time I've taken time off sick)? My understanding is that if you take a week off sick you aren't even required to meet your JSAG during that period, but you still receive your full benefit. Can anyone correct me on this?

hi to all,after reading through quite a lot of the info on the forum ref IB to ESA assesments or what ever they are....so i thought i would ask for some help in the matter. i live in spain and i have been on ib since 1998 when in uk. last thursday i got confirmation i was to go to a local spanish med-centre for what i thought was an esa assesment on wednesday 24th oct by whover...but after making a quick enquiry to newcastle dwp i was told i was going for an e213 being puzzled by this i checked my past paper work and relised i had one of these done back in 2005 wherei was classed as permanently incapacitated in terms of taking an employment by the spanish gp specialist in psychiatric.would this now mean it means zero......to anything 2nd point i was told if i do not pass /and expect to fail i was told i could appeal can anyone enlighten me if i get the same time scale as uk claiments,and what is the process if this fails,i am sure i get get job seekers over via the uk and the spanish is if you have not put into the system then you get nothing back.it seems if i fail teh appeal i am hung out to dry by the uk govt!!anyone know better? 3rd point along with my ib i get ib age addition and money for spouse,civil partener,children and other people (this is how it is wrtten on the dwp inf letter to me) also i get child benefit will these be affected in anyway. 4rth point ,am i suppose to get confirmation from the uk dwp of my appointment?all i have is the letter from the spanish medical side and i even thought it was a bit tight in telling me considering all i got was 6 days inc sat & sunday!! 5th point,as i do not speak catalan or very good spanish to get me through this,my wife will be translating again just like before.can anyone tell me if i can claim for my wife translating this,i was told before no but i could get a translator and it would be paid!!! 6-the actual place is miles away from where i stay and one of my main problems is getting on public transport ,i am left with walking but this will take me out my comfort zone as walking further away from here is trouble and and no doubt cause some anxiety getting there if not a biger problem. am willing to go and make a big push by walking there maybe take 1 hour. thanks in advance and will let you all know how it goes on wednesday:!: gnr2461

There are already a few posts on UK-based debts of people staying in Germany, but none specifically about phone calls, namely how to get a debt collector's data in order to send them a "cease-and-desist" letter, because they are calling not only me at work, but also our HR people while trying to contact me. I have started getting phone calls at work from someone who is very much not German (rather extremely English), although her number is hidden. The first time, I was honestly confused and didn't know what it was about; told her she had the wrong number. The number on the caller ID was very strange: it was neither a valid UK nor German number, although it started with 044. Then finally she (or another girl-- not sure) contacted me another day. The most info I could get from her was her first name... so obviously a debt collector. I told her I don't understand why she's calling and told her not to call me at this number because I'm not allowed to take private calls at work. I didn't give my name or anything, but I'm sure she's suspicious now because I also refused to give her any information she wanted... which may ironically have caused the opposite reaction I wanted... I simply cannot have these people calling me at work, and ESPECIALLY not other people at work. However, I doubt I'll be able to get any useful information from her, and I couldn't Google anything useful from the partial number I got on the caller ID the first time she called. I need to know how (or if it is even possible) to find the company details myself or to get her to tell me them, so that I can send a letter telling them to stop... and then whether I should quote UK law, German law or both when writing. I'd be very thankful for ANY tips about the situation.

Hello, I have recently signed off JSA (yeah!) and started a temp job (with company not agency) that will hopefully bring me to Christmas. The contract says that they can only guarantee me 20 hours a week but after the first week we have learnt we will be working 45 hours a week till Xmas (no alterations have been made on the contract though). 1) When I signed off, the Jobcentre officer said I'd have to wait 4 weeks of full time work till I can claim Tax Credits. Is this correct or can I start claiming now, as long as I have the expectation that it will stay like this for the near future? 2) Regardless of how much I could get, is it worth the pain to claim WTC for this short period? Last time I claimed I had all sorts of problems and this forum is also full of horror stories. What are your feelings and your advice about this? Thank you and a nice weekend.

Hi everybody. I have a toughie to crack (and it’s a bit long winded). I have been dismissed by my company for repeatedly complaining about their (very questionable and in some cases very illegal) internal policies. I complained about that too and have been told that as I am in fact a “contractor” and as they are registered off shore (Caribbean) I have no right to do anything. The company is registered offshore for tax purposes, operates worldwide (as did I), but has its operating headquarters in the UK – the CEO, finance, logistics, business development etc. are all based in the UK on a full time basis and all work as employees of the company. I have looked into this with a learned fellow (who for personal reasons can’t help me anymore), and have found that due to many factors I am in fact an employee and I am entitled to complain. However I am unclear on a couple or three things which are: My original “contract” was for a four month period and has never been renewed since 2007 – I have had no contract of any sort since late 2007. Does anyone have any notion as to how this would affect any case against my former employer? The company state that all staff work under a disciplinary code (verbal warning/written warning/dismissal) – this was completely ignored to dismiss me. I am looking into instigating an employment tribunal based on the above (and a whooole lot more), but would very much appreciate any insight?

For those of you that hire cars abroad take note of this warning. I usually use someone like Holiday Auto's, Car Rentals, CarJet or similar and book the car on the internet before I go. I usually take the top up insurance offer as it is cheaper than purchasing it from the hire company when you collect the car, this is currently 7 Euros per day in Majorca so a week Sat to Sat e.g. 8 days x 7 = 56 Euros. I booked a car via Carjet from Click and Rent and paid for CarJet's Gold Top up insurance @ 35.22 Euros saving 28.78 Euros. Picked the car up at Palma airport OK no problems staff layed back as usual gave authorisation for 450 Euro deposit because I had not taken out their insurance. I have done this many times in the past and when you return the car OK they cancel authorisation. Couldn't get this done when I returned the car but was assured that it would be done on Monday. Checked Credit card online an found that they had charged the 450 Euros = £366.41 after exchange and charges to my account and after a phone call on Tuesday the deposit 450 Euros was returned to my account, but it was now £340.01 after exchange and charges so I am £26.40 ( 31.68 Euros at 1.20 to the £ )out of pocket, so I haven't saved 28.78 Euros but it has cost me 2.90 Euros extra not a great deal but its the principle. If I had purchased the Car rental companies Top up Insurance I would have saved the 2.90 Euros and more importantly the hassle of getting the refund as I would then not have had to pay the 450 Euro deposit in the first place. This is the first time that I have had this problem as usually they do not take the deposit from your account unless you return the car damaged in some way or owe them for petrol if you have a full/full deal and haven't filled the tank. The money was taken from my account straight away when I collected the car. This problem would also happen if you use a debit card. Moral of this story is if this practise is widespread don't take out the insurance until you collect the car. I have been in touch with Click & Rent who couldn't care less, I have contacted CarJet and await their response.

Well Ive been put in the support group and told I can no longer work. Although there is no mention of a timescale for my benefit.. it's pretty definate my working days are over. I wondered that seeing as I am now unable to work again can I export my ESA to another EU country.? I know I can take my care component from my DLA. and in the old days you could take your Incapacity benefit, but now the law's changed I want to know if I can take my ESA. It would be nice to know that I could go and enjoy a bit of sun on my poor bones without losing my money, as there's really nothing left to stay in this country for. Any advice gratefully received.

Hi, Firstly, what a great forum with helpful knowledgeable people! I'd like to ask for advise too please: Background: I have 5 old style 93-97 loans. From 98 until 2005 I've lived in the UK but I've never earned the amount to repay so have successfully deferred every year For the last 7 years I've lived in the Caribbean, financially supported by my wife so continued deferring successfully. Since being abroad my mother has been the postal contact for SLC for forms, etc. In 2011 I completed my forms as usual, with my mother's new address, as my mother was here visiting me at the same time she took the deferment forms back to the UK to post. In 2012 I contacted them to see if I could defer online. Whilst I was talking to them they said they wanted to transfer me to 'trace' department to update my contact details. Whilst talking to 'trace' they said that they hadn't received my 2011 deferment forms and therefore hadn't received my mother's new address to post letters to, so there were arrears outstanding. I explained they must be lost by Royal Mail or somewhere in house at SLC. Soon after I was told my file was being transferred to Buchanen, Clarke and Wells to recover the debt and that I was to contact them. I contacted them by email and whilst waiting for a reply my mother received a letter from SLC saying my file had been transferred to Smith Lawson Company to recover the debts and had been charged an extra GBP 60 for the pleasure, despite me doing as advised by SLC to contact BCW. So, my questions to those knowledgeable people are: As I'm not earning any money and live abroad what 'legal proceedings' can they take towards me? Would my mother's address get bad credit rating as this is where my letters are being sent? Say I move back to Europe (but not UK) in the future and I got bad credit rating from this mess, would I get bad credit rating in Europe too? Any other advise, until I can afford to pay back what I owe? Thank you very much in advance, and apologies for the long winded explanation but I wanted to give as much info as possible.

I work as a freelance translator here in the UK. I have been doing business with a non-EU translation agency for over 2 years, and they have proven to be trustworthy. They have recently e-mailed me saying they've done business with a UK company which has not paid them. They've had all their communication attempts ignored. Now they want to use "Money Claim Online", but they lack a UK address. That's why they got in touch with me. They are asking if they can use my address. My question is: can I allow them to use my address for correspondence without getting involved in any way other than redirecting mail? What happens if they have a hearing? What if they have to pay any court fees? Is there any way I could become legally implicated just by allowing them to use my address? Thanks in advance for your help.

I am on the maternity leave, worked and lived in uk for 10 years. I have 4 children, one is attending primary school, another one is due to start in September, the other 2 are under 3. I (and my kids) would like to go to Lithuania (EEU) to stay with my mum for a while, so she can help me with the childcare. I was told my CHB will stop if I am away from the country longer than 8 weeks. I have read that I can live in another EEU country and work in UK (which I am as I am on the paid maternity leave) to be entitled to CHB. I asked for my children to be educated at home rather than at school. My husband is staying to work in UK. Will I be entitled to CHB if we choose to stay in Lithuania longer than 8 weeks? Thanks for your advice.

My mobile was pick pocketed whilst in Barcelona last weekend. o2 was notified as soon as possible some 9 hours later (had no phone or money). Today i've received a bill for £22,336.96... yes, 22grand! The bill shows close to 2000 calls made to Serbia, Russia and Afganistan, many of them lasting about 15 minutes and most of them concurrent to within 30 seconds. As a result there are nearly 350 hours worth of calls in the space of only 5-6 hours totalling £17k and a similar amount of incoming calls bringing the total to nearly £19k + VAT Ive read stories on the web in connection with this where people are liable to £1000 bills etc up to one a £8,200... but £22k?? o2 are investigating and appear helpful as well as completely astounded by the magnitude of this. Any advice out there on this one?? Thanks

Hi I have a few vague invitations to go and live abroad and seek work. I'd like to pursue one of these at some point, but am very concerned about being able to claim JSA upon my return to the UK should the trip not work out as hoped. I can see two issues: the question of whether I had quit a job voluntarily and the question of residency. Do these apply? Would returning within six months obviate doubts regarding residency? I am currently claiming income-based JSA and I would likely be returning to live at my parents' house in the above-mentioned scenario. thanks JV

Hello there, I am hoping someone can help me with my question as I cannot even begin to think where to research/google my query. We had an accident while driving our car abroad (EU), we skidded and hit the side road barrier. My husband had a wrong breakdown cover and when we found out about it we didn't know what to do as the car was not "drivable"; so we rang the insurance company thinking they would suggest something helpful. However they didn't and we had to find a local mechanic to carry out the repairs. We thought nothing of it on our return but now our car insurance is due for renewal and to our surprise our insurance premium went through the roof due to our accident. We didn't claim a penny from the insurance, paid for all repairs, hotel etc, there was no one else involved in the accident and there was no damage to the road or a side barrier so we don't understand why the insurance company penalised us for it. Has anyone had any similar experience and would know if we should be declaring this when renewing the insurance? Would be greatful if anyone could point us in the right direction! Thanks in advance!

Hi All, I have a number of payday loans and cannot currently pay the debt (£1000). I am leaving the UK next month and will be living in Canada for a number of years and then in Ireland for four years. If I was to return to the UK to live it would be in six or seven year’s time. Can someone please advise me on what the consequences are of walking away from the loan companies and ignoring the debt? It seems like a desperate option but may be my only one. Any advise welcome. Many thanks.

Hello I hope ive posted in the right place, really need some advice. I went to Australia last month & stayed with my sister. Having heard the horror stories of people spending hundreds on using their phones abroad i made sure i was very careful. I've got an iphone & turned off the roaming. I only called my emails & did internet searches when using my sisters wi fi at her home. I did use the internet a couple of times & got messages from orange saying i had used 10mb. This made me use it less. In the last few days of our holiday Orange says i connected 9 times. This was a day when we were at my sisters house all day & her wi fi was on. I was also double checking that the wi fi signal at the top of the iphone was on before using. I've just spoken to Orange who were quite nice but told me i had spent £639 in internet charges!!! I had calculated this to be around the £35 mark so i am completely shocked & have no idea of what to do next. They are definately trying to charge me where i thought i was connected to wi fi (im good with phones, so i would have known if it was just the mobile internet connecting. Any advice on what to do next most appreciated, i think im being taken for a ride