Hi there, First post! I'm looking for advice about how to make a compensation claim against lloyds bank for what they did to me re: snowballing charges and a packaged account. In short, I was a student for four years. In this time I was paying for a silver account, not a student account. I had a large overdraft from ft working before uni (£1200) and was told I was ineligible for a student account as this silver account was taken out when I was working. To get a student account I would need to close this and pay off all the overdraft. I told them I was a student so couldn't afford to just pay off all the overdraft so they put my account into debt collections and I had to pay it off at around 50 a month. I remember vividly being told I had to speak to debt collectors on phone and being told I had no choice to do this otherwise my limit would be removed and student loan would be swallowed. I was hit with snowballing bank charges - one Xmas they totalled 220 then 100 in January. I struggled to pay these charges as a student. As well as this I was paying overdraft interest. I was in trouble financially - I paid the overdraft off by borrowing from another bank,, I had two credit cards and most of my spare money from part time job earnings was on paying off debt. On graduating I went into DMP in 2009. I look back and like most young people, I knew no better and worried and just accepted what they said - the best they offered me is downgrading my account to non fee paying- I should t have been on it anyway as I have no recollection of signing up for travel or motor insurance benefits- I dont drive. now , obviously I've been around the block with credit and I've clawed my way back to good credit at last. I look back and I feel very angry that they took thousands from me as a student. I tried to reclaim bank charges from them before the test case and they put it on hold and then smugly wrote to me saying the case said they didn't have to pay out. But aren't there two issues here? One that I shouldn't have had that account, and secondly that their charges came at a time when I simply could not afford them and they were causing me distress and worry. Does anyone know on what grounds I could complain to them and how to go about it? Was this technically unlawful or unfair. I don't want them to get away with this as it made things very difficult for me in the past. Thank you in advance!

Can anyone tell me what the law is on planning application time limits are? Do the council have to place a notice on the building that is the subject of the planning application and if so do they have to allow a certain amount of time between posting the notice and actually making a planning decision? Thanks in advance.

A marston agent attended my property and wrongly executed a warrant that had been dealt with by the issuing court. The court in question had not relinquished the warrant but I had all the relevant paperwork to prove it had been dealt with but the bailiff refused to take that s proof or let me call the court for them to clarify. I was not at home at the time but my heavily pregnant partner was, by the time she called me she was hysterical and in floods of tears. The agent had terrorised her with threats saying that he was going to remove goods unless payment was made in full and that he was not going to accept the paperwork that proved the warrant should not have been executed. I spoke to him and explained that it had been dealt with in court and a call to the court would get it rectified but he point blank refused and said that if I didn’t make payment now he would get the removals van. I felt that I had no choice as I was extrememely concerned about my partner’s condition being so heavily pregnant. I paid over £1000 over the phone and when I got home a quick call to the court proved I was right. It has now taken since January 12th 2015 to this day, still with no proper investigation or response from Marstons directly answering my complaints that I find myself at my wits end with them. I have 2 active complaints which are currently being ignored by their ‘customer care’ team, I have written and emailed their board and I am still to get any kind of response. I have notified CIVEA and they are fully aware but won’t act until Marstons have exhausted their 3 stage complaints procedure. I really do not know what to do now. All I want is my money and compensation for what I have reasonably incurred due to them not refunding my money and the financial distress it has caused me and my family. Can anybody help?

Hi, I received a letter in the post today with a cheque attached for £50. I have dialed the number for customer services but no anwer just automated then music. I have an old debt to Capital Bank lost my job and defaulted but think it was after 2007 so if they passed the debt out to a DCA would be around 2009. Anyway things going through my mind 1) is this just an out an out $cam 2) Is this a clever new DCA technique I bank the cheque they now have my confirmed home address and my bank account can be identified from the account it is cleared through. 3) Just paranoid about my past catching up to me, it is legitimate. Thanks [ATTACH=CONFIG]58079[/ATTACH]

I recently ordered a Vanity unit from Bella Bathrooms (online store). After receiving and installing I found a pin hole size mould crack at the bottom of the sink (manufacturing fault). This was causing a leak under the wash basin. After contacting Bella Bathrooms they agreed to replace the damaged sink for a new one however I have following 2 issues 1) I will now have to pay one day plumber call out charges £100 for removing the old sink and replacing and sealing the new wash basin. 2) After agreeing to deliver the item I've now been told that they wouldn't have same item in stock until June which is nearly a month away. I will be suffering as currently installed sink is leaking due to having a mould crack. Can someone kindly advise if I am entitled to claim £100 that I would now have to pay to re install my wash basin (this doesn't even include any extra cost such as cost of silicone and other materials that I would have to pay to re seal the wash basin), and what are my options apart from waiting until June. Am I covered by any rights as this purchase was not physically made with in a store? At present I've contacted Bella Bathrooms to get compensated for £100 labour charges and they have blatantly refused saying its not their policy. Any help will be highly appreciated

Airline passengers hit with long flight delays continue to have compensation claims delayed or turned down despite a court ruling almost a year ago that was meant to have settled these once and for all. Rules state that passengers flying with an EU-based carrier or from an EU airport who reach their destination more than three hours late can claim up to €600 (£448) plus expenses, per person if the delay is within the airline’s control. Airlines can only refuse payment if the delay was the result of an “extraordinary circumstance” beyond their control and, previously, many had been claiming that routine technical problems fell under this definition. Yet a ruling, upheld by the high court last summer, should have changed that. It involved a claim by Ronald Huzar against budget airline Jet2.com for a delayed flight. The airline said there was an unforeseen technical problem, amounting to “extraordinary circumstances” meaning it did not have to pay compensation. Judges ruled against Jet2 and this was upheld by the Supreme court last October. It was hoped the ruling would clarify the strength of this common reason used to refuse a payout, but airlines continue to dig their heels in and ignore or contest the outcome. http://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/may/11/airlines-ignore-court-rulings-over-compensation-for-delayed-flights

Hi all, i usually read the forums but dont post but i got a letter you might all be interested in this morning, i have received a letter from Wonga this morning re: historical debt collection practice. I have had the usual "you were affected" emails ect but this one actually offers compensation and refund. Its a low offer of £56 pound but they are also enclosing forms to request an individual assessment where they are asking what difficulty you incurred ect because of this, evidence of other loans i had to get out due to pay them back. I was at one point in deep to payday lenders and have in majority paid them back (one still on my dmp) so was wondering if you guys think i should accept the offer.

Just had a call from Wonga - trying to trace me to discuss compensation - well they had an old address from about 7 years ago so are sending me the 'pack' which I have to complete and return... Funny thing is today I was going through old paperwork and starting to chase on pension plans - so this ties in nicely! Hopefully it will be a reasonable offer - it should be as I was one of the ones they sent to their bogus solicitors AND it was them who attempted to empty my bank account AND also ignored the DMP people I was briefly with. Hope to make a small donation when their funds clear.

Hello - can I ask for some advice please? I have found an almost complete set of statements from Sep 1998 to May 2002. It covers an Alliance & Leicester credit card now taken over by Santander. I have to say that Santander have previously been good within limits - paid out when statements missing and very quickly. Of course, we should never have been in this position to start with but they do seem keen to be seen to be doing the right thing, unlike many others. My questions are these: 1. Given that the start date is so long ago, if I went legal, the compound interest is likely to make the award much larger than using the simple interest method. Can you please point me towards the spreadsheet that would enable me to work out the likely award please? 2. Also, how long does court action take, typically? What I might do (as they are likely to make me an offer within the next 2 weeks) is to suggest a compromise settlement to avoid court action but need to know what the likely sum is to start that discussion I think. Thanks very much for your help

A county court ruling today confirmed that airline Jet2.com can no longer put the payment of delayed flight compensation on hold. The ruling could potentially affect thousands of passengers with similar flight delay compensation claims in the UK. A CAA spokesperson said: 'The judgment of District Judge Jenkinson at Liverpool County Court reaffirms our longstanding view that airlines should abide by the ruling handed down by the Court of Appeal in Jet2 v Huzar last year. 'There is no reason for airlines to place claims on hold and we fully expect them to pay passengers the compensation they are due.' http://www.which.co.uk/news/2015/02/airline-ordered-to-stop-delaying-compensation-396591/

I recently sold a phone RM special insured delivery through amazon which arrived damaged (the phones sim tray was crushed in transit), the person who bought it off me sent it back without the original packaging as they chucked it away. RM are refusing to compensate me either for the value of the phone, (150) or the repair of the phone (50) as I can not provide the original packing. Is there anything I can do?

Hello, In 2012 a drunk driver crashed into my car and I had various injuries. There is a dispute with the third party insurers on the amount of compensation requested by my solicitor which they set at £48,000. The insurers have admitted liability, although a court date is set for March. My solicitor had stated that they would make an offer before going to court and I have now received a formal offer of £11,100 in the form of a judicial tender ! The letter advises that if I decide to go to court and the judge offers the same amount or less then im liable for all expenses which could be £40,000 plus I have made an appointment with an advocate for next week to discuss options. Obviously its only myself who can make the decision on where to go with this but has anyone else been in this situation where they have escalated this to court? Ta

Hello all, just after some opinions if you will. I placed an order with a company for some blinds that were advertised as next day delivery. This ended up being two days later as I placed the order late on the first day. I heard nothing from them on the first day, and on the day of delivery they contacted me at 2pm telling me that the blinds were out of stock and they wouldn't be able to deliver them for another 3 months (!). I was told to order another product, which I did, that was eventually delivered some time after the initial delivery was expected. I told them in my initial complaint (over the phone) that I was very displeased as I would have to take another day off work and they provided no satisfactory explanation as to why they felt it was OK to not bother letting me know they couldn't deliver until the day of delivery, when they would surely have known that they couldn't complete the request the day before. With this in mind I asked them to compensate me for the additional day off I had to take due to their failure to deliver. They refused despite me telling them they were liable for this. As such I have filed with the small claims court for the amount I would have been paid that day. They have filed a defence, citing the following: 1) At no point did I refer to time being of the essence (surely ordering Next Day means this was obvious, but I did tell them clearly when I made the first complaint before I ordered an alternative product) 2) I did not inform them of my intention to take a days annual leave (I told them I needed them urgently and time was of the essence, the earliest delivery date was a weekday, and I told them I would have to take another day off and could they assure me they could deliver on this date, which they did) 3) They could have delivered to my place of work (they couldn't, as I work in a secure government building and in any case expecting me to move two very large blinds 45 miles home on a rush hour train to suit them is not reasonable) 4) They state in their terms and conditions that the delivery date is an estimate only and subject to change (is it reasonable that they do this on the afternoon of the day they are expected to deliver? I don't think so) 5) The option to cancel was available to me when they said the order was delayed (I still required the product so I do not view this as relevant, my time had already been wasted). The court have suggested that I attempt to mediate, I could do this but my question is whether or not I am likely to succeed if I take it in front of a judge. I think my chances are good given they didn't bother telling me until the day they were due to deliver that they couldn't satisfy our agreement. Thoughts please, however critical... Thanks!

Morning Everyone, I was hoping to get some much needed advice from anyone who may be going through or has gone through and claim with Barclays bank. To give you an overview of the situation; about 9 months ago my business account was frozen by Barclays due to a technical error which concluded in my funds going from £20,000 to - £3,500,000 overdrawn. During that period I had no access to any funds and no money could go in or out. As a result two contract which were signed and dated during the error were unable to be fulfilled resulting in a loss of profits close to £62,000 both customers being unhappy with my service (understandably as it took 4 months to resolve the issue with Barclays) have decided not to use my services in the future. Everything was clearly documented and sent to the FOS who put in a claim to Barclays for the £62,000 but was rejected on the grounds Barclays have within their terms and conditions a clause which protects them from paying out for any loss of business as a result of any internal or 3rd party errors. Clearly I am distraught as not only have I lost out of both of the contracts but I was also forced to close down the business during the four months it took to resolve the original issue. If anyone has any information it would be greatly appreciated.

Hi people, sorry if this is in the wrong forum but cant find any thing like this, I need your help, I am looking into getting compensation for my father in law, he is deaf and as been for about last15 yrs, I have heard and seen in the media if you worked in the coal mining or engineering industry, that he my be able to claim compensation but I cant find were to write to, all I seem to find is solicitors or claims companies, I don't want him to be paying these guys if I can do it for free, any help please.

For full story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30413572

Hello Not sure this in the right forum. I have a very difficult situation here that I want you to help me to solve as soon as possible. I have removed names, companies and numbers for now. I have difficulty paying my credit card, which I have for security reasons, what with a house move and Christmas coming along, it will be very difficult for me, financially. I was so desperate that I have contacted loan companies, one of them has contacted me, I feel very anxious about it. I wonder if you can help me with this. I felt that £2,500 would clear my card and have something left over in my bank account for my move and for Christmas. I selected 24 months to pay it off as I was optimistic that I could afford the repayments. Now I know why my bank and other companies turned me down for a loan. On Wednesday I had a telephone call from a loan company. The man on the phone said said that he could offer me a £2,500 loan but under certain conditions. First of all he said that I had to pay a £100 deposit into a bank account. He forced me to pay £100 into the account of someone who is supposed to be the Managing Director. This man then insisted that I purchased £225 in UKash receipts at 2.02 pm and 2.03 pm - one was for £115.00, and the other was for £110.00 at my local off-licence. He made me quote the numbers on the receipts over the phone. He then said that he still had problems with the loan and asked me for a further £350 for in UKash receipts, late saying that he would accept £250, and then he would deposit my loan into my bank account. I have never applied for a loan before, but I have to say that this feels so suspicious that I have had to depart with £325 of my money, and another £250 of it. He said that I would have to get this out of my bank account tomorrow morning as I don't any funds in until my money comes in tomorrow - when my benefit money comes in. I have asked if I could cancel this, but the man says that I can't. I was so distressed over the phone. I have looked up this man's name online and I found out that I wasn't the only one who had been duped by this. I feel sick and drained that my money has gone like that, and I feel that I am not going to get the loan deposited. It is disgusting because I trusted this man. Is there anything you can do to help me with this with the information I have given you? I don't want to get more money out of my bank tomorrow, and I have a gut feeling that I am not going to get this loan. I have been so badly affected by this that I want compensation as well as my money back so I can live normally. I live on my own and I have Asperger Syndrome, and I was already struggling as it was. I am going to move house soon. My family normally have money in supply for me, but because they have been buying furniture for the new flat, I doubt there would be much left at the moment. I only have £17 in my bank account. Tell me how can I pay £1,440, with £325 on top of that, Credit Card bill? I only have 1% of that money in my bank account, and it will take me years to clear it now. I only get just over £300 in benefits. I was clearing the card ready for the house move. Going back a couple of years, I could complete pay it off, but now I can't. I have bank account listing the payment as the UKash slips as evidence. I also have the details of the account number and sort code of this Managing Director as well. Please help me. I have learnt my lesson if one has to be learned.

Hi Team, I moved to a 2 bed furnished flat via a letting agent. Before moving into the property one of the bedroom didnt had bed in it, so we asked letting agent to request landlord to put the double bed in the 2nd bedroom for which landlord agreed in phone call with agent. After agents confirmation, we moved into the flat as the landlord said he will arrange the bed in 1 week time. Its been 3 months landlord didnt arrange the double bed for the 2nd bedroom. Due to which i had to sleep on the floor from last 3 months, and my wife and 6 months little kid sleep on the main bedroom. Now when agent trying to follow up with landlord, he says he didnt agree for it, and is happy to arrange single bed. For which i am completely against as we didnt agree for the single bed. Between the letting agent and landlord the conversation happened in the letting office infront of us, and the letting agent said...these phone conversations are recorded. I have a written email confirmation from letting agent about the conversation. Now i have sent a written email asking for compensation from letting agent for this sub-standard services, due to which we are having this mental and physical pain. I am seeking the compensation of 1000 pounds for 3 months, and the admin fees i paid i.e. around 400 pounds. FYI...i pay 1050 pounds rent per month, so claiming 300 per month. I send rent directly to landlord as agreed, the letting agent is not managing the property. can you please help, whether i am in right path for claiming compensation Regards, Vamsi

Since being involved in a very minor, no fault accident, where no one was injured, I have been harassed by numerous companies encouraging me to claim for compensation which could be up to £3000. It was suggested that I might suffer twinges due to tightening of the seat belt or possibly getting a headache in the next few weeks which could be attributed to the accident. I was even informed that the other party had claimed even though I know she was not injured - she was very apologetic. Apparently this money has to be set aside, by law and if not claimed goes into the insurer's pocket so I might as well have it!!(I was told). I believe that the only way these companies could have acquired the details would have been from the Insurance companies involved - Aegeas in our case and Halifax in the case of the third party. This practice surely needs to be stopped and must be in breach of data protection. I cannot believe that this practice is legal and if it is then the law needs to be changed.

Hi guys, i recently had a holiday abroad and booked a transfer with Greyhound from Cardiff to Bristol Airport. The bus turned up and was overheating, so the driver told us they wouldnt be able to take us and a replacement would come and pick us up within 30 mins. Nearly an hour later it still had not arrived and a number of us had to make a decision on the spot to catch the next train to Bristol to ensure we made our flight. We had to pay £24 for the train and then a further £30 for a taxi from the station to the airport. We actually got the the airport with only 12mins before the gat closed - luckily we had hand luggage for a long weekend or we would have not made it!! I have written a recorded letter to them complaining about the service and the fact that i want my £10 one way trasnfer refunded, along with the costs incurred because their bus broke down. The total between the 3 of us was about £84 inc posting the letter etc. I have not heard anything back despite royal mail showing it was signed for 3 weeks ago. I emailed them after a fortnight stating that i knew they received my complaint and expected a reply yet nothing. Can anyone advise how i move forward as im unsure if they are regulated by anyone, as i cannot push onto the FOS liek i would with a financial org? Small claims? Or should i sent a follow up first? Many thanks!

Households are being alerted to a new [problem] that involves fraudsters purporting to be from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). [problem]mers are reportedly calling households claiming to be from the FOS, which deals with complaints from consumers about the financial services industry, and telling the person on the phone that they need to pay £150 to “release” compensation for which they applied. The FOS said it would never "cold call" households and that the service was completely free, so it would never ask for money. It has said a customer had been in touch to warn of the [problem]. It advised anyone who had received a suspicious phone call to call it directly on 0300 123 9 123. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/11135365/Ombudsman-warns-of-new-150-compensation-fee-[problem].html

Hello everyone, I hope you can help me. I have just finished with a 5 year case of clinical negligence, that I won. I am being paid compensation for injurys (which are pretty severe) to me thanks to this negligence. I claim Housing Benefit as the condition precludes me from work, I claim no other benefits - my wife works and she is lucky enough to run her own business. She does however claim some Tax credits as a lower income worker. We get by, just. This compensation will be great for us, but I have a real problem with actually telling the housing benefit about this. I'm not trying to be selfish here, or circumvent the system but this compensation is to help me with not being able to work. While I appreciate the help I'm getting from the DWP, the money we are getting will cover our debts, buy some things around the house for me, and ya know what to hell with it, we are going to spend some!! I just want to know where I stand with this. It's not a fortune, it wont last longer than 6 months (although my injuries are for life - gotta love this countries red tape) and I really feel that I should say nothing. I need some advice, I really dont know what to do. Thank you for your help, it is appreciated. Kutter

Hey During 2012/2013, I was in a large mess with over ten payday loans but i am now pleased to say they have now all been paid off. Learnt my lesson, let me assure you. Thanks to this site, i managed to get repayment plans in place and get rid of the ridiculous charges and fees. However, i have noticed the news concerning Wonga recently about writing off debts. A relative of mine also recently got a letter from Money Shop, refunding a small amount of interest on his debt that has already been paid off. Anyways, i'm just curious if there's any grounds to write/complain to these payday lenders and seek a refund back of any interest/charges? I'm not the type to expect money back from my own mistakes but if these payday companies have wronged me then i would like back any money i shouldn't have paid. Any advice on this would be appreciated

Hi, I wonder if anybody can help me out here. I got a letter from Wonga yesterday and it's paraphrased below. I'm now working away from home over the weekend so can't post the full piece until Monday but I've included all the important parts below. Because of the letters I received I'm due compensation of either £195 or I can go for an individual assessment. Should I choose the assessment the offer then becomes null and void. My debt with them is now with a 3rd party and will become statute barred in about 14 months. I made some stupid decisions when I was a student and am now paying the price for it - as a result I'm fairly certain that I could argue the whole debt should be written off as I would not have met their new lending criteria. My question is twofold. 1. Should I accept the compensation and wait for the default to drop off my credit file? But if I accept the compensation am I then acknowledging the debt and risking it not being written off in 14 months. 2. If I ask for an individual assessment am I then still acknowledging the debt and potentially starting the cycle all over again. Going over some old bank statements I paid £790 towards this before allowing myself to default. So, basically, accept the £195 and be done with it or fight for more? Thanks SP

I am confused about the new rules for interest on discrimination awards in the Employment Tribunal when the case spans the 29th July 2013 and the rate changed from 0.5% to 8.0%. I understand the bit that says interest is payable at 8.0% if the respondent does not settle within 14 days of the remedy judgement but am having difficulty with the rest. For example if a discriminationary event took place on 29th July 2010 and a liability hearing on 29th July 2012 found in favour of the claimant and a remedy hearing on 29th July 2014 awarded compensation for injury to feelings and psychiatric damage plus an award for loss of earnings what rate of interest is applicable? Does interest accrue at 0.5% up to 29th July 2013 then 8.0%? Can anyone give an example with numbers?