Royal Mail and Trading Standards have joined forces today to crack down on [problem] mail in the postal system across the UK. Under the initiative, Trading Standards will decide whether mail is a [problem] and alert Royal Mail, before writing to the company requesting they stop posting the items. Alongside this, Royal Mail will warn the company about its actions before cancelling its contract if it continues to post s c a m mail. Here's how you can now help stop s c a m mail – just cross out your details on the envelope, re-address it with FREEPOST – S C A M MAIL and pop it back in a post box. http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/news/crackdown-on-[problem]-mail-delivered-to-residents-homes-sept14

I bought a used car (120K miles) from a local dealer 4 weeks ago. As I am not familiar with roads and directions (always! shame on me!), I made it clear that the Sat Nav system on the car is very important, and I needed them to update for me before I took the car. Then the sales person suggested that they will replace the DVD disc (the map data) after several days. And they wrote it (says "sat nav disc to follow version xx on date xxx") on the sales invoice. And I paid full amount (£5K+) and drove the car away, and made several hundreds of travel, then I found sometimes the sat nav system not accurate on some rural roads (the current disc is for 3 years ago!), and sometimes I had to make U-turn's. This really annoyed me and today I visited the dealer in person to take my new version map disc, and the sales guy said "not arrived yet" and asked me to wait. But it's been more than 3 weeks! And they told me they will order from eBay and normally it would be 3 days! Also I felt that guy was playing on me, and I lost my trust in him. Another thing impact my confidence on them: I think that sales person overcharged me 30% because when I bought the car insurance online, the website actually showed me the estimated value of that car. I don't want to have more contact with them, i.e. warranties 12 months (I bought extended one), I want to return the car to them, and get my money back (more than £5K). Can I use the fact that "sat nav disc not been delivered in a reasonable time" as part of the "sales contract" (actually "sales invoice"), return the car and get full refund? I think I would take action asap because it's been 3 weeks since I drove the car away from them. Any advice please?

I am so annoyed on 24/06/2014 I sent a first class signed for package which is actually my tenancy agreements, bank records etc which we have to send onto the estate agents within 7 days or we can loose not only the house but our £200 for the admin of receiving and dealing with the tenancy agreements. Royal mail website still shows they have not delivered my package and I am worried that this has been lost. Our landlord will not keep the house off the market long before re listing for other tenants to apply. Any ideas?

Ordered an item online, was 'delivered' by myHermes. Used the tracking info the company gave me, and on the day it was due to be delivered, I waited in for it. I've never had any problems whatsoever with myHermes, but upon reloading the tracking page, it said "Delivered - left in porch". Problem is, we don't even have a porch! I contacted both the company and Hermes to find out what happened and what I can do next. Hermes said they spoke to the local courier, who says the item was left on the doorstep through a side gate, and could not be seen from the road. However, we share our gate with another flat, and the gate itself isn't in great condition so could have blown open. Either way, surely our doorstep isn't a 'safe place' to leave an item? They could have used the shed at the end of the garden (which other couriers tend to use) or even my son's play house would have been more secure than the doorstep! After hearing back from the company I ordered from, they've said that unless I can prove the item wasn't delivered, then there's nothing I or they can do, as it shows 'item delivered'. Am I out of luck (and £30) now then?

I bought an item (via ebay & paypal) on 10th march, which was never delivered - seller disappeared. I opened an ebay case on 29th April, which has resulted in them telling me i "cannot escalate the case to a claim for refund due to expiry of Ebay's 30 day timeframes for submission" This is not a legal reason to deny my refund and Ebay are simply cutting down on their internal adminstration by blocking people from claiming refunds after 30 days has elapsed. I intend to challenge this by submission of proceedings against Ebay Europe SARL via the Moneyclaim county court service in the UK. moneyclaim.gov.uk Has anyone ever done anything similar, any advice appreciated..

Hi I have just had a letter delivered to me personally by a guy at my door and its a statutory demand under s.268 of the insolvency act 1986. Debt for liquidated sum payable immediately. HELP !! what is this, are they forcing me to go bankrupt ??? it says i have 18 days to apply to court to set aside demand. This if for an old MBNA account that I CCA'd and they sent a copy application form so I have not been paying it - its a really old account ive had it since probably 1990 and its for £14,727. Im really worried that they are going to make me bankrupt so any help would be appreciated. Thanks cw

on numerous occasions i have informed the local authority and their agents for parking fines that my mail cannot be trusted to my address. recently i received a fine stating that i did not answer the previous letters although i did not receive them. i wrote to them explaining this and i was told to use recorded or special delivery as this is only legal way to prove that the letter was delivered. and i was told by them on many occasions that proof of posting is not proof of delivery. do i have any legal standing against them for the same thing?

We bought a 3 piece suite from CSL last year, ordered in May, delivered in August. Through a fluke we recently discovered we haven't actually got the suite we had ordered. What was delivered is a similar suite, same colour, roughly the same size, but different name, and £795 cheaper than what we ordered. We are still paying for the suite we initially ordered. CSL (now Sofaworks) have offered to pay us the £795 difference or we can re-order the suite we asked for in the first place. We have been back to the show room to check out the suite we originally ordered and have decided we still want what we ordered as it's nicer. CSL are saying that because we have had our suite now for 6 months we must pay them £500 as a usage fee. We don't have small children, we don't have pets, we don't smoke and we don't sit on the suite eating our dinner. Effectively the suite is still in 'as new' condition. I feel aggrieved that I should have to pay CSL a £500 usage fee, for a delivery error which was fundamentally their fault, but which we have only just discovered. If anything we feel we should be compensated as for the last 6 months we've been paying for a suite we didn't order. Can anyone advise me where I stand here? Am I obliged to pay CSL for their error? Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Kind regards, Andy

Washing machine delivered late afternoon today. Guy removed the old one and plumbed and plugged in the new one. He said it was ready to go, so I assumed he'd switched it on and off to confirm this to himself. Once he'd left I tried it but there's no power whatsoever. I've changed the fuse but it's not that. I'll be on the phone first thing tomorrow, but what are my rights? Surely I'll get a replacement? They can't have the brass neck to to take it away to repair or order a new part when it's not worked from the word go? Any advice or experience like this from Currys from anyone?

Hope some one can help...ordered beauty products online 03.12.13, charged to credit card but have had no confirmation email. Have emailed them 4 times but am getting no response. Company based in USA and no branches in UK but 2 stores stock their products. What can I do? someone help please!

I ordered an item from a seller on Amazon back in March. I had forgotten about it as i tend to order a lot of things from there. I was checking through my orders last night and came across it and realised i had never received it. I sent an email to the seller explaining this and requesting a refund on the money i paid. I got this response: Thank you for your email. Unfortunately we require to be informed as soon as possible if an item has not been received, as we have to be able to investigate the whereabouts with the courier company in order to determine how best to proceed. As this order was placed so long ago, it has exceeded the time in which we can track the item or launch an investigation or claim, and so we would not be able to see if the item was delivered or lost etc, and cannot replace or refund the item. Even if the item had been received it would now be outside of it's warranty period and so we would not be able to take any action on this. I sincerely apologise for this, and for any inconvenience caused This seems a bit strange and i had a similar experience about two years ago and a longer time had elapsed when i figured it out, when i contacted the company they apologised and explained the item i had ordered was no longer in stock and refunded the payment i had made. Do courier companies have time limits as to when lost items can be investigated with them? The company i get deliveries from most often is Royal Mail.

Dear all. My wife has just told me about this, so it's possibly a damage reduction situation now. I don't know. She took out a loan, which I didn't know about, in 2002. (we were not married then). On Monday the 19th of August 2013 at 6 pm, there is a door knock and she receives a package. I was busy and thought nothing of it. Today she tells me about it. BW Legal have sent her a bunch of confusing terminology which translates into give us £7000+ within 18 days from the date of this letter or we will bankrupt you. The letter was dated the 1st of August. Recieved the day AFTER the 18 day period and just before a bank holiday weekend. What a co-incidence. As I write this I have no idea what she has done about this debt in the past. She tells me she once wrote making an offer, can't remember when this was, but it was never acknowledged. This may or may not have been over 6 years ago. She has written back to them in the last couple of days. "I've sorted it!" is all she will say. I have no idea how. She seems not to have a copy of a letter. Firstly, how does the letter being delivered late stand? There is no printed date stamp, no evidence of it's delivery date. She did write the date on the envelope when she read it though. What next? I need more info from wife. Until then any pointers would be gratefully received. Mike.

Hi could some one help me with this scenario ! i have recieved a statutory demand for a an old credit card but the date on the demand is dated 26 of march 2013 so seeing that it is now the 20th of april i presume they are trying to pull a fast one as u only have 21 days to apply to have it set asside ! what can i do now as i sent for the original cca in 2008 to Capital one they sent me a bodged up application at the time so i sent another letter saying it was now in dispute later that year i was sent another leter by then Lowell. i replied saying Capital one was still in dispute now this demand is from BWlegal !! help woukd be most appreciated !!

Well in all the time I have been dealing with the internet and deliveries worldwide inc two vehicles from USA, this is the first time I am getting shafted. I purchased two new turbochargers from arriva buses (new old stock) via ebay for my project vehicle. Paid the seller and paid £20 for TNT express delivery. Item was picked up from Arriva on the 25th october, seller gave me tracking and was told deliver would be tomorrow. I sat here most of the following day awaiting delivery as TNT don't give a time slot. I decided to check the tracking and it came up saying " please call " I rang up their freephone number and got their automated tracking assistant. gave it the details and it said "delivery address unknown" I was then transferred to a human assistant. They reeled off arriva's details, my details and then said "we haven't got the parcel " I'll pass you onto our customer service team. Spoke to them and they didn't know where it was, so I had to ring arriva to contact TNT to confirm collection with their paperwork and photos/description of box. TNT then spent the next few days (supposedly) finding it. Well the weekend came and went and nothing. Getting rather pizzed off with the crapshoot. I was just about to head out on the 30th to the vets when got a bang on the door. TNT driver thrust a computer screen under my nose for signature then dashes back to his truck for parcel. He brings the parcel to my front wall and drops it on the wall, grabs computer and buggers off without speaking a word. Well the box on inspection looks like it had been crushed as some point. TNT found the package, opened it and resealed it as the whole box is covered in their own " TNT resealed by PDC " Brought the package indoor carefully as bottom of box was hanging off and opened it which didnt take much and found one turbo is dinged but serviceable. The second one is locked up solid. Informed TNT straight away as well as the seller. Told seller I would take the locked turbo to a specialist nearby for inspection. Inspection revealed the turbo had been dropped on compressor side and bent the back plate , locking the turbine wheel. informed seller and Seller said we will put a claim in to TNT for the damage. I sent them pictures of the box as it arrived and the circumstances of delivery. TNT have thrown the claim out saying " we wasn't informed of delivery damage on delivery, under our term's and conditions" I have checked their website about claims at TNT How long do I have to report a lost or damaged consignment You'll need to notify us within 7 days of shipment loss, damage or delay. On receipt of a claim form, you should return it within 21 days of date of issue, fully completed and with all supporting documentation. and it says I had upto 7 days to inform of damage which was done. I want to claim off TNT as the seller did everything they could regarding delivery yet TNT damaged it. Can I make a claim in court on the basis that TNT were negligent in their duties as they KNEW the package was damaged before trying to deliver it??? Also the delivery driver KNEW the package was damaged and did everything he could to get out of here ASAP. I don't see how I can be held to their terms and conditions as I wasn't made aware of them when I spoke to them and I wasn't informed that the package had been found, was going to be delivered OR that they had damaged/resealed it. If people would like to see the package, I can post up pics

I arrived home from work tonight to find our new £900 sofa was in fact half of the one we ordered, and half of another one, as well as a two person footstool. This only became apparent when my wife unwrapped it. She phoned them straight away and they said they could only replace / collect next Monday (6 days away). I phoned to complain and they said the earliest they could collect would still be Monday. I do not have the room for this mismatch in my house and with an 11 month old baby its dangerous. Also, their returns policy on the website states that goods to be returned must not be used. Where do I stand? ...Yeah yeah I know...

I ordered a chest freezer online from Homebase, a Hotpoint RCNAA33P, but received a Hotpoint RCNAA250, a cheaper item. I didn't noticed that it was the wrong item until I had opened it and started reading the manual, in the process of opening it I cut open the packaging. Can someone advise, does my opening/damaging the packaging make any difference to my rights?

Hi, I ordered a couple of CD's before they went into administration but they still haven't arrived. I paid for them on my credit card but the total only came to £6. Do I have any rights or is the money lost There web site is down so cannot email they directly Thanks in advance JJ

Hi all I had a credit card with MBNA but stopped making payments in September 2007 when I was made redundant. Not long after I had an accident and have been unable to work since. I have today had a bailiff round handing me a Statutory Demand from BW Legal Solicitors on behalf of Lowell. The letter states that Lowell bought the debt from MBNA which I was unaware of. It states the Default date of 30 January 2010, I do not recall receiving this. The debt on the Demand is £1XXX, however I seem to remember the original debt was around £1300. I own my own home which has equity in it. I also owe other credit card companies, who I have not paid since 2007. I am on benefits due to my ill health and currently have 56 pence in the bank. Have no idea what to do. Please help.

I wonder if anyone has had a similar experience and can advise on the best approach. I sent three Christmas cards, including some Euro notes, in a larger envelope to my kids in France. The letter was delivered in a Royal Mail "Damaged post" plastic envelope but my envelope had obviously been steamed open, the contents removed and then been re-posted into the system. Not registered but I'm not sure that would have prevented this or helped apart from compensation, which I will go for anyway as the Royal Mail clearly stated it to have been damaged in transit. The Royal Mail site doesn't even acknowledge the possibility that such a thing could happen: loss - yes, damage - yes, delay - yes but theft? No. Any advice welcomed thankyou:|

Hi, my son ordered a new iPhone on contract to the 3 network. Between ordering it and the eventual delivery, my son changed address but notified 3 of this asap because of the expected delivery of the new phone. To cut a long story short, the phone was sent out to the old address and it has now gone missing, presumably stolen by the person who signed for it on delivery. According to the carrier's records, they were able to provide a name and description of the person who signed for the package, and it sounds like it was my son's ex-landlord, who has conveniently denied all knowledge. My son has given all this information to 3 when he requested them to put a block on the phone. The problem is that he is still being charged monthly even though he has no phone, and every time he contacts 3 on their robotic Indian call center, he keeps getting fobbed off by being told that he will receive a call from another department here in the UK, which he hasn't yet, despite it being weeks since it happened. I suspect 3 are quite happy to keep on receiving the monthly payment from my son, even though he has no phone, and they have told him that he cannot stop the contract either. Can anyone here tell me what is likely to happen next, or where is best to complain about this disgraceful service as my son is at his wits end and getting nowhere with these people.

Hi, I hired a web development ltd company to create an ecommerce website. All started really well, the 2 guys seemed nice etc. Note that it was a referral from another person i know in the design field. Estimated 4.5 total, done on the 'cheap'. as they called it. To start required 50%. Fine done & paid via business account. to what i Think the directors personal account or so he later claims is a business account. We in turn received a VAT invoice for the amount. One month was allotted to the project, first month went by, some light work on the design was done, not functioning very well. Month 2 I then sent a detailed plan of what was needed schematic if you like of the intended system. To keep them going they requested the request of the money, (50/50) optional, the stage was literally the design, no backend or anything. I said no, i havent seen enough to be satisfied to do that, they then said other projects will take over to help their cash flow, i said fine ok as long as its done in reasonable time for Christmas. There after they vanished from my skype/emails for about 2 months. I knew they are active because they have a website, and my designer is good friends with their client, word got back recently, sent me an apology letter. Before this recent letter he has cited personal fatigue issues and spent a month out of work (highly doubt), and the partner about to take leave. They were excepting far too much work in my opinion. Its now December i did get revised deadline of 3rd today, emails have exchanged. I decided i want my money back, he flat out declined and said if i wanted to continue the project i would now have cough up in full. It is their first year of trading and im definitely sure they have assets, but he did say to me in a recent email its not doing too well and may go into other areas.. I feel very cheated, i trusted these guys and the only thing i can think of is to go small claims. I only have NDA official agreement with them. i need advice on how to fight these guys, his responses when i became legal were very prompt, but he was very arrogant, stating he would win. I genuinely am from a poor background, i run a company which i built up with my uncle from the ground up, and we still dont make a great deal of money for the 75+ hours i work every week and That is a lot to me. Its these sorts of people that hinder the growth of this country. Thanks.

I ordered a kitchen to fit ourselves. On unboxing we find we have been given lots of oddments rather than what we ordered. Cannot get through by phone to their Customer Service and they do not answer our e mails. Evberything was tightly packed up and the deliverer as usual was in a hurry. As he put items down he said things like these are the doors, the drawers the ends etc. How do we get them to deiver right goods and take away unwanted items? Thanks

Ok, earlier today I was in a bit of a worry because of this Equita bailiff notification I received due to Council Tax money I owe. I made the mistake of ringing the MOBILE number given on the letter. The guy told me I owed certain amounts which I thought were massively disproportionate. He wanted to pop round mine to 'discuss the debts.' So I decided to leave that, because it felt dodgy. I rang Manchester City Council (whom I had called earlier and they had told me to contact the bailiff, which I'd done, unfortunately) and said I wanted to pay what I owe. I paid the sum to the Council, got my receipt reference number and whatnot. So the KEY debt is out the way. However, I go downstairs (I live in an apartment block) to go to the shop and find a NEW hand delivered letter by the door from the same guy I'd spoken to on the phone before. It reads like this: "BAILIFF REMOVAL Payment due in full - 24 hours I have attended today with the intention of removing your goods and chattels as are necessary to discharge the outstanding Council Tax Liability Order and any additional ENFORCEMENT COSTS incurred. No further arrangements are acceptable and payment is required in full in clear funds only. I will re-attend at your address with immediate effect and may REMOVE goods even in your absense. Should you wish to avoid this distressing course of action, contact me immediately on the telephone number below to arrange prompt payment of your debt. No contact will be taken as your refusal to pay." --- I've paid my Council Tax debt now though! What do I owe to to these bailiffs? Phantom visits? The guy didn't even ring my apartment buzzer. What course of action should I take to resolve this?

Hi all, went to see a Merc Sprinter van yesterday and it looked okay. I asked the seller (trader) if everything worked and he agreed. the van was dropped off at my house this morning and I went for a run in it after I had taxed it and insured it. I found the Speedo didn't work and the glowplug light was on constantly. I took it back to the dealer and he couldn't rectify the faults and told me he needed to contact an auto electrican and then get back to me. This afternoon, I have also found the heater is not getting hot, the interior lights don't work & there is no spare wheel. Where do I stand and what time limits do I have, he told me that he would give me 3 months warranty. Thanks in advance.

Hello this is my first post in this site so not sure if this is the right forum for my situation. i recently sold some artwork on ebay but when the buyer received it he complained to ebay saying he was not happy with goods and wanted refund.Ebay then told him to return goods to me,provide tracking information in order to be refunded. Ebay have since refunded the buyer and are asking me to reimburse them yet i have not received my goods back. I appealed to ebay and they said their decision stands as the buyer provided tracking information that delivery was attempted..yet i have received nothing back or any contact card to say delivery has been attempted..they have said goods could have been lost or left with a neighbour and i should look into this myself. Surely it is there job to look into this as they asked buyer to return? Any advice on where i stand with this or what action i could take would be greatly appeciated. My apologies the thread title i have written incorrectly,i should have said may have been delivered next door Thanks