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Hi all... I've never had any legal issues in my life, so this is a first for me. Here's the summary: I ordered something via the internet from a large company in Germany using paypal (total cost £50.) I received the item in December. This afternoon, I received an email from the company's lawyer saying that the paypal payment never went through, and they are demanding the intial payment + attorney fees, or they are going to sue me. I just checked my paypal account, and was genuinely surprised to find out that this wasn't a hoax of some kind. My payment didn't go through, which has never happened before with paypal. So I've gone ahead and sent the payment through again (this time it went through successfully.) My question is about the attorney fees they are demanding, which are more than the original item. I've never heard from this company since I made the purchase in December, no emails, phone calls, or invoices in the post. The letter from their solicitor says that they sent me an email, but I've checked my spam folder and I've never received anything from them. Am I responsible for their attorney fee if I settle the bill prior to them suing me? That seems crazy, as I've never heard from them before about any billing problem. Can they sue me in Germany for the legal fees, and would this somehow destroy my credit history? Thanks for any help... -
Hello guys, I hope the brains here can help me please. I am executor for my aunt, with another family member and a partner from the firm of lawyers who drew up the will and were nominated as executors with us. The papers have been submitted to the probate office by the lawyers and they have now submitted an interim invoice for over £5000 to us as executors. I had, perhaps naively, assumed that the bill would be due after probate was granted and the assets were distributed. Would we normally be expected to pay a bill ourselves at this stage? Do we have the authority to say that the lawyer can take the fees from the estate assets? We have incurred expenses personally on behalf of the estate that haven't been paid so far and now they seem to be asking us for money. This doesn't seem right. What do the experts think please? HB
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I would value your advice on how to respond to an offer from Xercise4less that hopefully would result in the closure of a dispute over my son's alleged membership arrears. In brief, my son and his friend joined Xercise4less last May on a monthly rate of £9.99 four months later when they went away to university they both cancelled. A month or so later my son noticed the monthly fee was still being deducted he cancelled the direct debit. Shortly after that he received a letter from Harlands claiming he was in arrears and that he owed monthly fees plus administration charges of £25. Others followed a month ago CRS sent him a letter (followed by a text) asking for fees of £66.50 as part of alleged arrears now totalling £166.45. He tried to contact Xercise4less by phone (no one ever answered) and by email (the company replied by referring him back to his local gym as central office hadn't received any evidence of the cancellation of his membership). More emails to the gym manager followed until he was told that in fact he was not a member of that particular gym - but of another one 6-8 miles away!! He had used the local gym for 4 months but no one had ever challenged him on the fact that apparently he wasn't even a member there... By this time the whole situation was annoying me as much as my son. I am regularly in pain and sleep is often difficult I vowed to resolve this matter once and for all. I emailed Xercise4less two days ago and this afternoon they replied. They asked for evidence of his cancellation from the gym (it was a verbal cancellation with nothing in writing). They asked for proof that he had moved to university (I have an email from his university with an accommodation tenancy agreement). Then came the money part of the offer, the bit I need your advice on... They said if evidence of relocation is provided a request would be submitted for his membership to be recalled from CRS. However this would need “a final £9.99 payment and a £20.00 administration fee” for the account to be fully closed down. My question is: should I pay any or all of those fees? -
In 2008, I stopped using Barclays as my current account provider and it turns out I was overdrawn by £18. I stopped checking online backing, etc as I didn't realise that I still owed them money (my fault, I know). Long story short, I now overdrawn by £1063, made up almost entirely of overdraft charges. Where do I stand in getting these charges negated? I would be grateful for any advice. Thanks
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New caps on financial claim fees
Michael Browne posted a topic in Payment Protection Insurance (PPI)
Fees for winning financial claims cases such as mis-sold payment protection insurance are to be capped, under proposals to protect consumers from high charges by some claims management companies (CMCs).The Ministry of Justice plans to cap the maximum completion fee at 15% on ‘bulk claims’ with a single lender, and cap the overall charge for claims worth more than £2,000 at £300. The government said the changes will stop companies charging ‘exaggerated prices’, which it said can amount to as much as 40% of total financial compensation. According to the government, CMCs have taken an estimated £3.5bn in charges since 2011. It said that there is ‘widespread concern’ from consumer groups, banks and insurers that CMCs continue to make speculative claims through aggressive marketing and nuisance calls. The proposals also include introducing a maximum ‘cancellation’ fee of £300 for bulk claims, as well as bans on referral fees for PPI or packaged bank accounts claims, upfront fees, and fees where no relationship is found between the consumer and a lender. The MoJ has also proposed capping the maximum fee to 25% of total compensation in any other financial cases. http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/new-caps-on-financial-claim-fees/5053644.fullarticle The consultation seeks views and further evidence in relation to proposals to: cap the maximum completion fee to 15% (including VAT) for bulk claims (such as mis-sold payment protection insurance claims) with a single lender and cap the overall charge for claims worth more than £2,000 in total to £300 introduce a maximum ‘cancellation’ fee of £300 for bulk claims when a consumer cancels their contract with a claims management company after the initial 14 day ‘cooling off’ period ban CMCs from receiving or making any financial payment for referring or introducing a consumer to a third party in relation to a PPI or PBA claim ban any fees where no relationship is found between a consumer and a lender ban all upfront fees for all financial claims, where CMCs ask to be paid before any work is carried out cap the maximum completion fee to 25% (including VAT) of the final amount of compensation awarded in all other types of financial case https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/cutting-costs-for-consumers-finanical-claims -
Hi, I urgently need advice on dealing with Harlands, Here is the story so far. Me and my boyfriend signed up to our local Lifestyle fitness gym, under a 12 month contract. Both memberships were set up to be debited from his account. 8 months in, he got a letter saying that there weren't sufficient funds to pay his membership, so they were asking for the £15 for the months membership, and a £25 admin fee. We went into the actual gym and asked if the other membership (mine) had been paid for, and they said that only one of our memberships was suspended, so one must have been paid. I then got a letter saying that mine hadn't been paid, with them asking for the same amount (£15 membership and a £25 admin fee). Because I had not changed my address with them (completely my fault) my letter got to me late, so when they tried to take the £40 out for my membership, they couldn't take it, and I got a letter explaining a charge. 'Your bank have advised us that our submission of £40.00 to cover the previously returned instalment plus the administration charge has been returned "refer to payer". You have now incurred a further £25.00 charge and are £60.00 in arrears.' 'Your next instalment is due in a few days time but we will not make another submission until the outstanding £65 is paid'. They then carry on to say I had to call by 27/10 to avoid further charges. I didn't call as I was unable to contact them during their opening hours due to other commitments. I have recently received another letter which states - 'We refer to our previous letter and note that you have not contacted us. You have now incurred a further £25 charge and are £105.00 in arrears. Under your Membership Agreement, you have promised to pay this debt. If you continue to refuse to honour that commitment, we will have no option but to take further steps to collect the outstanding balance. We want to help you resolve this situation but you must call us. Ignoring our letters is only resulting in further charges being added. If you do not contact us by 13th November your balance of £135.00 will be passed to a debt recovery company who will add their fees to your account'. I've tried to read up as much as I can on what to do, but I'm just really confused now. Do I call them, so it doesn't get passed on to a Debt recovery company, or do I email them and only leave a paper trail? My dad had told me I need to call them and pay them the £135.00, but I don't understand how it could cost them £75 in administration. I can't afford to pay it and I don't know what to do because they just keep putting more admin fees on top of it and I feel like its going to spiral out of control.
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Hi all, Hoping somebody may be able to shed some light on my question.. I have a judgment against an individual. I have come to realise his name is misspelt on the judgment. Have been advised by the court to make a formal application to correct this using an N244 form 'Notice Application'. My question really is regarding what court fee I am supposed to pay. Ive read the official fee guide but it doesn't make it very clear regarding this type of application. Any thoughts? Ive already emailed the courts to ask but thought somebody may have the answer on here. Thanks in advance -
Hi everybody Looking for some advice. Read a few threads but no answers. In November me and some friends signed up for a 5a side football league. We signed up online and ticks a box which states: I accept full responsibility on behalf of my team to fulfil and pay for all fixtures for the season. I accept that once the fixtures have been done I cannot withdraw until a replacement team has been found. I agree to XXXXx's terms and conditions, and agree to abide by the rules of the competition. I am aged 18 or over. I read the terms and conditions and accepted. On the league advert, they also show two different costs. £30 and £28 Week one, we played and paid the match fee of £30. Was told there was 8 teams in the league. Week two, we played and again paid the match fee. However the teams had increased now to 10 teams in the league. we played a further 5 games and missed three fixtures, brining our total of games to 10 Knowing we missed a game, we was aware of the 'double match fee' and was expecting to pay £60. At no point was we asked for this is the following weeks of attending. We decided that we did not want to continue anymore so got in touch with the league and expressed we would not be able to fulfill fixtures and would be resigning. Knowing we would owe some money, I had an invoice arrive at my address saying we owed a 'single fee for the first missed fixture' and 'double fee for the second missed fixture' expecting to be charged £90. But in fact it was £108 A week later, I received a second invoice. It makes no reference to the first invoice. Instead now says: Fail to fulfil fixture- single fee £36 Fail to fulfil fixtures on xxx date and xxx date- double fee £120 Remaining games to end of season- 11@£60 £660 Total owed £816 My queries: 1- there is no date to pay stated, just a 'contact head office immediately' 2- on the league table, my team has played 9 games despite playing 10. So we have 8 remaining. £480 owed 3- when signing up, I joined a league and not a cup, yet we were added in for two weeks of cup fixtures. An extra 2 weeks worth of fees. 4- as described, first week there was 8 teams, second there was 10. In essence, does this technically mean the league have added on an extra 4 games and their fees onto our seasons costs. As when we registered, there was 8 Thanks for any support given
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Whilst in the process of dealing with a PCN that had reached the enforcement stage, that had become a mess due to Maidstone Council authorising Marston and Phoenix. I quickly paid off another that i knew i needed to be paid directly using Maidstone councils online portal. Unbeknown to me this had been passed on to the EA's (Phoenix in this case), i paid on the 27th of Aug, i have a letter that was dated the 24th of Aug that i hadn't opened or was aware of due to several reasons. This was the first letter in the process telling me i owed £187, £112 of which was to the council and the rest to Phoenix. I foolishly disregarded this as i had paid and i assumed it would be updated an Phoenix were no longer necessary. I then received a 2nd letter stating that i should pay now or face the enforcement stage, i also ignored this for the same reason as the last letter. Eventually someone called Miss Taylor turned up with a letter which she handed to my Mother, it said that i now owed £422 and she would return to collect goods from my mothers house, i instantly called her and disputed this and told her i had paid and gave the date. She denied this and called her office, she then called me back and said the amount was now £310. After this i tried to get some advice from a different forum, both by asking and reading similar threads. The advice i was given was that as i had paid during the compliance stage i was liable for the £75 but no other fees, and that the initial warrant couldn't be used to take any goods as the original amount had been settled. I understand it looks as if I've tried to get away with dealing with the Bailiffs but i happily would've paid the extra £75 to avoid this. My question is, is this advice correct? Or am i liable for the amount of £310. I have searched and read the forum for similar threads to mine but just wanted to make sure i got advice that was up to date and explicitly relevant to my situation so apologies if I'm going over old ground. Thanks in advance for any help or advice. -
Hello, Vodafone Reference Code: WRT135 [#12225718]. To cut a long story short, I would like to cancel my Contract without incurring the penalty fees due to Vodafone not providing the service I am paying for monthly (Sim Only Contract). I can provide the letter I have recently sent to Vodafone, which outlines the details in full, as an attachment if required. -
Hi, I was wondering whether it is common practice or indeed mandatory for fee costings to be declared upfront when contact is first made with a solicitor. Thanking you.
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A lady from Sheffield recently commenced court action against Unicom / Verastar to claim a refund of the termination fees she had paid to Unicom and also to claim compensation for the harassment she had to endure due to Unicom’s debt collection procedures. Unicom settled out of court and paid the full amount she had claimed. BBC Radio 4 ran an item about this on their You & Yours consumer programme and it can be heard by clicking here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06wc6qp Further details can be seen by clicking here http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2016/01/sheffield-dinner-lady-wins-compensation-from-troubled-uk-isp-unicom.html I think this will be of interest to people who have been faced with demands for termination fees from Unicom. -
Hi, I have just checked my Barclays account, only 2 payments ever come out of this account but I am constantly in my £1000 overdraft. I had a letter today saying that I had gone over which came as a shock to me as the money that goes in should more than cover what gets taken out but I havent paid anything towards my overdraft in a long time. They have changed their fees apparently and now I am being charged £26+ a month for my overdraft, I never signed up to this, I had the additions added on back in lets just say 2005 and havent signed or agreed to anything since. Are they authorised to do this and am I able to claim this back under financial hardship does anyone know Thanks -
Just a quick question, are the fees swinton charge legal £12 for processing a non direct debit payment and £24 for a bounced direct debit, so £36 in total?
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Millions of current account customers are being advised to consider their options, following an increase in fees, and changes in interest rates. From Monday, monthly charges on the Santander 123 account - held by 3.6 million people - will more than double. At the same time HSBC is cutting interest payments to customers on its range of cash Individual Savings Accounts (Isas). Barclays also announced more cash rewards for those who switch. The change in Santander fees - announced in September - will see customers paying £60 a year, instead of the previous fee of £24. The charge for its 123 credit card rises from £24 a year to £36. 'Do the maths' Last year the Santander account proved very popular, with more than 27,000 people switching to it in a single month. But experts said that - even after the changes -it still offered relatively generous interest payments of up to 3% a year, and cashback of up to 3% on some household bills. "Don't jump ship until you've done the maths," said Hannah Maundrell, editor in chief of advice site Money.co.uk. "To put it simply, you need to look at how much you're earning in interest and cashback. If it's less than the new £60 a year fee you need to take it as a wake-up call to seriously consider your options." MOre ...
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Hello, please can someone help me. The freeholder of my flat pursued me for unpaid service charges through small claims at the county court. I settled the first charge with at the court as a gesture to try and get things sorted. I was also under a lot of pressure has a family member had just passed away. The second charge was more substantial and included major works. This was transferred to the LVT. The LVT ruled that the service charges were not currently payable because the freeholder hadn't fully complied with Section 47 of the LTA 1987. However, they also said that i would have to pay once he issued the service charge form correctly. I have paid the outstanding service charges, though he still hasn't done any work to the property and in fact he never has. The LVT did not rule on the legal costs and transferred the case back to County court to make the determination. These legal charges are for over £6k, more than the service charge demands. His solicitor is relying upon the following clause, to recover the legal costs, in my lease which states: 'To pay all costs charges and expenses including Solicitors Costs and Surveyors’ fees incurred by the Lessor for the purpose of or incidental to the preparation and service of a Notice under Section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925 requiring the Lessee to remedy the breach of any of the covenants herein contained notwithstanding forfeiture for such breach may be avoided otherwise than by relief granted by the Court' Please can someone help. I saw that under CPR 27 legal costs in Small Claims are limited to £260 but there has recently been a case where legal costs were awarded because the lease took precedence (Chaplair v Kumari, 2015). In addition, i have just sold the property and it completes tomorrow. This is before the hearing is set to take place. I have also just asked for the claim to be struck out as the Claimant has not filed the statement of costs which were ordered to be served over 3 weeks ago. Please can someone help me. Many thanks in advance
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My Dad is 75 years old and in a conversation with him the other day he told me that Nat West were closing his account. He said it was one of those where he paid a monthly fee but never got anything out of it, he said he'd never used any services that it offered and when I asked how long he'd had it and why he'd taken it, he said that he'd had it probably 20 years (although his memory is a little hazy) and he said he hadn't asked for it, they just told him he was getting it.....I want to try to claim back his monthly PBA fees, should I start with a SAR request and take it from there? If so, which SAR letter do I use? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Millions have signed-up for Santander’s 123 account, but thanks to a change in fees, it is going to hit the pocket hard. From January, fees are going to almost triple. There’s around 3 million in the UK using the current account, and pay in £2 every month (or £24 a year if you prefer) and, in return, you get cash back on bills and a 3% interest rate. However, as of next year, customers will be paying £60 every year, which is £5 per month. If you have a smaller balance, you will invariably not reap the benefits. So if you have the minimum £3,000 in the bank, you will earn £90 in interest, with £60 of that gone in fees. That’s equivalent to a 1% interest rate. http://www.bitterwallet.com/santander-123-fees-hit-60/87779
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Hi everyone and thanks for this great forum! I'm very new to this so sorry if i get some things wrong. Here is a timeline of events: 03/08/14: I join the Newcastle branch of Excersise4less, being told it is a rolling contract of £9.99 and that I can cancel at anytime. The same day i head home to find an email telling me that my contract is in fact for 11 months. That's fine, I intent to go anyway. 25/08/15: 12 months of not going to the gym later and I start thinking that maybe this membership is a bit of wasted money. I cancel my Direct Debit and cancel my subscription in the gym. They note in the gym that a final payment of £9.99 will need to be taken on 2/9/15 as part of the 30 day notice period. As my direct debit was cancelled with the bank and was established with X4Less I figure they will just reinstate the DD for one final payment before closing the account. 02/09/15: No payment is taken, no attempt at any payment is made, bank records show nothing from Harland and X4Less. 15/09/15: I received a text from X4L Informing me as follows: "Dear Member. Your account has gone into default due to you cancelling your direct debit. To prevent further charges being added please call us on 01132038602." The number goes to Harlands debt collection and they inform me that I owe them the £9.99 (fair enough) and a £25 admin charge as a penalty. I told them I was not prepared to pay the admin fee, but they wouldn't budge. I don't really know where to go from here. Should I contact the gym direct as see if I can settle the outstanding £9.99 with them? Or should I dispute the matter with Harlands? Point 6 of my contract does state that they can charge a £25 admin fee for returned DDs or cheque. But the DD wasn't returned it simply was never claimed. It also just seems very harsh. Any help would be appreciated. I look forward to the responses.
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Hello Guys I hope you can help me. In June I started working for an Accountant on a self employed basis. Each week I would send over my hours/invoice, he would raise an invoice to client and once it was paid, so would I be. The problem arose due to the fact that this Accountant is the most obnoxious, patronising and rude person I have ever had the misfortune to meet. Not only did he continually harass me by bombarding me with text messages, emails etc. He was also always rude to the client which put me in a difficult position. I work for other accountants quite happily and they did not want half the stuff that he kept asking me for. In the end I told him by email that I would not sign his contract and that once it finished (when the Director who signed it left in November) I did not want to work with him anymore. I was approached by the actual owner of the Company who said that he would like me work with the new director and on his other companies on a self employed basis directly. The other accountant was informed and has threatened them with legal action of a "finders fee" on 15% up to 35K or 17.50% over 35K. My understanding was that finders fees were only due if someone was taken on in "employment". Also I have looked at the Companies Contract with him (which I have attached) and it does not say anything in their contract regarding a finders fee. I have also attached a copy of my contract which I told him I would not sign and although it mentions a "possible" finders fee in my contract, surely it would have to mention that also in the Company contract. This chap is threatening legal action and I getting quite stressed out. Can someone please have a look and let me know if he has a leg to stand on. Many thanks
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Apart from other upfront known fees and charges, Storage Fees are another issue, as in what is reasonable? They can add significantly more to a debt than the fees laid down in the Regulations. Here is an example of what Newlyn wanted to charge a third party whilst they had his car subject to Interpleader from another thread "We anticipate that the goods will sell for £1600.00 which is considered the value amount, with the addition of £40.00 per day storage charges. " If a sealed Court Order is not received within 48 hours of this email, the vehicle will be entered into public auction to discharge the Warrant of Control" (http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?455139-I-ve-received-a-letter-from-Newlyn-they-want-to-sell-my-car!%281-Viewing%29-nbsp) If a vehicle is removed and held for 14 days so @ £40/day before auction then £560 in storage will be added to the debt along with the other fees, so a car going under the hammer for £2000 may not even clear an original debt of say £700 Storage is of itself a flexible concept, so is it an open field like one bailiff allegedly used, a secure compound, or under cover. For household chattels, then it must be undercover, but for a motor vehicle a compound would seem to be the usual. Thoughts ? -
My son had a student account with Halifax when he first went to university. Sadly, due to mental health problems, now diagnosed as bipolar disorder, he dropped out of university. Halifax agreed to freeze the account. In recent months his health has deteriorated again, and he is now claiming Employment and Support Allowance and living back at home with us. Halifax have recently decided to charge him £16 per month for the overdraft, but as this month's payment has put him into 'Unplanned Overdraft' he has been charged another £5 per day on top of this, so the debt is now mounting . I've put some funds into the account to try and alleviate the situation, but wondering what we can do next. He's not in any fit state today to speak to anyone at the bank. -
Good morning, I originally joined xercise4less in January 14 after a phone call from a sales person. I was reluctant but they talked me round by offering two months for free & £9.99 a month there after. Even though the gym was 18 miles from my home I niaevely agreed to become a member. I didn't/haven't used the facilities once & in February I emailed the operations manager asking to cancel my membership but received no reply. I left it until April and sent another request to cancel via but again didn't get a response. In September I noticed they were still taking the amount so I cancelled by direct debit. Now I am receiving threatening letters saying I owe £69:98 with x2 £25 'admin' charges and the threat of court. I've rang xercise4less but been told the manager isn't available - I've emailed the operations manager again and haven't gotten a response (I see a pattern here) however when I messaged them publicly on Twitter they responded (funny that!) but in their DM they have simply said "Sorry however unfortunately you cannot cancel your membership via email unless you have this agreed by the operations manager - do you have this indicated in your emails" I replied stating that I hadn't received a reply and asked how they could resolve the matter but they have not responded. I'm not sure why an email won't suffice when the only contract I've received was via email and I haven't signed anything from them. In fact the only letters I have received were from Harlands threatening me and charging me x2 £25. Do you have any advice for me - I can't have a CCJ against me because of my employment. They have no responded saying that "unfortunately in this instance you will need to pay the cancellations charges - what is your contact number so a member of the membership team can contact you?" I feel this is completely unfair - howe should I respond. -
Hi Ive been looking on here for some time and I wondered if anyone could help me. In 2011 I had a ccj registered against me for unpaid nursery fees. I had post natal depression at the time and didnt receive the court papers due to probably not opening them. I received the judgement and explained to cci that I had left the nursery and did not owe the money, but may owed around a month. I paid some for a while and cancelled the payments as they kept taking it out on the wrong day. Anyway, I have been well for around 6 months now and have still not sorted the ccj out. I called the court then the hospital whom the nursery was with. They advised me they had some logs of the calls and the last date of attendance at nursery was 3 april, so I should have been charged 1.2 months not 4 months fees. He then phoned back and said they havent received a written notice and the full amount still stands. I definitely handed my notice in at the nursery but I have no proof. I explained I had to leave my job at the hospital due to pnd but he didnt seem to care. My question is, is it reasonable to charge 4 months fees when a child has not attended during this time. Is there anything I can do. I fear Ive opened a can of worms now rather than leaving it for another year Thank you
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Fees for some courts could double under plans revealed by the Ministry of Justice today – the day after the House of Commons adjourned for the summer recess. Under a consultation announced by justice minister Shailesh Vara , the maximum fee for money claims would rise from £10,000 to £20,000. Fees are currently payable on 5% of the value of a claim up to a maximum fee of £10,000. Personal injury and clinical negligence claims will be excluded from the higher cap and fee remissions for those ‘of limited means’ will still apply. Fees would be introduced to the property, tax and general regulatory chambers. Fees for general applications in civil proceedings will increase from £50 to £100 for an application by consent, and from £155 to £255 for a contested application. Fees for divorce proceedings will increase from £410 to £550. http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/moj-proposes-new-round-of-court-fee-rises/law/uk-litigants-taking-higher-share-of-commercial-court-cases/law/action-day-22-legal-aid-practitioners-rally-in-london/law/moj-proposes-new-round-of-court-fee-rises/5050176.article
