First and foremost, I forgive those who perhaps thought that the thread title might turn out to be misleading before then clicking on the thread. An analogy would be the sensationalist headline I saw today that 'Messi had gotten jail time'. I knew full well, before clicking on the story, that he wouldn't be serving even one day in prison. However, I assure those of you who are doubtful that after you read on, then you will see that it really is the case that a Paypal account can NEVER be closed, which an FOS adjudicator heartily agrees with. This happens to be one of the very few outstanding issues that my 82 year old father is still dealing with, after putting an awful lot of things properly to bed in recent months. All of the following information and correspondence is being posted with his full permission. The background to this case begins in late 2013, when Paypal asked my father to provide them with additional information, primarily original receipts of purchase, relating to some items he had sold on Ebay. He wasn't able to do so and, after all the negative things he had seen in the media about Paypal over the years, decided he didn't want anything to further to do with them anyway. It was his opinion that when Paypal start becoming irrationally awkward, then they don't often cease to do so. Anyhow, when he was going over all of his affairs, in the second half of 2015, he decided to ask Paypal to formally close his account that they had since restricted. He didn't expect any resistance and was a bit surprised when they refused to do so. He was a bit reluctant to waste more time and energy going to the FOS about something like this, but felt very strongly about what he perceived as Paypal's arrogance and duly did so. He expected that this would be something that the FOS would promptly sort out, even if it only meant them giving Paypal a 6 year deadline to close his account from when they first restricted it, but how wrong he was. His case was assigned to FOS adjudicator Noelle Murphy and copied and pasted below is the all the correspondence accumulated thus far, with the correspondence of the FOS adjudicator being highlighted in red. 22nd April 2016. I’m writing to you as I’m the adjudicator who has been passed your complaint about PayPal. I wanted to let you know that I’m now looking into what’s happened.My role as an adjudicator is to give an independent opinion on your complaint. This means I’ll consider what you and PayPal tell me, weigh up the facts of what’s happened, and then let you know what I think is fair in the situation. next steps I’m currently reviewing all the information that you and PayPal have sent us. I’ll be in touch again once I have done this, to go through my understanding of what’s happened and let you know what the next steps are. I expect to be in contact with you within the next week but I’ll let you know if, for any reason, it may be longer than this.In the meantime, please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions. 26th April 2016. Thank you for waiting while I’ve been looking into your complaint. I’ve now looked at all the information from you and PayPal and I want to go through my thoughts on what I’ve looked at so far. my thoughts so far As you know, we’re an informal service that was set up to resolve individual customer’s complaints. So I cannot comment on the processes PayPal has in place, or recommend it changes its processes as part of your complaint. It’s for PayPal, or PayPal’s regulator - Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) – to decide how it should operate and if it should change how it operates. I understand PayPal placed a limitation on your account on 16 October 2013, and asked you to provide additional information. You decided not to provide the information PayPal had asked for and so the limitation has remained on your account, meaning it cannot be used. When looking at complaints like this we do have to take into consideration the terms and conditions of your account as it forms the basis of the contract between you and PayPal. I have noted that PayPal’s user agreement does contain information about limitations on accounts and I can see PayPal referred to this in its final response to you. Section 7.2 of your user agreement states that “You may not close your Account to evade an investigation”. It has said your account will remain permanently suspended and this is why you cannot close the account. PayPal is entitled to leave the account permanently suspended, and this is a commercial decision it has made. I appreciate you’re not evading its investigation by requesting the account to be closed, rather you don’t feel comfortable with the account being left open. But the account cannot be used as its suspended, and ultimately PayPal is entitled to make the decision it has to keep the account open. I do consider that it has acted in line with the terms and conditions you agreed to. So it would be unfair of me to say it has done anything wrong here when it is entitled to restrict your account and make the decision it has not to close it. next steps I would like to get your comments on what I have said, as I’m mindful that I may not have taken everything into account. If you would like me to consider any other information that could change my mind please let me know.If you’re able to respond to me by 3 May, I would be grateful. However if you need more time please let me know. 9th May 2016 (more time asked for and granted). right, I have now had a chance to clear my head and review everything at my own pace, which I am perfectly content with. First and foremost, I want to emphasise that I was never seeking for Paypal to change it's processes or how it operates. I am very happy for my complaint to be assessed solely on whatever terms and conditions Paypal had in place at the time and have in place now. So, moving on to the substance of my complaint, I would like to draw your attention to something that I don't think you have yet fully appreciated. You said yourself that Paypal limited my account and launched an investigation on 16th October 2013. Well, I first asked for my account to be closed in August 2015, which was nigh on 2 years after Paypal limited my account. As things currently stand, we are fast approaching a time span of 3 years from when Paypal limited my account. Therefore, when Paypal now parrot Section 7.2 of their user agreement, which states that “You may not close your Account to evade an investigation", then it is total nonsense. From memory, they said I had something like 90 days to provide them with the information they requested when they limited my account. So, even giving them a lot of leeway here, if I had asked them to close my account at any time in the 6 months after 16th October 2013, then I might understand their argument. However, I did not and if you were to accept their argument, then you could only be concluding that, in August 2015, I was trying to prevent an investigation Paypal began on 16th October 2013. They must have a good sense of humour, Paypal, to come out with rubbish like that. I do have to hand it to them. Frankly, I don't see how anyone closing their account, even at the time of limitation, could stop an investigation from occurring. By that logic, any wrongdoer would have an easy option available to avoid getting caught, 'Hey, I will just close my account!', and I don't think that's how the world works. However, having Paypal spin that spiel, some 2 years or longer after their investigation, is just so beyond the pale. What is more, from what I can recall, I never 'decided not to provide the information PayPal had asked for'. They asked me for some original receipts of some items that I had listed on Ebay. I don't know why they asked, but I didn't have any original receipts and openly told them so. How many people, who sell stuff on Ebay, have original receipts? I don't see how I could have cooperated any more fully at the time. Anyhow, besides the point, the fact of the matter is that I didn't try to close my account at the time of their investigation, so their defence is groundless. Unless they have a term or condition which states that no one is allowed to close their account without their random blessing? I am not aware that they do and very confident that they do not. So, if they can't provide you with a term or condition which prevents me from closing my account, then I would like my account to be closed please. If you will not order them to do so, then please do kindly confirm whether you are ultimately basing your decision on Section 7.2 of their user agreement, which blatantly holds no water here, or if your are basing it on another Section of their user agreement. I can then promptly decide whether I wish to escalate my case to an Ombudsman or not. I don't see this taking up much moire time between us to be honest, so it should be well clear of your desk by the time you go on annual leave. Just for the record, in case you were wondering, I don't have any confidence or trust in Paypal and would simply feel much happier if my account was closed. They are still holding some of my financial information in my account, which can't be deleted when an account is limited, and I have heard a lot of stories about companies being hacked on the news and the like. As far as I see it, regardless of how probable you or Paypal think that is to occur, it is purely my prerogative to decide whether I want my account closed or not. Unless they have a term or condition that says otherwise of course. I look forward, please don't feel at all rushed, to hearing from you in due course then. Much appreciated and best wishes. 11th May 2016. Thank you for your response. I have noted your comments and the points you’ve raised.I appreciate the point you’ve raised about the timescales involved but I can’t say I agree with you. Just because it was two years ago that PayPal requested this information doesn’t mean an investigation isn’t still ongoing. As you didn’t provide the information PayPal asked for it wouldn’t be able to conclude its investigation and – I think it’s reasonable to say here – it would take some action to prevent any further use of the account. Even though PayPal asked you to respond within a certain timeframe I don’t think this indicates how long it would take to carry out its investigation. I would imagine, like this service, timescales are put in place to make sure that cases are being dealt with in a reasonable timeframe. But as the information was never provided, closing the account could still be considered as evading PayPal’s investigation regardless of the time that’s passed. In addition to section 7.2, I do think section 10.2 is also relevant to what’s happened here. This section does set out that PayPal is entitled to restrict or block an account entirely or for any reason. So I do think it is entitled to keep the account restricted as long as it thinks is reasonable. I think it was in your complaint form that you said you decided not to provide the information it had asked for. If you’d like a copy of this please let me know.Even though I appreciate you may have not felt it was necessary information, I don’t think what it asked for was unreasonable. But ultimately, PayPal is entitled to reasonably request information from its users to help it look into an investigation.I appreciate why you want to close your account, and you are concerned about the information it is holding about you. If you have a concern about the way PayPal is handling your information – and by this I mean keeping it longer than is necessary – then the Information Commissioner’s Office may be able to look into this. Their details are: Information Commissioner's Office etc. what happens next If you don’t want to take your complaint further, you don’t need to reply. But if you don’t agree with what I’ve said, please let me know why by 23 May 2016.I’ll look at any new information you give me and let you know what I think.If we don’t hear from you by 23 May 2016, we might not be able to look at your complaint again. So if you want to reply but you think you’ll need longer, please tell me as soon as possible. In every case, both the business and their customer can ask an ombudsman to make a final decision. But I think it’s unlikely the outcome would be different – unless there’s any important information that you haven’t already given us. If you have any questions, please get in touch. 13th May 2016. first and foremost, I am not sure 'exactly what words' I used only my complaint form, in relation to not providing Paypal with the information they requested, but I can tell you with certainty that I cooperated with Paypal as fully as was humanly possible when the limitation was placed on my account. They asked me for the original receipts, pertaining to some items I had sold on Ebay, and I openly told them that I didn't have any original receipts available. What more could I have done than that? Anyhow, I wasn't happy with Paypal at the time, so my initial displeasure might have resulted in me coming across ambiguously when I eventually decided to complain. Please feel free to verify all of this with Paypal. As for the time scale involved, it is actually now well over 2 years ago that Paypal requested information from me. In fact, it is now virtually 2 years and 7 months ago. If this case does end up getting referred to an Ombudsman, then, given the waiting time involved, it will be nigh on 3 years ago. I am not sure exactly what it is that Paypal are supposed to be 'investigating', nor how many years would have to pass for you to be satisfied. However, given that the crux of this matter simply relates to them asking for original receipts pertaining to a few items I sold on Ebay, then it is clearly nonsense to suggest that an 'investigation might still be ongoing'. At the end of the day, there have been numerous investigations into Paypal themselves by many newspapers and TV stations, including BBC 'Watchdog', which have shown Paypal to be quite 'lacking' in many areas as it goes. When you said 'Even though PayPal asked you to respond within a certain timeframe I don’t think this indicates how long it would take to carry out its investigation. I would imagine, like this service, timescales are put in place to make sure that cases are being dealt with in a reasonable timeframe' I can see the basic principle there. However, when 60 days, or whatever it was initially, then becomes 2 years and 7 months that argument just doesn't hold water any more. It is tantamount to eternity. Unless you are saying that Paypal should have 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 10 years or any other number of fixed years available to them? Please do confirm if that is how you see it and what you think is reasonable. One other thing, in you previous email you stated that 'But as the information was never provided, closing the account could still be considered as evading PayPal’s investigation regardless of the time that’s passed'. However, in your email of 26th April 2016 you stated 'I appreciate you’re not evading its investigation by requesting the account to be closed, rather you don’t feel comfortable with the account being left open', which I find completely contradictory to be brutally honest. Paypal asked for original receipts and I told them I didn't have any. It was hardly a complex case. Moreover, as I already told you, closing my account doesn't stop Paypal 'investigating' my case at all. They can 'investigate' my case for the next 100 years with my full blessing. Likewise, purely as an analogy, I don't think that any of those involved with the Mossack Fonseca scandal would avoid any 'invetsigation' by now rushing to close their accounts. Again, as I already to you, the world doesn't work like that. What is more, I haven't been accused of any wrongdoing and I don't owe Paypal a penny, which they themselves can't deny. If you do feel that closing my account does prevent Paypal from 'investigating' further in relation to my case, after 2 years and 7 months have passed, then please kindly explain to me how so. Moving on to the limitation aspect of my account, this is something that I have never complained about and you seem to have proactively entwined it into the case. Furthermore, closing my account wouldn't lessen any restrictions that Paypal have in place in the slightest. In fact, conceptually, if anything, it could obviously only strengthen them. The limited use I currently have would be downgraded to no use. Therefore, Section 10.2 has absolutely nothing to do with my complaint, which is solely based on me wanting my account closed; not to do with wanting any restrictions removed from my account. If you feel that it does, then please kindly explain to me how so. It is very good to get all of this in writing, regardless of the final outcome, so I do at least fully appreciate all of your assistance. If you have anything else to add, or not, then please do let me know either way. I can then decide whether I wish to escalate my case to an Ombudsman or not. Much appreciated and best wishes. 13th May 2016. I have noted your comments but my thoughts on your complaint remain the same.Ultimately, I do consider that PayPal is entitled to restrict your account and make the decision it has not to close it. I understand you don’t agree with this and you don’t think its terms allow PayPal to make this decision – but having considered what’s happened I do. I’m sorry if you think I was contradictory I was merely making the point that closing the account could be considered as evading an investigation. As I said in my previous email to you, I don’t consider that you’re trying to evade an investigation by asking for the account to be closed. However, this doesn’t mean that PayPal should close the account or it should have the same opinion on this point as me.It made a reasonable request for information and you were unable to provide what it had asked for. PayPal made a business decision to restrict the account and it hasn’t done anything wrong by doing this. I’m not in the office next week so I would be grateful if you could let me know by 23 May whether or not you’d like an ombudsman to consider what’s happened.If I don’t hear from you by 23 May we might not be able to look into your complaint again. 18th May 2016. yes, I do think I am beginning to get a good understanding of your position in relation to Section 7.2. However, there is at least one thing that I did want to be crystal clear on, before deciding whether to escalate my case to an Ombudsman or not. You do now acknowledge that I never complained about my Paypal account being limited and that I never asked for any restrictions to be removed from my Paypal account, don't you? My complaint was solely about being unable to close my account, you said you still had a copy of my complaint form handy so please peruse it again if necessary, and I fully accept that Paypal have every right to limit the use of any account as they see fit. In the final analysis, I am 82 years old and doing my best here, I just didn't want to get needlessly sidetracked or confused by anything else. Much appreciated and best wishes. 23rd May 2016. Thank you for your response and patience while I have been out of the office.Yes, I do understand your complaint was about PayPal’s decision not to close the account. I know you didn’t ask for this service to look at the restrictions placed on the account or why that was.However, I did think that the restriction on the account was directly related to PayPal’s reasoning here and that’s why I mentioned it. I had to look at the whole circumstances to come to a fair opinion on what’s happened. I would be grateful if you could let me know how to proceed with your complaint by 27 May 2016. If we don’t hear from you by this time we might not be able to look at what’s happened again. So if you need more time please let me know as soon as possible. 3rd June 2016 (more time asked for and granted). ok, I think I understand what you were saying now. You were trying to get a full understanding of everything that happened and a good sense of the chain of events that occurred. This is why you mentioned Section 10.2, which Paypal first used to restrict my account nigh on a year before I ever contacted them about my account status. However, when it comes to you giving a final opinion on my complaint, which involves Paypal not closing my account and doesn't relate to any of the restrictions I was perfectly happy with, then it is only Section 7.2 that can be specifically held against me right? I hope that's correct, it seems crystal clear to me, as otherwise you will have left me totally bamboozled. I won't seek to debate the point any further though. One oither thing that crossed my mind, I hope you don't mind, and it involves the length of Paypal's investigation. In a previous email I referred to some comments you made on this matter. They were as follows: 'Even though PayPal asked you to respond within a certain timeframe I don’t think this indicates how long it would take to carry out its investigation. I would imagine, like this service, timescales are put in place to make sure that cases are being dealt with in a reasonable timeframe' I told you that I could understand the basic principle there, but found it very hard to comprehend how it could be stretched out for 2 years and 7 months. Anyhow, let's assume for the moment that the 'Paypal investigation might still be ongoing' as you put it. Are you actually going to make a recommendation on how long Paypal should have to complete their investigation? What do you think is fair and reasonable here? As far as I am aware, even the Statute Barred law in England, which can cover quite serious cases, says that 6 years is certainly long enough for proceedings to be concluded. So, do you think that Paypal should have a period of 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, or even 6 years to conclude their investigation, which would then be fully in line with Statute Barred law, or perhaps something longer? You can't possibly be conflating 'Even though PayPal asked you to respond within a certain timeframe I don’t think this indicates how long it would take to carry out its investigation' with an 'eternal investigation'? I would like to know what you think about all of this please, as if your final opinion didn't find in my favour now, then it must surely address such substance. Well, I would be shocked if it didn't. Much appreciated and best wishes. 3rd June 2016. just another thought I had. Perhaps it might be an idea to actually ask Paypal how many years they need? No harm done by mentioning the notion to you. I clicked 'Send', after composing the previous email I sent you a few minutes ago, and the idea suddenly popped into my head one second later. I do apologise for not including it in my previous email. Much appreciated and best wishes. 3rd June 2016. Thank you for your emails. I appreciate your point but there appears to have been some confusion here. I didn’t mean to imply its investigation was still ongoing, my point was that just because some time has passed doesn’t mean PayPal concluded the investigation. I went on to explain that because it couldn’t conclude its investigation it was reasonable for PayPal to take action to prevent further use of the account. I have explained that PayPal has made the decision to keep the account permanently suspended. I have considered if PayPal has acted unreasonably in deciding to permanently suspend the account, but I have found that it was entitled to make this decision. So I’m not going to ask PayPal to do anything else, as I don’t consider that it has done anything wrong. As my thoughts on your complaint haven’t changed you can ask for a final decision to be issued by an ombudsman. If you would like this please let me know by 8 June 2016. If we don’t hear from you by this date we’ll assume you no longer wish to pursue your complaint with this service. 8th June 2016. no problem and I am very glad that confusion has now been cleared up. I am just trying to fully understand your perception of the key components of my case, which I am sure you must fully appreciate is very important to the whole process. What your final opinion turns out to be is another matter entirely. Anyhow, I just have one last question I want to ask you and will email you later this evening, so you might not pick it up until tomorrow. I will then promptly make my final decision on whether I wish to escalate my case to an Ombusman or not. Much appreciated and best wishes. 9th June 2016. right, as I said in my previous email I am very glad we managed to clear up that confusion. I just hope that you can appreciate why I took 'Just because it was two years ago that PayPal requested this information doesn’t mean an investigation isn’t still ongoing', from your email of 11th May 2016, to indicate that an investigation was still ongoing. Nevertheless, I now think I have a very good handle on how you currently view my case. However, please do correct me if I am at all wrong on anything though. First and foremost, regardless of how far you perceive they did or didn't get, a cast iron fact of this matter is that Paypal did indeed open an investigation. However, neither of us can actually know what progress Paypal made in their investigation, as we don't know exactly what they were investigating or how much relevant information they had at their fingertips during the said investigation. Just because they asked me to contribute to their investigation, which it wasn't humanly possible for me to do, it doesn't by any means indicate that they weren't able to investigate anything. Otherwise, they couldn't have possibly had any notion to open an investigation in the first place. Something must have triggered it or I never would have heard from them. So, moving on, for Paypal to eventually make the decision to leave my account restricted, then they must have finished their investigation. Again, this is regardless of how far you perceive they did or didn't get in their investigation, which we can't actually know. Unfortunately, despite this, Paypal are still maintaining that I am trying to evade an investigation, which is something you don't see fit to challenge them on. As you said, in your email of 13th May 2016, 'I don’t consider that you’re trying to evade an investigation by asking for the account to be closed. However, this doesn’t mean that PayPal should close the account or it should have the same opinion on this point as me'. For the record, I thought it was the opinion of an FOS adjudicator that mattered in such cases, rather than the opinion of the company they were scrutinising, but this was admittedly only a preconception I had when I first decided to approach the FOS about this matter. Perhaps Paypal mean I am now trying to evade a fresh investigation? It could certainly be food for thought. Still, I would like to reinforce the point that, whether open or closed when looked at, nothing can actually stop Paypal from investigating an account. In the final analysis, you have concluded that my Paypal account should remain open, yet restricted, for as long as Paypal decree I am continuing to evade an investigation. If I have not misunderstood anything, then I can't deny that some bits of this narrative do kind of make some sort of sense, but it still all feels a little odd to me. However, as I said, this is if I haven't misunderstood anything. Am I now at a point where I haven't misunderstood anything then? Or is there yet more confusion that needs to be ironed out? Just for the moment, I will vaguely assume I have got there and assess whether I feel uneasy enough to request that this case be escalated to an Ombudsman for scrutiny. Regardless of the outcome, I think we have communicated reasonably well, despite the occasional bout of confusion, which can happen to the best of us. I will await your reply then. Much appreciated and best wishes. 9th June 2016. Thank you for your email.I can’t say I have anything to add to what I have already explained. I have looked at what PayPal’s decision – to keep the account open – and I considered why it did this. I also considered if its decision was reasonable, and if PayPal was entitled to make this decision.I found that all the actions PayPal took were set out in its user agreement, which you agreed to. I also considered its rationale for making this decision and I didn’t think it was an unreasonable one. So ultimately, I don’t think PayPal has done anything wrong and that’s why I haven’t asked it to close the account. That’s a decision for PayPal to make. I understand you’re thinking about asking an ombudsman to look at what’s happened, and if you do want this please let me know by 13 May 2016. – so I can move your complaint forward.Again, if we don’t hear from you by then we’ll assume you no longer wish to pursue your complaint with this service. 10th June 2016. right, so I have now understood everything I mentioned correctly then. I do feel much better when everything is as clear as possible to me. I really do appreciate your confirmation on that, as I would have begun to feel a little bit beleaguered if I had encountered any more confusion. One very last thing I want to ask you, I hope you don't mind, and it involves time scale. It just occurred to me you see. Now, in my email of 3rd June 2016 I asked you how long Paypal should have to conclude their investigation. You then told me that the Paypal investigation wasn't actually still ongoing, despite previously telling me that it was, but not really meaning that it was. It was just a bit of confusion that needed to be ironed out. I happily accepted your explanation and we successfully put all of that behind us. Ok then, so even though a Paypal investigation is not still ongoing, then how for how long is it feasible for Paypal to claim that I am seeking to avoid an investigation by asking for my account to be closed? Do you think that Paypal should have a period of 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, or even 6 years in which they can continue to make this argument, which would then be fully in line with Statute Barred law, or perhaps something longer? You can't possibly be viewing Section 7.2's 'You may not close your Account to evade an investigation' as an 'eternal perspective'? The question of time scale does still remain, whichever way you look at the matter, so I would like to know your opinion on this. This is something you can add to what you have already explained, as future time scale has not previously been addressed, and it shouldn't take you more than a few seconds to do so. It is important to me that I know this. I will then respond with my final decision on whether I wish to escalate my case to an Ombusman or not. Much appreciated and best wishes. 10th June 2016. It’s not for me to comment on, or decide how long an investigation should take.But to clarify, there is no longer a PayPal investigation. As I explained in my previous emails, PayPal has made the decision to keep the account permanently suspended. This is not because of an ongoing investigation but rather because it decided to take action to prevent further use of the account.I hope this answers your question. 13th June 2016. I was told that my Paypal account couldn't be closed due to me 'trying to avoid an investigation' by doing so, which was in line with Section 7.2. Since then, it has emerged that this was regardless of whether a Paypal investigation was 'currently ongoing' or not. As I already told you, Paypal must have been referring to the prospect of a 'fresh investigation'. Now, saying it isn't for you to comment on or decide how long an 'actual investigation' should take is fair enough. However, this would have absolutely nothing to do with giving an opinion on how long Paypal can get away with saying I can't close my account 'to avoid an investigation'. This is precisely your job and you have already somehow decided that 2 years and 7 months is acceptable.. So, if you deem that Paypal can get away with saying that for anything between 3 years and 6 years, then I would accept whatever your specific decision was. However, if you deem that Paypal can get away with saying that for 10 years, 15 years or even longer, then I wouldn't accept your decision. If you thought something in between 6 years and 10 years was reasonable, then I would have to consider your decision for a little while. This is something very relevant that I really do need to know, so please get back to me with an answer. Furthermore, I really shouldn't have to be stating the obvious here, but closing my account would do a pretty good job of preventing further use of my account. Much appreciated and best wishes. 14th June 2016. I apologise but I don’t quite understand your email to me or the point you’re making.I have tried to explain why I don’t think PayPal have done anything wrong. If you would like to clarify your comments then I will try my best to respond to them.At this point, I think it might be best if an ombudsman makes a final decision on your complaint. As I think we are going back and forth about PayPal’s decision and I’m not likely to change my position. Please let me know by 17 June 2016 if you have any other information you would like the ombudsman to consider. Just so you know a decision is likely to be made within two months of when I pass your complaint to an ombudsman. If I don’t hear from you by 17 June I’ll assume you have nothing further to add and I’ll arrange for the file to be placed into the queue for an ombudsman.If you have any questions please let me know. 17th June 2016. I was told that my Paypal account couldn't be closed due to me 'trying to avoid an investigation' by doing so, which was in line with Section 7.2. This was all based on this moment in time. So, very simply, I am asking for how long can Paypal get away with saying that? For example, do you think it would still be reasonable for Paypal to be saying that after 4 years? What about in 6 years, 8 years or 10 years time? What about in 15 years or 20 years time? Or perhaps you think it is reasonable for Paypal to say this for all eternity? For me, it is very obvious that Paypal can't get away with saying that forever, However, that is only my opinion of course. It really is a very simple and straightforward question I am asking you, I do apolgise if I wasn't clear enough in my previous email, and I am glad to be able to clarify if further you. So, if you were to say that Paypal had anything up to 10 years, whereby they could continue using Section 7.2 as a barrier to closing my account, then I might accept your opinion after some consideration. Paypal could then be given notice that they have 'x' amount of time in which to close my account. However, if you were to say that you considered it reasonable for Paypal to continue using that excuse for 10 years, or even longer, then I wouldn't accept your opinion. So, for how long do you think Paypal can get away with saying that my account can't be closed, due to me 'trying to avoid an investigation' by doing so, in line with Section 7.2? This is something that I really want to know. No need for any going back and forth and I look forward to getting an answer then. Much appreciated and best wishes. 20th June 2016. It’s not for me to say how long PayPal should keep the account restricted for. As I explained in my email of 11 May, section 10.2 of the user agreement allows PayPal to suspend your account. And it does not set out that it can only do this for a certain period of time.PayPal made the business decision to keep the account suspended to prevent further use of it and so it is entitled to keep the account restricted as long as it thinks is reasonable. This decision might be indefinitely but that’s for PayPal to decide.Ultimately, it is entitled to decide if it will provide its services to you again in the future and that’s not something I would comment on.I will now arrange for your complaint to be passed to an ombudsman. 21st June 2016. I am afraid that you have totally missed something very important. So, in the interest of fairness and impartiality, hold your horses a moment please. If you care to peruse Section 10.2 of Paypal's user agreement, then you will see that it also does not set out that a suspended account can't ever be closed. Where you got the idea that it did I really don't know. For the record, I am perfectly happy for Paypal to keep all of the restrictions on my account when they close it. I am certainly not asking that they lift any restrictions prior to closing it or after closing it. Moreover, I am also happy to verify that I wouldn't accept any services from Paypal ever again in the future, even if they were to offer me copious amounts of money as an incentive. Therefore, the notion that I might consent to Paypal reopening my account one day has no substance whatsoever. So, I take it these recent, fresh developments might well shed new light on the matter in your eyes now then? I mean not appreciating the fact that Section 10.2 of Paypal's user agreement does not set out that a suspended account can't ever be closed is relevant isn't it? We all miss things I am sure, but it is relevant right? Anyhow, please confirm, as I would like to avoid any further confusion.Like I said, I am 82 years old and doing my very best to keep up here. Furthermore, if the case ultimately ends up going to an ombudsman, regardless of these new revelations, then it's still definitely no harm done covering this. It should even help the said ombudsman when weighing things up. Much appreciated and best wishes. P.S. From what I can gather, you are now not really basing your opinion on Section 7.2 then? Please confirm, as I do want to be totally clear on that as well please. 22nd June 2016. I don’t have anything further to add, as I have already addressed my thoughts on PayPal’s terms and conditions previously. However, your comments will be available for an ombudsman to review. If the ombudsman disagrees with what I have said they will explain why this is. 6th July 2016. my apologies for the somewhat tardy response, but I have been very busy dealing with another very serious matter of late. Right, moving on, there is something that I need to be crystal clear on. In your first email of 22nd June 2016 you stated the following: 'I don’t have anything further to add, as I have already addressed my thoughts on PayPal’s terms and conditions previously.' Well, you had never previously addressed the fact that Section 10.2 of Paypal's user agreementdid not set out that a suspended account couldn't ever be closed.The very obvious reason for that is I had only first raised it with you in my email of 21st June 2016. So, what I want to know, before I submit a final comment to the ombudsman for review, is are you saying you actually took on board what I put to you before dismissing it as irrelevant? Or is it the case that you didn't even bother to assess what I put to you before dismissing it as irrelevant? It is important to me to know this, it is a very simple and straightforward question as well, so I look forward to getting your prompt clarification on that point before I submit a final comment to the ombudsman for review. Much appreciated and best wishes. Well, my father and I both feel quite strongly about this. We don't see how Paypal can be authorised, by the FOS no less, to keep his account open forever. At the very least, we believe that they should have 6 years from when they first restricted his account to close it. This has all dragged on for a while now, he goes at his own pace despite my best efforts to help, and he wants to get final closure on it as soon as is practically possible. So, he wants to know if anyone can recommend anything to include in the final comment he is going to make before an ombudsman reviews the case? He wants to know if anyone has any general advice they can offer on this matter? For example, if an ombudsman sides with adjudicator, then could he potentially get some success via county court action against Paypal? All advice greatly appreciated. We feel that the FOS adjudicator has been very unreasonable here. She didn't try to run off, I will give her that, but it seemed that no matter what she was presented with it would always be wholeheartedly twisted to 'Paypal is right!'. Perhaps my father and I have lost touch with reality somewhere down the line? On the boards it says something like 30 users are currently browsing this thread. It is 1a.m. and, although some of these users are no doubt genuine forum users, that is a serious amount of bots. It isn't my field, so I haven't really got much of a clue about what, exactly, they are doing here though. Just a night howler reading interesting stuff.

Hi All, I've read lots of info on here but nothing that helps me for my specific case. I hope someone can throw their tuppance in! I have just found out that I have a CCJ in my name for a bill that I am not liable for. First thing I knew about it was when I checked my credit history. I am very distressed that this is on my credit history because I was hoping to get a mortgage in the next few months and this has completely messed up my credit score! The water bill at a place I now no longer live at is in arrears. I lived in the property as joint tenants with some friends from November 2013- March 2014. I moved out and they stayed on, amending the tenancy agreement and all the bills accordingly. I have loads of documents to demonstrate I moved out (council tax bill, tenancy agreements etc) the other tenants kept telling them I didn't live there but the water company refuse to change their records retrospectively. They quote a law which says we should have given 2 days notice which we did but it just wasn't recorded on their system. It's my word against theirs essentially. I had never received a summons or case judgement. Part of the money owed £85 was sent to a Debt Collection Agency and I've squared it with them. The DCA accept that I don't live there and put it on hold whilst they go back to the water company). However, I still have £600 debt in my name and this CCJ on my file. The other tenants maintain they didn't know about any of this but I can't 100% trust them on that. They said no post has come in my name but they didn't tell me my name was on the water bills they couldn't pay so I'm not convinced. However, the court document I got lists my recent address, and I assume they got this from the Electoral Roll, yet nothing turned up there either. Things I have done so far: • Scanned in Council Tax Bills and sent to water company (I've been told they won't take them into consideration). • Telephoned the water company to ask why the CCJ was issued in October 2015 in my name only. It was explained that they don't do joint claims and couldn't tell me why just that "it was policy to use the first name on the account" even though they had been dealing with the other names on the account. They told me that the other tenants had set up a payment plan which they missed a payment on, ignored the water companies calls and letters so the water company started court proceedings. • Written to the water company asking for copies of all correspondence. I plan to do a SAR/Data Protection request too. I have no idea of the exact dates, what payments have been made and when etc • Written to the court and asked for more info. I was told that the "claim pack cannot be reproduced" and they emailed me a scanned document with some basic details of the case. Not entirely sure what this document is but it lists the breakdown of costs and addresses of both parties. Anything else I should do? I know I need to get the application to Set Aside in ASAP but my partner is worried we'll lose and end up paying more money. I've explained that even if we pay it off it will still be on my history so I really need to fight it.

CAG, along with many others have been steering people away from Pay Day Loans. Now there is a new tactic from one particular bank. I have personally condemned Vanquis for their high interest rates and being no better than a revolving Pay Day Loan. CAG has seen many cases of how easy it is to get into serious debt with this particular type of credit card. Now Money Mail are on the case....

I ordered something for a birthday present last wed and was supposed to go to a near by Halfords as a pick up point but I'm still waiting and it's not arrived! DPD said it would be in HALFORDS after 12pm thursday 31 dec.... IT NEVER ARRIVED! Called DPD up and said what the hell is going on and they said it will be in halfords after 12pm 2day (MON) gut feeling it won't be in though! Anyone else had/having probs with them?

I moved back into my parent's house at the start of this year which was also when I registered as self-employed. I currently haven't been paying any council tax since I assume I have to let the council know I've moved in. My Dad doesn't have to pay any council tax. I have the money to pay for it but what sort of trouble can I expect to be in when I let the council know about this? Also I've so far earned around £8k this year so I think I may be able to benefit from working tax credits. Am I allowed to back date this benefit to the start of the year from when I registered as self-employed? However, I also have £10k in savings so I don't know how this will effect the benefit. Any help appreciated.

Hi, i was speeding on the motorway and wish t plead guilty and pay the appropriate £100 fine and take the 3 points. I have been waiting for the [/b]conditional offer of a fixed penalty notice[/b] It never came on the post?! Then I receive a postal requisition to be heard in court. Can I not contact NYP and state that i did not receive the offer of a fixed penalty notice? surely this is unfair to go straight to court if I haven't received the offer to pay via the fixed penalty notice. Any tips or forms or letters i can send as my response guys would be most appreciated? i want to pay plead guilty and have done with this but haven't had the bloody chance. We also live at a new house and our address is proving really hard to locate for many org/co. Lots of mail goes to another house half a mile up the road! Genuine reason and I want to clear this up and pay.

i have a question i know someone who has never paid council tax he lives with his grandmother last 20 years rent free food free everything free he does not work and he has no respect for her. she is 89 . i would like to tell the council but i know he will just get her to paid it !! she has dementia, and does not no what she is doing. would the council hold him accountable for the recovery or his poor grandmother ?

Dear all, I desperately need advise ... here is my situation (long text as i am writing a complete recollection of what happened): On Saturday 24 October 2015 i received a letter through the box from Collection and Compliance Titled "Further Steps notice" In essence it says that since i have failed to make payments as directed following steps will be taken ... a few lines of VERY scary stuff. After that they give me 10 days to pay 800 pounds or the scary stuff will start to happen. Now this comes as a complete shock i had NO idea what this is about. On Monday i called them and they told me that there has been a court case against me and they have been ordered to collect this money by the court. I have never been aware there is a court case to begin with. They put the collection on hold for 28 days and gave me case reference number. On Monday 26 October 2015 i went to Levender Hill court to check what is this all about. I was told the following that the current case against me is for failure to provide information to the DVLA related to traffic violation or accident in addition to that for failure to show up in court and a few other failures related to the fact i never got anything. I asked what adress all of this was sent out and they gave my old address. They said that one of the notices were sent september. After talking with a friend he said i should check my V5C i just did that and it is on the new address. I checked the dat eof the document and it is 29 04 15. This should mean april, if they sent the stuff in September no idea why they were trying my old address. I also checked my driving license and it is on the new address since April as well. I made a Statuory statement .. or something like that not sure what it was named, that said i never received anything and the first time i becase aware of this issue was Saturday 24-th. They took my details and scheduled a court date for 10-th of November. I still have nothing through the post 29 October 2015 and i still do not know what the original offense is. All they said that the current case is for failure to provide information which carries 6 points and 660 pounds fine the rest is fines for not showing up and not paying when asked first time around. This is as much as i can say right now and as much as i remember. I am completely lost. Never been involved in accidents, i have one speeding ticket in my entire life from 5 years ago and it never went on my record as i took the speed awareness course. Neither have i ever had problems with the police ... so you can imagine how scary this all feels right now. Any advice is very welcome, initially i thought of just going to the court and being honest but i was advised by friends and also someone sort of related to law that i should not do that and i definitely need advise especially since its has gotten to the court and one needs to know what and how to say ... so here i am.

Hi all, It seemed like a horror story. This year was the first time that the round paper disks were abolished, and I then replaced the still valid disk with our parking permit to save space on the windscreen, and thought that I will always receive a tax reminder anyway. However, I have not received one and I have been waiting for one to arrive. So did not really thought about it, until tonight out of interest I was searching my car's number plate to see where it was registered, and found that it was UNTAXED since July! I then immediately went to DVLA website, and tried to pay for the tax, without the reminder, but with the 11 digit serial number on my vehicle registration form. I was only able to pay for the tax from 1st Sep. And was told that DVLA may contact me about the missing periods. I truly cannot remember if I have renewed my tax, and from the DVLA information that I obviously have not paid!! I can swear that I have never received a reminder this time around. We moved house 1 year ago, but I have updated my address with DVLA right after I have moved. I will call DVLA the first thing tomorrow. I just hope they will allow me to pay back the two months of the tax, and I am happy to pay a fine too, as a lesson to my own negligence---should have checked the DVLA website to make sure a lot earlier. I heard some horror stories of over 1000 pounds fine, and points on licence. I can just pray that they will be lenient on me. The road tax for my car is 30 pounds a year. Do you know what will happen? Thank you very much. I am worried sick.

My good friend is in a financial mess.. ..he owes thousands to a number of companies and the debts have been sold on several times. He is making small payments on each debt every month and has had the interest frozen but it is going to take him years to pay these off. He cannot go for an IVA or bankruptcy due to the nature of his employment. Any suggestions as to how we can agree an end date with these companies, with hopefully a proportion of the debts written off? He is very demoralised at the prospect of making these payments for the next 30 or 40 years, or until he dies.... He is a proud man and wants to pay what he can, and keep working but the only option I can see is for him to do an IVA or bankruptcy and lose his job and go on benefits which he does not want to do. Any ideas??

Having read this Default Re: Royal Mail Customs handling Fee Response all what follows is pretty well useless Oh dear Looks like I have missed the boat. Hi all, Having had some time to think about my situation with FedEx a few ideas have surfaced. But before I start I will apologise in advance to anybody who may feel that I have misrepresented or distorted the facts to justify my hypothesise about the subject. These are just the type of thoughts and ideas that wander through one’s head in the early hours of the morning. So here I go. FedEx et all will never take any one to court over the admin fee as it stands to loose a massive revenue stream if it looses the case. Why? Current business model for £100 value item of weight 500gms for a casual importer. Offer to ship item for £22 from China to UK house address. Deliver said item to address. Send recipient a bill for customs fees (£30) and admin charge (£12). Previous year’s Model of costs £22 carriage and £8 admin. Hypothetical next year’s carriage cost £22 and admin £18. This is looking very good. Next year cost £22 and admin £24. This is looking even better. They have kept their offer price of carriage fixed at £22 but increased their revenue by approximately %150. And it gets better still. The logistics of getting a parcel from China to the UK is no small challenge. Whereas a few key taps on a PC key board is generating more revenue. It would appear that FedEx should become an admin company and subcontract the carriage I know that is could be viewed as quite simplistic, but it should give one a flavour of the idea. Well what about the other carriers. It would appear that they are all doing the same. Where is the competition? No need to increase your quotes just increase the admin. Cartel? Transparency? Confusion? So, If you refuse to pay what will any of the carriers do? Well originally not a lot. I noticed that most successful results against Fedex are historic. If you complained they would waive the admin cost. However a recent visit to Controlaccounts web site boasts For a leading global freight company weimproved cashflow by 12%, see how we can do the same for you. And who might that be? Now this is the Nub of the issue. Fear and threats work on most people where money is concerned and getting a DCA involved allows FedEx to be hands off. Threatening to sue clients is not their businesses. Also the task of defending your action against such a barrage of threats is quite daunting especially for £12 along with no guaranteed chance of winning against the might of a giant international corporation and no clear precedent. The outcome is pay up. However if by chance a valiant knight comes to the rescue and challenges the Dragon what might happen. Without doubt, FedEx would walk away long before it went to court as the last thing it wants is a precedent to be established about this very grey area against the plaintive. Why? They could lose, and that risk of £12 vs. £10000’s of annual income is not a good bet. And so for as long as this situation lasts one has two choice (1) pay up and shut up (2) Do not pay and be prepared for a long unpleasant time of threats, abuse, fear, anxiety, lasting over many months that should result in no £12 admin fee being paid.

Hello everyone .. I need your advice on a peculiar situation I'm in now. Two weeks ago I received a notice of removal from a bailiff for a debt of £1030 owed to the City and County of Swansea. I went to the bailiff's office they said it's about 3 parking fines from last year. I don't own a car, a driving license and I don't even know how to drive. I went to the council they said there is a car registered in my name and my address. I went to DVLA and filed a complaint that I am not the owner of the car. DVLA said it will take three weeks to process. My guess is someone with the same name but different address is the owner of the car. Both the council and DVLA have a previous address for me which I know nothing about. I arrived in the UK one year ago to study and I have only one address which is a room in a house shared by other students. I filled a TE7:TE9 form and I stated that I am not the owner of the vehicle and I live only in one address. I attached my tenancy agreement, my visa with the entry date on it, my police registration certificate with my address that I registered as soon as I arrived. I also attached a letter from my landlord that this is my only address and that I don't own a car. The bailiff action is now on hold. I received a copy of the council's letter to TEC, the council rejected my application and they request the court to change the address on the warrant to my address claiming that I am the same person and I changed addresses. They ignored all the evidence that I submitted and argued that I didn't submit any evidence from DVLA. When I went to DVLA the first time they said the registration number doesn't exist in their database, and I stated this in the TE7:TE9 form. But when I went again I discovered that they have mistaken the number zero for a letter O and there is actually a car registered with my name. But this was too late to include in the TE7:TE9 form. The council states in the letter that "although it is apparent that I might have not received correspondence from them it's my responsibility to make sure I receive mail after a change of address". I am worried that TEC will also reject my application and approves the council's decision, should I seek a legal representation? Any advice will be appreciated ... Thank you

http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=519a4338-60a7-49be-8ff1-28f070eca937#.UH0wHaFr1Ws.twitter PPI reclaims soicitor LOST on every count. Mrs Plevin’s claim therefore failed in its entirety. Against this, Recorder Yip QC considered the conduct of Mrs Plevin’s legal representatives, Miller Gardner. Their costs, including a very significant ATE insurance premium, amounted to some £320,000 by the time of trial as against a maximum claim value of some £5,000. Despite the level of costs incurred, Recorder Yip QC also found that Miller Gardner had failed to get to the bottom of the factual case, this had caused the repeated amendments to Mrs Plevin’s claim and the eventual abandonment at trial of all but two of the heads of claim, and that there could be “no justification” for the way in which the claim had proceeded. As against this background, Paragon had made a without prejudice offer to Mrs Plevin back in 2010 on a commercial basis simply to see an end of the litigation. Miller Gardner had rejected that offer and therefore did significantly worse at trial than could have been achieved two years previously. Recorder Yip QC held that as a result, and given her “real concerns” over Miller Gardner’s conduct, it would be appropriate to order that Mrs Plevin pay Paragon’s costs on the indemnity basis in relation to the entirety of the action. This is the strongest order that a Court can make and is illustrative of the displeasure with which Miller Gardner’s conduct was regarded. It was clear from the amount in question as against the costs incurred that the litigation had been run only to benefit Mrs Plevin’s solicitors; and not to achieve the best result for her. Generally, given the findings by the Court of Appeal in Harrison and Recorder Yip QC in Plevin, claimant solicitors now have little chance of successfully continuing with claims in relation to PPI mis-selling. Further, the Courts are now very much alive to the fact that such claims cannot be regarded as being in borrowers’ best interests. The industry that has grown up around PPI should beware.

Hi, i wonder if anybody can give me some advice.. I have just gone through a credit reference check to rent a house, i have done this before without any issue and even had a mortgage approved so my finances are good (988 score on experian!) . I work full time and have always paid my bills, i have no overdraft or credit cards. The letting agent flagged up a CCJ on my account from 07/06/2013 which was filed by Npower for £2,185. I moved out of this property on 01/03/2012 after only living there for 12 months. I worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week and for the last 3 months i barely spent anytime there as i met my current partner. During the first 6 months i was sent a bill for almost a £1000 from Npower for my electricity. I immediately rang Npower as this 1 bedroom under dwelling which i was barely in could not realistically cost that much for electricity. My mum paid less for a 4 bedroom house over a year. They agreed this seemed high and agreed to send out an engineer to look at the meter. It was agreed that the meter did have a problem and the engineer agreed also that the house could never use that much electricity with the amount of electrical items i had and that i was one person there with a very busy job. The outcome was that they were going to remove the meter and put in a pre-paid meter. a few days later they changed the meter, i recieved a pre-pay card. I rang Npower and as far as they were concerned the problem had been sorted i paid a more realistic bill of a couple of hundred pounds and I continued using the pre-paid meter which cost me £10-15 per week for the amount i was there and i continued with this for the remaining 9 months without any correspondence from npower. In 2012 i moved in with my partner and have done since. Now I have found out that Npower actually filed a CCJ for the amount of £2,185 for this address. I have no paperwork as i cleared out old paperwork after relocating to the south. I have never recieved a letter about a CCJ or any arrears. Can anyone give me advice? I am not prepared to pay this extortionate amount. Thanks

Right Interesting one... I like the idea of this! Could be interesting!

I sold an item on ebay, marked as collection only, and my buyer chose to send a courier to collect. I agreed to this to facilitate the sale - yes, everyone has told me this was a mistake. Buyer made all the arrangements, using Shiply - that was her mistake! Courier duly collected the item - a hand-carved coffee table sold for £250 - but has never delivered and will not return emails, texts or phone calls. In short, he has gone AWOL and taken my table with him. Ebay, of course, have taken £250 off me again and given it back to the buyer. Neither of us has the table. So how do I recover the goods? My buyer seems either unable or unwilling to trawl through her emails to find her booking confirmation, but in the meantime I have found his name (though I suspect it is false), email address, phone number, a copy of his terms and conditions, the city he is based in, and I have his van make and registration. What I don't have is an address, or my table, or £250 Can any one advise me on my next move.

Hello. My husband has been receiving letters from DWP asking for repayment of £318.42 since about 2006 for Working Tax Credits. My husband has never claimed working tax credits. He even checked with his accountant, who checked through his paperwork and agreed with him that he has never claimed it, so he wrote my husband a letter explaining that this has never been claimed, which he forwarded to the DWP. Every 6 months or so, we get the chasing letter, my husband phones them up and explains yet again the situation and they say they will put the account on hold! Today came the letter .... he has till 03/07/2015 to pay or they will pass it to a collections office. We have been in France since 2011 (the letters are sent here so they know where we live). He explained again that he has never claimed working tax credit and the girl said that it had gone to a tribunal and that the case was dismissed and that the money is recoverable. We weren't even told it was going to a tribunal. In the end my husband told the girl to come and collect the money in person ! He kept asking the girl who he can talk to about the credits but she wouldn't move away from her predicted notes. So very frustrating. If we claimed and owed it fair comment. Does anyone have any ideas who we can speak to. Many thanks in advance.

Hi all, wondering if some-one can advise on this. Last year after a catalogue of errors and muddles with my pay and holidays etc, something happened and I had a melt down on the phone to some-one in HR (sheers frustration at being fobbed off and not listened to). It took me by surprise..didn't realize stress had been building up, so I finished conversation saying something like..I'm going to see my doctor and if I am ill you (my employer- public sector) have made me ill. T hat was on the 29th July 2014. I did go and see my doctor on the 1st August, (mainly to let them know the score) and continued to work as normal (part-time, evenings and weekends). I'd made it clear my job was not stressful it was all the management nonsense with my contracts, pay holidays etc that got me down and stressed , as I had to sort it all out in my free time in office hours.. Within a few days a letter arrived from the Occupational health service telling me to attend a meeting on Wednesday the 10th. The referral had been made on the 1st August. just two days after my meltdown on the phone with HR. So, Several questions. (the referral was for stress). a)are employers allowed to ambush some-one with OH like that out of the blue without even discussing the problem properly or formally even letting me know me I would be referred. b) I wasn't even on the sick and had never been on the sick. Did they have to right to refer me, especially without asking?( I idid get sent a consent form, with the appointment letter, but that had warnings about how if I didn't go it might affect decisions my dept made about me. I was stressed, not thinking properly, signed it and agreed to go to the appointment but made it clear it was under duress. c) The appointment was for a Wednesday 1.30, at a place about 8 miles away..in my free time plus I was expected to get there at my own expanse. As it happens I was afraid of driving in case I had a melt down again in the car (basically a high anxiety attack..sobbing not being able to breath etc.) . I asked for Time in lieu as I'd have to go on the bus,.., which would take ages. HR said no way but eventually relented and offered to pay for a taxi. Should they give me TIL as well as the taxi? The OH report basically said I was fine, just having a normal reaction to intolerable management issues. I continued to work for two months, while a review of the muddle with my holidays etc. was carried out. There is more but I'd like to see what people think about this lot first. Many thanks

Guys I need some advice please. Myself and a female friend went down to London for 9th March to paint at jam called Femme Fierce. We purchased tickets that included a tshirt and a goodie bag for £11.25. When the jam was finished we weren’t given the tshirts or bags as apparently “there wasn’t enough time to hand them out” even though everyone was standing about. After two months, we’ve still not received our tshirts or a refund, despite being promised they would be posted out within a week and we’re being properly ignored by the organiser. Basically most of the writers and artists paid extra for these tshirts, about 100 people (that’s £1000 to her – not included in the £1.25 to paint in a LEGAL tunnel!). She’s just ignoring all of us, but she’s online uploading photos of her latest jams and going to events. A few of us have asked for refunds and still nothing. This is an utter joke, people shouldn’t be able to get away with ignoring people that they used to advertise an event and got recognition because of said event. Basically we’ve all been ripped off. Does anyone know if I can do anything about this?

Hi I was charged for Brake discs as i already had the brake pads warranty, i paid on completion of the work. I then went to another independent garage for other work on my car which needed doing. It was at this point the independent garage bought to my attention that my brake discs and pads needed replacing too!! After informing them that I had just had them done recently, they told me that my discs looked a couple of years old and most likely they had been 'skimmed' on the outside to look new, but the inside are heavily corroded. To cut a long story short, i have been through their complaints procedure and since have taken my car for inspection at another Kwik Fit Garage which they arranged and are sticking by the fact that they did replace with new discs and pads. The independent garage have given me a letter to confirm the state of my discs and that they were never replaced recently. I have been in touch with CAB who have sent off my complaint to Trading Standards to investigate. Any advice or help would be highly appreciated. regards, IM

Apologies… I’ve re-started this as a new thread as the previous one was started by someone else and was becoming more involved, missing bits and out of chronological order. That, combined with the fact that ‘I confuse very easily’, made it seem a good idea! Feb 2007 GE Bank and Paypal credit card account opened…. Two years approx... Later Assigned to Santander Card withdrawn from the market by Santander & Paypal early in 2014 - no replacement was ever provided although initially proposed. Interest rates increased (again) and interest applied monthly to the account balance. Statement always showing the amount available to spend that month. I make payments to pay off the balance of the account (under the agreed credit limit) every month as if it was an active credit card account. I did ask Santander cards about this and they told me that there will be no new credit card issued and that I have to continue to make monthly payments to clear the balance - interest would continue to be applied to the balance on a monthly basis and the terms of the original contract still apply. The only difference being that I could not benefit from using the £2000 + and growing available to spend balance. They confirmed the Paypal card had now been withdrawn and they had no plans to issue another in its place and without a card the account could not be used. Just to clarify - I don’t need or want to use the account I diligently pay, assuming Santander must know what they’re talking about – until I happen upon a thread on the forum of a similar nature. I comment on the thread and on the advice given, request a CCA. CCA duly arrived with a completely different format contract; nevertheless I assume it’s put together, which I understand is legal. However, there is no signature. Just about to send a SAR request to Newday, as advised, and examine the contract a little further. Now I’m not a happy bunny!!!! There is no signature, my address (which is not my current one) is not on the contract, the word ‘variable’, as in rate, is missing and the interest rate stated doesn’t match the original! Now Newday have been assigned the account, they have removed years of online statements and tell me they are no ,longer available! Anything I can do – I’m still paying. In 2013-2014 it cost £1,100 to pay off £900 approx. including late payment penalties (I will check those figures again) Thanks, as always, for your help and advice B

I just come across this mail address in my means off leaving how am filling with this so called AA REPAIR WARRANTY which is just taken money from people and when there is a propblem with their car you tell them to clear off. I have the AA repair warranty with the aboved car. my car is in prtfect condition untill recently it developed a problem with the first gear. i called tghe AA patrol team who come to see the car and advice i take it to my local VAT garage. car was sent to KENS AUTOS in croydon since few month ago they replace the clutch of this same car and it still under warranty. upon they investigating the problem with car, they said it was the flywheel so it must be change. job was carried and they phone the AA to inform them. the AA promised sending a technician to inspect the damage flywheel. the said technician visited the garage on the agreed date and sent a repot to the AA that the problem with the flywheel has been there for ages and this the information received from the garage. upon such information sent to the AA they refused to pay my claim. i have been to kens autos in croydon to ask them about this case and they said no information of such types was given to the technician when he come around their garage. CCTV evidence was shown to proof that no such communication took place there so meaning the technician has lied or given false information about my car to the AA hence refusing my claim. the garage confirmed that no such problem was with the car when they were changing the clutch. it it was they would have done both together avoiding further cos to me the technician is from a company called ACE. i wrote to them about what their technician has done. they then wrote to the AA to find out but was told to stop given me information or responding to me. this means it deliberately thing the AA is doing. I have been in touch with a team member by nae NASH and ADOM who told me they still stand by their wards and wont change anything. My next step is the court and i have already assigned the case to a solicitor because i see it as a total rip off from a company like the AA. WHY IS THE AA RIPPING OFF PEOPLE . WHY WHY WHY NEVER BUY AA CAR REPAIR WARRANTY

Hi there 1st post hoping for some help Yesterday I received a Charge Notice from TPS saying: Reminder Having checked the vehicle details with the DVLA we are writing to you because either you were the registered Keeper at the time of parking or the registered keeper has named you as the driver at the date and time a Parking Charge Notice was fixed onto the vehicle after having breached the following parking terms and conditions. The driver was observed leaving the site whilst the vehicle remained parked on the premises at Halfords, Harrow, Greater London On 21/9/2014 at 16.30 They are asking for a payment of £90 within 28 days from the date of notice served They also state the discount period has now expired therefore the full Parking Charge Notice amount of £90 is due The trouble is I have never been to Halfords in Harrow anytime and definitely wasn't there on the date or time stated. They have my car reg correct but the vehicle model is wrong! Help guys what should I do when it clearly wasn't my car

My son bought a dilapidated terraced property about four years ago and spent two years completely renovating it and has been living there for about 18 months. Unknown to me he has never received a council tax bill and consequently has not paid anything to the Council. He has now received a letter from the council demanding to know details of the solicitor who handled the sale on his behalf. No doubt they wish to know purchase date etc so that they can issue a bill I am sure he will now be sent a hefty sum for arrears but just two points: i) Where does he stand on the two years the property was being renovated and uninhabited – does he still have to pay the full amount ii) Would he have to pay the arrears in one lump sum or could he agree a payment deal with the council? thank you

In a bid to protect customers from fraud, the UK’s big banks have published a list of things they will never ask you to do. Sadly the list does not include “to repay your mortgage” or “to come into a branch for a ‘review’ of your needs”, but with luck it will save some from falling victim to the assorted phishing, s-fraudsters-seven-million-pounds"]vishing (phishing by phone) and -lose-money-bank-cards"]courier (sending someone round to collect your card) [problem]s which seem to be permanently doing the rounds. These all involve conmen pretending to be from your bank or building society or the police in a bid to get hold of your details. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) reckons that millions of people are opening themselves up to possible fraud, while a survey by Santander found that a third of people aged over-65 were unfamiliar with the most common types of [problem]s, double the proportion of younger people. A leaflet and a new website, Know Fraud, No Fraud, have advice on how to avoid becoming a victim, and what to do if you get caught out as well, as well as the list of requests which should ring alarm bells. Here’s the list – read it and share it with people you know who may be less clued-up on these kinds of things. According to the list your bank will never: • Ask for your full Pin or any online banking passwords over the phone or via email • Send someone to your home to collect cash, bank cards or anything else • Ask you to email or text personal or banking information • Send an email with a link to a page which asks you to enter your online banking log-in details • Ask you to authorise the transfer of funds to a new account or hand over cash • Call to advise you to buy diamonds, land or other commodities • Ask you to carry out a test transaction online • Provide banking services through any mobile apps other than the bank’s official apps http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/oct/13/eight-things-bank-never-ask-you