Our employer has cut our hours from 5 days a week to 2.5 days a week. This has been in place now since 1st August this year. The cut was due to a downturn in work and as things show no sign of improving i am wondering how long this can go on for and how long he can enforce this. I/we have accepted the situation as a temporary measure, but we have had no contact from our MD as to what his intentions are. I have been with the company for 10 years and presumably would be entitled to a redundancy payment but dont know how this works.

So, got home this evening to be told by my wife the council have instructed Bailiffs for unpaid council tax. The background to this is we were claiming housing and council tax benefit from 2010-2013. The council decided we weren't entitled to what they had paid us for the period 2011-13 last year, even though we supplied them with evidence of income each year we claimed and they approved our claim. So, they demanded £25k from us in unpaid council tax and benefits paid. This is in dispute, we were on our arses and entitled IMHO and I sent them over 100 pages of evidence to this effect around August last year. We have, as yet, heard nothing about this. We were contacted about the outstanding council tax last Oct and I rang the council and explained it was in dispute. They explained that the benefits is a separate issue but they would put the matter on hold until such time as it was resolved, we have heard nothing since. Today, my wife thought maybe she should ring the council to find out what was happening. She was directed to ring another number which turned out to be the Bailiffs. They have reviewed our income and expenditure form, which I sent to the council, which showed we could afford £100 a month, but they insist on £300 a month, no less. We have been charged over £1000 for the privilege of having this referred to the Bailiffs. Any help/advice massively appreciated!! The council is Dorset County Council

On 12 November Ofgem issued notice of our proposal to revoke some of the provisions of the confirmed Provisional Order against Economy Energy following improvements in compliance. Read More Here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/economy-energy-provisional-order

My daughter insured her car through Bell last year. She missed a couple of payments myself and my husband used our debit card to pay the missing payments they said as she had missed 2 payments they would only accept the full amount outstanding for the rest of the year and would not insure her again unless she paid all the year up front. She couldn't afford to do that so we said she would go somewhere else. 7 days ago over £800 was taken from our account. We contacted the bank who told us it was Bell and they had illegally used our details to remove the money. Our debit card details should not have been kept on their records. We contacted Bell who apologised and said the money would be put back and should show up in 3 days. We are still waiting. Is there anything we can do?

hi im mike .. me and my partner are both disabled my partner is deaf and I use a wheelchair we have had several years of troubles with british gas from eronious transfers , them trying to force us to pay gas and elec bills for houses we don't even live in , to over charging us for massive amounts of electricity used when we asked them for help to find why our usage was so high , which they agreed to come to our house and find the problem then refused to do this after agreeing, we raised a complaint through the ombudsman about their behaviour who found british gas were doing things wrongly and told the company to apologise and gime £20 for my troubles . this latest episode is driving us both insane with stress and grief , while we were going through a very major personal problem . where my partner was abused as a child we were driving back and forward to the high court as my partner pressed charges for abuse , early in the year I informed british gas not to take more than £60 per month from my bank , and also made calls to them which they agreed during the trial for my partner , british gas went into our bank took over £90 knowingly without our permission on 3 occasions . now we don't have loads of money and the extra they took from our bank put a high court trial at risk , because we needed the money they took from our bank for fuel to go to the court trial . .. the man charged was sentenced to 9 years in jail . but british gas did not return the money to our bank except 1 payment when there were 3 occasions they took it from us .. we had the ombudsman deal with a previous complaint with the same company and they tried to hide the actions by saying it was part of a previous complaint , and they would not deal with it , now we cannot trust them to go near our bank have been forced to stop their acess to our bank . now they are trying to threaten us bully us and ignore the fact they took the extra money from our bank .. were looking for help or advice on how to deal with this company please ... many thanks in advance / mike and Sandra

Hi, We moved out of our flat which was run by Urban Development Projects Ltd. at the end of August and have been waiting to get our deposit of £650 since. I have been chasing our first point of contact who said that they have been busy with a music festival (I know) and that it would be done 'soon'. We finally got a quote from a company by the name of Urban Moor Construction Ltd. with a quote for £648 to: Re paint areas to rectify scuff marks and damaged plaster work £365 This was literally a hole in the plasterboard which we had replacedbut not skimmed over. I more than expected deductions for this but not this amount. There was also a few marks in the bedroom which needed painting over which were behind the wardrobe so we didn't see them until it was too late Fill, sand and polish kitchen work surface where hole has been drilled £85 We had a space for the washing machine under the kitchen side but the plug socket was way too far under the sink, so one of the handymen on site drilled a hole through the countertop so that we could plug it in where the microwave goes Deep clean flat ready for letting £90 There was a bit of soap in the soap pan and a small amount of buildup on the shower head which we didn't see. I had a look at the company who quoted this (Urban Moor Construction Ltd.); their logo was very similar to Urban Development's so I searched them both in Companies House... Lo and behold, they're both registered to 51 Selby Road in Leeds! Has anyone ever heard of a company doing this before? I can assure you that there definitely isn't £650 worth of repairs there so I feel as though they're trying to make a quick buck off of us. Oh... Just had a very patronising phone call off of Marc, the MD. He said that if we take it to TDS, they will look at the pictures and throw it out and then he called me a d*ckhead. How lovely. Luckily the call was recorded.

Hello, I have never used anything like this before but me and my partner are desperate for some advice. On Friday we received a letter from the bank saying they are taking our case to court to start repossession proceeding due to mortgage arrears. The case is to be heard on November 5th 2014 and we are beside ourselves with worry. Here's the story: My partner took out a mortgage to buy the property we are both living in back in 2005 with his ex parter. They are both on the deeds although she paid nothing towards the deposit (that is another matter) They broke up in 2010 and she moved out with their two children to live with a new partner. Tom (my partner, home-owner) could only afford to stay in the house for a couple of months but as he was living alone and had just lost his job, he started to fall into arrears with the mortgage. His ex partner refused to pay any of the mortgage payments but insisted he still the property. She claimed she was entitled to half of the profits from the sale of the house and that is all she wanted. It was explained to her if the payments weren't made the house would be repossessed any way and she wouldn't have a penny. She still refused to pay my partner moved out and his father moved in as a paying tenant. He lived here for just over a year and Tom was finally able to start repaying the mortgage again. However as he still had no job he couldn't find the money to repay the arrears, so they along with interest kept on building. In 2013 Tom and I had a son together and we considered moving in to this place. At the time is wasn't realistic as he was still out of work and I was technically a single mum on benefits as Tom didn't live with me (he lived with his mum). In march 2013 not long after our son was born Toms ex partner informed him she was going to be moving over 100 miles away with his two children. Tom had no choice but to take this matter to court and over a period of 9 month he worked up a solicitor bill of over £5000. She still refused to repay the mortgage but still insisted that she was entitled to half of the profits if it sold. Again she tried to get her solicitor to make Tom sell the house. This was the last thing Tom wanted to do as the deposit he used to buy the house was from inheritance his late granddad had left him. We made the tough decision to move in here together in Feb 2014. I sold all of my things from my old house, gave the house back to the council and moved in with Tom, our son Charlie and my two other children from a previous relationship. We had come to an arrangement with the debt solicitors working on behalf of the bank to pay the mortgage payments of £410 and £170 extra per month to clear the arrears to make a total of £580 per month. They would not wavier the interest. Tom was still out of work but we were able to claim tax credits as a couple which we worked out would help to pay the mortgage as I was still out of work myself also. For a couple of months we were comfortably paying the mortgage and the extra amount to clear the arrears. However, in late April an opportunity for Tom to open his own shop came about that sounded too good to turn down. All of the equipment was there, the owner only wanted 1 month up front for the rent and we didn't have to pay any rates for the first year. As it is a butchers shop, stock was on week over week finance basis. This is something Tom had always wanted to do and after many long hours going over all the pros and cons he decided to give it a go. We had both tried for so long to get jobs as employees this seemed the only way to make money. We opened the shop in May 2014. although it is doing well, it still is not turning a profit. Some months we had to use money we didn't have to pay the shop rent or utility bills which set us back again with the mortgage payments. Last month we had lots of extra expenses such as school clothes for my two children, the school lunches money, swimming lessons and guitar lessons to pay for for the start of September. We have now fallen be-hide again. With Christmas just around the corner we have big concerns over how we are going to manage to pay anything. With Tom and I not earning from the shop, I am unable to take a second job due to child care issues and not being able to drive - the only money we have coming in is our tax credits and child benefit. We are literally living day to day as it is. We have no luxuries, we don't drink or smoke, we have cut down our food substantially, we never go out, we never buy new things and the children never get treats or new clothes or shoes. We are in desperate financial strains and this repossession order is the last thing we need. The letter states we now have nearly £4000 worth of arrears and they want it all paid or to come to a reasonable arrangement to re pay it before the court date of November 5th. There is no way we can find that sort of money and we have no one to ask for help. None of our parents have any savings at all, we have nothing we can sell and because we do not claim income support or job seekers allowance we aren't entitled to government help either. Toms ex partner still has nothing to do with us and still refuses to pay anything towards the repayments (she still says she owns half the house though) She did in the end move 100 miles away and so all her debt letters come to our address as they do not have her new one. They have both been sent the letters about the court date, notice of possession order and also a letter from HMRC (I think) about filling out an income/out goings and proposal for repayments but obviously we have hers. We haven't told her about these letters yet or that we have to go to court but even if we did she wouldn't pay a penny as she wants it sold any way. I know that I am classed as an entitled resident as I am Toms partner and we live together and this mine and my children only home therefore I will go to court with him, but what will happen if he's ex doesn't show up? We will be emailing her today to inform her of the actions being taken, but we know she'll want nothing to do with it. Please help us, we have no idea what to do to help us keep our home, we have no where else to go. Is there anything we can do to stand a chance of this not going to court? Or anything we can do to try to keep our home? Tom is intending to talk with the debt solicitors working on behalf of the bank today to try to come to some sort of arrangement but we have no idea what our rights are, what suggestions we should make or anything that might help us. He doesn't have any PPI protection and will not be able to take a repayment holiday. With the amount of CCJS against him he has a terrible credit history and will not under any circumstances be able to get a loan for the money to pay off the arrears. Please help us.

Got issued with a CCMCC, with court fees and sol costs. Called up original creditor and paid the original sum excluding the fees. Do i need to pay the fees? I called up the sol involved and told them I have paid the original amount. They said they still intend to go to court to get the fees. Is this correct?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2745571/Shaming-bully-banks-We-DID-intimidate-customers-fake-debt-collection-letters-admit-bosses.html

Last weekend my Mrs arrived home to find she couldn't get into our driveway, we have new neighbours moving in next door and a painter had ladders and blankets all over our drive while he was packing up, so my Mrs just parked on the street outside our house. 5 mins later we heard the bang, the painter with a ladder hanging out the back of the car reversed, couldn't see where he was going and into the back of our car breaking the rear light and pushing the bumper out. So I went out, the guy was in shock and all apologetic, he said he would get it fixed, to keep it between us and would be in touch next week which was the week past, we heard nothing. We live in a small rural area, my Mrs knows the guy, he is the father of the folk moving in next door. My Mrs did something similar last year, someone staying with the neighbor on the other side had the car parked outside our house, she swung out and into the back breaking again her rear light and ours, I fixed ours for £35 for a new light while she went to town on our insurance coming to over £700 The b**ch claimed for everything. I priced a new light which I can fix myself, £40, no big deal, but then why should I do him any favors saying he is being a prick about it, should I go the full hog like the woman next door did on us?

Petition here. http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/support-your-firefighters-1 Thank you.

Hello everyone, My partner and I found ourcurrent home online with a private landlord. When we arrived, I noticed therewere three cars in the front yard area of the house, I just assumed thesebelonged to the others in the house. Now the house is a great size, our room ismassive, great garden and kitchen and is handy to work so signed a 6month contract. On the 2nd/3rd day i noticed a few things needed repaired in our room,nothing to expensive but not our job to fix, so I txt the landlord to arrangethis. I found out then that the cars actually belong to the landlord. He sellsthem from our front yard, this means that the others in the house who have cars have to park on the street/road side. So we have people arriving at all times of the day to lookat them. Next thing is that the landlord just lets himself in whenever he wantsfor no apparant reason. Iv read our contract back to front and know this is completely illegal, thathe is breaking all the rules of his side of the contract. Our current situation all kicked of last week when all morning he was comingand going from the house and garden (side gate). Not once did he knock or sayhe was coming in. I got really annoyed (like anyone would) as I was in thehouse by myself and felt intimidated. And when he was leaving I slammed thedoor behind him. now I know in hindsight I shouldn’t have, but he’s now tryingto say that I done it to hit him. and Is now saying that I AM beingunreasonable and demanding. That he does not have to and will not give noticewhen coming to the house, that its his house and hel do as he likes. Said he’ll think about knocking, but if no oneanswers after a min, he’s coming in. After this fairly tense discussion aroundhalf an hr later he txt to say we have 2months to get out. To top this all off, he’s not even our landlord, he’s the landlord’sbrother! What should we do?? As much as I dislike this man, we are in a great house,great location with lovely people, neither of us want to leave but this can’tcontinue Are we intitled to our despoit back?

We bought a new build property in September 2013 and moved in in December. When we moved in the underfloor heating was not working, the sheds were no built along with other snags they still had to finish. Since then we have had hardly any luck getting in touch with the builders to finish the work to the house. They have confirmed that the kitchen floor will all need to be taken up to fix the underfloor heating, but fail to ever commit to a date to do the work. Now they ignore any of our efforts to get in contact with them. We have all the email correspondence saved including them admitting that they need to complete the snags. Our solicitor is useless too and apart from ask their solicitor to get the builders to do the work, is really doing nothing. Where do we go from here in terms of getting the work finished. Is suing them a fairly easy process or will it be long and very costly for us, in which case it may be better for us to swallow the cost and pay for all the work ourselfs. Any help very much appreciated.

Hi there, I wrote already a post in the employment forum and it may be that I will be dismissed soon. My partner is receiving ESA, I was working but I'm currently off sick. I send my SSP1 form yesterday to get paid for my sick days.. so I'm claiming ESA as well soon as long as my sick note lasts. After that I'm still on my partners ESA claim. Is that correct? If the worst happen and I will be dismissed, will I and my partner receive sanctions? I'm worried because my employer wants/will? dismiss me for a wrong reason and I'm still in probation period. So he can dismiss me for any reason, but say it was my fault. I read about sanctions for ESA if you don't go to appointments or work related interviews, but nothing about being dismissed while working and claiming ESA. Can somebody had similar experience and give me some advice? What do you must provide the jobcenter after being dismissed? Thank you very much!

Hi all, hoping someone can help with our current situation. My husband has recently been diagnosed with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder), and has thankfully been put on the waiting list for a Psychologist. However, in the mean time a few things have cropped up that we could use some help with. Briefly, BPD is a disorder that causes overwhelming feelings of distress and anxiety, problems self-managing feelings without self-harm, problems with being impulsive. Firstly he's been let go from his work. He was working long term through an agency at a public recycling centre, and they've let him go because he's not been pulling his weight recently (due to his BPD). This leaves us in a bit of a pickle where it comes to income, though I've still got my job working 20 hours a week. Due to his BPD he's not really able to search for work at the moment, nor would be really be able to perform at work either. His doctor did offer him a sick note just before he got let go, but he declined due to needing to keep the job, something he felt was threatened if he took time off sick. Wishing he'd taken that option now So we're trying to work out what benefit he really needs to be looking into for the moment, until he starts getting treatment, or naturally comes out of this episode. We've also got 2 loans, a credit card and a £1000 overdraft that's maxed out. What can we do with regards to these in the meantime to help our money situation? Also can anyone recommend a mental health support forum at all, if allowed? I think we could both use some help with this atm:sad: I'm sure there was more I wanted to ask, but at the mo thats all I can remember Many thanks in advance to all StageD

Hi, We moved into our house in July 2013. We like it here and we are happy. Even started to decorate. But there are a number or problems in the house that need fixing. The landlord is aware. They are: Fence needs fixing Plaster coming away from the wall near our door Obvious leak in the roof as mould if forming on the ceiling in a cupboard in our bedroom Radiator not working Boiler yesterday lost pressure and a stain has formed on the kitchen ceiling. Weird burning like smell to from the boiler so now thats off so no hot water or heating The fence, plaster and radiator have been like this since we moved in. All got promised they would be fixed. Still nothing. Well to be honest the fence was propped up but not fixed. The wind blew his prop down so its broke again. The mould. All I get is excuses saying builders are busy with the current weather. I told him about this a month ago. The boiler. He said he would get in touch by yesterday evening with a number with British gas homecare he has an account with (Do they fix leaks?) but nothing and now no reply. The boiler also has a not safe sticker on it. (It is safe but the flu goes through the loft. They is no bracket or ceiling plate so British gas said they have to put a sticker on it) and he has been told about this repeatedly. But nothing. We have paid our rent on time since being here, made improvements to the house and never complained unless about issues like the above. But I dont know what to do now. Being half term my kids are off but everyone else is at work so I cant really go around o anyones house. Advice please?

Worked four years same place the post was senior care assistant private care home. employed as senior care assistant. Applied for new job' had interview all fine so far. new employer ask me when I can start! . I said I would give the months notice as per contract all fine so far. new employer ask them for ref. they have sent her an email saying 'It is our company policy not to give a full reference . Any help please. new employer to me in email Says she don't understand what they mean.by Its our company policy not to give a full reference . new employer says it's a regulated industry you need a full reference. ?

Simple one for you empowered and enriched Caggers... I had a 10k loan back in 1989, it came with a letter saying there would be interest payable in advance and that they were obliged to inform me of that in accordance with the Consumer Credit Act. I asked the lender, a High St bank, who regulated this loan - simples eh? I'm told it is for me to go and seek legal advice upon the regulation of my loan..... Now pray tell me who it should be who tells me who regulates my loan? 1)The Regulators, 2) A solicitor or 3) The lender? I'd appreciate anyone answering this simple question to say why they give me the answer they do.... Thanks A1

Hello, we moved into our new build flat 2 years ago and set up straight away with Npower. for the first year we were paying just £20 a month for electricity only, then suddenly after a year we got a letter saying we owe £300 and our bills have gone up to £120 a month. after looking into it it turns out the MPAN number on our bills is our neighbours meter. We have now been waiting 4month for NPower to send someone out to clarify that our Mpan number is not the correct one and every time i ring up they just tell me they are waiting for someone to get round to it and all i can do is wait! im worried the longer it takes the more we are going to owe them as our neighbours flat was empty the first 6months so weve definately used more elctricity then him. is there anything i can do to speed them up so i can get it sorted and change to a better supplier?? thanks in advance for any help

Hello all, I have just registered as the advice I was reading has been invaluable, thank one and all, having many problems with wescot at present, they keep threatening court proceedings, holding them off at present, I made an access request to the credit card provider and all they have given me is the application form, advice seems to suggest that a reconstituted agreement will be enough to enforce the debt, is this true, the debts precede the change in the law, so I am covered by the 1974 act, any practical advice for next steps with wescot, it also seems to me that their solicitors are possibly in breach of the solicitors regualtion authority when they communicate with people, their disclaimer seems highly dubious. Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I need to protect my young family. Regards benjamin brittan

can anybody help.. we had a issue a storage company who the instructed baliffs to remove our retail stock and sold it at auction.. we did not know anything about this until afterwards they took 200 items item worth approx 20k and sold it for next to nothing at 1725.. what can we do as we have been ripped off beyond belief for a debt of £625.. we didnt receive a penny as the baliffs took the remaining balance for themselves myself and my wife are feeling physically sick by this and has left us with no stock and a huge problem trying to replace it . can anybody help.. the baliffs concerned were some frim called Guants in bradford who we have contacted and found them rude annd agressive and they simply hung up the call. any help would be greatly appreciated

My hubby and I live in a 2 bedroom flat, we are in receipt of housing benefit and pay bedroom tax as we use both rooms for medical/health reasons. We are registered to move nearer our daughter as she provides care and support for us both. We are eligible for any 1 bedroom property across the county but we are also eligible for 2,3,4 and 5 bedroomed properties, paying the bedroom tax BUT only in the difficult to let areas where we live. In comparison, our daughter, who is not on benefits and pays her full rent, is registered to move as she lives in a 2 bed flat and wants a house but she is eligible for any 3,4 and 5 bedroomed properties across the county. Is this fair? Are we being discriminated against because we are on benefits ? Any thoughts or advice on this query would be welcome.

Hi I'm new here so please treat me gently. I have a dispute with a letting agent and landlord who will not return our deposit. We have an agreement that is recorded as an ‘Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement’ which states that it is governed by the Housing Act 1998. I have requested on a number of occasions for details of the Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme that they have used and they have not provided any answer. I have also asked for details of the Landlord but again they have failed to answer. The only information I have is the agents details and the line on the tenancy agreement that lists the landlord as ‘person’s name (letting agents name)’. I suspect that the agent, or a family member, is the landlord. I want to start legal proceedings but do not know who I should proceed against, if I take action against the agent for recovery of the deposit will this fail if they arenot the landlord? Does anyone know how I can gain the details of the landlord so I proceed against the right individual? Also, does anyone know if I make a claim through the small claims court whether they have the power to impose a fine for not complying with the TDP scheme or landlord. Can anyone advise me on how I should proceed please? Thanks Martin

Hi all, Long time lurker and reader of these forums, I've finally taken my head out of the sand and stared reality in the face. Thought I'd share my story to get it off my chest a bit and hopefully get some useful and practical advise along the way. Both me and my wife have been using credit to pay bills and other credit for far too long, it has got to the point where we just spend every month waiting for a letter from Barclays telling us that they where helping us out by charging us very 5 days for using our reserve overdarft and then topping back up with cash from credit cards to try and avoid going over the reserve limit (stupid I know). We've using cash advances from credit cards and the occasional boost cash at Christmas or Birthdays for about the last 3 years and we've plodded on somehow getting by without ever defaulting on anything other than using our reserve almost every month. The consequence of all this is I've become almost introvert and completely not the person I was 3 or 4 years ago. We don't going anywhere or doing anything we've even gave up any hobbies and don't have any social life as we can never really afford to go out without worrying about what it might cost. I find it impossible to talk to people about it as allot of people assume we've got into this situation by squandering money on luxuries. I wish i had to be honest but it's all just come form trying to get by! We've never rented stupidly big places, never had a fancy car or a big TV or a games console (other than one I was given which I never used because I couldn't afford games LOL) and to be honest I can't remember the last time I spent more than £20 on something that wasn't essential. All of our stuff is second hand and most of it is old. We owe allot (about £32K it transpires) to a combination of credit and store cards (store cards are all relatively small amounts) and unsecured loans. It started as credit cards, then a consolidation loan then we slipped into using the cars again and so it went on. We should have dealt with this a long time ago but for reasons that I can't explain (embarrassment and feeling that we might just make it some how being the main ones) we've carried on and just got by on an day by day, week by week and month by month basis. Only ever getting essential things and feeling completely terrified every time the inevitable letter from Barclays dropped through the door. I an absolutely bricking it and scared stiff about how this is all going to pan out! My wife knows the situation and what I'm hoping to do about it, but i don't think she really understands that we're going to get allot of calls (from some very rude and aggressive people suspect) and probably some home visits (from some even more aggressive people i suspect). I'll give some more info later as i haven't the time (or the courage at the moment) to list the companies and the amounts, I have however gone through the whole lot on the CCCS web site and requested a DMP pack to be sent. So some of questions to begin with, What are other people's experiences with CCCS? Should I contact everyone before i go any further and make them aware of my intentions, or is this not going to help CCCS with the process? I am terrified of the amount of pressure and the type of contact we're going to receive once this all kicks off, will it start straight away or will I have to have been in default a while before it really starts? Will the companies we owe money to just feed us to the wolfs by passing us straight to a debt management company or can I avoid this and just get them to take me to county court if we can't reach an agreement on payment? One of them companies is Northern Rock i have about 12 months of a 7 year loan left to pay, it was done on the internet and I took out PPI which was added to the loan so acquired an interest charge at the same rate as the loan, is it possible to claim this back once I've started making reduced payments and get it take off the outstanding amount or can i kiss that goodbye because I'll be in default of the terms of the loan? Enough questions for now anyway. I'm hoping to get some good advise and maybe get in contact with other who've been or are in the same situation and if seeing what I'm going through helps some else along the way them I'll be happy!

This has to be the height of absurdity! Click here.