For the full story : - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/thousands-of-barclays-customers-data-stolen-and-sold-to-on-rogue-traders-9117329.html

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2013/01/18/rogue-dudley-dealer-admits-selling-unroadworthy-cars/ These are the guys we need to get rid of!

I brought a house approx 10 years ago and used the services of a local solicitor. I am now in the process of trying to sell my property but a couple of issues have delayed the sale. I remember reading in the local newspaper around five or six years ago that the solicitor who dealt with the sale of my property had left the company, I seem to recall the solicitor left "under a bit of a cloud", thus the reason for the newspaper article. Is there any way I can find out if that solicitor was "struck off" from practising? I`ve checked the local newspaper search facility to try and find the report without success. I`ve entered the names concerned into a search engine again without success. Would appreciate any help and advice on the subject. Many thanks in advance.

Let's hope the OFT actually act with these new powers; http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18909654 Rob

Dan Penteado has been sentenced to 12wks in prison for benefit fraud - so quite obviously it couldn't have been a genuine error! Dear me, I think that's his TV "rogue catching" career down the pan! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9405434/BBC-Rogue-Traders-Dan-Penteado-jailed-for-24000-benefit-fraud.html

Hi All, New on here, but need your help already! Have you had a bad experience with a Builder who is based in the Basingstoke/Hampshire borders area? I can't be more specific for obvious reasons, but suffice to say I have had a very, VERY bad experience with a builder who is based in that area, although he has also worked in other areas of the country too, often in cahoots with a plumber who is also somewhat suspect in his workmanship. For it to be taken seriously by the authorities and something be done about him, I need to try and find others who've been a victim of his shoddy workmanship and the fraudulent acquisition of their money. There's a world of difference between a one off contract gone bad and a pattern of behaviour going back years where his guilt is clear and unequivocal. I've been left with a home that is far from finished and have lost A LOT of money that I couldn't afford to lose and cannot do without. If you've had problems can you post or message me please? I hope against hope that with a bit of group effort we could stop this guy, and if along the way we manage to stop a few others and link up cases it's all to the good! Strikes me that there is a real need for a specific bad builder forum/site or confidential helpline reporting service where victims of bad building can convene at a central point and join the dots to others ripped off by the same firm/person. From what I've seen so far in trying to get help and support (and there is precious little out there unless you've got very deep pockets), everyone wants to know about other cases, but the means of finding those other cases is severely limited unless you turn private eye... but last I heard, stalking someone is not an entirely legal pastime! Bottom line, it seems Trading Standards seem to no longer have the manpower or resources to fully investigate cases from scratch and make the required links between them because of budget cuts, and the crime rate just keeps on rising. Those in a position to offer help and support only get excited if you can hand them everything on a plate, documented and evidenced, tied up with a bow and sealed with a kiss. This puts the onus of being a detective onto the homeowner...bizarre, but true. My one consolation through the frustration of trying to find other victims over the last few months, (without resorting to a public post on a forum), is the belief that leopards don't change their spots, and if a builder is prepared to rip off one person in such a detrimental and far reaching way, it's a pretty safe bet he's done it to other people. I just can't find them... Please help if you can, and in doing so perhaps it will help you with your case too. Thank you Donebybuilder PS.I don't expect anyone to post names etc on the forum, I wouldn't do that either! My forlorn hope was that if someone did have something to share, that this would be a means of making initial contact with eachother. I figured the details would happen either by private message or off the site completely. I don't want to get anyone (or myself) into trouble...but I am desperate. He has left us in a very big mess that without help, we can't fix...

Please be aware that you do not need to go through a claims management firm if you have a complaint about a mortgage broker or mortgage lender regarding Payment protection insurance or a mortgage you were sold. A lot of claims firms will just charge you an upfront fee of a couple of hundred pounds and they are making false claims to mortgage brokers/advisers when people don't have a case but they tell you you do. Mortgage brokers are being put out of business because for every false claim they receive they have to pay £500 to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Please sign this e-petition as it calls for claims firms to also have to pay if they make a false claim: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/17198 Please make your claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free and they will tell you if you have a case or nor before pursing the broker.

Please be aware that you do not need to go through a claims management firm if you have a complaint about a mortgage broker or mortgage lender regarding Payment protection insurance or a mortgage you were sold. A lot of claims firms will just charge you an upfront fee of a couple of hundred pounds and they are making false claims to mortgage brokers/advisers when people don't have a case but they tell you you do. Mortgage brokers are being put out of business because for every false claim they receive they have to pay £500 to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Please sign this e-petition as it calls for claims firms to also have to pay if they make a false claim. Please make your claim to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free and they will tell you if you have a case or nor before pursing the broker.