Dear CAG I'm encouraging a friend of mine to sign up but while she's in the process can I get some advice for her please? Following substandard work completed at her house, it then transpired that the handyman in question had not given her the cancellation rights she was legally due, thus putting him in the position of committing a criminal offence. This has been confirmed by Trading Standards. The handyman is aware of this and admitted it in writing. In the same letter he confirmed that he was in any case putting this in the hands of a debt collection agency, which has been in touch with my friend. The issue is not the DCA but the behaviour of the handyman which is tantamount to harassment according to one informal legal opinion of another friend. Does my friend have a case to sue for harassment; what are the timescales and damages likely to be if so? Where to start please? Thanks for any advice Pinny

In short.... On or about October 2012 I purchased furniture on 0% finance to be paid for in 24 equal installments of £28 over a 2 year period. The first payment went out in Nov 2012 and there was no missed payments or indeed any issues until Feb/Mar 2014. In January 2014 I purchased through Currys, a Fridge Freezer and a Tumble Dryer (again on credit) to be paid back in 10 equal installments of £50.10. Due to some error my initial payment for the Fridge etc did not go out and I received a letter stating that I had missed a payment. I duly phoned the company paid the outstanding amount and set up a DD. It seems at this point, an error was made and changes were effected which led to the previously arranged £28 payment to start redirecting to the wrong account. The £28 payments continued to go out of my account every month, so understandably I was blissfully unaware that there was an issue. It seems that instead of clearing the furniture account, this money was now going into the Fridge account. As a result the Fridge finance was cleared in 7 months (instead of 10) and the other account was accumulating arrears. The company did not at any stage contact me via email, letter, phone, text or indeed any way at all, to advise me that there was a problem on my account. If they had, it would have been plain to see that a) I had been making the payments and b) that these payments had been posted to the wrong account. If the company did this or applied due diligence to their own accounts management, this problem would have been easily identified and rectified. I did not in fact find out that there was a problem until I was refused two credid card applications that I had made on line. At first I thought it was because I was 'too good' if this makes sense..... because I am the kind of person to actually pay off my Cr. cards in full to avoid interest... when I was refused the second time however, I became concerned so I obtained a credit report (at my own expense) and was horrified to see that not only did the report show me as being delinquent for 6 months, but I was now judge 'very poor'.,.. this has and will make it impossible for me to obtain any credit..... my credit reputation is now ruined, and it has been due, in its entirety to a completely avoidable error of the consumer finance company. As soon as I found out about this I contacted the company, explained what had happened and asked them to correct the accounts... reverse any referral charges and correct my credit file... Their response was completely unhelpful and unsympathetic... despite my attempts to explain what had happened they insisted that I now contact the collection agency because the account has now been passed to them. I am furious... no phonecalls, letters, emails... their error and now I have to contact these undesireable people to fight my corner and perhaps have them hunt me down for money that I have already paid? Can you please advise if I have a case, and how I might proceed with the matter. I have also lodged a complaint with the FS Ombudsman, but I am so upset at how their personnel have treated this situation that I am now inclined to want to go further.

Hello all, I am having major anti social behaviour issues with some housing association residents on my estate. I first approached the landlord 2 years ago, and nothing has happened. Since then, it has gotten worse. I own my property, I bought it as a newbuild, and i've had my windows done in, my gates and tyhere is continual daily harrassment due to a tunnel which goes under my property. I've had to install alarms and cctv for when I work nights, as it's the only way my partner would stop in the property. This cost me almost £1000. I found out recently my partner and I top our council's vulnerable adult list and we have had 118 police visits in the last 12 months. I have [photographic evidence of all the culrits attacking my property. All emails to the housing authortiy, PlusDane housing. Is it unreasonable to use the social landlord for not dealing with this situation 2 years ago when we first bought it to their attention?

I will try and be succinct, promise! Please ignore issue of eligibility for repayment/compensation, as Lloyds have already accepted this. I initially contacted Lloyds in October '13 asking if I'd had PPI as I simply couldn't remember. That's my bad, I know, but I'm not good now with long term memory. They acknowledged receipt and said they'd look into it and I heard from them on the phone once when they called and asked lots of questions about what my credit card was for, etc. At the end of November with an offer of £630. They said that due to passage of time they no longer had detailed records, but that their offer was "equal to the average compensatory payment taking into account the period during which you held the credit card and were paying for your PPI cover". It did NOT say how long that period was, so I couldn't work out what the offer represented per month. The letter included examples of how refund calculations worked, but none of the examples were of any use to my circumstance because they all dealt with known figures of payment. Their letter had a phone number, which turned out to be a call centre in the Philippines. I called and said that if only they'd told me they didn't have any records, I could have given them some help with that, so could I please speak to the department that had made my offer. The call centre said they could not put me through as that department had no incoming phone lines (yeah, right) but that they could 'escalate' my claim. Escalation apparently involves them writing notes on my file that I'd called, which the department who calculated offers could read, and who'd then consider what I'd said. It didn't seem very sensible to filter all communications via a third party, especially one who's first language wasn't English, so I asked how else I might communicate directly with the relevant department, but was told this was the only route available. I asked when I had started paying PPI. They didn't know, because the only information they had access to was the letter that had been written to me, and that didn't have that information in it. Well obviously not, otherwise I wouldn't have needed to ask, would I? I asked how many months I had been paying PPI, and again they didn't know, but they would 'escalate' it for me. I asked if escalation would mean that whoever was reading the notes would call me so I could ask them my questions, but the call centre said they did not know whether anyone would call me back. Frustrated, I asked them what questions they COULD answer, but the irony went over their heads. They could do no more than confirm what had been written to me, and take note of whatever I said and put that on my record where someone else might read it at some other time. I said that I could not possibly be in a position to decide whether the offer was fair if I could not get certain information about it, so I really did need to speak to the department that they appeared to be a firewall for. I asked for an email address for the right department, and after much argument was given one. I sent a detailed letter explaining the questions I had, including the ones I'd asked above, and also asked how the 'average' had been calculated. There's another hole in my memory here – at some point before I wrote to them I got the information that I had paid PPI from May 2002 to March 2005, but I can't remember now them giving that to me. They had initially said they couldn't get that info, but somehow or other I have those dates now on a scrappad. By some miracle, I found a statement from March 2005, which showed a payment that month of £47 PPI against a balance of approx. £6,100. I said that I did not remember this period, but that I did know that I couldn't possibly have cleared such a large balance quickly and it would take many months to clear down such a large balance, so it was reasonable to believe that I'd be paying that off for a considerable period and on each payment making further PPI payments too. The statement showed the previous months balance as being in line with that month, so I was able to work out that months PPI payment too. I said that I would expect, but had no genuine knowledge one way or the other, that it would have taken me quite some time to build up an outstanding balance of just a few pounds under the credit limit which was shown at £6,250, so again it was reasonable to assume that I'd been making PPI payments on cumulative balances leading up to the month for the statement I had. With the two known figures for PPI, March which was shown and February's that I calculated from the carried over outstanding balance, I got an average of £40 per month paid. If I were to assume that this was a representative figure over the lifetime of the PPI contributions, that would equate to £1400 paid. That's without the interest at 8% as Lloyds said, purely because I don't know how to work that out cumulatively and until when. I know its a huge assumption to say that the payment I did know is representative, but at least its a figure from MY account rather than an average of other peoples which is how Lloyds want to work out my offer. Finally I asked that someone from that department actually call me on the phone, so that we could resolve any questions between us easily, and complained that Lloyds were effectively preventing me from speaking to them which I found to be inequitable given that they regularly insist on me providing methods of them communicating with me. I emailed that off to them, and promptly got it straight back – the server at Lloyds had bounced the email because the address didn't exist. Somewhat annoyed, I called the Philippines again and complained that the address they'd provided didn't work and insisted that I speak to someone in the claims management department in England, but they still refused to give me anything other than an 'escalation' note on my file. I sent the letter to the PO box address instead, and three weeks later got a letter from them. With baited breath I opened it, and discovered it was nothing but an acknowledgement that I'd written to them. I did phone the Philippines several more times over coming weeks, asking when something would happen. They replied that they didn't know, but that they'd 'escalate' my question, and someone may or may not phone me but that it would certainly be considered. Each time I called I had to go through the routine of confirming a number they could reach me on, despite them not ringing me on it. I went in to my branch and threw a paddy there that all I was asking was the courtesy of a return phone call, and after an unpleasant hour they came back and said they didn't know how to get someone to talk to me either but that there was no point in visiting the branch again. This Friday I had my regular frustrating call to the Philippines and got a different answer – I had been written back to, and the following day the letter duly arrived. It contained an offer, of £8. This time though, it said that a breakdown of the offer was made according to my cards. On one of the four cards I'd had with Lloyds, my card balance at 14 March 2011 was apparently zero. What relevance the 14 March date had wasn't mentioned. It did say that, if I'd not purchased PPI, my balance on that day on that card would be -£449.16. It did not say how it would be that amount, just that it would be that figure. An 8% interest calculation of £188.57 was added to 28 February 2014. The total of those figures wasn't shown, but it adds up to £637.73, leaving, according to them, £8.78 owing which they'd pay into my account. No mention was made of any of the issues I raised in my letter, or of the statement of the period that I'd provided. No mention was made of how they'd managed to find my actual payment details now, when they hadn't managed this when they made their original offer. No mention was made of the remaining three credit cards. In short, it is my firm belief that Lloyds are lying to me. Their statement about £449.16 being paid in premiums cannot be true, given that it equates to less than ten months premiums equivalent to the one month we do know, and my knowledge that such a sum would have taken a long time to both build up and be repaid. Dividing their offer (before interest) up over the 35 months they say I paid PPI comes to £12.77 per month and I believe I paid a lot more than this. I'm also very suspicious that Lloyds now appear to have found my records, but don't include them in their letter. I don't believe they HAVE found them. So, what to do now. I can ring the Philippines, where they'll happily 'escalate' my argument. That escalation doesn't mean in and of itself that someone will ever contact me, and I could happily wait from now until the end of time for a response which may not come. I could go into my branch again, but they happily admit they have no knowledge of how to reach the relevant people. I could write to them at the PO box address, but since they ignored entirely the content of my previous letter I'm not exactly hopeful of a positive outcome on a second try. I could complain to the Ombudsman, which has the satisfaction of knowing that there is a cost to Lloyds for the service, but I don't know exactly what I'm asking for. It is entirely possible that in a single conversation on the phone with Lloyds they could reassure me that their figures are correct, fair, and most importantly demonstrable, but they steadfastly refuse to do this. I won't go into here why they upheld my complaint but it is fair to say that they acknowledge misselling it to me, so why is it that I can't be afforded the simple courtesy of a phone call. I'll even pay for it, if they'd give me a number to reach. If, as a result of that call, we agree that Lloyds have got it right, the matter is closed, and if we agree that they've got it wrong, we can work out to what number and pay it to me. Since I can't ask the Ombudsman to force Lloyds to ring me, I don't really think that's what I'm looking for. I think I've been shabbily treated by an organisation that has admitted they took money from me that they shouldn't have done, and what I'd really like to do is sue them in the small claims court. I'd like to sue for £1400 as the figure I believe I have paid, the interest to date on that, an amount of hours at the allowable rate to compile the case, and exemplary damages for the avoidable inconvenience and stress Lloyds have put me to in not working together to resolve the issue without recourse to external parties. What I'm looking for here is constructive criticism on the above. We can leave aside the argument of eligibility since that's previously resolved, but am I being stupid/ungrateful/stubborn in not just taking the offer, or is it fair that I should have some faith in its integrity? My sincere and genuine thanks to anyone having read this far!

have decided that I am sueing my LL and the choice I have are MCOL for £795 (deposit) which he put in a scheme 10 months after i gave it to him (gave in jan 13, he paid it in dec 13) MCOL for £795 (deposit) + damage to my property from the damp in the house, plus stress and harressment as he refuses to fix any thing in the house N1 claim form for everything I am not happy with and let judge decided which do you think would be best way am not bothered about him evicting me cheers

Hi guys, I need your help. I am having a difficult time to seek for solictiors in my local as many of them have declined to take my case on a legal aid due to over 3 years limitation. I'm still trying to sue the hospital for taking responsibility for caused my father's death by leaving the missing needle inside his body during his heart surgery bypass. They had left him trouble with his breathing after the surgery when they transferred him to high dependency unit which they was supposed to transfer him to intensive care unit, but they left it 3 days later. He kept being ill and getting better which it had occured 3 times already. His face went grey and they should have transfer him to the theatre surgery straight away but they didn't. They had put the room on his own where it was really dirty and filthy. He caught the MRSA infections and c.difficult. He had sepsis and pneumonia, they was not be able to keep up with him and they had gave up on him. They had switched off his life support machine to allowed him to die in peace without our permission when we was outside in the waiting room and we was not being allowed to be in the room with him. They was being negligent to give him poor care and treatment when they did not acting quickly enough to save him. I can't be able to get legal action against them, because the hospital postponded their response to preventing us taking legal action. I have tried to find my local solicitors everywhere after the incident, but none of them want to take it due to three years limitation when I was under the limitation. I wrote a letter to my local MP to get support with solicitors. I received a letter from my MP as he said that I should try to get advice through my local citizens advice bureau which I already did it. I responded his letter and i said that i have already done it when my local citizens advice bureau adviced me what to do to seek for solicitors. I got his responded and he said that he was not aware about the time limitation, so he said that he cannot help. I am very upset, angry and frustrated the way we have been treated. I don't really know what I am suppose to do. Can you please advice me what I would need to do to get advice with solicitors or if I need to see a lawyer on a legal aid? If it is not possible, do I need to write a letter to british medical association to get legal advice or what other way I need to do? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance

I have lurked for a while and found great advice in the past on other issues. I will try to keep this brief, with the key facts: 1. I signed a contract for a 12 month AST in Feb of this year. The contract clearly stated that the landlord has all the required consents to let the property 2. In May of this year I received a letter addressed to the tenant/occupier advising that there was a possession order on the property. 3. After further investigation I discovered that the landlord had not been paying their mortgage, and also that they had never received consent to let the property from the lender. Had I known this I would never have entered the agreement. 4. The agents were most unco-operative, unresponsive (calls were ignored, emails ignored) and eventually they just told me that they were cancelling their management of the property and to seek alternative accommodation. This has cost me a significant amount of money in terms of fees (to them initially, and to my next agent too), moving costs, additional expenses associated with the new property (I now have to pay for a car parking space for example) I have written a letter of claim to the agent, outlining the reason for the claim (breach of contract) and the amounts I was claiming from them. However, they have responded and said that it is between me and the landlord and I should pursue him/her. The problem with this is that the breach is in the actual contract itself which the agent drew up for us. Signed by myself and the agent. They obviously did not carry out adequate checks, and obviously did not ask to view the landlord's status in terms of permissions to let the property (the contract states that he/she has all the permissions) Please can you let me know your thoughts on the above and whether I should continue pursuing the agents, or is this something I shuld take up with the landlord (who may or may not be bankrupt due to the property being repossessed) ? Many thanks!

Hi All any and all advice welcome on this please.. I was working for a Local Gov Auth, and had been since 2006. however since 2008, i was subject to bullying in the workplace which caused all sorts of stress, management where told but didn't do anything...i was told just to keep recording the instances and they would look into it. as a result of the stress i ended up in hospital for a mystery stomach illness several times, that has now been linked to the stress. in January last year i was subject to more bulling, this not only breached the anti bullying policy but also the dignity at work policy. of which i ended up being off sick for 6 weeks, i had to see a councilor and was unable to return to work until this was done. whist i was off sick, i had a meeting with my manager and he agreed that the 2 policies had been breached. the offender was not disciplined in anyway, instead a job was created of which moved me from the roll i was doing and which later transferred me from the authority the transfer has worked for me, i now enjoy working for the new company and i have not been off sick at all, and i have no work stress. would i have a claim for damages on this. many thanks for looking Lets

My friend agree to purchase a property from Estate Agent A. After agreeing to purchase my friend. did searches, instructed solicitor, fixtures and fittings were signed. The solicitor - not the Estate Agent rang my friend and said that the vendor had a change of circumstances and has taken the property off the market. 24hrs later when looking on the websites he found the same house with the same agent for sale for £10k more than previously agreed. The estate agent was called by my friend and it was confirmed that the house was the same house. He was forced to, because of the chain, pay the £10k additional. Here are my thoughts. 1. The estate agent advised the vendor this was possible 2. The estate agent did not act responsibly and may have agreed to the vendor as they new this would result in higher commission. Can my friend sue the Estate Agent for acting so dishonestly or do anything?

I recently booked a series of interconnecting flights through Opodo. They were all with the same airline company. Opodo sent me an email confirming my booking (their email title 'Opodo flight booking confirmation') that listed my flight details and confirming the price. I subsequently booked hotels, rail travel and other sundries that would complete my trip, however not through Opodo. I then received an email from Opodo entitled 'Opodo flight booking unconfirmed'. It also lists my booking reference number and states that they are 'unable to provide me with a reason that the booking has failed'. I attempted to book new flights but surprisingly they are now four times the price. I have tried to contact Opodo via their internet complaint service and alas have had no reply. I have now had to book the only flights available (there are now no direct flights) and make new hotel/rail bookings at quite considerable cost. Can I take Opodo to the small claims court under the DSR as the price was agreed at the point of booking and as they state in their terms and conditions the contract becomes valid at the point of sale. If they advertise a flight at a price and then cannot provide it this cannot be right? Or are they the same as Autotrader ( - I had reason to complain after they advertised a car with features it did not have. I went to Trading Standards who ran a mile as there is so much legal red tape associated with them). Any help/advice appreciated (and yes I have learnt my lesson and won't be using them again!) Thanks

Hi guys, I am currently negotiating a settlement agreement through ACAS whilst the tribunal is pending. I need to know under what circumstances my previous employer can attempt to recover the money from me once the agreement is signed. I ask because they have stated they will not sign away their rights (but I have to). This makes me highly suspicious about their intentions and although the ACAS conciliator assures me this is normal, I'm sure he doesn't know how often people get screwed over later once his part is done! Basically, I wasn't very senior in the company so the only thing I'm worried about is that I will settle, sign away my rights and then my employer will make up some 'gross misconduct' which wouldn't be difficult to do and they've lied a lot in the past (and in the very recent!). I'm worried they will make a claim to a county court saying they wouldn't have had to pay out for my claims if they had found this earlier as they would have fired me. 1. Can they do this after I have signed an agreement through ACAS even though I no longer work for them? (would it have to be specified in the agreement or is it just assumed that they can / can't) 2. Other than what is explicitly stated in the agreement, is there anything they can recover the money for by default? Basically, I don't want to settle 'quietly' then have them turn around and claim the money back knowing that I won't be able to then make my claims public. Please can you provide sources for any advice offered (if possible) so that I know it's not just opinion and also so that I can study up on this more. Thank you very much,

I am a landlord and was hoping that the forum members could help me with a problem. The situation I had a tenant rent a room in a shared house from me. The tenancy started in June 2012. The tenant has been difficult throughout the tenancy. Initially she stated that she moved out of a flat and needs to sort through her possessions. The room was filled up to 2m high with boxes and she even changed the bed to a folding bed, as there was no space left for a permanent bed. She also stored boxes in the communal areas. Although I received at least 1-2 email per week about all aspects of the flat that apparently need repair I always responded promptly and resolved/paid for repairs & new items for the flat. Around Christmas 2012 I asked the tenant to remove her items from the communal areas as it was affecting the other tenants. There are 4 tenants in the flat in total. Although the situation temporarily improved, the communal areas were used again for storage shortly after. I sent the tenant another email asking her to please keep the communal areas clear and bring her room back to a reasonable standard. This was a polite request and I did not ask her to move out. The tenant decided that the 'situation is not workable' and decided to move out on the following weekend, which seemed like a overreaction neither me nor the other housemates could understand. I was glad to see her leave and wanted resolve the situation as soon as possible so, I agreed that she would only have to pay rent up the day she moves out, and I did not insist on the notice period. The tenant was not able to organise her move in time and moved out one day late. We agreed she would pay rent for one additional day only. Shortly after she had left I refunded her deposit in full and she confirmed receipt. I do admit that I failed to protect the deposit. This was a genuine mistake, which I regret. I have other tenants and can prove that their deposits are protected. The tenant is now suing me for three times the monthly rent for not protecting her deposit. Additional factors The tenant has been very difficult throughout the tenancy and managed to fall out with the other housemates before moving out. One of the housemate's friends who works in mental health suggested that she suffers from psychological problems and she has clearly a tendency to hoard things. The housemates even told me that she brought items into the flat she found on the street. I am mentioning this as I believe there is no realistic chance to settle this out of court. I believe I have always acted very reasonably and made multiple exceptions to meet the tenant’s requests. The tenant has suffered no loss. I found that the tenant has posted an advert on Gumtree.com stating my full name, calling me '**** bag' and that I allegedly have cheated her out of hundreds of pounds and kept her deposit, which is not true. My Questions: Can the tenant sue me for not protecting the deposit, given I have acted reasonably and refunded her deposit in full? Are there any recent cases where the landlord has been sued for not protecting the deposit despite retuning it in full? I understand that even if the court orders me to pay compensation, I can avoid having a CCJ against my name if I pay within 28 days. Is that correct? Avoiding any CCJ against my name is the most important thing in this case for me. Would counter-suing for slander be advisable? I have contacted Gumtree.com and they said they would provide the details of the person who posted the advert to a lawyer or the police. Thanks in advance for your responses!

Some 3 years ago my small business died. It was a Ltd Co., I was sole director/shareholder and it was registered with Companies House. It failed with an overdraft of some £7,000. The bank pursued me personally for the debt and i'm currently paying a token amount each month. I recently queried the bank about this suggesting that they should have taken action against the company rather than me personally and was told that I would have signed a form at the time taking personal responsibility for any granted overdraft. I don't remember doing this ( it was 4 yrs ago) but accept that it's likely that I did. Can anybody enlighten me as to whether I have any legs to stand on if I revisit the case and sue for wrongful pursuit?

I'll try to keep this brief. I have been tested by a specialist and a hospital to have carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. I have been getting sick notes regularly and put on a waiting list for the necessary surgery, and have been prescribed Amitriptyline, which clearly advises not to operate machinery if drowsy. At a ATOS medical I told the Gestapo doctor that I felt it would be dangerous for me (carpenter) and others if I have limited feeling in my hands and are drowsy, Now I'm no doctor but I can see that being a liability. ATOS concluded I was fit for work. I naturally appealed the decision, whilst still receiving reduced benefits. The tribunal agreed with ATOS, and my benefits were stopped, I had carpal tunnel surgery on my left hand a few months ago, I decided I needed to feed my family so I started working, 3 weeks ago I was cutting skirting with a table saw (which is a circular saw, bench mounted) it was very early and I was a bit drowsy. I partially amputated my index finger and was rushed to hospital. 2 surgeries later, I'm now looking at a lengthy healing time. 30 years as a carpenter this is the first tool related injury.. to make matters worse I've been playing guitar for 42 years too.. Can I sue ATOS?please any help would be appreciated

Hello all, i would appreciate some advice. Today i took a walk around a local playing field with my border collie, we walked along the path and my dog was on his lead, he started to limp after trying to miss glass covering the whole of the pathway, i took him on the muddy grass and he had cut his foot quite badly. I have had to take him to out of hours vets and now has to have a toe removed as the glass has severed his foot badly, he under goes the op in the morning. My question is can i sue the council for my costs? The area i was in belongs to the council, however it is always over run with waste, glass and alcohol cans but is suppose to be a area for walking and playing sports.

Hi all, Not sure exactly which forum to post this too I wish to take my lender to small claims court for 5k (I believe the maximum claim I can make). A solicitor has mentioned that they may counter sue me for considerably more. Can they do this? i.e. surely if they counter sued in the court the limit would also be 5k ; or do they get the "option" at that stage to proceed legally in a different direction i.e open court hence the potential for an increased counter sue. I assumed I would be "safe" in small claims court from further action within that court. thanks in advance

I would like to share my frustrating story. I have two dr10 convictions on 2002 and 2003.i wrote to the DVLA on 2005 asking when i can get my driving licence back. DVLA replies me after 24/06/2005 i can get my driving licence back. on 25/06/2005 i did apply for the provisional driving licence .then i passed my test on 05/10/2005. 2009 i did apply for the PCO know as mini cab licence. after the application i received the later from DVLA saying on ‘’WHEN YOU SAT ON 05/10/2005 YOU WERE A DISQUALIFIED DRIVER AND THEREFORE NOT COVERED TO SIT A TEST.AS A RESULT OF THIS THE TEST WILL NOW BE NEGATED’’. Then i went to the DVLA local office return the licence back and apply for the provisional with paying £50.00.on may 2009 i did received the latter from DVLA ‘’ THE FEE FOR THE RENEWAL OF LICENCE AFTER ANY DISQUALIFICATION IS £90.00.i payed the balance of £40.00 to the DVLA local office .June 2009 DVLA ask me to attend for the medical examination with one of their Doctor. i did attend. Then finally i got my full driving licence back and it was say starting date as 14.04.03. Beginning of 2012 i did apply for the HGV provisional licence without any problem and i passed my theory test on Feb. 2012.i took my practical test on 29/10/2012 and i passed the test. On 01/11/2012 i got my full HGV licence. on 06/11/2012 DVLA wrote to me again and saying ‘’WE WROTE TO YOU ON 2009 EXPLAINING THAT YOU WERE ONLY ENTITLED TO A PROVISIONAL DRIVING LICENCE DUE TO TAKING A TEST WHILST SERVING A PERIOD OF DISQUALIFICATION. HOW EVER A FULL DRIVING LICENCE WAS ISSUED TO YOU MIN ERROR. OUR RECORDS SHOW THAT YOU DID NOT RETURN THIS INCORRECT LICENCE WHICH YOU WERE NOT ENTITLED TO HOLD. YOU THEN MADE AN APPLICATION FOR PROVISIONAL VOCATIONAL ENTITLEMENT IN JANUARY 2012 WHICH YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO HOLD, UNLESS YOU HAVE FULL MOTOR CAR ENTITLEMENT. ARRANGEMENTS NOW HAVE BEEN MADE TO REVERT YOUR DRIVER RECORDS TO PROVISIONAL STATUS, REMOVING YOUR LGV ENTITLEMENT AND CANCELLATION OF YOUR CATEGORY C TEST YOU RECENTLY SAT IN ORDER FOR ME TO ISSUE YOU WITH AN AMENDED DRIVING LICENCE, PLEASE RETURN BOTH PARTS. Can you please give me any sort of feedback? I am starting to think about claiming compensation, because I,m a self employed recovery driver couldn't drive Is it reasonable to even think about compensation? . Thanks for your time. Best Regards, NMAKM

Hello I would be grateful to receive some advice as to whether I ought to sue FedEx on a lost parcel due to a failure on their part. I had a used computer (with personal data) shipped to a colleague by FedEx who lives in a house with 2 flats (Ground and 1st floor flats). As the FedEx driver reached the door of the property someone was coming out of the house claimed to be the recipient, signed and took the computer away (a theft as established by police investigation). Now that i have claimed for a lost computer/with data delivered to wrong door and handed over to a thief, FedEx tells me that they only reimburse by weight ( £96 for a £900 computer). My question is, if anyone can advice, what are my chances of success in suing FedEx on the grounds of incorrect address delivery and incorrect recipient handing over? Any feedback or advice would be much appreciated.

I recently had to have an emergency c-section to have my son who is now 8 weeks old. 2 days later i was told i had to go home, i informed the midwife i did not feel right and was not ready to go home but was told it was normal practice and that i had to leave once the doctor had made his rounds and checked my c-section. I was upset by this but figured it ust be how all c-section ladies felt afterwards. The doctor eventually came and looked at the c-section, he said instantly that it looked quite red an sore around the wound and asked if it hurt when he touched it. I told him no, as it was still numb there and could not feel anything. I was then sent home, he did not give me any antibiotics and did not do a swab check to look for infection. 2 days later the wound began to weep and became very painful, the midwife came to check on the baby and after looking at my belly got me some antibiotics and sent a swab off aswell to make sure they were the right drugs to be taking. Another 2 days later the wound had opened up quite badly and i was very very ill. Another midwife came to check the wound again and said i needed to go to the hospital as i needed stronger antiiotics. We went straight there, the doctor took one look at my c-section and within a matter of minutes i was rushed into theatre where they opened the wound back up and had to cut out all the dead and infected flesh, along with the skin from outside the wound on my tummy as the infection had spread and began killing the outer skin also turning it black. I was left with an open wound 9 inches in length, 2 and a half inches wide and nearly 3 inches deep, i had to have a vac machine attatched at all times to the wound. I was kept in hospital for 2 weeks on morphine and 2 dfferent antibiontics and when eventually sent home still had to had the machine attached for 2 months to heal the hole in my belly. This pretty much left me imobilized and uanble to look after my son who i had already lost out on the first weeks of his life and was unable to bond with him. Currently the wound is infected once again. Friends and family are telling me that e doctor was negligent in sending me home when i had all the symptoms of infection and he did nothingnd that i should sue. do you believe i may have a case? I have lost alot of time with all this and dont want to waste anymore. thanks in advance

Hi, I went on 2 weeks leave for an operation in july and when i was given a sick note from my doctors for a further 2 weeks off my employer started hassling me, so i resigned from my position. my ex manager has recently taken them to a claims court suing them because she hasn't got paid. (they did the same thing to her, offered her a resign or get sacked deal) My ex employers answered back with a counter claim and is suing my manager for deleting work, and not fulfilling her job role, for example not enough collection of evidence etc etc. As i worked very close to my manager and we shared the responsibilities, can my ex employer also sue me? thanks in advance

I was sanctioned for not going for a job offer as a refuse bin collector with my local council, even though I suffer from arthritis in both hips and knees. There were other factors involved including that the job I was sanctioned for was merely an enquiry I made, as opposed to a direction from an advisor. However I won my appeal but had to suffer 5 weeks of stress and near insomnia not to mention 10 days with no food, during which I could not take one of my medications, diclofenac, and to pile on the misery I had no electricity due to a pre payment meter which run up a debt when the emergency run out. I had to sell goods from my home to keep me going and at a financial loss to myself. I was not entitled to hardship payments or any other benefits as I am on credit based JSA. Can I claim compensation and would getting a solicitor be a good idea?

I am in the process of taking legal action against former employers.Now I hear the company is closing down in the next 6 weeks.Can I still proceed with court proceedings?or would it be safer to take the Directors to court.Based on, they failed to provide me with "Due Care"and protection from a supervisor's constant Bullying and Harassment over a four year period,being well aware of his actions at all times.

Hi Everyone, This is my first post and I'm really hoping for some advice. I recently (April 2011) went on a three week holiday to Australia. On this holiday we hired a Motorhome to travel across the country. At one point during the travels the vehicle was filled with unleaded rather than diesel. We immediately called the hire company, before starting the engine. They sent a mechanic, who towed the vehicle to his garage. The vehicle stayed at the mechanics all day and at the end of the day he came back from his various jobs and drained the tank of petrol. He then said it was safe to continue. I had to pay approx $200 for this rather than pay the $1000 excess. So we drove thought the night back to Melbourne, as it was approaching the end of my holiday. After about 1000km the vehicle completely broke down. The engine warning lights all came on and the car was driving extremely slowly with no power. So again we called the motorhome company. This time they were much slower but eventually sent a local mechanic who advised us to drive slowly and follow him to the nearest town. When we arrived at the town he said the vehicle was too big for him to have a look at. We called the company (Apollo motorhomes) who advised we should take the vehicle to a local VW garage who can determine the cause of the problem. We took it to the nearest VW garage who had the vehicle for the entire day, performing diagnostic tests. Eventually they came back to us and said there is no way the damage was caused by using the incorrect fuel. Apparently the fuel filter system was blocked to 99% which was causing the lack of power. This kind of damage could only be caused by years of build up. The VW mechanic explicitly confirmed that we did not cause the problem. The garage then called Apollo direct and told them the news. Apollo were not happy with this diagnosis so decided to tow the car to their own garage and perform their own tests to determine the cause of the fault. They said the tow truck would come the next morning and tow the car away but could only take 2 of us, despite there being three of us on the holiday. They also said we have to pay for the full cost of repair and the cost of towing the vehicle. We eventually decided to leave the vehicle and the keys with the VW garage and get an overnight bus to Melbourne. I checked my credit card and they had taken $1000 which was the excess on the insurance policy. They then attempted to take a further $1000 as apparently in the contract it states that if the damage to the vehicle was due to driver negligence then I would be liable for the full cost of repair. This charge was later cancelled and not taken from my credit card. After days of testing, surprisingly they determined the damage was my fault and I was liable for the full cost of repairs. Apparently they would bill me for the damage. I left Australia a few days later and returned to the UK. It’s only yesterday that my parents received a letter addressed to the address on my driving license which is my parent’s old address. The letter was forwarded onto them at their new address. The letter is from Debt Recovery Australia and threatens court action. There is no detailed breakdown of charges, no initial bill or opportunity from Apollo motor homes to pay and no evidence. The first contact we have had is from the debt recovery agency. I obviously do not feel I should have to pay this and don’t know how to proceed with a dispute. I am also wondering about their jurisdiction in the UK. The letter is outlined below: DRA Mercantile NOTICE OF INTENTION TO SUE Our ref: ***** Our Client: Apollo Motor Homes DRA Mercantile on behalf of Apollo Motor Homes, intends to issue a summons through the court for the recovery of $4,525.06 relating to damage sustained on 07/04/2011. In addition, we will be seeking recovery of legal costs, court costs and added interest. Please be aware that the potential consequences of a Court Judgement are: Seizure of property under Writ Of Execution Garnishee of Salary or Wages Bankruptcy proceedings You are advised to attend to this matter immediately to avoid legal proceedings and additional expenses that will be involved Payment is to be made to DRA Mercantile by Cheque or Electronic Transfer to ANZ Bank, BSB *** *** ACC ********* quoting Ref No: *****. Signed Rina ****** Legal Executive PH:**** *** *** Sorry it was such a long read but I felt I needed to fully explain the situation. If there is any advice anyone could give me it would be greatly appreciated. Many Thanks,