The NHS has codes to identify those who've served in the Armed Forces. The assists the NHS to enable veterans to receive appropriate support when needed. GP practices should ask patients whether they have served, but this doesn't always happen, so if you're a veteran, ask your GP or practice staff to ensure that your records are coded appropriately. The codes are: 13JI - Military veteran 13JY - History relating to military service 13q0 - History relating to Army service 13q1 - History relating to Royal Navy service 13q2 - History relating to Royal Air Force service 13q3 - Served in Armed Forces Some GP practices are now (or soon will be) 'Veteran Aware' NHS England and the Royal College of General Practitioners have endorsed the 'Military Veteran Aware' accreditation. Accredited practices will: have a lead for veterans’ issues within the surgery identify and flag veterans on their computer system undertake dedicated training and attend armed forces healthcare meetings increase understanding of the health needs of veterans amongst both clinical and administrative staff This scheme is being rolled out nationally from late 2018.

It's only a niggle but it's really niggling me. I have (had) and account with Orange many years ago where I paid £99 up front for a basic Nokia phone and then got billed at contract rates only for calls made. It was paid by DD so never a problem, never a missed payment. On my Noddle report there are number codes 2013 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2012 6 0 1 0 43 0 12 2 0 6 Everything is then at zero from Feb 2013 to the present day. Does anyone know what these numbers mean?

Hi folks, new to the forum and looking for advice please. I purchased a car from Arnold Clark, in March this year. Car has running problems and error codes as in the title. The car has been back to them with the codes after 12 weeks , they sent the car to Peugeot they done a DPF regen and a software update. I have had the car back a few weeks and it done the same thing. They are refusing to fix it and I have left it in their yard. They are just not interested !!! Thanks in advance .

So within the past few months I had used a loan broker site in an attempt to get a loan. I don't know for sure which one so apologise on the unhelpful nature on this account. I was not accepted so thought nothing of it and moved along. A bit later on I had a random debit for £29.50 from a site I hadn't recognised and again at the end of this month the same payment occurred. I finally discovered who this was and it was a site called My Discount Codes, who offer a subscription service for some sort of discounts. Haven't a clue what they actually do since once I discovered this I demanded the account be closed and to be refunded for the money taken from me. They thought they were admirable in refunding me 25% of the funds and believe I signed up when seeking a loan - something I definitely would not have done and should surely require explicit permission - not signing up then hoping people lapse on the free trial they offer. When trying to figure out who they were and in my dealings with them, I was able to access the Zendesk helpdesk and noticed that it redirects sometimes to 'Loans Direct' (and also 'Old Brands' from My Discount Codes. A quick search of this forum shows they are well known for this sort of thing if it is the same Loans Direct company. Few questions; What are the legalities of taking details to sign up for things like this when the details were used for a completely different purpose? Who are the best bodies to address the issues I have here? What is the best way for me to go about getting a refund? Will my bank still be able to do this 2months on?

I have seen the following issue on a couple of occasions, particularly EE but I think it may be common. When you leave a company, you commonly need to give 30 days notice provided you are not in a longer agreement. If you want to take your number with you, you commonly request a PAC code, which is only valid for 30 days, effectively is the start of your notice, and you leave when the PAC code is actioned by your new provider. On two occasions now with EE, relatives have decided to leave, informed them and got the PAC code to transfer their number. They have always ensured that the PAC code is actioned after they have paid another months service amount - to ensure the 30 days is covered. On both occasions, EE have refunded an amount left relating to the unused days of the 30 day advance payment taken by DD - even though this was not requested or expected - BUT then charged them a larger fee for giving less than 30 days notice. In addition to everything else, if not spotted, and you have cancelled the DD with them, then you could end up with them chasing you for unpaid debts. My other half is about to leave EE/Orange and we will watch it very carefully They have already credited her with £10 (after complaint) for failures in service related to this.

Hi all Ive finally managed to clear all my debts, however I still can't get 'normal' credit, having checked my file the only negative info is from barclaycard who last updated December 2011 and for the 26 months prior to that they have reported a status code 6 every month. I think they did this retrospectively when they transferred the debt to Cabot in December 2011. My question is am i able to ask them to remove the status updates as I was on a DMP which during Dec 2009 and December 2011 i was making the agreed payments. During may 2009 & Nov 2009 i was making token £1 payments but still on DMP. Or do I have to live with the status 6 as the payments weren't actually the amount agreed in the original credit terms ? Your help would be appreciated I am trying to prepare myself ready for mortgage applications next year. Thanks

The Parking Prankster has learned that parking operator UKCPS has been handing out fake POPLA codes. This is apparently a cynical move on UKCPS's part - handing out a fake POPLA code will mean it will be rejected by POPLA and may then mean a valid appeal cannot be lodged within the timescale or that the motorist will simply give up. How to recognise a fake POPLA code. All genuine POPLA codes are 10 digits long, and their format is described in a previous post. The fake POPLA codes are 9 digits followed by 1 letter. They therefore fit on the form, but will of course always be rejected by POPLA. Read more

Hi, I took early retirement in December 2012 and have 4 private pensions as income. I have been getting the same money which does not quite give me my full tax free allowance. Then I started to claim ESA for a disability , which prevents me from working, I have had for almost 2 years. The ESA income takes my money to just over 10.1K Now this where it gets interesting so be warned, lol. From January to September I have been getting the same amounts of private pensions with no change. From Jan 2013 I was claiming Jobseekers allowance, then that stopped in or around March 2013. Then I claimed ESA but that was stopped after about 2 months by the infamous ATOS. I reclaimed again in July 2013 and am getting a reduced amount of £44.34p a week. In Sepember HMRC sent me another tax code saying as I was receiving a further private pension, my main pension tax code was no BR, reduced from 839L, and 20% was taken from my monthly pension payment. After visiting my local tax office and telling them yet again what I was receiving, it was then changed to 358L. I asked about the extra pension I was supposed to be receiving and someone at HMRC had just put it on the system! Anyway, after being told who the company was, I contacted them and it was a mistake on their part and was told they would contact HMRC to put things right. A week or so later I recieved another tax code for my main pension and this was 339L.Up to this point no tax code changes were made to my other 3 private pension incomes. After going to see them, HMRC again, may main pension tax code was then increased to 655L, at last some improvement! They had wrongly assumed that I was getting a further 5K a year in benefits and pensions. On or about 10th November I spoke to a member of HMRC and told them about my incomes from pensions and ESA again, and was told that my new main pension tax code would now be 408L, and there would some changes to my other pension payments. So I have now received another set of tax codes, and my main pension one has gone down again as well as one of the others been different tan what I was told. Now, as the tax free allowance is £9440, and I get 10.1K, that works out at £696 to be taxed at 20%, which equals £139.20p per year. So far I have paid over £200 approx in tax, and this does not seem right. Every time I have spoken to someone on the 0300 number its a different person at a different office and it seems that one office does not know what the other is doing. They tell me one thing but do something different, and I am getting very frustrated with them now. Apart from going to see them at my local office yet again,is there anything else or anyone I can speak to so I can get some satisfaction over my ever changing tax codes.

The Parking Prankster has learned that parking operator UKCPS has been handing out fake POPLA codes. This is apparently a cynical move on UKCPS's part - handing out a fake POPLA code will mean it will be rejected by POPLA and may then mean a valid appeal cannot be lodged within the timescale or that the motorist will simply give up. How to recognise a fake POPLA code. All genuine POPLA codes are 10 digits long, and their format is described in a previous post. The fake POPLA codes are 9 digits followed by 1 letter. They therefore fit on the form, but will of course always be rejected by POPLA. Read more

Hello all, I hope I'm posting this in the right place. For many years I've worked as an employee of a large organisation, a couple of years ago I started occasionally working for an agency (very small numbers of hours usually earning less than £500 per annum). The last 2 years combined Gross income for these jobs has been less than £35k p.a. The first problem I had with HMRC was earlier this year, when they initially sent me my Tax codes they had me earning double my Income. I nearly had a heart attack when their letter seemed to suggest I owed £17k, I did get to the bottom of the problem; I changed jobs and location and their computer seemed to think I was working at both. This may or may not be related to my new problem. On returning home from work today I received a letter giving me a new tax code for my agency work, the new code equates to me paying higher rate (40%) tax on any earnings from that employment. From what I can glean from the website it may be due to my current employment status. Although still working full time for one organisation I have 2 roles, which have 2 separate payslips, working for the agency is now viewed asa third job. Can anyone confirm that HMRC would automatically expect 40% income tax on these earnings, even though my total earnings are comfortably under the threshold? The HMRC Website is as clear as mud, and as for the telephone lines............I do intend getting to the bottom of the issue by writing to them, but want to have the right info first. Thank you very much for any help.

Shocking stories of bullying following their incompetence in correct billing. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article-2232395/EDF-bullies-threatened-debt-collectors.html

Hi, I need some help regarding my brothers tax code. He is currently working for a company but when he receives his payslips - he has quite alot of tax deduction. His current code is BR 0 and I have no idea what this means. He wants me to help him with this matter but I know nothing about taxes. He has learning difficulties and I dont want him losing out on anything. Any information would be appreciated. Thank you Anne.

If I wish to leave a broadband provider (Sky in this case) but don't want to sign up with another (as I'm switching to mobile broadband) do I need to request a MAC code? What happens to my account if I don't request a MAC code?

As published by BIS in May,the codes will include; a good practice customer charter explaining how the loan works and the costs involved; a commitment to inform customers three days before money is withdrawn; increased transparency about loan repayment so that consumers can make informed decisions and are not surprised by hidden payments; more help for customers in financial difficulty by freezing charges and interest; robust credit and affordability assessments to ensure loans are suitable for the customer’s situation; and effective compliance monitoring by the Trade Associations to root out poor practice in the industry. 1. A Good Practice Customer Charter to be published by 25 July 2012 setting out in a clear, concise and user-friendly format what customers of payday and other short-term loans should expect from their lender. This Charter will: · highlight lenders’ key commitments to customers, including clear information about how the loan works, the price per £100 borrowed as well as the APR, and charges for extending the term of the loan (‘rolling over’) and default; · explain how lenders will communicate with customers and how customers can contact them; · explain how they assess if customers can afford a loan; · explain how to complain if there is a problem and signpost customers to sources of free and independent debt advice and relevant helplines; · sit along with each trade association’s individual Codes and be easily accessible via lenders’ websites or at business premises. 2. Increased transparency about loan repayments to help consumers make better informed decisions and making sure that continuous payment authority is not used inappropriately for those in financial difficulty. Lenders have committed to: · only extend (‘rollover’) the term of their loan at the specific request of the customer and after reminding the customer of the risks of extending a short term loan; · provide consumers with a clear explanation of how continuous payment authority works and how payments will be deducted from their bank accounts. This will help consumers decide whether this type of repayment is acceptable to them before they take out the loan; · set out consumers’ rights to cancel a continuous payment authority before they take out a loan, reminding them that if they cancel they will still owe any outstanding debt and the need to provide an alternative method of payment on the due date to avoid going into default; · always pre-notify consumers by email, text, letter or phone at least three days[1] in advance before attempting to recover repayment using continuous payment authority on the due date. This notice will encourage customers to contact the lender if they are in financial difficulties and cannot repay; · Where customers have failed to make repayment on the due date, send further regular reminders to customers when a continuous payment authority is being used, providing a contact point for the customer if they are experiencing repayment problems; · Repay any amounts recovered by the continuous payment authority if the customer is in financial difficulty. 3. More help for customers in financial difficulty: Lenders have committed to: · freeze charges and interest if a reasonable repayment plan can be agreed, or after a maximum of 60 days of non-payment; · engage sympathetically and positively with the customer and split the loan into realistic repayments to be repaid over a longer period, where appropriate; · provide customers with a ‘breathing space’ of 30 to 60 days where they are making a genuine effort to agree a repayment plan. 4. Robust credit assessments: Lenders have committed to: · undertake sound, proper and appropriate affordability assessments and credit vetting as part of each loan application and before the term of a loan is extended (‘rollover’); · check the suitability of the loan given the customer’s situation · remind the customer that the loan is only suitable for borrowing over a short-term and not over a longer-term. 5. Effective compliance monitoring of members by their trade associations to ensure improved self-regulation and root out poor practice in the payday and short-term markets. The trade associations have committed to: · meaningful and enforceable sanctions in their Codes (up to and including expulsion from membership for serious non-compliance) · delivering rigorous internal complaints procedures; · taking a proactive approach to monitoring compliance with their codes and regular meetings with the OFT to discuss areas of concern in the market. · undertake a review of the effectiveness of these changes to the Codes 12 months after they come into effect and in light of the OFT’s current study of the market and publish the findings. Definition: Payday and other short-term loans include an agreement where you can borrow a small amount of money (usually between £50 and £800) and repay the loan over a short period (typically one or two months). [1] Where contact is being made by telephone, this timeframe will be influenced by the customer actually receiving the call. Full details;http://news.bis.gov.uk/Press-Releases/Better-help-for-consumers-in-financial-difficulty-from-payday-loans-67a77.aspx