Hi, I'm brand new here but thought I might get some decent advice. I went into Sofology yesterday evening and picked out a sofa and coffee table with the help of a polite salesperson. The items all have 6 week plus lead times, and as I understand, the sofa actually has to be manufactured first. I was told I had 48 hours to confirm the order after placing it. At the end, right after my credit card payment went through, I was handed a piece of paper and told "cancellations are charged at 30%". Nothing else was explained to me really. At that point I took it to mean that once they start work, i.e. once the order is confirmed, they will charge a cancellation fee - fair enough in my mind. Today, after reading horrific stories I decided I didn't want to risk doing business with Sofology. I clicked on the link emailed to me to 'confirm your order' and couldn't find an option to not confirm and instead cancel. I called them and was told that, despite literally nothing having being done on my order, and me not actually having confirmed it, they won't allow me to cancel without paying 30% of the order value. Now, I'm not sure about my rights. This wasn't an online purchase (I wanted to pay later online but was persuaded to pay in store instead), and I'm not sure whether it qualifies as made to order or not (it's made for me I'm told, but I just picked it out of a catalogue, no customisation). Basically, I don't know if I have any rights to cancel or if this is a grey area. The thing is, I wasn't told about the cancellation policy until AFTER I paid, I wasn't given terms and conditions until after I paid either (I wasn't asked to sign anything either). Also, at the time I genuinely understood 'order confirmation' to mean just that - confirming that I want to go ahead with the order. My credit card company can't help as they say the money first needs to go through (it's still pending) and the supplier needs to be at fault. I'm trying to figure out if they are at fault. In my mind, when you tell a customer they have 48 hours to confirm an order, you can't leave out the no-cancellations-whatsoever policy part (until, conveniently, they've already paid) or you're trading in bad faith. Anyway, thanks for reading my essay. Any advice would be appreciated. Nick

Early exit charges for people taking money out of their pension pots will be capped at 1%, the financial regulator has confirmed. The new rules will affect anyone taking money out of a personal pension from 1 April 2017. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said providers who already charge less than 1% will not be allowed to raise their fees. Those taking out new pension contracts will face no early exit charge at all. Workplace pensions will be subject to the same rules, but these will not come into effect until October 2017, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37985525

http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/denied-rightful-compensation--new-8544735

Hello all, Just started my new job two weeks ago in security dept on four days off and four off rota that includes nights as well 7pm-7am and 7am-7pm shifts. Basically i left my previous job and had to take a salary haircut for this new role but i was not happy in my previous job so i left. At interview stages It was said to me on email i am on 28 days paid holidays. However, in the last week i found out that from other colleagues in my dept that its actually 20 days holiday. Now i feel a little down because even though i was not happy with my previous job i was paid more at least a £1000 more a year and i was on 28 days holiday (bit more as working on bank holiday will got me 2 lieu days) but i can't go back to it as it is now taken. I don't know if i want to as well but i took my current role on premise as i was told on email by HR director i will be on 28 days holidays. So not only wages (however i knew about that and not so perturbed about it) but also taken a holiday cut, you can imagine 8 days less holidays makes a difference. I read my contract of employment after confirmation of email from HR stating my salary and 28 days holiday like a small print rapidly. It says 20 days including public holidays. My query is i accepted the job offer from email send to me from HR stating 28 days holidays and now feeling let down with 20 only. I have not raised with HR yet but may do in coming days. I also spoke to ACAS and they pointed out to me that because of hours i am doing i have statutory right to 28 days holidays. they encouraged me to raise with HR. Question is how can i get them to re-write the contract of employment while others in dept are on 20 days holidays. How to deal with this as i am only 2 weeks into job, in probation period for 3 months meaning that i ma afraid they can just say well if you not happy with it you can leave. Anyone has experience of it or can advice me. How can i successfully turn it around. Thanks in advance.

https://www.rt.com/news/336519-explosions-hit-brussels-airport/ Looks nasty.

My niece is being hounded by Vodafone for a mobile phone she ordered on contract. She changed her mind and returned it immediately without using it. She has been in touch with them countless times stating it has been returned and they have even stated to her, during one conversation over the phone, that it was received in the warehouse yet they still say she has it. She has now received a letter from a DCA stating she owes £1000 for the phone and cancelled contract. Any ideas on how she can get this sorted out as she us now beside herself? Thanks in anticipation!

Netflix have confirmed that an email I received from secure @ netflix.co.uk asking for updated billing details is not from them. Luckily I don't have a Netflix account so it was pretty obvious to me, but perhaps not to everyone.

Hi, I'm new to this site so apologise if I'm posting in the wrong place. PRA UK sent me a letter about a debt in my sole name that they are dealing with, I am paying it off weekly. My husband opened the letter and called them, not only did they confirm that they were collecting the debt, they told him what the outstanding balance is. Surely this is not allowed? I want to write a letter of complaint, but I really don't know where to start. I don't want to sound like I don't know what I'm talking about but I've been trawling the web for ages and I can't find anything that specifically relates to this. Can anyone help me? Please?

Hi all, please see attached picture from my conversation with QQ this week. I basically blagged them on the live chat service to confirm there bank details (they are the ones that have been posted on here a few times with people questioning whether it is actually there bank) I can confirm that I sent them £0.01p and it registered up off my account within 3 days. Attached is the conversation I had on LIVECHAT. Hope this help a few people - NEVER give them your debit card details or bank. They will set up direct debits without you knowing and take payments from your debit card or attempt to on a daily basis if you are in default! [ATTACH]43700[/ATTACH]

Great quote from an MP. "Prime Minister can you confirm that ATOS have concluded that Richard III is fit for work." Labour MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow. delivered this great line at PMQ time

I received a judgement from the courts saying I owed council tax to Mendip Council. I immediately started paying £30 per week every week to the council via my bank account. Yesterday Equita turned up demanding the full amount PLUS £260 in charges for delivering the letter by hand. I rang the council asking if they would consider asking the bailiffs to back off as I am paying them weekly. The bloke on the phone aknowledged I was paying regularly but said that the debt now belonged to Equita and that once I paid the council all monies I was paying the council were forwarded onto Equita. Given that people are being advised to pay the council direct on here, rather than pay the Bailiffs, what exactly is the situation, as if I am paying the council directly and they are forwarding the money to Equita, it seems very very odd that Equita then have to send that money back to the council. Can someone clear up what happens when I make payments directly to the council, and why, if what the man is saying is true, that money is being sent to Equita when its sole purpose is to clear off the arrears of council tax not pay Equita bailiffs ridiculous amounts of charges.

My partner has received a memo from HR saying he is to attend an Review of Probationary Period of Employment, which started on 27/02/12 for 6 months. He had an interview in september with his immediate manager, and was given a letter dated 07/09/2012confirming the 'desired level of competency' and his employment was confirmed with an increase in pay from 01/09/2012. With the memo received on the 9/11/12 was a printout of 8 weeks of tachograph readings, along with a report from another manager complaining about his 'laid back attitude' and the fact that his is the slowest driver. They have produced figures to show that he is taking too much lunch break, (most of them are just incorrectly set tacho and I can prove this) but the majority are where he has taken 2 or three minutes more than an hour. They have also said there are 4 instances that they know of where he has 'fallen asleep at work', (based on gossip and conversations taken out of context) and have made it sound as though he is a total layabout. He has said that there was never a discussion regarding break times, and there is nothing in any of the paperwork we have from the company. They have also taken his driving hours, other work hours and break times, and put him against the total average of 7 other drivers. so my questions are these. Is it fair to show his hours in isolation against an average of 7 others? I can see the figures work out to be the same if yu take into account the incorrect tachograph settings so his driving hours are actually more than the others, and his other work about the same and his breaks are actually lower than the other 7 Can they review his probation once confirmed in writing? If he was competent in the last six months, and had done nothing different since, do they have a case against him and how do I get the employers to provide the previous six months information (do we have a right to get this from them) If no mention is made apart from knowing the driving hours law regarding official breaks, what can be done about the break times alleged? How can he defend himself against yard gossip which has been taken as truth by management? Should he raise a grievance himself against the Operations manager who seems to be delighting in my partners stress right now ( he walked past him in the yard yesterday beaming from ear to ear at him) Please help, i've got 21 days of information to sift through before friday for the information I have to provide.