hi, I am the defendant in a case where the claimant discontinued their claim at the last minute. The judge allowed a hearing to continue as I raised a counterclaim but the claimant didn't provide a defence to my counterclaim and claimed mental health as the reason for not doing so. The Judge ordered that the claimant go away and provide a defence to the counterclaim. I've received the defence to counterclaim and it contains costs from the claimant which were the same costs they put on their original claim that they discontinued. My question is can they transfer the costs from the discontinued claim and use them within their defence to counterclaim? Any help much appreciated. Tom

Hi everyone, So my good friends at Capquest have been nipping at my backside again, this time using the wrong account number, creditor, agreement and more. You would have to see it to believe it. That aside it the final account they decided upon has been proved statute barred and they have discontinued. In the meantime in an attempt to defend the ever moving claim I've paid for duplicate bank statements, made a court application and taken advice from a solicitor. A report to the FOS and FCA are probably in order, but does anyone know if a claimant in a "small" claim they are protected from the costs of discontinuance. I read CPR 38.6.(1) to mean I can claim those costs. Thanks! uteb

Hi all I would welcome some advice on this please. In September, I upgraded my phone with T Mobile and entered into another 18 month contract. Had a nightmare with the first handset that 2 T Mobile stores were not interested in despite quoting the usual sale of goods act etc. and me taking the handset back on the 10th day after having received it. Eventually, Customer Services on 150 relented and replaced it as a swap out the next day. I got round to reading the manual last weekend to see what exciting things I was missing out on and I decided to download some new screensavers to make the phone a bit more "funky." I then discovered that despite changing all the settings that the screensaver would never activate. The phone display switches over to power save mode, i.e. goes blank instead of displaying the screensaver. I undertook some research into the issue on both T-Mobile's user forums and Nokia's own support discussion forums and it turns out that this is a known software bug in the N79 handset. It also appears that the manufacturer knows about it but has failed to fix it in subsequent firmware releases. It is also unlikely that Nokia will now release any further firmware for the handset as technically, or rather in the technical world, it is now quite an "outdated model." I have emailed T Mobile Customer Relations about this and they have contacted me to say that if the manufacturer is not going to fix it there is nothing that can be done. I however am not happy with this. Surely the goods are not functioning "as described," i.e. the manual states that you can change the screensaver and although you can, the end result is that it doesn't work. I know that a non-functioning screensaver is not a life or death situation i.e. the phone makes calls, sends texts, browses the web but am I the only consumer that is getting a bit sick and tired of companies that earn millions of pounds from their customers getting away with everything? At the end of the day, my contract is subsidising the cost of the handset in a large capacity. If I had purchased this phone directly, it would have cost me a few hundred pounds at least. The crux of it is that I used Nokia phones for years previously and every handset I have had has always had "some problem" of one thing or another. Back around 2003, I had Orange replace 15 handsets, one after the other and each one exhibited the same problem as the last. It was a nightmare. I thought that 6 or so years later, with the advancement in technology that Nokia may have improved it's standards and the first phone I pick up in this 7 year period manufactured by them exhibits yet another fault. I have contacted Nokia, although I am under the impression that it is not down to them to sort the problem out and they have suggested that I send the phone "for repair," which judging by other users on their support forums, does not resolve the problem anyway and just leaves you without a phone for 2 weeks. I was wondering if I could glean some opinions please ? Am I right that the phone is not "functioning as described" and therefore breaches the sale goods act ? Thanks very much J

Hi I bought my wife a watch as a gift a few years ago. This is a premium product from a well known designer brand and cost a few hundred quid. The design of the clasp utilises a metal leaf spring so continuously opening and closing this (Normal use) weakens the clasp until it snaps rendering the watch unwearable. As it normally snaps within the guarantee of the the previous repair we have been accepting free repairs over the past few years. We were told that as the watch is now discontinued they won't be able to repair it going forward. It was a gift and has sentimental value so always intended to maintain it. The watch is 8 years old. Where do I stand. Should the vendor / manufacturer offer a discount / credit note on a new product?

Hi I have been fortunate enough to receive notice of discontinuation from Llowel/carters Upon phoning the Courts they have received notice of the matter being settled. I appreciate both these mean that the case against me is over,but also appreciate they are not quite the same thing.does it make any difference? Regards Ogg

Hi, 2 months ago i bought several packs of wooden flooring from Homebase, which was subsequently laid. I have been online to buy an additional 18 packs to complete the project but it says there are only a few packs left dotted across stores around the country. I called their customer services to be told that the product was now discontinued. They 'cannot' get the remaining packs delivered to my local store and i cannot order online. I said i am left with half a completed room and was told 'nothing we can do'. The product has not been and is still not being advertised as discontinued. I emailed their complaints dept and asked for resolution but they just said that there was nothing they could do. This is going to leave me £100's out of pocket as i will have to re-purchase and lay new flooring in the area i have just done! Do I have any rights??

Hi, I'll keep the initial post brief, but can provide more detail if it helps. Original debt to QuickQuick, I queried interest calculations and heard nothing. Debt got passed around and eventually ended up with MMF MMF issued a claim which I defended Letter from MMF solicitors (Optima) I think saying they were discontinuing the claim as it wasn't viable as they wouldn't be awarded costs on small claims Constant harrassment ever since (letters, emails, texts, calls) Today a doorstep visit, I wasn't in but got a hand delivered letter saying he will return. I'm wouldn't be fussed about that, except I live at home and my mother isn't well. I really don't want the stress of a big argument on the doorstep. Is there anything I can do to stop them visiting? I would have been happy with the court hearing and would have happily complied with the judges decision, but they backed out. Thanks a lot.

It's been a while since I last posted but need some advice on the following and how a discontinued claim can effect the timing for Statue Barred debt. 7 years ago defaulted on a loan, with the help of this site was able to fight then off. In 2008 original creditor issued a County Court Claim, I submitted a full defence, creditor's solicitor invited me to withdraw my defence as it had "little chance of success". I refused and claimant applied for Summary Judgement. I submitted Witness Statement for and then 3 days before hearing Claimant withdrew from the hearing and "for commercial reasons" discontinued claim in full with both parties meeting own costs - which I was happy to agree to. Heard nothing further from either original creditor or anyone acting on their behalf until recently when I received a very nice and friendly letter from a DCA inviting me to "put forward my proposal for the repayment of the outstanding balance on the account". They are happy to accept monthly instalments or offer a substantial discount if I am in a position to pay off as a lump sum. I also have 21 days to respond to their letter and they look forward to hearing from me in due course. Aren't DCA's such nice friendly people these days - so polite and helpful - till you acknowledge the debt (which I have no intention of doing). My question is how does the discontinued claim affect the clock for a debt being Statue Barred. Documents supplied by OC show date of last payment as being in 2006. Does the Statue Barred clock restart form the date of the claim being discontinued which would be 2009 or does it just carry on from the date of the last payment in 2006 - as if the County Court Claim had not happened.? Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. B40

Hi All, I have been floating around the site for a while and need some help now... Basically the background goes, I had a CCJ forthwith judgement made against me as my paperwork got lost in the post, Lloyds then tried to do a Charge on my property, I produced over whelming evidence before the Final Order hearing and recieved a letter from them stating:- Dear Sir, We are writing to you in regards to the above matter. We wish to advise the court that the claimant (Lloyds TSB) and the Defendant (Moi) have reached an understanding and the claimant has agreed to withdraw the Application for a Charging Order. Should you require anymore information please contact.... This was back in January 2008 (letter received 29/1/2008), I appeared before the judge on the 4.2.2008 and she stated at that point the case had been dropped and will be set aside. I am now in the process of moving home and my solicitor has stated Lloyds TSB have a charge on the property, so all in all what do I need to do to sort the situation?? As i don't want to lose my new house over this error... any help welcome...

Please advise me folks - I know Argos are morally in the wrong, but what are the legalities? I ordered a recliner, half price in their sale - it was advertised on the site as 'in stock for home delivery' - I chose the latest possible delivery date as it suited me (due to move house), more than 30 days ahead. Heard nothing (no email whatsoever) until I called them a week later - yes they had the order. Then a few days later an email arrived laden with the usual caveats about order may be cancelled if they so wish, which I took no heed of, not expecting issues. (I do now wonder if I am the victim of them finding stock for someone who probably ordered after me). About 2 weeks after ordering (I do have dates, just keeping this vanilla, so that they don't know who I am), I got a call about a delay - I politely accepted with only one question "will I definitely get the sofa", to which I was reassured with a firm yes. Around 4 weeks from ordering (2 weeks from the call) I decided to ask for an update - it took nearly a week for them to reply; (in summary) sorry for the delay, sofa discontinued, select an alternative (for same price) or send us more money! To say I was annoyed/gutted would be an understatement! I asked by reply about alternatives & got a call to say that the one I mentioned was also out of stock (yet their site lead me to belive it was 'in stock' - she was 'looking on another system'). I have found them quite curt throughout - I asked them to supply an alternative & she said they needed catalogue number! (I 'politely', i.e. struggling not to swear, pointed out that I do not know their catalogue off the top of my head!) Their 'offer' was to give me £30 off the difference - I would end up paying around 80% more for a sofa not as good as that ordered! With asking to talk to successive managers this improved to £50 then £80 - still meaning I pay more for less or I foot well over half of the difference for the same sofa in a different colour! The next call back (from an 'executive') never happened. They keep calling, even though I have stated that I work & email is easier for me. They keep making the same £80 offer. They are insistent that no contract has formed & that they are doing me a favour! I can't find a specific point in any law about contract forming when money taken, but I do believe that their first call clearly showed that acceptance had already happened. I feel that worn down that I am tempted to back down & cancel the order (they are effectively making the £80 offer & refusing to refund my money unless I cancel the order, which I really don't want to do as I guess it kills my case against them - I feel browbeat into doing something I don't want to do). Help!

My item went faulty after 5 months. Retailer confirms faulty and insists I accept a credit note and not a refund. no replacement or similar item available now I believe I am entitled to refund under SOGA Who is right? thanks, Lisa