A teacher who drove into an airport worker following a row over a new £3 drop-off charge has been spared jail after a judge said he agreed the levy was an "absolute disgrace". Graham Benbow, 55, flew into a rage at Manchester Airport when he was told he would have to pay a fee for dropping off a passenger at a departure terminal. An airport official tried to stop Benbow from driving his Mazda through an open barrier but ended up on the car's bonnet before he was carried along a road for several hundred yards, Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard. Benbow, a psychology teacher at Altrincham Grammar School, went over a roundabout before he stopped for police. The unnamed worker was uninjured in the incident but said he "genuinely believed he could die from falling off the bonnet." https://uk.news.yahoo.com/judge-calls-airport-apos-drop-172437507.html

CAN ANYONE WHO READS THIS PLEASE GIVE ME SOME THAT IS CORRECT AND FACTUAL BECAUSE I HAVE TO HAND IN MY DEFENCE FORM AND EVIDENCE TO THE COUNTY COURT TOMORROW. This is something I think everyone should read as it may help you defend a sec 21 and eviction. I will give as much information a possible without it becoming to long to read or confusing. I will refer to the Landlady as She or Her. In August 2017 I moved into a self contained unit in a house that had been converted to 6 flats each with electric meter, bathroom, simple kitchen unit but still classed as a self contained studio. She did not take a deposit to avoid depositing it. Even the kitchen and bathroom had been converted into flats. as it had been done a few months before the other 5 tenants and i had moved in there was a lot to been done yet the landlady still demanded the £800 monthly rent. In addition the electric had been sub metered and we/I were have not been given a top up key or card we had to give Her £10 every Sunday and she would use a disposable prepaid card then tore it up so we could not read what was on it. She was charging us 20p kwh day or night. She put the heating radiators on when it got cold in December and put it on a timer to suit her as she was paying for it. I noticed that the extension at the back had walls that were not straight and all partition walls had no insulation. Heating the place got very expensive costing Me £40 a week. That suited her very well that she gave every tenant an electric blanket for Xmas . All the other tenants praised and thanked her saying she was the best landlord ever. OK I WILL EXPLAIN VERY BRIEFLY By now it was clear that getting them to report her to the council would be futile so I did it myself in January. They told her and she gave me a section 21 as tenancy was 6 months. I read it would be invalid if name was spelt wrong and she put a O instead of A. I had broken my leg badly mid January at work so was off for the next 6 months and being self employed the council now paid my rent. BTW....4 other tenants all on ESA and taking illegal substance paid for by tax payer. I thought council would take action but nope. I lived in a hostile place but they slowly came around to listening to me when I showed them how she was robbing us. It was only 30 June 2018 that a enforcement notice came from the council stating no planning permission and illegal use as flats that has to be rectified within 4 months of the notice. I thought finally they took action even though very late. 11 July an eviction notice is put under my door saying I had to be out on 19 July. Seems she had had a tenant get all important mail so I did not even get the defence form. i text her and asked where all that information was and she just replied i have until 19th. On 18th in went to court with a few photos of the place and n244 to stop eviction and give me a hearing and got one for 20th. On the 19th she came to the house and thought I was out I could hear her shouting to a tenant in room 6 above me as I am 4, asking why he didn't tell her I went to court etc. I ignored them and did my research for hours trying to find something to help as I knew the wrong spelling would not be enough when she tell court a lie that I got all letters from court. I was up all night and went to court for 10am and she was sitting there looking all confident. what I did was to tell the judge that the sec 21 was invalid because the EPC she gave me was not valid as law state every self contained unit must have its own EPC. she must pay me £200 and face a fine of 5000. I went on to say the GAS cert she gave me was also invalid because it has a Beko gas stove test results in the kitchen....OPPS, there is no kitchen in the house or gas stove, I went on to say the law says if she sub meters electricity she can't charge more then what she is paying the supplier and if she did she is to pay me back double plus the bank of England interest rate (needs better explaining I m writing fast as its getting late) she charge 20p and at times was paying 10p. The Judge had to look up everything I said for 30 mins then came back and told her I made my case the sec 21 is cancelled. She did say anyone can say they didn't get the defence form and he explained that when I got the eviction notice I contacted her and took action in taking evidence to court, And that did not make a difference because my EPC evidence is water tight. She kept insisting about the defence form so the judge said he will give me the form and other docs and I should file my defence form in 14 days which is tomorrow. to make things worse she offered me £500 to move out as she needs the property empty to do the work and I turned it down. She turned my electric off this past Monday saying she was changing the meters. Yet I told her I was doing my evidence for court and she kept it off all day. My question is can counter claim and ask for the £920 paid in electric, £200 for epc, my time and expenses gathering evidence and the stress I been through in the past 2 weeks or do I have to file separately in small claim court? I also want the court to award me an amount that will get her to know she is not above the rule or law because she has 12 other tenants living in the same type unit as I and just yesterday she tried to rent flat 1 that got vacated when she gave a sec 21 because he spoke up to her Thank you for your time.

Hi All, I have recently (in the last two days) been subject to a second hearing for possession of my home by Swift Advances. We've had two hearings. First hearing the CC judge ordered that we investigate the excessive interest on our account and get clear explanation from Swift as to why they have charged an account management fee every month since the year 2007 to date--totalling £5267.00. We investigated to the best of our affordability to no avail. However, Swift advances made a statement over the phone to me (i quote) "We at Swift will never charge you a fee as long as you make a payment on the account" this obviously is not the case. The judge at this first hearing was utterly confused how a £31000 loan can now be worth £52000 even after paying monthly for the best part of the last 10 years. She challenged Swift's Solicitor asking him how they can justify a loan that can never be paid back within the remaining terms...he had no comment. Hence her adjourning the case for 30 days to allow us to investigate. Second hearing the judge still not satisfied with our investigation into the charges and the lack of knowledge of the charges from Swifts solicitor...has DENIED their possession order against us. Stating it was unfair on their part. We have now contacted the FOS with the case and are seeking further legal advice to hopefully get all the charges rescinded. You never know they may even force the close of the loan due to swift advances treating us unfairly in accordance with COBS. Watch this space!!!!!!!!!

I am currently in dispute with a builder over a patio - there have been several attempts to remedy the situation over the past 12 months the patio has been re-laid but there are still significant issues. Last time the builder was on site I unfortunately swore about the situation not directed at the builder. The builder became very aggressive and intimidating - shouting and swearing at me. I asked him to leave the house and he continued. Fortunately, at this point my wife came home with my daughters and she could hear the builder shouting from outside the house. I managed to get the builder into the front garden where he continued to shout and swear at me in front of my wife and 5 and 3 year old daughters. My wife asked him to stop multiple times. We got the children in the house and then he eventually left after a final tirade. In the evening the contractor sent a text to my wife rather than me acknowledging his behaviour had been inappropriate. He is offering to carry out further remedial work but we are obviously reluctant to have him back on site after this situation - he is a big guy. Where do we stand legally if we don't feel comfortable having him back on site?

Major crackdown on abuse of 'debt' judgement by rogue parking and utility firms is announced Ministers will pledge action on abuse of county court judgments by rogue firms Anyone who has had a CCJ without their knowledge will have it removed The Govt plans to immediately set aside all backdoor CCJs for those who can prove to a judge that they did not know about it when it was passed. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5214075/Action-debt-judgement-rogue-firms-abuse-announced.html

I attended a small claims hearing and I was extremely anxious. I also suffer from ADHD with exasperates the anxiety by x10. I told the court usher about my adhd and asked for it to be passed onto the judge for his info (also so that if he does not know what adhd is, he can google it). After about 3 hours of waiting, I finally went in. I was trembling with the stress of waiting all that time! I asked the judge if we could speak alone for a moment as I wanted to discuss a private matter (I wanted to explain my ADHD had turned me into a quivering wreck and why that was so that he could account for it). To this the judge refused to speak to me and then blasted me for wasting the court's time! He said I should say openly in the room what my personal issue was! I am registered disabled because of my mental health and I could not believe the way the judge was treating me. I did not feel it appropriate to explain my disability in front of the other prty- which is my right! As a result, I was unable to articulate my case and I lost ( almost £4k). Does anyone know what I can do and if it is worth appealing based on the judge discriminating against me based on my disability/ adhd?

My partner has Autism and OCD, this was not taken into consideration at any point of the Court Proceedings, does this constitute to an unfair trial ? Is it against the rules to have the Same Judge at your Appeal hearing, as at your original trail, in the (secret) Family Courts ? If other rules were also breached, causing an unfair trial, can I subsequently take any action in respect of these ? Any help or advice would be much appreciated. Many Thanks

Hi me again! SI had a copyright claim against a company last year which was transferred into my local county court on the small claims track. The judge ruled he couldnt hear the case as he knew nothing about copyright. It took him several months but he transferred it to IPEC (intellectual property court) in London. Now the problem is he didnt transfer it into the small claims part of IPEC , he wrongly transferred it into the main court and I am now facing costs of £10,000 against me instead of £120 maximum from small claims I have only just become aware of whats going on regarding the notice of transfer although it has been withIPEC for about 5 months now is it too late to challenge the county courts trasnfer to the wrong track?

I started an important thread earlier today concerning a recent court judgment where a debtor was ordered to pay £7,000 in costs after losing his claim against Harrow Council and their agent; Newlyn. The background and Judgment can be read by way of the following link: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?477808-Paying-the-creditor-direct-to-avoid-paying-bailiff-fees-has-landed-a-debtor-with-a-%A37-000-cost-order.(32-Viewing)-nbsp To ensure that the original thread does not go 'off topic', discussions about the judgment can be posted here.

Hi folks - first post, as I'm somewhat annoyed/concerned that an issue I thought had been dealt with has reared it's ugly head today. Long story short, I used a parcel booking service to pay to ship a cardboard bike box overseas in October '16. This was all fine in terms of goods arriving, until I received an e-mail 11 days later stating my parcel had been measured by the courier as bigger than the stated dimensions and therefore I had underpaid by approx £50 for the volumetric weight. The service I paid for cost £30 so as you can imagine I was less than impressed! I was so convinced it was attempted fraud I reported them to Action Fraud and cancelled my bank card, as the small print of their T&Cs state they will attempt to recover the amount they consider outstanding after a short period. Their justification for the additional charge was nonsense after I disputed the additional cost, and even their own website disagrees with the way they attempted to justify it. I also liaised with the parcel carrier directly, but aside from intervening to try and get the booking service to see sense it just went round in circles. I asked for information that was never supplied, but eventually sent them the pictures of the parcel which I'd taken prior to shipping, with a tape measure in shot, in early December which they wanted to use to generate a refund to them from the courier before they would wipe out the invoice. All went quiet until early Jan when another copy of the invoice arrived by e-mail, which I quickly responded to. At this point I was told the opportunity to appeal with the courier was past and to pay up. I queried whether the photos I'd sent had been passed to the courier but received no response. I chased this again a few weeks later asking if no news was good news and if my previous e-mail had been received - again, no response. I assumed until today they'd either got the courier to refund and hadn't bothered to communicate with me, or they'd just lost interest. My last comms to them was end of Jan '17. Today, by e-mail, I received the following from an e-mail account called Admin Judges which I've anonymised a bit: I found this site by searching for the company name, but the references are quite old. I presume that rather than acting for the company concerned they have simply bought some packaged debt and are chancing their arm at minimal cost to themselves and see what they get back. I've had no letter in the post, but I imagine the costs and threats will escalate over time? I can afford to pay it - that's not the issue - but I begrudge the slimy way they've attempted to get extra money out of me - seems a common tactic for the firm concerned. Sorry for the long post and thank you to those that have read this far - what advice from well informed regulars on how best to deal? Many thanks

Had a blue form sent a month or so ago which was issued by the court, filled it out offering repayments today had a letter saying I didnt send it back and I now have to pay in full the 3000 pound... which of course I can't. No I didnt send it recorded which was stupid but I did send it what can I do please? I didnt send the form back to the court I sent it to the claimant was this wrong ? I sent the blue forms to Shulmans Ltd

Hi All, a few back ground notes. I bumped into a friend who I had not seen for a number of years due to moving out of the area. We reminisced of days gone past when he told me that he had just been in court for a hearing to get his invoice paid of a debt collection company (DCC) who had never produced any documentation to back their claim up. he sent them a unilateral contract based on performance. If they sent him evidence to back up their claim then this would be outside the unilateral contract and would not be chargeable. Send him anything else then it will be charged. he put in clam into their court for breach of contract non-payment of invoices. the debt collection company put a defence in and my friend put in an order to have their defence struck out due to no reasonable ground of success and a hearing date was set. Once in the court room the solicitor from the DCC motion the judge to hear the defence first. My friend said his should go first but the judge over ruled him, and said he wanted to hear the DCC first. The solicitor did not use what was in his defence pack but made broad statements in general and not specifics of their defence. When my friend got the chance to start his presentment he was cut short by the judge and not allowed to continue. The judge turned the hearing into a trial. He then summed up the case on what he believed the DCC was thinking not on performance of the contract. If he had been given the chance to put his case he would have destroyed the defence. He want to ask for a new hearing due to what had happened but he is looking for the CPR rules that judge did not follow so he can have a chance of a new hearing or appeal. can you help. What rules were not followed by the judge which would allow a new hearing or appeal.

Do all warrants of execution or warrants of distress need to be signed by a Judge? If they are not signed, are they lawful for an Enforcement company to execute.

Hi, I am looking for a little advice. I received a claim form from the county court business centre from the claimants Pra group. I then completed a CCA request and CPR request, which the claimant and their solicitors did not fulfil. I filed my defence, and was updated by the claimant they would provide the documents in due course. The claim was then allocated to the small claims track, and mediation was offered. I had to refuse mediation due to not having all the documentation, which the mediators recommended. Within two days the claimants solicitors sent all the documentation from the CPR and CCA requests, not sure if they were trying to avoid mediation. I have the signed agreement from the credit card but I am a little confused. The agreement was signed by me on the 4/10/2011 with bank of Scotland Plc for an aqua credit card and stamped with I guess an internal stamp on 10/10/2011. The particulars of claim state that it was an agreement with progressive credit ltd entered into on the 12/10/2011. As the dates and the company do not match is this an issue, The particulars of claim state default was made on 18/7/2012 but that last payment was December 2011. The assignment from progressive credit to aktiv kapita was on the 24/1/13 however the particulars of claim states 29/1/13. All assignment documentation has been provided finally. They have also provided me with the notice of assignment from activ kapital to Pra group, but only the letter from Pra not activ kapital, is this sufficient? Any advice would be welcomed, thank you. It is just following the provision of documentation they have advised me to withdraw my defence, and I am unsure if this is correct how I would go about doing it, as I do not want a ccj on my credit file, and do not have the fund to pay in full. I will set up a payment plan if they own the debt, it is just it seems debts have been passed from pillar to post and I want to ensure I am paying the right person for the correct debt.

Hi, I don't do Facebook so I have started a thread on the MoneySavingExpert forum - The Acenden (administered mortgage) Escape Committee in the section called "Mortgage Free Wannabe" (I can't post links here yet). - Acenden have apparently recommenced selling mortgages on behalf of their new owners. Do join me there. I will post more information on that new thread in a while, eg about the danger signs that indicate that Acenden means to repossess. Everyone's case is unique but there are things we can to help each other get clear of these cowboys.

Hi all, I think I'm in quite a bit of hot water with this attack from PRA Group I've following the advice from other contributors in here & been through all the necessary communication with this DCA's solicitors & although very late in the day they have provided all that the court ordered them to evidence proof of debt, correct legal assignment etc. I was wondering if anybody would be willing to cast an eye over the evidence provided & comment on whether it is all in order or if there is perhaps any legal grounds to which I can defend myself in this claim based on any paperwork/contractual errors. The PDF links to the evidence provided by the claimant are attached. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mark

Hi , I am writing this on behalf of a friend. Original CCA request to M&S in early 2013, not complied with and an application form received , ( and more card 2004. ) This was passed to First Credit, my friend had housing issues so did not become aware of the correspondence from them until a claim form from Northampton. I helped her with the defence, no CCA. I spoke to the legal dept at First Credit as friend received another copy of the Application form, and they say they have now complied with the CCA. The 'Lawyer' from first Credit said they believe they have enough to argue at court , she said did I know about Carey V HSBC 2007 and that having signed the form it means the T&C are complied with. At the moment Allocation Questionnaire is completed and awaiting a Court for the hearing. I know this is wrong, I thought no CCA was a complete defence but am not sure what arguments/casework we will need to present at Court.? Any help would be gratefully appreciated. Kindest Regards

Have just recevied letter from MBNA saying that they are are starting legal proceeding with a company called Optima legal. I have just been sent A tottaly uncompliant copy of what mbna claims is the original credit agreement . They have already started defaults on me. any advice.....:D:D have been sent a letter from mbna threating legal action with a company called optima legal... anybody had any dealings with them before ????? mbna has taken three months to send me a bad copy of my application form with tiny terms on the back :eek: anyone having the same problems of constant phone calls:lol: :lol:

Hi i have had a similar experience with a child minder She took me via MCOL to a county court over a debt the claim was struck out but now she has instructed bailiffs.(correction -a dca - DX) What I need to know is if the claim was struck out how come she can instruct bailiffs , has she broken any laws in doing so and can i now counter claim?

Hello, please can someone help/advise me regarding an old MBNA/virgin card taken out by my sister in 2003. She had to take reduced hours and was unable to maintain payments with the account defaulting in 2011. PRA have purchased the debt and have Judge & Priestley dealing with it. When I've looked at the paperwork sent, an application form and terms and conditions (I've attached the documents sent). I believe that the agreement does not contain the required prescribed terms and as it was actioned prior to the 2007 amendment it is an improperly executed agreement and as such is unenforceable. If I am correct what should the next correspondence with Judge & Priestley be or if I am mistaken I will get my sister to complete the I&E form and return it in the hope of averting a ccj. Many Thanks in advance for your help

Hi I'm helping a friend with a claim made against her by Judge & Priestly in relation to an old MBNA debt. We are at the point where J&P have sent the court pack to her (and the court) but they have admitted in their witness statement that the agreement they have provided is a reconstituted one "A copy of the reconstituted credit agreement and accompanying terms and conditions Is exhibited herewith as exhibit ***" The agreement was taken out in Feb 2006 and appears to have been done online. We submitted a holding defence as they failed to comply with CPR31.14 or CCA requests so we only had the POC to go on. They have sent all of this in time (14 days prior to hearing on 24th April). They have written a long witness statement regarding sending of NoA's, DN's etc which we could attempt to defend or put them to proof of posting etc but I'm wondering if it would be better to keep it really simple and rely on the fact that they can't use a reconstitued version of the original agreement? My concern is that as it was an online application (tick box for signature), how could they produce anything other than a reconstitued copy? The court letter states that we should submit everything we are relying on 14 days prior to the hearing but as we've only just received the claimants pack, we need time to digest and prepare a response? mowbli

Hi, I have a legal issue with a company that is refusing to serve paperwork in regards to their claim. The judge ordered the claimant to serve a 'reply to the defence' by today or the claim will be struck out. The court or the defendant (my company) have not been served. 1. Can I ask for costs? 2. Can the claimant reissue a new ccj? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Had a civil case and lost with the judge ordering me to pay loads within 14 days. Sent in N245 variation request complete with tax returns showing my losses, bank statements showing my constant overdrafts and the stepchange printout detailing all my credit card debts. Judge decided that the application for instalments be dismissed on the basis that the judgement sum cannot be paid within a reasonable time. (I did tell the creditor I had no money but he didn't believe me) I really have nothing I can sell and no-one I can borrow from (who'd lend me anything) so now I am worried that bailiffs will be knocking on the door scaring the kids and adding even more on top of a debt that I can't pay. I've tried to get some legal advice for free but no-one can offer any advice. Help...please....

My wife and I lost a county court claim as joint defendants and have been ordered to pay £2800 forthwith. We don't have it and a debt charity has gone through our figures and said run, sorry, offer £1 a month token payment because you are living on credit cards. We are trying to fill in an N245 application for variation but I am a little stuck. We have one source of income, my Wife's self employment, which we both work within and share the childcare responsibilities, so effectively I have no income of my own save for the child tax credits that are awarded to both of us (I do not claim unemployment). Our income goes into a joint account and all living expenses and payments come from the same account. There is only one claim number so do we fill in one N245 in both our names or two with the same income/outgoings or two with my figures as zero? Do we have to pay one or two fees? I've looked at ex160a to see if we qualify for fee remission. We meet the gross income part but I'm not sure if our endowment policy counts as disposable capital for what it's worth. Any help would be lovely, thanks

Form 4 complaint: Burnley County Court: May 2013. His Honour Judge Butler This particular Judgment is very serious indeed and it being posted as it is in the public interest to do so. Firstly, the contents of the Judgment are vitally important but, as can be seen from the top right hand corner, all 3 pages have been copied from a particular website. It is sadly the case that the website in question have continually claimed that it is a "myth" that Courts have ever ordered claimants to pay costs if a Form 4 Complaint is dismissed. This is all the more serious given that this judgment appeared on that particular website on around 29th May 2013 and the entire thread was removed from public view by the website owner on 3rd June 2013 after a post had been made about the judgment on Consumer Action Group. From reading the final paragraph on Page 2 and the closing statement on Page 3 it is very clear that His Honour Judge Butler is confirming that costs have indeed been ordered and, as an example, he confirms that in one "recent case" at Southampton County Court a cost order of £10,000 had been ordered against the person making the Form 4 complaint. In fact, I referred to this particular Form 4 outcome a few days ago and it is my understanding that “costs” are still being debated and look likely to reach over £20,000 !!! The Form 4 Complaint for Mr Kirk (the complainant) had been drafted by the website in question and this was confirmed on the thread started by Mr Kirk ( before it was removed from public view) and is evident by the PDF of the thread. This Judgment needs to be available to the public and there are many reason for this: Mr Kirk had initially posted a query on Consumer Action Group and he was advised in no uncertain terms by posters on here that he should not consider a Form 4 complaint in particular given......that the amount in dispute was just £20!! The brief background is that the bailiff levied upon a vehicle owned by Mr Kirk's sister and that he charged a fee of £24.50, £18.00 and a "levy fee" of £28.00 There was also a small additional amount of £26.00 which apparently related to a shortfall against a previous account. Mr Kirk complained to Rossendale’s about the levy. Sensibly, they removed the levy fee and visit fee and credited the account with the sum of £50. The debtor was not happy to be told on this forum that he had no grounds in which to file a Form 4. Subsequently, he sought advice from another forum and from reading a copy of the PDF of his thread, it would seem that he was encouraged to file a Form 4 Complaint. The website in question are known to charge a fee of £99 for “drafting” the Form 4 complaint. Before the website had removed the entire thread on 3rd June 2013 a copy of Mr Kirk's Form 4 had been displayed. Sadly, it referred to at lest 14 legal cases most of which were irrelevant "19th century law cases". As a warning to anyone else who may quote such case law in a Form 4 complaint, it is noteworthy that His Honour Judge Butler stated that if he had felt it necessary to list the Form 4 for a hearing that he would have required the complainant to bring to the court copies of the legal cases referred to in the Form 4 and most seriously; he would have requested that the complainant or "his legal adviser" would have been required to attend court explain to the Judge the relevance of such legal cases !! Finally, in paragraph 6 His Honour Judge Butler refers to Mr Kirk's comment that he had "taken legal advice" and he questions whether such "advice" had come from "face to face" advice from a solicitor or CAB or alternatively whether the "legal advice" had originated from "internet research". If so, he stated that "if from the latter he should not assume that this information is correct and nor should he assume that the court is aware of the matters he relies upon” ( in this he refers to the "19th century legal cases") As mentioned above, within hours of brief details of this highly critical Judgment being posted on the CAG forum the judgment and the claimants entire thread were removed from public view. The effect being that any new visitors to the website would be "kept in the dark" about the response to a Form 4 complaint that the website had drafted for him. To this day, that same website continue to advise debtors to file Form 4 complaints and most seriously....to "claim" that costs will not be awarded against the claimant.