Hi there I'm new to this site, so will let others decide where this should be! This is just a bit of advice for other Oyster card users. I was challenged the other day on a bus for non-payment by an Inspector. I was pretty sure that I'd paid - I had definitely touched my card on the reader - and my son who was behind me confirmed this. The machine didn't make a noise for a failed transaction, nor did the bus driver make any comment. For those who haven't experienced an inspection, the Inspector checks your card by touching it with a hand-held electronic reader. I challenged him to prove that I hadn't paid and he couldn't. However, because the penalty for a failed appeal is very steep - £80 - I handed over the reduced £40 fine as I happened to have that amount of cash on me. Anyway, the moral is always check your Oyster account online at the first opportunity if you're issued with a fine. Journeys for the last 7 days are recorded. I've just done this and, sure enough, my payment for that journey is logged! I certainly wouldn't hand over any money if this happened again without checking my account first. Obviously these checks are not reliable, and it's pretty sloppy of TfL if you're going to accuse people of dishonesty. Although judging by the reaction of the other passengers who were urging me (loudly) not to pay it's not an uncommon experience. Needless to say, I have written a letter asking for my money back.

I own a coach house style property which has two garages underneath - one is mine and the other is used by the house next door. As it is part of my property it is leased out to next door and they have to pay me ground rent of £25 a year and a portion of my buildings insurance - in case they set the garage on fire or anything that could damage my house. It is all laid out in the deeds of my house and next door. I bought the house when it was built in 2001 and the neighbours who initially lived there paid me their ground rent etc when they moved out in 2003 and said the new owners would be in touch to sort out the arrangements regarding the ground rent. I then rented out my house for a while and didn't hear anything - but was hundreds of miles away from my house so couldn't see who was now living next door. It turned out it was bought and then rented out. Two years later the owner contacted me and paid me the amount for the last two years - but stated I had to put her name on my insurance documents - not really possible at the time as my house was being rented out and I had Landlords Insurance etc and once I moved back into my house - trying to get an insurance company to do that when the owner of next door didn't live in the property - was a no go. Plus my solicitor had never advised me to have their name on the insurance too. Some years have passed since they paid me (6 to be exact) and they have continued to rent out the property (however the previous tenant and current tenant are the daughters of the owner so probably not actually paying rent). I wrote to the owner using her business address back in January about the outstanding balance of the ground rent - I did not backdate or charge for insurance as her name hadn't been on the documents. I got no reply. I put a copy through the letterbox next door and sent a copy to her solicitor who had contacted me 6 years ago to arrange payment of the initial 2 years. I still have not had a response. I know she is still the owner of the property and perhaps is hoping I will give up. Am I within my rights to withdraw access to the garage due to lack of payment? I would of course release it back to the owner should they pay, or when they sell the property offer the same arrangement to the new owner. Surely as the owner of the property she uses to rent out - having the garage is a huge selling point for a tenant - so for the sake of £175 for the last 6 years of ground rent (please note I am also not charging interest) - surely that is better than no garage at all for the use of her tenants? Any advice is much appreciated. Many thanks.