http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/police-warning-after-reports-of-fake-new-5-notes-in-circulation-a3514691.html Got that wrong then, didn't they ?

I viewed a flat yesterday morning for a rental. I made a payment of 350 pound and was told the property would be taken off of the market when I make an offer. I was also told the money would be refundable if the landlord does not accept my offer. At the end of the day I made an offer of 340pw. The landlord refused and counter offered 350pw. I declined that and the agent suggested 345pw as a compromise. I told him to see what the landlord said, but had yet to discuss with my brother, who i was renting with. Having discussed with my brother, who was unsure about 340pw to begin with, I called the agent and told them my brother was not happy with 340 and we wanted a refund. By this point, the landlord had not confirmed whether he would accept 345pw as he had to speak to his partner as well. So all in all, the offer was only live for a matter of a few hours, it wasn't confirmed and since I made the deposit, I know the agency still had the advert live and had made at least one viewing, directly after mine so it wasn't really taken off the market at all. However, the agency are trying to retain the full 350 pound as compensation for the landlord. I thought the deposit was to cover reasonable costs incurred? It's not like it was off the market for a week. And besides, there had been no agreed and confirmed offer. Do you have any advice to get at least part of the money back or is there no real hope in your opinion? many thanks.

My sons bike got stolen, police have found it and sent letter for collection, what are the fees as I don't know if it is worth getting back, if they keep it what will they charge him. he Thanks Mashmallow

I always keep an eye out for fake pounds (I'm a bit of a numismatist) and had noticed that finally someone had started to remove them from circulation. At one time, several years ago, if I had 4 or 5 pound coins in my pocket, one would be fake. The poorer copies are not difficult to spot if you know what you are looking for. the obverse (the face side) is often a bit "soapy" looking, ie the detail isn't quite right. The difference is really quite easy to see when compared with a real coin. They mix up obverse and reverse types, mating the reverse design with the wrong date. However, as these coins have started to disappear, I noticed one in my change that was really rather good. I'm not sure what technology they are now using, but the quality of the dies (the metal "stamps" that make the coin) was very good indeed, resulting in a coin that on the face of it was virtually indistinguishable from the original. However, they still made some of the old mistakes. 1) only coins that are very very worn start to lose the edge milling- the words (decus et tutamen or whatever) are usually very deep. If a coin looks fairly new and has poor edge milling (very faint or uneven), then its likely to be a fake. If words are very faint, again be suspicious. Very often the fakers will go for a "bridge" design coin as the edge design is a couple of wavy lines which is easier to copy- however even these tend to have a poor edge design. 2) real pound coins always have perfect die alignment, meaning that the obverse and reverse line up perfectly. Fake coins don't. hold the coin looking at the queen, with the point of the bust at 6 o'clock. this is the bottom of the coin. rotate the coin in your fingers through 180 degrees with your fingers exactly at the top and bottom. A fake coin will not have a reverse that lines up with the other side, and so the reverse will be on an angle. 3) the size. If you have good eyesight, you will notice that if you compare a real one for a fake, the fake is often, (but not always) ever so slightly bigger. check your pound coins, see if you have a dodgy one in your purse or pocket. don't accept them from shops- and they often get passed out at night in pubs and clubs. where do the profits from making and passing on these coins go? Difficult to say but you can bet your bottom pound coin that its not to a children's ward or hospice bed.

Engaged solutions apparently bought pound access loan book but, They have only a licence for credit brokerage, so i am pretty sure even if they have the loan book , the debts are still under pound access, and as they are only a broker they don't have the correct category for debt collecting, if i am wrong please tell me, will ring oft tomorrow to confirm. Licence Number:0651832 Licence Status:Current Current Applicant / Licensee: Business Name Company Registration Number Engaged Solutions Limited 08047869 Categories: Credit brokerage ht To Canvass Off Trade Premises:No

FYI I've just entered into IVA and one of my creditors was Pound Access. I've been recieving an awful lot of emails of them telling me that they're issuing a CCJ and passing my debt on to a 3rd party so I decided to call them to advise them that I was in an IVA and that they were legally bound to the terms, only to be told by the woman who answered the phone that Pound Access had gone into liquidation.