http://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/roaming-charges-in-europe-officially-scrapped-from-today-%E2%80%93-all-you-need-to-know-about-using-your-phone-overseas/ar-BBCH3sE?li=AA9SkIr&ocid=ientp However, all is not as it seems... Do read the article linked above because there are still places that you will be charged and quite heavily for staying in contact whilst you are abroad.

Hi My poor little car had a poorly radiator so I bought another car, transferred my insurance in Nov 2016 and set about repairing the first one. The first clue I had that something was a bit amiss came late November when i tried to buy some temporary cover for that car was rejection as they declined insurance saying the car was Cat A/B. I have had this car 5 years.It has never been dented let alone had a serious crash so I thought they just did not fancy insuring a 2.5 L car on a temporary basis. The second was a keen buyer who wanted to check a few things out and never got back to me. I had no problem getting monthly cover from my main insurer who have covered it since Mar 2013 but it was pricey at £60 odd a 28 day period. So, i tried to advertise the car on Gumtree and they rejected it on the basis of HPI saying the car had been scrapped. A quick call (O.K. no call to Swansea is quick,35 menu options later) to DVLA got me a man who said that there was a problem with my car and I needed to fill in a form to find out what was on the record for my vehicle,no. He could not tell me on the phone, yes he could see the car had a valid MOT but I had to fill in the form to find out what the problem was (reply to my submission could take 6 weeks ) Then I could present my side of the story. So I returned in frustration to HPI to try and speed up the process. HPI told me my car had had a Certificate of Destruction issued against it May 2015. Bit of a shock, so I phoned DVLA who could see this car that had,according to them been crushed in May 2015 had been MOTd Oct 2015 and Oct 2016 and been insured continuously. I eventually got an email from DVLA ordering my car off the road and basically asking me to prove I still had the car and that it was the genuine article. So I had to provide photos of the Car with its registration plate, Photos of the VIN number and a pencil rubbing of the VIN number.I had previously sent in my intact V5c form stating they had scrapped the wrong car off. 2 loads of insurance later I have a letter from DVLA without the slightest hint of an apology admitting that my car is not the one turned into a steel door stop and demanding that I pay an enormous sum of money for back road fund license. Car is now taxed from the beginning of this year. Back in March 2015 I set up a Direct Debit scheme for the Road Fund License, they stopped taking it when they decided my car was scrap (usual practice so they say),I did not notice,you tend to look for things you do not remember buying on a bank statement not payments you expect. Equally they did not send out a "Oy, your road tax is due,pay up you bug**R" note March 2016, No Tax Disc to remind you these days,I always bought a new disc when they sent the letter out. O.K. So I should pay up,money is due,despite the fact none of the above was caused by me. Road fund must be paid but what about my costs and effort, I am looking at another 28 days insurance. I should have have been able to declare this car sold late November so no liability for road tax from then but I have had to pay for January despite being ordered off the road for half that. 3 and a half months Road Tax is about £90, phone calls ,letters and time.They want the full amount.I have listed the car on ebay to just get rid but do not expect it to achieve the price I had negotiated before the sale fell through. Is there any scheme that compensates me for the considerable losses on my part,for my expenses keeping the car legal and making it sale-able.

Sickness benefits claimants won't have to go through reassessments to keep their payments if they suffer from chronic illnesses. http://news.sky.com/story/reassessments-scrapped-for-chronically-ill-benefits-claimants-10600519

READ MORE HERE: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/31/right-to-buy-policy-scrapped-scotland-social-housing

A major restructuring of the criminal legal aid system in England and Wales has been scrapped, Justice Secretary Michael Gove has confirmed. Mr Gove said he had "decided not to go ahead" with plans to cut duty solicitor contracts at police stations and magistrates' courts by two thirds. He also suspended for 12 months a second 8.75% cut in legal aid fees. Labour shadow justice secretary Lord Falconer said the government's plans had "descended into utter chaos". The proposed cuts - drawn up by former Justice Secretary Chris Grayling - would have reduced the number of legal aid contracts from 1,600 to 527. However, Mr Gove said there were "real problems" in pressing ahead with the proposals. BBC

In March I started a thread on here about the introduction by the Ministry of Justice of a Criminal Courts Charge that from May this year was to be added to each Magistrate Court Fine. The charge ranged from between £150 up to a maximum of £1,200. The charge is paid on top of the fine, compensation order, prosecution costs and victims surcharge. As can be seen in the following thread that I started, this charge has lead to the resignation of many Magistrates. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?443504-Criminal-Courts-Charge-to-be-added-to-all-Magistrate-Court-fines. There has been an intense amount of lobbying from amongst others, the Magistrate's Association and the Howard League for Penal Reform for this charge to be scrapped and I am delighted to hear today that the Justice Minister; Michael Gove has agreed that the Criminal Court Charge is to be SCRAPPED on 24th December !! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34993428

The criminal courts charge is to be scrapped from 24 December, Justice Secretary Michael Gove has announced. Since April, convicted criminals in England and Wales have had to pay a charge of between £150 and £1,200 towards the cost of their case. MPs had called for it to be axed and the Magistrates Association said the decision was "tremendously welcome". The charge is paid on top of fines, compensation orders and defendants' own legal charges, and is higher for those convicted after pleading not guilty. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34993428

The paper counterpart driving licence is being axed on June 8 – and organisations are warning that drivers will need a ‘special code’ from the DVLA to hire a car or drive a company vehicle. Currently, penalty points are displayed on a driver’s counterpart licence, but from June 8 they’ll be recorded on a virtual record which can be accessed online, by phone or post. Should you need proof of your driving history, motorists will need to get a code from the DVLA to pass on to their employer or hire car company. This unique eight-digit code can be accessed online through the DVLA’s ‘share your licence’ service, or over the phone. But the code only lasts for three days – leading to criticism that drivers might be stranded abroad unable to hire a car if they’re unable to contact the DVLA or are simply unaware of the changes. http://www.admiral.com/newsletter/paperless-driving-licence.php?media=enewe&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=enewsletter https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence Paperless driving licence: DVLA changes explained as Brit holidaymakers anticipate car hire chaos DVLA driving licence paperless change could mean car chaos this summer

Driving licences will go paperless from June as the government continues to press ahead with plans to take more service online. For the past 17 years drivers have had to keep two parts of a driving licence: one a sheet of paper detailing their penalty points and endorsements, and the other a plastic ID card. The government has decided to phase out the paper element of the licence. "The reason for abolishing the counterpart is to reduce the burden on motorists,” a government spokesperson explained. "For most drivers there simply isn’t a need to have this information on a piece of paper when it is now freely and easily available online. It also saves drivers from paying £20 to replace a lost or damaged counterpart," they told the Plymouth Herald. When are the changes coming into effect? Earlier this year minister announced that all paper counterparts to licences would no longer be valid after 8th June this year. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) are also advising all drivers to destroy their paper counterparts. If my licence was issued before 1998 do I need to get a new licence? No. Your licence will still be valid and does not need to be replaced, until it is due for renewal. "The next time you need to update your name, address or renew your licence, you will be issued with a photocard only," a DVLA spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph. How will I check my driving record? All of your details – and the details of Britain’s approximately 30 million motorists – will be compiled on an online database that you will be able to access. The decision is part of the government’s “Red Tape Challenge”. The site, launched last year, is available here but those who wish can still request their records either by telephone or post. I’m a business owner and employer. How will these changes affect me? A similar site for employers, allowing them to check the driving details of possible employees, is planned for launch at some point in spring this year. A date for the launch has not yet been released.

I am at a loss for words. The main facts: My car was due for renewal in 1 week and I had to be away for work. I parked my car in a residential area that I thought was off the road, whilst away for 3 weeks. When I returned, the car had gone. I reported it stolen and was told that the car was impounded. As the tax disc was out of date, the council had the car scrapped. The car was my only mode of transport and had a lot of items with sentimental value in it. Almost four years later (I had moved house during this time) I received a letter from bailiffs saying that I owed £400+ magistrates fine. Apparently I had been convicted in my absence for keeping an unlicensed vehicle. The DVLA would like me to pay £50 extra as a fine to waive the £400+ magistrates fine. They seem to be ignoring the fact that my vehicle and its content were destroyed and discarded. Can they do this? Do I now have a criminal record? Please help.

Our campervan was recently written off when in the care of a third party. He is claiming on his insurance on our behalf. No problem. Unfortunately.......... ....the insurance won't pay out as the DVLA say their records show the vehicle as being scrapped 2 years ago! It has been continually insured, MOT'd and taxed during that period, and we still have the V5 in my wife's name. How can DVLA register the vehicle as scrapped without the registered keeper ever knowing about it? How could we continue to insure, tax and MOT a vehicle which didn't exist, according to DVLA? Any ideas? What to do now?

Im sure that you have all heard of this scenario. My friend scrapped a car sent conformation to the DVLA to say that the car was no longer in his possession as it had been scrapped. My friend is a mechanic and has scrapped many cars over the years without a problem. However just recently he gets a fine for a car he had scrapped, he feels that this is an oversight on behalf of the DVLA and rings them to state that no conformation had been received. He tells them that its not his fault that this information had been lost and could they check again. A few weeks later he gets a letter from Inter-credit consultants demanding the £80. He calls them up and states the same as he did to DVLA. They wouldnt hear it and basically said he has to pay the fine. I emailed DVLA asking them to recheck their files and how can they prove that the conformation was not sent. Another week later he gets another debt letter from this company stating that he can pay off the fine in small payments and that he must call them to set up a payment plan. The day after he gets another letter from them to state that they had received the email that was sent to DVLA and stated that the information sent does release him from the fine. So basically DVLA sent on the email straight to the debt collectors and didnt even respond or look into this. I know my friend is very good with his paper work with regards to car documents as he deals with cars and scrapping a lot if the time and this is the first time that this has ever happened. Does he roll over and pay this fine or can he fight this. Thanks guys.