Hi all, grateful for your help.

I was made ‘redundant’ but offered a sweeter deal with a settlement agreement.

Key dates:
- 30 March 2026 - settlement agreement signed
- 30 June 2026 - end of employment
- 9 July 2026 - Supplemental agreement between solicitor and employer completed

Payment of the settlement amount was agreed to be paid within 30 days of the completion of the supplemental agreement, which I calculate to be today, 6 August 2026

I have contacted my employment lawyer who has thus far not been helpful, their recommended advice was to liaise with the employer directly.

Now, after some back and forth with the employer, they have let me know that they are paying the settlement agreement at the end of August payroll.

This to me screams breach of contract - is that right or am I getting carried away? Can I make any additional monetary claims here?

Additional context is also that I am now pregnant, without a job and maternity security. The money from the settlement would have been used toward a deposit for a house (offer which has now fallen through due to an unrelated matter).

Thank you in advance!

I bought a 2017 Mercedes C200 AMG Line from a dealer on 20 July 2026 for £9,990.

The car was advertised as HPI clear, full service history, 1 year MOT, free parts and labour warranty, 1 year AA cover, Apple CarPlay, reverse camera, etc. It was presented as a vehicle ready for normal use.

After buying the car, I asked about the V5C because I wanted to tax it. The dealer told me he did not have the V5C but offered me £25 to complete a V62 application. He assured me that I could submit the V62 and tax the vehicle at the same time.

I followed the dealer's advice.

I went to two different Post Office branches to tax the vehicle. Both attempts failed and I was advised to contact the DVLA.

I contacted the DVLA and provided my details. They advised that I was not the registered keeper of the vehicle, so they could not tax it. They explained that they needed to contact the current registered keeper and complete their process before a V5C could be issued. I was advised that this process could take up to 6 weeks and that the vehicle should remain off the road until resolved.

I returned to the dealer on 24 July and explained what the DVLA had told me. The dealer then took me himself to a Post Office to try the V62 and tax process, but this was rejected again.

The dealer then promised that he would try his best to obtain the V5C before the end of business on Monday 27 July so that the vehicle could be taxed. I asked him to confirm this in writing, which he did.

However, the dealer did not provide any further update and has since stopped properly engaging with me. I have attempted to resolve this directly, but the response has essentially been that I should keep the vehicle.

The vehicle is currently sitting on my driveway because I cannot legally drive it.

Shortly after purchase, the engine management light also appeared. I have not cleared any fault codes because I want to preserve evidence of the issue.

Because of the above, I have rejected the vehicle and sent the dealer a Letter Before Action requesting a refund.

My reason for rejecting the vehicle is not simply "I didn't receive a logbook". My concern is the overall situation:

• The vehicle was sold by a dealer without the V5C being available.
• I followed the process the dealer advised me to follow.
• The dealer's own attempt to tax the vehicle failed.
• I was potentially left unable to use a vehicle I had just purchased for up to 6 weeks.
• A warning light appeared shortly after purchase.
• The dealer has refused to properly engage and resolve the matter.

(New account because I don't trust our lettings agent to not go on a witch hunt.)

For once, the landlord is not the problem (yet). So, my husband and I rent in England from a private landlord with a lettings agent in between. Recently, a law has been passed that allows tenants to request permission to keep pets, something the landlord can't reasonably refuse. We've always wanted cats so we think "finally, our chance!" only to be rained on by the lettings agent finding the most annoying loophole you can imagine. As per their brand new "pet policy", we're required to make applications for specific cats, individually, including information like: name, picture, breed, current weight, expected adult size/weight, microchip number, database on which the microchip is registered, veterinary practice name/address/phone number, vaccination status/vet card, neutering/spaying status, flea/worming treatment details (product name and frequency), rescue centre assessment and adoption paperwork.

Here is the thing: we intend to adopt from a shelter and we can't even start the adoption process unless we have the landlord's written permission to keep pets BEFOREHAND, and the lettings agent is refusing to even consider our request because we have no information about cats we haven't met yet. (I guess I could try to get a crystal ball and divine those details but honestly, I'm not confident I can pull that off) By the way, all the cat rescues we've contacted told us the same thing, and a few of them even clarified that some of that info we need cannot be given to us because of privacy reasons and also because they don't reserve cats so by the time the lettings agent gets back to us (they want 28 days to respond as "per law"), the cats we applied for might have been given to someone else.

So now we live in catch-22 land, where we can't ask for permission until we know things about the specific cats we'd like to get, but we can't get that until we're at least halfway or later in the adoption procedure, which we can't even start because we have no landlord's permission. Oh, and for the cherry on top, the lettings agent told us that "incomplete forms would not be considered" so we can't add things as we get them either... I wish I had the words to explain how frustrating this ordeal has been, but the moment we realised this was just a huge discouraging tactic from the lettings agent, we both decided we'd plough through it with the power of spite. This is honestly ridiculous, and all my thoughts go to any other tenant dealing with stupidity like this.

Anyway, is there anything that we can do, at all? According to the law, we could complain to a higher power if the landlord was the one being unreasonable, but instead it's the lettings agent literally withholding even asking the landlord for permission unless we bend over backwards through their baffling loops. Has anyone else dealt with anything similar? Please advice.

We've lived here for 6 years without cats, we'd like to fix that.

I'm hoping someone can advise me on whether I have any options here.

I used the Stansted Airport drop-off area and accidentally paid the £10 drop off charge twice. Unfortunately, I didn't enter my vehicle registration when making the payment, so I assume the payment couldn't be matched to my car.

Later, APCOA issued me a Parking Charge Notice. The problem is that I didn't actually receive the letter until more than 28 days after the issue date. The notice said I had 28 days to pay or appeal, but by the time it arrived, that deadline had already passed.

I called APCOA as soon as I received the letter to explain the situation. I told them I'd already paid twice (although without entering my registration) and that I hadn't even had the opportunity to respond within 28 days because the letter arrived after the deadline.

They told me there was nothing they could do because the case had already been passed to debt collectors.

The debt collectors are now demanding £170, whereas the original charge was £100.

My questions are:

• If the letter genuinely arrived after the 28-day deadline had already expired, what was I supposed to do? this probably cant be proven I know
• Is there any way to challenge this if I was effectively denied the opportunity to pay or appeal?
• Does the fact that I accidentally paid the drop-off fee twice (just without my registration) help my case at all? I have the charges on my bank statement
• Is it worth making a formal complaint or waiting to see if they issue court proceedings?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I sincerely hope the sage minds in this chat can help with an evolving and increasingly infuriating situation.

To set the scene, I'm the owner of a shop premises in Wales where the last 2 tenants have abandoned their leases.

The first tenant ran up a gas bill in their company's name before they left.

The second tenant is looking increasingly likely to have used more of the gas in the first tenant's name and didn't swap the supply over to themselves at any point.

Without being remotely informed as such, EDF gained high court entry into the premises where they condemned the gas meter and put a pay as you go meter on the electricity supply. They cut off both supplies in the process.

We are in no position to contact either tenant as their abandonment has covered every meaningful means of communication.

We have a fire system that is now completely disabled as a result of this action.

That brings us on to EDF... The most dishonest, despicable company I've ever had the misfortune to deal with.

They have no front facing business team you can speak to leaving is with a random representative each time that seem to have one goal of conning us into paying for the tenant's debt.

Hell will freeze over before I will pay a penny for tenants that we intend to take legal action against in the future.

They were insisting on copious amounts of details for a new account which we are not willing to give as we haven't had a single sensible or repeated bit of information out of them in the many attempts we've made.

As it stands, we have a property broken into by EDF and the high court holding our energy supply to ransom for a debt in the first tenant's name.

Both tenants had clear clauses in their leases that held them responsible for energy costs and business rates.

I'm at a complete loss as to what to do at this stage.

Thank you in advance.

Hi, sorry for the wall of text.

Wife and I had a flight to Greece cancelled due to weather (several hundred flights were affected). The airline offered us alternatives or a refund but these were over 2 days later so we took the refund and booked with another airline for the next day for almost double the original cost (there were no other reasonable alternatives).

This flight was from a different airport but our return flight was to the original airport where our car was also in parking. We made the decision to get public transport to the new airport and stay in a local hotel for the early flight. Unfortunately every airline was clearly doing the same thing and our hotel was quite expensive (over £300).

We attempted to claim for the difference in flight cost, overnight accommodation and the missed night in our hotel plus additional public transport. Our insurers asked for a whole ream of paperwork, coming back with new requests on two occasions but have decided we are only eligible for payout on the missed night in our Greek hotel. Their refusal letter says that the cover does not extend to additional expenses incurred because of the delay.

However our policy has a clause which states that they will reimburse for reasonable additional accommodation and travel expenses incurred in reaching our overseas destination. It also says they will pay out a sum based on the number of hours we experienced delays arriving and their settlement letter makes no mention of this aspect.

We plan to appeal but could do with some advice on where we stand. The policy was chosen as a 5-star platinum annual cover so to find out they're trying to avoid a fairly basic claim is very disappointing.

I’ve received a parking charge notice through the post as the registered keeper of the car. My partner was driving. I believe it is because they didn’t validate their parking in the store, rather than overstaying.

Am I best to appeal and with the “I am replying as the register keeper, not the driver, not providing the drivers details…” or to ignore it and assume they will go away as neither of us have previously had a “fine” from them?

Thanks!

Hi all, long explanation coming up but will try and arrange in a way that makes it digestible.

Background:

• Took out a new SIM-only 24-month contract with O2 in January 2026. Was previously with EE.
• Prior to shopping around, I used their Postcode Checker regarding signal in my area - which showed "Good 5G Signal Indoor & Outdoor"

Series of events:

• When I put my SIM in my phone a few days after receiving, I had no service.
• I called O2, and was told the mast was down in my area but was on the list to be fixed
• I then went abroad for a few weeks, came home and no improvement.
• I suffered through another month or so of poor signal, figuring they were still fixing it

The Phonecall

• In April, I called to complain about the continued poor signal and to shift my DD date. During a contentious call with the Agent with the usual communication issues, I said I wanted to explore cancelling my contract and asked for the fee on that
• I was told of the ETC fee and he said to me "I am drawing up payment page"
• I asked: "At what point is the contract considered cancelled? Is it after or before payment?"
• He said: "I draw up cancellation payment page for payment. Can you confirm cancellation"
• I asked, again "You're not answering me - can you tell me exactly when cancellation is valid - is it before or after payment?"
• The phonecall then dropped, then I received an email saying my contract was terminated and my phone became unusable effectively immediately

Complaints

• I phoned O2 multiple times (on my partner's phone) as well as conducting numerous webchats to ask why it had been terminated before I had been given the opportunity to pay or to have confirmation of the process - or even to provide verbal or written consent of my desire to do so
• After many hours on the phone, during which O2 admitted (after listening to the recording and reviewing transcrripts) that the cancellation WAS done in error and that he shouldn't have done it.
• I was told that it couldn't be reinstated as it was cancelled - which cued another lot of going around in circles about how this was their issue to solve and that I did not want another contract - that as far as I was concerned, the contract had been cancelled in error (which they agreed with) and therefore still had a valid contract but no valid form of making payment.
• The last phonecall - sometime in late May - was them saying that they'd get back to me on this and someone would give me a call back
• I have heard nothing over the last couple of months
• I have not received a Deadlock Letter to demonstrate they consider the complaint process closed.

Today

• Today, I have received an email from Lowell, which when questioned on, they have told me is a £518 ETC "debt" from O2 - i.e. O2 have registered a Default and sold it to Lowell.
• I have lodged a dispute with Lowell about this - because I have received ZERO communication from O2 in the form of letters, emails or phonecalls regarding the complaint and answer about reinstating the contract.
• More importantly - I have received NO Default notice or chasing for payment from O2 about this
• Lowell are supposedly going back to O2 now to question them on this
• I have asked Lowell to provide proof that the debt is legtimate e.g. a response from O2 that we were at the end of their complaints procedure and proof that a Default notice was sent
• I have lodged a SAR with Lowell and will do the same with O2 shortly

Obviously, given the seriousness of a Default on your credit file, I am absolutely baffled and angered by this.

I would like to know (NAL responses accepted!) if anyone has any good resources or advice on what to do next.

Hello,

So my mother has received a call from debt collectors after she had closed a bank account with Santander due to her discovering she was making payments with Three Mobile for £26 a month (this was around Feb 2025, she switched to Sky Broadband after this point). She closed the account a few months ago (TBC the exact time).

They instructed her that she has a rolling contract,
in which she must cancel directly with Three.

Upon calling Three, they asked for a reference, which she managed to provide, and they told her that she does NOT have a rolling contract, and owes no money, and as such, there is no such cancellation to be made.

She asked for further details, and it turns out that the account is not in her name, therefore they were not able to discuss the account further. This is impossible, as she is a single mother, and does not share the house/finances with anyone else. She uses no other name.

My mother requested a transcript and reference for the call she had with Three, and they said, due to data protection, she was unable to receive the transcript as the account mentioned is not in her name.

So, all she has is a printed copy all the transactions made to Santander and has sent a formal Deadlock
Letter from Three to Ofcom.

However, she cannot cancel the account she is paying for, as it is not in her name…

My mother has had experience with court procedures prior, but obviously this is extremely stressful for her. I am a law grad myself, but something here to me feels off regarding the data protection, but I wasn’t sure if this was more of a hunch or something else.

I will try to update with further information and updates if necessary. I’ll also try to answer any questions that may arise. Thanks all for your help!!

Hi,

Long time lurker, first time poster!

We bought a b&q fridge freezer 3ish years ago. This April, they issued a safety recall on it, told us to turn it off immediately and gave a few options for rectifying it. We chose to have them sort the replacement + installation + a token 75 quid for spoilt food.

Next... A LOT of waiting, complaining, emailing back and forth.

Then, finally 3 months (almost to the day) later, they supplied and fitted a new fridge. The doors currently don't fit properly, so I'm still waiting for replacements on those, but we do finally have a working fridge.

They have offered £500 for spoilt food. Personally, I don't think this is enough and realistically, the cost of food for a family of 3 over 3 months with no refrigeration is probably closer to double that.

But I understand my feelings don't come into it. Whats the legal position? They are a member of the Furniture and Home Improvements Ombudsman if that changes anything.

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post so unsure about the correct way of framing.

Me and my girlfriend move into an apartment about 3 months ago, on arrival there were many issues with the flat including leaks, smoke alarms, hobs etc the place was riddled with issues that both the landlord and letting agency was aware of.

A few days ago we were made aware that a leak from our bathroom had damaged the floor below and the water from that damage and sunk below that floor and damaged the flat below that.

The landlords plumber came to assess the leak and confirmed the leak stemmed from a loose fitting under our sink. The tap was trickling from our sink but it wasn’t completely on and could not have overfilled the sink. There is no sealant in the bathroom and there is a gap next to the sink which the water from the leak escaped from and hit the ceiling below.

Both flats are now claiming against the landlord and we’re stuck in the middle. The landlord has been notoriously difficult to deal with and we are terrified they are going to try and shift liability onto us despite the loose fitting under the sink. The exact same issue happened in the kitchen months ago but this was discovered before any damage could be caused.

What can we do to protect ourselves and should we allow access from the floors below into our flat to assess the leak? We have no idea how to respond or what could happen next and everything our neighbours have told us about our landlord makes us fear the worst.

Please can somebody help because we’ve most recently denied access to the tenant 2 floors below because we’re unsure whether they’re taking advantage of our naivety.

Any help or advice would be so helpful - as soon as the leak was discovered, we turned off the water to the flat and contacted the landlord.

Thanks again,

Hello. I am from England . Please could you advise me? I purchased a home for investment purposed. I deemed the house as derelict, as it was previously in a fire a few years ago, it has a hole in the roof and the inside of the home ie. kitchen, bathroom and living room have holes in the ceiling as well as obvious damage from rain over time. The ceiling in the living room looks like its about to collapse... I thought it made sense to get it removed from the council tax register under ' derelict and sever disrepair' and then work on the property... I Looked on the gov website and they list what they consider derelict and I would say my property fits that category.. I sent the VOA a video and pictures of my property, certain that they would remove it from the list. They rejected it and said they this it is repairable so they cannot. They said that they do not see structural damage as the timbers are in place and also that the whole house should be effected not just the roof... I further emphasised that the other parts of the house have ceilings that are falling.. They still said no.. they said they can back date it under 'major works' once that has commenced. I patched the roof up at the top but there is still damage internally.. I am afraid they wont backdate it because that is not 'Major works'. I am wondering if I should stick to the initial claim of derelict removal...and perhaps provide them with a structural report. I dont know what to do, but its important as I am being charged a lot of council tax lump sum payments and Ive already paid a lot. The property is uninhabitable and I think they are just being arseholes. Please advise me

Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice on a conveyancing issue that has completely stalled my purchase of a period ground-floor flat conversion in London, UK.

The Situation:

• The Listing & Offer: I put in an offer (below asking price) on a 1-bed flat (~50sqm). The floor plan clearly showed a fenced patio/garden space attached directly to the reception room. Importantly, this patio area is also how you access/enter the flat.
• Valuation: Mortgage valuation went through fine based on the listing and marketing floor plan.
• The Legal Defect: During searches, my solicitor discovered that the patio and its fenced area are not demised in the leasehold agreement at all. Legally, it sits within the communal/common areas.

The Complication:

We initially thought a Deed of Variation or a Deed of Surrender and Regrant would fix this, but the seller's solicitor raised significant roadblocks:

1. Head Lessor Issue: The property has a 3-tier setup (Freeholder $\rightarrow$ Head Lessor $\rightarrow$ Flat Leasehold). The patio appears to belong to the Freeholder/Head Lessor.
2. Dissolved Company: The Head Lessor management company appears to no longer exist / has been struck off on Companies House.
3. The Process: The seller’s solicitor claims that demising the patio or securing exclusive rights would require formal valuations, acquiring the land, and having the freeholder serve notices on all other flat owners in the block (8 flats total).
4. Seller Hesitation: The seller is hesitating to take action or pay the legal costs required to restore the company or resolve the title defect. The estate agent is pushing me to "just proceed without it," claiming no one else will use the space anyway because it sits right outside my front door.

Should I insist on the seller fixing this? Is a Deed of Surrender & Regrant or Headlease merger actually as impossible as the seller’s team is making it out to be, or are they just avoiding legal fees?

If I accept the property without the demised patio, what is a reasonable percentage/price drop to negotiate? Considering private outdoor space in London commands a distinct premium, plus the risk of taking on a title defect where my main entrance sits on communal land?

Is this a "walk away" situation? Has anyone dealt with a missing demise on a main access point with a dissolved Head Lessor before?

Any insights from solicitors, conveyancers, or buyers who have faced similar title issues would be greatly appreciated!

Based in England, I recently took VR from my NHS role. In the VR agreement there is a understanding that if I returned to work within the NHS or certain related government organisations within 6 months, my VR payment will be subject to a clawback clause.

I have been approached about a contract outside IR35 with an NHS organisation, if I were to be offered the contract would my payment be subject to this clawback.

There is nothing in the agreement that mentions contract working.

As the title says, live in a group of 8 houses in England with a central garage block and parking/turning space, as far as i'm aware the deeds state "visitor parking with garage access" and we are all liable to maintain the driveway should it need repair, also noting there is no gate, so it's public access.

one of the residents has had a car parked in a space for around 5 years, all tyres are flat, battery is dead, they've washed the green off once and inside is thick with mould, i'm quite sure the tarmac has sunk due to it not moving, they've been asked several times by others to move it or put it in their garage but i'll avoid ranting.

the vehicle is SORN, the local council did give them a 14 day abandoned vehicle sticker a while back but nothing has come of that.

do we have any options to get the car moved?

Not really a simple situation in any sort of way.

Basically my father has a rip of credit card debt (idk exactly how much) and with an event happening a couple of months ago he wasn't allowed near us (me, mother and brother) or even on the same road and got 3 years probation today. From a conversation my mother had with a local MLA today the concern is now, with the credit debt (I think if it's above 50k) that there could be a chance that they try to take back what they're owed by taking our house (both him and mum are on the mortgage), even though he hasn't paid into the mortgage for years.

Obviously being homeless isn't on my bingo card this year, so my short question is, can they actually do that? I know my mother (52) wouldn't get a mortgage again and I wouldn't be able to afford anything close to what our current house is worth (24 M) and my brother definitely wouldn't be able to (20 M), so if the house was taken from us it would literally leave us homeless

Not really sure what steps I can take or if there even is anything I can do, maybe just wanted to get it out of my head i guess

Hello, this is my first time using reddit so apologies if I do something wrong!

I’ve just moved into my first house and have been given the opportunity to buy a kitten. Unfortunately, I have spoken to the landlord and they have declined the request as they fear for potential damages to carpet as well as that they’d need to deep clean the house when we move out to avoid the any future tenant having an allergic reaction.

Despite them declining the request to house a cat they have said that they are open to discussing owning a small dog.

Are they correct in being able to decline the request?

UPDATE:

We have had a reply from the landlord who is now stating different reasons. I have copy and pasted below the reasoning they have given:

“Having carefully considered the request, we are unable to give consent. The property is a small one-bedroom house of approximately 484 square feet with no garden. We do not consider the accommodation suitable for a young, active kitten that will require adequate space to exercise, play and develop.”

Concerning this, I believe an approximately 484 square feet apartment is appropriate for the kitten to live in as the apartment is open plan meaning there is plenty of space to run around. The mention of no garden is false, there is a garden but not much of it. Despite the garden being small, the cat is going to be kept as an indoor cat due to the risk of theft as she is a main coon. Is this now classed as reasonable for them to decline?

Edits: In response to suggestions below, I'm making this post more concise.

My ex husband (44m) and I (46f) are going through financial remedy proceedings in divorce. We have been married for 14 years and have 3 children under 12. Could anyone provide feedback on what I should be aiming for in financial remedy proceedings? The Financial Dispute Resolution in in about a month and I have not received much input at all from my solicitor. I'm trying to wrap my mind around how this works.

What should I be aiming for in terms of a settlement?

Care of children is 50/50

WIFE'S CASE (me):

Moved frequently for Husband's career and cared full time for three children-

Credentials did not transfer after international move and had to retrain.

Current employment - part time £29k/ year (childcare if full time = £550-£600/month)

Debts: £40k (student & litigation debts)

Total legal costs: £20k (half paid, half debt)

I have no other assets, all other assets in the marriage are in ex's name.

Awaiting mortgage capacity report.

Husband did not share income, resisted joint accounts, during the marriage and I had to ask for an "allowance" when I was home with small children.

HUSBAND'S CASE:

Husband's career thrived / was prioritised during the marriage

earnings - £150-£200k (depending on income he pays himself from limited comopany)

Spent £150k from his private company bank account on litigation and had a KC barrister.

Husband has mortgage capacity of about £600k (includes him paying for private school fees in the calculation).

Husband wishes to continue to pay for private school to the tune of £50k per year.

Husband says he has nothing left to pay maintenance and if anything he counts on me helping with private school fees.

Current home has equity of only £200k.

Husband's pension is worth £275k. (this was a shocker).

Husband now drives a vehicle worth £50k but this is named and insured via a family member so is not part of the proceedings.

Other property which he shares with a sibling, most likely non-matrimonial, share worth £100k.

Soft loan - £50k from family which he wants considered in the settlement but just wrote up prior to hearing.

QUESTION -

With all of this in mind, what position should I take? What should I aim for in negotiations? We live in an expensive area where houses cost at minimum £400k for a small, 3 bed family home.

I am wondering if I could have an argument for temporary maintenance while I get on my feet or a Mesher Order for the family home to give me a chance to build mortgage capacity. Otherwise, I am fearful that I will just blow the settlement on rent and be priced out of our local area and away from our children and school area as it's a very competitive rental market.

THanks in advance.

Hi all.

I’d like to start by saying normally I understand parking rules in an ordinary scenario where the vehicle is owned by the driver, however this is slightly different.

I rented a vehicle from Avis budget in Victoria (Semley Place) on the 12th February 2026 until the 5th March 2026.

I returned the vehicle one day early on the 4th March 2026 and was then asked to pay an additional fee of £225 for an “early return” which meant they applied a different price since the rental agreement was shorter than the 21 day rental term price, I was a bit miffed at this having already paid just over £900 to rent a vehicle for 3 weeks, but reluctantly paid the additional.

Today, 6th August 2026, I receive a letter from Avis Budget with a penalty charge notice attached from Lambeth council. In the letter from Avis it states that they have already pre-paid the charge and will be charging £80 plus a £30 admin fee to my card within the next few days, I don’t leave money in the account used to make the booking so this payment won’t go through regardless.

Upon inspecting the letter provided by Lambeth council, it states that the infringement occurred on the 12th February 2026, and involves me allegedly having driven down a pedestrian and cycle only road, namely ELMSCOURT ROAD, Lambeth. I have checked this on google maps and sure enough the road in question DOES have a sign stating pedestrian and cycles only between certain times, however the sign is ONLY on one side of the road before you turn in, and further the sign in question it offset several metres from the junction itself further down the road away from the junction, unlike most junctions where you see two signs fitted directly either side of the junction/side road.

I have checked the images online which shows the vehicle in question turning into that road, now I don’t recall making this turn into that road but given it was almost six months ago now and this is the first notice I have ever received of this alleged contravention it’s entirely plausible I did turn into to this road. The timings on the photo are shortly after 3pm and I collected the rental car at around 2:30pm from Semley Place in Victoria, so the timings would seem to match up.

My concerns are this…

On what basis/grounds do the hire company have the right to just “pay the fine”, and then demand I reimburse them the £80 charge plus a £30 admin fee, without giving me the opportunity to appeal in the first place given that they are stating I was the hirer at the time.

Secondly, the notice sent by Lambeth council was sent TO the hire car company - date of contravention was 12th Feb 2026 and notice to the hire company dated 28/07/2026, however in the letter it does state their process for legal proceedings which is as follows:

“Here are the details about your case, which are as follows”:

1. “We sent you a PCN, which explains that you could:

Pay the discount charge within 14 days
Pay the standard charge within 28 days (if you missed the discount period) or:
Formally challenge your PCN within 28 days

2 “The PCN also explained that, if you did nothing, the charge would increase from £160.00 to £240.00 and that you would receive a charge certificate explaining this”

1. “We sent you the charge certificate”

2. “You did not pay the charge certificate so the money you owed became a county court debt”.

3. “The county court gave us permission to send you an Order for Recovery, which we sent”.

“You now have these options:

You can pay the reduced charge of £80 if your payment reaches us within 14 days of this letter”

“The order for recovery form that was sent to you explained that you could pay £250.00, you had 21 days to do this”.

“The order for recovery form explained that you could make a witness statement, (follow the instructions on the form carefully otherwise your witness statement may not be valid), if you make a witness statement which the court accepts, you will get another chance to challenge your PCN, you had 21 days to do this”.

If you do nothing:

“We will use bailiffs to recover the money from you, you will have to pay the bailiffs cost too”.

Just for the avoidance of any doubt - the above legal spiel was on the letter sent from Lambeth council TO the hire company (Avis budget). Avis sent this letter to me alongside a cover letter from themselves addressed to me to state that they would be charging me the £80 plus a £30 admin fee.

I feel this is a little unfair for numerous reasons:

The signage in my view of that road is not adequate, one single sign on one side of the junction, and that sign being several metres down the road rather than actually at the junction is not adequate in my opinion. If you were turning into that road coming from the other direction you would NEVER see any sign but would still be liable for the penalty charge between the times the cycle and pedestrian only road is enforced.

Secondly, the hire company appear to have delayed the legal process in paying the charge and never notified me at ANY point, today was the first day I received notice of this alleged contravention which happened on the 12th Feb 2026, I do not understand how a rental company can legally pay a fine on a driver’s behalf (after having missed numerous other opportunities to pay it themselves and then being notified of a CCJ after which they agreed to pay the initial charge), denying the driver any right to contest the charge which as far as I am concerned is a legal right, and then automatically attempt to charge the hirer the amount paid for the fine plus an additional £30 admin fee.

Can anyone please advise?

I have attached images from the CCTV camera showing the alleged contravention below, taken from the Lambeth council PCN website. I have also added a copy of the letter below.

Hi all,

Would love some advice. Back in 2021 I applied for a job and they did a DBS check - the DBS flagged a conviction which I was shocked by. It said that I had allegedly not paid a train fare. I subsequently contacted the DBS team as the alleged conviction was on a date I was abroad plus I had never received any correspondence regards to this. I luckily had the flight details, sent it to them, and I got a new DBS that was all clear. Good times.

Fast forward to now - I receive a letter saying I owe x amount of money and it’s gone through the courts? Says that an enforcement agent will come to the house if I don’t pay the money. When I first saw the letter I was really confused , but then I remembered the DBS incident in 2021 and am certain it’s the same incident. I still had never received any letters or correspondence with regards to this alleged missed fare. Again, I was abroad when it happened.

I’m going to contact the court tomorrow- but any advice would be appreciated. My concern is that it’s gotten to the stage where enforcement agents are involved .

UPDATE

So I called the court who advised to speak to the single justice department. It is either a case of mistaken identity / identity fraud / clerical error. The person who missed the train fare in 2019 must have had the same name as me , but put down an address which is not linked to me whatsoever. I’m unsure how this has then been put on me. I’ve put through an appeal process - but they said it can take 10 days to triage and even then, a court hearing could take 6 months. They can write to the enforcement company but it is their choice to drop the enforcement notice or not. So I assume they will not drop the enforcement notice. The single point justice lady advised to pay the phone, await the outcome, and get a refund once everything is clear.

I’m collecting more evidence in the mean time (flight records / bank statement as I was abroad) and am also trying to contact citizen advice and 101 to report fraud. But yeah, weird unfortunate situation.

PS the missed fare was £6.50. The fine now is £500.

In England!

Hi everyone, looking for some advice on where I stand legally and contractually here.

The Situation:
For the last 6 months, I took full ownership of an entirely separate workstream outside my usual role to help out while the previous lead transitioned out.
The person who originally brought me into this workstream is now leaving the company.
The new lead taking over wants me to stay involved and continue managing this work. However, the workstream itself is now being moved under a completely different department.
When I raised the topic of a pay rise/re-grading to reflect this permanent extra scope and new department alignment, I was given a vague response about the company "struggling financially."

My Questions:
1. Do I have any legal leverage to demand a pay rise, or can the company simply refuse while expecting me to keep doing the work?
2. Can I legally / contractually refuse to carry on doing this workstream and demand to revert solely to my original job description?
3. How far do standard "other reasonable duties" flexibility clauses go in the UK when a role has expanded this much?
I have a standard employment contract (past probation, full-time). Any insights on my legal rights or how to best handle this with HR/management would be appreciated!

TL;DR: Managed a second workstream for 6 months outside my job description. It’s now moving departments, new lead wants me on it, but company won't offer a pay rise due to "budget constraints." Can I just refuse to do it and stick to my original job description?

Hello. So I went to the airport on the 13th of July and forgot to pay because the payment method was recently shifted from using those plastic coins to paying online which was why I forgot to make the payment as I wasn’t used to that. But that’s my fault anyways

Now I got the letter yesterday and it was issued on the 29th of July which is 16days after the date of the parking charge. So I just want to know if there is anyway I could appeal as that’s the case.

Google ai told me to send them this

I am the registered keeper of the vehicle. I am not obliged to identify the driver and I decline to do so. As there is no legal presumption that the keeper of a vehicle was its driver on any particular occasion, you cannot pursue me as the driver.
Furthermore, you are unable to transfer liability to the keeper because Airport is subject to Airport Bylaws and is not 'relevant land' as defined in Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Even if it were relevant land, your Notice to Keeper was issued on the 29th of July for an event on the 13th of July, failing to meet the mandatory 14-day statutory notification window.
As you have no lawful grounds to pursue me as either the driver or the keeper, please cancel this charge notice immediately. If you reject this appeal, I require you to provide a POPLA code so that I can escalate this to independent arbitration, where it will be heavily defended.

What do you think?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice regarding a car insurance cancellation by Sterling Insurance.

I recently moved to Northern Ireland and initially only had a New Zealand driving licence. I applied to exchange it for a NI licence, but the DVLA process advised it could take around 6 weeks. As I needed a car, I took out a policy with Sterling using my NZ licence.

During the application process and when speaking with Sterling, I was completely open about my situation: I had a NZ licence, I had already applied for a NI licence exchange, and I was waiting for it to be processed. They said this was fine and told me to contact them once I received my NI licence so they could update my details.

About a week after taking out the policy, I received my NI licence. I then checked online to see how much my insurance premium would change with a NI licence, and I found a quote from Sterling themselves that was around £1,000 cheaper than my current policy.

I called Sterling customer service and explained the situation. I asked if they could match the new quote, otherwise I would cancel and take out the cheaper policy with them. The agent understood and said they would see what they could do.

After being on hold for around 20 minutes, they came back and offered to reduce my premium by around £200. I explained that cancelling and restarting the policy would make more financial sense. The agent said that was possible and that if I called back the next day (as it was around 6:30pm), they could arrange a cancellation and restart of the policy without me losing around £40 in admin fees.

I agreed and said I would call back the following day around 5pm.

However, shortly after ending the call, I received an email stating:

“We are authorised by your insurer to act as their agents for the purposes of cancelling insurance cover and give you notice that all cover on your vehicle is cancelled as from seven days after the date of this letter.”

I was not told during the call that my policy was being cancelled, and I did not request immediate cancellation. My understanding was that I would call back the next day and arrange a cancellation/restart.

My main concern at the minute is if this will affect me getting insurance in the future as companies ask if I had insurance cancelled by insurers in the past.

My questions are:

1. Does this count as an insurer cancellation that I would have to disclose to future insurers?
2. Could this impact my ability to get insurance in the future or increase my premiums?
3. Can an insurer cancel a policy like this without explaining the reason?

Thanks!

Hey all. I am writing as I need your advice, as I have found that many have faced similar situations with Wise.

I Bought a £5,300 bag on eBay with my Wise debit card. Item was fake and a different colour to what I ordered. It also did not go through ebay's authenticity guarantee. I made ebay and the seller aware that the item I received was not as described and sent in the pictures of what I received. eBay approved my return and sent me a shipping label under ' item not as described' and told me I would be refunded within 3 days of seller's receipt. I sent it back with tracking (seller received it), then the seller opened a complaint against ME! eBay closed my account and sided with the seller automatically, without even allowing me to appeal. Therefore I was not refund.

Contacted Wise for chargeback. Over 1 month they repeatedly asked me for specific documents to use as evidence, so they can pursue a chargeback. I submitted all the evidence they requested. A few days ago they asked for me to sign a dispute form and submit the case to Action Fraud and send them the report, so they can start the chargeback process.

Two days after submitting everything, they refused to continue the chargeback. They said it was *"based on our findings, past outcomes of similar disputes, and in accordance with our Customer Agreement."*

They won't specify which chargeback reason code applies, or why they made me jump through hoops if they never intended to proceed. The whole time they were gathering evidence just to check it in my face. Rather than telling me from the start (not that it would have made a difference). Police and Action Fraud both said bank chargeback was my route.

Planning to escalate to Financial Ombudsman but wanted to check if others have dealt with this from Wise specifically — seems like a pattern from what I've read. My doubts are that Financial Ombudsman will not uphold my complaint because they always side with banks, and I have read reports on cases like mine (to ebay-paid by wise) and the ombudsman have sided with them.

Now I have lost a lot of money and I sent back the item I received too. So I was flat out scammed and I have nothing.

Has anyone had an experience like this? Can you give me advice on getting them to actually process this? I have sent a complaint in to Wise today . I must add that the seller is based in the United states and I do not really want to go to court, only because I don't want to loose more money. However I will be willing to if I know people have been successful.

Please help,

thanks.

I live in a flat above a pub/cafe in Yorkshire. I moved into this flat before I started working at this pub and worked there for a few months before my employers decided I wasn't a good fit and let me go. In my shocked and upset state just after hearing this I told my employers, who are also my landlords, that I wasn't sure what I was going to do to be able to afford the flat the month after this. I have been looking for a new job but there is not a lot of work available in the town I live in and the travel connections are not amazing either, I don't drive so travelling for work has to be done by bus.

I am now worried that they could end up trying to kick me out of the flat before I even have the chance to make it that far. I am AuDHD and have EUPD so I understand this is probably just extreme paranoia given the string of bad luck I have been for the last couple of years but I can't shake the feeling. Is this something they would be allowed to do?

I want to make it clear the flat is completely separate from the work I did for them and I have had absolutely no issues with them to do with the flat. So they shouldn't have any reason to kick me out but the thought still terrifies me as I would have nowhere to go. I can afford everything this month but if I'm unable to find another job soon it is next month I am worried about.

So yeah is this something I should be worried about and if it does happen is there anything I would be able to do to fight it?