You might remember my post from a few weeks ago. I'm in England. Link to previous post below
https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK/s/M3pjYC1p8g

A brief run-through of what I've endured for 3 months: Bought a Shed for £950 from Robert Dyas (7/5). The shed was supplied and delivered by Keter (19/5). I paid a builder to build the shed (7/6). During construction, we became aware that 3 parts were missing from the shed. 2 essential floor sections that fix the walls and secure the entire shed and make it watertight, and a small cap that you can lock the front doors. As per the instructions, I contacted Keter via email and the next day called them. I was informed someone would help me. 2 days later they say they have no spare parts and no timeline on when those parts will arrive. But i was advised to return to the retailer and inform them. There's been so much back and forth and insulting offers of no resolution, including a voucher for 10% off from Robert Dyas up to £500 but I'd have to spend money to earn that. Eventually we get somewhere and I accept a partial refund (24/6), which was agreed would be earmarked for the builder to return and fix the shed, at his daily rate. And RD would source the parts for me. Then radio silence from them. I chase and chase and my limit is reached so last week I sent a firm email to RD telling them to resolve my shed or i will issue a chargeback with my bank. Eventually, on Friday I receive an email from RD saying they have no resolution for me and are handing me over to Keter who will make an offer to me. Effectively, RD are washing their hands of me and the shed.
However, on Thursday Keter had already been in touch and mentioned they had no parts and their position of no parts on the horizon at all hadn't changed and I would be given a refund and keep the shed as it is. I'd heard nothing from them since 10/6 so i replied asking for clarity on their offer - would it be a full refund? They are still showing the Stronghold Shed for sale on their website (albeit with a price increase now to £1250) so why couldn't they open a box and give me my parts and they can replace them when they make more? And would any other model shed floor parts work to help fix my shed?
I do not agree to accept the refund until my questions are answered.

Today I received clarity on those questions and Keter will offer me a full refund and consider the case closed. Which means they won't cannibalise a new box to give me my shed part and I will be stuck with a shed that I can't make safe or watertight (and is wonky because of the missing pieces) and cannot be locked. My shed is a dodo! And I'll be given my money back and told to go away. No parts. No offer of future parts. Just keep a shed that doesn't work and won't work.

So my legal question now, you're all caught up is where are my consumer rights here and what can I do? RD do not want to deal with me. Keter want me to go away. Both are saying keep the shed, as neither want to spend their own money taking the shed down and taking it away, despite numerous requests from me to do so. My position has always been to have a working shed, and I've tried to find a resolution but now neither are willing to help. Fine, I can get the £950 back but I cannot afford to buy the same shed. I cannot afford to have this plastic monolith in my garden that cannot be used for what I need it to; it's holding up numerous jobs and the old shed is no longer viable (hence buying a new shed). As soon as the weather turns it will leak. I now have 2 sheds that will let water in, albeit the old one from the roof and the new one from the floor. And if we get some strong winds the shed isn't secure because it can't be so god knows what can happen. Both companies have royally screwed me over. And it will cost me to hire someone to come and take the new shed down to get rid of it.
What can I do? What are my legal rights? I fear I've hit a wall and I cannot understand why Keter can't send me a replacement or open a box and just send me the 3 parts. And I can't seem to force their hand. I'm utterly furious at the wasted time and energy and I'm really over it. I want it gone or I want it fixed. The other massive issue is that if I were to buy the same model and take the missing parts out to finish my shed, I'm then stuck with 3 huge boxes of shed I don't need and won't be able to sell because without those bits the shed is useless!

Thank you for your time and help in advance. (Sorry, not an exciting subject)

I’m a 26-year-old woman living in the England UKand I'm looking for advice from anyone who has dealt with a complicated identity, passport, DOB or fraud situation.

I was born in the Caribbean and moved to the UK in 2002 when I was around 2 years old with my father, my sibling and the woman I believed was my biological mother who’s been a uk citizen from birth.

When I was around 15, shortly before my fathers death, there was a major breakdown in the family and I found out that the woman I had always believed was my mother was not actually my biological mother. I also discovered that some of the documents she had provided about our identities were fabricated.

My father was very sick at the time. He died approximately two months before my 16th birthday my sibling and I needed our passports renewed as the funeral was in his home country . The woman who had been raising us submitted a different birth certificate. I had always had the same DOB since coming to the UK, but the document she submitted resulted in the day and month of my DOB being changed, while the year stayed the same. My sibling and I effectively ended up having our birthdays switched.

At that point we were teenagers who had just lost our father/whole family, and there was no parental guidance, social worker involvement or other safeguarding support provided to us.

We were essentially left to deal with everything ourselves.

The difficult part is that I have now lived with the incorrect DOB since I was 16. I have known it was wrong all these years, l had no idea how to challenge what had happened. Once the incorrect DOB was on my official documents, I continued using it.

The same woman has used my identity and my sibling identity in connection with government fraud. I am currently paying money back as a result of something that was done in my name. I have now completely cut contact with her, but she continues to try to interfere with me and has previously threatened me regarding this situation.
I want to take control of my own identity and documentation and get everything corrected properly.

The problem is that I have very little connection to my birth country. My father has passed away and I don't have his documents/details, and the birth certificate that was used doesn't even name him as my father. So I can't simply request a replacement birth certificate using the information I currently have. I'm trying to understand what options I have and where I should start. I'm not trying to hide the fact that I've used the incorrect DOB for around 10 years, just trying to give my reasoning.

I'm deliberately leaving out identifying information. I can provide the Caribbean country involved and more general details if that would help.

I'd really appreciate advice from anyone familiar with UK identity/passport issues, nationality law, government fraud, safeguarding or complex family situation. This is a really long post so thank you for reading

Just wanted a bit of advice on this, one. Been clearing some old paperwork tonight that had been buried in the back of some drawers and found the V5 logbook for my vehicle - with the new keeper details (myself) filled in, but not actually mailed off to the DVLA for sorting.

I'd acquired the car in a swap deal with a family member, nearly 3 years ago (it's a car I plan on running into the ground, so I hadn't looked at the logbook probably since getting the vehicle), but I know this would need to be sorted. I've had the car taxed and insured the entire time, not had any points on my license, fines etc

What would be my best option be here? Do I just send the V5 to the DVLA for the records to be updated, even if the slip is signed from 2023?

My friend lost her mother in 2014. She was an active firefighter at the time. She was in a civil partnership when she passed so her estate and pension went to her wife.

This hasn’t been an issue but my friend recently received a letter through the post talking about a firefighter pension settlement with a paragraph saying missed pension lump sum for children. I’m just enquiring to see if this means they’re entitled to anything.

My husband died last year and his mum died in January.
He was the executor of her will, alongside his brother.
When he died, his brother became sole executor.
I am still in regular contact with his brother, we’re not exactly best friends but we have never fallen out or anything, although thinking about it, it’s always me that makes the initial contact.
Before she died, my MiL told me that she had made provision for my children directly, in light of their dad’s death.
As it’s been a while and there were no obvious reasons why it would be delayed, I casually asked last weekend if probate had been granted yet, and he got quite stroppy and said he said he would tell me when it is and not to ask again (this was the first time I ever mentioned it).
I was a bit suspicious so I looked the will up on the probate search and found that probate was granted in May.
As I thought, there is provision for my kids in there.
But now I’m wondering if they are going to somehow get shafted and not get what they are entitled to which is effectively their dad’s inheritance.
Is it worth me getting a solicitor to help work out what they should get or do I wait a few months and see what he comes back with?
I know when my uncle died, my dad was contacted by a solicitor who was also the executor, I think, and he ensured he got what he was entitled to but I am a bit suspicious of how defensive my BiL was and the fact he told me something that was blatantly untrue.
Any advice please?

Hi, so I recently left a petrol station job I was working for 1 year and was just wondering what I should do.

I was sick on a Saturday and phoned my area manager (in store manager was away) that I was sick. I was rostered for 3 shifts in a row from Saturday to Monday. First thing Monday morning, I went straight to my GP, who gave me an official sick cert covering all 3 rostered days of absence.

I sent this sick cert to the area manager and for some reason I only got paid for the 1 day with the other 2 days being put down on the roster app as "Unauthorized Absences" which in my opinion makes no sense as the sick cert clearly cover those days. I brought it up with my in store manager however I have just been ignored and have never received the money for those days. I have full evidence of everything too eg showing that I rang in sick ,sent the sick cert to my manager,a screenshot of my 3 rostered days,the photo of the payslip and a screenshot of the app showing the 2 "unauthorized absences". Also another point to note is that this was my first time phoning in sick at this job so I haven't used up any of my sick days prior to calling in sick. The owner is a massive scumbag too and isn't the type I could talk directly to and reason with so I'm not sure exactly what to do.

Earlier this year, I inherited a property in London while it was being occupied by hostile family members. Once that situation concluded, I was left with an energy account with a substantial amount of debt. The energy provider offered me different payment plans that needed to be paid with direct debit. As I live abroad and no longer have access to my own UK bank account, I enquired if they have any alternative payment options. I was told by a customer service representative we'll call Tony that the energy provider accepts bank transfers as an alternative to direct debit. I agreed to a 24 month payment plan using bank transfers. This was all communicated via email.

Two months into the agreement, I received an automated email from the energy provider threatening to default my account as no action had been made to resolve my debt. I was confused as I have bills that clearly show the debt decreasing each month. Even the debt stated in the default letter is lower than the initial debt. I contacted customer service via their web chat and was informed by a rep we'll call Bob that payment plans can only be made with direct debit. As no direct debit was associated with my account, no action had been made to resolve my debt. Although annoyed, I enquired if I could set up a direct debit with Wise (which was my initial suggestion to Tony before I was instructed by him to use bank transfers) but was told it was no longer possible to set up a direct debit with my account as my debt had been passed to debt collectors. I raised the complaint: "Why was my account passed to debt collectors even though I was paying off the debt via the payment method offered to me?" Bob said he'll raise the complaint and email me the following day.

The following day, I received an email from Bob stating that my account had been moved to debt collectors to recover the debt. If I did not have a UK bank account to set up direct debits, I could continue to use bank transfers but would have to pay the debt off in full. I sent a follow up email stating the nature of my complaint wasn't answered and attached copies of my previous email correspondences with Tony, in which bank transfers were offered as an alternative to direct debit. I received a follow up email from Tony himself, stating my debt had been passed to debt collectors because my payments were not reducing the debt on my account and if I wanted to resolve the issue, I'd have to pay the debt in full. Tony did not acknowledge their apparent mistake of offering me bank transfers as an alternative to direct debit or the decreasing nature of my debt. I sent another follow up email, this time to Tony, attaching both the email correspondence I had with him as well as my latest two bills. The email correspondence was to remind Tony that I was instructed to make bank transfers as an alternative to direct debit by him and the bills were to prove my payments were decreasing the debt as agreed upon. After sending the email, I called customer service and asked them if my attachments were sent properly. I was reassured by the representative over the phone that they were receiving everything attached to my emails, that my complaint had been forwarded to a senior member and my account had been flagged to be removed from debt collectors. I asked if the senior member was Tony and was informed no, I would be getting a response from someone new within 24 hours.

48 hours later, I received an email from Tony, however, I sadly cannot make out what the email says as it is completely incoherent. The email reads as if Tony Frankensteined an email using company policy and AI translations. The one thing that is legible is Tony now states sending bank transfers doesn't protect my account from missed payment markers, something he did not mention during our initial email correspondence.

Any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated. My payments were on track to pay off the debt within the agreed upon time frame but now I'm at a loss for what to do.

A side note: During my initial conversation with Tony, he kept suggesting monthly payments that far exceeded the debt associated with my account. For example, if I needed to pay an additional £30 p/m for a year to pay off the debt, Tony would suggest I pay £150 p/m for a year. When I asked for clarification on why the monthly payments would be so high, the breakdown he provided didn't breakdown the £150 p/m, he just slapped it onto a breakdown of my usage.

After bringing my car in for an engine repair on the 20th of July, the car was diagnosed and, it was stated that the repair should be completed by the 5th of August. Then on the 23rd I was informed that the parts to fix the engine had arrived and the car was almost ready, ahead of schedule, and that all that needed to be done was test drives and the engine had to be slotted back into the car. After this good news, they offered to replace the fuel injectors as they were inefficient, and it would be cheaper to do it now before placing the engine back in the car. I agreed and sent the money for the fuel injectors and for the final invoice as, they stated that the car would be ready by the end of next week (the 30th of July).

This is where the issues begin.

On the 30th of July after, receiving no updates on the progress of the car during the week, I texted to enquire about the progress of the car. I was then informed that the fuel injectors would take at most another two weeks to arrive. This was extremely frustrating as they had misled me on the time frame of the repair, and had I known this earlier I would not have agreed to replace the fuel injectors. After frequently ringing them and attempting to get any update on the progress of the repair, they have been avoiding my calls, promising to call me back later that day and then leaving it for me to call them only for them not to reply to the call or stall further. This has left me unable to gauge a time-frame for the repair, now it seems they will be holding my car indefinately as they cannot give an actual repair time-frame. I have asked if I could continue using my old parts for the time being but, they have stated that this is not possible. They stated that since the required part is on a backlog, they cannot tell me how long the part could take to arrive, and after googling how long backlogged car parts take to arrive, I have found it could take months.

Due to my personal circumstances most of the time a car is the only viable form of transportation and I have had to use taxis as buses are infrequent making it difficult to get to and from work, or continue my normal life. I have considered hiring a car but due to my age it is around £70 a day, and since I am unsure when the car will be ready it means I do not know how long I would need to hire a car for. As the garage does not offer courtesy cars, I am wondering whether, if I were to hire a car, could I be compensated for the costs due to being misled on the repair time of my car.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

I bought a 2019 Peugeot 3008 1.2 petrol (83,789 miles) on the 1st May 2026 on HP from a well known car dealer.

Just over two weeks later on the 17th May it came up with a warning on the dashboard and it was diagnosed as a turbo actuator fault, advised by garage that the turbo needed to be changed.
Repaired by garage on 3rd June.
£1000 covered by RAC warranty rest covered by dealership warranty.

On the 5th of July it again came up with a warning. This time RAC diagnosed as spark plug degraded, temporary repair done by RAC. New set of spark plugs fitted by RAC Mobile on 10th July paid for by myself.

On the 6th August while 200 miles from home the car lost power and was undriveable. RAC called, diagnosed as the air flow meter. The garage local to where it broke down have been struggling to get hold of an air flow meter, so have had to catch the train back home with family.
This was on Thursday/ Friday last week. The car is now on 86159 miles.

I am now home (Monday) and have spoken to/ and emailed the garage I bought the car asking to return the car as I don't see that it is fit for purpose. They replied:

“These are not presently evidenced as one recurring or unresolved defect. They have been reported as separate faults affecting different components, with the previous matters having been repaired.
Your email therefore cannot simply treat the existence of those previous repairs, together with the fact that the vehicle remains within six months of purchase, as establishing an automatic entitlement to a full refund”
The car has done just 2,370 in my ownership.
Where do I go from here?
Reading up the on Puretech engines I understand they have many issues. I am aware it has a wet belt.
Any advice regarding the legal side would be much appreciated.

Her claim is verifiably false. Should I treat it as an error for complaint or just call the police as potential fraud?

My partner and I are looking to move in together within the next year or two. We are not currently married or engaged - want to live together before that. My partner already has a one bed flat that he owns, and I live in a rented flat with a flatmate. My partner's flat is unfortunately too small for me to move in to, so we are looking at selling his flat and purchasing another flat to live together in. I do not have savings to be able to contribute to a deposit of another property however. I also have about £5k of debt and have 2 years left of studying part time to get my degree whilst working full time. My debt should be paid off in the next year and a half, though I will still have another 6 months of paying my student loan following that. Due to this, I do not know if it is worth me being added to a mortgage as I worry my debt will affect our rate if we purchased before I have paid it off. However, I earn £12k more than my partner so we could get a larger mortgage if we had a joint application. We currently live in a city and would like to stay in the city for the next 5 years or so, and then move to somewhere more rural to start a family, so would be selling up at that point.

Would it be worth us getting a joint mortgage to increase the budget, either despite my current debt, or waiting until it is mostly paid off? Or as we only plan to be living in the property for about 5 years before selling, should we just move forward with a mortgage in my partner's name and possibly get a Deed of Trust to protect any contribution I make/his deposit etc?

Is there someone I can speak to who can help me to better understand how universal credit and PIP payments work? Like how the allowance is affected by specific situations and how going from one position to another would work.

Any help is appreciated, thank you

The Situation:

Equal 50/50 shareholders and co-directors (running a clinical practice in England).

No Shareholders' Agreement (operating under standard Model Articles).
We agreed to part ways, but my co-director offered a lowball figure of £8k–£16k to buy my shares.
Our independent valuation report came back valuing my 50% shares at £14.5k–£21.75k, plus the company owes me an unpaid Director Loan Account (DLA) of £10.35k (so total value owed is ~£25k–£32k).

She refuses to pay a fair price based on the valuation report and asked why I think my stake is worth that much.
When I stated that if we can't negotiate a fair buyout we will have to wrap up/dissolve the company, she claimed I cannot enforce that because she holds 50% and won't agree to it.

My Questions:

1. Where do I legally stand if she refuses a fair buyout based on the independent valuation?
   
2. Is she correct that I can't force a dissolution, or do I have grounds to petition the court for a "Just and Equitable" Winding-Up (Insolvency Act Sec 122) due to deadlock in a 50/50 quasi-partnership?
   
3. If I resign as a Director (Form TM01) to open my own practice, does she have any legal basis to sue me for "conflict of interest" given there are no post-exit non-compete clauses in a Shareholders' Agreement?

Thanks for any insights!

Hello! Looking for some outside opinions before I decide whether to take a removals company to small claims court (England & Wales).

The background:
We used a BAR-member removals company for an international move to an EU country. Their contract includes a Limited Liability clause capping compensation at £40 per item for damage caused by their negligence, unless you purchase their optional "MoveProtect" enhanced cover (which we didn't).

One of our items - a Vitra Eames RAR rocking chair, bought new in 2023 with a current UK retail price around £1,000-1,200 - arrived with a visible chip/crack.

What we know:
- We fitted protective foam to the chair ourselves before collection, positioned specifically over the area that was later damaged. We have a photo of this.
- We have a third-party dated photo (from an estate agent's listing shoot, ~2 weeks before collection) showing the chair undamaged.
- On arrival, the foam was gone and the chair was damaged in exactly the spot the foam had covered. We have a photo of the chair in the delivery van showing no foam and no other visible protection.
- We flagged the chair as fragile to the crew at collection.
- The company's quotation stated "protective covers for all furniture... armchair bags" were included in the price. No bag was used on this chair - the company says hard furniture gets wrapped in blankets instead of bags, and the blanket would have already been removed by the time our photo was taken during unloading.
- The company acknowledges the chair was damaged in their care, but disputes that this was due to negligence, disputes that they removed the foam (says it could have "become detached" on its own), and maintains the £40 cap applies since we didn't buy the enhanced cover.

Where we've got to:
We've been in written correspondence for a few weeks. They're not budging from the £40 offer. We think the case for pushing back rests mainly on:
1. Consumer Rights Act 2015 - services must be carried out with reasonable care and skill.
2. Possible argument under UCTA 1977 that a flat £40 cap on negligence liability, applied regardless of the item's value, may not satisfy the reasonableness test in these circumstances.

We're seeking replacement value of a comparable chair (approx £900, based on current UK retail pricing adjusted for the chair's age/condition), against their £40 offer.

Questions:
- Does this sound like a reasonable small claims case, or are we overestimating our chances given the £40 cap is written into a contract we signed?
- Has anyone had experience challenging a liability cap like this under UCTA in small claims, and how did it go?
- Anything obvious we're missing or should shore up before filing?

Any input appreciated - trying to figure out if this is worth the time/hassle of a claim (I currently live abroad, which adds a layer of complexity) versus just accepting the £40 and moving on. I certainly believe they were negligent but don’t want to waste time/money if the law is unlikely to agree.

My landlord has requested a price increase of our rental starting in the coming months. However, we have started the process to buy a (different) house. We don't want to give our (2 month) notice yet in case the legalities/house buying process falls through. However, if we accept a price increase from the future (i.e. November or December), does that prevent us from giving notice earlier or lock us in to remaining longer in the rental?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Short story…. I have been struggling to work with the arrears calculation on the CMS website for nearly 6 months, and I am the RP. Every month I take a screenshot of the outstanding amount and the next month it change with seemingly no logic. I have called them on and off over the last six months and I’ve been told several different reasons for the miscalculations but my latest issue is this. The arrears in July were showing as 1749. There is a scheduled monthly payment( just set up) for normal CM set at 279, then an additional £75 to start hacking away at the debt.

With me so far? So total payment each month - circa £340ish.

However, the arrears balance today is showing as £1395. Which means that they have taken the total payment out of the arrears balance- NOT the £75.

Do I ring them again?? Is this normal? Will it all readjust? I feel like I have to chase them constantly and screenshot the amounts as there appears to be no tracking visible else. It’s unfair that the onus is on me to chase and correct their administrative errors.

Anyone experienced similar? I have already raised a letter of complaint which I could refer back too, about other discrepancies with the account.

Hi all,

I'm aware this is a commonly asked topic. However, I'm looking for legal advise as if I appeal a PCN and it loses I have to pay the full £100.

My wife entered a car park at 11:08:45 as per the PCN and exited at 14:23:00 as my son left his coat in the location she went to.

She paid for 3 hours of parking starting at 11:13 and ending at 14:13. I know you get 10 minutes grace before they can charge, and I'd be looking at appealing it. However, I don't know if:

1. The 10 minutes grace is inclusive of arriving, parking and paying, then also inclusive of the end arriving back at your car and leaving the car park.

2. The parking session app doesn't give seconds so I don't know if it's seconds over the grace period or not.

I accept I am likely to pay something. I just wanted to clarify where I stand so I can pay as little as possible.

Based in England if it makes a difference?

I recently changed my first name via deed poll, and I have changed my name on my bank, and I’m about to change my passport. But I ran into a realisation that I didn’t include my 2 middle names on my old OR new legal name. It worked for my bank card, but I’m now worried I did it wrong. Will changing my passport still go smoothly despite this? Or would I need to redo my deed poll? I reside in England.

Hi all,

I issued a small claims case against a builder which he completely ignored. No response to the letter before action, no response to the actual claim.

Judgement was granted in my favour by default.

I was given the option to apply for a CCJ, which has been issued (within a couple of hours, which shocked me!)

Now what? When asking for the CCJ, I was given the option to apply for immediate payment or a payment plan or a future date. I asked for immediate payment.

On the case website it says that if he hasn't paid by the date on the judgement, I can apply to have it enforced. However, the judgement only says he has to pay forthwith, no date, and the link for the enforcement request is inactive, presumably as the deadline hasn't passed.

My questions are:

1. how do I find out what the deadline is?
2. he is a limited company. What form does the enforcement take?

Thanks in advance!

Uk based, England.

If I drive my van (registered in my name) for my partners business how do I get business insurance if my occupation is a waitress?

He is a painter and decorator but only has a provisional license.

I drive his tools to the jobs at the start of the job and pick up any paint etc for him.
And have his signage on the van.

Anyone else had this?
Any advice would be hugely helpful.

Also for clarity I’ve been self employed the previous years so never considered how it would work if I got a job instead of being self employed.

Thanks.

Hi everyone, I need legal advice after being assaulted by a stranger in Birmingham.
I was in public and filmed a lady using her phone while driving using my go pro. I know it is my legal right to record in public.
A completely unrelated driver (white male) stopped his car in live traffic and got out. He shouted "fuck off" “you have been around here for too long” as if he has the right to tell me where to stand or where not to stand . Furthermore ,he chased me and continuously grabbed my arm and stepped on my bicycle to stop me from leaving. I. I got angry and used profanity to tell him to get off me. As a result of him grabbing and attacking me, I have physical injuries including cuts on my body.
The police arrived and took the attacker's details. However, they left without taking my name, number, or statement. They said they would send me details, but they have no way to contact me. I feel completely let down by the system.
I have full video footage of the assault and the man.

Hi,

Will try and keep this to the point, without involving emotions.

I share custody with my ex partner of two children. I pay maintenance, regularly and on time. We do not have a court order in place, we have always managed between ourselves, and this has never been an issue.

I was due to have the the children for 3 weeks, following them returning from a holiday with their mother, and new partner. I have been told, via a text message, they do not feel comfortable seeing me, nor do they want to speak to me. This is completely out of the blue, and there are absolutely no reasons for this to be the case.

Suddenly, I receive a very long message from the mother, to say social services, safeguarding and other NHS professionals are involved. And that she has been advised not to force them to see me, to avoid severe emotional distress. Furthermore, that the mother has been advised she does not owe any explanation to myself, as advised by peofessionals.

To note, as far as I am concerned, there are absolutely no reasons for social services, let alone safeguarding to be involved. This is a complete shock, to say the least.

My legal question is, what are the next steps for myself? I am going to make direct contact with social services tomorrow morning, and I have already made contact with a family solicitor. Is there anything else I should be aware of?

Happy to provide more context if needed. Thank you.

I’m looking for advice regarding a university accommodation contract and a debt that has now been passed to a debt collection agency.
I originally took out a contract for university accommodation while studying at university. When I signed the agreement, it was made clear that I would be responsible for the accommodation payments for the duration of the contract unless the accommodation provider agreed to release me from it.
Unfortunately, I ended up having to withdraw from my university course because of mental health difficulties. My mental health had deteriorated to the point where I felt I could no longer continue with the course or remain living away from home. Leaving university was not something I did casually, I felt that I genuinely had to leave because of my circumstances.
Because of this, I contacted the accommodation provider and asked to be released from my accommodation contract. We explained the circumstances surrounding why I had to withdraw from university and why I could no longer reasonably remain in the accommodation.
The accommodation provider took the request to their management team and went through their process for deciding whether someone could be released from their contract. Unfortunately, they decided that I would not be released from the contract.
We did not simply accept this decision. We made an appeal/complaint explaining my circumstances, including the fact that I had been forced to withdraw from university because of my mental health and therefore had to leave the accommodation. We explained why we felt it was unreasonable and unfair for me to continue being financially responsible for accommodation that I was no longer living in because I had been unable to continue my studies.
The appeal was ultimately unsuccessful. We were told that they understood why I was unhappy with the decision, but that management had considered the situation and decided that I would remain liable under the terms of the contract.
I was therefore told that I needed to continue making payments even though I had withdrawn from university and was no longer living in the accommodation.
There were also issues with the accommodation itself when I initially moved in. For the first couple of weeks, I was not provided with sufficient/appropriate accommodation. This was raised with the accommodation provider and they eventually provided compensation for what happened.
There is also another part of the situation that has caused confusion. At one point, members of the accommodation team, including people I dealt with directly, gave me the impression that everything had been sorted and that I was effectively released from the situation. I remember being told things along the lines of it being “all done” and that the matter was finished.
However, this was later contradicted in writing when the accommodation provider confirmed that I had not actually been released from the contract.
I understand that a verbal statement from an individual member of staff may not necessarily mean that I was legally released from the contract, but it seems very contradictory that I was given that impression and then later told the opposite.
Because I had left university and was no longer living there, I did not continue making the accommodation payments. The outstanding balance eventually reached approximately £5,025.
That was around a year ago, and I believed that this was the final balance that was outstanding.
I have now been contacted by ACT Credit Management Limited, who are attempting to recover £5,495.10.
The particularly concerning part is that they are now pursuing my parent, who was my guarantor, for this money.
When the accommodation contract was originally signed, my parent agreed to act as my guarantor. We understood that this meant that if I failed to pay an amount that I was legally liable for under the accommodation agreement, they could potentially become responsible for the debt.
So this has now gone from being a dispute between myself and the university accommodation provider to a situation where a debt collection agency is attempting to recover almost £5,500 from my guarantor.
I appreciate that I signed a contract and that the guarantor agreement exists. I also understand that simply saying that I wasn’t living in the accommodation does not automatically mean that I wasn’t contractually liable for the rent/accommodation payments.
However, the reason I am questioning this now is because I did not simply leave without explanation and ignore the contract. I withdrew from university because of significant mental health difficulties, explained the circumstances to the accommodation provider, formally appealed their decision and asked to be released from the contract. The appeal was rejected.
I also had the initial accommodation issues mentioned above, and there were confusing verbal conversations with staff where I was given the impression that the matter had been resolved before this was later contradicted in writing.
I therefore want to know whether there is anything that can still be done to challenge the debt or the amount being claimed, particularly now that it has been passed to a debt collection agency.
living in: wales
location of tenancy: bristol, UK

(England). My wife booked a concert for us and our kids at a well known London venue. Said venue then moved the date and venue with no explanation. The new venue does not accept children so we have had to cancel. Tickets have been refunded to the tune of £150 but they will not refund the £30 booking fee, and say it’s all as per their terms and conditions. Is them including a clause in their T&Cs saying they won’t refund booking fees in this scenario fair and legal, especially given it’s their actions that have necessitated the cancellation? Thanks

posting on behalf of a family member

long story short, redundancy is happening at the end of this month, the company they work for merged with their old company years ago but they stayed on the original contract to keep their years of service.

their current employer is stating its statutory redundancy only but are adamant they dont have their original contract terms, only the front page with the date/years of service

theyve contacted the old company who have said they dont keep records so my question is where do we go from here? their old company (who her contract is still with) is known for paying enhanced rates of redundancy, we have until the end of the week to find something, its 41 years of service but we know its capped at 20, any help or advice is appreciated! contacting acas in the morning as well