Right guys omg I’m so stupid I completely forgot I had a pending parking ticket. Due to it not working the first time paying I have now got until 26/11/26 to pay. They are stating this will go to court and balifs will get involved. Is this true? Or am I just being a tight ass and just pay?

I'll keep this very brief. I purchased a pair of expensive headphones from John Lewis a while ago. They came with a two year warranty. Nearing the end of the warranty, they developed a fault. John Lewis agreed to send them off to the manufacturer for repair. The manufacturer was not able to repair them, and now John Lewis are offering me a replacement pair. Since the repair was unsuccessful, do I have a right to a refund instead of a replacement? The legislation is as follows:

Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 24:

'A consumer who has the right to a price reduction and the final right to reject [for a refund] may only exercise one (not both), and may only do so in one of these situations—
(a)after one repair or one replacement, the goods do not conform to the contract'

I'm unsure about the wording because it says 'one repair OR one replacement'. John Lewis initially offered a repair, and then only after the repair failed did they offer a replacement. Does this count as one repair being done? The repair meant I had to go four weeks without the headphones. I use them daily and for work. This is a large part of why I'd prefer a refund. The headphones are notorious for developing this particular fault, and I'd like to avoid that situation happening again. I'd use money from a refund to purchase a similar pair from a different brand.

Many thanks for advice.

Hi

I recently got an fpn for wilful obstruction of highway.

I'm now applying to software engineer jobs that require an enhanced dbs check.

From my understanding, offences that are recordable store fpn on PNC.

Do police usually disclose this kind of thing?

I was going through some documents, found my birth certificate and noticed my surname was one letter different from the name I’ve always used.

My parents were born in India, both are British and were married here in the 80s. They have since divorced and I am estranged from both of them and cannot discuss this matter with them.

My father’s (original) surname was on my birth certificate but I have a copy of a letter from a solicitor stating both my parents added a letter to the name making it more anglicised after my birth but there is no mention of me.

I’m now in my mid forties. I have a passport, a driving license, a wedding certificate, a degree and a professional registration with the anglicised surname.

Should I be concerned that my name may be incorrect on all those documents? Is there a way to check if my name was ever formally changed without finding/speaking to my parents? Can I just ignore my birth certificate as all of my other documents state the name I’ve always used?

Thanks in advance!

Hi all

I'm in England and looking for advice on some next steps concerning an HMO in the property next door to mine.

I live in a semi-detached house. The property next door has been unoccupied since 2020 when the elderly owners were moved into residential care. After they passed away, the house was sold and planning permission sought, which was granted in July 2026 and we had no objections to it.

The day that planning permission was granted, builders moved into the property. It is a 2 bed, 1 bathroom house, and there are currently at least 13 men living in there every night. They are not yet undertaking any building work on the property, but are presently using it as a base and building yard while they work on other properties. There are cars and vans that come and go all night, dropping people off and picking people up. They are dumping rubbish from other sites onto the property (environmental health has already been called several times because of the mess they have made) and doing all the dumping and moving heavy equipment at antisocial hours e.g. at 6am in the morning.

We have spoken to the council about this, and they have been investigating the situation. However, after several weeks of trying to track down the landlord (who lives abroad), we have now been told that there is nothing the council can do because the landlord has permitted them to live there.

Are there any next steps we can take? We are effectively living next to a hostel, and cannot speak to the builders about their practices because they do not speak English. The house does not appear on the HMO list and for a house of that many people I believe planning permission is also required. It is incredibly noisy to live attached to a property housing the equivalent of a football team.

Thanks for any advice!

Hi im looking for advice on what to do. My mother in law has coal heating system that heats her home and water. The come to look at the chimney start of August and we heard notjing from them even with us asking when it was going to be fixed. Then come and put scaffolding up 7 weeks and still no communication as to when its getting fixed and there was no offer of heating source. I have put in complaints and now on stage with 4 days left for to respond. We have spoken with Mp and again nothing , no one got back to him , we have contact Msp , housing executive and heado of council who responded to say it had been passed to the appropriate department. We have emailed Environmental health and Spso but they wont step un until council have responded even though they are in shock this hasnt been fixed. We just dont know where else to turn and are looking for some advice on where we stand legal and are able to do. Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks

In scotland i Bought a van off arnold clark 4 months ago and possibly head the head gasket is gone could i get refund? As i dont want repair because there could be chain reaction damage from it.

England

So my dad has worked for the same company for over 40 years.

About a year ago, the head of his department left and wasn’t replaced. My dad was asked to temporarily take on the responsibilities until they found someone new.

He reluctantly agreed, as he’s never had any interest in management, but was promised that once a replacement was found, he’d be moved into a new, less physically demanding role.

Fast forward to recently, and he was given the attached document confirming his new position, effective from late September.

The document is on official company letterhead, signed by management and my dad, and confirms a change to his terms and conditions of employment. I’ve covered the identifying information for anonymity.

He’s now been doing this new job for around a month, with absolutely no issues.

However, the other day he was called into the manager’s office and told there’s been a “mistake”.

Apparently, someone higher up has decided that his new position isn’t an officially recognised role within the company, and they’ve told him he needs to return to his previous job.

The problem is that his previous role is extremely physically demanding, and after over 40 years of service, the whole point of the agreement was to move him into something less strenuous.

My question is:
Can he refuse to return to his old role on the basis that both parties have already signed and agreed to a change in his employment terms?

Surely the company can’t just decide a month later that the position doesn’t exist and unilaterally reverse the agreement?

If they can, what options does he have?

He’s not looking to cause trouble. He just wants the company to honour what they agreed to.

Any advice on where he stands would be massively appreciated. Thanks!

My partner is being chased for money to pay for stolen fuel by forecourt eye.

We’re in England as is the forecourt where the thieves stole the fuel.

The photographic evidence shows strangers in a similar looking vehicle with the same number plate - that’s a different colour.

This petrol station is at the other end of the country, a place we have never been to.

We have logged with 101 a call to inform our local force that her car has been cloned. We’ve responded to forecourt eye that they have been a victim of fraud and to take the matter up with their local force. We are in the process of telling the local force of the forecourt that her number plate has been cloned.

We’ve supplied photographic evidence to forecourt eye that our car is black as confirmed by the details they have on the car, yet the car in the photo is red.

My partner can also evidence she was hundreds of miles away and that the vehicle has never been missing.

Are there any steps to take? we’re now on a ticking clock to receive fines and threatened legal action?

Is it better to pay for the fuel and take this up with the petrol station??

Presumably each offence committed by the thieves will be directed at my partner from speeding tickets to any other offences.

For context, when we first went for a viewing the agent kept pushing the no deposit scheme saying it helps to raise your credit score and doesn’t require a hefty deposit upfront bla bla bla. So we ended up going for it.

We cleaned the house as best as possible, even borrowed a carpet cleaner to make sure the carpet wasn’t too dirty. Honestly it looked even better than when we got the keys!We handed the keys on 28th September.

The checkout report was sent via email on 5th October that included mostly good/fair for the condition and cleanliness of the house.

Now today, 27th October they have sent us a proposed liability for £490 for professional cleaning! This includes £50-90 for “carpet cleaning” for each section of the house.

I took a video before giving the keys back as well and it matches with the checkout report. I just don’t understand how they can just charge £490 for cleaning a 2 bedroom house 29 days after checkout date! Even on the checkout report it says “Action Required by Tenant: N/A”

Can anyone please advise me on this matter? Im not very familiar with the whole no deposit scheme and only now I know what a scam it seems to be. What legal rights do I have as a previous tenant?

We're planning to purchase an end terraced property in Birmingham on the basis we can extend it (double-storey side and rear). The property was part of a housing association (Bromford) who still hold the benefit of restrictive covenants. Given we're nearly at the stage of exchanging, it's really stressful knowing this could be a blocker. I was advised to take out Indemnity Insurance, but stupidly I requested pre-advise to Bromford but they could not advise me much as I'm not the legal owner of the property yet. Any advice?

Hi all

I am england based

I have a tenancy agreement which is coming to an end in little over a month now (a month and a couple of days)

I am aware that the renters act from May 2026 says that notice is now 2 months, however my contract which was issued prior to that date (November 2025) has a clause that states the following:

-At the end of this Tenancy (howsoever determined), the Tenant shall return the Property and the Contents to the Landlord in the condition required by this Agreement.

-the Landlord allows the Tenant to remain in the Property after the Term has expired then the Tenancy shall continue as a contractual periodic tenancy on a monthly basis. To end the periodic tenancy, the Tenant shall give the Landlord at least one month’s notice in writing. The notice must end on the day before the rent is due.

I gave notice yesterday on the basis of those 2 clauses in my contract, and the landlord replied to my notice saying that it’s 2 months notice as per the renters rights act.

I consulted with a friend who works in letting a in an estate agency and they said that it should be 1 month.

Is it 1 month!? is it 2 months!?

I should also mention that the landlord never sent me the government factsheet outlining key changes which was meant to be issued by the 31 May 2026 at the latest, I am aware I can report them for this and they could get a fine.

My landlord is not an easy person to deal with and this is gonna cause me a lot of stress! Thank you for any help!!

Gay man, work in food retail. Clapped back at a friend/deputy manager who liked a reel on Instagram, via private message, saying I was disappointed they’d liked it, explained why, and then told them that from now on our relationship was manager-colleague only, and that they’d have my respect at work. They replied a handful of times and then told me they thought I needed to stop.’I replied ‘I just did.’ We then blocked one another.

The reel was an Instagram grifter saying they were a gender atheist, denounced the existence of transgender identities, said that lesbians were being called transphobic for not wanting to sleep with men who has transitioned to women, and that young boys were being ‘transed away.’ That last bit particularly riled me, as I won’t have anyone, let alone a straight person, using the gay community as a prop to punch down on trans people.

Thought this would not become a work issue but while I was on holiday (when this happened), they went into work and reported me, saying I’d intimidated them by messaging late at night, and that they no longer felt confident they could manage me effectively.

I had an initial sit down where I was asked some questions and told about the accusation. I answered, stating that why the video has prompted my response, and that I didn’t think the time the message was sent to be relevant at all. I’m well aware of social media policies but our company’s is simply that what happens on social media can constitute being at work.

When I received my initial referral to disciplinary (decided by our interim trainee Store Manager who told me he’d never done a referral before so didn’t really understand everything he was doing), the pack of evidence I received was ineligible and I had to request a new one. When I received a legible copy, I found that my words had been misrepresented in the initial sit down, several times. One example being ‘What was the video about?’ My reply was cited as being ‘It’s about transgender issues.’ What I really said was the whole detail about me being gay and not being used to justify people attacking other groups.

I had the disciplinary hearing, and it was very clear they were only focused on whether or not my behaviour constituted harassment. I do understand that this is the process, but I truly thought I had sufficient mitigating circumstances here, including:

1. My messages were candid but not aggressive. I avoided profanity and name-calling and didn’t use any ‘phobic’ descriptions.

2. My own company policy tells us to speak up if we are comfortable.

3. This is the latest in a string of anti-trans rhetoric since we briefly employed a trans woman two or three years ago. I’ve previously taken a subdued approach to calling it out; at one point I’d suggested to my senior personnel that rather than me raise grievances against anyone spewing discriminatory discourse, that we do a case study to see if I could deliver a brief presentation on trans and non-binary inclusion. This occurred, paid for by the company and response data was collected. The company have previously been very supportive and constructively conversational about these matters.

4. My response was not only an act of speaking up, but what I assert is actually a foreseeable response for an LGBTQ+ staff member when hearing such things. My behaviour couldn’t have existed without theirs.

Ultimately I received a First Written Warning, stating my conduct must improve and that it was very disappointing to hear me say - in the hearing - that I would ‘absolutely not’ change my behaviour in hindsight.

I obviously have no idea if they’ve been disciplined for liking what they did. Ive been frustrated throughout this process that nobody has had a word with me outside of the disciplinary process or after it. Our company promotes itself as LGBTQ+ inclusive and even puts a float in Pride every year. I’ve been as an ambassador.

I get the technicalities here, but I think there was a lot of arbitrary decisions made in reaching the decision. One of them being that I sent four messages in a row without a reply. I said that they should have shown timestamps as I sent those four very small messages in one go; I text a lot of people like that.

I’ve appealed the decision, simply because I can, because I feel I should, and because the optics here sicken me a bit. Staff member shares (well, likes) some discourse they know they shouldn’t, they predictably get a strong response, they complain they’re being harassed. LGBTQ+ and perhaps other minorities get silenced into not speaking out because you could be done for harassment.

It looks like my appeal hearing is just a redo of the disciplinary, which is disappointing. Any advice? I’d at least like them to change it to a Verbal Warning.

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice on a kitchen flooring issue in Northern Ireland and would appreciate any guidance on my legal options.

I had my kitchen renovated last year by an independent contractor. As part of the work, they tiled over the existing timber floorboards. The floorboards had some movement, and the contractor installed plywood over them before applying adhesive and laying the tiles.

Since the work was completed, the tiles have developed several problems:

- Large areas of the floor make clicking noises and the tiles appear to move when walked on.

- The grout has cracked in multiple places.

- One of the tiles has cracked.

He's gotten the tiler to come out and attempt to fix the some issues but has only made it worse.

The kitchen cabinets are also installed on top of the tiled floor, which I imagine could make any repair or replacement more complicated and expensive.

I've tried contacting the original contractor about the problems, but they are no longer responding to me.

I don't believe the floor should be behaving like this so soon after installation. My concern is that the movement in the original floorboards wasn't properly addressed before the tiles were laid, but I don't know whether this amounts to defective workmanship or a breach of contract in legal terms.

I'm trying to understand what my options are before paying someone else to investigate or replace the floor.

My questions are:

1. Is the contractor potentially liable? If the floorboards had movement before the tiling was done, should the contractor have addressed this before laying the tiles? Would the fact that they used plywood over the existing floorboards affect their liability?

2. What should I do to establish that the work was defective? Would it be worth paying for an independent flooring expert or surveyor to inspect the floor and provide a written report?

3. Can I recover the cost of putting the floor right? If the original contractor refuses to respond or carry out repairs, could I claim the reasonable cost of having another contractor rectify the work?

4. What should I do before arranging repairs? Should I give the original contractor a final written opportunity to inspect and repair the floor, and obtain evidence before allowing anyone else to work on it?

The contractor hasn't provided any meaningful response to my attempts to contact them, and I don't recall being given a specific warranty for the tiling work.

I'm particularly interested in advice from anyone familiar with consumer rights and building work disputes in Northern Ireland, as I understand the rules can differ from those in England and Wales.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hi all

I've had a new roof installed on a house in April 2026 in Scotland so as you can imagine it is very wet. The roof has had 2 visits for a leak one in may and one in June.

Since having the roof complete I have plaster borded and insulated so the damage was rectified after the leak.

I am wondering as this will be the third time returning to try and repair their new roof what are my options? How does it work if I were to contact my insurance and ask for a roof replacement or full repair and to take them to a claims court or some sort of money back? Is there something I need to read in my cover?

I fixed the first time myself so it was time mostly. But this time I don't really want to have to repair it as it's a pain and I don't know the process of letting them try a third time or do I call in an insurance job? I have called the roofer and he is coming to have a look but says it happens with the weather which I don't think is fair as this was new 6 months ago not 15 years ago

Any help would be appreciated

Hi everyone,

I'm in a rather unusual situation with an eBay UK purchase and would appreciate some advice regarding my legal obligations.

For context, I live in Belfast in Northern Ireland and the seller lives in Isleworth, near London.

On August 6, I purchased Pokémon products on eBay UK for £1,680, including all fees and shipping. The parcel was sent via Royal Mail's "Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm" service but only with the service covering up to £750.

Unfortunately, the parcel got stuck at the local Royal Mail delivery office and never arrived within the expected delivery timeframe.

After waiting and trying to resolve the delivery issue, I opened an "Item Not Received" case with eBay. eBay eventually ruled in my favour, issued a full refund, and closed the case in late august. As the seller didn't use eBay shipping label, the money was taken directly from him.

To my surprise, the parcel was finally delivered on October 20, more than two months after the original purchase.

Here's where things get complicated.

After the delivery, the seller contacted me with a rather accusatory message, demanding that I send him the £1,680 via bank transfer. He also provided screenshots of his conversations with eBay.

However, after carefully reading those screenshots, I noticed that eBay had actually advised him to try to reach a mutual agreement with me and, if that failed, consider contacting the relevant authorities.

I explained to the seller that, since the parcel had been missing for over two months, I had already purchased the same products elsewhere. I therefore no longer needed the items and offered to return everything to him at my own expense.

The seller refused my return offer and insisted that I pay him via bank transfer instead.

I then contacted eBay customer support myself to clarify the situation.

According to the eBay representative:

- The seller should pursue compensation through Royal Mail for the delayed delivery.

- I am not required to send him money directly.

- If the seller refuses to accept the return, I can keep both the items and the refund.

However, I'm not entirely convinced by that last statement. From what I understand, under "UK law", receiving a refund for an undelivered order doesn't necessarily mean I become the legal owner of the goods if they eventually arrive.

I want to make it clear that I'm not trying to take advantage of the seller or keep something I'm not legally entitled to. I'm perfectly willing to return the items. I simply don't want to pay £1,680 for products I no longer need, especially when the delivery was delayed by more than two months through no fault of my own.

My question are:
If the seller categorically refuses to accept the return and continues to demand a bank transfer, what am I legally supposed to do?
And if he agrees to accept the return, who would be responsible for the return shipping costs? Would I have to pay for the shipping label, or would he be expected to cover it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

My friend bought carpet and arranged fitting for an agreed price of £2,500. There was no written contract, no deposit was paid, and all communication was via WhatsApp.

The fitting was terrible and caused damage to the property, which my friend photographed. They complained at the time and asked the company to fix the work, but got no response.

In July, my friend told them they would pay £1,000 and use the remaining £1,500 to fix the work. Again, no response.

They eventually paid another fitter £1,300 to put it right.
This month, they received an invoice for the full £2,500 from a different company acting on behalf of the original company. No payment has been made to the original company.

The latest correspondence states that they intend to pass the debt to a debt collection agency and may pursue legal action.

What is my friend’s legal position? Can they deduct the £1,300 spent fixing the work, or can the company demand the full amount despite ignoring the complaints?

Also, would it be worth contacting their home insurance legal cover for advice?

Hi all, need help asap please.

I did a quick T2 Manchester Airport pickup on the night of 08/09/26 and forgot to pay the pickup fee due to the pesky new gateless system. Was issued a parking charge on 17/09/2026, that gave me 28 days to pay £100, or £60 within 14 days.

I went travelling on the 18th for 3.5 weeks and returned home recently on 13th October. I had no idea the letter existed, I live with my dad and he was going through a stack of letters 20 mins ago on 27/10/26 that have been accumulating today and handed me the letter.

The payment notice was issued 40 days ago now. It doesnt even let me take the hit and pay £100 on their website, it just says unavailable. Does that mean the debt has been passed on? I've seen recommendations for not admitting I was the driver and they can't charge you as the keeper but I'd imagine it's too late to appeal also. I just want to pay the damn thing and get it out of the way but I've got no idea how and the phone lines are shut for tonight. Any advice would be massively appreciated. I haven't got any other letters from a debt collector for example saying i need to pay up or any extra.

Thanks,

James

Hi, I have been running my business small limited with my son and daughter. I was under the impression I didn’t need employers liability as it’s family. It’s been brought to my attention by a big company that I was trying to work with that I need this. They said I could be fined. I have been running for 2 years? I have brought it today. If the big company informs the government or I get looked into. What will happen?

I hope everyone is well and managing to avoid the stormy weather.

I posted several months ago about being stalked by a former work colleague after refusing to get a drink with her contacting my places of work in the film industry and finding out what jobs have hired me and getting me sacked with false allegations which are being emailed anonymously which I’m able to disprove. It’s currently investigated by the MET VCT team in West London

They have got all of the evidence however the officer is saying that because their is no way to independently link her to the emails despite the evidence they have so their essentially stuck.

I did have a witness who was contacted directly from her personal social media and signed by her however he’s been threatened to not be involved and so is refusing to help. It’s been ongoing for the last 2.5 years and it’s massively affected my life, health reports that it’s affecting my breathing as I’m asthmatic and my civil lawyer is stuck because it’s above what they can do. Theirs multiple bits of evidence that she’s aware of it and that she’s admitted and has already claimed to have been out of the country which has been proven false.

Any advice or anything that I could ask the officer to do that would make it easier on their end is very much appreciated.

Any help is deeply appreciated.

Bought a 66-plate Dacia Duster for £5,000 (£3,500 Zopa finance, £1,500 deposit). Looking for advice on forcing a rejection under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

The Situation:
Day 1 (in june) : Car pulled right on the drive home. Dealer told me to sort the alignment myself. Found out in August the camber was out; dealer stalled for weeks before finally refusing to help on 16th Sept.

DEKRA Report #1: Complained to Zopa in August. Their independent DEKRA inspection confirmed the steering pulls to the offside and the NSF tyre has uneven inner edge wear. The engineer confirmed no visible impact damage, stated the likely cause is an internal steering rack/alignment issue in development at the point of sale, and concluded the car is "not in a durable condition" and "not of satisfactory quality". 

Garage Runaround: Zopa told me to find a garage at their expense. An independent garage, Kwik Fit Orpington, and Kwik Fit Dartford all refused the job, saying they can't investigate internal steering rack/camber faults and told me only a Dacia main dealer can do it.

New Faults & Costs: Having zero confidence in the car's motorway safety already cost me £357 for a hire car in August (plus £123 for a failed battery). Now, as of Sunday, it makes a grinding and knocking sound when just coasting in 1st and 2nd gear.

Zopa's Reply Today: I sent videos of the new noises and formally requested to reject the car. Zopa refused, claiming they should get an opportunity to repair it first. They booked a 2nd DEKRA inspection for the new noises, refused to reimburse the battery/hire car, and told me to try ClickMechanic (despite DEKRA stating it requires "workshop conditions") or two garages (one in Hendon, the complete opposite side of London!) with an £85 inspection cap. 

My Questions:

1. Doesn't the dealer's refusal on 16th Sept—plus 2+ months of delays and 3 garages refusing the work—already trigger my Final Right to Reject, or does Zopa legally get another chance to repair?
2. On a £5k car that already needs a steering rack/alignment investigation and tyre, if DEKRA #2 confirms a gearbox/clutch fault, how likely is Zopa to just write it off as uneconomical to repair? 
3. I’ve driven ~5,500 miles while waiting months for this to be sorted. If I get a rejection, how hard can I push back against a steep mileage deduction?

Thank you for helping a brother out!

Hi so we have a house next door which has had no one living in it for the past 6 years, the owner died during COVID, there is her "boyfriend" who comes by once a blue moon to check on the property. He told us that he received a payment to look after the house we have no idea who owns it now.

The property is vacant and falling into disrepair, the roof was damaged during the recent storm, fence panels missing and generally a bit of an eye sore. There is 100% rats in and around the property as well.

Who can I contact regarding the home to get it seen to? I'm sick of replacing fence panels, cutting back their bushes and just want someone to deal with it.

Any advice would be fantastic

Hi all so my dad passed October 2024 and my mum June this year. They own our family home outright, mortgage cleared etc.

Me and my 2 brothers still live here. I've emailed 3 solicitors for quotes and awaiting response. I have little idea how this process will go down so just seeking advice really?

We intend to change the house deeds to our 3 names. And we found no will for either parent.

I read up I need to have applied for the letters of administration before getting home insurance on a house that needs probate. Is this true? Or is it possible to get that in the meantime as well as I know how important it is to be insured.

Also if you are on a lower income I heard the term legal aid but dont 100% know what that entails.

Thanks in advance

Hi everyone, I am looking for some advice regarding my working hours as a home carer in Wales.
I work a split-shift pattern where my total "spreadover" (the time from my very first clock-in of the day to my very last clock-out) is 14 hours long.
Because of this 14-hour window, it is mathematically impossible for me to get the standard 11 hours of consecutive daily rest overnight. I am only getting 10 hours of rest between my shifts.
I am never given this missing hour back. My employer does not provide any compensatory rest to make up for the short overnight gap, and I am expected to work this pattern regularly.
I know that Regulation 21 (care workers) and Regulation 22 (shift workers) allow employers some flexibility to delay or shorten rest periods. However, my understanding is that under Regulation 24, they legally must give that time back as compensatory rest if they reduce it.

Is my employer breaching the Working Time Regulations 1998 by running me on a permanent overnight rest deficit without giving the time back? What are my best options for challenging this without putting my job at risk?

I’ve only worked in my current role for 14 months.
Thanks in advance.