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Fiscal drag and withdrawal strategies
Hi all, Interested in the discussion on another thread here re. fiscal drag (freezing tax bands) and how best to get money out in retirement. My current thinking is start DB at 56 (about 12k, covers essentials, a sort of annuity feel…) and top up with SIPP (front loaded) until SP starts at 68. Aim is to empty SIPP (spend,…
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Brother Marcus Restauarnt Scam?
Hello! Today I went for brunch with some friends at popular London chain restaurant Brother Marcus. When we received the bill, added to our total was a charitable donation, a 13.5% service charge, and a 15% “tax” (it didn’t specify what kind of tax). Our understanding is that (1) a menu usually includes VAT in the prices,…
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CEL Parking Claim. Litigation
Dear All I would appreciate your assistance and experiences with defending a litigated parking claim. I received a penalty notice after parking at an Ibis Hotel in October 2024 and this was despite my settling the parking payment promptly at the hotel reception. The company in charge of the car park is CEL and in spite of…
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NCP/Moorside County Court Claim
Hi , I've been served by NCP via Moorside for multiple unpaid PCN's. I am unsure how many, going to make an SAR. PoC is breach of T+C's. My aim is to win on technicality by contesting validity of the T+C's. I plan to submit the template defence posted by Coupon mad. Any thing I could add to the defence to strengthen it?…
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Disability Facilities Grant Funding a Means Test Shortfall "Personal Contribution"
Sorry for the length and detail in advance but I have been assessed and approved in need of a GF Toilet with Necessary Adaptations to my Kitchen. I am a home owner with a small mortgage, at age 74. The Local Authority Techincal Officer had viewed, planned and site visted with a contractor but, unfortunately for me I have…
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Royal Mail Claims & Complaints not helping
I returned a package to Amazon the day after it arrived. It was a laptop that I bought and then thought better of. I sent it from the Post Office locally using Amazon Tracked Returns. That was on March 21st. Amazon then kept telling me they hadn't received it and that Royal Mail were advising to wait until May 21st before…
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Smart parking
4 years ago i appealed a smart parking fine and this is the appeal return letter. subsequently i received a lot more of these fines for the 3 weeks i was parked in the car park. They have just sent me the court papers through and want a load of cash. Surely if this goes to court the judge will not be happy about the…
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Zopa Biscuit Account - Direct Debits
I currently have a Zopa credit card and a Zopa car finance loan and I saw that they were bringing out a current account that you can earn cashback with on direct debits. I thought I'd open a Zopa current account and use that to pay all my direct debits each month to earn the cashback, my biggest one being my car loan, with…
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Is this a "letter before action" from Mortimer Clarke
Hi all. I have received a letter from Mortimer Clarke Solicitors in which the header states: "We have been instructed by Cabot to take legal action as you haven't paid your debt, you need to contact us to avoid a court claim being issued against you." They "offer" two options, pay in full £2316.02 or pay by instalments. As…
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HMRC will stop cash-like investments in S&S ISAs
Updating this with the official note from HMRC https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-free-savings-newsletter-19/tax-free-savings-newsletter-19-november-2025 I mentioned this on an ISA thread, but it's relevant to a lot of pensioners as well. According to the FT today, as part of the ISA changes, HMRC is going to…
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Iva
hello I have huge debts and considering an Iva, my mortgage is with the same provider as one of my cards that will be on the Iva, will this make any difference? Any impact on mortgage of the credit card is with the same bank. It’s virgin money
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Santander Logging On
Is it me but when I go to log on online via my browser then it asks me to open my mobile app but the app needs to update things get all mixed up. I sit there while the app updates which takes ages, then I go back to the browser and the app does not respond to the message "Go to your mobile app…". They seem out of sync…
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Cordless vacuum cleaners... arm/wrist strain
Not sure where to post this. Can anyone recommend a rechargeable, good suction cleaner which is on the light side, weight-wise? OH and I are getting heartily sick of trundling our corded, cylinder job around… but we've heard three main accusations levelled against the cordless models: They simply don't do the job specified…
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Motorway - we can't sell your car
Car has been up for sale for about a month now. Had a few interested folk, not many. Mostly timewasters with the odd exception. Already knew about WBAC but had Motorway suggested to me. Gave them a try - "we can't sell your car". No explanation why really. Just your average family hatch. No finance on it or anything.…
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Successful complaints about private parking tickets - how to get them cancelled!
:D A happy thread of successes against private parking tickets by complaining! This is an ongoing record of cases where a motorist has succeeded in getting a private parking charge cancelled, simply by making an assertive complaint to the retailer/landowner/cinema/hotel/services (or other misinformed idiot) who naively…
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How to sort out my shower door
hi, i have a shower with curved doors. One of the doors keeps popping out of the track at the bottom every time you try to shut the door ( see pics) . It feels really loose. I used to have a similar door in the old house and the silver square cover had a button which released it so you could tighten a screw behind it. This…
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looking for a good pool for home
Since this heat wave is on the way, we’ve started looking at getting a pool for the kids to enjoy over the summer. With an 11 year old and an 8 year old full of energy, it feels like the perfect way to keep them cool and make the most of the warm weather. We’re just trying to figure out which type of pool would be best for…
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What's your salary expectations?
I'm wondering when they give the salary on the ad as a range and they ask you what are your salary expectations, then what's the best way to answer? E.g: They give £37-£40K Obviously everyone would like as much as possible. So, if they ask the question and I just reply back saying for example "I can see on your ad this is…
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New vs Old tenancy - Renters Right Act
Hi all, im seeking some advice as im currently in a situation of renting a place and want to leave. My situation is I’m in a HMO with a joint tenancy, one tenant has left and is refusing to pay rent even though they are still on the contract and legally binding, so now the rent is most definitely going to fall on the rest…
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Claim Notice Received DCB L/Parkmaven Ltd
Hi All, I’m hoping someone can help me with preparing a defence for a County Court Claim Form I've recently received from HMCTS regarding a parking charge. I've received the below and gone through the 8 steps so I think I have an idea of what I need to do but just need to make sure I'm doing this right. I have received an…
