/r/LegalAdviceUK
LegalAdviceUK exists to provide help for those in need of legal support in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We operate as a form of "legal triage" where commenters can guide posters towards resolving issues themselves or towards an appropriate professional.
LegalAdviceUK exists to provide help for those in need of legal support in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We operate as a form of "legal triage" where commenters can guide posters towards an appropriate professional.
It is very important to note that this subreddit does not replace a qualified Solicitor or other legal professional.
Woah, didn't know there was so much law /u/zesty_lemon45, 21/02/2019
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/r/LegalAdviceUK
TL;DR I contested a bill and didn't get a reply for months despite chasing them up. They now want a full payment and have threatened legal action with no acknowledgement of my previous contact with them. Any advice going forward?
In June this year I returned my lease car to the lease company. As part of the returns process they sent out a contractor to inspect the vehicle as it was collected. The inspector noted every tiny bit of damage with the vehicle, as is their job. He was open with me about each bit of damage he recorded and recommended that I make sure I don't get charged for the tiny scuffs (a kind contractor who didn't work directly for the leaser). The inspectors report was sent to me and the lease company.
Shortly after, the lease company sent me an invoice for £450 to fix damages with the returned car. I replied back challenging the tiny scuffs as regular wear & tear (I'm not paying over £100 to repaint a quarter panel because of a 1mm spec) but said I'd pay ~£250 of justified damage like scuffed alloys. I didn't get a reply. I chased them up in July and again in August. On my final chase up I said if I don't hear back from them in one working week I would consider this closed. They didn't get back to me and I paid nothing.
Today in late October, 4 months after contesting the damages and 2 months since I gave up contacting them, I've been sent an invoice of £450 by the leaser again. This came with a threat of "Should we not receive payment immediately we will be looking to commence legal proceedings regarding the balance owed". There was no comment on my previous correspondence.
What are my rights here? Can I stand by my claim of the matter being closed as they would not reply to me? If not, can I challenge the total cost and wear & tear again? Does their legal threat carry weight?
Thanks for taking the time to read/respond. I'm in England.
Trying to understand bankruptcy in England.I read from www.gov.uk
'You will be freed from bankruptcy (discharged) after 12 months. This ends the bankruptcy restrictions and releases you from most of the debts you had when the bankruptcy order was made. You’ll normally be discharged automatically'
Really? One will be discharged from bankruptcy after 12 months? That is really short, with all debts gone!
So what is so big deal about being made a bankrupt? One could borrow loads of money, hide them somewhere, under other people's name, default, made bankrupt for 12 months. Then be able to enjoy life again?
Am I missing something here?
I’m in England, UK. In the process of buying my first house and should complete in the next few weeks. My new(ish) partner moved in with me in my rented house about 3 weeks ago and we’d planned for him to move with me into my new house once everything is signed off.
In the rented house, we split everything 50/50 but I wanted to ask how this should work in the new house that I’ll own. He hasn’t put anything towards the fees / deposit for the property and isn’t named on any of the documents but I’ve read that if someone pays 50% of your mortgage, they could have claim to the property or equity later down the line.
Should I draft up or get a solicitor to draft up a lodger agreement? Or would it be better to treat him as a tenant and charge rent for living in the property? I’m not sure how best to go about it so any advice would be appreciated.
Ex boyfriend and I split up due to an insane amount of infidelity on his side a few months ago. I found through the affair partners that he had been telling them that I was abusing him. This is not true. Over the past few months I have heard from various people that he is still doing this and the lie is evolving. It has gone from me yelling at him, to me sexually assaulting him.
I have begged him to stop, I have a plethora of evidence of him admitting it’s lies and apologising (yet continuing to do it) and people who can back that they are false. I also have a lot of evidence of him spreading the accusations, be it the girls he told and various messages.
One day someone is going to take it seriously and report it, and my life will be over. I work in care and I would immediately be barred. Is there any legal action I can take to get him too stop.
My grandad has received a letter from the council that he has been issued with a fixed penalty notice for fly tipping. It says he either has to pay or it will go to court. The proof is a photo of a package with his name and address on it.
He is also a 77yo OAP with palsy and is housebound due to his disability. When he used to get out he used a mobility scooter and only goes out in a wheelchair for hospital appointments because he can't walk long distance. We do most of the heavy jobs in the house for him like taking the shopping, gardening and stuff but he does some things himself.
Obviously this wont be him, but I wouldnt have dumped it either. The proof isnt really proof because bin men in our area are notorious for just letting stuff go everywhere and I've seen them sometimes take bags out of bins for being too full and drop them on the floor which means stuff goes everywhere.
My grandad has his stubborn head on and says he wont pay or go to court. Says if they want to try and take something from him they can come themselves so he can give them a good hiding. I dont want this to cause a headache but I wont take the money from him and pay it without his permission either. What should we do? Does he need to worry if he just says no? I mean again getting out is a pain at any rate.
Good afternoon i 21F live with my now ex as of last week 20M, we're located in London, United Kingdom.
He has called the police to the flat and has very controlling behaviour, he threatens me with the wifi, wakes me up at 6am so he can have the bed to himself, threatens to throw me phone, grabs my wrists really hard that it hurts. I want to remove myself from the lease or terminate it but he refuses, he keeps telling me to move out but expects me to keep paying him the rent as im also on the lease, which of course i cannot afford as I want to move back in with my mom up north where earnings are significantly smaller.
Is there anything i can do? The agency won't allow me to remove myself without his consent and I dont want to be forced to remain in an unsafe situation because of my financial situation.
Me and my friend are 17 years of age.
We were in a rural area admittedly listening to loud music and banging on fences. At no point was the properties boundary breached nor was that our intention.
At 1AM we were stop searched by police. I was wearing my father military camo jacket and had a large torch. My friend was wearing a black trackie. After the stop search that found no items connecting us to the alleged offence, we were released. However, before leaving the scene a sergeant arrived and immediately arrested us both for going equipped for burglary. At this time, we had only the large maglite on us and no other items of interest.
My vehicle which was in proximity was searched. Searching the vehicle they found my friends bag. In this bag was a grinder (a grinder for weed, not an angle grinder!) and bong (as the officers told me - they did not mention any weed). We were not further arrested for this. In addition, a small hammer was seized, a halfords repair kit (still in box), headlamp and our camping chairs we had in the vehicle were seized. I stated under caution I had no knowledge of the items in this bag, and that it was my friends. The officers showed me the contents of this bag where they only mentioned a grinder and bong - not any weed. This is not my bag but was in my boot.
We were taken into custody and processed. After a long wait for the duty solicitor - the custody sergeant bailed me and I assume my friend as the duty solicitor was not available. I have a mandatory interview under caution in the coming days.
What are my next steps? How can I prove I was not going equipped? How can they prove that I was? How can I prove that the paraphernalia was not in my possession and I was unaware of its presence? What is the likely outcome?
17 - not known previously to police
2 months ago our dishwasher stopped draining. It had water sat in the bottom. We called out a repair company who said the pump had gone and said as the pump was expensive to replace it would be only slightly more to buy a new one. It took a while but on Friday we had the new dishwasher installed by John Lewis. John Lewis said they tested it however when I opened it yesterday there was water sat in the bottom.
I did some investigating and it turned out the draining pipe was full of fat and grease completely blocking it. I have cleaned this all out and now the dishwasher is working. So clearly the old dishwasher was fine and we have just wasted £500 on a new dishwasher.
My question is, considering we followed the advice of the repair company as they said it was broken (when it wasn't) and they failed to fully investigate the fault. Is there any way to pursue the repair company for the money we have spent on the new dishwasher?
Based in England.
I was eventually sectioned, treated and diagnosed with bipolar and psychosis. But before I was treated I did a lot of crazy things. Including calling social services while not myself at all, a whole DV case was opened and closed. Social made me do a non molestation order on my husband in order to keep the children safe, however they meant a prohibited steps order and I applied for the wrong one. Social moved me and the kids to a new town, said we weren’t allowed contact. The court ruled for an undertaking or promise to the court stating that he cannot contact me for a year.
I read the report when social closed the case and it looks like they mostly focused on my mental health. They had nothing bad to say about our parenting or the kids or anything, no concerns. It just mentions that I accused him of abuse, and that the kids moved a couple times and my mental health is being treated.
Now that the court order has just expired, are we free to do what we want? I don’t have a social worker who I can ask. I’m scared of opening a new case because I feel much more comfortable without their involvement. I’m also scared of them showing up and we get in trouble for having contact. But I also feel the need to clear his name somehow. He says it’s best to just leave it alone completely and if they ever do come round to not talk to them because I don’t legally have to. I also don’t want to because the support they do offer is not something I’m interested in or will help my children. And yes I know I’m an awful person. I wasn’t myself. I’m so lucky that he forgives me. My husband is truly the best husband and father ever, and didn’t deserve any of this. We’d love to get back together or at least be able to co parent but I’m so scared of getting in trouble with social services if they ever happen to show up again one day and get mad at us for having contact. As far as I’m aware we only weren’t allowed contact because of the court order. But I’m not 100% sure.
Started a 1 yr lease 3 months ago. But unhappy with the flat due to upstairs neighbors constant noises. Want to get out of lease but landlord isn’t responding to my calls or messages. Contract has no break clause… what can I do?
just been informed that even tho i have worked an extra hour due to clock changing i wont be paid for the extra hour. what are my options based in England
Oh my gosh. England. At eleven o’clock (yesterday night) my neighbours had a guest round, and they were playing extremely loud music, you know the kind that you can almost feel vibrations through the walls. As well as screaming and shouting and very obnoxious signing, as well as obscenities at eachother. My bedroom wall is adjoined to their office wall, theyre downstairs, playing music from their tv speakers, pretty much full blast. For context, i live at home with my mum, dad and younger brother (10). My dad and i have been awake for hours by it, my mum and brother still asleep. I measured that it is almost fifty decibels, and two thirty AM. Theyre going to love my six oclock alarm just as much as i will 😴😴💤💤
I dont want to wake my mum in order to text the neighbours, but this is just purely inconsiderate and rude.
TLDR: friend crashed my bike, he was uninsured and only had cbt (unknown to me). He almost died, police have seized bike. What do I do?
Where do I go from here? His dad kept apologising and offered to pay for the bike. I can’t afford another bike right now so would have to take him up on that offer. What do I tell my insurance? Obviously I’m gonna tell them the whole truth but I only have third party fire and theft. I don’t want this to ruin my no claims either (even though it’s only 1 year). Can I just inform them of what happened and not make a claim? His dad said to see if I can get his insurance to pay for it but I doubt it. Please advise me on what to do and how to go about this.
I feel like such a shitty person asking about my insurance while he is in surgery because of my mistake but I don’t know what else to do.
I have removed a huge bit of this post because the bot said to keep it short, but if you want a bit more context, check my post on r/motoUK, just go to my post history, I don’t know how to link it.
Edit: somebody mentioned just cancelling my insurance policy and not telling them. It has only been 2 days since my renewal so I could do this, but I feel like telling them is the better option. I don’t think it will affect me, as no claim will be made.
Can a Lasting Power of Attorney and / or Will be legally binding if done / witnessed via Docusign? England.
Docusign says: https://www.docusign.com/en-gb/blog/electronic-signatures-and-electronic-witnessing-the-uk
The question is, can I send a PoA to the various people who need to sign it via email, such as one would send a commercial contract?
Same question for a Will.
Thank you!
I was interviewed at a police statioN in England back in late August 2024 due to an allegation made by my ex-partner.
I was told that the case would need to be referred to Crown Prosecution Service, however, the interviewing officer has within the last few days (end of October 2024) said that they still have not sent the case to CPS.
I just wondered how much time the police have to send cases to CPS, or if there are any laws/legislation surrounding the amount of time they have to send cases to CPS following interview?
The allegation and ensuing process has had a profound impact on my career as I am not allowed to work until the case has been resolved.
Any advice would be appreciated, thank you in advance.
I’m a lifeguard at a large national chain in England and to continue working I needed to renew my NPLQ qualification, my employer would normally do this however they only run this once per year due to budget constraints (still make £300 million per year though) and my manager assured me they would book me onto a local course for the last 6 months (I’ve worked there since march) however they’ve left it until the last week before my qualification expires that they cannot afford to book me on a course and I have to do so myself, which since it was so last minute the only course available in the country was 155 miles away, this cost me £75 for the course plus around £40 in fuel for a 310 mile round trip, plus £100 in lost pay for having to take the day off and £10 in food, overall pretty pissed off about it and I’m pretty bitter my next 20 odd hours of work are just paying off my MANDATORY training, anything I can do about this?
They’ve offered to give me a half day pay out of my PTO for it
Hi all!
I live in England for the sake of the auto-mod.
I'm considering changing my name via deed poll, and I'm aware that as part of such a process, one requires 2 individuals who know them in a non-personal, professional (from what I know - please correct me if I'm wrong!) capacity to swear as witnesses who've known you for 10 years. However, I have not lived in the UK for 10 years, and moved around quite regularly - meaning there isn't a professional who has known me for 10 years; my secondary school teachers have known me since 2020, but now I'm in University, but they have stated that they would happily help - one of them was my reference for my passport too.
When one considers this, what does the law say? Would there still be a chance my deed poll would be accepted?
Thank you in advance everyone!
Hello, I am new here in UK and today while returning from somewhere in Bristol to Bristol parkway Train Station, I used Google maps. The bus was only an hour after so I decided to walk upto train station.
The map guided me through the road that seemed abandoned. At first, I didn't see any signs but after walking 5 minutes with no signs of other cars and muds everywhere in road, I reached near the highway where the buildings were being constructed. There I saw that road was closed.
I didn't went to the construction buildings. I just walked in the road. I was going through someposts and heard that this is illegal.
I'm really scared as if I had committed a serious offence. What can be the consequences of this? I'm really worried as i am an international student here!
I'm in a process of setting up a shop. This is considered trading in England. I'm using a third party site which will fulfill my product design, selling, and shipping for me. I checked on the gov website, it said that I only need to register for VAT if my turnover is £90,000 or above per year. I dont think I will get £90k in sale but because the third party requires legal documents from me to cover the VAT for shipment, plus they charge fees for product design and shipping, which can total up to £20-30, and I don't know how many I would sell, it's kinda hard to estimate if the total amount is gonna be lower or higher than 90,000.
Can anyone explain to me if I would need to register for VAT number? Thanks a lot!
I'm about to purchase a new house with my wife of 12 years. The cost of our new home will be 75% paid for through assets, with the remainder mortgaged.
Around 40% of assets will come from the sale of our current home, around 55% will come from inheritance I have received following the passing of a family member, with 5% from inheritance my wife has received, again from a family member passing.
Our individual inheritance as I understand it is currently non-matrimonial assets (it's been kept in accounts separately on each of our names) , but would become matrimonial at the point we purchase the new home.
Can a legal agreement be put in place to consider the inheritance invested as individual in the event we separate in the future?
I appreciate access to these funds would be impacted based on us having a daughter and the need for her to have a home until she is an adult. To be clear my wife is more than happy that these funds are declared individually and not part of our combined assets, even though they will contribute to the cost of our new house.
Essentially what we're considering is that if something happened and we do split in the future (there is no intention to), the money invested through each inheritance is considered as our own, albeit access to it would not be available until the point our daughter is an adult and the family home could be sold. The value of inheritance would be set on that invested, with any equity beyond this split equally.
TLDR can inheritance be legally protected as non-matrimonial assets if invested in a matrimonial home?
I'm in England, for starters.
I'm an 18 year old male, a lot of strange people add me on Snapchat - this one individual added me via Quick Add and I asked how old they were - but no response to that; today, I was looking through stories from friends and public stories; I see a story from this person.
It was nudes - I responded 'Um' awkwardly and they asked how old I am - to which I said 18, I asked how old they were, 14.
They sent a followup snap in the form of a video, which I did not open - I don't think I indulged them in conversation but they said something like age doesn't matter.
I unfriended them and now have them blocked, but I decided to take no screenshots - I sent a report to Snapchat about this but I'm just so scared.
I think I did the legally right thing here? I'm prone to anxiety and I just want to let Snapchat know so I'm not accused of like pedophilia or whatever - am I guilty of anything?
I'm waiting for SHOUT to respond to me because my anxiety is making my body shake.
Please someone respond. I beg.
I've tried to read through some laws but none of it is making sense to me - nothing is making sense; after this is resolved I'm actually deleting Snapchat.
I’m currently awaiting a probate grant following the death of my mother - I am the Executor and only beneficiary named in the Will.
I’m conscious I can only clear and sell items after probate however I’m currently trying to sort the items in the house so I can clear it fairly quickly once probate has come through.
I’m confused as to where I stand on selling items after probate - for example she has a large collection of crockery. If I sell this in an online auction, do I need to sort out doing a self assessment tax return if it sells for over £1000? Or if I sell her clothes etc on Vinted and it’s over £1000 in a tax year do I need to self assess? Do I have to list every item I sell and how much it went for?
My mum had a huge house and I’ve sorted out a lot for the charity shops etc but there are quite a few items I’d be looking to sell.
Hello,
This is my first time writing on Reddit because I don’t know what else to do. Three years ago, I decided to invest in a property development company in Manchester, UK, and I deposited £48,000. They promised construction would be completed by 2022 at the latest, and now, two years later, there’s still nothing.
They’re blaming COVID, so I asked for my deposit back. I’ve been struggling for months to recover my deposit. The contract clearly states that after the construction deadline, I have the right to request a refund, which was over a year ago. So it’s been almost a year now that I’ve been fighting with them over this.
I’ve also noticed on Google Reviews and Trustpilot that, as time goes on, more and more people are reporting the same experience. When I visit the site, I can see that work has slowed down considerably, or even stopped altogether.
One review on Google really caught my attention; it said: "I received an email from Jark Security Trustee for Kingsway Square Ltd stating that the first charge holder has taken action to seize the company's assets and that there will be no money left to pay back those who invested in their units. I invested £42,000. I have also invested in Regent/Wardour Point. Construction has been severely delayed. Both contracts date back to 2021. I understand that COVID may have delayed the completion dates, but I cannot understand the lack of integrity in taking people's money and not living up to one’s word. At the very least, return the deposits! A good reputation is the foundation of a long-term successful business."
So, I’m afraid they may be trying to liquidate the company to avoid paying back deposits.
As for actions I’ve taken, I had to ask my solicitor to issue a statutory demand two months ago to force them to reimburse me, and we managed to set up a repayment schedule.
They were supposed to pay me £5,000 every two weeks; they made the first payment on the first day, but nothing since! When I contact them, they tell me their director is on sick leave.
I’m reaching out to ask if anyone knows what else I can do to recover my money, and if there’s even a chance I’ll get it back. I’ve already spent £2,000 on legal fees...
Thank you in advance.
Long story short, me and son's mum had a short relationship and 2 weeks after we broke up she found out she was pregnant. I've been heavily involved in his life since he was a baby: had him for overnights since he was 2 weeks old, 50/50 care-giving throughout, moved as nearby to her as possible to be there to support when he was a baby, currently drive him 4 hours a week back and forth to my parents' for childcare etc. He's now 4 years old and is a very happy, vibrant, loving kid. The mum also has another, older, son from a different dad who is also very involved.
Things between me and his mum have largely been very cordial. However last summer she went back home to Australia for 5 weeks in the summer with the boys. She hadn't been back in about 10 years and had an amazing time. Off the back of that last week she messaged me saying she's unhappy in the UK and wants to move back to Australia.
She recently got done for drink driving and lives in a relatively small village so life has been tough without a car. She's pretty awful with money and is always skint (yet still finds cash to go on the odd trip with friends) and has been feeling the strain. She generally feels she doesn't have a future in the UK and moving home is what she needs. That said, she does have a decent job, friends, and the other dad provides a lot of support. Apparently he's actually is somewhat open to the idea but logistically I'm not sure how that would work (I don't have a relationship with him so can only go on what she told me). He's a chef so could work anywhere but I'm not convinced he'd just up sticks and move to Australia to follow her. She briefly flirted with the idea of moving up north a few years ago and apparently he was also fine with that but, surprise surprise, it didn't happen.
I very briefly considered the idea but once I truly grasped how little I would see my son and that I would essentially not have any meaningful part of his life I've shot the idea down. I've told her I might consider it when he's secondary school age but until then I'm dead against it: the most important thing is that he has both of his parents in his life while he's at such a formative age.
I'm planning to speak to a family lawyer next week and will consider getting a Prohibited Steps Order but I'm a little concerned that could be seen as a declaration of war (I assume she would get notified?). Even today when I picked him up she was very cordial and I don't think she's a 'flight risk' at all given there are 2 dads and 2 kids involved. But at the same time, if she were to just abduct him it would be a lot harder and more traumatic to get him sent back than to prevent the possibility.
I think if anything it's more likely she tries to take me to court (although I'm not sure how she'd afford this). Given the circumstances is there any chance she could win? I have a mountain of video/photo evidence and witness evidence of my heavy involvement in his life and if she were to lie and claim abuse or anything there's absolutely nothing to back it up.
Thanks.
It is ridiculously bright, illuminating front facing rooms of the house even with closed curtains and seems to go off at random intervals in the night - no motion has to pass by or anything (I have video recordings of this). No one else on the road has anything like this.
Is there any way that they can be forced to change this? It's costing me sleep.
Could someone please clarify the highlighted segment.
He was not granted full executorship of the estate until 13 months ago, and only this final hearing has taken place in that time.
Our dispute started 3 years 7 months ago. Judge ruled against me in latest, final hearing. Claimant has sent me an email stating that I owe him around £8000 for different solicitors he's used in this time, cost of sending letters to me by recorded delivery, cost of petrol to drive to Court hearings and a couple of other items which are not related to legal fees, more like he is being incredibly petty.
"any debts and fees of the estate shall include legal costs properly incurred by the Claimant in his capacity as executor of the estate in obtaining an order for sale and taking enforcement proceedings"
So what needs to be paid? the way I've interpreted those highlighted words, means I would only have to pay the Order of Sale fee, which is just over £300 for a Court submission fee. He tried enforcement against me by using Bailiffs but I managed to get that halted and removed.
Or is the wording meant to represent all the legal fees he's paid out in the 3 years 7 months since this started? Court costs + payments he made to solicitors? because that to me represents the Legal fees.
Can I tell the claimant that he has zero rights to receive payment for petrol, letters and the other unrelated fees?
So this is a little obscure, but here goes. I'm looking for a rare book that's only available at four libraries in the world, all in Europe. I'm in the US. I'm wondering the ramifications of getting someone to photograph the pages of the book and send them to me, solely so I can read it. The library I'm thinking of is in Edinburgh, Scotland. Not for redistribution, monetary gain, or anything else; I simply want to read the book, but there is no way to get it anywhere else. For context, the author died in 2004 so the copyright lasts until 2074. I've tried getting it through online bookstores, contacting each library individually, searching global marketplaces, etc. but they are either unable to help or do not have it. Would the person photographing the pages be in any legal trouble? What are the chances of either of us being legally liable for something like this?
Edit: the book is Six Bars at Seven by MM Kaye in case of a miracle and someone has it
Context: My mum died a few years ago, and there was a particular term used by the solicitors for me helping my dad run his house if needed.
Long story short, whatever that term is, I need to not be that anymore, and to make absolutely sure that I'm completely protected from his recent terrible financial decisions. I've contacted my solicitor a couple of weeks ago, and they told me they need time to dig the will out.
Thanks.
To start, I do not condone what he is doing and want to advise agaisnt it and I think the best way to do that is to tell him the facts
So my friend has a shitbox field car, it's been crashed already, and looks awful, it works but I wouldn't pass an MOT no matter what Recently he's been takin it for drives and even giving others lifts in it I believe the laws broken are - Driving without a licence Driving underage Driving without insurance No MOT No road tax ?Dangerous driving? And maybe more If he is caught what would you predict his punishment to be? Depending on the situation he is caught (eg he crashes or gets pulled over)
As above. 2 notices of enforcement from Jacobs stating I owe a combined £299. I paid, and have the receipts, for the parking tickets, both paid at the reduced rate of 50% as paid within 14 days, (one being within 14 working days). What do I do here? Complain to council that issued the fines, or is that too late as they’ve sold the debt on to Jacobs? Or speak to Jacobs themselves and show them the receipts?