Dec/090
I have Just received a Statutory Demand, what CAN I do?
Do not ignore it. Don’t throw it away!
You need to act quickly (You have 18 days to deal with it)!
You can remedy this situation (if the debt is disputed)
A Statutory Demand is a formal legal document requiring you to pay off an outstanding debt either by instalments or a lump sum or to secure it against a property.
If you do not comply with the demand, the creditor may be able to apply for bankruptcy against you within 21 days.
Some creditors use a Statutory Demand as a tactic to frighten you but they should always be taken seriously. A Statutory Demand issued by the HM Customs and Revenues should be regarded as serious.
I need further help
Please do not hesitate to contact dominiccooper@kpsolicitors.com or call 01744 636000 he will be able to assist you on these matters.
Is it possible to deal with this myself?
If you want to deal with this on your own, you should apply within 18 days to your local County Court to “set aside” the Statutory Demand under any of the following circumstances:
You dispute amount of money owed
You can pay the debt
You have a counterclaim of more than the money owed
You owe less than £750
The demand is in error
The Statutory Demand must be complied with to prevent any further action being taken against you.
Dec/090
Buy to Let Landlords
Former mathematics teachers, Judith and Fergus Wilson are the envy of most buy to let landlords but the hate figures of many a British worker.
Fifteen years ago they were teaching in a South London comprehensive. With a personal wealth estimated at £90million, they even overtook the Beckham’s in The Times 2007Husband and Wives Rich List and own racehorses and a farm in rolling acres thanks to owning 910 two and three-bedroom houses around Ashford and Maidstone in Kent.
Despite being likened to high flying celebrity couples such as the Beckham’s, the Wilson’s are certainly an example of why not to judge a book by it’s cover.
Their home certainly does not look like the stately pile of a millionaire. There is no gold jacuzzi, no personal tanning salon, like Simon Cowell- not even a Rolls-Royce like Del Boy.
The only indication that the owners have a bob or two is a tired-looking Jaguar X-Type parked outside on their gravel drive. Even this is parked next to a battered old Land Rover with wing mirrors attached using sticky tape. It is difficult to believe that this is the home of Judith and Fergus Wilson, proud owners of a million pound Property Empire. In fact, according to Laura Powell at the Daily Mail, their fortune probably peaked at a staggering £250m - although that doesn’t stop property experts labeling them Britain’s first buy-to-let billionaires.
It’s easy to understand how this couple has acquired this fortune as Fergus at least, is surely Del Boy. Fifty years ago, Fergus was already wheeling and dealing. Aged 10, he earned pocket money by pushing wheelbarrows around an Essex building site and as a teenager, he made a bob or two sparring and boxing. He earned £2,000 with a home-made T-shirt printing business when he was a student at Goldsmiths, University of London. Instead of ironing on each of the prints individually, he worked out a way of printing in bulk using a borrowed baker’s oven!
Then, when he married Judith, they rented a four-storey house in Blackheath, South London, and sublet the lower three storeys to other couples at a price that covered the Wilsons’ own rent. ‘I thought that was good business at the time, but I’d never do that now,’ says Fergus. Cheekily, he adds: ‘Now, I’d rent each storey for even more money-I’d live there rent-free and make a profit!’
As humble as this couple may seem with their battered cars and average way of life, they spark a lot of anger amongst those that hear their ‘success’ story.
As the couple now plans to sell off their estate, many people are annoyed at the potential financial reward they could achieve due to their greed and ‘obsession’ with money with comments such as “Greed kept them in the game on the way up but now fear is throwing them out”.
It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds in the upcoming months/ years… we will keep you posted!
Dec/090
Consumers miss out on cashback sites
Many online shoppers could be missing out on a great deal! Cashback sites have unfortunately been missed by many consumers who are baffled but how these sites work. In a nutshell, you register on a cashback site and set up an account. On there is a list of retailers and the offers they provide with a click through link. You then shop as you normally would only this time when you buy an item you receive cash back paid through PayPal straight to you. This system is particularly beneficial for those who do the majority of their shopping on line or those who pay for expensive goods and holidays using the internet.
There is of course a downfall, the cashback system does not replace the need to shop around for the best deal and furthermore cashback may only relate to specific items within a retailer. Also big online retailers such as Amazon are not available for cashback.
Dec/090
Supreme Court Rules in Favour of Bank Charges
A Supreme Court judgement could be disastrous for millions of bank customers. The judgement has overturned earlier rulings that allowed the Office of Fair Trading to look into the fairness of charges for unauthorised overdrafts. Supreme Court president Lord Phillips stated that bank customers agreed to pay overdraft charges as part of the price of having a current account. As a result banks can continue to charge high fees when customers go overdrawn without authority, in order to subsidise the cost of providing accounts to other ‘good’ customers.
Although disappointed with the ruling the OFT has not yet made the decision to stop investigating unfair bank charges. Research undertaken by the OFT, showed that unarranged overdraft charges were “difficult to understand, not transparent and not subject to effective consumer control”. The continuation of investigations into unfair bank charges has also been supported by Gordon Brown. The advice offered by the banks to their customers at this time is to arrange an overdraft plan on opening an account to avoid any charges.
Dec/090
British yachtsmen freed by Iran
Released! Five British yachtsmen held by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard for a week.
The crew are said to have drifted into Iranian waters while sailing from Bahrain to Dubai.
A statement by the Revolutionary Guard said interrogations had revealed their “illegal entry” had been “a mistake”.
Luke Porter, 21, from Somerset, Oliver Smith, 31, from Southampton, Oliver Young, 21, from Cornwall, Sam Usher, 26, from North Yorkshire, and Bahrain-based David Bloomer, who is believed to be in his 60s, were held on 25 November.
A Foreign Office statement said: “We understand that they are being towed to international waters and will be met by a representative from the sailing company”.
The crew were in expected to arrive in Dubai “within the next couple of hours”.
Iranian radio said the five had been freed at 0730 local time (0400 GMT). Iran’s official IRNA news agency said they had been released after an interrogation by authorities established that their yacht had entered Iranian waters accidentally.
A statement by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said: “After carrying out an investigation and interrogation of the five British sailors, it became clear that their illegal entry was a mistake.
“After obtaining necessary guarantees, it was decided to release them.”
Mr Miliband told reporters it had been “a purely consular case” and said he was pleased that the matter had been dealt with in a “professional and straightforward way” by the Iranian authorities.
Dec/090
25th Anniversary of the Great Miners Strike
This christmas marks the 25 years since victimised miners last received a wage. The National Justice for Miners Campaign has been working to help every sacked miner receive some Justice.
To date, none of them have and so the campaign is still prevelant today.
Shockingly after so many years of a “Labour” Government being in power they have yet to carry out any of the resolutions which were passed at the 1985 Party Conference in Bournemouth.
Labour had voted overwhelmingly, to reinstate every one of the victimised miners whom have been left with savagely damaged pensions and no form of redundancy. A hard punishment for the crime of supporting their trade union and trying to protect the future of the coal mining industry.
If you wish to support the Justice for Miners Campaign you can purchase a new Justice for Mineworkers badge to record 25 years since the strike. Price £5.50 per badge.
More information on how to purchase a badge and the campaign is available from http://www.justiceformineworkers.org.uk
Dec/090
The Miners Brass Band Festival 2010
The Butlins Mineworkers National Open Brass Band Festival 2010 is one of the most ‘must visit’ contests in the brass
band calendar. The contest will be taking place at Butlins Skegness. It is the perfect venue for such an event
with everything you could want. With superb accommodation, good food and drink it promises to offer great family entertainment.
The Festival is hugely popular and attracts Brass Bands from all over the UK. All five brass band sections will compete on
Saturday 23rd January. The Championship section bands will compete in an entertainment contest (hosted by
BBC Radio 2’s Frank Renton) on Sunday 24th January determining the Butlins Champion Band for 2010.
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