The Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank group, owned by National Australia Bank, said it had miscalculated repayments for 18,000 customers who will now have to pay as much as £300 a month extra, to make up the shortfall.

BBC News website readers have been explaining how they will be affected.

Craig Hewet, Northwich

We have a tracker mortgage and Clydesdale have demanded a 25 per cent increase in our mortgage payments. I wrote to Clydesdale and asked them to explain the facts in fine detail. Their orignal letter was so lacking in explanation.

They gave us two months’ notice. This is an enoromous amount of money. We are four years in to a twenty-year mortgage.

They need to be open and upfront about what they have been doing with the monthly payments to date.

In our view, yes we borrowed the money and have to repay it, but if they made the error, it should be them taking the hit and not us.

We should not have to pay it. We, like other people affected, have lots of questions but as yet no answers from Clydesdale.

Frances Harrison, Glasgow

I’ve lived in my home for 14 years with my husband and our three children. I have always paid my mortgage in full and on time.

Two years ago, I took out a new mortgage with the Clydesdale bank and now I’m being told I am £1,700 in arrears.

The bank has told me I have to pay an extra £120 per month. I am extremely worried that I just can’t repay my mortgage. My husband’s income has dropped in the past year and I’m only part-time. We’re struggling by so where am I going to get more money from?

Come September, I just don’t know where I can get the extra money from. This is their mistake and that’s the frustrating thing.

Avril Simmons, Doune, Perthshire

I received a letter from Clydesdale Bank telling me that they had made a mistake in their calculations when the mortgage was initially taken out and I would now face increased monthly payments.

The tone of their second letter, after I had written to complain and demand they take the financial responsibility, was very patronising and they effectively tried to put the blame on me.

I responded saying it was the bank who were not facing their responsibilities as they had been employed by me in a professional capacity, and I had trusted their integrity.

I hope this exposure forces the banks to admit responsibility.

More of consumers reactions

I had a letter from Yorkshire Bank to say that my mortgage was underpaid by £7,000 even though I had always paid the monthly payments they had asked for. They have now increased my mortgage payments by £250 per month. I have complained directly to Yorkshire Bank who have basically told me to live with it. I have now made a complaint to the ombudsman. I am totally disgusted with the way Yorkshire Bank has treated me. Mark Coates, Wrexham

I have received a letter from the Yorkshire Bank stating that following an inaccuracy in the way my payments were calculated, my mortgage payments will be increasing by £231.74 per month from 5 September. I have yet to speak to them regarding this but as you can imagine I am shocked to find that this has happened. Being £231.74 a month worse off is going to make things difficult. They have offered for me to make a one-off lump sum payment to bring the account up to date or to extend my mortgage term, but this does not alter the fact that it is their error that will now impact on my finances. I spoke to them in February regarding my payments as my two-year deal was coming to an end and they gave me advice after looking at my payments yet never noticed any anomalies then. Darren Killick, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

My Clydesdale repayments will increase by almost £160 per month from September as a result of the error - I’ve only had the mortgage about two years. That is a huge amount over the remaining term of the mortgage. How could their calculations have been so wrong? Paul Hodgson, Dunblane, Perthshire

Yorkshire Bank now wants nearly £200 per month extra because of this error. We can’t afford it, and have complained to the financial ombudsman. They should hold their hands up, and stand the extra cost themselves. Banks in this country are nothing short of disgraceful. Let their top brass have a smaller bonus instead, and put their customers first for once. Nicholas Thornley, Preston

Clydesdale Bank miscalculated my mortgage payments and have put my mortgage up by about £70 a month to pay off the shortfall. I can’t afford this as I have a very low wage and think Clydesdale Bank should take the hit as they made the mistake. I kept to my side of the deal and paid what was asked of me faithfully every month - it wasn’t my fault in any way. They also took over a year to tell me of this shortfall because and I quote “they didn’t want to worry me”. Well, sorry, but they’re worrying me now. Take the hit Clydesdale Bank - it’s your error. Mary Bell, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire

Source: BBC News

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Former mining town Newstead has been awarded money through a project called Village SOS. The scheme is ran by the Big Lottery Fund and the BBC.

The money will be put towards a ten year community plan which involves creating a country park on the site of a pit slag heap.

The scheme, titled Future Newstead, headed by Mick Leivers stated “It’s exciting times. As a community we worked our socks off to put ourselves in a good position to get lottery funding,” he added.
“Out of the selection process we were one of the most deprived villages in terms of finance and facilities.”

The nationwide scheme is supporting six projects, awarding money across the UK. Future Newstead will offer a variety of facilities including an eco-friendly resource centre, fishing lakes and music festival.

The development will spread across 220 acres of former colliery spoil heaps purchased in autumn last year that had been backed by an East Midlands Development Agency.

Mick Leivers is particularly positive about the development in fishing that could help in several ways.
“This was a really popular choice amongst local villagers.
“We will be providing training for young people interested in angling so we can perhaps professionalise some of the lakes around Nottinghamshire and provide, through fishing, a means for people to learn about their environment.”

A documentary

The Newstead SOS has been surrounded by much media inetrest. The village will be filmed by BBC cameras and a documentary is due to be screened in April 2011 to show how the scheme has changed the area.

Publicity surrounding the award is reaping benefitsWord of the award is already reaping benefits according the Mr Leivers.

“The number of volunteers we’ve had has been phenomenal. We set up a Facebook site and had 1600 members join within a matter of weeks. It’s obviously going to engage a lot of people.
“It’s all about the local community but also about bringing other people into the community to share our village and realise what a fantastic place Newstead really is.”

The community are backing the development 100% and believe it is a positive step towards Newsteads future. Tracey Sabin a local resident said: “The scheme is going to be a lifeline to the village. It’s going to provide Newstead with some level of pride that was taken away when the pit shut down [in 1987]. It’ll get the community alive and kicking again.”

Head of the East Midlands Region for the Big Lottery Fund, Mick McGrath, echoed the locals enthusiasm saying, “This Village SOS award will kick start a revival in the former mining village of Newstead, helping to secure the future of the community by putting power into the hands of the villagers.

“I hope that their innovative ideas, which will bring tourists to the area as well as teach positive activities to disengaged young people, will inspire others across the UK to reinvigorate their rural communities.”

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And as if on cue, David Cameron was settling in at No10 as the last shifts ended at Welbeck Colliery.

In the 80s it was arrogant Conservative policies that destroyed swathes of British industry and robbed so many communities of their proud prosperity.

Now for Welbeck, closing down after 98 years, it is something just as uncompromising - the seam of coal had simply run dry.

The Nottinghamshire mine opened in 1912. At its peak 1,400 men worked at the pit and nearly all lived in Meden Vale village.

Fathers, sons and brothers worked together, bathed together then drank together.

As a group of miners headed to the pit-head bath for the last time on Friday, one lad started to sing. It was a traditional mining song to the brave men who work the seam.

“It’s a sad, sad day,” said Gary Cox, 50, carrying the last lump of coal his shift brought to the surface.

“I have been here for 34 years, since I was 17. This has been my life. We are like a family here. It is a piece of history.”

Gary, a loco driver, followed his father Billy down the pit. They worked together for a few years before Billy retired. Father-of-four Gary said: “We both wanted to be the gaffer, to be in charge.

“But we enjoyed working together and I did learn a bit from him.”

Billy died last year aged 87. He lived long enough to hear the news the pit was to close. Gary said “He was sad that it was to shut and it’s a shame he didn’t live to see the final day today. Or maybe it isn’t. He had spent his life here, too.”

Welbeck had 400 employees when the decision was made to close it. Many of the final shifts finished on Friday and scores of men headed into nearby Mansfield for a farewell booze-up. Up to 60 of them have taken redundancy. The rest have been transferred to the three remaining UK Coal deep pits at nearby Thoresby, Daw Mill, close to Coventry, and Kellingley, North Yorks. Just two more big pits remain - at Maltby and Hatfield in South Yorkshire - along with a handful of smaller private concerns.

Manager Geoff Mountain said: “There were 220 deep mines when I began in 1979. It’s sad for Welbeck but work goes on elsewhere.

“We have plans for the site. You have great equipment here and it would be perfect for industry. We want to get that going so that will bring jobs to the area.”

Seventy men will stay behind for a few months to reclaim £6million of equipment from the works. The windings, symbol of mining history, will have to come down.

“Daft people will try to climb them,” said Geoff. “It’s dangerous.”

Softly spoken Tony Ambler, 49, looked back wistfully at the pit head as he left his last shift.

He had followed in his stepdad’s footsteps. Tony said: “He worked during the war, keeping supplies going.”

“Here we are a family. In the village we all knew each other. We grew up together and joined the pit together.

“Our friends and their dads were there. In the village, doors would be left wide open. There was no crime there. It’s changed a lot.

Everyone in the village works away. The character has changed.”

Mining is still a dangerous business. Just three years ago all were reminded of the perils inherent in the job.

On November 3, 2007, Paul Milner, 44, died when the shaft collapsed on him as he and three colleagues tried to remove a hydraulic roof support from an exhausted seam.

Ninety tons of earth fell, trapping him for five hours.

Gary said: “You do everything you can to get the man out. It hits you very hard because we are a family here. Losing someone is terrible but all know we have to carry on working.

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“It was a terrible day. We will always remember it.

“Everyone was superb that day. Mine rescue were there but we all know it will take hours to get to you. That is the reality.”

Neil Bradbury, 44, has served 23 years underground and sees an uncertain future. He has been transferred to Daw Mill and will have to drive 70 miles home each day after an arduous shift.

The father-of-three said: “It is a hell of a journey. But I have to keep working. We aren’t going to move. We were brought up here and the kids are settled. We can’t uproot them all from everything they know. I will have to do it.

“I could take the redundancy but there are no jobs out there.”

As the lads head off for a bath and a farewell pint, one of the last pieces of coal mined at Welbeck lies cracked and broken on the pit-head floor - the final discarded remnant of a discarded industry.

UK’s deep coal mines

KELLINGLEY, W YORKS

OPENED: 1960

EMPLOYS: 800

Future: In 2004, Coal Investment Aid Scheme pumped £7.2million into the mine.

THORESBY, NOTTS

OPENED: 1925

EMPLOYS: 700

Future is safeguarded until 2017 following a £55million investment from UK Coal.

DAW MILL, WARKS

OPENED: 1956

EMPLOYS: 680

Warwickshire once boasted 20 collieries but now there is just Daw Mill, which has a predicted lifespan of another 18 years.

MALTBY, S YORKS

OPENED: 1956

EMPLOYS: 500

Owned by transport firm Hargreave Services, it produces 1.2 million tonnes of coal a year.

HATFIELD, S YORKS

OPENED: 1920

EMPLOYS: 380

Closed in 2001 but reopened four years ago. Work is due to begin on a new coal-fired power station and industrial estate called Hatfield Power Park which promises cleaner, greener coal power.

Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/latest-news/celebs/2010/05/13/losing-a-coal-way-of-life-115875-22254745/

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Gravitas held its first roadshow at Bold Miners welfare Club (St Helens),the turnout was better then expected and all formers miners left satisfied with the advice given.

Gravitas Laws legal team advised miners on Undersettling of Vibration White Finger Claims and also on Miners Knee Claims Via the DWP and information on the forthcoming test cases for Miners Knee(Osteoarthritis).

Gravitas Laws legal team will be travelling the country hosting events in mining communities.

For additional information please contact Bobby Kennedy on 01744 744090.

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The probe centred on the Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM) which broke away from the National Union of Mineworkers during the bitter year-long miners’ strike in 1984.

The Nottinghamshire-based UDM, which had around 1,300 members at the time the probe was launched, was dealing with claims for compensation on behalf of miners whose health suffered from working down pits.

At the time the investigation was announced Labour MP John Mann (Bassetlaw) said he was delighted police were investigating the claims. He had waged a long-running campaign to highlight alleged abuses of the miners’ compensation scheme.

Mr Mann claimed millions of pounds had been paid to solicitors involved in dealing with compensation claims which he believed should have gone to miners.
Click on the above banner and you will be redirected to a recommended partner who can help.

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A lot of misconceptions relate to auto technicians and mechanics looking for advice on tax rebates for tools bought for their work.

The advice given often means that they aren’t getting the full amount of tax owed back as it can be a complicated issue if you don’t know what you are doing.

Flat Rate Expense Allowance

This is what is commonly advised that mechanics should claim, as most people – including many accountants – believe that PAYE employees cannot claim capital allowances.

If you follow the flat rate allowance route you will only get back a small amount of money. You can, in fact, claim capital allowances, as explained on the HM Revenue & Customs website (search for EIM36610, EIM50700, EIM36910, help sheet 206).

It is quite complicated, however. Problems arise because the rates of Writing Down Allowance, Small Pools Writing Down Allowance and First Year Allowances differ for every year from 04/05 to 09/10 and HMRCs guidance for older years is not readily available.

You Can Only Claim Going Back Six Years

Another common misconception that means that many mechanics and car technicians don’t think to claim for tools bought before those six years.

You can, in fact, claim as far back as you have receipts for – one company, The Entitlements Agency, has successfully claimed going back to 1984!

With proof of expenditure, items that pre-date 04/05 can be added to the Capital Allowances pool which, subject to the appropriate writing down allowance (WDA or SPWDA), is offset against tax from 04/05 and the balance of the pool carried forward to the next year and so on. Capital allowance rules allow this as long as a Self Assessment return has not been issued for that year.

This can be a complicated process to carry out, especially as HMRC does not readily provide the allowances any further back than the last tax year.

Conclusion

MoneySavingExpert, moneysupermarket and other forums are a highly valuable source of information but any advice you find on them should always be thoroughly checked out before you act on it or it could end up costing you money. Just be careful what you read!

The Entitlements Agency has successfully claimed tools tax rebates on behalf of many mechanics and car technicians. If you’d like them to do the same for you, download a claim form here or contact The Entitlements Agency here and they will send a claim pack out to you.

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If you wear specialist clothing or a uniform for work then you could be entitled to a tax rebate going back six years and an adjustment to your tax code for future years, bringing down the amount of tax you pay each year.

Occupations that could be entitled to this include but aren’t limited to nursing, police and pilots. A comprehensive list of those that qualify can be found here.

What Am I Claiming For?

This is a good question. First of all, you can’t claim if your uniform is provided for you. In the case of a nurse, for example, they can’t claim for their whites – but they CAN claim for shoes and tights, as these are required items but not provided by the NHS.

You can claim for anything you have to provide for yourself that can be considered a REQUIRED part of your uniform or workwear.

You can also claim if you have to wash your own uniform or workwear and meet the costs out of your own pocket. You don’t qualify for this if your employer takes care of the cleaning, provides cleaning tokens or offers free cleaning facilities (even if you don’t use them).

What Am I Claiming?

Assuming you meet the requirements set out above, what you will actually be claiming is flat rate expenses which will be deducted from the tax you pay and given back to you.

The amount varies depending on your occupation and what year(s) you’re claiming for.

The Entitlements Agency specialises in assisting you in claiming a tax rebate going back for the last six years.

What Else Could I Claim For?

Depending on the type of work you do, you could be able to claim a tax rebate, again going back over six years, for any mileage or any expenses incurred.

The Entitlements Agency can help you claim these rebates. Download the appropriate form here or contact The Entitlements Agency and they will send one out to you.

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Miners could recieve compensation for a combination of reasons like damages, general damages, loss of services. Solicitors don’t always claim for the concepts causing the miners aloss.If that is the case the facts need investigating so the miners can receive redress.

Injured former coal miners might have a claim against their solicitors for under-settling of compensation claims. In some circumstances solicitors did not pursue claims for loss of service or loss of opportunities in the employment market. That mean that miners received less money th at they were entited to. Some claimants can recieve as much as £20000 or £25000.

The way claim has been settled under the miners compensation scheme and the advice given by the solicitors for the Claimant to accept the settlement in full and final settlement might been negligent.

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Although Mr Claphams reasoning behind his policy was supported by many the Energy and Climate Change Minister David Kidney raised concerns regarding the scheme stating that having one blanket system of assessing claims would result not be suitable in miners knee cases as the sufferers illness was far more varied than other industrial injuries. Mr Kidney believed that tailoring a court case specifically to each claim was the best way of achieving clarity when assessing compensation claims.

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In November the firm wrote to 22,000 customers who had deductions paid to the NUM.

Raleys Solicitors took over£7.5m from Miners compensation payouts and passed it to the Miners union. In return the NUM provided Raleys with up to 29,000 clients.

Three Raleys solicitors were suspended for professional misconduct a year ago after a tribunal found the firm failed to act in the best interests of its clients and the NUM deal was of no real benefit to the clients.

Mr Healey MP for Wentworth said: “I know from constituents that not all those who might be entitled to claim back money have received the letters, some may have moved house or want to claim on behalf of deceased relatives.

“Raleys are only giving you until the end of February to reply to this offer, so if constituents haven’t received a letter and think fees may have been deducted from compensation, they should get in touch. I want every miner or their family who is entitled to it to claim this money.”

If you have missed this deadline please contact Miners Rights by the following means on 0800 612 7014 or email info@gravitaslaw.co.uk

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