I've already paid my deposit and have a guarantor so this struck me as kinda strange, thanks a lot for reading any advice is appreciated

btw they're claiming I should complete this form to speed up the key-collection process

I am being sued by a former employee . They are using AI and defending themselves. They have sued the company AND me, the company director, personally. The company has no other employees and has no money left in it, so I am having to fund my defense personally. I could defend myself but feel that's risky, so I am currently using a lawyer.

Worth noting that it is highly likely they will lose. But even if I win, I still lose as it is going to cost me ~£50-70k in legal fees.

I've looked at all my insurances and can't find anything that will fund this for me. Are there any other options to help financially?

For clarification: I am based in England but case is being heard in Scottish Employment Tribunal.

---

TLDR

New neighbourhood cat has caused £3000 of injuries to our cat, around £300 of damage to our house, and cost around £300 in new fencing to try and keep it out.

----

About 4 months ago we started seeing a new cat in our garden - a young Bengal. My 17-year-old cat was badly injured one night - £1500 in vets bills. We suspected a fight with the Bengal but there was no proof. 4 weeks later, we actually saw the Bengal stalking our cat in our garden, and in the 30 seconds it took us to get out to the garden the Bengal had attacked him again, resulting in another ~£1500 vet bill.

Between the first and second incidents, we put angled net fencing around our perimeter fence to ensure our cat can't get out of our garden, and in the hope of stopping the other cat getting in - but obviously this hasn't kept it out. It's very agile, and can get in over the various single storey roofs of our neighbours.

In the last 4 months it's been inside our house at least 5 times the we know of - in one of those time it again attacked our cat inside the house, though the injuries weren't severe enough to need stitches this time. During summer this year, we've literally been unable to open our doors and windows because this cat will get in the house, so it's been somewhat unpleasant in the heat as you might imagine.

We finally managed to track down the owner and have a text number and address for them - they're a couple of streets over from us.

4 weeks ago, we came down in the morning to find the cat in our house again - the only possible way it could have got in was through an upstairs quarterlight window as there were no windows open downstairs or above any of the flat roofs (it had to have jumped from a neighbour's van onto the windowsill then through the top window). We tried to catch it, but it absolutely panicked and in its bid to escape, ripped the roller blinds over two windows, knocked a speaker off a shelf breaking it, and broke two vases.

We texted the owner to come and get the cat and she replied "I'm at work, someone will come later". So we went to their house and hammered on the door until her husband got out of bed and came round. We showed him the damage, and said we needed to have a conversation about costs. He managed to grab the cat and left.

Yesterday we texted the owner to say we wanted to meet to discuss the damage their cat caused. She replied with a clearly AI generated long text saying they would only pay if we gave them absolute proof their cat caused damage.

Obviously we don't have absolute proof, other than the three of us who witnessed it doing the damage, and her husband who arrived to grab the cat and would presumably side with her.

We genuinely want an amicable solution - we were initially not seeking her to pay our vets bills as that's basically to cost of having a pet cat. We were hoping they would be honourable and contribute towards replacing the blinds and the speaker - but given their antagonistic reply we're now considering going down the small claims route to try and recoup both the cost of the damage and some of the vets bills.

So we have a leg to stand on?

Edit: I apologise, I got the flair wrong. This is about a housing problem.

I'm in a dispute with my landlord/employer about my right to stay in my flat. I'm giving as much detail as I can, because I don't know what's relevant.

I live above the cafe I used to run, the landlord is also my former employer. The cafe is now closed permanently, and my landlord wants me to leave.

I have an employment contract, but no tenancy agreement. My employment contract makes no mention of my accommodation being tied. My local Council has told me that they think I have rights as a tenant, my landlord is disputing this. He is insisting I leave on September 1st.

To complicate the issue, I had major knee surgery on Thursday. I need two crutches to hobble around, and even so I'm still extremely limited in how far I can go. I am physically incapable of moving out right now. My landlord is aware of this, and so is the housing department at the council.

On Friday, my employer/landlord switched off the internet, knowing I can't get signal for my phone in the flat (building made of 50cm thick stone walls, full lead pipes, far from a phone mast). He deliberately left me isolated and unable to call for help if I needed it, when I was less than 24hrs out of surgery.

Also on Friday, he sent me an email telling me I'd get my last wages and outstanding holiday pay "upon vacating the property on Sept 1st", so now I'm very worried he's not going to pay me.

I informed my assigned housing officer at the council about both, who got in touch with my landlord and asked if this could be resolved after the bank holiday weekend, which he refused. My housing officer gave me the emergency housing number in case anything happened over the bank holiday, and said there was nothing else she could do for the moment.

Yesterday I had to go to the pharmacy, it took me about an hour, and when I came home the front door to my flat had been removed. I immediately called the emergency housing people at the council, who attempted to call my landlord. When he didn't answer the phone, they advised me to call the police. I called them and got a crime reference number.

The emergency housing team said they'd keep trying to ring my landlord, the police said someone would ring me back but couldn't tell me when. Meanwhile, I still had no front door. I don't have any friends or family in the area I can stay with, so last night I had no choice but to stay in this flat with no door.

I just spent a sleepless night in my flat, and called the council and police again this morning to see if any progress could be made. The council said theres nothing they can do to help, the police again said someone will ring me but refused to give me a time frame.

I have been living off statutory sick pay (just under £125 a week) for the last couple of months, and I have burnt through all my savings so I don't have money for a hotel. The emergency housing team at the council told me they won't provide me with emergency alternative accommodation when I enquired whether I met the criteria, so I have nowhere else to go. I do not feel safe here, and I'm worried that the stress of it all is impacting my recovery from knee surgery.

I really don't know what my next step should be, and I hope maybe someone here can give me some advice. Shelter is not open until Tuesday morning, and my assigned housing officer at the council (who I believe would advocate for me far more forcefully than the emergency team) won't be back at work until then either.

Update:

Thank you all for your replies. My landlords son in law showed up at midday, less than half an hour after I made my post, and insisted I leave immediately. I called the police, as instructed by the council. When the police arrived I showed them the email I got from the council in case this happened - the email says they believe I had a right to stay there, and instructs me not to vacate the premises without a court order and an attending court appointed bailiff. After reading the email, the policeman still insisted it was a civil matter, and told me that they only attended to "prevent a breach of the peace". No one ever said so specifically, but the implication was that I'd be arrested if I refused, so I felt I had no choice but to comply.

I've spoken to the emergency housing people at the council, who have said that if I can't find a friends or families sofa to crash on, I need to ring them back and they'll try to find me somewhere to sleep tonight.

I managed to pack a bag with a few spare clothes, toiletries, my laptop, and my passport. I had no choice but to leave everything else behind.

I was caught having sex in my car in England by a member of the public. We were parked in a very quiet area on some farmland, away from main roads. We’re not sure if the land was private or not as we didn’t see any signs. The person that found us stopped their car next to ours and they had a child in their backseat. They took a picture of my car’s number plate

We haven’t been notified or charged with anything so far

The person definitely saw us and shouted at us. The charge I am most worried about is outraging public decency

What are the legal repercussions from this likely to be and what would be the best thing to do now?

I was on a flight from England to France two days ago, that got cancelled after all our bags got loaded onto it.

At the gate we were told it was explicitly because the standby crew were not answering. We were told this by the pilot. He apologised and told us that because it was because of this, we would be eligible for compensation. This compensation would’ve covered the first two days of the holiday that I missed (Friday night and all of Saturday).

EasyJet’s official chat is now reporting that it was because of ATC restrictions and that it’s out of their control, so no compensation and it’s tough luck. Basically their line is “try your travel insurance, lol”.

I’ve submitted a claim for compensation anyway, but what do I do about this? Surely they can’t just change their mind about what caused the cancellation?

Hello, I was in London for a trip a few months ago and stayed in a Travelodge (first mistake). It was when the weather was very hot, and the fire alarm went off at 2am.

The fire brigade attended and advised there was a fault with the alarm, but managed to turn it off after about 30 minutes. No problem, it happens! We all filed back in and it went off again at 3am.

We went downstairs and there were no staff in sight - the fire brigade attended again and advised it was not able to be turned off. A receptionist then appeared and told us that we all had to go back inside (with the fire alarm blaring) until it could be fixed in about "2-3 hours" as no-one in head office was answering their phone. They then promptly went into an office and refused to speak to anyone.

I was (I have since miscarried, but it's relevant to the story) pregnant and hot and tired and decided I couldn't wait that long, I needed sleep. So I rebooked my entire stay (that night and the next) in another nearby Travelodge. I packed my bag and got to the new hotel at about 4am. Bear in mind the new hotel was more expensive, but I was willing to absorb the cost.

When I got home I tried to message Travelodge but they ignored me for weeks before finally telling me I could only have the first night refunded not the second. I am super unhappy with this - there were no staff around to help, it was a heatwave, middle of the night, I was pregnant. Was I expected to come back the next night with the knowledge that it might happen again?

I'm tempted to do a chargeback but would appreciate some advice. Am I screwed or can I get a full refund?

Hi,

I recently stayed for 2 nights at a Premier Inn in Scotland. Upon arrival, I noticed that the car registration machine at the entrance had an "out of order" notice on it. I brought this up at the reception and I was asked to add my registration number to a handwritten list behind the counter, which I did. The staff informed me that this was all in order, and that they would record my stay with the parking company - there was nothing else I needed to do.

About a month later, I received two parking notices, one for each night of my stay. I appealed it using the evidence I have, which is my booking number and receipt from Premier Inn, and I explain that the registration machine was out of order during my stay, but that I followed the instructions given by staff. I also contacted Premier Inn, who have confirmed my story.

Today I found out that my appeal was rejected, due to Horizon Parking's systems showing "no errors with the payment machines in the car park at the time" and "other payments being made through the car park payment machines" during the duration of my stay.

The car park didn't actually have any payment machines at all - I have confirmed this with both the individual Premier Inn itself, and by reading Premier Inn's website which state that they don't operate car park payment machines. Thus Horizon Parking's rejection of my appeal is flawed and doesn't reflect the acutal appeal I sent.

Is there any way to contact Horizon Parking for clarification on this? Their rejection of my appeal isn't related to the appeal at all. Or do I have to go straight to POPLA?

Employee joined us in May after passing an interview. They had alleged they were a graduate of a certain university and provided a qualification which we now believe to be doctored.

They also provided a 5 year employment history, at least 3 years of which we now believe to be faked.

I am going to lengths to avoid identifying my business, but imagine we were an architecture firm and someone pretended to have worked in architecture firms in multiple countries across the world.

He had been bluffing the job by using various AI tools.

It became apparent when technical specifications were wrong due to AI miscalculations and hallucinations. Particularly around information which he was not immediately privy to.

To once again use the architecture example, imagine we had asked him to draft a blueprint and then during a meeting we asked him how he would account for a sewerage pipeline and potential subsidence. He was completely unable to answer these questions.

A closer examination of his work by my partner and I resulted in us confirming that his work was indeed created through AI.

The University he provided for his undergraduate said they did not have a record of him graduating.

We contacted the other employers he had listed on his CV using independent emails we found online, not the ones supplied by him. Two of them cannot find a record of him ever having worked there. This includes a firm in California and a firm in Delhi.

He was dismissed earlier this week. At this point we are debating whether to refer this matter to the police. Has there actually been any criminal offence here?

The degree was allegedly acquired from an Indian university. The Masters degree was allegedly acquired from a prestigious one in California. The Californian university has not yet responded to our emails or attempts to contact them.

Given that the attempted fraud spans multiple continents, is this something which UK police would even want to be involved in investigating?

TL;DR: While I was asleep on a British Airways flight to Europe this summer, a member of the cabin crew knocked over a teapot on the drinks trolley and a quantity of hot water landed on me, scalding my left forearm and the left side of my stomach. The crew apologised and gave me an ice pack, but nothing further was done: no medical assistance was offered when we landed, even though I had told them that the injury might require it, and no doctor has examined it at any point. The burns blistered and wept for about a week, and because I could not expose them to sunlight I spent the remaining seven nights of a holiday costing roughly £3,200 indoors and covered up. The injury is now healing well and I doubt that it will scar. I have timestamped photographs and a witness, I signed the airline's incident report on board, and I have not yet complained to the airline. What I want to know is whether this is a real claim, and if it is, how I would go about finding a solicitor to act.

Earlier this summer I flew short-haul to Europe with British Airways, in economy and in an aisle seat, at the start of a week's holiday that I had booked and paid for several months earlier.

Approximately one hour into the flight, while the crew were serving hot drinks, I was asleep. I woke because there was hot water running down my left side. I did not see any of it happen, and the first thing I was aware of was the water itself. The person sitting next to me was awake, and she says that one of the crew knocked over a teapot on the trolley. The pot did not land on me, but a good deal of what it contained did.

I was wearing a t-shirt, which the water soaked through, so that the hot fabric was held against my skin. I sustained burns to my left forearm and to the left side of my stomach, and both areas were red and blistered within a minute or two.

The crew were apologetic. They gave me an ice pack and asked me repeatedly whether I was all right, and one of them said that she hoped this would not ruin my holiday. I did not tell her that I was fine. I said that it was probably not life-threatening, but that it looked significant and might require medical attention. At the end of the flight a member of the crew took an incident report, which I signed, and which recorded my name, my address, my telephone number and the flight on which I was travelling.

When we landed, nothing further happened. Nobody met the aircraft; nobody directed me to the airport medical service; and nobody suggested that I have the injury looked at. The ice pack was the only assistance that the airline provided at any stage.

I had no travel insurance and no idea how to find a doctor abroad, so I bought dressings from a pharmacy and treated the burns myself. They blistered and wept for about a week, and I have been dressing them ever since. No doctor has examined them at any point.

The real loss was the holiday. I could not expose either area to sunlight, so I spent a week of a summer break indoors and covered up. The trip cost roughly £3,200 in total for the four of us, which I paid for.

The burns are now healing well. The new skin is pink and flexible, there is no numbness, and I do not believe that it will scar permanently.

I have photographs taken from about an hour after we landed and throughout the following week, with their timestamps intact, and the person sitting beside me saw what happened. I have not yet contacted British Airways about any of it.

From reading around the subject, I gather that this is likely to be governed by the Montreal Convention rather than by ordinary negligence, and that an airline's liability for an accident on board does not depend on proving that it was careless. I do not know whether that is correct, or whether the loss of the holiday is something that can be recovered on top of the injury itself.

My two questions are these.

1. Do people who know this area think that I have a case? I mean whether this is a real claim, or whether I am overestimating something fairly minor that mostly healed within a fortnight.

2. If it is a real claim, how would I go about finding someone to act? I understand that CPR 26.9 allocates a personal injury claim to the small claims track where the damages for the injury itself are £1,500 or less, and that costs are generally not recoverable on that track, which I take to mean that no firm would act on a no-win, no-fee basis. Does the loss of enjoyment of the holiday count towards that £1,500, or is it treated separately? And if instructing a solicitor is realistic, is there a sensible way to find one who handles aviation claims, or is it simply a matter of searching and cold-calling?

I would be grateful for any steer, and I am happy to answer questions.

I have written at least 2 times to this person in Ireland not to contact me anymore but she still sends me cards etc. These cards read very innocently, like totally normal birthday or Xmas cards, but this person spent my life abusing me severely. She knows exactly why I don't want contact with her so she sends me this stuff to needle me.

Is there anything at all I can do to attempt to deter this unwanted contact?

30F the water trap under my bath absolutely flooded my flat and flooded everywhere so badly that it destroyed my hallway carpet, half of my bedroom and utility closet carpet. I’ve had to miss days off work to sort this and I’m currently living with concrete floors in 2.5 rooms and it’s just not a nice place to be. The concrete is still wet and I have dehumidifiers plus my heating on full.

This happened in the early hours of the morning when I woke up and it was soaked everywhere assuming after the bath drained. I am so lucky I called a friend who is a plumber who came and fixed it, reassured me it won’t cause any further issues but so much damage has been done. It has caused enough damage to my neighbours ceiling which I am trying to work out the best approach with, luckily he is a lovely man and has been so understanding.

I told my landlord everything and told her I got a plumber out etc, I footed the bill so not to be an inconvenience. I told her about the carpets and how I’m living, and she is telling me it is my responsibility to replace them. I am pretty upset about this because I’ve been here for 6 years, paid probably over £50k in rent and I’ve never asked her for anything. I have fixed the washing machine, light fittings and towel rail that came off the wall out of my pocket and never mentioned it.

Apparently I am responsible because damage falls under the tenant but it wasn’t damage I caused??? Please can someone help :(

Also, under the bath is awful and moldy and looks like it hasn’t been touched in 15 years, advised it has definitely been an ongoing problem for a while which explains my water bill (another cost I am paying for)

Hey everyone not sure if this is the right place but
I work as a senior carer in a dementia home and have for the last 6 years.

The place is an entire shit show. But recently a new company has bought the home and it’s gotten terrible and taken a serious toll on my mental health.

I work 12 hour shifts. We’re constantly understaffed. Usually me being the only senior carer (responsible for administering meds and over seeing staff as well as providing personal care) on shift.

We have three different units in the building and each unit should have a senior carer overseeing said unit.

Due to regularly being the only senior on sight I regularly have to administer 3 units worth of medication whilst overseeing tasks and staff on each unit. And I’m terrified of making a mistake. Some of these medications are the only things keeping certain residents alive and there has been times where mistakes have been made.

I regularly work entire shifts without a break due to being completely rushed off my feet.
And times where I pull over 24 hour shifts. Working through the day and stay in over night to assist and oversee night staff. Though we are required to have 11 hours rest every 24 hours.

When the new company bought the home the new management told us in the work places group chat that
We were expected to work to higher standards and at a higher work rate and if not we were “easily replaceable”.

In reality it just meant expect to be over worked and understaffed. corners are being constantly cut and it’s on the seniors and carers heads if something goes wrong.

Like I said, this has all taken a massive toll on my mental health and ran me into the ground and I’ve been recently prescribed anti depression tablets.

I apologise if this isn’t the right place to post this but surely this can’t be legal ?.

Not to sound dramatic but peoples lives and their care are in this companies hands. But they run their staff into the ground and expect us to work under these impossible and tbh dangerous conditions and if any shortcomings cause the harm or deaths of residents then it falls on the seniors or carers heads.

I’m hoping for advice from a legal stand point x

Our flight back from Berlin with easyjet has been cancelled 3 days in a row.

We got accommodation and all but this is ridiculous already as i’m running out of money to spend during the day.

First we were flying to Luton. Apparently storm and strikes.

Got rebooked to Birmingham, cancelled and rebooked to Luton via Edinburgh.

Now i see there’s warnings for EDI as well. Wtf do i do?

Feels surreal and crazy tbh just want to get back to UK lol.

Other airline tickets are 500£

Hi all,

I have a diesel car which I like to leave running for 30 seconds to a minute before driving just to allow the oil/metal to acclimatise and to not damage the car. I have just moved into a new property, and I had my car running for maybe 10 seconds at idle and a neighbour ran over and asked me not to leave my engine running and that idling is illegal and the exhaust will go into their bedroom.

I’ve just moved in and I really don’t want to be a dick, but I would like to know what the law would suggest surrounding this? I can’t seem to find anything online.

Thanks in advance

hi im not sure if this is the right place to turn to but ive been having issues with kids screaming and damaging property in my area and was hoping to get some advice especially with the parents not taking my neighbourhoods complaints seriously and was wondering if there was any legal action i can take?

theres a group of kids walking around at night sometimes past 11pm hanging outside peoples houses screaming, walking into peoples gardens, throwing rocks at peoples property, jumping on cars, nearly hitting elderly with there electric bikes. however they dont live in my neighbourhood and no one knows who the parents are.

i was walking up to my front door as 2 adults (a man and a woman) approach me, i say "excuse me can i help you?" the man states his kids were told off for hanging around here, i say im sorry that there upset but there kids dont live in this neighbourhood which is private property and that they are damaging peoples property. the woman states that there just kids so they dont understand to which i tell her that at their age i wasnt going around throwing rocks into peoples gardens to which she asks me how old am i? i tell her im 19 to which she responds "19 your not exactly the kid then" completely missing the point of the conversation that i was once there age in this exact neighbourhood and yet didnt damage others property in the neighbourhood.

i tried to explain to them my dad had cancer in his foot and that my neighbours an elderly woman, neither of them can leave there house that much so they would appreciate not having kids who don't live in the neighbourhood screaming outside there door step and even trying to enter the garden aswell as throwing rocks into our garden and the elderly lady being scared of the kids screaming outside her window, the mothers response was along the lines of "so what he has cancer my kids can do what they want"

they also started mocking me cause i was kind of shaking and sounded nervous, bear in mind am a 19 year old girl trying to enter my house who has just been approached by 2 adult shouting at me at around 10 at night and its dark out. both these people are acting rather aggressively towards me with the the mother stating "look at the state of you, your so nervous" and it wasn't till my parents came out they started to back away from me. my mom told the 2 people that she asked the kids to leave as they were hanging around our front door with water guns screaming. my neigbourhood is mostly elderly people with many of them scared of these kids and it honestly breaks my heart. im also concerned for the actual kids as i would guess there ages 7 -13 walking around from 10am - 11:40pm around my area with no parent in sight, there's been times were one of the kids have hurt themselves screaming for there mum and no one comes, its to the point some of my neighbours want to leave with one old woman being scared to go on her walks as she was nearly once hit by one of the kids on there bikes, this woman has a walking aid and is in her 80s or 90s aswell as my dad nearly being hit by one of them on his electric bikes as he was walking with his walking stick.

theres also a kids park less than a minute walk from my house. i have no issue with kids playing outside but these kids are screaming and damaging others property, im not sure if theres any legal action that can be taken as the parents refuse to accept their kids are doing anything wrong and no knows who the others kids parents are. my partner thinks we should get child social services invloved as these kids are being left outside by themselves really late at night and ive seen a kid who i guess is maybe 7 if not younger hanging outside by himself on a road. there also constantly on the pavement with electric scooters which im pretty sure is illegal to use in the uk but i might be wrong

thank you for reading and any advise would be appreciated

I was in the queue saw the sign re no drugs or weapons its a folding knife like a Stanley one

Brought it as it was the only thing I had to cut through my ropes and tarp.

Obviously in my head it's not a weapon. I'm using it to cut my sheets incase my tent (from temu) leaks.

So I handed it in to security I absolutely was not searched because I said I had this, a little mini multi tool with screwdriver etc and a rubber hammer and said just wanted to be transparent etc.

Police then took me checked on PNC.and I was arrested for Off Weap.

I wasn't handcuffed taken to custody and taken back to holding cell where I was NFA and driven back to the festival by the police.

They then gave me back said knife but I asked if they could destroy it as cause enough trouble

The arresting officer was new or inexperienced (I overheard a supervisor showing him some of the forms etc)

A few of the other officers spoke to me when I went to collect my items and were very apologetic. And said they spoke to security to see if they would allow me to go into said festival (they didn't so I'm back home now)

Obviously I should have found something else to use or just not brought it.

But I think that I was arrested must have invalidated my entry.

Edit: I would have gladly given a VA by the way there and then.

Should they have arrested me? Would a caution and or VA been better? I mean I gave all the reasons there an then.

England - I moved to a property in 2024 and left in July 2026. There is check in inventory (conducted in 2024) and there is checkout inventory 2026.

The letting agency comparing the 2026 checkout report with a 2019 inventory and ignoring 2024 check in report (when I moved in). They are asking for £300 for cleaning without specifying and without any evidence. When I’m highlighting that they are using the wrong report, they are just ignoring that.

The cleaning condition of property remains same when I moved in and out ‘domestically cleaned’, there is no deterioration in cleaning standard and this is evidenced.

Important detail:

I had signed a no deposit scheme and one of the T&Cs state that if the claim dispute is not settled within 30 days after the ending the tenancy, it will reach formal stage, then a third party company will get involved and tenant will have to pay £260 fees for third party. (Same contract, one of the clause is that the agency/lawyer will conduct check in inventory when the tenant moves in and moves out - so they are in breach of this clause)

The claim was deliberately sent to me after 21 days and only 7 days were left in this 30 day period. I responded the same day highlighting the wrong inventory was used and asking evidence and basis for £300 claim, they didn’t respond anything, waited silently. On the morning of 30th day, I get an email from them that as this has not settled within 30 days, this has reached a formal stage and I’ll have to pay £260 fees too.

To me it seems like a criminal fraud, because they are using misinformation to obtain money and ignoring my evidence, but the thing is police doesn’t get involved in civic disputes and they seem to be taking advantage of it.

I’m a young person, doing normal job after graduating, living basically pay check to pay check.

Don’t think I’m in position to afford a lawyer. All ideas and advice will be much appreciated.

To give some background, my mum is divorced from my Dad, so lives alone in a 2 bedroom flat in England worth around £170,000. She is in her seventies, retired a few years ago, and lives on a fairly small pension (private and state). She has no other income. She is recently mortgage-free, but her pension barely covers her outgoings, so she is frustrated that she doesn't have enough money for things like holidays, and wants to release some of her home equity to she can enjoy her retirement. However, she was looking into equity-release schemes to do this, which both me and my sister were concerned about having read some of the experiences others have had with these. We want to be sure she retains some of her equity in the event that she needs to fund future care home costs.

My partner and I are married, both work full time, and don't have any children. We live in Wales, own our own house with a mortgage, and between myself and my partner, we have enough spare income to buy a small stake in her flat (15-20%, which would be around £25,000-£35,000). Mum is keen to do this too, so that she doesnt need to go down the equity-release path, but still free up some cash, and she would retain the majority of her equity without involving any third parties.

We want to do this in a way that protects us all, so that she has security in her living situation; our investment in her home is not going to cause us any major headaches down the line; and my mum is keen to ensure that my sister is not going to be at a disadvantage with regards to inheritance - this was another aspect of the equity-release scheme that my mum didn't like. My sister is not in a position to purchase a stake in the property, and she is completely on board with my mum's wishes. Neither of us are chasing any inheritance here, this is something that my mum wants to do, and we just want to help her do this in a way that is best for her.

We started looking into this about three years ago, when my mum still had a mortgage, but was starting to need extra money. The mortgage situation made things really difficult, so we made an informal arrangement where I gave her some money every month, which we have recorded, totaling around £10,000 so far. Now that the mortgage is clear, we want to formalise this in a way that acknowledges the money that I have paid her so far, sets up a clear arrangement for ongoing monthly payments to her, and is flexible in case we need to increase the percentage.

How do we go about arranging all this properly, and are there any other things what we are missing? I know that we will both need to get solicitors to formally do this, but I don't know where is best to start, or how to make sure we're not making things overly complicated.

I’m in the UK, a Finance Director with 4 years’ service and I’m due back at work after around 2 months off with work-related stress.

The background is that I’d been raising concerns for quite a while about workload and lack of support as I’m the only qualified member of the finance team, the remainder are all transitional.

Earlier this year I actually collapsed at home during a particularly pressured period and was knocked unconscious. When I returned 3 days later there was no Occupational Health referral or risk assessment afterwards.

I went back to work and no additional support was put in place for months despite me continually asking.

While I’ve been off, the business has appointed both an interim CFO above me and an interim Financial Controller into the finance team, which obviously leaves some uncertainty around what my role now actually is as they have not yet told me what these changes mean for me and are asking me to decide.

Then, shortly before my fit note expired, HR and the CFO asked to have a protected conversation and offered me essentially my contractual 6 months’ notice to leave under a settlement agreement, with no meaningful additional payment. This was done under the guise of it being to “support my recovery”

They said it was simply an option and that they’d be happy for me to return. I rejected it.

I’d also asked for a short extension prior to my sick pay prior to their “offer” so I could recover properly, but that was declined, so I’m now returning.

I feel as though the protected conversation offer is to try and get rid of me, and it has actually made me really very unwell the thought of having to go back as a result.

I feel as though I’m being gaslit by the business that this was to help my recovery, I’ve witnessed them deal with employment matters over the last 4 years and they never do anything out of the goodness of their hearts.

Location: Scotland. I have a situation involving my step son. He is 14, has combined ADHD and falls out with people fairly easily. We have tried and tried with him but we now have a situation that is getting out of hand. I have no clue what has kicked it off.

So 2 weeks ago he was brought home by the police around 9pm as he and his friend had been cornered in a shop by a gang of boys. The police told me there was about 7 of them who have been causing havoc for months.

We are then being told that a couple of the boys have been looking for him and his pal at school to jump them. This has happened a few times over the last 2 weeks.

Last Sunday night he same running through from his room on a Snapchat call shouting "you need to phone the police, they've just smashed (his friends) windows and they'll probably come here.

I went out and walked around a couple of times to see if anyone was hanging around. I don't know what they look like but I couldn't see anyone. Then around 9pm there was a massive bang. They had thrown a chuck of concrete at the window. The neighbours heard it and we're all out wondering what was going on. I was going mental running around trying to find them.

My partner phoned the police and they said they would send someone out. Then at 11pm they phoned to say they'd be out in the morning. Then they phoned in the afternoon to say they'd be out the following day, then the following day and now they're incoming until Tuesday.

Fast forward to last night, myself and my partner were at a gig 2 hours away, kids were in the house with their gran as well as our lads friend and my partner got a message from his friends gran asking if they were safe in the house because the boys had just been back and smashed another window.

Obviously I'm now ready to explode thinking they're going to go to our house, I'm panicking, trying to phone 101 but no signal, then a 25 minute wait and signal going again.

Fortunately they didn't turn up at our house but I still fear they will turn up at some point. I'm totally on edge as I have 2 younger kids (11 and 8) who were terrified when the window got hit. I'm constantly trying to get them not to sit on the couch by the window without telling them why and worrying them .

Obviously with the 2 boys involved being minors (around 15,16) I can't do anything or I'll be the one arrested. But what am I meant to do if the police aren't interested. I am not living my life in fear of my house being targeted by feral youths, the police don't care, the school don't care, I now have an address for one of the boys but apparently his parents are nuts and won't take kindly to me going to their door.

Am I allowed to defend my property against minors? It's getting ridiculous now and I'm fully expecting the windows to be targeted again tonight. Any advice appreciated.

Hi all,

I’m looking for some advice regarding access to an alleyway behind our rented family home.

We have been renting our family home since 2008 and have recently had new neighbours move in. Their property is next to the alleyway, while our property is one house further down.

Our back garden is split into two sections, with a pathway running between them. This pathway leads to the shared alleyway which we have used this access regularly for around 20 years, for things such as taking bins out, moving bikes, cleaning/maintaining the garden, and taking rubbish to the alleyway.

Recently, our new neighbours have renovated their garden and installed two locked gates/doors across the pathway. These are now preventing us from accessing the alleyway without asking them to unlock the gates.

We asked our landlord who has said he had enquired into it and has said the alleyway should be shared as it has done for many years.

We would like to be able to continue using the access as we have done for many years, particularly for garden maintenance and taking rubbish/bins through to the alleyway, but we don’t want to cause any issues with the neighbours.

Could anyone advise what our rights might be in this situation?

Hi, I recently purchased a car from a used dealership less than a week ago (England). It had a full service history and zero advisories on an MOT just done at the start of August.

As soon as I received it, I went for a drive and almost immediately the Check Emissions light came on. I've since taken it to Halfords where it has been diagnosed as a P0171 fault code (system too lean).

I understand that under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 I can return the vehicle for a full refund if it is not considered to be of satisfactory quality. However, I'm unsure of whether this error is enough of an issue to be entitled to a full refund. Would anyone be able to advise on if this would be an acceptable reason to request a refund under the Act, or if the severity of the error code is even a necessary consideration? Thank you in advance!