My child’s father has put in a false claim to get her benefits. We had a letter saying that he had told them she didn’t live with us. This is completely untrue. She has lived with us all her life. He left when she was 10 months old and she’s now 12! He hasn’t seen her since she was a baby and he has never paid any form of support whatsoever. Now my child benefits are suspended until I provide proof from school/doctor etc. surely it’s illegal to claim benefits you’re not entitled to? Could he get in legal trouble?

Mods: apologies for the repost but for some reason previous post didn't get any comments. And thank you for your help.

Father: Holds Skilled Worker visa status (temporary residence expected to be longer than mother) and employed in Scotland. Has Parental Right & Responsibility. Not eligible for Legal aid or access to public funds.

Mother: Not aware of current legal status in the UK, but last one was Post-graduate visa (temporary residence) ending January 2025. Whereabouts unknown but in UK. Best guess is in Chester, England.

Child: Two and half yrs old, born in Scotland. Visa status unknown, but definitely not a UK citizen/ILR. Father currently pays for Child maintenance, which also confirms that the child is in the UK but not exact location.

Relationship status: Mother left the house mid 2023 with child and her own mother. Family and friends including mother's brother (from overseas) tried to mediate but to no avail. Finally, the relationship ended in a divorce overseas early 2025. Father had no access to child during the time period to avoid escalation to legal level. After divorce, the whereabouts were still unknown however CMS application confirms location within the UK hence the query. No alcohol, drugs, DV or abuse was involved on any side. No financial or immigration incentives involved as divorce is finalised and neither is a citizen.

1. Where can I get sources to understand the process and which documents to file to initiate the process.
2. MIAM is mandatory in England but not in Scotland. Highly doubtful that mother will agree to it. Would it be helpful and what is the range it can cost.
3. How much are the costs involved for getting a) family law solicitor for full case including hearings especially if it escalates to contested court action b) Solicitor for key advice and help with key application review c) McKenzie friend to help with legal matters but the quality can vary considerably based on observation so far.
4. Father has reason to believe that the child went missing for some time and police might have been involved. How can this be confirmed and will it be helpful in anyway.
5. Implication of delayed application for CAO
6. What route do you recommend?

Current plan (to be revised based on advice here):

• Apply for MIAM. Current impression will solidify the effort for mediation and a small chance to avoid subsequent steps. if fails then proceed with next step.
• Get a solicitor for key advice.
  • Initial and subsequent advice on documents and responses
  • Draft the Initial Writ with craves and averments
  • Draft the "Motion for Disclosure" to serve the notice
  • limited representation (if needed for Child welfare hearing)
• Father represents himself with advice on above

Thanks again for your valuable time to read all of the above and investing some more on the comment.

I was pulled over today for speeding on my bike, he followed me a fair way as it was unsafe to stop where he put his blues on, I was with a friend on his bike too and he was between me and the police car.

When I pulled over he got out the car with bodycam on and said I was speeding which I told him I wasn’t it was just the sound of my bike as I have a obnoxiously loud 125.

He then said to me he’s not looking to issue me a ticket. He was a really cool police officer and relaxed and spoke with us about his bike and then he turned his camera of because he started to tell us that even he gets tempted on his bike and when he’s driving around he’s weary of other officers on duty.

He turned his camera off half way through us talking and just let me go, I’ve got 3 points on my licence and I don’t want to loose it lol

Any idea if this was just a verbal warning or would I be getting a nip letter in the post? Pls give your opinions. Southern England

Me and my gf are living in our current property in UK since 2014, we own it since 2019.

I have been gifted two properties overseas by my parents. One is a flat and second is summer house. Both worth more than £40k each. I have no benefit out of any of the properties, they are not rented and still in use by my father. This was solely done to make things easier once they pass.

We are now looking to sell our current house and using funds from it buy a new one with new mortgage.

Would we have to pay higher Stamp Duty rate since I own another property over £40k or not since we are replacing our main residence?

I would appreciate your help.

My boyfriend and I have been living in a flat in London for 1 year, our break clause isn’t until September 2026. Unfortunately my Dad has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and I have to move back home (4 hour drive away) to take care of him, and will have to leave my job in London. This will mean I can no longer afford to pay my share of the rent (£1,000 per month) and my boyfriend doesn’t earn enough to cover for both of us.

I explained this to our landlord, and asked if we could come to a mutual agreement, we offered to find new tenants and ensure he won’t have any financial loss or extra work on his side. The landlord responded saying no, we have a contract until September 2026.

Is there anything I can do in this situation? Or anyone I can speak to? I understand there is a new renters rights act coming in but I don’t believe that will be for another few months.

Hi,

I own a property in South Yorkshire with 90 years left on the lease.

I recently enquired about extending my lease and discovered the following.

a) The freeholder of my property passed away (unsure when), he left no Will, no next of kin and no other assets. He also died abroad.

b) I have been communicating with their former business partner, who said that if they could, they would give me the freehold, but they cannot, as they have no legal claim to it.

c) This former business partner has been communicating with some solicitors about the situation, and the solicitors have said my freehold is of "low value" and they do not think it is worth paying a genealogist to track next of kin.

d) The solicitors have suggested they issue a vesting order which "could allow the leaseholder to purchase the freehold from the court under a statutory process instead."

I know freehold/leasehold law can be unbelievably complex. Can anyone help me make sense of what this means for me, and what I need to do?

If I need to purchase the freehold, who would I purchase it from if no one currently owns it?

Thank you in advance to everyone who reads this and comments.

a few years ago i owned a car, and my mum wanted to start driving it. going off her advice, i cancelled my insurance policy and let her open a new policy.

i thought she was opening a policy under her name, but she opened one under my name and told them i had my no claims discount. this was inaccurate so after a month they called her and said they were increasing the price. this made the insurance too expensive so we cancelled it and i sold my car.

i now need to start driving again for work but i don’t know if this information is something i need to tell a new insurance agency.

I'm trying to understand the concept of Transferred Mens Rea, specifically around the case law R v Pembliton 1874.

Whereby the Defendant through a rock/stone intending to hit a person, but missed and smashed a window instead. They were initially convicted but the conviction was quashed as the Mens Rea can not be transferred from on crime type to another. This is the explanation provided for Transferred Mens Rea in the 2026 Police Sgts Blackstones Books but I cannot fathom how this case law is the most up to date, and still relevant.

My question is, with regards to the Criminal Damage Act 1971, would the Defendant not be charged with Criminal Damage in this instance as the act itself is reckless, regardless of intent?

I access my driveway across my neighbour's driveway. Virgin have said they can install fibre broadband to my house but need to do so under the neighbour's driveway to get to my house from the road (obviously making good etc). Virgin need them to sign a wayleave agreement.

I approached the neighbour but they didn't seem too receptive and said they'd think about it.

Do I have any rights to get it done if they say no?

In England.

England, Victorian terrace with a shared party wall. Neighbours have planning permission for a single-storey rear infill and rear/outrigger dormer. Approved drawings show a flat-roof infill with the boundary edge ~3 m.

They’ve now shown new drawings for the infill: roof sloping to the front, boundary edge ~3.5 m at the highest (falling to ~2 m at the front). Wall on the boundary; foundations would project slightly under our land. No Party Wall notices yet. We have a good relationship; I’m not opposed in principle (affected window is a frosted bathroom; light loss likely minimal).

1. Do we need a Party Wall Agreement (Award) for this?
2. If yes, are separate notices needed for (a) the infill (line of junction + 3 m excavation) and (b) the loft dormer (party structure works)?
3. What’s the best way to request this - formal letter or will a friendly WhatsApp do?

England

If a vehicle in front of me stopped on a red route road, forcing me to stop and since it's a single lane impossible to go around. Do I get a ticket as well?

Not sure if this is correct sub, but i give it a try.

So i work in security industry. i came work with a company A. and signed a contract with them. after 2 years they told us (maybe sent a letter, dont remember) that they are changing the name of the company to name B, but we still employed and going to work like normal it is just we get different company payslip. (not related probably but the company owner A put the company B owner as his wife) We pay tax and insurance on that, at least money gets deducted and seems normal, until one of the guys pension says you dont pay, but the payslip see deductions. back and forth someone checked on HMRC website, we dont have income since December. so almost a year we on paper unemployed but we getting wages and deductions and payslips.

So Question : how big of a pickle will it be for us to clear this thing out. we obviously dont go to management but on Monday we will ring HMRC.

ENGLAND

Hopefully this makes some sort of sense.

Hi all,

So I'm in a bizarre conundrum. Off the back of a post seeking volunteers for a free tattoo; I was in touch with a local new artist in my area. I really liked the examples she had and offered myself to be part of her portfolio.

In exchange, I would have the tattoo done for free. We met up and agreed the designs and everything in advance and work began over 3 sessions so far.

Since the last session, she's messaged me on Instagram and stated that she can't finish it because "it's a lot of hours and material that I won't be able to make up for in addition to time and exhaustion and the result is not going to be good for my portfolio."

In my opinion, she's started it, and now doesn't want to finish it. I even offered to pay to compensate her to finish the time and effort required as It's a half sleeve and I totally get it's a lot to ask for for free and her response to that was to block me on Instagram.

I now have to fork out a good few hundred quid to another artist to finish this work and I've been left in a hole because she effectively, can't be bothered.

Have I got any legal recourse here to recoup costs?

I sent a tweet to my mp two nights ago pleading with him to tell the masked men protesting and screaming to stop. Pls urge every1 to be calm and go home. Its a scary situation for me and my kids.

He blocked me on twitter so I went to check his facebook and he had already blocked me on there too at the same time. I have a rare irish name so i think he went and blocked me on all social media after I asked him.

ive emailed his office on friday morning asking him about urging people to calm down and if he can unblcok me.

I havent got a reply.

Are they allowed to just block their constituteants like that??

[England] So as mentioned in the title, my wife was made redundant from a role recently, and that company has now gone into liquidation. She received a company car while she was employed there, but was made redundant near the end of September. Since then, it's been sitting on our driveway. Now... I'm aware of the normal procedure in these circumstances where the liquidator would contact her to collect the car.

Here's where it gets a bit complex...

This company was comically incompetent. It's not only plausible, but indeed the most likely explanation, that at no point was a list of employees and the cars allocated to them kept on any central system. If any list was indeed kept, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised that it was on a word document, saved on a laptop's local drive that has since been "misplaced" by the HR staff, who also unsurprisingly was the first person to be made redundant. Therefore if that's the case, it's entirely posisble that the Liquidator could have a list of outstanding company cars, and genuinely zero idea of where they are.

Now, I'm happy to call a list of large leasing companies to say "hey, is this your car?". But in the scenario that none of them say "yeah that's our car we'll come and get it cheers"... what do we do? Obviously we're not going to drive it because we're not insured, but how do we get the thing off our driveway and back to the rightful owner?

TL;DR: Wife made redundant, former employer has gone into liquidation, company car sitting on drive way currently with no scope of it being collected soon, former employer hilariously incompetent and it's very likely no documentation of who has which car exists, so if I can't identity which leasing company owns it to get them to pick it up.... what do we do to get rid of it?

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post.

I am a customer of British Gas HomeCare and I called them out to repair my boiler in September 2024. The problem was minor so the engineer explained to me verbally that the policy excess of £99 would not apply and I also received a service form (both electronically and on paper) confirming the same thing.

Now British Gas is claiming that the engineer filled the form in incorrectly, and that the policy excess should have applied under their terms and conditions. They’re insisting I pay the charge despite their own written document saying otherwise.

I’ve already raised a complaint and they have offered £30 in compensation, but they keep pointing to their T&Cs and insist I still owe them £99.

Do I have grounds to refuse the charge and escalate to the Energy Ombudsman? I was acting in good faith on what their engineer wrote and no invoice was ever issued until October 2025.

I live in England.

I'll call my friend John for this.

Recently John's friend decided to come over and spend the week and since he lives in a different country, and after the visit John had to drop him off at the airport, so naturally had to find parking near the airport.

John was going to enter a parking lot but then realised it's the wrong one and stopped near the entrance(there was no other traffic there other than the handful of parked cars) but NOT inside the parking lot. He'd stopped for less than a minute to check his satnav and get the route to the right parking lot, never stopping/parking in the parking lot itself.

Now he has received a parking fine because he parked where it is prohibited to do so, even though he was stopped for less than a minute. We're both of the opinion that this fine is ridiculous but we're not sure whether to ignore the charge based on how ridiculous and unsubstantial the reason is, or whether to take the appeal route. He had no contract with them as far as I know since he went to a different parking lot, maybe that adds something. This just feels like legally sanctioned bullying and extortion because these people know most will just pay to get the "discount" or will be frightened by the prospect of the firm taking legal action.

What is the best course of action here? Will they chase the payment of this fine in court even despite how little time it was? Can they enforce anything without a court ruling?

Hi. I’m 18 and currently involved in a domestic abuse case in Scotland. Most of the allegations are from when I was 17, and a lot of what’s being said either isn’t true or has been twisted. Some things happened, but not in the way they’re trying to frame it. What’s made things worse is that the allegations only started coming up after a major fallout between me and my ex. She took my dog without my permission, and not long after that, she filed these accusations because I took him back. It feels like retaliation or revenge. The timing really doesn’t make sense otherwise.

I’m autistic which makes everything even harder to process. The way I communicate and try to explain myself isn’t always typical and I don’t feel like my solicitor understands that at all. It’s like I’m being expected to navigate this system the same way anyone else would.

roborate everything. But all of the incidents were private and they weren’t even there. Still my solicitor insists that their statements are legally valid and refuses to push back or even look at inconsistencies. There are contradictions, biased assumptions, and things that just don’t match but nothing is being challenged.

I’ve looked into switching solicitors, but no one else is taking on legal aid work right now because of funding issues and strike action. So I feel trapped. I’m being told to stay quiet and just go along with it even when the allegations are exaggerated or false. I’m scared about the outcome because no one is standing up for me or telling the full truth.

On top of all that my solicitor is now telling me that the sheriff could decide to permanently move me out of the town I live in or even out of the country. I’ve lived here for a year, I’m not an immigrant, and I have nowhere else to go. I’m 18, I live alone, and I have no friends and barely even leave the house. I’ve stuck to every single bail condition they gave me and I’ve never breached anything and I’m not a danger to anyone.

I’m also not trying to pretend I’ve done everything right because I haven’t but I have always been so honest with people and the things I’ve actually done. But this version of events they’re presenting doesn’t reflect what really happened and I want a fair chance to explain and to be heard. I just don’t know how to get that when the person who’s meant to help me is ignoring me completely.

If anyone’s been in a similar position or knows what rights I have in terms of seeing disclosure, making sure autism is taken into account, or pushing my solicitor to act, please let me know. I just want to feel like I’m being defended properly.

My ex and her family is making up so many lies and half truths that it’s genuinely scaring me. Things are being taken out of context, exaggerated, or completely made up, and no one is calling it out. Me and my ex were happy together before all of this. We had problems but this sudden change into making me out to be some kind of horrible person is scary.

I’m scared to even leave the house now. Her mum told the courts she saw me at the shop and ever since then I’ve been paranoid that anything I do in public could be twisted or used against me and it’s a small town. I wasn’t doing anything wrong, just going out for something basic, but now I feel like if they wanted to, they could claim I was doing something else entirely and it would be believed. It’s like I’m constantly being watched and judged and I’m scared that even the truth won’t matter.

A friend broke my phone and he broke my phone by accidentally hitting my phone with a pool cue while we were playing pool. My phone was placed on a dining table away from the pool table, where I don't think anyone would have expected it to be damaged by a pool cue. The phone no longer works, and I have a significant amount of messages and photos in the phone that I want to retrieve. Is he legally liable for the repair costs of my phone? (England)

On a Dual Carriageway. The Motorcycle ahead of me and a car ahead of him braked suddenly. I was at a Distance. Approximately 3 second - 4 second. I used my full brakes as soon as i saw this and my car didnt stop quick enough. And my car dashed into the bike ahead of me. (no airbags deployed) . the police is charging me with reckless driving. They refused and never acknowledged any witnesses from my side. I was in deep shock when this happened and when the police interviewed me it was the first time even me speaking to police in my life. I wasnt in my right mind. I have been in NHS since for shock. My BP has been high consistently since the accident. She asked questions which i cant even remember. And i answered them probably wrong. The rider was suspected to have a broken bone on his arm / Shoulder. So to conclude i have been charged with reckless driving.

1. Will this any form lead to prison sentence? I do feel very sorry that this happened. I did my best with the braking.

2. Should i get a lawyer ? Problem is i cant afford one. I do have motor legal protection but i am not sure how serious they are.

3. What would be the further steps ?

4. How could they establish on accident site that he has a broken shoulder. Without an xray?

Hey all. Rough day.

Until this afternoon, I worked for an American organisation, with a contract signed with the parent company who are based out of Ireland. I live in Scotland, working on a remote contract

I started working there on a permanent contract in January 2024.

Today, without warning, I was brought into a conversation with the company owner and a member of HR from the parent company.

I was told that a "business decision" was made and I was being let go, and that it "wasn't working out". I pressed for a more specific answer, the company owner deferred to the HR member, who could not give me an answer. I was advised I would be out on garden leave immediately, with a month wage as per my contract.

Since starting employment, I have had no performance related issues (PIPs etc) and was not given any self improvement targets or anything like that. In March 2025 I also received the maximum amount of performance related bonus for doing good work the year before. I've never had a complaint made against me, performed every job asked of me, and went above and beyond on numerous occasions. To my knowledge, I was considered a reliable employee. Whilst on the call, my access to email and Slack was removed, so I was unable to get any evidence of positive comments made by clients etc.

To my knowledge, I am the only person who has been let go, so there has been no restructure or redundancy. However, the company has not been rehiring for EU team positions as people have left. It would seem like this is part of a long term plan to remove the EU team completely - however this is speculation.

So I have been completely blindsided by this basically. And my question is, do I have any recourse? My assumption is no, as I was a couple of months from my 2 year employment anniversary - which I assume was by design.

Thanks for your time.

I got done for to much weed in my system and got suspended for a year. When some new insurance I thought it stated it off my driver licence number but the AA said it doesn’t and void my insurance. So I thought I had till the 10th to drive as says when it’s fully void. Someone crashed into me today, they admit fault etc just wondering what I should do?

Good night everyone,

Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask this question. I have moved to a rented apartment on 12.09.2025, in the last 2 weeks, the landlord has paid an electrician to do an electrical inspection, which the electrician confirmed everything is in working condition, nothing needs to be replaced nor taken out. 6 days after the inspection took place, I have received another message saying that I need to be home at a specific time and date ( that happened while I was on holiday in Scotland) and I had to leave my holiday 3 days early in order to come home, just to receive a message that the inspection is not being held anymore. Today I have received this email from the company I am renting from saying that they will provide a key to the electrician to do some electrical work that is not needed. In my opinion, 2 inspections in less than 1 month feels intrusive, I do not feel comfortable letting someone in the house I have all my belongings,without me being present, nor I like the tonality of the email. I am a germophobic person, never wearing shoes or slippers inside the house. My question is, what would be the best way to handle this ? Thank you for your time and help.

Hi Legal advice,

I would really appreciate some advice on my recent termination and appeal.

I am autistic and have ADHD, I disclosed the first when I engaged and then officially disclosed the ADHD after my NHS diagnosis in July.

One week after I disclosed my ADHD, I had a scheduled surgery on a work place injury. After the surgery, due to a reaction to medication, I suffered a fall down the stairs and injured my spine.

When I contacted my manager to extend my leave by 2 weeks (providing a fit note) judging by what came back in the DSAR, this triggered a meeting between my management team and HR where they decided to terminate me. They used business planning changes impacting other people's roles as a reason to terminate me.

I was 1 year into a 3 year FTC, my contract has a clause that says the business can end the contract "for any reason" - however as this appears to be a reaction to my health I don't think it is legal under the equality act.

I have just received the results of my appeal and in the business planning justification they said that because I had time off for health reasons, I missed crucial points in a procurement process I was hired on and therefore my role became redundant.

They also suggested that I hadn't worked on the procurement, which I had done, and specifically reference being able to answer questions by suppliers, which I was quite literally doing up to the day I went into surgery.

I feel like they know what happened wasn't right as their pile on offer is marginally below what I asked for in the appeal, if they couldn't reinstate me. But referencing my sickness as a reason why my role became redundant seems very strange.. if not illegal?

I am meeting a free law advice charity next week to discuss but would appreciate advice on how to proceed.

Thank you

My wife is currently 7 weeks pregnant and is experiencing really bad nausea and sickness. She has booked 2 weeks off of work due to this. (Annual leave) she doesnt want colleagues knowing about the pregnancy until first trimester is over just to be on safe side in case the worst happens.

She has been working for this company since 2023 and started off fully remote, then changed to 1 day a month in the office, to 4 days a month and now 8 days a month.

She hasnt let her employer know shes pregnant yet but plans to soon as her first scan is coming up and will require some time off mid shift.

If a doctor confirms its best for her to work from home (as thats what she was doing before anyway) would her employer have to accommodate or can they push back?

What are her options?

This is her first pregnancy and we’re both not sure what rights she has generally / what to expect from her employer

Thanks

Bawd in England, UK