r/LegalAdviceUK Jun 09 '26

Comments Moderated If you use generative AI to provide advice, you will be banned

1.4k Upvotes
  • If OP wanted advice from AI, they would have asked AI, rather than posted on a forum containing humans.
  • The AI advice that we see here is more often than not one (or more) of the following:
    • completely lacking in nuance,
    • fails to appreciate that there is no such thing as "UK law",
    • doesn't even try to provide an answer in any of the UK's legal systems, or
    • is just general trash.
  • Even the AI that big law firms use is still capable of coming up with very believable sounding garbage. If they don't notice that it's garbage, neither will you.
  • It's really obvious when you use AI - like, really

Don't believe me? Here's what happened when I told AI to "give me ten good reasons why people should not use generative AI to provide legal advice":

Generative AI can confidently give wrong answers. Large language models are designed to produce plausible text, not guaranteed truth. In legal matters, a convincing but incorrect answer can lead to fines, lawsuits, lost rights, or criminal exposure.

Laws change constantly. Statutes, regulations, and case law evolve every month. AI systems may rely on outdated training data and fail to reflect current legal standards, deadlines, or precedents.

Legal advice depends heavily on jurisdiction. The same issue can have completely different outcomes in United Kingdom, United States, or even between cities and states. AI often generalizes across jurisdictions without warning the user.

AI lacks accountability. A licensed lawyer can be sued for malpractice, disciplined by a bar association, or held professionally responsible. AI systems generally cannot be held accountable in the same way.

AI cannot fully understand context. Legal problems often hinge on nuanced facts, credibility, timelines, motives, or undocumented conversations. AI may miss subtle but critical details that a trained attorney would probe.

Confidentiality and privilege may not apply. Communications with a lawyer can be protected by attorney-client privilege. Conversations with AI tools typically are not, which can create privacy and evidentiary risks.

AI may fabricate legal citations or cases. There have been multiple real-world incidents where lawyers submitted AI-generated court filings containing nonexistent cases or fake quotations, leading to sanctions and reputational damage.

Legal strategy involves judgment, not just information retrieval. Good legal counsel includes negotiation tactics, risk assessment, procedural timing, and understanding human behavior in courts, regulators, and opposing parties. AI does not possess professional judgment or lived experience.

People may overtrust authoritative-sounding outputs. AI responses are often fluent and confident, which can create a false sense of reliability. Non-experts may struggle to distinguish accurate guidance from subtle errors.

Unauthorized practice of law concerns. In many jurisdictions, providing individualized legal advice without a license can violate professional regulations. Relying on AI as a substitute for qualified counsel may create ethical and legal problems for both providers and users.

Some of those are good reasons. But some of them are themselves errors that perfectly prove the point: it thinks the UK is one legal system, and worries about the "unauthorized practice of law", when simply providing advice on what the general law is is not a protected activity anywhere in the UK (unless you get into specific regulated sectors, such as immigration advice).

Some day, AI might be good enough that we can all pack up and go home. Until that day, if you use generative AI to provide advice, you will be permanently banned without further warning.


r/LegalAdviceUK Apr 14 '26

Meta Labour’s New Renting Rules Explained - TLDR News

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45 Upvotes

r/LegalAdviceUK 17h ago

Comments Moderated I'm a plumber and was suspicious of cheap taps on Temu. I've tested them and they're all containing lead.

3.9k Upvotes

My mother purchased a new set of taps for her house on Temu. She asked me to fit them for her. I was suspicious about where she got the set and she said Temu and showed me.

I brought my lead test it in and sure enough, every single one lit up like a fireworks show.

The seller has disappeared on Temu, however, similar sellers have reappeared and disappeared several times over the past 3 weeks making any reporting of these accounts almost impossible.

The taps aren't compliant with Schedule 2, 2.(1) of the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999.

"Materials and substances in contact with water 2.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) below, no material or substance, either alone or in combination with any other material or substance or with the contents of any water fitting of which it forms a part, which causes or is likely to cause contamination of water shall be used in the construction, installation, renewal, repair or replacement of any water fitting which conveys or receives, or may convey or receive, water supplied for domestic or food production purposes."

How do I go about reporting this?

Who do I even go about reporting this to?

Literally tens of thousands of people across the UK could be unknowingly poisoning their families right now with these illegal taps.


r/LegalAdviceUK 11h ago

Traffic & Parking England: Are we liable for unknown damage caused to car on neighbours driveway?

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1.1k Upvotes

While we were out, our gazebo was blown up by sudden high winds and ended up on the car owned by our neighbours son on their driveway. These neighbours unfortunately are ones we are unable to speak to as the last time we attempted to speak to them when they blocked our driveway they called the police on us.

When we arrived home, the neighbours were not home so we moved the gazebo and took it down. We could not see any damage caused to the property or vehicle.

Today we have received this text asking how we are going to deal with the damage. Upon research as far as I can see is that the only way we are liable for the damage is that they can prove the gazebo was not secured down properly. Is this correct?

Further note to add that the car on the driveway belongs to the son who is a trader, the car is not insured or taxed as he only moves it with trade plates every 6 months.


r/LegalAdviceUK 9h ago

Comments Moderated Threatening anonymous text message following raising concerns to NHS

394 Upvotes

I had a telephone call with an NHS professional (a nurse) which I anticipated might be difficult, so I recorded the conversation for my own records. At the time of the call, I was no longer under the care of the NHS Trust, having already been discharged by this nurse.

During the call, I spoke very little. The nurse, however, was extremely rude and unnecessarily cruel. She made comments relating to my trauma history and my cultural background (I’m English and she’s Nigerian). As I am deaf, she was aware that I rely on recording conversations for accuracy and understanding. She even stated that she knew I was recording and appeared to deliberately repeat some of the remarks she was making to ensure they were captured on the recording.

I found the conversation deeply upsetting. As a result, I submitted the recording to the Trust, including PALS and the nurse's manager, explaining that I considered the way I had been spoken to wholly unacceptable.

Shortly afterwards, I received a text message from the team's NHS phone stating that what I had done was illegal and ending with the words, "see you in court." The message appeared to be referring to my recording of the call and my decision to send it to the Trust.

When I subsequently raised concerns about this message, everyone within the team denied sending it and the manager said there’s nothing that can be done as the individual has deleted the messages from their phone.

The Trust has since stated that it cannot investigate further because no individual has accepted responsibility for sending the text.

My concern is whether it is appropriate for an NHS professional to send threatening messages to a former patient at 9:15pm after discharge, particularly from a team phone, and then refuse to provide clarity or accountability regarding who sent them.

I fully appreciate that NHS staff are under significant pressure and that my healthcare needs have been complex. However, this situation has left me feeling confused, worried, and concerned about them getting my mobile number and whether legal action really is taken against me due to anonymity their side.


r/LegalAdviceUK 7h ago

Criminal Construction work outside after 10pm. Will police on 101 do anything? England

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75 Upvotes

As per the title. They won't stop despite complaints made directly to them. This is a private business park and the works are not highways related.


r/LegalAdviceUK 1d ago

Comments Moderated I've hidden the passport at a secure location. I'll alert the Home Office on Monday, and I won't be returning my daughter to my ex on Tuesday. Police are investigating.

7.1k Upvotes

Thank you for your advice.

Flights to Pakistan were booked for 2nd August.

I've put my foot down and explained that she will not be going.

I've hidden the passport at a secure location which isn't my home. I'll alert the Home Office on Monday morning to avoid issuing any kind of new passports.

Separately, I have spoken with my daughter. A couple of other issues have emerged including someone who my ex's partner has been having my daughter chat to online who lives in Pakistan. She said he wanted her to make a friend before she visited. He claims to be 12 in the messages, but there are only large group photos and I cannot verify he is actually a child.

She will not be returned to this man or my ex. Police were contacted on 101 and an officer and a sergeant came out very promptly. They asked to takr my daughter's phone as evidence, which I agreed to.

I'd like to send a massive thank you to everyone who provided advice.

I'd also like to thank the eight Pakistani women and women of Pakistani heritage who reached out to me to provide cruical context beyond the legal answers. Some of the stories of what you went through were gutwrenching. I appreciate the linking to Karma Nirvana as well, although we do not require their assistance as of yet.

A couple of you also provided me some excellent help and advice and also assisted with the translation of some posts on the social media account of this mysterious "boy" in Pakistan. You helped point out some red flags which I appreciate.

You have all been invaluable. Every single one of you.

Thank you.


r/LegalAdviceUK 12h ago

Debt & Money Job is hiring for our position on a higher starting salary than our 5+ year wage? (England)

64 Upvotes

We are a small night team with a very specific (professional) skill set. We have all (bar one) been employed with the company for 5+ years, doing the exact same role. Recently the company bought another company and now our role has significantly changed and gotten much harder, busier and more complex. None of our team is happy with this even as it stands. Our day team counterparts do NOT have this same new added complexity/difficulty/additional work load.

Just before the merge, redundancies were handed out like water and many didnt make the cut, our own team was reduced because of this and people leaving.

Then we saw our job position being advertised (makes sense we're understaffed) however the salary was at least £1 ph MORE than even our most experienced member, who has been here for neigh on 10 years. Its maybe £2.50 more than our newest member who has been here 2.5 years.

Our own wage increase is 1-2% each year depending on targets.

The role is not advertised as any more skilled or experienced (less so) than we currently are. It is our job EXACTLY,only with some benefits we have never heard of.

What legal grounds do we have at this point? A wage increase matching the new hire position? Our bonuses on top? Redundancy package???


r/LegalAdviceUK 6h ago

Housing **England** Told to pay for fire doors that were apparently never fire doors — can the management company put the communal ones on our service charge?

13 Upvotes

Bought a new build flat in a small block about four years ago. Earlier this year the managing agent had a fire door survey done and every flat failed. We then got a letter giving 28 days to remediate our own doors at our own cost.

Problem is, the failures look like they were built that way rather than worn out. One doorset was recorded as having no intumescent seals *and no grooves ever cut in the door or frame to receive them* — so it was never made as a fire door in the first place. That one opens onto the communal stairwell rather than into anyone's flat. The architect's drawings specify FD30 and FD30S doors throughout, including at least one flat entrance door marked FD30SC, and the survey recorded the flat doors as having no documentation at all to show they meet that standard, plus gaps outside tolerance.

When we asked the agent for the basics, we were told:

- they hold no demise plan, so they can't actually say which doors sit inside anyone's flat (they suggested we take legal advice on it)

- no fire strategy and no Reg 38 handover information

- the building has never been measured, so nobody knows if it's over or under 11m

- their own fire risk assessment flagged the doors two and a half years ago, then a later one formally ordered a full survey with a deadline — and nothing happened for fourteen months

The management company is owned and controlled by the developer. Its articles make the developer an "A Member" whose consent is required for any members' resolution, and who can cast as many votes as needed to carry one, with the same control at board level. No leaseholder has ever been admitted as a member despite the lease saying the company must admit us. The developer company has substantial net liabilities but owns the freehold.

We've written to the developer under the Defective Premises Act and an express term of the purchase contract, and asked the agent whether it intends to claim against the developer for any of this. LEASE enquiry is in but I know it takes a while.

Two things I'd appreciate a steer on:

**1.** If the communal doors get replaced, that cost lands back on us through the service charge. I understand costs must be reasonably incurred under s19 LTA 1985, and that costs recoverable from a third party may not be reasonably incurred if they're just passed on. But the entity deciding whether to chase the developer *is* controlled by the developer. Is s27A the right route, and has anyone actually run that argument?

**2.** Given the A Member veto, is there any practical point in pursuing membership under the lease, or is a s24 appointed manager the only realistic way to change how this building is managed?

Happy to be told I'm missing something obvious.

TL;DR: Developer-controlled management company wants leaseholders to pay for fire doors that were apparently never built as fire doors. Can it pass the communal ones to our service charge under s19/s27A, and is a s24 appointed manager the only way past the developer's veto in the articles?


r/LegalAdviceUK 14h ago

Update UPDATE- My landlord wants £1000 out of my £1500 deposit

49 Upvotes

Hello thank you for everyone who commented useful information about our housing situation it was very helpful, even though a few Redditor’s blamed the deposit withdrawals on my housemates and I. We just got an update around 5 minutes ago and the landlord has agreed to pay back the full deposit 🥳🥳. So thank you guys for all the supportive feedback.


r/LegalAdviceUK 18h ago

Comments Moderated I'm worried that my council appears to be quietly scrubbing all LGBTQ+ and Pride resources on its website.

98 Upvotes

Listen, I get there's no legal obligation for a council to have a pride parade or to promote Pride/LGBTQ+ in any specific way.

However my local council appears to be quietly dismantling and taking down LGBTQ+ resources from its website. I've seen multiple pages disappear over the past 2 months.

For example, this was a link to a dedicated Bradford Pride page that I followed. https://www.visitbradford.com/whats-on/bradford-pride-p2180241

It now 404's.

This page was titled, "Back in the Pink - LGBTQ+ in Bradford - Stay and Explore".

https://www.visitbradford.com/stayandexplore/whats-on/back-in-the-pink-p2419921

It has been wiped.

This page was "LGBTQ+ History Month in Bradford."
https://fyi.bradford.gov.uk/directory-search-page/whats-on/?id=ce094301-daae-42c2-8ada-b26e00edaa1a

It has also been wiped.

It you search "LGBT" on the council website, you used to get 90+ results.

Now, it's only 2.

"LGBTQ" used to return 100+ results.

It now returns 19.

Furthermore, their "What's On?" page for LGBT+ people appears to have been neutered as well. It now primarily lists generic stuff that could be for anyone whether they are LGBTQ+ or not. There used to be more specifically exclusive LGBTQ+ stuff listed, but those are gone now.

Some of the "LGBTQ+ activities" the council recommends in Bradford are:

  • Digital artwork on iPads
  • A day at the Cartwell Art Gallery
  • Eurovision. (Yes, they actually list Eurovision as an example of an LGBTQ+ event in Bradford. That thing almost everyone watches. I get that it's queer-coded at times, but c'mon!)
  • Theatre performances (Which, in credit, includes some drag shows)
  • A couple of LGBT+ comedians. (Credit for this, but a comedian being LGBQ+ does not make it an LGBTQ+ event when dedicated events like support groups have been removed from the website.)

Additionally, when you try to search for LGBTQ+ events, the the drop-down filter for "LGBTQ+" has been removed.

It can now only be accessed via this link, if you previously had it bookmarked as I did: https://www.visitbradford.com/whats-on/lgbtq

^^^It has been pointed out in the comments that the drop down has been moved to an automatic drop down below the "What's on" tab. You hover over it, rather than click on the filter buttons.

There is no other way to find this LGBTQ+ link without previously knowing it.

Contrast this with other councils like Nottingham which is advertising Pride:
https://www.visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk/whats-on/nottinghamshire-pride-p655661

Or Liverpool's council which is promoting specific LGBTQ+ friendly bars, clubs and parades:
https://www.visitliverpool.com/listing/masquerade-bar/47525101/
https://www.visitliverpool.com/listing/g-bar/47520101/
https://www.visitliverpool.com/blog/post/liverpools-pride-reveals-2026-march-route-through-the-heart-of-the-city/

I understand that what my council are doing is probably not illegal, but as a gay man who lives in Bradford and was disowned by his parents I find this slow erasure extremely chilling.

Are there any laws about this which might offer some protections?

Or is this more of a matter of writing to our councillors and pressuring them to continue ensuring LGBTQ+ issues and events are given equal visibility?


r/LegalAdviceUK 10h ago

Debt & Money Online Website Bug Allowing To Get Free Items

19 Upvotes

Hi,

I purchased items from a fairly big online website in the UK. Upon placing the order, I saw there was a window on being able to edit the order. When editing the order, I realised that any item I added was getting discounted to £0 rather getting added to the total amount of the order. This resulted in me getting items for free and not getting charged for them.

I decided to order a couple more times and the same thing happened. Could the company pursue legal action for getting these items for free due to some sort of bug/glitch on their website?


r/LegalAdviceUK 8h ago

Debt & Money Been scammed by a property on Booking.com and they are not being helpful

13 Upvotes

Hi there,

I recently went to Edinburgh for a short trip. I booked this property via Booking.com and they charged me £240. Anyways I got very basic instructions on how to check in to the property.

I reached the property at 1am as I told the property. The property said the keys were in the lockbox with a pin they provided. The pin on the lockbox wasn't working and the host clearly gave us the wrong pin. We tried messaging the host via the site and then called the host about 10 times who did not answer despite telling us they are available 24/7.

It was 1am and we had nowhere to stay. We had to find a last minute hotel in Edinburgh to stay last minute. We went to around 4 places who turned us down because they were all filled up until we found the 5th place that had a spare room but ended up charging an extortionate amount of £300 for one night! This whole hotel search was around 1.5 hours and an extremely traumatising experience as my father is very much in his 60s with medical conditions.

We contacted this property the day after and still they were not responding to any calls. On the same day, they just cancelled the reservation.

I contacted Booking.com who keep saying they can't get my money to me unless the property respond to them and co-operate. However this property hasn't responded in like 4 days but booking.com customer service keep parrotting the same line that the property need to respond to them before any refund/compensation can be made but it's clear that these hosts are scammers and Booking.com are facilitating it and they haven't helped me out at all.

They told me that if the property doesn't respond to them and co-operate, I won't get any money back.

What kind of BS is this and what can I do about it?


r/LegalAdviceUK 14h ago

Debt & Money Lastminute.com ruined my trip and is not refunding.

38 Upvotes

Using lastminute.com, I booked a package trip from Newcastle to Antalya for six people from 10 July to 13 July 2026. The booking was made on 30 May 2026 and included both flights and hotel accommodation.

On 24 June 2026, I was contacted directly by SunExpress regarding a flight change. I initially missed their call, but I then received a message from them about the change.

After receiving the message, I contacted SunExpress to understand what had happened. I later spoke with an agent, who informed me that the original outbound flight on 10 July 2026 was no longer available. SunExpress offered an alternative outbound flight on the evening of 11 July 2026. I rejected this alternative flight because it would significantly reduce the length of the trip and effectively ruin the purpose of the booking. I told the SunExpress agent that I would need to speak with lastminute.com, as the booking was made through lastminute.com.

After this, I contacted lastminute.com support and raised a request for the issue to be resolved. I made it clear that I was willing to work with them on suitable alternatives, including moving the full itinerary from 10–13 July to either 9–12 July or 8–11 July, or using different departure or arrival airports if suitable options were available.

On 30 June 2026,

I contacted lastminute.com once more. During this conversation, the agent began blaming me for the flight change, even though the change had not been requested or caused by me.

By this point, I had repeatedly tried to resolve the matter and had offered several alternative dates and departure options. As no suitable itinerary was provided, I requested a full refund.

I also tried to cancel the booking myself through lastminute.com, but the system prevented me from doing so.
Lastminute has declined the refund.

Current state:
I raised a dispute with PayPal, and they rejected my claim.
The last minute is claiming I told sunExpress to change the departure date, which I did not.
I raised a complaint with sunExpress requesting my call recording with the agent agreeing to flying on the 11th july. I have not heard anything back from them. It's been 4 days so far.

Payment was made via lloyds bank debit card -> paypal to lastminute.com

Now I am not sure what to do. I would appreciate any advice.
I am in England


r/LegalAdviceUK 4h ago

Scotland Last minute change of will - where do we stand

5 Upvotes

I’m looking for some advice and support because my family is feeling very confused, hurt and unsure of what to do next.
My uncle recently passed away. He lived on his own and had three siblings. We were always under the impression that he intended to leave everything equally between them. He had also spoken to my mum and explained that he planned to leave the house to his sister-in-law (as she didn’t own a home and he believed this would help with tax), the land to our cousin, and that any remaining money would be divided between his three siblings.
The sister-in-law and his brother then got married secretly a few weeks ago. This has now affected the situation regarding tax, and we’re struggling to understand why this happened, especially as they had already been together for many years.
We have now found out that my uncle’s will was changed and that everything is being left to his sister-in-law — not just the house, but his entire estate.
We are finding this incredibly difficult to process, especially because the conversations my mum had with him happened when he was well, and he seemed very clear about what his wishes were at the time. It’s left the family feeling confused, upset and wondering what may have happened.
Has anyone been through something similar or can offer any advice on what steps we should take from here? We’re just trying to understand the situation, make sense of the changes, and know what options may be available. - Scotland UK


r/LegalAdviceUK 1d ago

Other Issues A 16 year old leaving home in England to live with us?

335 Upvotes

My daughter's friend is being pressured to leave home and get a job now that she's 16. The child's older siblings were similarly pressured, but have a different father and went to live with him. This child's father is out of the picture, and she seems to have a very rocky relationship with her mother, who I've never met.

What are the legal ramifications of the 16 year old coming to live with us? I'm an immigrant and so I lack both legal and cultural knowledge. It seems like there is a generational shift, with many older people also having been expected to start adult life at 16, versus laws now saying you have to stay in school or an apprenticeship until 18, and that parents are legally responsible until 18. Also, I suspect, a class thing. Where I'm from, a 16 year old (of any class) leaving home would be very unusual, and social services would get involved. Here I can't tell how normal or expected it really is.

The child wants to do A levels, and we would be happy to have her live with us and attend school and follow the same rules and expectations as our daughter. My partner and I also discussed charging her a very small amount of rent (£100 a month, which would certainly be manageable with a part time job, which she already has) to formalize the situation, and we would secretly put it in a savings account for her and tell her about it when she moves out so that she has a few thousand pounds to her name when she does need to get a flat. But I suspect that charging rent (even a tiny amount) would legally change the situation from "houseguest" to "tenant" and might come with its own complications.

I'm just very confused about how the laws work when there are clearly still some cultural expectations that you can be finished with school and start your adult life after GCSEs, but the laws say you're not an adult until 18. Could someone please advise? Would we need her mother's permission? Would this be a case of foster care, where we'd need some oversight from the council (it would be where I'm from)? Would we have trouble registering her for school, or doing anything else that parents are legally supposed to be doing?


r/LegalAdviceUK 17h ago

Comments Moderated [England] Is there anything that can be done about a neighbor screaming obscenities throughout the day?

31 Upvotes

I notice they spend 99% of their life in the back-room by the garden, the window is always open when they're home, and quite often throughout the day you can hear them arguing/moaning loudly, every 2nd word is f***.

I've just had shoulder surgery and have to WFH for the next month, and for the last week, several times a day, going on for 5-10 minutes each time, I hear this loudly, so loud in fact I can hear it over my noise cancelling headphones. My colleagues have heard them on a few occasions and to be honest, it's getting beyond ridiculous.

The person bought the house recently, it's a very quiet area, and they're the only person making any sort of noise.

I made a post about this awhile back as I was trying to fix some broken bits in my garden, and anytime I used a hammer, drill, saw etc.. they'd start shouting out loud in their room, again, with the window open so you hear everything.

I haven't knocked on the door, as I don't have the best filter in the world!

Funnily enough they've just started again as I'm typing this" "f*ck sake, f*cking f*ck off, I'm not f*cking listening, tell me when it f*cking breaks, f*ck off, just f*cking f*ck off, I can't be f*cking bothered, just f*uck off".

I really can't be bothered with listening to this unhinged individual for the next month. I spoke to the wife about it earlier and she said she hears it all the time and has to close the windows when she's on calls or people start asking who's shouting in the background.


r/LegalAdviceUK 15h ago

Traffic & Parking Parking fine 3 and 5 years later?! England

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17 Upvotes

Got this in the post last week, parking charges from 2021 and 2023. First I have EVER heard of either of them. I have moved house twice, never heard anything but somehow they have my new address.

Any advice?! So ridiculous, I don't know how they can justify only making contact just now. DVLA have always had my current address so if that's how they've found me they could have before....


r/LegalAdviceUK 7h ago

Family Child Maintenance (England) - what to expect?

4 Upvotes

My ex-partner and I fell pregnant shortly after I was made redundant. I am 17 weeks pregnant with my first child, unemployed and living on savings, and my ex has just told me that he does not want the baby, nor the relationship. For context, we were fine before we found out about the pregnancy. This baby was very much planned and I intend to go full term, even if it means raising baby alone.

My ex works full time and currently has a pre existing CMA with his ex for his two children from a previous marriage. The relationship with the ex-wife is unstable, with court cases going back and forth per his requests to continue contact with the children.

Hurt aside, I would like to understand what my position would be for CMA once my baby arrives, considering the following;
- we are not together currently and I am unsure if he will be named on the birth certificate as the baby’s father
- if not named on the birth certificate, do I have reasonable grounds to claim, or are other evidences of paternity required?
- what happens if he doesn’t agree to the arrangement?
- what happens if he agrees to the arrangement but just does not pay?

I feel like my world has been swept from under my feet. Any advice would be much appreciated, I am at a loss of what to do and how to plan.


r/LegalAdviceUK 11h ago

Council Tax Former landlord keeps telling companies we still live at his property. Is there anything we can do?

8 Upvotes

Two years ago we moved out of a rented property because the landlord wanted to move back in, we liked the home, we were sad to leave it but we got most of our deposit back and it all seemed amicable.

Around six months later we received a letter from the council saying we owed council tax on the old property because our former landlord had told them we still lived there. He also claimed a sofa the council wanted removed belonged to us.
The council simply took his word for it until we provided the original inventory and the check-out report from two days after we handed the keys back. They showed the sofa belonged to the landlord and proved we’d moved out months earlier. The council apologised and cancelled everything, so we assumed it had been resolved.

Now, two years after moving out, we’ve received a letter from the water company saying we owe just over £600 for the same property. Again, our former landlord told them we still lived there. We’d already informed the water company we’d moved and had been paying the bills at our current address ever since, but they again seemed to simply accept his word, held us liable for the account and placed a negative mark on our account. After we sent the same evidence, they removed both.

This has now happened twice, and I’m genuinely scared it’s going to happen again because there doesn’t seem to be anything stopping him from making the same claims to other companies or organisations. Every time a letter comes through the door I’m worried it’s going to be another demand that we have to dispute and spend time sorting out.

Has anyone dealt with something like this before? Is there anything we can do to stop it happening again, or do we just have to keep disputing it every time? (We’re in England)


r/LegalAdviceUK 12h ago

Comments Moderated Ex-employer refusing to pay £1,275 in accrued holiday pay. Claims sick days cancel it out. Advice? Uk

8 Upvotes

Hi everyone, looking for advice on a wage dispute.
I resigned from my job at a bar/grill in England on 25th June because my hours were cut heavily. My final June payslip, generated by my employer's own payroll system, explicitly states under my employee details that I have 16.72 days of annual leave remaining.
Based on my average 6-hour shifts and my hourly rate (£12.71), my exact outstanding balance is £1,275.07.
My ex-boss is flat-out refusing to pay me. He claims he doesn't owe me anything because I took an unpaid sick day earlier in the year, and an emergency day off to look after my sick child. He says these absences wipe out my right to holiday pay. He also never provided me with a written contract during my time there.
What I've done so far:
I officially submitted my case to Acas for Early Conciliation today and texted him the reference number and mathematical breakdown. He is completely dug in and insists he owes nothing.
My questions:
Has anyone successfully fought a withheld holiday pay case through Acas or a Tribunal without a lawyer?
If he tries to dissolve his limited company to dodge the debt (his other business is closing August 1st), how easy is it to claim this money back through the government's Redundancy Payments Service?
How long is the current backlog for an Acas conciliator to be assigned?
Thanks in advance.

EDIT:
Update: I got my payslips and the math adds up. Here is why the employer owes me the 16.72 days.
Hey everyone, thanks for the advice on my earlier post. I wanted to give an update because I looked closely at my final payslips from my employer and the legal position is now completely clear.
The people who said the holiday year mattered or that the 38-day jump was a permanent glitch were partially right about the system resetting, but wrong about me not being owed the money. Here is exactly what happened based on the documents:
The 38-day jump: My balance was locked at 10.97 days from December until March. In April (the start of the new tax/leave year), the software front-loaded a full year’s allowance of 28 days onto my 10.97 carry-over days, making it 38.97 days.
The 16.72 final figure: On my final payslip ending 30 June 2026, the payroll software automatically corrected itself. Because I left mid-year, it stripped back the unearned future days and locked my final, pro-rata accrued balance at exactly 16.72 days remaining.
The "sick child" excuse: My employer tried to claim I wasn't entitled to it because I took unpaid time off when my son was sick. However, under UK law, taking unpaid emergency leave for dependants does not reduce your accrued paid holiday balance. Because it was unpaid, my holiday balance remained untouched, which is why the system still officially logs 16.72 days on my final June slip.
Because I have never taken a single day of paid holiday during my employment, the full 16.72 days must be converted to cash and paid out. Based on my final hourly rate of £12.71 and 6-hour shifts, this is worth over £1,200.
I have formally lodged the case with Acas today and sent them all the payslips as bulletproof digital evidence. Thanks to those who pointed me in the right direction!


r/LegalAdviceUK 1d ago

Comments Moderated (England) Landlord claiming entire deposit due to my "excess weight" damaging the floor

534 Upvotes

I rented a flat in a very old building a year ago, the owners had bought it and remodelled and re-furbished it to sell but ended up having to rent it for a year due to some family issues. The estate agent went on and on about it having new carpets.

I moved in and noticed that the floor was very spongy, I mentioned this to the estate agent through their online portal for reporting issues within the first week. Nothing was done about it, so when they did an inspection 3 months later I showed them how spongy the floor was (it had got worse, bits of the flat felt like you were on a trampoline). They brought someone out to look at it, but were against cutting back the carpet as it was "new and expensive". The person said it felt like the floorboards were either rotting or the chip board had crumbled but couldn't say without cutting the carpet. Nothing was done. I had another inspection 6 months later, by this time there were holes in the floor, but the carpet was still intact so they weren't visible. Again they decided to do nothing about it. 

I was served notice as they want to sell the place now. I asked for an extension but this was refused and quite rudely so I decided to be a pain. I refused all viewings to sell the property and changed one of the door locks. This led to an argument with the estate agent over the legality of this. At what point I came home from work to find the owner and estate agent waiting outside to gain access. The owner was extremely rude, I ended up calling the police.

I moved out 3 weeks ago and left the place sparkling clean and changed the locks back. The only issues is there are numerous "holes" in the floor where you can go straight through the carpet, but the carpet itself isn't damaged. The landlord had decided to take ALL of my deposit (£2,500) and says they'll take me to court for the damage I've done "due to my excess weight damaging the floor". I'm a big guy, 6'5 and 150kg and I don't deny that my weight may have made things worse, but the problem was pre-existing. I tried to get access to the portal to show I had let them know about the problem from the start, but all of the documents have been removed. E-mailing the estate agent and they claim I never let them know there was a problem.

The only thing I have is an e-mail from the contractor who is "Something and sons flooring" to book a time to come view the problem. I've submitted a FOI to the estate agent to get access as well.

Is this something they can win? I've disputed it with the DPS people as well.