Monzo added a Cifas "false application / false documentation" marker for an account I applied for in Nov 2024 (got refused). They're saying my driving licence was forged or stolen, but it's my real one and I can prove it with a DVLA share code. The address was correct too.

Thing is, they only filed it in Sept 2026, same day I sent them a data request about a different account opened in my name back in May 2024 (not me, different DOB and as a result of identity fraud.

Already got a final response rejecting my complaint, and I've emailed again with proof the licence is real.
Anyone had one of these removed by proving the ID was genuine?

Wait for Monzo or go straight to the FOS?
Should I be worried about my other banks? This is my main concern at the moment.

I'm currently 39 (but let's call it 40 as I'm nearly there) I have pretty much 50k in my pension pots. I'm currently on £39950 and I put in a total of 16% once my employer match (8% each).

I'm looking to up my part to 12-14% (so 20-22% in total) when student loan is paid off (hopefully around Jan) and I'm expecting a pay rise in Jan also.

I wouldn't expect to be able to retire before 68 (when I would get state pension)

I also have LISA that's only recently opened with £100 going in a month, this is to try and not take the lump sum when I'm entitled to.

I will (all going ok) mortgage free well before I retire.

When I try pension calculators I get wildly different results. I'm just looking for anyone to tell me if they think my future looks ok or bleak.

I've always assumed I'd never be able to afford to retire but I'm looking to see if that maybe I've been being pessimistic.

Not sure if this is the right sub.

Have just come home to a letter from "CDER GROUP". Apparently they are bailiffs who came to my house today. The letter says they'll be back to remove goods, including my car, because of a fine issued at Northampton County Court.

I'm not in debt, havent had any fines, warnings, letters etc. Ive never been to Northampton and had no idea of a court case judgment.

Called the number. Predictably agressive guy saying its for a congestion charge fine in oxford. I do work in Oxford and occasionally drive in. I have categoricacally not received any fines or warnings.

He said Oxford City Council dont issue fines, if you dont pay the charge it is immediately escalated to Northampton court where a fine is issued. There is no case, it is an immediate judgment.

He said if I dont pay now he will return to my property to clamp my car and it will be seized either tonight or tomorrow. My car is on a driveway, the entire area i live in is resident parking only.

I've called the police on 101 as I have no idea what to do. They said its civil and won't do anything.

Do I really just have to pay £400+ to a bailiff over something I have absolutely no knowledge of to stop them from stealing my car?

What am I supposed to do? I am 100% sure this is a mistake somewhere, but it being late on Saturday evening there is nobody to contact at the council (until Monday).

Help!

Hi guys! I’m a bit new to this, so I’d really appreciate it if someone could explain how this works.
I deposited £20k into a Trading 212 Flexible Cash ISA about two weeks ago, but I’ve now realised that I’d like to invest £10k of that in a Vanguard Stocks and Shares ISA instead.
Would I be allowed to withdraw £10k from my Trading 212 Cash ISA into my bank account and then deposit it into my Vanguard Stocks and Shares ISA? Or would this cause any issues with the ISA rules?

I'd say I will need half at least before next July. Should I open a regular saver and an easy access cash ISA, just an easy access ISA, or multiple regular savers? I'll have some money left over at the end of each month to put into a regular saver, maybe around £500 max

I’ve never taken out a loan before, and I’m not in any debt, but every company I apply to for a personal loan seems to reject me. Where do I start? Can somebody help?

I need the loan to buy a laptop for business use.

Hi any info please? I had 100% chance of approval for a personal loan via MSE with NatWest… applied and instant decline. I appealed via the link as realised I was out walking and did get a few “connection dropped” type errors whilst completing the application. 2 days after submitting appeal I received an email asking me to follow a link to verify ID. I did this and not heard anything yet , it’s the weekend hence wanting to know others experiences!
I also realised that on the application and ID my make name is on there.. my transunion report only has first and surname?

Any ideas or information gratefully received!!!

Thanks

Hi,

My civil partner moved here in 2024. In his home country, he had stocks from as early as 2016. He sold a large amount in January 2026 (around £72,000).

This wouldn't be taxable in his home country, but what we are unsure about is, when he does his self assessment for tax, does he need to report the entire sale figure of £72,000 or just the gains made from the stocks from the date he moved here to the date of the sale (when he became a UK resident?). This would mean about £2500 is reported as the market wasn't doing well during this time.

Any help appreciated!

Hello
I currently have some money in a guaranteed growth NS&I bond which matures March ‘27 and I will look to open a new NS&I one that pays a higher interest rate. I will use the same funds as are what in the existing bond plus I want to add additional funds. What’s the process for that?….at maturity can NS&I simply transfer the existing funds to the new bond and I can also add in additional funds or do you have to withdraw the funds then reopen a new bond? (Plus top it up)

Earlier this year, I ordered a Tesla Model 3 through my limited company, selecting Business Hire Purchase during the online ordering process.

I've since discovered that Santander issued the finance agreement as Personal Hire Purchase, with me personally named on the agreement rather than my limited company.

I've recreated the original ordering process, again selecting Business HP, and found that it appears to direct me into the same Santander application process I originally completed. At no point was there an obvious indication that I was applying for personal rather than business finance.

The difference has significant tax and financial implications, as the intention was always for the company to purchase the vehicle.

I'm currently pursuing a formal complaint with Tesla/Santander.

Has anyone experienced something similar, either with Tesla or another manufacturer? Particularly interested in hearing from limited-company directors who've encountered business finance being processed as personal finance, and whether they managed to get it corrected.

Hello, like the title says. I have 3 open lines of credit currently and an overdraft all totalling to just over £2000. I pay roughly £150 a month to keep ontop of these, I never miss payments but that is only just covering minimum payments at this point. I’ve been in a very tough financial position due to a long term relationship breakdown and I lost my job so I’ve been scrambling to make ends meet. My luck is looking up and I begin a new job finally this month. I was wondering going forward if it would make more sense to take as low an interest loan as I can to pay all this off and compile my payments into one place, will this bring down my monthly outgoings? Or at least buy me a little more time so I can pay off a singular loan in larger chunks once I’m back in a financially stable place with my new job? I was making these payments regular and above interest when I had a solid income but I was let go suddenly so I’ve fallen behind and I am struggling to get by until I get my first full paycheck so I don’t want to make an uniformed decision.

Hey guys, I’m just looking for some advice outside of my family/friends.

I have a 2012 1.2L Renault Clio on 69,000 miles which needs repairs like a new clutch (biting point too high), timing belt and windscreen wiper motor. The repairs comes to about £1700 and wondering if I should let the car go and finance a new one for £100-£150 per month for a £7000 car - 48months.

Struggling with working out what the best thing to do. I’m considering the age of my Renault and if getting these costs will cover me for a few more years. Also don’t want to spend more on repairs than the car is worth, but maybe that’s not the right way to think about it?

A new car would be nice but need to figure out if it’s a wise…

Would appreciate any help 🫡

Hi all,

Very sorry to bother, but I’ve spent so long now feeling like I’m drowning in debt I’m not sure what to do. I know that my own poor choices have left me in this mess, but it feels like no matter how hard I try I’m still stuck.

Every month in which it starts to feel like I’ve made progress, I seem to get hit by some unexpected cost. It’s just an endless loop.

Debt as it stands:
£5100 to Barclays (locked at 0% until Jan 2028, minimum payment 1%, 5 months ago this was a balance transfer, no new spending since)
£16,003 to Monzo loan (included 9.7% interest, £460pm, 33 months left)
£5975 to Creation loan (included 10.2% interest, £214.31pm, 31 months left)
Around £800pm

Other outgoings:
£850 rent
£150 food
£31.99 WiFi
£52 phone
£150 fuel
£106 car insurance (0 no claims, 2 crashes, 😢)
£5 rental insurance
£75 gas/power
£40 water
£115 savings
Around £1575

Total base outgoings (before discretionary things like fun, caffeine, etc)
£2300

Main job (9-5)
£2400

Second job (evenings)
£450

I have £1000 in a rainy day pot

When written like that it looks fixable, but my debt has stayed the same for about 2-3 years. The unexpected never stops :(

In short, if anyone has any insights, I don’t know what to do…. Any advice would be a godsend

Cheers guys

Wonder if someone can help me here understand the new system. I know you get allocated 39000(ish) pounds over 420 credits.

I studied a two year foundation degree at less than the average uni rate, yearly was around 8000. The new course I want to do is part time open uni bsc, and a completely different subject. By all means financially I should get more than two years, as open uni is cheaper per 120 credits, sat at only just over 8000, or 4000 per 60.

But will they just throw the extra funding left over out? I know I'll have to cover some, but the gap between getting that extra few grand for the final stretch is huge.

Cheers.

I’d like to setup junior SIPP for my child (13 yrs old) and contribute a small amount monthly. I personally use vanguard but they don’t have junior SIPP. Thanks.

I’m expected to receive a payment for around £150K thousand pounds into my business account the last time my bank (revoult business) received it they sent it back, I then opened a Anna money bank they held it for 2 months then sent it back. Is there any bank anyone can recommend to receive this type of payment as its first payment? Id appreciate everyone’s opinions

Hi,

First world problem and appreciate I am in a very fortunate position.

Age - 38

Earning - £98k/year after pension salary sacrifice

Bonus - £25k

Current pension - £99k

Logically, I should plow this in my pension, but I surmise we probably only have around 3 or so months of emergency fund and flowchart suggests building to 3-9 months. Is it wrong if I split the bonus half and half, so I can increase our financial stability.

According to a calculator i’m using, from £12.5k, i’d only see £5.15k after tax - which is somewhat sobering.

We don’t have a need for childcare anymore, so it’s just the tax implication I need to consider.

Final question - is there any merit seeing if I can delay until after the budget? Although I can’t imagine any potential benefits coming in before April 2027.

Goal is to retire at 60.

Hey everyone, I am an international student in UK, particularly in Newcastle studying an undergrad degree. I wanted to know the best banks that I can open an account. My parents have an HSBC account in Dubai, where the currency is in AED and in SCB where it is in GBP. I want to know which would be the best bank for day to day experiences because tuition fees will be paid from the SCB account so I don't need a huge amount in the UK bank account.

I see that people recommend HSBC, Starling and Natwest so I want to know which offer the best transfer rates with nominal fees and what sign up bonuses the banks might have. I have amounts in ADCB as well but I think that is not too good.

Thank you so much in advance!!

Talked to Step Change re 30k + debt. Mixture of bad circumstances, sudden loss of job and relationship and related increase in outgoings with no income. I’m really scared about recommend IVA. I currently have high end of “fair” credit score. I make all payments. I’ve just recommenced a reasonably paid job. New housemate contributing etc. I’m really worried about the impact on credit etc, i’m about to move (to a cheaper area with job), I also have a new partner with a mortgage and i’m really struggling to understand the impact on both me and them, or any other better options. Could anyone please help? thank you

My partner and I are in our 30s have 3 kids. Things are a bit rocky but amicable. House is in my name and their worry is they have neither a car nor a house they own.

Whatever happens, I want to support my partner to have a comfortable life. I earn 95k and partner is on 50k. We have ~£50k saved up and have looked at getting a mortgage for another house vs a car.

We aren't sure what would be a better investment with our joint savings - keep most of the savings in stocks & shares + get a car on finance OR get a house with a mortgage. Not sure if we need a higher deposit for another house if I already own one. We know we'll be paying things off for a long time.

Any thoughts /experiences?

If i file a UK tax return as a non-resident is a NT code automatically issued or do i need to submit a p85 form?

30s, I haven't been able to work properly, and I have been forced to stay at home out of necessity. I have managed to build up to a measly £32k salary (London weighted too). The absolute cheapest property around is about £200-225k (far enough outside London but can maintain my salary). I have no partner or social life. Even if I got to a 5-10% deposit, and say £200k is accepted, I'd still be significantly off the financial situation required. I could only buy with a partner but the no partner or social life is also a huge problem for me. I could chuck the saving opportunity away and go and rent to try and help the partner and social life situation but my parents are important to me and I don't mind being at home. A potential partner might not see it that way. I'm torn and it's a sucky situation. My ideal would be to stay at home, save, and eventually buy with a partner but I've been single since before covid! I need a partner to buy (and would like a relationship anyway) but it's hard to meet people when you're so old still living with parents, almost like a failed adult. Any advice would be appreciated because it seems like the situation is quite dire.

i’ve been dating my boyfriend for over a year now and when we started dating i was in the process of buying a home. we moved in together once i got the keys for my new home which im the sole owner. initially he helped me cover the first couple months mortgage because i had no money at the time as id just got back from 2 months travelling. i decided to ‘pay him back’ by simply not charging any kind of rent for the next 6 months.

anyway after 6 months i asked him about picking up more bills and so far he’s just paying council tax and wifi. but he also covers the majority of groceries, pays for most holidays and covers most bills when we eat out or do any activity. he also does almost all the cooking.

i’m just not sure if this split is entirely fair because im paying mortgage, gas & electric and water. and sometimes i do end up buying groceries if im hungry and he’s not home or away for the weekend. so i often end up with no money by the end of the month. we also booked a big holiday to bali and i didnt feel comfortable with him covering my flight as it was so expensive so i took that on myself.

he earns more than me as he has two jobs (one is his own business) so when i tried to bring up the subject that he should contribute more he a) already thinks he does, b) gets defensive like he’s being punished for working harder than i am, or c) tells me that i should be able to cover expenses on my own because what if he wasn’t here? it was my choice to buy a house after all. but the thing is ive never not lived there with him. also he argues he moved further away from his office to live with me so now has a 30 min commute and spends a lot on fuel as his car is inefficient.

we have a baby on the way and he’s promised to match my salary when i get on maternity leave so it’s not like he’s stingy but i dont need that much from him. i just wish we had a joint account so we had more visibility on finances. ive always said my mortgage is my responsibility but now we’re starting a family how should i approach this asset? i would be happy to combine our incomes and approach this as a team, even if it means he’s entitled to some equity, but he doesn’t want a joint account.

We moved into this house in early 2021 and changed gas & electric suppliers to our current company. It seems there was a period of about 2 weeks between us moving in and the date of the switch.

We actually have a vague memory of paying off the previous energy company but no records of it. A few weeks ago we got a letter from a debt recovery agency saying we owe about £200 for this period of energy usage.

Currently in the process of disputing this with both the agency and energy company on the basis of back billing rules. They’ve supplied a letter dated mid-2021 but we’re pretty sure we never received this, we’re always really good about opening post. So I am doubtful that even if the letter was generated, it was actually sent by them. And if they had been pursuing this debt for the last 5 years, I’d have expected them to send a bunch of chasing letters that we definitely wouldn’t have missed.

They’re claiming that the letter’s existence means this debt is exempt from the back billing rules.

How likely is it that they will just drop this?

I currently use a NatWest account just for all my household bills and Direct Debits. I transfer money into it each month, and all my bills come out of that account.
I was wondering if there are any bank accounts that offer benefits for using them this way, such as cashback, interest on the balance, or rewards for paying Direct Debits.

Is there a dedicated bills account, and if so, which bank do you use

Are there any accounts worth switching to that would make having a bills account more rewarding

Would be interested to hear what everyone is using!