Hi, Does anyone know the legal position of the following please? A US domain registrar customer (NameSilo) has registered a .com domain on the same day the GB IPO trademark has gone through.. They want $990 for the domain (which is very specific and clearly been registered in bad faith). Contacted NameSilo they say to email abuse@. Looking online it can cost $500-$1200-$1500 for a dispute and takes at least 60 days.. Thoughts..?

Hi, Whilst filling out a tax return I checked the information HMRC held regards PAYE from what is now a former employer. The information shows the dates, taxable income, income tax paid and National Insurance paid, all totalled up. The amounts I noticed didn't add up to the totals at the bottom of the page. It seems one month a payslip was issued, then a revised version issued. The totals on the revised version were correct but the following months payslip uses the totals from the original payslip. I contacted HMRC and they said yes it doesn't add up but we can't say why - you need to contact the former employer. So that's what I did, they gave me a P60 and said everything looks fine, but the P60 just contains the incorrect totals they gave to HMRC. I've now advised in more detail but without even having checked yet they advise everything "looks about right". Just wondering if they refuse to correct the totals what are the options? Do I need to go back to HMRC with the figures and rationale? Thanks in advance.

Hi, Just to advise, I accepted the settlement offer as there was basically no liability toward me as an individual for any tax arising. I also obtained new employment fairly soon after, at a really nice company which is going well. Thanks for all the help! chaoticj

I've worked out the sums owed gross, what they would have been net (assuming received last tax year) and compared to what I've been offered - better off by £1,400. Looking into the tax implications online seems to suggest if they word right and say this is part of a compromise agreement and is damaged for breach of contract/unfair dismissal etc. in full and final settlement it makes it not taxable. Does anyone know whether this is correct? Seems a no brainer to accept but I don't want to get a nasty surprise and find myself liable to pay taxes etc. further down the line.

I do have a potential job lined up but they are not a competitor. If I don't get this job or struggle to find one as well paid then I could potentially make freelance earnings if I'm allowed. I asked if the settlement figure had a breakdown but apparently it doesn't? Agree that notice and holiday should be paid in full. Maybe I should ask for further clarification on a breakdown? Thanks.

Hi ericsbrother, So creating a company that does what they do before 12 months is up would be a no no but afterward it's fair game? What about doing what I did for the company but on a freelance basis for others? Or, doing this for a company that supplied them with a service but are not a competitor? What do you think of the proposed settlement? Thanks!

I've been made a settlement offer via Acas which is substantially more - figure is similar to contractual sales commission owed less 8% (£800). BUT I'm told it's to cover commission, 4 weeks notice, holiday pay etc. Apparently it can be paid gross as a severance payment? As compensation for the job loss. I usually get paid £2,120 a month after all deductions. I've had about 9 days off (3 national holidays - New Years Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday) and 6 of my choosing, I think I accumulated around 9.3 days? Contract says 24 days entitlement. Does this sound like a fair deal, bearing in mind I now have no job or income, is what they are suggesting a typical arrangement? Also my original contract includes post termination restrictions. Considering what has happened would these still apply, are they even enforceable or legal? My restrictive services are what I was employed to carry out at the company. Geographical restriction is 2.5 miles of place of work and that of suppliers/clients/customers. Period of 6 months after termination can't carry on a business similar or in competition, on my own or the behalf of others, directly or indirectly in competition with the company. - Represent myself as being connected with the company, acting for them or utilising their goodwill. - Use name, style, logo or image similar to the company or which has or is yet to be used. - Seek to procure business from or with any person, firm or company during 12 months from termination with whom I had material contact. - Same as above but 'seek do business' with. - Entice away any employee in a senior or similar capacity to me. Thanks in advance guys!

No I have 1.5 years service.. Just a quick question.. I don't know if they plan to do this but could they close themselves down and start selling under another limited company? Is that something which could be done relatively easily hypothetically? They have been trading for a number of years. Thanks in advance.

Thanks ericsbrother this is really sound advice.

Hi, Just to update the thread.. Since I requested the commission be paid the company dismissed my manager and brought in a third party who until now I hadn't much contact with. They accused me in front of my team of not doing my job, struggling to carry out basic tasks and were extremely critical. I was told I'd be having weekly performance meetings with this person and another manager who I was now to report to. In the first performance meeting this person told me my performance and my teams performance was crap, they told me the company was not in profit showing me financial information, my commission was going to be withdrawn, I could be replaced tomorrow or someone brought in and I'd be made to train them to do my role, they massively increased my workload and gave unachievable targets. They said all meetings would have minutes taken and this be added to an HR file - I wasn't given any. I complained about this persons behaviour to the business owners as I was feeling bullied and dreading going to work - I was told they and the other manager had been spoken to. This person since made a number of statements to me such as they were charging 30% of their usual day rate to the company and once in profit they would be receiving a cut of this and so they were very eager to bring the company into profit. They were not concerned about my commission, it was a matter between the business owners and me. Regarding the commission I went to early conciliation with Acas, my employer came back to me directly with the same offer plus a discretionary £1,000 which I verbally declined as I'd asked for it to be as close to the figure I was owed as possible. They then put this in writing and asked me to respond, but there was no timeframe so I did not reply. The performance meetings I was getting positive feedback but given no copy of notes etc. they were no longer with the third party just the manager. I was accused by the manager of recording one of the performance meetings as my phone beeped during it. I was verbally told by the third party and manager that there was going to be an investigation into a particular matter and as a part of this my team and I would be asked some questions. A few days later I was called into a meeting with an HR representative who told me it was an informal chat, nothing to worry about etc. I was not being dismissed, but notes would be taken and I'd need to sign them. There was a set of 20 questions read out to me, I asked for it to be recorded on the notes it was an informal chat, it was then written on the notes it was a commission review past/present and performance. The meeting concluded and I was told if anything further needed to be discussed I'd hear from them. After the weekend I was then called into another meeting with the same HR person and one of the business owners, they gave me the right to be accompanied which I took them up on, told me my contract was terminated with 1 week notice which I didn't need to work and asked me to leave the premises whilst they waited for me to go. The letter seems to suggest they are summarily dismissing me for performance - failing to carry out reasonable tasks and duties and gross misconduct - they say I focused on Account A sales and not Account B when I was responsible for both as per a change to terms I signed 3/4 of the way though 2017 and as such I've cost them a financial detriment for my own personal gain (i.e. fraud/theft) I'm intending on appealing with these points: - The real reason for dismissal is due to exercising my statutory right to not have unlawful deductions to my wages i.e. the contractual commission, which makes it an automatic unfair dismissal - until I requested the commission I'd an unblemished work record. - The answers I gave in the investigation meeting have been misquoted or misunderstood, I was referring to the period before the change to terms was signed when I was responsible for Account A, after this as agreed with one of the business owners I focused on Account A with another team member carrying out work on Account B/ - They have not followed the Acas code of procedure for discipline, i.e. not presented me with allegations, allowed to prepare and represent myself properly, informed the meeting could result in dismissal, no suspension, performance plan, alternative position suggested etc. - The allegations they make are defamatory, I haven't been paid a penny of the commission to date so how have I gained financially from the alleged misconduct. - They have given me the wrong notice, 1 week when my contract says 4 weeks in the first year and an extra week for each additional year of service. I would suggest paying the commission 50% between the net and gross figure, 4 weeks notice, holiday pay and an agreed reference all via Acas. I believe the third party has brought the allegations against me, investigated and made the decision to dismiss me. They told me they will receive part of any profit the company makes and just before I was dismissed told me the company made profit last month - by dismissing me if sales remain the same or increase they will receive more of a cut? How can I find out who made the decision? Is it possible I have any legal recourse against the individual or company as this defamation has resulted in my unfair dismissal? Thanks in advance.

Also I forgot to add.. some of the sales figures are in Euros and US Dollars - my contract doesn't stipulate what exchange rate will be used, my employer has used a less favourable exchange rate than when I looked up the exchange rate myself online, at the point of the commission being due. What would be considered a reasonable exchange rate to use in these circumstances?

Hi steampowered, Thanks for the reply. I worked for the company previously and had a similar arrangement, but it was a 'discretionary bonus', they quibbled over paying it but I showed I'd hit my target and it was paid based on the gross sales. When I came back I had a target again, based on the gross sales and when hit it was paid without question (boy, were they happy I'd come back!). Obviously those were different contracts, but do they hold any weight? The company is run by a millionaire, has a huge stock holding and Q4 is the busiest period, they're spending money like water on new employees amongst other things so for them to say they don't have the money is a load of baloney to be honest.. yes I am looking elsewhere! Regards.

Hi, I work in sales and my contract was amended some months ago to give me 1% commission on all combined sales above a target figure. The target was designed to be easily achievable as my base salary was lower than I'd liked and I was effectively doing two jobs - both sales and IT. The commission became due so I requested it twice via email (no response) I then raised it again via telephone. I got sat down in a meeting with my manager and the finance guy, they tried to tell me it was not payable for several months longer and also that the company didn't have the money.. After numerous emails they said OK we will pay you x amount as soon as you agree, x being about 50% less than I was expecting! They are working out sales AFTER deducting tax, postage etc. they are saying that tax does not go to them, it goes to HMRC so it isn't considered part of a sales figure. My contract does not say whether sales are GROSS or NET, from several verbal discussions before I signed, I was under the impression sales were GROSS. The figure they suggest pays me approx. what I could get for doing the sales job elsewhere.. nothing more.. I also have effectively been on call and spent many extra unpaid hours.. I am sticking out for the full amount I think I'm owed and have given them 2 weeks to pay it - am I in the right? Thanks in advance.

Hi unclebulgaria67, I have the pictures that I took when I went to my car to drive it after it was parked next to the apartments for a couple of days. I also have the piece of mortar itself. They have communicated mainly via email and have not admitted liability, also I don't have any phone recordings. I did speak to their insurance broker who said they would probably be looking to pay me the lowest quote if that was acceptable, but I didn't record that call. Do you think I would lose in court then? Thanks, chaoticj

Hi, Where I live parking can be difficult. I had my car parked for a couple of days on a public street near my home, outside a set of four apartments and when I came back to it some roof pointing had fallen and dented plus scratched the bonnet of my 3 week old car. I got quotes for repair - £250, £350 and £550. I managed to locate details online of the company the owners had formed for maintenance/management. I contacted one of them to let them know about the issue and that they have not maintained their building. To cut a long story short spoke to 2/3 of them or their representatives on the phone, exchanged emails etc., they won't give me details to claim off the public liability part of their buildings insurance as their excess is more than the cost of repair. They admit there is pointing that needs doing but it has not yet been fixed. They have offered me £200 which is less than the cheapest quote - I had said I would accept £250 minimum. Their offer is marked as without prejudice and they say it is because I have not provided direct evidence - I have given them pictures of my bonnet, pointing on the floor and the roof. Two of them are adamant I don't have a claim. I have written a letter before action, what do you think my prospects are please and is my letter written correctly? Also how long should I give them to pay? 14 calendar days? Thank you in advance. ____________________________ Letter before action - RE: Damage to vehicle from roof debris X XXXXX, XXXXX Dear Sirs, As you have previously been made aware, my vehicle a XXXXXX, registration number XXXX XXX was parked on the public highway adjacent to the front door of XX XXXXX XXXXX, XXXXX XXXXX from XXXXX XX over the Christmas period. The vehicle had only been in my possession three weeks having been signed over in perfect condition. I next came back to my vehicle on XX XXXXX to find a dent in the bonnet with sand around it and scratches underneath. Some debris – ridge pointing had fallen from the roof, a piece of which has hit my bonnet and caused the damage. There were two large sections of ridge pointing missing directly in a straight line exactly above where my vehicle was parked during this time period. The roof does not appear to have been maintained and there are further sections of ridge pointing missing closer to the gable end. I have communicated via telephone and email on several occasions with your directors and representatives and provided strong evidence of your negligence along with three quotes for the repair of my vehicle in order to put me back into my original position before the damage was sustained. I enclose copies of these quotes once more. I requested the sum of £250 including VAT to cover the lowest quote which as yet still remains unpaid and unless I receive payment from you immediately and in any event no later than close of business on XX XXXXX XXXX, I shall start a claim against you in the County Court without giving any further warning. When I have started the court action I shall be entitled to claim from you in addition to the unpaid £250 including VAT, the court fee (£25) plus statutory interest which is calculated at 8% per annum. I do hope that this matter can be resolved without having to issue proceedings against you and look forward to receiving payment as soon as possible. Yours faithfully, XXXXX XXXXX Enc: Copies of three quotes for the repair of damage to XXXXX, XXXX XXX

Hi Andyorch, Thanks for your helpful response. I have checked the cardboard sleeve from the Now TV Box packaging, it doesn't mention about the voucher being non transferable, it just says: "Voucher inside to redeem your Sky Cinema Month Pass. Simply enter the voucher code at sign up. Voucher expires one year after date of purchase. After pre-paid period, Sky Cinema Month Pass automatically renews at its then standard price (currently £9.99 pm) until cancelled. Ongoing monthly cost, content and channels are subject to change. Sky content available depends on pack purchased... etc etc etc See nowtv.com for full terms. Information correct at 14/06/16." When you look at the terms on their website, there is also no mention of vouchers/passes being non transferable: http://www.nowtv.com/terms the only mention I can find when I google it is when they have had special offers e.g. getting a free or heavily discounted pass via an offer, the terms usually state that it is non transferable. With the actual passes bundled with a Now TV box, I can't find such terms stipulated anywhere? Thanks in advance, chaotic_j

Hi, I've had a listing removed from eBay - apparently it was reported by Sky Media. There is no real reason as to why the item has been removed just that 'please not (sic) that this item is not allowed on our site.' and 'for more information read the help pages or contact Sky directly.' The item in question was a Now TV Sky Cinema pass - I bought another couple of Now TV boxes before Christmas and didn't need the passes. As far as I'm aware the listing was compliant with eBay rules - item to be posted via Royal Mail, so not a 'digitally delivered item' or 'non-physical goods'. I believe Now TV is a subsidiary company of Sky - but they don't own it directly? The link to contact Sky and for more information is: https://business.sky.com/fighting-fraud/ when you look at this it only mentions Sky Sports, about illegal use of Sky Sports programming and Unauthorised foreign broadcasts - nothing to do with what I was selling. I believe when listings are removed like this it is because the company concerned are a member of eBay VeRO - 'Verified Rights Owner' programme or something. I've read in the past that companies basically abuse this, eBay remove all listings that they report which could be for a multitude of reasons. On the list of VeRO members (UK is toward the bottom of the page) I can't see Sky listed http://vero.ebay.com/ I hate such bullying by large companies - I've spent a while on live chat to eBay but they are adamant that I need to contact Sky and that 'if Sky allow me to sell the item, I can pass the communication onto them'. They won't give me a copy of the report, a specific number to call for eBay listing removals - nothing. It feels very much like a big bully boy company (Sky) dictating an item can't be sold to another large multinational (eBay) who simply bow to them - no mistakes, no appeals etc. What can I do? Has anyone had this issue before? Please help.. Thanks in advance..

Hi, Had the visit from BT Openreach this morning - arrived promptly 08:15, I explained what I'd tried and what I thought the problem was. After a couple of minutes he said yes, you are completely right - the wiring is fine, you don't appear to be connected and the fault is 22 metres away - probably at that telegraph pole. Half an hours wait for a 'monkey' as he says they are called and we now have a connection. I mentioned we had an engineer visit scheduled prior to the go live date which was cancelled with 24 hours notice and he said it's strange as the tests they run are designed to detect the capacitor in your master socket - as we were not physically connected, a positive response wouldn't have been possible. What is the best way to extract some considerable compensation out of BT as obviously if they'd have sent the original engineer as arranged before the go live date.. this would have been sorted much quicker and wouldn't have caused me to waste 7 hours of my time on the phone / have to stress about it all! Thanks, chaoticj

Hi fkofilee, The NTE5 Master Socket is fixed to the wooden window surround on the right hand side, the cable goes under the bottom of the window surround to the left hand side where it goes into an old Master Socket which is not connected to the faceplate. The cable is joined inside to another which then goes up the left hand side of the window surround to a small rectangular junction box sited just at the top of the window, it then goes out of here and to the top of the pole on the side street. All of the houses nearby are connected in this way as they are very old (160 years). When I plug in this old phone, there is nothing on the display, no dial tone when I pick the handset up.. nada.. nowt.. PS: I guess I have had written confirmation of the contract when I arranged for the service to be installed some weeks ago.. plus I have already opened the equipment etc. so I guess BT are going to be inflexible on me getting out of the contract? They are absolutely terrible.. Thanks, chaotic_j

Hi dx100uk, Does CRA cover a service? Do you know which chapters and sections of the legislation cover this? Many thanks, chaotic_j

Hi dx100uk, That's really useful thank you - do I need to go through cancellations again quoting CRA? What if they say I can't cancel under CRA? Is it best to cancel the direct debit or should I leave it in place? (first payment due to go out tomorrow). Many thanks, chaoticj

Hi dx100uk, Thanks for your reply, we've lived at this property for 6 years and during that time I've only had Virgin Media TV and Internet (TV package cancelled a few years back) I have a VoIP phone that goes through the Virgin Media Internet. The phone line comes from a telegraph pole on the side street on an overhead wire to the back of the house, goes through the top of the back room window into a junction box and then into an old master socket where the solid blue and blue/white wires are connected to matching colours on another cable (old master socket does not do anything) which then goes to a newer looking NTE5 master socket. The blue and blue/white wires are correctly connected to the A and B connections on the faceplate, I've also tried putting the hub into the test socket but to no avail. There is no voltage or signal on the line. Connected an old telephone as well. Previous owners had a landline working just fine on that socket before they moved out.. we have never used it due to me setting up the VoIP solution.. In that time nothing has been tampered with, altered or disturbed in any way... but I have seen engineers from time to time on the telegraph pole! I need to leave BT as they are dire but it seems they want to bill me for the whole contract term?! as they say this fault is fixable? Kind regards, chaoticj

Hi, Due to Virgin Media price increases, signed up for BT Infinity, phone line and basic TV package on 06/09/16. Supposed to all be working by midnight 23/09/16 - phone line doesn't seem to be working and as everything comes through this I've zero service to date. Spoken to mostly India on the phone (over 5 hours and counting in the past week) and they open a fault then close it off as completed and open a new fault. They are saying an engineer will check from my property to the cabinet on 06/10/16. I suspect we have not been connected at the telegraph pole on the side street but they won't listen. I've had enough and I want to cancel without any charges and they can pick their equipment up. I'm told as it is more than 14 days since I entered into a contract for the service I can't cancel. How can this be? I am told I need to speak to technical again who must deem that the fault cannot be fixed, only then can I leave without penalty. How can BT get away with providing such a shoddy service? Even takes 30 minutes+ just to get through to cancellations! Unbelievable! Kind regards, chaoticj

Hi, Just to update - settled at £2,200 via ACAS with a COT3 agreement. All done, dusted (and paid) now. My offer was accepted about two hours after my former employer received my LBA in the post.. Thanks to all CAGGers for your help particularly ericsbrother. Regards, chaoticj

Hi, I have not yet sent the letter before action and they have replied to my email asking for communications in writing. Essentially with a £2,000 offer which is much closer to what I am after however my last counter offer was £2,400. They say we are now a lot closer to resolving the matter. They reiterate my not passing probation and in mitigation for the delay they say they have legitimate compassionate factors. They say that the record of the appeal hearing shows the probationary period was not satisfactorily completed, the key word being satisfactorily. They also cite a mistake I made some time after they had told me I was being dismissed (genuine human error that cost them financially) and say this is further evidence. They say that the offer is a long way from their initial offer and closer to mine and so my claim will have been more or less satisfied and that an employment tribunal could take months. My feeling at this point is they should really just be paying my last £2,400 counter offer.. if I was to proceed with court action is there a possibility I could become liable for their costs (legal or otherwise)? Thank you so much in advance, chaoticj