forgive me if my knowledge on this is a little rusty but im sure someone else will be along to offer their advice. My own thoughts are that if an insurance company has hired an external consultant then they should still be bound within FSA regulations to make you aware the call may be recorded for staff training and joint protection etc. It may be the call wasnt being recorded. did you get the company name? a number? phone them back and check if all calls are recorded, if they are you are within your right to request a copy of the call.

The horrible thing about it is that if it was one of your friends that did it in your home they could claim off your liability as owner of the property... its a shame its not geared up to protect you.

Heres the official statement from No.10 regarding the Licence fee I signed a petition to get rid of it but looks like it will stay for quite a few years yet We received a petition asking: “We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to abolish the UK TV licence and permit advertising and other means of finance generation to the BBC.” Details of Petition: “Independent economic research analysis and investigations by consumer protection organisations such as the National Consumers Council have consistently concluded, for many years, that the UK TV licence is a levy which is regressive in its financial impact on the poor. This gross iniquity is perpetuated in essence by the UK Government upon its most vulnerable citizens. This situation is even more outrageous in an age when the poor may receive only 5 terrestial TV channels, for which the TV licence contributes to the cost of only BBC output, yet the more wealthy within the UK tend to enjoy dozens, or even hundreds of digital or satellite TV channels at comparatively little extra cost to them per channel. This petition accordingly urges the Government to abolish the UK TV licence and allow the BBC to make use of all lawful, reasonable, modern means of capital and revenue generation including share issues, property equity stakes and loans and advertising on BBC TV, radio and internet broadcasts.” · Read the petition · Petitions homepage Read the Government’s response During the latest review of the BBC’s Royal Charter (completed in 2006), the Government considered whether the television licence was still the best way to fund the Corporation. We also sought the views of members of the public on this and other BBC issues as part of the Charter Review consultations. When compared with the alternatives, the television licence fee was widely considered to be the best way to pay for the BBC for the period of the new Charter that is to say until 2016. None of the alternative funding options would enable the BBC to continue to provide its full range of public services while safeguarding the Corporation’s independence. It was therefore agreed that no changes would be made. We intend to review the scope for alternative funding mechanisms once we have the conclusions of Ofcom’s review of public service broadcasting (due to be completed in 2009). This will take in account the final costs of switchover and the outcome of the wider review of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) funding to which the Government committed in the Charter Review White Paper. Further information about Charter Review and the Green Paper and White Paper consultations are available on the Charter Review website at The BBC Charter Review Website.

Hi, just want to throw a different slant on this and ask a couple of questions. Q1, On what date did CIS cancel your insurance, i know it was from 10th July but when did they actually process the cancellation? Q2, did you/your dad receive a charge from the bank due to insufficient funds?

Hiya, sorry to hear of your troubles with your employers. You dont say what sector you work in so cant comment on which union would be suited to you but they should really be complying with EU working time directives as below. Is it a large company with a HR dept? or a small local company? but thats not really the point you should still be able to request your own dates for hols SECTION II - MINIMUM REST PERIODS - OTHER ASPECTS OF THE ORGANISATION OF WORKING TIME Article 3 - Daily rest Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that every worker is entitled to a minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours per 24-hour period.

Hi there and sorry to hear of your problems. To address your first point, when taking out insurance in the uk you must disclose any previous convictions (whether driving or criminal) to your potential insurer and you should have been asked this when obtaining your quote whether over the phone or online. Failure to disclose this information may result in the voidance (cancellation) of your policy back to the inception date and all monies paid would then be returned. A couple of questions - 1) -why are the insurers awaiting a letter from the police if they have already made the decision to cancel your policy and on what grounds are they cancelling it? 2) - Why did the police stop you in the first instance? With regards to fraud (and im no expert here) I would have thought that only the insurer could take you to court for attempted fraud, and the police can only take you to court for driving with no insurance ? anyone else have any views on this?

Not entirely sure what DL do with the letter. Different companies have different procedures. At my own company we update the system with last insurer and correct NCB then use secure disposal. DL may keep them on file.

Hiya, Direct line have no obligation to provide written proof of NCD as you technically havent been insured by them if you cancel in the 14 day period. You need the proof you sent in to them returned to you or ask your last insurer to send you another confirmation letter.

thanks for the replies folks, gonna skip this one I think. A few years ago I would have gone for it, after being a member of this forum and seeing others getting into stuff I think its wise to seek advice before committing to anything. Thanks again

Hiya, Apologies if this is in the wrong forum. My wife applied online at the weekend for a loan and Advantage loans have now written to us advising that they have secured a creditor and all we need to pay is £49.99 to arrange the loan. In the letter there is no consumer credit act or DD guarantee. I am a bit dubious about them asking for an arrangement fee so backed out until I have looked for further advice A quick search on the internet and it seems they are a trading company of CGS Post Net (who?) and there are a lot of negative comments around regarding post net. Has anyone any experience of using Advantage loans or Cgs Post net and are they a company to be trusted?

Not sure about this one, the OP has obviously sent them his own details to their customer service department email address (assuming he has also given them his Talk Talk account number). When Talk Talk have replied to the original email they are not breaching DPA. The below is DPA extract regarding email from the cabinet office website Emails, both incoming and outgoing, are covered by the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) if one or other of the following criteria is met: the sender or recipient is identifiable, either through their email address or the text of the email; or the text of the email contains personal data, ie facts, opinions or intentions about identifiable living individuals

Hiya, sorry to hear about the hefty cancellation fee. A couple of questions. 1) did you take the quotation out with a broker or a direct insurer? 2) Was this quote accepted online, over the phone or face to face?

hiya, you can take anyone in with you but you need to check the guidelines. In my place of work, the witness cannot answer questions on their behalf or have any input into the meeting but can ask for a break/adjournment at any point.

You may still get to keep your current position, dont give up hope. Do you have an unblemished record with them? I have recently taken someone to Disciplinary on a Gross misc, they got away with a final written warning. They had done the same as yourself, admitted faults and apologised. You seem to have given in to dismissal and although you havent mentioned what they are taking you for this is only a last option for an employer should there be no option to retrain, reduce responsibility or have reason to suspect you would continue to be a risk to the business. The other option is to check whether they have done everything by the book, and dont forget you have the right to appeal. Have they given you a date yet for the hearing?

Yeah, we all fall for dirty tricks at some point but one thing is for sure, they wont do it to me again without assurances and a permanent role in the higher salary bracket written in to my contract. All the best

Hi and sorry to hear I am in a similar situation at present with my own employers and have gone through the secondment (presume this is what you mean by honorarium) policy in great detail. My own company, and not speaking for others here, have no upper time limit on secondments and can keep extending this as they see fit (I have been seconded for over 2 years). I am now in a position where the secondment has come to an end and will return to my previous role which was on a much lower salary. Now if your company policy is the same then there isnt much you can do than grin and bear it. The salary I received was based on my original role wage plus an allowance for the duration of secondment so presume you are the same and there isnt anything I can do as they have the policy in black and white. The only thing that would have any bearing is if your contract showed you on the higher wage as they cannot cut your base salary. I havent really answered your query but Im sure someone will be along with more knowledge than myself.

Oh and supplemental to my last post, there isnt generally a time scale but within reasonable time say about 14 days to put in place any actions. If they dont act upon it and you are then off ill because of it then you may have a case of negligence upon your employer. As I say it all depends upon who you are employed by, I work for a national company with a strict policy regarding health and absence but some smaller companies like to think they are above the law which they are clearly not.

Ultimately Occupational health can make recommendations but cannot enforce them. The employer has a duty of care to the employee and if they are not acting upon reasonable advice then I would recommend you speak to your own HR department for advice. Its different for all employers but having referred people to Occ health in the past I have usually accomodated most requests within reason. You dont mention whether you have been referred following an increase in absence or after a long term absence. If the employer is wanting to facilitate a sustained return to work then they should be acting upon it and should they take you down a disciplinary route without following occ health advice then you have a grievance case. Hope this helps. let me know

Hiya, Ive only just picked up the thread so a little belated. Have read through your initial thread and by the sounds of it you have been led into admitting wrongdoing. A couple of points from holding my own disciplinaries but the procedure might be slightly different from the council. 1. Did you receive an initial letter inviting you to disciplinary or was this a phone call? If it was a letter did it state on the letter that a possible outcome of the hearing may be dismissal? 2. You mentioned that someone had a conversation about an email you had sent and this was brought up in the disciplinary hearing? If you werent aware that this was going to be brought up then this should be inadmissable and shouldnt have been brought up (as well as a breach of DPA) You could have a good chance of reinstatement if they havent followed their own procedures (this can and frequently does happen), best advice I can give is to scrutinise any letters you have received and play the innocence card in the appeal hearing.

**** The contract you speak of would be with the insurer and not confused as (as far as i am aware!!) they have no licence to sell insurance and merely offer a price comparison and direction to the insurers site (they make money out of referrals) Either way as per distance selling regulations (covering both internet and phone) you do have a cooling off period ranging from 14 days up to 30 days with some companies in which you are entitled to cancel the insurance without penalty so long as no claims have been made and are entitled to a full refund.

The main problem with using sites such as Confused and Moneysupermarket etc is that consumers often think the price quoted is what they will pay. The site itself uses a number of assumptions that when you go direct to the company it may be a completely different price. I tend to avoid these sites as they can be misleading and often end with situations such as these. They cover themselves by stating that the price "may" be different when completing the quote from the direct insurer.

oh right, in that case you may be charged for pro rata cover for the couple of weeks but for the time after you should be due a 50% refund. Also they may still charge you thr cancellation fee and ask for proof of insurance (although they can check the MID) Was the policy on direct debit? when was the renewal date? when did you take out the new policy? a few questions but will try put a letter together for you sometime over the weekend.

Hiya, nightmare eh, ask them to check the MID database for dual insurance. You are entitled to a 50% refund from each of the insurance companies from the date your policy renewed so you wouldnt be out of pocket. If you were to write to their customer relations dept then you need to follow their complaints prodedure through to the end before you can refer to the ombudsman unless they provide you with a rubbish excuse. Col

Hey, sorry to hear about problems at work. You should probably try your household insurance legal services as motor applies only to RTA's and motoring offences etc. Household legal generally covers a lot more such as neighbourhood disputes and employment disputes. It all depends on who the legal is with and who you are insured thro. They also wont look at a claim unless theres a reasonable chance of winning. Hope this helps

Hi Thanks Cant go down the MCOL route as in Scotland and no mailing address in England. Looked into all that with the BOS and Halifax. I kinda know the process anyway but always good to refresh my knowledge. Only been with A+L for about a year and a half but at £30 quid a time charges it soon mounts up. Gonna give their complaints procedure a bash and if no joy then pursue thro FOS. Cheers