Hi Guys, does anyone know of any credit unions that offer "current accounts". the only one i can find is southwark. i work in birmingham but my family home is in suffolk. any advice would be appreciated regards

hi guys need some advice please on my following situation, was living in a house with 2 students from september - december 2010. the parents of one of the students own the property and i stayed in the spare bedroom. i did not sign any contract and paid the student cash every week (£50) to cover electric and gas etc. basically the deal was, you pay our electric and gas and you can stay here. i now have a new room in a different house when i start back after xmas (i am a teacher) my question is: am i obliged to pay council tax if i am a guest im someone's house? many thanks RS

hello everyone, i hoped that when i started my new job i would never have to use this site again but it's a funny old world is'nt it! background i am facing diciplinary action for something i have not done. my employers case is very weak and i beleive the event has been blown out of proportion. due to the sensitivty of my allegation i cannot go into details. current situation i have been told that my previous oral warning will be used against me if my case goes to the diciplinary process. however it seems that they did not and have never sent me any written confirmation that i recieved any oral warning. the procedures clearly state that a written notification of the action taken against me must be sent to me and signed within seven days. i recieved my oral warning nearly 6 months ago and have heard nothing about it until this incident. i am going to check my file tomorrow and see if the warning is in it. questions 1) if it is not in my file can i respectfully request that the previous incident not be taken into consideration? this is clearly an administration error on their behalf and as much this error must be aknowledged as such and not submitted as evidence? 2) i was told twice by phone that i had to attened a meeting about my car breaking down and me not attending work that day. it was only when i was in my directors office that the real allegation was revealed. are there any laws that protect me from this kind of deception? if im honest i have done all that is required of my for this investigation but management have been extremley unprofessionaly: according to them they have observed me several times over the past 2 months acting 'inapropriatley' 3) do they not have a duty to inform me of their observations asap instead of waiting until a complaint is made? i have been threatened with police action (although i have broken NO law) if anyone could give me some sound advice it would be much appreciated. Regards - RS

have to agree with el here. i remember working at a rubbish dump that closed early because of a breakdown. we were sent home after one hour but paid for 4 as it was a requirment by the agency. call the agency and ask that they give you a couple of hours pay as a sign of good faith for turning up on monday. best practise would have been for staffing to be sorted the previous friday. if you were told by the agency or the company then, i think it is a little out of order them not paying you. chances are they've charged the company for you turning up monday (even for a small amount of time) if it was arranged on friday. if not the agency are at fault for not informing you. call the agency and ask for a couple of hours as a sign of good faith and travle time etc. best of luck - im having problems with my agency at the minute who have "forgotten" to send my payslip out this week so i can check they have paid me correctly and for travel time so i no what it is like!

thank you Johnny, i'll be checking over my file and drafting my letters tomorrow. for clarification: hsbc passed my debt onto MCS, is that technically a default? or is a default simply a letter stating that you are in arrears? hindsight is a wonderful thing and i have now realised that i was simply intimidated into accepting the debt had been moved over to MCS. thank to this site it will never happen again! i will write up a letter tomorrow explaining why the default should be removed and i will be contacting FOS if it is not. i have a funny feeling this will not be easy. does anyone know the direct addresses of whoever it would be best to send this letter too? all the best - ravesafe

hello one and all, i've been enjoying the summer holidays and i have been looking at my HSBC and metropolitan collection services correspondance. background: i owed hsbc 1800 quid (sorry pound sign is bust) as off nov 09. they contacted me and stated if i did not start a repayment plan then my account would be 'defaulted'. luckily i had just found work and agreed 200 p/m. i received a letter from HSBC thanking me for setting up a repayment plan and they look forward to receiving payments. all was going well until the 22nd of december when i recieved a call from MCS. i ignored the call as i was at work but check online later that night. on Christmas eve i received a letter from MCS stating that my debt had been passed over to them and i was to repay my overdraft via them. i have received NO letter from hsbc stating that my debt has been passed over to MCS. i continued repaying at 200 p/m as arranged before but still recieved the same template letter stating that the repayment plan had expired and i must contact them regarding repayment. i wrote to them and explained that i had not breach the repayment t &c's and refused to increase my payments as i was currently only earning 400 p/m working part time. i wrote to hsbc complaining about the way i had been treated, the letter i recieved simply stated that i owed them money and in the customer care managers opinion, there had been no wrong doing on their half. i have now re-payed my over draft but have not received a letter stating the amount owed is settled. current situation: i am aware that i have been treated unfairly by hsbc and mcs. this may have something to do with me having my wages paid into a parachute account which i now use. i now have a default notice on my credit file. i was not made aware that my account was defaulted and i have nothing in writing. i am writing to MCS to obtain confirmation that the amount is now settled. i have had no correspondence since the last payment. i wil also be requesting SAR from both parties. Questions / Concerns 1) when i recieve all information from my SAR request, i will be looking for any letters sent to me regarding any default notices on my account. if no letter has been sent to me stating this do i have a good case to go to the FOS? 2) will a simple reply to my letter stating that the debt is settled be adequate evidence in case of future problems with MCS? 3) what is the time limit to complain to the FOS? 4) if i can provide evidence that i have been treated unfairly what will the outcome be? thank you in advance guys. i get alot of help from this site. keep up the good work!

thank you r&j, i rang them up before i left this morning and their story had changed! 9 points is the maximum so i would have not been insured. just as well i rang otherwise i would have made a 35 mile round trip for nothing

hey guys yet another conundrum. i have one days work tomorrow delivering goods for a reputable delivery company. i am an agency worker and do a lot of driving work. i now have 11 points on my license and i am wondering if i will be covered by their insurance. i have never signed anything or been given any document regarding insurance and/ or company for drivers. they have told me to go and see the manager of the delivery company tomorrow and see if its ok for me to work. they have photocopies of my license which shows 6 points but i have now emailed them telling them that i have 11. my questions are: 1) is it likely that they will have a maximum amount of points on their insurance policy. 2) am i covered by emailing them of my extra points. 3) do i need to see written confirmation that i am insured? hope this all makes sense and it doesnt seem i'm worrying over nothing but the way i've been treated by this agency, i wouldnt put anything past them thanks in advance - RS

it gets even worse. got a phone call at 6pm today saying i'm not needed tomorrow and Friday but maybe for the weekend. quick couple of questions: 1) if the agency tell me that i am working from 9-3 but i am sent home at 1 (due to all work being done) are they still obliged to pay me for the full day? 2) am i entitled to time and a half if i work sunday? the only comfort im getting from this is that i will be earning more money than my consultant in september. thanks for the advice guys

update: spoke to the agency yesterday and they said that the (now 2) lads should 'spot me some money for picking them up' i told him my point of view that they arranged me to pick them up ( i had never worked with these lads before) therefore they should be responsible for paying my extra mileage. he then said that the TSA should sort it out. i have never put down any mileage before so i dont no how that will work. gonna speak to the big boss tommorow and see if they will just stick and extra 30 quid on my wages.

thanks for the reply guys. will see how monday goes and keep you posted. simply put its another case of people desperate for work and people willing to take advantage!

i am back home for the summer holidays. my new job means i dont get paid for the summer this yr so im going back to my old agency for some temp work. i have 2 weeks work 18 miles north from my house. however the agency asked if i would pick up another worker from their main office (20 miles south of my house) i have agreed to collect him for the first day but i am curious as to mine an the other workers rights. if the agency aked me to collect him from the office are they required to give me travel expenses? i am more worried that they will ask me to approach my colleague for petrol money. the work is very low pay so i would rather not ask. i have emailed the agency regarding this are said i am happy to do it as long as i am renumerated for fuel and time - it will put an extra 2 hours on my day. any advice/ reference to appropriate legislation would be perfect. thanks in advance

hi guys, anyone know where i can get a cheap copy of windows xp? thanks in advance

Hi p1, i prosume you havnt posted this on the tes website like my post about supply teaching contracts. if not, check out the workplace dilemas forum on the site. bullying and harrasment in schools is rife as well as a 'pass the buck culture'. im bricking it starting my first job in a school in 2 years because of that. the previous school i worked at as a at had me workin 8 - 5:30 with no break for 47 pounds a day on the promise of a job that did not exist. schools are full of vindictive teachers who would ruin a persons career because of a personality class so please be careful it always suprises me that schools use so much resources on anti/cyber bullying campaigns yet SOME teachers are worse than children. best of luck

trust me mate, you wouldnt want it. its a matter of time before one of the agency staff gets acused of stealing drugs or equipment. the phrase mikey mouse doesnt even go near how mucked up it is. but i spose a jobs a job but im onto bigger and better things! thanks for the advice

thanks elpulpo, just spoke to my agency and they've said because i was booked. they are obliged to pay me for the full shift. easiest 80 quid ive ever earned!

tbh, im not sure where it is.

you're making me blush

indeedy do elpulpo, my text message states the times i was assigned to work (18:45 - 00:00) do i have any legal standing? this is such a grey area where i personaly think that agencies prey on the ignorance and gullability of there employees

HB, you are a darling! i think i'll be ok on the tax front. my mum helped my sisters boyfriend with his self employed status so im covered there. thank you everyone for all your help. ive just got back from my other job and have another dilema so if anyone has the time feel free to give me some feedback Sam xx

hi all, im starting my new job soon but working part time as a driver for an out of hours gp company. i arrived at work today and was told after 10 minutes that there was one too many drivers and was told to leave. i am not classed as casual and have voicemails, text messages and emails confirming times, dates and locations. am i right in asuming that the company has to pay me up to four hours? i remember having to sweep floors for 4 hours at another assignment when the machinery broke down. can anyone reference me to any legislation confirming this? thanks in adavance

thank you so much guys. i no i'd get a quick reply on here. im going in this week to get my planning done so i'll sort it out then. i think and email should be proof enough. as for the self employed status, i was informed that it would be safe to take a third of my monthly pay as tax and ni? cheers!

HB, im not to sure, i spoke to the deputy head the the heads PA and they said they would send me an email with my particulars. i dont care what the job spec is as im planning to bust my b*lls for the next 3 months as im applying for a job there for next september. would and email stating that i will be working for £x per day and my job title be nice and legal. ive only ever worked for agencies doing supply so im quite new to this. my main worry (probably paranioa) is i will get my cheque and it will be less than verbally agreed. thank you honeybee, your always giving sound advie to people on here xx

hi guys, Finally had a bit of good luck on the job front and am teaching ICT in a secondary school for the next term. i will be self employed on a day to day basis with a fixed daily rate. before the end of term. i discussed a contract and we agreed to speak when i go in next week to prepare. does anyone no of any employment contract templates for someone in my position. i dont want to cause a stink at the school by having loads of clauses but i want to protect myself and show them that i no what im doing. i would put this on the tes forum but colleagues at the school are on there and read my posts. thank you in advance

hello mate, im no expert but i worked in schools as a teacher before i had too move back home with mum and dad. when i was at uni, a friend of mine started his teacher training degree course whilst his CRB check was being sorted. it came back with a conviction for possesion of class a drugs (pills) and was told the offence was too serious for him to continue on the course. he was given the option of transfering to a joint honours degree which he accepted. BUT, he was still allowed to go into schools and teach as part of his work placement in his second year. another friend of mine had a conviction of abh after a night out when he was 18. he was alowed to continue on his course with no problems whatsoever. we regularly discuss this issue and we have come to the conclusion that certain crimes are acceptable and companies/ schools differ on what is class as. it is up to the discretion of the head teacher or MD of the company. i no it is not much help but there are thousands of people like youself out there who have been admittedly foolish in their youth and are now suffering. i hope you can find work mate atb