Hi all, quickish one hopefully, Friend quit a job last year and has just heard that her boss had been dipping his hand in multiple places shall we say (he's sacked). One of the ways was telling the employees there weren't enough hours available to him to staff the shop properly (and pocketing the "extra" hours himself without doing the hours). This had staff volunteering to come in to cover as needed due to literally stuff not being done. I know my friend used to go in on their day off to cover so people could take their 20mins break etc, they'd come in to stock check and date check. It's past the 3 month deadline for employment tribunal but I'd love to tell them there's a way for them to get some justice now the company has realised whats going on and the staff have realised they've been stiffed by that boss.

From what I remember from working in car insurance from almost 10 years ago, this wouldn't be allowed by most (all?) insurers. The reason being it can be used for fraud purposes. A person has multiple policies for the same vehicle, has an accident, and then claims on all of the policies for one piece of damage, getting 2 payments meant to cover one piece of damage. Like everyone else, I'd talk with Motability and see if there is a work around you can do with them. Maybe there's a process you can 'top up' the standard insurance they use.

I've called in sick at 10:30 this morning to work for a shift starting at 2. Had a reply about an hour ago (that I've only just seen) saying they've got cover for the first 2 hours of my 9 hour shift. They've got no one to do it, and I'm just to tell the other person what to do with regards to work, but I'll still be expected to work with the customers. What do I do?? When I drove home last night from the shift I also tried to call out for I was not 100% safe on the roads, and had 2 bad moments. And I wasn't as bad yesterday as I feel today. I just... there's so few of us at the moment that are trained. More and more pressure is falling on a select few, while others seem to get away with all sorts. The rota is always a mess, if you've got a spare hour you're expected to be on call and available to go in at a moments notice for when other people are sick... but only for a select few.

Luckily all our income goes into a separate account already, the Nationwide was our dedicated bill account. Prior to this there were no penalty charges, except the odd one or two from years ago when the account was our only account. However because of this I think they've charged me for 2. Now one e-mail from a woman had said any charges would be refunded as I've been in contact. I've yet to get the current man I'm speaking to to comment on them but I have bluntly bought them up in the latest email to them so here's hoping I get a straight answer back. As to telling them about my husbands health in what way could I see a tangible benefit? At the moment I am writing letters in my husbands name (with his full permission, he would rather I sort this out for us), and with how easily 'confused' these people seem to get I dont know if I want to muddy the water with them getting confused as to who they can/are talking to.

Hey there, the I&E was fairly in-depth and yes had everything like TV Licence etc listed. I'll shoot off an email to them outlining CLEARLY that their suggestion would leave me around £20 short each month. They don't seem to read everything I say at once, which ends up with me repeating myself a few times.

Hey again, just wondering if anyone can help me with wording an email back to Nationwide regarding this. I've sent them an Income and Expenditure statement stating that my income is £300 after all our outgoings except debt payments. I f we take the Debt payments into account it leaves us with 31.50 'spare' each month (actually less as I've miscalculated something but we can work around it in the short-term). I've offered them £25 but they're asking for £50. I could just bluntly say to them that their calculations are likely to leave us in problems but does anyone have a suggestion on how to get them to take notice? I seem to repeat myself alot with these people.

Even if the reason behind the disciplinary would not be a factor in the new job? Such as going from a Driving job to a desk job, so the new job would not involve anything similar to the situation going on at Company B? I can't actually say what he's being taken to disciplinary for specifically because they've not told him (except in vaguest terms) but they have cancelled the hearing twice now with rather short notice.

Hey all, my Brother-in-Law went to an interview today with Company A. He is currently suspended pending a Disciplinary at Company B (over an accident in the workplace that severely injured my Father-in-Law). At the interview the manager conducting it said they would not be able to offer him the job because they know that he's under investigation at Company B, and went on to say he knew of it because he knows someone that works at Company B. Is he allowed to do this??

Bah, looks like the T&C says Any overdraft that we give you can be immediately reduced or withdrawn by us and all overdrafts are repayable on demand. We will aim to give you not less than 14 days’ notice before reducing or withdrawing your overdraft or demanding repayment. The person I'm emailing regarding this does not seem to be on the ball. She forgot to attach an income and expenditure form, and seems to be under the impression that having the 250 come out of my account was fine by me and that the reducing overdraft was to reduce it even further afterwards. Not what I said. So, questions going forwards. I will be happy to enter into an arrangement with them, do I HAVE to fill out the Income and Expenditures form with them? Or can I say that I am able to repay X amount a month? I entered into discussions with them by writing (email) before the deadline, and the person I'm speaking to has read into the situation incorrectly, thus now placing me into a bad position finance wise (they've taken away what overdraft there was still available, meaning if anything tries to come out of the account its gonna royally muck everything up), will they have to re-evaluate whats gone on already and make things fair (ie give me a chance to arrange the reducing repayment)? I'm asking them to return the limit to £1000 until an arrangement is in place, am I able to do so and should they be taking note of it? There probably is more I should ask or say but it's 4am, I should sleep.

Hello again, sorry I've not been responding, I havent been getting alerts to new posts it seems. I'm also in talks with them trying to get them to agree to a reducing overdraft arrangement, I'll post more tomorrow but for now I'm going to try and find where in their T&C that 21 days bit is. Is it working days? Even if its 3 weeks from writing the letter the deadline should make it Wednesday and they've adjusted the OD 2 days early on Monday. I'm sure I'll be back here soon

Hello everyone hoping to get some more wonderful help from someone that can help My husband has received a letter from nationwide today saying they want to reduce our agreed overdraft limit on the 7th of November. We do not have the fund available to us to do this and if they do it we will have to leave the overdraft at what it is now and will start to (I assume) incur fines, which will quickly spiral out of control as there is little chance we'll get it to what they want any time soon. I would, if the situation was better, ask family for their help in the matter, but we already owe several hundred to my parents and we are already living mostly rent free with his parents (who are also having money problems, so much so they could really do with us giving them more). Can anyone advise me on what my options might be? My husband also has a mental health illness that things like this certainly don't help (under treatment) so what can I send to them so they speak to me only and not involve or worry him? Many thanks to all and I'll try and answer any questions I can

Did he receive any training for working on this new machine? When the new machine was installed they were instructed on its normal use. They were never shown what to do in the event of a jam. Was a risk assessment carried out for that job? Unknown, how would we find out? Did they report it to RIDDOR (he must have been off over 7 days because of the accident): It has been reported to HSE, if this is the same thing. I called HSE not long after posting and they said they were aware of the incident and if he wanted he could put in a request under the Freedom of information act to receive what they have so far. They said that some cases take years. I said we hadn't heard from them at all and, while I didn't get a direct reply, she seemed like this was normal. Maybe slightly evasive but maybe because I wasn't a person involved...? ...did he tamper/remove/alter any safety devices, ignore normal or written safety procedures to do what caused the accident? No to the safety device question, there is a hatch in the side of the machine that they can open to try and shift things along when there's a jam, but no actual safety device he would have to circumvent. He dealt with the jam exactly the same way he or any colleague would normally deal with it. There was a pole used that had been used for this same purpose for over 6 years. A pocket tape recorder may be handy so things can accurately be written up afterwards. If they record it do they have to state they are recording it? If the worry now is that they're trying to get away with it then I wouldn't put it past them to say something 'off the record' and then deny it ever happening :-\

He feels like he's got no blame in this anyway so no fear on that He's laying the blame entirely on the company and the situations they got put in. In his words 'This would never have happened with the old machine'. (Old machine was replaced with this model within the last couple of years).

Hey all, hoping I can get some more experienced views on some things. My Father in Law was involved in a very serious accident at work a few months ago. He survived, although he may not recover full use of an arm or leg (he was at risk of loosing them). He was dragged into a machine and crushed while trying to clear a jam. He's now received a letter from his work saying that their internal investigation has concluded and that he will be invited to a Disciplinary Hearing (date to be arranged). Government Health and Safety officials were there on the day, however he hasn't heard anything from them since. Is this normal? He was called by another member of staff on his day off and went in to help as this person was working alone and he knew how dangerous a jam like this could be (and indeed was). He was stood on a tiny platform with no guard rail and had to put his head and shoulders in the machine to poke at the jam until it came loose. While doing so the pole he was using was grabbed by the machine and he was dragged into it, then being crushed by the rubbish that was previously jammed. He's very angry that he's now got this hearing as he feels they're to blame for poorly designed equipment and unsafe practices (one person on their own). They have put a stop to the machine ever being worked alone since this happened. I'm trying to let him know that the hearing will just be a meeting to establish what, if any, responsibility lies with him (and the other worker). What are the likely outcomes though? Should the work be waiting until H&S have even spoken to him?

Yeah I thought I'd follow it up as I've been back on this site recently, and it was playing on my mind tonight.

Hey all, dragging this up after almost a year but it still niggles at me a bit. I received a reply after sending one to the above email from the 'Executive Office'. It basically said they acknowledged my email and that I had received another customers details, and he in turn yet another customers, they were taking it very seriously and were going to fully investigate it. They appreciated my brining it to their attention, but they would be 'unable to confirm the outcome of our investigation or on what action we will look to take with any individual concerned going forward'. I guess my bugbear with this is that I'll never know if they actually have made any changes to how things are handled, or if it was just something to fob me off. Do I have any standing to say 'hang on, that's not good enough, where's your proof our details are safe with you?'

Hey again, in response to this I'd love to share some interesting facts that make me grin about the whole situation (Grin and bear it seems to be the only way to get through some shifts) 1. I have mentioned to the previous dep. manager (who had to run the store as manager for approx 1.5 year without training) about not having a contract and they replied 'oh they (the company) don't do contracts any more. The only reason any of us have one is because we came from (name of store previously)'. I wasn't directed towards any employee handbook or any form of written terms. 2. I have had to refuse shifts, if only to get some relief from the shop. It's great when you get a txt from the boss asking if you can cover a shift... that you're already working 3. Sadly, ALL the staff are under trained. No exaggeration. The store is patched together so badly, even those who know the most are really just winging it sometimes. 4. Pardon my French when I saw the 'apply to become the manager' part New job is looking to be my best bet at this rate, problem is there's so much I like about this one. If it weren't for things going wrong I'd love it.

There's been several occasions (weekly almost) where there's an issue either with the rota or staff requesting from the manager they change a shift and it doesn't get sorted until either the day before of the day of the shift in question. Most recently, in one day, the rota was changed so 5 different people had to change their shift around because of the rota being mucked up and the wrong people being in at the same time (ie 2 people not trained being in together on a shift where at least one needed training in certain things). Some of it was arranged in advance (a couple of days max), but I know that 2 people were asked to come in 'any earlier that you can manage' on the day they were meant to be working, and another had to come back in later in the day after they'd already finished. Moral is shot to pieces at the mo due to this kind of thing, and there's issues with some staff being given chance after chance while others are straight onto the disciplinary track for anything being wrong after their shifts shooting moral to bits as well.

Hey guys, recently the shop I work at has had a few issues and I'm hoping to know where I (and a couple others) stand with things. Looking through my paperwork re; issues recently I can't find a copy of my contract. I also do not remember if I ever signed one (I may or may not have). Iirc they have 3 months from me starting to issue me a copy (if I did sign one). If I DIDNT sign one, under what terms am I actually working if anything came to a head? On the above note, several times recently in conversation it's come up that 'staff must be flexible' regarding their hours and that it's stated in our contracts. Without having my contract to hand I've no way of telling if this is true, nor whether there's any stated definition of flexible. Would there be anything that would be standard for this definition?

Hey AH, sorry I've only just noticed your reply, no idea how I missed this back then. It's a long story but items are listed in a couple of places as being compatible, including eBuyers website, eBuyer themselves updated the BIOS when the motherboard first went back to them. I would have been MORE THAN HAPPY if eBuyer could have got them working together, we felt we were doing something so stupidly wrong in not being able to even get a motherboard and processor to even TRY and boot to post! (Sorry, mini rant, not angry, this has been really exasperating lol) Progress in the last week though which I hope someone can just give me a little info on. Long story short, they said they'd refund us on Thursday. Assuming that went to the bank their end fine on that day, if I were to call up my credit card company and say to them 'Can you see this refund pending at all' would they be able to tell me anything more than I can see on my online statement? I just want to know it's actually on it's way before I look into buying something new and wont have another problem crop up. Long story for those who want more info/long story so I can get it off my chest. So they've checked the two items together again and said 'Ok looks like, despite everything, these two AREN'T compatible. We'll refund one, which one would you like to keep?' So called them up Monday and said we'd like to keep the Processor please. Guy confirmed with me that they would send processor back and it would go to the correct address (another problem we've had; lucky I work at my local post office!) and the refund would go through that day. On Thursday we finally heard from them that they were refunding BOTH items :S On calling them up it turns out whoever I spoke to Monday did something wrong and despite the documentation saying we would receive the processor back he's managed to refund both items. The lady I spoke to said it was going out their end that day and we should receive it in a couple of working days depending on our bank etc. ... I probably shouldn't post at 4am, I'm way too sleep deprived!

Hey guys, my husband bought a load of bits for my PC back in October, but despite sending the motherboard back on its own (no fault detected), then the processer back on its own (no fault detected) and then sending both bits back together asking they test them togethee (processor apparently faulty, we'll replace that for you) we've put it back together today and it's still bust. We're both fed up with it now, can I ask for a refund yet instead of them constantly back and forthing us?

Hey all, some wonderful replies with things I hadn't considered The Car isn't insured as its off the road, it's a Celica that's been bought to do up nicely. We've only been in the property just over a month, and though the gate has blown open once since we arrived we had secured it more firmly. It's a rather flimsy wood slats, connected to a Concrete block wall/pillar, just under a foot on each side. About a foot and a half tall of concrete has been torn off the pillar by the wind, we think by the gate managing to drag it off. It generally seems to be of poor construction/design, with whatever's holding the concrete blocks together being too weak or just poorly put together. Got hold of the Estate agents today and they've said they'll get hold of the LL, they've agreed the wall will need fixing and repairing but weren't as forthcoming about the car. Might try and find out what the LL's insurance covers, can I request a copy of his insurance policy? Seems a bit of a DPAish issue to me but as we live here I'm sure I'm allowed some info on it, just not sure how much.

It's a bit underhanded but you might try talking to either the firm the driver works for, and to the Licencing department at the council. While there's not a lot legally it seems they can do, maybe if you make it a nuisance of yourself from every side he'll find it less handy for him to park in :-\

Hey guys, hope someone can give us some reassurance here. We've rented a new house. The back garden has a wall connected to a gate that is wide enough to let a car through, and part of the garden is used to store a car (LL used to store his boat there apparently). In the high winds overnight the gate and wall have blown down and slammed into the back of the car we're storing there atm, smashing the rear light and ruining the bumper. Are we right in thinking it's the LL's responsibility for the damage to our car, as well as securing the garden again?

All meters have had pictures taken of them already, which is why I cant believe we didn't think to do the whole house :-\ Any suggestions on a letter for signing, or would it be best to just make do with the photographs?