Thank you very much Hightail, that's very useful. I've just called and spoken to the practice manager and pointed this out. They have agreed the actions of the vet concerned were wrong and have agreed to refund the medications we didn't request. You were a big help, I really appreciate it!

Sorry if I didn't phrase something correctly but my cat didn't have surgery - it was just a consultation. As far as I knew, my cat was being taken into a quieter room as the waiting room was making him more distressed, and I would be called into a consulting room to go through everything with the vet. But by the time I saw the vet, my cat had already been given two injections and syringes of pain relief had been made up for me to take home. I was not consulted about either beforehand, we didn't go through why I was there or what symptoms and behaviour had been displayed, etc. Not that I have a complaint about the injections he was given but it's the principle that I didn't authorise them to do or give anything to my cat. I realise now I should probably have said something whilst I was still there, but I didn't properly look at my receipt until I got home, and my cat was distressed being there and I just wanted to get him out. That's why I phoned immediately after I got back (less than half an hour after I'd left) to query it.

Hi all, One of my cats has just come back from the vet with a suspected urinary infection - something he has had several times before. Upon arrival he was taken into the back room as he was very vocal and it is quieter than in the waiting room. When I was taken into a consulting room, my cat was back in his basket and I was informed he'd already been given two injections and all the medication he was going to need was being prepared. I was asked very few questions about the behaviour of my cat and I was only given directions on how to use the prescriptions. When I got home I realised he's been prescribed a huge amount of pain relief - in addition to the pain relief injections he was given on site - when I wasn't asked whether he appeared to be in pain. I called them straight up and pointed out the additional prescriptions and that I felt they were unnecessary, and could I return them for a refund. I've been told that medication taken off site cannot be refunded. I'm really annoyed that it wasn't discussed or explained to me first why he was being given this medication and whether I was happy, and are now 30 minutes later telling me I can't get a refund when I've had chance to look at what's been given. Please advise if I have any rights here?

Thanks RMW, I think everyone agrees that letting the employee go is the preferred course if action, but it is now difficult to find a reason as their behaviour - which would usually be grounds for dismissal according to our handbook - has gone unchallenged.

Good evening and a HNY to all CAGers, I work for a family friend who runs his own business. He has a 'problem' employee - one who is insubordinate, is constantly making mistakes, spends most of their time on the internet/generally avoiding doing work, and has a personal vendetta against our boss resulting in the disclosure of defamatory information. Their behaviour has been ongoing for some time (2 years), but none of it has ever been formally raised as unfortunately my boss, while excellent with figures, is admittedly not good dealing with personnel issues or confrontation. I have two questions please: 1) I assume any behaviour that has occurred previously couldn't be used due to it not being dealt with at the time? 2) How could my boss go about raising these issues in future (without it looking like a witch hunt) when they appear not to have been a problem previously? Thank you, MS

This is why, if in doubt, you should seek professional legal advice. If you end up having to pay court costs because you didn't want to pay for legal advice in the first place, then that was your prerogative. CAG offer what advice they can based on their knowledge and the outcomes of similar cases but never claim to know better than a professional. If you're really serious about pursuing an issue then you can't expect advice to be handed to you on a plate for free.

I'm considering buying some electronics from an unfamiliar online store (Alza.co.uk), as they are significantly cheaper than the big retailers. They are rated relatively well online from a quick Google search. I am however, concerned about the likelihood of having any kind of warranty honoured should something break during the first 12 months. What is the general advice with ordering such things as electronics online from non-major retailers?

The traffic wasn't stationery or moving 'slowly' - as I said, it was moving at around 25mph (in a 30) so almost at 'top speed'. I don't understand what you mean by your second paragrah. If you're talking about mine, they hadn't been green for very long (hence me saying they stayed green for some time after I had come to a stop over the line). I couldn't see the traffic that far ahead; the point at which I realised there wasn't enough room on the other side of the junction, I stopped immediately. The car in front was half way across the junction when he suddenly braked, and he stopped about in front of the cars waiting at their stop line going across. I was crossing the line at this point, so I braked, as I said, so as to not block the road for those wanting to turn. I could have not, I could have stopped right in the middle of the junction behind the car in front, stopping people from turning and moved up with traffic. I don't understand why you seem to be trying to pick holes and make out I was pushing my way across when I should have stayed at the junction? I did stay at my own junction, but over the line, which is the closest I could get under the circumstances - which is what I would have been taught to do on my lessons.

Thanks for responding. As I said, I waited until the crossing set of lights had turned red, and that the cars had stopped. Then when I assumed ours would have turned green, I proceeded. I've never had any previous convictions, I am a mindful and considerate driver - I wouldn't have risked causing an accident (or being caught doing something I shouldn't) just because I was being impatient. The lights weren't amber, they were green, and green for about 10 seconds after I'd crossed the stop line and was sitting, having left a space for people to turn in front of me. The cars also weren't moving particularly slowly (25mph-ish). It is difficult to explain without a diagram but everyone came to a sudden holt because of further traffic lights about 100 metres down the road.

Firstly, thank you all for your responses. I've only just had chance to come back to the thread. In regards to how I was caught and having been back through the route today, I believe it was a CCTV camera as there are no safety cameras anywhere. Just to comment on the quote above, I was already halfway over the line when the person in front braked (I couldn't see ahead of them), and by the time I had reacted, I ended up fully over the line.

Thanks for the response dx It says "This allegation is supported by photographic and/or video evidence", though no stills were printed onto the letter. I suppose in some ways I am pleading ignorance (which understandably doesn't usually get you anywhere) but as I said, I couldn't see my lights and had to make a judgement that they would be green based on the crossing lights having turned red.

Last week I was travelling home from work on a busy stretch of residential road. I came up to a set of green traffic lights at a crossroads, and had fully crossed the line when the car in front of me hit his brakes. as not to block the people in the oncoming lane from turning, I left a gap between myself and the car in front. By the time the cars in front had shuffled up, the other set of lights were on green so I stayed where I was. I could see the other set of lights, but I could no longer see mine. I waited until a couple of seconds after the other set of lights had turned red (assuming ours would have changed to green) and then I proceeded when I knew it was safe. There were no cars in the oncoming lane so I couldn't judge when the lights had changed by their movement. I've now been sent a letter highlighting that it's a criminal offense to jump a red light, and I have to fill in a DVLA form and will get the opportunity to pay a fine instead if I respond within a week. My lights must have still been on red when I moved, but I had gone way past them and there were none on the other side of the crossroads. It was a genuine mistake; it's not like I got impatient and just went, I made sure the crossing traffic had stopped and gave it a couple of seconds as a lot of lights do. I want to appeal because I was actually trying to do the right thing by leaving a gap for traffic turning, rather than just blocking the way like I could have done. I'll probably get told I don't have an argument but I thought it was worth asking. Thanks for reading.

I start this post with a large sigh... I'm sorry to bother you all again. Today DFC have contacted me again to say that I do owe another payment, despite beginning every email with "the contents of your correspondence have been noted on file" - which is clearly BS. I'm at the end of my tether with the whole situation. I know everything needs to be kept in writing for evidence, but I really just want to phone either SC or DFC and have it out on the phone; SC seem to refuse to correspond even in response to a formal complaint, and DFC's replies are extremely vague and brief with any questions for specific information being ignored. I don't know what to do, I'm tempted to just ignore it all now seeing as I've already had confirmation my account has been closed once, and hope they just get bored and drop it.

Good news! I've just had an email from DFC after challenging the final payment on Tuesday... and they've said my account is now closed! I should still get a response from the director at the gym as requested, but I anticipate it will simply be an acknowledgement (and maybe even an apology if I'm lucky!) rather than an argument or demand. CAG 1, gym cowboys 0! Thank you so much for all your help, the world needs more people like you!!

Hi Slick, Absolutely positive I have an email from 2 June to The Sports Connexion requesting cancellation, and then another one to them on 5 June to advise I'd spoken to DFC and asking them to liaise as necessary. Will keep you posted if they continue to argue it. Thanks so much again

Hi Slick My DD was not taken and so I cancelled the mandate, and unsurprisingly received a call from DFC two hours later (I didn't answer but they left me a voicemail wanting a call back). I have sent a formal complaint to the director of The Sports Connexion informing him of the whole situation and reiterating that I am within my right to cancel under A) the term I was initially given, or B) the fact that I was mis-sold the contract if A) is not true. This was sent by RD and was received by them this morning, although I requested a response in writing so obviously nothing back yet. I have just had an email from DFC however advising me they want one more payment that was due on 7 July to close my account. I on the other hand have noticed this in my contract: "DFC is our agent for the collection of your monthly subscriptions. DFC will collect your subscription monthly in advance on our behalf by Direct Debit." My last payment was on 8 June, so I understand that to mean if in advance as my T&Cs say, takes me to 7 July. I gave notice on 2 June, which add 30 days takes me to the 1 July. Would you advise I make this last payment? I know it will close the case if I do and save me any further hassle, but I don't necessarily think it's even due, and it's money I could ideally use if I can help it. Thanks again, you're ace!

Hi Slick, Thanks for your continued response and support. Something a bit bizarre - potentially - has happened. The DD hasn't been taken as I expected, and judging by my 'available funds' doesn't look to be pending either. Seeing as I've had no response from either the gym or DFC, I have no idea whether the DD has been cancelled from their end. Edit: Having just spoken to my bank, they've said that if I can still see the mandate on my internet banking, it means it hasn't been cancelled by them. I don't want to pay them any more than I have to; I initially requested my membership be cancelled on 2nd June (via an email to the gym manager) which with a month's notice would have taken me up to 2nd July. I only thought it best to make another payment on 7th July in case DFC argued I didn't tell them as well till 15th June. In the two pieces of correspondence I've sent regarding allowing another DD to be taken, this is precisely what I've said: "Accordingly, I hereby cancel my membership and will allow one further direct debit payment to be taken on 7 July 2015, after which I will cancel the direct debit mandate." And "If I do not hear from you by my last direct debit date of 7 July 2015, I will take the matter as closed and final." What do you think I should do? Can I effectively 'withdraw' my offer of a final payment now that the date it should have (contractually) been taken has passed? Edit: Also, if they were to take payment on any day other than the agreed date within my contract, is this a breach of contract out of interest? Thank you

Hello again So I emailed both the gym manager and DFC to the effect of the messages above on 15th June, and received an auto-reply confirming receipt from DFC saying they would respond within 10 working days if a response was required. I got an email back from DFC on 22nd June saying they would look into it and contact me shortly. I heard nothing from either DFC or the gym manager after that. I emailed them both again on 1st July saying that I would appreciate confirmation that the matter was closed, but if I didn't hear by my last DD date (tomorrow) I would consider the matter closed. Other than another auto-reply, I still haven't been contacted by either of them again. I am reluctant to accept silence as confirmation that they won't come back to me in the future, but when I don't get response I'm not sure what else I can do. Is best part of three and a half weeks sufficient time to have given them? All it needs is for DFC to phone the gym manager and him to say "yes", I can't see how they can argue that couldn't have been done in three weeks now. Any advice at this point would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Depending on the company (usually in corporate-sized firms), I would find it more unusual for those terms not to be included in a contract. You will probably - and hopefully - find however that you are not often expected/required to do a significant amount of overtime, and it is just something they 'force' you to agree to initially to cover their backs should it happen in future. It's not very fair in my opinion, but when there are several people competing for most jobs, they can unfortunately get away with it. Hope it all goes well for you and it's not something you need to worry about.

Thanks all - I spoke to ACAS and they said any holiday accrued and untaken is legally due, so I will push with that and hope the mention of this correspondence sorts things.

Just to be clear, I'm not trying to work out how much I'm owed as I know how much I accrued, what I'm asking is whether they can claim I'm not entitled to receive it because I didn't work a full month?

I haven't had a week off... I worked the first week of June, and during it I accrued 0.5 days holiday which apparently I am not entitled to receive.

Sorry if I've misunderstood your wording but I'm only asking to be paid for what I've accrued, which might seem like splitting hairs but is worth about £50 to me. They owed me 6.5 days in total, but are now claiming they don't have to pay me the 0.5 of a day because that relates to the first week of June.

Hi Dookist, Wow I'm really sorry to hear you're having such issues. What's making me think that you should be paid holiday pay pretty much regardless of your length of service is this question in the FAQ of ACAS's holiday pay guide: How can holiday pay be calculated for a worker who left after only three days in employment? I'm assuming the fact that there is advice on this, means that holiday is accrued and should be paid irrespective of length of service (within reason) or part months/weeks. If I were you, if they're refusing to acknowledge, let alone pay, any outstanding holiday, contact ACAS who will probably advise you to start tribunal proceeding if you've followed the companies complaints procedure.

Hello nice people of CAG forum, I finished with my previous employer on 5th June, having worked the full week. When querying another aspect of my final payslip, I mentioned that I had not been paid for the holiday I'd accrued in the first week of June (half a day). Just to be clear, I definitely didn't take more holiday than I was owed. The response I've received from HR is that "there is no entitlement for June because I left at the beginning of the month". There is nothing in my terms or the staff handbook to say that I only accrue holiday per full month completed - in any case I don't think that would be legally if they tried? Any advice as to whether they are correct would be greatly appreciated.