My husband is about to have surgery on his foot, The Dr states he may need to have 6-8 weeks off work while he recovers, at first we thought that was fine as company handbook (dated Aug 2010) stated that employees at his level of service can have 8 weeks full pay while off sick, Unfortunatley his contract states different, (perm contract started Sept 2010 before that he was working on a temporary contract) that says we only have 4 weeks full pay sick entitlement. Is there any way we can "convince" the company to extend his sick entitlement to the same level as the other employees or are we going to have to suffer the extra time he needs with SSP ?

Last July my mother who lives alone fell and broke her ankle, (or rather smashed) After surgery in hospital to put it back together she was sent to a nursing home to recover as she was unable to walk, hence was unable to look after herself at home. She took 7 weeks to become well enough to return home, the cast had been removed and she was using one of those support boot things. Upon entering the nursing home she signed a document stating she was entitled to stay for 5 weeks free, which could be extended should it be required. Once she returned home she had a bill for £730.96 for the full term she was there, I have queried this and today 5 months later, they have finally got back to me saying she will be invoiced for £518.78. Now i've already responded asking for a full breakdown of applicable charges including the dates where the charges were from/to, also requested a copy of the signed document upon entering the nursing home, Also taken a screenshot of the relevant council web-page and saved that as a pdf doc which also states 5 weeks free care. So just a quick question, do i need to ask for anything else, (SAR maybe? ) and whats my next step if they wont revise the bill to something which is more acceptable?

Thank you for posting that info from the RCVS site, I only really bring this up from my own experience, and that of my brother who even though has pet insurance, still has to dip into his savings to pay £750 as the insurance terms stated client pays 10% of final bill, Plus the vets made a mistake on his bill, and charged him for transportation to a specialist centre when he in fact drove the dog there himself. Like most things in life we have to pay for, Its always good to do a little bit of homework.

A late update but i fell off the wagon in oct, a quick look in the vets and pets forum will explain why. But i've clambered back on and have started quitting again. this time though, i hope to beat the expanding waistline by abusing the kinect on xbox. So Day 1- doing this cold turkey but no really bad cravings as yet, I made sure hubby took the cigs to work, and i've no cash in my pocket so if i want a ciggie it means walking to the town to get money out the cashpoint. I remember last time that days 1 and 2 were ok, but by day 3 i was ready to kill anyone and everyone. I'll be back on day 7 to say how im getting on.

Oct 2010 my poor dog was limping on her front paw. Took her to my local vets who said it may be early onset arthitis ( dog was 6yrs old ) and prescribed her painkillers and told me if it didnt improve over the following 10 days they'd have to x-ray at a cost of £250 for the first slide and £50 per subsequent slide + sedative costs. (visit + painkillers = cost of £57) I sat at home and gave the dog her meds hoping it would work, purely as hubby had only recently gone back to work and we hadnt restarted the pet insurance It didnt work, so rather than pay that extortiant fee and wait for several days until they had time available to x-ray her i phoned several other local vets. 1 practice wouldnt even tell me the price of a consultation fee never mind the x-ray costs, another stated that they'd have to see the dog before they could discuss treatment, So finally i called a vet hospital (the only 1 in the area apparantly), the receptionist said they'd call me back once a vet was available to tell me the costs. 10 minutes later he was on the phone. £22.50 for consultation, £165 for 2 x-rays INCLUDING sedation, and they could fit the dog in the following morning. Unfortunatley my poor baby girl was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma of the front elbow and it had already spread. kindest thing was to have her put to sleep. They gave the x-rays without me asking, and the bill........ £305 including the pts costs and a private cremation with engraved wooden casket. An unhappy ending but 1 i had to share, While you sit there with your healthy pet, call around the local vets, get a list of their charges, see what facilities they offer. Even if your insured, still call around as i found out that some vets use the PDSA hospitals to house their patients overnight and then charge YOU for the board. I hope this small tale helps someone.

Jumped in a bit quick. (enter red faced blushing smily here ) Been on the phone to council, who apologised that a summons had been sent instead of a reminder. Apparantly the date i've been paying was 10 days later than they expected it. (nice of them to tell me earlier) So they've changed the date when they expect payment to later in the month and removed my court costs. I've logged/recorded the call and requested conformation of the court cost removal. so all in all, happy days. I will be back though if they decide to go back on what they've agreed and try to continue to charge me the court costs.

Received a summons through the letterbox this morning, to say i was surprised would be an understatement. I have been summoned to appear before the magistrates court at the end of the month for non-payment of council tax, Since my husband returned to work in May last year, I have paid my instalments every month when i pay the rent. (on payday) I have received no late payment reminders on this account, and would like some advice on how to get the court costs removed as I will be disputing those on account that the payment schedule has been kept, therefore it should have never even come to this point.

Or dont do as he says because you'll be like me. You may be ciggie free, but you MAY gain 3 stones in weight which is being a pain to lose.

papasmurf. when you feel your civil rights have been broken, (like your loading bay parking ticket) just remember that its just a MINOR injustice, and nothing to get all upset over. and with that, my conversation with you is ceased.

I am being objective and proportionate. Regardless of the circumstances involved, a criminal act was committed, and should be looked into. Now, instead of going straight to the police like some people would,(which i admit, i may still do) I went to the company because if nothing else, They can change their training practises to ensure their staff get the appropriate level of knowledge for the job in which they are asked to do.

mini-update Stores head office contacted me just before the weekend, apologising for the length of time its taking for their "security and legal teams to complete their investigation." How long should be reasonable for a company to investigate a complaint do you reckon??

Been on the phone today, not a happy girly. Apparantly they introduced this policy earlier in the year, If you upgrade to certain levels of package, you go onto a new 12 month contract, Shame the sales guy "forgot" to mention this because if they had, i wouldnt of bothered upgrading. Everything been turned back down to minimum until contract ends, Then its freesat and BeBroadband.

DOesn't matter what you offer, ebay and paypal screw sellers over in eevery way they can; I sold an xbox360 game which i had completed, i look after my games so i knew it was perfect, guy who had it complained it didnt work and started dispute when i wouldnt offer refund. (no refunds was stated in my listing, nor any guarantee of the game working) Paypal told him to send it back as as soon as he gave the recorded item number they refunded him, When the disc got back to me it wasnt even the same disc i sent out, this one had a huge crease which prevented it from working. I contacted paypal over this and they said tough, resolution is closed by us, end of matter. I now sell in local paper, no listing fees, paypal fees and i stil usually make more then i would on ebay. Only exception in this is when i sell a vehicle, then ebay is used purely as advertising.

Can someone show me where in the terms and conditions that upgrading a service with virgin media means having a new 12 month contract. Background: Last year during a time of financial hardship, i downgraded my account to the bare minimum. Come april, when my finances were improved, i upgraded back to the level of service i had before. At no time was i told that a new contract had been entered into. Nor was any paperwork sent out pertaining to this. Any help appreciated

Quick update: Have received 2nd letter from RLP which got filed under: "ignore" Have contacted store's head office and made official complaint, have also informed one of the police that dealt with my daughter on the scene in case charges have to be brought, so now all parties are fully aware of situation.