Bottom line really I don't think we will take it further with it being his first job he would need a reference and speaking from experience of employers you do get bullying in the work place and while it doesn't bring a lot of income it is something more than anything I was shocked that the club secretary actually admitted in writing that the club "discriminates" against it's employees

My stepson works in his local WMC glass collection usually on a weekend while he does college through the week. He's just turned 19 although has some form of Autism so with this being his first job me and his mum look out for him a bit. He's been there about 3 years now and usually does around 2 shifts a week over the weekend the wmc decided they were going to do contracts for everyone. In the contract it stated that stepson/glass collectors are classed as casual staff so they are working in a needs of the club basis. Now once this contract was issued he started getting the odd shift which was 1 day a week which meant his wage would only be about £20. The landlady said after he spoke with her not to worry about it as he gets 2 shifts (they do have too many glass collectors) So ok we then looked into how his holidays were worked out with him being casual staff as we wanted to know how they worked them out as he was told 8 days per year but in the contract it stated that they would look at hours worked over 12 weeks. We also asked about smokers breaks usually because he does 4 hrs they don't get a break and if they do it is down to the landlady/boss that night. usually they do however in the contract it only ever refers to smokers getting a break and as long as they sign out it's ok so we asked if the contract could be changed to inc non-smokers. this we as reply we got in summary, Dear ..... None of the bar staff of glass collectors have contracted hours so it would be unfair to say you are guaranteed 2 shifts per week. Holidays are worked out from your working week pro rata over the last 12 weeks worked (fair enough) (only gripe I have with that is holidays run from January-dec so the secretary didn't explain if from January he needed to build up 3 months of holidays or whether they go from the last 3 months which would be from the end of december 2012) I will look into that. As for smokers breaks he basically said they don't have to give one but they do they have to sign out in a book so they know where they are and went onto say that as a non smoker he has to stand in the smoking area so they know where he is if there is a fire. he doesn't smoke and he ended the letter with. Stepson...you have more than 50 years left to work and you will find this type of discrimination where ever you work.

Well a further update now on this thread the Insurance company have finally written to us now they have got word back from the legal team...Take into account that this happened back in November 2011 they told us in March 2012 that they had passed it onto their legal team, we heard nothing and pushed them for a response then we were told from about June/July the legal team/solicitor would need to speak to wife however this never happened due to wife working and them never calling at the agreed time outside of her working hours (by which they had actually agreed to and one day they said ok he will contact you between 4-5pm) so when did the call come through 2pm when wife was at work so this is how it went for about 2 months...I wrote a letter of complaint and told them I would take legal action against the insurance company because of everything that had happened. they sent a letter back with cheque as stated above for £250 as an apology and stated in September that again the files would be passed onto the solicitor. Finally a letter in response from the solicitor that they wont take it to court as in their opinion without CCTV or an independent 3rd party it is likely to go 50/50 at best I would like to point out that the insurance company requested the wrong date for the CCTV and when they went back for the right date the council had wiped it

My wife was sacked from her last job but was lucky enough to get another job not long after (she works in a school) At the interview stage she declared that there had been problems with her last employment her sacking was down not following a management direction (Parking issues) within and around the school grounds this was also in her reference from the school. Despite all that he took her on and there has been no issues since. She has now been looking for another job since she got this new one and has been informed by the headmaster that when giving her a reference he has to "declare" on it that she was sacked from her last job and the reasons for her sacking. I've never heard of an employer doing this before as I would have assumed a reference would relate to current job and her role and not inc information relating to the employer before them? The headmaster has said that he spoke with HR about this and wife also had her Union present (Unison) who also agreed they could do this. Would appreciate some advice on this as I didn't think they were allowed to do that?

Changed companies back in April, totally agree with eh gesture of goodwill I'll cash the cheque by all means but it doesn't mean I wont be taking the matter further, if they think it will go 50/50 it simply wont happen they have messed up and I can't actually believe that further down the letter she states that "due to no CCTV" it may go 50/50 even after they have admitted it was their fault. When I wrote to them I asked for the return of the years insurance premium £1500 + the cost of all our calls to the company since November which total around £70 ish, the legal cover we paid for at £27 and cost of what it would be to get the car repaired £900 in total I asked for £3000 and told them court action is looming. The answer to my letter was a cheque for £250 with the possibility of not actually going to court for reasons already stated

Well about 9 months ago when she called them to ask if they had spoken to the 3rd party at all at this point about 2 months had passed with nothing from the insurer they said yes we have spoken to them and they said the dog was on a lead and that she was speeding and hit the dog. This is when she referred the CCTV as evidence and pointed out that where the inccident took place there was speed bumps and its a 20mph zone although the CCTV would show this. The letter also states a lack of witness although in the letter it fails to mention I was actually there at the time so that is also something that needs to be corrected. I did read on here I think or hear it from someone that family can't usually be classed as a witness as it needs to be someone independant. In my opinion the CCTV would have been all the evidence they needed to ensure 3rd party was at fault and they have infact lied to the insurance company that the dog was on a lead at the time of the accident. I'm glad the insurance company sent this letter as it now shows that liability is with them. wife told them that £250 wont cover the costs of the damage to the car and with the insurance company losing evidence and then suggesting that it might be a 50/50 split because of the now lack of evidence that she will be taking the matter further with the obudsman and court action if needed. to recover costs of the car and the years worth of insurance she paid to them due to breaking the contract she was under with them at the time. The women that actually deals with it wasn't available today it was someone else that works with her so further to this phone call the person dealing with it should be calling sometime after 4pm tomorrow if not a call will come from us lets see.

Turning to liability, I can advise this is currently in dispute. In my opinion without any independent evidence, such as witness or CCTV footage liability is likely to be settled on a 50/50 split. However, we have sent the file to solicitors for an independent opinion should this proceed to court. Once the solicitors return their comments, I will ensure we will call you discuss the findings in more depth. I would like to make you aware the opinion of the solicitor is likely how we will look to resolve this claim However, as a result of any inconvenience caused, as our procedures were not followed, we have reinstated your No Claims Bonus. This means the claim is showing as a non-fault claim on our files. Should you change insurance companies you will need to notify them of the claim. You have advised when you called the agent answered with another company’s name. I apologise for this; however, Elephant is part of the EUI group. This means the agents take calls for Admiral, Diamond, Bell and Elephant. I have discussed this matter with the agent and highlighted the importance of noting which company the policyholder is with, before answering the call. I understand you do not wish to claim for the damage to your vehicle until liability is resolved. As a gesture of goodwill I will raise a cheque for the amount of £150 to allow you to claim without suffering a financial loss. Due to the frustration of our errors, lack of communication and the delays caused, a compensation payment of £100.00 has been raised. Therefore a cheque for the amount of £250 will follow under separate cover. Whilst in no way distracting from your complaint, I hope this goes in some way in restoring your faith in Elephant. I am sorry you found it necessary to complain, as at Diamond we take customer satisfaction seriously. While I realise you may remain disappointed, I hope I have explained the reasons for our actions.

LETTER FROM COMPANY Further to our discussion about your issue with our claims service. Please accept my sincere apology you felt it necessary to make a complaint. As a Quality Executive I have been asked to look into your concerns. I understand you are unhappy we had the incorrect incident date noted on our files resulting in delays. In addition you were not satisfied as we were unable to obtain CCTV footage. I have completed a full investigation into the matter; including an in depth review of the file and all the details provided by you and would like to explain my findings. With regards to the incident date, I have listened to the call in which you registered the incident. On this call you clearly state the incident was on 20th November 2011. I am unable to explain the reason why the agent noted the date as 21st November. However, I can confirm this has since been amended and feedback passed accordingly. You notified us there was CCTV footage of the incident available and it was advised for you to obtain this. It is not our procedure to obtain CCTV footage, however I feel as you had notified us this was available; we should have tried to apply for it ourselves. We did apply for this at a later date however; as we had the wrong date noted on our file we applied for footage for the incorrect date. When you provided us the accurate date of the incident, I note the handler left this information on file but failed to act upon it. When we finally realised our error, it was too late to apply for the data held for the correct incident date. I apologise for this error and any inconvenience caused, I have provided feedback to the agent’s manager to ensure this is avoided in the future. With regards to the Pro-forma, I apologise you were advised to obtain this in order to provide evidence you have suffered a financial loss. Unfortunately this is not available to you, as the Third Party involved in the claim, the dog, does not hold an insurance policy. I have provided full feedback to each of the handlers who advised you of this information and have asked the manager to provide any further training needed.

Update....... The insurance company is Elephant. wife has just called them I will post a copy of the letter later as they said to her that they had posted a letter on the 21/9/12 which we never got so she emailed it to her about an hour ago so I apologise if its long. Before I post this letter I want people to bare in mind that I was a witness to the incident as was in the car with her she told them that on the phone when it was first reported but said we can deal with that later, Not sure why she says we lost our no claims as nothing has been paid out still waiting for court action and when she went with a new insurance company they sent us her our no claims through, the CCTV is property of the local council when we contacted them under the date protection act they told wife she wasn't allowed the CCTV but the insurance company could apply for it. they argued on the phone tonight that it was "Her" responsibility to obtain it even though they eventually went for it themself and got the wrong date.

So My wife called them and got an answer phone message on the other side saying that the person she phoned is away until the 28th August? it was like the 7th september when she phoned. she left a message for them to contact her from 15.30pm as that is when she finished work and would be able to talk with them...we are on the 27th September and no returned calls until today some post came from them a cheque for the value of £250 that says "this cheque is for your claim settlement" I dont know what that is all about so she is going to call them tomorrow as the value of the damage to the car works out at about £895...We have never dealth with an insurance company like this before most claims have gone smooth

Yeah I've looked online and seen that I can get the parts cheaper, I have tried that one already with him and his words were go f yourself. We got a phone call the other day from the insurance company asking my wife to call them so she is going to do that tomorrow and see where it goes from there. the only letters we have got from them since we started the claim last November was 1) To say after we gave them all the details on the phone 3 days later we get a letter to say due to lack of 3rd party details they are closing the case? 2) A letter to confirm a conversation on the phone where they agreed that - we could claim off our own insurance and take them to court to claim the money back but lose our no claim in the process at least till it was sorted or get a quote from a garage and then take the person to court to claim the costs for repair. This has been the only letters we have had from the company it took them 6 months to tell us that they had actually spoken to him and got his side of it but never informed us. So depending what they now say on the phone tomorrow which will probably be a load of crap it looks like court action will take placce

Updating this old thread..... Its now September and haven't got anywhere with Elephant or the legal department albany assistance.....since my last message on this we have contacted the legal department on 12 occasions because the case had been passed onto a particular solicitor...only problem is this person never seemed to be around when we asked for him and the person on the phone who we spoke to each time said they couldn't find him so we kept leaving messages to call us and never got them returned to the point I had a right go with one of the people on the phone over it...eventually they tracked this person down but was in a meeting so I asked if they could call between such and such a time as I wouldn't be in work then. So this person called I asked between 4-5pm they called at 2pm and left a message to call them...so I did that day and he wasn't around so I left a message with the person on the phone could he call me tomorrow as I would be in all day...The person on the phone told me he would be in the office most of the morning so would leave a message to call me then...got to 2pm that day no call so I called them to be told that he hadn't been in that day at all....so I left a message with them for him to call me...I was told then after this person went away that he was on leave for 2 weeks so he would have to contact me then as he has all the case notes and is the one dealing with it. 2 weeks passed so I called again....well you get the story its september now and still no contact from this person.... I contacted the FSA who told me to put everything in writing from the start of all this and what our complaint is and forward this onto Elephant if we haven't heard anything within 8 weeks they said we have to contact the Ombudsman but in the letter I have given them 14 days from the date of the letter to contact me because I think 8 weeks is a stupid amount of time. If I dont get anywhere with this I am willing to take this to the small claims court does anyone know what the cost is for this and is it a one off payment? I went onto our local court site but couldn't make anysense of the form but my understanding is its around £500?

thanks for the reply.... Car is a Chrysler Neon 52 plate, there is a crease on the wheel arch where the wing has been pushed back and its started to rust now dint is around the size of a CD. I will post a picture of the wing damage tomorrow to show what I mean

We have had a problem getting hold of a the person dealing with the case who left a message on the computer saying that if we were to get in contact to let them know they are not taking it any further....other staff we have contacted can't help and this was the person we needed to speak with....have left messages to contact us after 4pm but he has only rung once at 2pm every other time they can't find him. So today have spoken with someone else who has given us his managers name and left a note for them to look into it but he said looking at the notes its the legal team that dont want to take the case on and are going to have to look at the legal policy to see if damage to a car by a dog is covered. so I dont know why they have asked for quotes if they had no intention of doing anything. so waiting now for them to get back to us about anything further....we are taking this to the FSA just waiting at the moment to see where this is going as have got it in writing from Elephant as to our options for going to court it seems their legal team "albany assist" as the ones being the pain in the arse but the 2 go together as we never get informed of anything until we actually phone up and notes are left on the computer to inform us....So going to leave it till June and if nothing further has come about going to give the FSA a ring.

Well further update on this..... Got a quote on the car and they estimate £850 to get the work done.... car is worth £1200 so I dont know if they would consider the car written off at this point although as stated we are taking the guy to court to recover the cost of the quote so if they say the car would be written off if the repair goes ahead we'll just leave it as it is as its road worthy. Piffed off with this insurance company wont ever use them again...they get the CCTV for the wrong date and now its been wiped then 2 weeks ago we emailed the quote off with pictures of the car the body shop took direct to the legal team after phoning them up and asking for the email address we send them to and the insurance company emailed us yesterday to say that if we dont send a quote in soon they will close the case?? they are like my ass so going to have to call them tomorrow and find out what they have done with our pictures and quote as asked for an email confirmation once they had recieved our email and never got one. The insurance company dont seem to communicate very well with its own legal department as its been ongoing like this for ages one side doing one thing another side doing another.

RIGHT - SOME FACTS HERE!!! I am 'the wife' in question - and thanks oddjobbob for your, quite frankly, ridiculous and obnoxious comments. I DON'T NEED GLASSES AND I AM A GOOD DRIVER!!!! Until you actually have experience of me or my driving, keep your opinion to yourself!!! And that goes to Des as well - this is not a waste of taxpayers' money as this man has, quite clearly, broke the law (not just on this occasion as he admitted to this happening before). Try looking up the HIGHWAYS ACT 1980!!! Now some more facts!!!! I drove into the street and had to drive on the right hand side of the ROAD because it is a small cul de sac and a van was parked on the left hand side. The road and pavement (as already mentioned) are the same level around the whole street. This man has gates that open out onto the road instead of inward as they should do LEGALLY. As I drove past the van I DID SEE the gates, and that was why I was manoeuvring my car around, being careful not to hit either. However, as I got past the van and straightened up the car, my rear passenger door caught the gate BECAUSE IT WAS OVERHANGING ON THE ROAD NOT JUST THE PAVEMENT. I was driving on the road but this man's gates were clearly sticking out onto the road. I parked up my car outside my parents' (next door) and took a pic of the gate (clearly sticking out on the road). I also took pics of the damage to my car - then left a note to this man as he had gone out. As for the comments about why didn't I shut the gate first - WHY DIDN'T THIS MAN SHUT HIS OWN GATES WHEN HE LEFT TO GO OUT???? I'm not the one in the wrong here - but it seems that if you break the law and someone elses property gets damaged, then you threaten the person who is clearly in the right, you still get away with it!!!!!

I had a problem with a printer actually 3 of the same. the ink kept going faulty after the first install and it was a digital chip so the printer wouldn't do anything until the ink was installed. all it was doing was bleeding onto the chip so when it came to printing out all the colours were mixed. We had problems trying to exchange the usual stuff it was our fault and didn't know what we were doing.....after the 3rd printer did the same they refused a refund saying that it was us I really kicked off in store before finally the manager came over and tested one out of the box in the store and came across the same problem. It was then that the same person that had served us for the other 2 printers said that these printers were crap and they were always going faulty we paid £100 down from £180 we finally got to exchange in the end but not bothered buying anything since from pc world simply because they tried to blame me for being too stupid to understand how to put ink into a printer

Why would I shout at my wife? it wasn't her fault the end of the gate was hanging onto the road our car never went on the pavement thats the point I am getting at. fine if his gate was just on the pavement but as I said the last 10/15cm of the gate actually stuck far enough out onto the road. Would the same scene be any different then if she has smashed into the corner of a car that might have stuck out by 10cm all well I'm not paying you because your car was a stationary object. there has to be some give and take and its not like we were the first people to have problems with the gate there has been a few others so it is of course and ongoing problem. I see I am not getting anywhere on here so I will solve this problem out side of the place

You must be someone with drive gates with that kind of attitude at the end of the day he was the one breaking the law causing an obstruction on the public highway I'm sure if it was your car you wouldn't be taking the same stance as "just live with it" Considering we were never the first victim of his gates to get their car damaged why should other people lose out to the cost of a car repair and a paint job down to someone elses ignorance. The kind of attitude/threats this person had towards my wife shows the kind of person he is and how he thinks he can flaunt the law. So no sorry I dont think its a waste of tax payers money I'm sure if this was the other way and it was your car and your partner getting threatend you wouldn't just live with it either. I will be taking this further

well just pointing out that the gate was actually over hanging onto the road is was that bit that caught the car. The law states you can't have drive gates opening outwards onto a public path or road. while my wife was trying to navigate around a parked van you dont expect to have someones drive gates hanging out onto the road considering she didn't actually see the gate or she would have closed it. We left a note to the guy he did ring and decided rather than actually being fair about it (the damage isn't actually that bad) he could have looked at the car I'm sure as a patch job I could probably spray it. It wouldn't look the best but we did say in the note that we could come round so he can see the car. instead he decided that as soon as my wife answered the phone he went straight into a rage f'ing this and that and we can go screw for anything as we werent the first person to try and get money for damage to the car due to his gates. Wife explained that his gate was hanging out past the pavement and onto the road....the street is narrow and while she was actually trying to navigate past a parked van who was at an angle she didn't see his gate poking out from the hedge as she was trying not to clip the van. He wasn't bothered and just raged on about shooting her because thats what he does to people who mess with him. (her parents live next door to this person) so she informed the guy that the call was being recorded (we have an andriod app that records calls) he hung up. We went to the police and reported the matter and they have said that a couple of cars have been damaged before with this person and he as been abusive to them so it seems to be an ongoing thing they were sending an officer round to speak with him and we have to make a statement later today to the police

They didn't do anything as they weren't in they left them open and went out somewhere. Wife came round the corner and a Van was parked just off not leaving enough room. Wife has gone to get passed the van and this persons gate was left open hanging over the pavement by around 10cm it wasn't until she heard a scrape on the back door that she saw the gate had caught her car. I am sure there is a law about leaving gates open....at the end of the day it was hanging out onto the road and caused damage to a car that was actually watching another car parked on the road the gate shouldn't have been hanging off the edge of the pavement. I'm not saying we will get anywhere with this but thought I would ask not sure how the law works on this one Wife says that she found something on the Highways act 1980 - part IX obstructions of highways and streets section 153

If you go into google maps and type in rookwood square leeds and go to street view you'll see what I mean thats where the incident took place. Looking back at the gates I wont give the house number about 10cm of the gate move out onto the road over hanging the pavement.

Just had the side of our door scratched from someone leaving there drive gates open. the road has a dropped pavement all the way along what I mean by that is the pavement is the same level as the road all the way along so it never raises at any point. wife tried to get passed a parked van today and didn't see the persons driveway gates open onto the foot path/road as stated they are all the same level. It made a deep scratch along the drivers door (might be able to spray it myself) but left a note for them and contact detials asking for them to get incontact for the damage to the car. Not sure if I would be able to get anything out of this but would rather them pay up first than out of my own pocket. What is the law on driveway gates left open? I can't seem to find anyting on google searches regarding this.....only 1 statement from liverpool council about it being illigel to open them onto a public footpath I am in Leeds so would assume it be the same law? I can provide pictures of the street if need be to show what I mean about the road and the pavement?

Well we were hoping that the insurance company were going to be really good and get on with it but I guess not they are not great at all. The 3rd party could claim that further damage had occured but we have date and time stamped photos the day after it happend. he could fabricate the 12 or so hours between the incident and the photos been taken but then I guess this would be upto the judge. I would be happy to show a screen shot of the damage to the car? To be honest we thought the insurance company would send out a guy to have a look at the car like another company did a few years ago when a lorry wrote our car off or at least give us a list of credited garages they use but they said to us today that we can go to any garage. they haven't been very forth coming with information and we have only had one letter as stated before informing us of any action being taken. When it goes to court dependant on the repair costs to the car if the quote is something like £70 to get it fixed it wont be worth going through the insurance company if its something like £300+ might as well go through them. if for some reason it doesn't go in our favour its not an MOT failure so will wait and get it repaired once we have enough money as dont want to lose 3 years no claims. But we are going to report the insurance company to the FSA for there total messup of this case so far.

Wife has spoken to them today and we are getting this in writing that, we can go out and get 3 full quotes for the car, then they will take it to court that way for the cost of repair rather than getting the repair done first. At least this way when the insurance is due again end of April we should still keep our no claims when moving to a new insurer while the old one is dealing with this case