Most relevant reply is in bold below but hey if you have time for my rambling.... Sorry, I just don't get it when common sense isn't used, he clearly had every intention of going to work that night as he was on route but I guess it's just typical company procedure seeing everything in black and white rather than acting with a little compassion and understanding, I mean you get these people that haven't had a day off in 5 years but i'm pretty sure that if they had a car crash on the way to work then they too would head home if they were twenty odd miles away, shaken and with no alternative transport, hardly inspiring for the company you have worked so hard for to tell you that you've let them down because you are actually a human being and therefore prone to accidents, at least with other ailments he could have chosen to get on with it if it had meant keeping his bonus, it may not be right but people do it! Rambling done, wonder how many people think that it's me that was in the crash after that ramble, it's not though honest, just know how much that money meant to him and his Gf who has just started Uni. thats a good idea Welshmam I guess if he can prove he has lost the bonus then the other driver is responsible for that, he certainly isn't but if it were me I would still be having a word with the manager along with the other guy who lost his bonus, wonder what they would think to losing two staff over the christmas period............. In the current climate probably nothing I actually have a situation regarding a job I have been waiting to start for over 3 months now despite having a success letter which didn't mention any delay and if it wasn't for me making contact to the agency responsible who do not answer their phones very often then I would have had no contact still, I'll post the full details in a new thread in the next couple of days as I would like to know if it's OK for a company to be so misleading where peoples lively hoods are at stake.

Hi , a friend of mine was on his way to work when he had a crash, he hadn't been driving long but it wasn't his fault and more importantly nobody was hurt but he was obviously shaken. The place he works at were running a £400 bonus for people who attended without absence over a set period leading upto christmas but because of the fact he crashed and the police took him home they say he has broken the agreement, does the fact that he was obviously on his way to work not count for anything and although it was just out of work hours the fact the very reason he was on that road was for his empoyer, apparently they say that somebody else had an accident and that he is not getting paid either so they cannot make an exception of one rule for one one for another , so pay them both!, they also told him if he had made it in that night they would have accepted that but because he did not the terms of the deal have been broken, he was obviously shaken and in no state to work that night, apparenty the car is a mess. I personally think they should stand together and the company should be able to see that the intention was there to get to work but unforseen circumstances prevented that from happening, will they be able to turn this around? is it worth pursuing? Thanks for your responses

Hi Martin3030 I have not started work yet, still waiting for a start date (they are so slow running their checks etc) and I expect to be working for the DWP within a couple of weeks, Also I actually do have a claim in for my bank charges and have done for some time, only thing is I don't remember the exact amount I claimed and have since realised I am due much more, at least I think I am as if this money is found to be owed to me then it would of course be in my account and covering the overdraft on my main account which Natwest are charging me interest of 28 pounds a month, so I should be claiming for this too shouldn't I? as my account has been in the red for 18 months or so now. If I call the banks and ask how much I have claimed would they be able to tell me and can I review this amount in light of the more information I now have thanks to this site. So what is fee remission as maybe I can look into this. (my other posts are on page 49) Thanks for all of your help

Well I have just called the DWP and they are going to call me back more than likely to change the destination of the payment, not holding my breath on any help recovering recent charges though, the guy did say whoever calls me will know much more than him. Then I called Natwest and the guy I spoke to said that it is not against the law for them to take charges from my benefits, he seemed so sure of that, I said so I can't stop you taking charges even if I send a letter, he said no the charges will stand unfortunately, he said it may be different if you claim hardship, to which I said well my mortgage payment is almost what I receive from the DWP wach month, he then mentioned that there was a couple of betting transactions on my account and said that it's difficult to prove hardship with these showing on my statement, is he right, I had one £10 football bet at the beggining of the season, and transferred £10 to my poker account about 4 months ago for my girlfried who is working and she uses my poker account now and then though we don't live together, he then asked when I would be back in work and that he'll get somebody to call me to help me with my account so we can try to avoid any charges up until I have a regular income. I know I can still send the letter (right of appropriation) at the front of this forum but I guess all of those charges on my benefits could be lost? I do have the standard charges claim in waiting for the courts decision though.

Hi, I have only just realised this great site and this helpful thread, I have skimmed through the best I can although there is a fair bit to take in. My situation is that I am on benefits and the only money that has entered my account in the last 4 months has been JSA yet I have been hit with so many charges which accounts for the majority of that money, I now understand how to stop the banks taking more but what I am not sure about is if I can claim the other charges back as afterall they have broken the law and taken my benefit payments regardless if it was last week or last year, right? I was previously unwell and these charges have caused me a lot of trouble with morgage payments and other outstanding bills, if I could claim my charges back for the last few months or even longer that would go someway to straightening up my finances though thankfully and coincidentally I have just landed a job with the DWP, thanks in advance for your help.