Thanks for this do you know if its legal for them to restrict a resell even if we agree to pay them the commission? Surely that's unfair especially if they haven't made it clear to us that its not acceptable and we havent physically signed up to that term? All the park rules say is we need to contact the park if we want to sell so we can discuss terms, when we did this we were told we could sell to a family member or friend, they did not say you can't advertise. Many thanks

Hi there, Im posting this for my mum who bought a brand new caravan 3 years ago. She now has to sell the caravan, as poor health is making it difficult for her to go there as much as she would like and the site fees are just horrendous. We went to visit the park owners, as it says in our T & C's that we needed to speak to them if we decided to sell so that they could talk us through the procedure. Basically they said we needed to empty the caravan before they would even give us a valuation, and they suggested that we keep it anyway, because they would not give us anything near what we expects (and they would not commit to what they would give us) They then said we could sell to a family member or a friend but would still need to pay them 15% commission. We cant find a family member / friend who wants to buy it so i advertised but i have today received an email from someone telling me that he knows the park owner and that i shouldnt be advertising... i dont understand why when they are getting a commission anyway! My mum cant find her paperwork other than the T&C's and it mentions nothing in there - has anyone heard of this??? Can anyone please offer some advice? Many thanks

Oh,,, and just incase i havent made myself clear. I DONT KNOW WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT YOU ALL!!! Marie - i really, really appreciate you taking the time to speak with me. PS - I hope your daughter has some good news to deliver soon

Its a big triump for you i think!! I felt so confident when he raised the HMRC issue i immediatley asked to adjourn the meeting on the basis that i disagreed with the information presented to me and that i would like him to seek immediate clarification. I handed over a document which included the text you gave me from the HMRC website and i asked him to refer to this in his discussions with HR. I felt really bad for him actually, he was so red and actually squirming in his seat. He came back to say he still didnt have an answer for me but commited to investigating the matter and sending me confirmation of his conclusion in writing. So i received that at the weekend and it confirmed the information was inaccurate and he apologised for the distress it caused me. I will email him in the morning saying that i will not sign the notes until either (a) all reference to HMRC is removed, seen as it should never have been brought to the table in the 1st place or (b) a footnote is added confirming that a later investigation confirmed that the information they presented was inaccurate - so we shall see what comes out of that one!! He also confirmed that disciplinary action will be taken against other cases but would not go into detail, i guess i can only take his word on this. So i am just so relieved that i can now enjoy the rest of my mat leave. I still have it at the back of my mind that this was part of a cost cutting excersise and that they hoped i would have slithered away quietly. Wrong!!!! There have been annoucements of a restructure and i am currently the only person based at my location - i suspect this position may now be redundant so they have 2 options (1) make me redundant or (2) offer me a position based in a different location which will mean a significant amount of travel. My job previously involved a huge amount of travel but i made it clear when i returned that i would not commit to the same amount of travelling. I am prepared to do a reasonable amount (to me that means once or twice a week and no overnight stays). Does anyone know of any legal term "reasonable amount of business travel" and what that amounts to in terms of per week?? I am just worried that they assign me a project away from home ie try to manage me out the door by making it impossible for me to continue my job. What does everyone think?

IVE NOT BEEN SACKED!!!! PHEW!!!!!!! Sorry for the late reply but im literally just home. The hearing seemed to go on forever but most of the time was spent during the adjourment. I gave them sooooo much evidence. Marie - it was definetly the right decision to postpone, i honestly dont know what i was thinking by suggesting to do it alone so thank you so much for talking me round! My companion was brilliant, she challenged the decision maker on my behalf, asked lots of questions and confered with me during the meeting. I fell to peices at one point, but only during my summing up and i quickly composed myself. The outcome was a final written warning and i have 5 days to appeal. Right now i am just so relieved not to have lost my job that i cant feel angry about that. I still do not believe that the process was fair or consistent although he strongly put to me that anyone else brought to his attention with the same breaches would receive the same sanction - i guess i can only take his word on that! I know i deserved a kick up the bum in some form or another though so at the moment i think i might just take this on the chin.. ill see how i feel in a couple of days though. Re the HMRC issues, he was squirming in his seat with that one. He couldnt give me an answer even when i asked to adjorn so he could clarify the matter - he promised me he would come back to me this week but agrees it should never have been raised during this investigation. Im just so relieved that ive not lost my job and i cant thank you all enough for the help and support you offered me - as i am on mat leave i didnt have the support of my colleagues or manager so this forum has been invaluable. Right... im off for a massive bubble bath and 1 or 2 (or maybe 3 or 4) glasses of wine!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey everyone another question... if at tommorrow's hearing they give me the opportunity to resign as oppossed to dismissal ( i know they have done this in the past ) is this "constructive dismissal?"

Thanks very much for this ill keep this under my belt for now but will fire it accross if the worst happens. Fingers and toes crossed i wont need it xx

Hi there HB yes its tommorrow... eeekk!!! Its at 3pm - i will give you all an update as soon as i can xxxx

Hi there thanks for your message i will definitely provide an update. The help and advice i have received from this forum has been invaluable. I postponed my meeting following advice from the lovely mariefab so the meeting is now taking place on Wednesday. I seriously hope the outcome is not my dismissal but i will be ready and waiting for them to try it... they dont know who they are messing with now!!!

One of the managers called me on Monday and said i was being invited to attend the meeting. She said "i know we need to give you 5 days notice but i also know your desperate to get things moving so are you happy that the meeting proceeds on Friday and we omit the 5 days notice and i will send you the pack today?" I said yes and the pack attived in the post yesterday, she did give me the option of having the meeting at a later day but at the time i just though i really want this over with, i couldnt go another weekend not knowing. This has been hell for me and my husband

No not at all, sorry i should have explained that... i emailed one of the union reps yesterday (i have his home email) and he said that the unite restrict their representation to union members who pay a fee and who have been a member for a few months. I am not a union member, but one of my friends suggested the union rep might still be able to come in with me even if not on formal union business, just as a colleague. The union rep who is off sick is going to call me at home today to give me some advice and he kindly offers to accompany me then i will postpone the meeting until he is back but if he cant accompany me then... i dont know!!! Part of me wants to get it over and done with.. this is absolute torture

Hi Marie i did take notes and i wrote down exactly what she said but when i submitted my notes and said that there was a conflict between my notes and her notes that is when she denied saying it. I know of at least 2 people who used their card for personal use but i would be really scared to ask them to give me a written statement - 1st off i think they would be worried as i am being called to gross misconduct that if they admitted it they too might be up for gross misconduct so im worried they wouldnt agree to it. I am trying to get another friend to accompany me and if she cant then i will postpone. Ill let you know how i get on today. Thanks for your reply

Hi there i totally agree and they probably will go down the "fraud use of card" route - but surely if they do they need to haul in everyone who used their card for personal use? Surely they cant only dismiss 1 person if many others have done the same thing? Even if those people had a direct debit in place its either acceptable or its not acceptable to use your card for personal use so how can they treat me differetnly from anyone else? It seems so unfair and inconsistent! I know the reason they are calling me in on Friday - its for a formal conduct hearing and the outcome will probably be dismissal. But i am confused because the letter says "if the alegations are proven then this amounts to gross misconduct and you could be dismissed" but they KNOW i have used the card for personal use which is why they are calling me in... i attended an initial investigation and i answered each and every issue they had so how can they say ".. if the allegations are proven"... the issues is, yes, i like many others, used my card for personal use but are they going to haul me over the coals for it but give every one else a gentle reminder via email?? That seems so wrong!!

I am so angry my whole 2 weeks have been spent in front of this computer, i am missing out on time i should be enjoying with my 7 month old little girl. This is so wrong, fair enough if everyone had to go through this process but its only me!

Hi Marie, i am already concerned that they are refusing to amend my notes so i am trying to figure out how to word an email to them to say i am unhappy about that. How do we resolve an issue like that when i say something was said and the manager denies it? I wouldnt have written it down is she didnt say it!!! Also, the report from the investigation meeting reads ""becuase xxx has acknowledged there has been a breach, the reccomendation would be for the matter to be progressed via a gross misconduct hearing" then the letter states "if the allegations against you are proven this amounts to gross misconduct and you could be dismissed". Am i within my rights to email them and ask what allegations they are trying to prove? I have already admitted and apologised and explained my actions, so there is nothing to prove!! The Gross Misconduct policy reads "we will try to adhere to the guidelines set out in this policy but may chose to amend / omit sections at our absolute discretion..." it then goes on to say "we would not normally dismiss an employee without having issued a prior warner but it cases of gross misconduct a dismissal may be appropriate" So they have covered themselves from all angels!!!! They are refusing to tell me if anyone else is being punished but i know they are not as i have emails from a friend who also used her card and she confirmed nothing was said to her!

Hello again! Thanks for coming back onto the thread - they refused to answer any of my questions and said it was only an investigtion at that stage and they would look to answer my questions at a later stage if appropriate. Its really appauling, i feel sick that they are doing this to me!No one else has gone through this...

Hi there everyone. Just an update on whats been going on. I asked for the official notes to be updated to reflect that the manager leading the investigation also did not know how serious an issue this was but she has denied saying this and refused to amend the notes (no surprises there). I have been called to a formal conduct hearing which is taking place on Friday and i suspect they will sack me. I dont know what else i can add other than everything i said and all the evidence i submitted at the initial investigation meeting so i really dont know why they are calling me back other than to sack me, obviously if they were willing to accept my proposal to resolve the matter and my explanations then we wouldnt be goign to a conduct hearing. The outcome of the investigationg meeting was "becuase xxx has acknowledged there has been a breach, the reccomendation would be for the matter to be progressed via a gross misconduct hearing" I have spoken with a solicitor who has told me to ring him if i am sacked and we will take it from there, but i am terrified for this meeting. I have no one who can come in with me, both union reps are off sick and the only other person i trust cannot get any childcare (she is also off on mat leave)

Yes definetly worth a shot ill keep this one up my sleeve for sure

Hi there papasmurf - i've never heard of anything like that before - i dont think i fall into this category!! My card is a mastercard from Barclaycard Commercial, the card is in my name, all bills come to me and statements are not sent to the company. They (apparantly) do random checks on checks by asking for copies of statements but i dont believe that (otherwise this would have came to light long before now given that i have been using the card since 2007!!) this only came to light when someone in HR picked up that i was on mat leave and that they had received notification from Barclaycard that i was late in making a payment. I suspect that this is what has got the ball rolling.

Yes it sounds that way to me too. My husband is literally just off the phone and he has made some enquiries and he has said that this is a load of tosh. Like you say Marie, it would only be a taxable benefit if the card where in THEIR name and THEY were paying the bill for me. But the card is MY name and I pay every bill, every month. Where i have business expenses i then claim that back from the company under the expenses policy and i pay for any additional personal expenses. I will use this against them if they try to take this matter further, but the more time i spend investigating all of this it makes me feel like they are victimising me and trying to scare the life out of me (which they have succeeded in doing) If i am not sacked or disciplined then i am seriously considering raising a grievance against the way they have exaggerated and pursued this.

Thats correct Marie i pay all bills and not the company. This is what i thought by reading through this too but i wasnt sure if i was reading it right or not

Thanks for this HB your a wizz that took all of around 10 seconds!! I paid all interest and charges and there is nothing in any communication from my company or from the credit card company which suggests that charges may go back to them. I printed off copies of statements showing that i had paid charges and interest and also the "Allocation of payment" statement from the credit card company which specifically states "charges and interests will be picked up by the cardholder (me) and the not your employer". When i raised this at yesterdays meeting and asked the specific question "have you suffered a financial loss that i am not aware of?" I was told that they were not in a position to tell me this at this stage.

Hi all I called HMRC this morning who did not seem interested and were quite rude to me! Basically i was told to speak to my company and ask them to clarify the rules - i dont the advisor i couldnt do that because i suspect what they are telling me is untrue and that they are trying to frighten me and to add weight to their case. He said that my company simply inform HMRC that an employee has a credit card and what that limit is and then HMRC set the tax code accordingly - thats as much as i could get out of him!! Can anyone else shed any light on this? Many thanks!

Hi both thanks for this, ill get investigating right away - i did speak with ACAS yesterday and they did not mention this

Update from conduct meeting... Hi everyone i thought i would give you an update from today's meeting. The 1st thing i noticed was that it was very informal, the manager seemed surprised when i came out with all my evidence and lay it on the table.. her response was "you do realise this is not a formal hearing dont you" she then asked me if i would like to start (?!) and i said no i would like her to explain why i had been called to investigation. I feel confident that i answered all questions, she did not need to ask me to elaborate, she noted everything down. She said that even she did not realise how serious an issue this was until she had been asked to investigate the matter by HR. I of course too a note of this.. she then proceeded to ask me if i was aware than personal use of a company credit card must be notified to HMRC so that this could listed as a benefit under a P11D and that i should also be paying NAT contricutions. I was absolutely not aware of this and i said that no where, in any correspondence relating to my card did it mention this! She aslo said, she wasnt aware until HR told her. I asked my questions and she called me back an hour after i got home to say she had referred my questions to HR who said they were not in a position to answer my questions at this stage and they will look to answer them if and when i get called for a formal hearing. She also said they were treating my case as an individual case and were not prepared to tell me if anyone else has been called to investigation. I have stopped crying now - i was very composed and professional in the meeting and im really pleased with how i managed the situation. If i get a wiff, in the coming weeks, that they are trying to make an example out of me then i will fight it the whole way. Thank you very much to everyone for your help and advice - i honestly think i would have fallen to peices without it.