Quick query! My wife receives DLA and contribution based ESA but is considering a return to full time education to become a classroom/childcare assistant, a career path she feels would be more compatible with her illness. I've read conflicting information regarding CB ESA and being a student. Does anyone know if she will be able to continue claiming it? She will be receiving no student funding (there are also no course fees). Thanks for any advice.

The employer is being rather impatient. They don't seem to accept that A&E departments don't 'admit' people and therefore don't give discharge slips etc

A colleague was unable to attend an investigatory meeting due to having to go to the local A&E with a stomach problem. Our employer has however asked for documentary evidence that this visit took place, however enquiries to the A&E dept suggest that he would have to sumbit the request in writing and it could take up to 14 days to process. Does anyone know if there is an official form for this sort of thing? He just needs something to confirm he attended and received treatment.

Ok, I'm expecting a letter confirming the suspension and what happens next but it hasn't arrived yet. I understand the procedure but I think it is a very weak case, but that's just my opinion. There is a suspicion that it is part of a larger investigation into person 2's activities but I'm keeping speculation to myself.

For some time now there has been an element of confrontation in our office place, starting some years back with allegations of bullying and harassment by one person (backed up by another), against almost everyone else but specifically me. I refuted these allegations at the time, and pointed out the lies told by person 2 to back up person 1's allegations. Following the standard investigation by HR these were thrown out and no action was taken. Last august a new set of allegations were made along the same lines ranging from accusations of being the ringleader of a group of people harassing person 1 to my having an affair with someone in another office with the purpose of bullying person 1. Lies told by person 2 were integral to these allegations, including an email sent to HR suggesting I should be subject to criminal charges. This investigation is still ongoing but the allegations have been answered in detail, with witnesses and email evidence supporting my position. Person 2's behaviour is becoming erratic however and they have made wide ranging and bizarre allegations against any number of members of staff, culminating at the end of last week with an allegation that I had 'images' on my PC. 2 pornographic images were found on a 'server' which they claim can be linked to my PC (no more information was forthcoming as to how or where they were found), a picure of a woman and an image of male anatomy. I categorically denied that these images could belong to me, but as is the procedure I was warned that it could constitute gross misconduct and I was placed on precautionary suspension while further investigations are taking place. I've no problem with this, there are a number of ways I could inadvertently have such material, a part of my job can be recovering files from hard drives and usb pens. Or, as I suspect, person 2 could be arranging a set up as they have done to another member of staff in the past. I am awaiting being recalled to work for a meeting and I'm wondering what I should expect in terms of information about the 'evidence'. Do I have to wait until they present it or am I entitled to ask for it in advance of such a meeting? It is hugely frustrating with the feeling of being kept in the dark, especially over something that could have serious implications. Thanks for any advice.

Well the bank are putting a trace on it, although the lady sounds bemused as to why Thomas Cook wouldn't have the money. Will see what happens. Thanks

Hi, I'm not sure if this is the appropriate forum... please feel free to move the post! Yesterday evening I was attempting to book a holiday via Thomas Cook's website. All went well untill I tried to complete the order. I had left the flight details in my 'basket' for too long and they had expired, however I didn't know this, and nor did their website seemingly check for it. Partly my own fault but not really the issue. What's happened is that the money has come out of my bank account, but Thomas Cook claim because the order failed that they never received it. They advise me that they have merely requested payment, but not 'taken' it, and if I want them to manually process the order I need to get an authorisation code for this transaction from my bank. Naturally the bank aren't having it and are merely repeating that the money has left my account. I'm not too familiar with the process but I think I might be right in saying both parties are correct to an extent, and I suspect that if I just leave it the money will return to my account at some point. However I'd like to get the holiday booked ASAP but I'm at a loss with what to take for the next step. Neither my bank nor Thomas Cook are budging from the position that it is up to the other party. Any and all advice welcome and appreciated.

A freind of mine signed up for an orange contract with a Nokia 6500 about a month ago. A week into this she had to take the phone back as it would not switch on. It was replaced with a new one. She then noticed that the new one was behaving strangely and intermittently. It would stop receiving cals and texts for hours at a time with no obvious signs of network failure. She took this back to the store and they replaced it again. This replacement phone is displaying the same behaviour. What should she expect CPW to do about this? Can they keep replacing the same model over and over again if they are all experiencing this fault? Could she reasonably ask for a different handset?

Since January Capquest have been trying to get me to pay a debt which I do not owe. I'll not go into the details but I sent a letter asking for proof which they have not provided. Consequently I'm getting letters from 'Solicitors' threatening legal action. I've drafted a letter to Capquest but I would appreciate any comments the more experienced folks might have:

I would have thought that either the shop made a legitimate bet, or they issued a void coupon and you should get your money back. Why would they have accepted the bet if they weren't prepared to pay out on it?

I'm slightly annoyed.... A few months back I received a letter from Capquest about an amount owed to American Express re a credit card I used to have with them. I close the account many years back and AMEX confirmed to me that there was nothing outstanding. I asked Capquest to provide proof and so far all I've had is letters telling me they're looking for it. I know this is a bit of a [problem] by Capquest as lots of people have reported the same thing... ... whats annoying me is that I arrived home and was met by a woman who lives across the road who told me someone had phoned her, asking if she had any contact numbers for 'a Mr Redstar1 who lives in number XX'. It turns out to be a company called Telogram who are apparantly sending out letters on behalf of debt recover agencies, like Capquest. I asked the guy what he thought he was doing and he said it was a 'last resort' to contact people who live in the same area. I queried him on this as I'd received no attempts to send me any correspondance and it turns out the 'last resort' is also the first response. Is this sort of thing on? It seems to be verging on harassment to me. Are you allowed to just phone people and ask about neighbours? I dread to think how many other houses they tried before they found somebody in.

Well sat down and worked it out, £1059 in charges and £370 in interest at 15.9% so a total of £1429. Should I cash the cheque as partial payment, even though the've said it is final? I'm in no great rush for the money so I may just send it back with my request for full repayment of charges:)

Received a list of charges yesterday, along with a £500 cheque as a goodwill gesture in full and final settlement. I haven't calculated what I'm owed yet though, might do that tonight

It would be hard to judge if it was deliberate or not. Most of the people dealing with these initial requests really couldn't care less about stopping you claiming back your charges and are probably more interested in 5pm coming round so they can go home and have their tea. Nevertheless you have your result and hopefully soon a big fat cheque!

Quite. I've certainly been able to identify myself to them using secret questions and address details and the like. You might have been unlucky and got someone new who didn't quite know how to respond, but then that's not your problem is it.