Hi, it's my first time posting here. My Landlord is a corporate company that rents out hundreds of flats. After two years of being a good tenant and always paying on time, my (now ex) partner stole money from me and I fell into two months rent arrears. My Landlord was not willing to agree to a payment arrangement and instead served me with a Section 8 Notice and a Section 21 Notice. Both those notices have now expired. They seem to have ditched the Section 8 entirely, but I just received the court paperwork for the Section 21 Accelerated Possession. Now, the Issue Date stamped on the court paperwork is 11th June. But the postmark on the envelope it came in is 22nd June, and it only arrived in today's post. It says I have to send in my Defence "within 14 days". Does that mean within 14 days of the Issue Date? Or within 14 days of them actually posting it/me receiving it? The Landlord's told a few lies on the form. They claim they issued me with a How To Rent booklet and an Electricity Safety Certificate on a specific date. It's not true at all - they never provided these things. And the date they've claimed they issued these items on I was not even their tenant and they'd never heard of me. Further, the Landlord had finally entered into a verbal agreement with me to let me stay as long as I started clearing the arrears (which I've been doing). Then the court paperwork arrived out of the blue. The Landlord's now denying they offered to let me stay. This leaves me with something like 14 days to find a new place to live, pack up and vacate. I am 7.5 months pregnant, ill with PTSD (due to the domestic abuse) and I have no spare cash for a deposit for a new place. Is it worth filing a defence? I've tried calling the court but they don't pick up their phone, ever. I've no idea what to do. I'm terrified I will lose my baby if the stress doesn't stop.

Hi, As the title suggests my 16 year old is pregnant (shocked me somewhat). She lives at home and we have a healthy relationship and she wants to stay here, and I am happy about that. Babys father is local but they're not in a relationship and he won't be moving in or anything like that. Her father and I do claim a relatively small amount child tax credits for her, since she's still in school and is planning on 6th form in Sept. She fully intends to go ahead with this, and we'll support that for obvious reasons. My question is, how do benefits work when she has the baby? Does she claim independently, and our claim has to stop, or can we roll her baby into our claim? Its not my baby and I won't be parenting it, and I won't be a full time carer to it. Its just something we've never had to face before.

Hi, I expect to be shot down in flames for this post but I need some advice. After years of working in the public sector, I'm now in the private. I've been in post for 2 months on probation, at my last review it was intimated to me I'm not going to pass. It's a shame as I'm doing my best and am enjoying the role. However, I've just discovered I'm pregnant. I've had a friend who did the same, about to be sacked from her job for incompetence but told the boss in the meeting that she was pregnant and if she was let go she'd sue him for 'protected characteristics' of being female and pregnant - therefore untouchable! This worked out well for her, she got a massive pay-off! But her employer was a really small 3 man band. I'm working for a massive multi-national, so do you think it will make it easier or harder? And when do you think I should drop the 'get-outta-jail-free' bombshell? In the capability meeting, or before. I don't want to get my timing wrong, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks

My Ex wife has become pregnant, She has been working for her employers for just over 22 months, will she be entitled to maternity pay? Thanks in advance Leakie

Hi everybody, I'm new to this forum - spent a lot of time reading other threads on the issue of Xercise 4 Less/Harlands/CRS last night and now feel a bit more informed than I did previously! But I would like some help to see if I have a leg to stand on here before I go into battle! I moved to Scotland in April, and subsequently joined the local Xercise 4 Less gym on the 27th on a 12 month contract at 14.99 per month. When joining, I also paid a £20.00 joining fee - taking my first total payment to £34.99. I find it important to state now that I NEVER set foot in the gym after joining. (This was confirmed by a woman I spoke to on the telephone last Monday, 12th October '15 - more on this later) I fell pregnant and didn't really feel like going then. I continued to pay for the membership and unfortunately lost the pregnancy at just 4 weeks. The company I was working for at the time - in short - went bust, and I was found without a job. I then found out I had fallen pregnant again and after losing my first pregnancy I certainly did not want to go to the gym due to my fears if anything else! For these reasons, I cancelled the direct debit with my bank online after approximately 3 months and 11 days of membership. My partner and I then moved into a new flat in the same town. With my direct debit cancelled, I did not find it appropriate to notify the gym of my change of address, as far as I was concerned, I was no longer a member. I also find it important to state at this point that I have been a member of other gyms in the past and they took cancellation of my direct debit payments as cancellation of the service they were providing and did not contact me further - I believed this would be the case with this company also. How wrong I was! On Monday, 12th October I received a letter from a company called CRS - I have found many letters the same on these threads so will just paraphrase: They say they have been employed by Xercise 4 Less as my membership remains in arrears despite letters being sent - I had not received these letters, but the gym remained to have my telephone number/email in their records, and I heard nothing from them through either of these channels. They say they have added their fees (£111.57) to my debt, and the balance is now sitting at £321.48 They then say they want to reach an amicable resolution and give contact details telling me to phone them. Stupidly, I did exactly that. I asked the man I spoke to why on earth I had to pay so much money. He continuously repeated to me that my account was in arrears. I had told him I was not happy to pay the fees, and also explained my reasons for leaving the gym. He froze my account for 7 days and demanded I prove I was pregnant by sending forms/paperwork to him. If I sent these forms the amount would be reduced "significantly" due to my pregnancy. I also phoned the gym and asked them what was going on. The woman I spoke to had confirmed that I had never set foot in the gym (she could tell from her electronic records). I asked her why I had to pay so much for a service I had joined but never took advantage of. She told me I owed the gym £219.00 and to sort it out with the Xercise 4 Less customer service team, and gave me a telephone number. I never phoned this number. I have done the basic maths after checking my bank account - - The payments made to Harlands totalled £64.97 - this is evident in payments taken from 11th May (34.99), 26th May (14.99) and 25th June (£14.99) ---thats just raised a question in itself, why did they take my joining fee so late, and why did they charge me twice in one month...surely they've taken 2 months of payment in one month?-- - If I was still paying for the gym, I would have only now paid them a further sum of approx. £25.98, another 2 months worth of membership give or take a few days. - Upon checking my bank statement for August I see they attempted to take £39.99 from me, but I had no notification from the bank that any payments had bounced, and we can see above that they haven't - I made the payments. I wonder why they were trying to take so much from me? So WHY do I owe them £321.48/£219.00 - I'm very confused as to which it is, as when the CRS "fees" are added, the total amounts to £330.57 - so is someone playing silly beggars?! Now...some questions! - From what I have read on other threads, CRS and Harlands are the same company - does this mean they have not sold my "debt" on to someone else and have no right to be using a different letterhead as a scare tactic? - Does the court ruling of The OFT vs AMSL in 2011 apply to me, and can I use it to back up my claim that cancellation of my direct debit was notice enough? - As I never used the service, do I have any differing cancellation rights? - As the amount I'm being charged is absolutely out of this world, am I right in thinking that this is made up of silly fees/penalties and as such cannot be enforced? Remember, I've been told as I'm pregnant the amount can be reduced significantly. Why/how if they are not just pointless unlawful penalties? - I will no longer speak with any of the companies on the telephone, and will only have written correspondence. As there are a few lingering days at the beginning and end of the membership I am happy to offer them a month's payment (£14.99) as a good will gesture and final settlement of fees owed. Is this within my rights and would you say this was sensible to do? - Do I speak with Harlands on this matter? I do not want to speak with CRS (although I realise they are one and the same). Any help would be greatly appreciated! I must admit I was very upset when I first received the letter but now I am furious that they are trying to take money from me, especially at a time when this so called debt amounts to the price of my baby's pram, car seat and changing bag all in one! Thank you in advance, Elvie

I've got some tenants running some sort of Pregnant Mother assessement centre, basically subletting the property on a residential AST. A lot of pregnant mothers have visited the property. As well as several large families. A confused pregnant mom was seen on the property, & then rushed off to hospital a couple of hours later. I've tried contacting ofsted, & they dont seem to care the tenants dont have the correct permission of the landlord. Can I get an injunction on the tenants or some other legal action, without having to file a section 8? I'm concerned about damage to the property, as well as the safety of the heavily pregnant mothers, as our building insurance doesnt cover business use of the property. Not to mention our mortgage contract.qq I'm also trying to contact the correct authorities, I'm contacting ofsted again, but I have no idea who to contact about the illegal planning permission granted to them. Does anyone know who I should contact about the illegal planning permission granted to them? & if I can get an injunction on the tenants or some other legal action, without having to file a section 8? As theyre subletting illegally, not to mention illegally dealing with vulnerable members of the public. Also because of the large number of families damage to the property. I'm based in London btw ... Thanks!!!

A marston agent attended my property and wrongly executed a warrant that had been dealt with by the issuing court. The court in question had not relinquished the warrant but I had all the relevant paperwork to prove it had been dealt with but the bailiff refused to take that s proof or let me call the court for them to clarify. I was not at home at the time but my heavily pregnant partner was, by the time she called me she was hysterical and in floods of tears. The agent had terrorised her with threats saying that he was going to remove goods unless payment was made in full and that he was not going to accept the paperwork that proved the warrant should not have been executed. I spoke to him and explained that it had been dealt with in court and a call to the court would get it rectified but he point blank refused and said that if I didn’t make payment now he would get the removals van. I felt that I had no choice as I was extrememely concerned about my partner’s condition being so heavily pregnant. I paid over £1000 over the phone and when I got home a quick call to the court proved I was right. It has now taken since January 12th 2015 to this day, still with no proper investigation or response from Marstons directly answering my complaints that I find myself at my wits end with them. I have 2 active complaints which are currently being ignored by their ‘customer care’ team, I have written and emailed their board and I am still to get any kind of response. I have notified CIVEA and they are fully aware but won’t act until Marstons have exhausted their 3 stage complaints procedure. I really do not know what to do now. All I want is my money and compensation for what I have reasonably incurred due to them not refunding my money and the financial distress it has caused me and my family. Can anybody help?

Hello everyone, I'll try and keep it quick as it is a bit of a headache. July 2014 started working for a small local business. No contract signed. Dec 2014 found out I was pregnant. Jan 2015 told employer I was pregnant. We discussed my Maternity Leave starting on July 3rd. I tried to make all of my maternity appointments on days I was not working, even changing midwives. Due to my health this was not always possible. I had a few sick days in Jan / Feb due to pregnancy illnesses and depression. Feb 2015 prescribed 25mg Amitriptyline which was doubled to 50mg after 7 days. Also prescribed Codeine and referred to a physio for PGP. My boss knew all of my health issues. 16th March signed off for depression from 16th-23rd March. On 23rd March my boss text me to ask why I wasn't in work, I tried explaining that the sick note was inclusive of 23rd and I would be back following shift which was on the following weds. He said I was wrong and phoned his gp who said I should have been back at work that day than phoned my GP who said my next day at work was Wednesday. The text messaging went bck and forth for a little while and actually made me very ill that day. I went back to GP that day who was not happy my boss had phoned his surgery and signed me off again and said it was inclusive of dates and if I didn't feel any better by following Friday than to go in and see him again. 23rd March signed off for depression from 23rd - 30th March. Friday 27th March went back to see my GP as my depression was getting worse and Amitriptyline was doubled again to 100mg. Text my boss to say I had been signed off for another 2 weeks (27th March to 10th April) I text my boss to say I had been signed off and he text back saying he needed sick notes that day and I also needed to phone him. I phoned him that afternoon and he said he was in a bit of a predicament and he either needed to reduce my shifts to one day a week or lay me off. The discussion ended up going in the direction of me being 'laid off'. I specifically asked him if I was being fired or made redundant and he said 'no, you are being laid off. it's different'. The conversation was quite amicable, he knew I wasn't well and I think he was genuinely concerned for my health. I said on the phone I understand his situation and I would be leaving soon to go on maternity leave. There was no discussion about any notice or when my final day was, I assumed it was that day. On 2nd May I received my p45 in post with a couple of old payslips and a payslip dated 4th April with SSP payment and an overpaid holiday deduction. I have not received this final pay. Can I ask him to send me this in a cheque? We used to get paid cash weekly on a Friday for hours worked that week and I was once paid by cheque as he didn't have enough cash on him to pay. The p45 also has my leaving day down as 4th April and is dated 2nd April. I have had no contact with my previous employer since that conversation on 27th March. My boyfriend took my sicknotes down to him on 27th March as I just couldn't face it. I really want to have as little contact with my previous employer as possible, the whole situation made me worse when I was already quite ill and I am starting to get better and don't want to do anything to knock me back down or affect my health or the babies health. Can I text him to ask him to send me a cheque for the final pay amount? I really don't want to talk to him as I have been worrying since I got my p45 on Saturday. I didn't even realise I was owed and SSP and tbh I could really do with it now as I have no income until I get my Statuary Maternity Allowance in a few weeks. Thank you all for reading my post x

Hello all I'm in a bit of flat spin and need help. Long story short I brought a new car last week on pcp, happy with it it's awesome. However my wife discovers we are expecting our third baby!! ( not planned ) but the car I brought won't be big enough for three car seats and I hadn't financially planned for a new edition so new car would be a strain on money. Where do I stand in cancelling the contract and returning the car? Like I said there's nothing wrong with it and I have done 18 miles in it. The car a pxd is there I just want to swap it back but the dealer is being a bit vague and said come in and we will discuss what we can do. I'm going in the morning just after some advice where I stand? Cheers Andy

Hi, I recently received several letters from Marstons regarding council tax arrears, some dating back almost 8/9 years. They were completely out of the blue and when I called the council I was told they are correct and to deal with Marstons. When I initially called them to discuss a payment plan I was told the total monthly payments would come to over£500, which I simply do not have spare each month. When I explained I couldn't meet this the guy on the phone told me to email them with a bank statement or wage slip and a list of my outgoings each month. I did this and also explained that my income varies if I have been off work sick and that I am expecting my first baby and need to therefore buy items like a pram, cot, clothing etc and that I also had other creditors I was still negotiating with. I also explained I own nothing in the house as it's all my partners. I had to chase my original email up several days later to be told that I would have to pay set amounts totalling just over £400 and that items like personal care and my mobile contract and other creditors wouldn't be taken into account as they are non priority. I then email back to advise that my mobile was as cheap as I could get, still in contract and my only means of contact with my partner, midwife etc and even if I did have that amount of money spare each month how did they then expect me to provide for my baby. All I got back was the same email again, my pregnancy wasn't even acknowledged in any email from them. I then had a bailiff knock on my door tonight saying he had a liability order and even though I tried to explain I was trying to negotiate payment terms he wasn't interested. All written correspondence from them was prior to my contacting them to arrange a pay plan also, nothing since. They clamped my partners care even though he showed them he was the registered keeper, I only just have a provisional licence and don't own a vehicle but they said because we live together they could seize the car. My other half needs the car for work and business. Because they were so aggressive and confrontational and threatening to remove the care I gave them my debit card to pay it off the single sum they were there about, which has left me with pretty much nothing for the rest of the month. My partner is understandably furious and wants to speak to both Marstons and the council in the morning to complain and get this resolved but I'm not sure where we stand legally. I'm sorry to ramble on but I'm seriously stressed out and it's already made me feel unwell enough to have cause abdominal pains round my baby. Any advise or help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi all I am currently 22 weeks pregnant and have been working for my employer since September 13. I am a surrogate and underwent IVF for my intended parents. I had a lot of problems with bleeding during the first 12 weeks which was really stressful and worrying. I work as a bookkeeper in 2 offices (Office A&B) using different software in each, in one of the offices (A) I have had no problems at all, in the other (B) I have been told I am making constant mistakes and clients are complaining about me. The director in office B and the manager talk to each other but not to me and have made me feel completely like an outsider. I spoke to the main director of the company saying I was concerned I was making these mistakes and I would lose them clients like I kept getting told. I told him of the issues with the manager in office B, he told me to not let her get to me and to stand up to her. I was called to a performance review meeting in office B where the director said I would be monitored for 6 weeks and to think of why I was making so many mistakes. I told him I had not been given sufficient training on the software in office B and was doing perfectly fine in office A. I was also given written instructions on each bookkeeping job by the manager in office B which every time I completed a job she would give the job back to me with a long list of review points saying I had done it wrong and the written instructions would have to be changed time and time again. I was told in this performance meeting to write my own notes and to think of ways to improve my performance. I emailed this director and asked if we could change the software in office B to what I used in office A to eliminate problems. I never got a response. My employers are aware I am pregnant and that it is a surrogacy and of the problems I have had and the numerous emergency scans due to bleeding. I was called in to the directors office 2 Fridays ago and told that my performance review would be on the Monday and that he would be bringing the HR and I was entitled to bring a representative with me. I asked him if I needed to, he said No. I took a colleague from office A with me and I was offered a settlement agreement. It was stated that as they are aware I am pregnant it would probably be hard for me to find employment therefore have offered me a tax free lump sum which would not total 4 months wages therefore not enough to cover me for the last 4 months of pregnancy. They did say I do not have to take the offer but if I dont, then if a vast improvement in my performance was not evident in the following 2 weeks they would start formal proceedings on me. Sorry for the long winded post but needed to inform of the background. I'm now to see a solicitor but don't want to go in with no knowledge at all. Can anyone help please? Thanks

Hi, newbie first post here so please excuse the babbling. I am looking for some advice regarding commercial rent arrears. To cut a long story short, I am roughly 18 months in arrears due to many reasons involving grief, relationship breakdown, ill health and sometimes sheer stupidity with money management. For the last 12 months or so I have been sharing the use of the property with 2 others, who were not contributing to costs at my own agreement. I have not attended the premises since way before Christmas due to a very tough pregnancy and other mental health issues. I was informed by text message last night by one of the girls using the premises that a bailiff or agent had called yesterday chasing the arrears. I received the text whilst on labour ward being in false labour! I still have 4 weeks before my due date, but I am concerned that the stress and worry about the bailiff will land me in early labour for real. Just last week myself and the girls entered into an agreement to finally split the rent going forward equally between us and were just finalising the details this week. Understandably they are concerned about the arrears before setting anything up. What I am trying to ascertain is what is the situation with recovery of assets at the commercial property? I did have a visit from a bailiff back in early 2013. He was from a private company as nothing has gone before a court. There is nothing there of any value at all, (this was in the bailiffs own words!) no stock, no electrical items except kettle etc. I am in no position to pay the arrears at present due to being off work. Surrendering the lease is one option I am considering due to knowing that I will not be properly back to work for at least another 6 months and I do not need the premises to work, I can work from home if necessary. I am trying to find out if the bailiff can visit and seize assets from my home? He is as far as I know a bailiff from a private firm like before, not the courts. Any advice would be very helpful and much appreciated. I am very worried and looking for some information before I make any phonecalls to them. Thank you.

Basically I'm in a right mess. I lost my job in 2012 and we got into arrears on our mortgage. The mortgage company took us to court and got a suspended repossession order and we agreed to pay back our arrears over monthly instalments. My wife went back to work as I couldn't find a job and we managed to maintain the payments. In October my wife was signed off work for pregnancy problems and hasn't been able to go back to work. Thankfully we still managed to pay October and Novembers payment but missed Decembers. I however found a job which I started the beginning of this month and my wife's maternity leave kicked in so we will be getting an almost double payment this month and next month also. The arrears on the mortgage are £2056.42. I spoke to the mortgage company and advised I can pay over £1000 plus this months payment this month and the rest next month (this will mean falling behind in our other payments but we need a house and can catch up on the other payments once this is sorted). They have advised they will not accept this and have already gone to the court to enforce eviction. There is no equity in the house. My wife is due to have the baby at the end of next month, we also have 2 other small children. I'm at my wits end, I have no idea what to do. My wifes blood pressure is already a big issue in this pregnancy and she can't stop crying, neither of us are sleeping and everything just seems so hopeless. Please can somebody give me some advise on what to do next.

Hi, I had a bailiff from Marston knock my door this morning. I did not let him in but he told me I needed to pay £550 there and then to clear an old court fine for not having a TV license. I have no way of paying this. After begging him for 5 minutes and getting nowhere he said he would give me 24 hours to pay it. He told me if I did not pay in 24 hours he would be back in the morning to remove my goods (not that theres anything to take!) I was upset and so was my 3 year old son. I called the Marston helpline after he left to try to set up a payment plan but this was refused. I explained to the lady I was pregnant and surely this wasn't right. She asked how far gone I was and I told her I was 30 weeks in a panic but im actually only 17 weeks. She rang the bailiff and told him this information (I had already told him I was pregnant whilst I was crying to him) and said he will not be breaking into my house and will return to see confirmation that I am 30 weeks pregnant. What can I do now?! Please help or redirect me to the right place?

Hello All, I need urgent help and advice? A letting agency, which did credit checks and subsequently took our passport and visa copies has come back today saying that since my wife is pregnant, they will not give the house to me? Are there laws from prevent us from such kind discrimination based on pregnancy? Please advise urgently. Incidentally, I had informed the agent during early days of discussion that my wife is pregnant. He asked about the expected date and said it is fine since the contract is for six months only and the expected date in after the end of contract. He is denying having been told anything like that now. Are the telephones of letting agents recorded? Many Thanks for you replies. Regards.

Hello, sorry for the long story but here goes, I had two bailiffs from marstons at my door this morning over a unpaid tv license fine from the courts. The fine is my girlfiends who came to the door also, they said they had a distress warrant and was coming to seize and take away good unless the fine was paid in full today.I told them they wasnt coming in and they said the distress warrant they had, gave them right to force entry, i asked to take a picture of the distress warrant as i didnt belive it was from the courts but they said no for data protection reasons. My partner told them she didnt have the money to pay the fine £488 today, so they said the were coming in to seize goods, they came in with the children there saying do you want to take the kids some where as its not nice for them to see, my girlfriend who is heavily pregnant was askng about a payment plan and is their any other way to pay in installments, the bailffs said no the furnitures going today. one of the bailiffs started writing down the goods when he finished, he then started taking the furniture (so far he took, shelves, hi-fi, mirrors) into the front garden and phoned for a removal van. while one was taking the furntiure out, i said to the other bailiff so theirs no other way to sort this as my girlfriend is on benefits and heavily pregnant, he said it doesnt matter if shes on benefits or pregnant were taking them. Just as he was telling me that the other bailiff walked in and clearly heard him, but he carried on taking things into the garden. About 5 mins later after taking more things out he called my girlfriend outside and asked if she was pregnant (which is clear to see she is with the bump and i had already told one of them!) he then came back in and said why didnt you tell me she was pregnant i said i told your mate, and he said he is still taking the stuff and you walked in when he was saying it so you must of heard him. He said he didnt! then all of a sudden they said were not taking any goods now, He left the stuff in the front garden and (told ME to take it all back in), took his paperwork and went and got in hs van and drove off!! So now im going to make a complaint how do i go about doing that? and who too? court, marstons ect? the complaint is abouthow they left the furniture in the front garden (neighbours were walking past as this was going on!), They could clearly see my partner was heavily pregnant but carried on causing her stress! They havent left any paperwork and i cant remember their names although i did video record them while at the front door telling me they can force entry with the distress warrent. Any help greatly apprecitated.

I've been managing a DMP directly with my creditors for several years now and have never missed a payment. I'm currently 3 months pregnant and with the prospect of 6 months off work on the horizon from Sept this year, I wanted to contact my creditors and ask them to accept a drastically reduced payment for 12 months, while I am pregnant and then on maternity leave, with normal payments to resume once I am back at work. I would put the money I usually pay them to once side to help pay my priority debts while I am off work as SMP does not cover what I have to pay out as well as the cost of having a child. Does anyone have any experience of doing this? Or an advice about the best way to go about it?

Hello, my husband and I purchased a new boiler about 15 months ago from Biasi. It's is an ActivA Combi Boiler with a 5 year warranty. We called for boiler service for the first time in December as it was making a horrific banging noise - they arrived to service it about 3 days after the call, took it out of commission as they said carbon monoxide levels were too high, and then took another 5 days or so to repair and turn it back on. If you'll recall mid-December was very cold - high temperatures around zero degrees. We were extremely frustrated with and disappointed in the service, the responsiveness of the customer service team, and the performance/knowledge of the repairman. Each interaction was hostile, unfriendly, and exceedingly bureaucratic. I was about 33 weeks pregnant at that time, and despite alerting Biasi of this fact, they made absolutely no effort to prioritise our case. Eventually the boiler was repaired/reactivated - but after they left it started to make a (new) strange noise. We called for service again last week. Again it took about 3 days to send someone out - the repairman arrived Saturday morning. He dismantled the entire unit, said the CO levels were too high and that the heat extractor needed replacing, turned it off and left. At this point it is -2 degrees outside and snowing, and I am now 39 weeks pregnant, due to pop any day. Again, we received hostile and unresponsiveness service, lack of commitment, lack of care. After 3 phone calls this morning they sent another serviceman out today, who tried to fix it by replacing another (cheaper) part - completely disregarding the assessment of the first technician. This failed. We are now at the end of day 3 without heat or hot water, in the dead of winter, about to give birth. We have no commitment to when this will be fixed, the necessary part has still not been ordered, and we have no follow up appointment scheduled. We have to begin the process again tomorrow morning. I want to share this story as a warning - DO NOT BUY A BIASI BOILER AS THEIR SERVICE AND SUPPORT ARE NEGLIGENT AND AWFUL. Their service technicians seem to be focused on disabling the units and they do so while offering you no recourse, nor assurances, nor guarantees of when heat and hot water will be reinstated. Second, I want to know if there is any legal recourse available at all. I have not found written documentation of Biasi's 5-year boiler warranty terms and conditions - if you know where I could find these I would appreciate the help. Also I have the following questions: does a company providing a warranty have any legal obligation to provide those services within a specific timeframe? Does the fact that I am 9 months pregnant give them additional responsibility? Because the product is under warranty, we cannot go to another service provider to repair the product, or we will render the warranty null. Our hands are completely tied yet we enter day 4 without heat or hot water in the midst of below zero temperatures. Any help or guidance on this issue would be appreciated. thank you.

Hello, I have not told my current employer that Im 9 weeks pregnant. I and manager had a chat today and decided that frequent travel to other places may not suit me therefore I gave notice today to finish work on Friday. I started simultaneously to look for new work and have received interview invitation for Monday. I haven't told about my pregnancy to secure interview invitation. I'm highly likely to get selected . Im confused when to let any prospective employer know about my pregnancy. Any suggestion? Thanks

Hi, I'm a new member on here so bare with me. A few weeks ago i was suspeneded from the workplace, from that day they have been basicly accusing me of theft from the store. money did go missing but i did not take it they have gone off reasonable belief and after 4 hours of discaplineries i recieved a letter saying they have dismissed me. was due to start maternity leave in about 6 weeks and the date i recieved the dismissal letter made it 1 week short of being there a year. I don't know if it is just a coincidence or jus a way to get rid of me so they don't have to offer my job back after mat leave. everybody eccept the company know i havnt taken it but there is no proof either way, im loosing far too much sleep over it as they havent even paid me properly whilst i have been suspended but i cant stand the thought of having to contact a company that think im a theif and a lier. Thanks in advance x

My name is Sammy and I have worked for a community support trust in the Greater Manchester area for the past three years. This community support trust is a charity which looks after elderly people in the community many who have dementia or other mental health issues. The company is run by the manager, who sits in the office and reports to a board of trustees. I have been in the care industry all my working life (12 years) and pride myself on doing a good job. I originally started work in another care home and ended up working in a couple of different one. I have always wanted to be a carer and help people ever since my mother died when I was 15 years old. I pride myself on my knowledge of how to look after people and I enjoy doing it. Recently I have been off sick as I am 6 months pregnant. I really wasn’t feeling well and due to the stress of the job I went to my GP and he signed me off for four weeks. I returned to work on Tuesday and was told that I would have to come into the office for a return to work interview. On attending I was told that due to my sickness she would have to refer this to the board of trustees. I then continue work on Wednesday and attend at an address on Thursday. On attending there is another carer there who looks surprised to see me. She tells me I am not meant to be there and says she will phone the office. She phones the company manager, who says that she needs to speak to me. I then attend the office and get told that two employees have said they spoke to one of the clients who told them something important but said that they had previously told me and said that I didn’t pass the message on. I was then not told anything more about the allegations or what this important message was meant to be and told that I was suspended and I would receive a letter through the post about when I need to attend at a disciplinary hearing and that I could bring a colleague with me. I have no idea what any of these people are on about and know that I have done nothing wrong. I have bullet pointed a few things that I think are important about my time with the company: - No previous disciplinary problems in any of my previous jobs. I have been given a verbal warning previous whilst with this company due to my poor sickness record. I have had a couple of minor bouts of sickness and child care issues. From my memory when I was shown my sickness record it amounted to 14 days in the past year which I did not think was that bad. - From speaking to the company allegations are from two employees (unknown if any official statements have been taken) that a client told me some important information that I failed to pass on. - The manager said that I had the right to bring a colleague (no mention of union rep or legal representative). I am 6 months pregnant and this is causing me a lot of stress . I have never been a disciplinary hearing in my life and have no idea what to expect. My obvious worry is that they are going to sack me for something that I haven’t done. It just so happens that these allegations surface as I about to take 6 months maternity leave and feel that it is more of a coincidence. - Nothing said on return to work interview on Tuesday or whilst at work Wednesday. - At the start of this year an office job (completing rotas, admin tasks and answering the phone) was advertised internally so I applied for the job in the office via internal application process. After speaking to the manager it transpires that I was the only applicant but she then phoned me up and said “well you have just messed up your chances after being off sick”. I then get told that there is no longer a job available and that this is the end of it. I explained to her that it would be much easier for me if I had the office job as it would be Monday to Friday 9-5 which means I would have no childcare issues. This has been one of the biggest problems for myself as a working mother of two children trying to work around a shift pattern between 8am -9pm 7 days a week. My husband is a Police officer and is unable to change or take leave at such short notice. The rotas we receive turn up in the Saturday morning post for the following week so we effectively only get two days notice. I have previously asked for the rota to be emailed on the Wednesday/Thursday when they would be posted to give me an extra couple of days to sort out childcare but apparently this was not possible. My husband has taken a lot of leave to help with childcare problems and my parents in law have regularily come to look after the children even if it is only for a couple of hours to help out. At times I have thought about not working or changing jobs as it is so much hassle and work make it so hard for me and cause me a lot of stress. I want to work and enjoy my job just not the way my manger treats me. - People are too scared to speak up as the manager rules everything with an iron fist and nobody dare speak up against her. There is nobody else to turn to as with it being a charitable organisation there is no HR department and the whole company is basically run by the manager with what she says goes even if it is bullying or discriminatory. I have had numerous conversations with people who are currently in the job who themselves have had problems and warnings and don’t know what to do about it. At the end of the day it is a low skill low paid job and it appears that we have no real rights and don’t know who to turn to and end up just keeping everything inside and plodding on in the hope that it gets better. - I don’t feel like there is anybody that I can go to at work and speak to. Although there is a board of trustees I have no contact details for them and am worried they they will just believe everything that the manager says. - Rota’s get done more favourably for people who are closer to the manager. For example the bosses daughter was off for 6 months with an injury but as far as I am aware never received any kind of warning. I have been off sick on a number of occasions and always get threatened with disciplinary action. She does not care about the employees are comes into work and leaves whenever she pleases to help her childcare issues. I know this because on a number of occasions the manager has turned up for work at 11 am citing childcare issues as I have tried to contact her in the hours before with no reply. I am at my wits end and don’t know what to do. I have no union rep and have no money to get any kind of legal advice. I am going to go to the citizens advice bureau tomorrow to see what they say. I was thinking about contacting a solicitor to see if would be able to help but I know it will cost too much money. In relation to the letter I am going to receive surely I must get a copy of the statements made/allegations before I attend? I have thought about various aspects of bullying and sexual discrimination linked to pregnancy as part of this is the fact that I don’t think she wants to pay me maternity to be off for 6 months and is looking at ways of getting rid of me. Is there anyway I can delay this disciplinary hearing until after my maternity leave? If I could afford it I would just resign and then try and get another job after my child is born but myself and my husband are so tight up for money every month I cannot afford to be without a job or on paid maternity leave. I have contemplated trying to take action against the manager for bullying but I know after chatting to my husband that we will need some sort of proof. I apologise for the long winded post but I wanted to include as much detail as possible, I thank you very much for reading this and hope that you are able to help me in some way. Regards, Sammy.

Hi everyone , Hope someone can help me. I am 23 weeks pregnant and i am really frustrated. I am working in a company from last 5 years. I went recently to a long holiday . Before i am going to holiday i know i am pregnant. but i informed them that i am pregnant after coming from holiday, when i was nearly* 20 weeks. Before i went to holiday, they never said anything about redundancy, after coming from holiday and after telling me that I'm pregnant,*within 2 weeks they started an informal meeting, saying.. they got drop in their work, so they need to reduce the cost of employment... we got 3 members working under the manager..* we 3 of us do very similar work... one person does little bit less programming and he works 3 days per week..* and two of us do more programming.. My manager said becoz he does little bit, the redundancy will go between 2 of us.. I don't know whether it is fair or not between 2 of us. i don't know why he is not included. In that meeting they said they will find some other job* in the company, and if not we will go for points procedure. Today after 1 week informal meeting,they asked us, before going to all the process, anyone interested in voluntary redundancy, They offered 2 things, if any one of us take voluntary redundancy 1. they don't need to pay back for extra holidays they used. 2. and they will give £500, plus 5 weeks redudancy pay(i worked 5 years) plus 5 weeks lieu notice.(it will come either of the process *voluntary redundany or normal redudancy) and they also said there are no other vacancies at the moment. so if no one takes any voluntary redundancy, they will go for points procedure. and decide one of them is going to be redudant. from past 5 years, in two of us, he is doing more work than me i definitely know , he will gain more points. But it is like that from years.* He is always doing more work, becoz he is working past 10 years i think.* The main point is , they always focusing me. They are not giving any information (how much redudancy he will get etc..)to other person. *And he is not asking anything at all.*He is behaving as he knows he is not going. I am not feeling it is fair at all. i don't know whether to take the voluntary redudancy or shall i accept points procedure and go for tribunal.I am taking so much pressure which is not good at all, at this stage anyone please tell me whether it is good to go tribunal. Before they said , they can't pay smp. but later they said they will. becoz i am so far with the pregnancy. they said they can give £500 money if i go for voluntary redudancy+ no holiday due pay I am not at all happy with £500 . They are doing redundancy and they like to pay £500. My friends saying ask more money £500 is not good at all. Is it legal asking for more money. I need to decide this within 1 day. Becoz they gave me the time by thursday Any advice on this will be very much appreciated. Thank you very much for reading and my long story and your help.

After working for a business for several years a friend of mine told me that i was required to be given payslips by my boss, this i was always unsure of so i questioned my boss as to why i never had payslips to which she stated that she didnt have too, i felt quite intimidated by my boss and even though I knew she was lying, I didn't want to question her back as she would make my life a living hell. After working under her for several years, i left a couple of months ago as the relationship with my boss could not go on any longer due to certain reasons. On leaving i decided to go self employed and around about the same time i found out i was pregnant. As a result i requested my payslips and P45 from my ex boss through a 3rd person as i couldnt get in touch with my boss. Several weeks later i was informed through this 3rd person that my payslips and P45 had been sent through to an ex boyfirends address, an address i hadn't lived at for nearly 3 years and my boss knew this as she used to pick me up from my home address. I am now in a situation and i dont know what to do as i require my payslips as part of my maternity pay. Any advice would be great.