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    • Hi just typed all defence clicked next and it's deleted all. Any help
    • I forgot to say, there is one last possibility and that is that they will receive your letter of rejection and simply fold, accept the rejection and refund you. Don't wait too long for this. Seven days maximum – but in that seven days you could send your letter of claim anyway and when that you don't hear from them or when they start mucking around at least you are seven days closer to beginning the legal action – and they will know it (which is the important thing).
    • Okay that is excellent that you have an email between the garage and the warranty company confirming that there is a serious problem with the gearbox. That is very powerful evidence. I think the situation is this: you have sent them a letter of rejection but the reputation of big motoring world is that they won't take a lot of notice and they will try to prevaricate and maybe even blame you. Clearly you don't want the car any more and anyway it sounds as if the cost of repairs is going to be enormous. You don't know if the warranty company is going to step up to the mark but the whole thing is going to take a long time and I understand that you have lost confidence in big motoring world because of this event and also their reputation which you are now discovering on Facebook and on this forum and no doubt elsewhere. On the basis that you don't want the car any more and you want your money back, you need to hurry things along. I think the first thing is that you need to decide if you are prepared to bring a claim in the County Court. Even without the warranty money, the claim is worth more than £10,000. For actions less than £10,000, you bring a "small claim" and this means that even if you lose the case you won't be liable for the other side's costs. If you win the case then not only will you get your money plus interest but also you will recover all of the costs of the action. For actions more than £10,000, you go to something called the "fast track" and in the event that you lose the case, then you could be liable to reimburse the winner some of the costs. This means that in addition to not recovering your own money, you would lose your own court fees and also you would have to to bear the costs of the other side probably something less than £5000 – but as a rough guess. If you bring your court claim then your chances of success are almost 100%. Frankly if you brought a court claim then I can imagine that big motoring world will put their hands up and pay you out rather than face go to court and losing and getting a judgement against them. However, it you need to consider that this is a risk factor – although my view it is a negligible risk factor. If you did bring a court case, it wouldn't be instant. If they put their hands up then it would probably happen very quickly. If they didn't put their hands up then you could take anything up to a year for the matter to be resolved and during that time you would be without your car and without your money and in the middle of litigation. I'm explaining this to you say that you understand how it works. Bring a court case would be really the last resort when everything else has failed. However, I'm quite certain that you would win and it would be stupid of big motoring world to try to resist. In order to bring a court case you would have to send a letter of claim giving them 14 days to accept rejection and organise the refund otherwise you would begin the claim. Don't imagine that you could bluff this. If you did send a letter of claim then you would have to go through with it otherwise you lose all credibility and you might as well pack up and go home. So with this in mind, here are possible courses of action you could take. You can simply wait and see what their reaction to your letter of rejection will be. However they may not reply or else they may find some other reason to delay and of course during that time you will be without your car and without your money blah blah blah, not knowing if big motoring world were going eventually to start acting sensibly and respectfully towards you. The second thing you can do – and I think this has been suggested on Facebook – is that you can go along there and simply make yourself present and talk to other customers and generally speaking make a nuisance of yourself and embarrass them to the point where you would be explaining to other potential customers to be careful, to look on Facebook, and to do some careful research before they put their business to big motoring world. This has a reasonable chance of success although you would have to be careful. You should go accompanied by a friend and there should be no anger, no arguments, nothing that could be considered as being overly aggressive so that big motoring world would have no justification in kicking you out or even worse, calling the police. If you did this, then I would suggest that you record everything on the telephone carried in a pocket. A fully charged battery will probably keep a voice recorder and a telephone going for more than 20 hours or 30 hours. The other person can video any incidents so that everything is clear and you can inform big motoring world then it will be going up on the Internet. If you did this, my favourite option would be to issue the letter of claim giving them 14 days, and then going along to big motoring world with a copy of your letter of rejection and a copy of the exchange between the mechanic and the warranty company and a copy of your letter of claim – all settled together – and probably about 20 or 30 copies in all and I would start handing them out to any customers who came in. Big motoring world will soon get the picture and they will either move your the premises in which case you stand outside and carry on doing it or they will finally give in. Of course there is a chance that they won't give in and they will simply call your bluff – but in that case I think you have no choice other than to follow through with your 14 day threat in the letter of claim and to begin the legal action. At the same time you should be putting up reviews on Google and also trust pilot explaining exactly what has happened and also explaining that the mechanic has confirmed to the warranty company that there is the serious problem, that you have asserted the right to reject and that this is been ignored by big motoring world and that you have now sent a letter of claim and that you will be starting a legal action in 14 days. Once again, don't bluff about the legal action. If you threaten it – then you must mean it – and on day 15 you click of the claim. You don't need a solicitor for any of this. It's all fairly straightforward and of course we will help you all the way that it the decision is yours to make and I think you need to make it fairly quickly. I think the cost of starting an action for about £13,000 is 5% and then also if it goes to trial which I would say is almost impossible – there would be an additional fee. You would claim interest at 8%. A judge might award a lower figure but frankly if you can show that big motoring world is attempting to ride roughshod over your very clear statutory consumer rights, I can imagine that the judge will want to show displeasure by awarding the full 8% which is a pretty good rate – even though it's not compensation for the hassle and the distress you are going through. If you decide to get solicitor, then if you win the case, because it is over £10,000 you will recover some of your costs but you won't recover all of them. If the solicitor begins by having exchanges of letters then I doubt whether you will be up to recover the cost of those and you could easily find that you're chalking up 500 quid or even a thousand simply on initial exchanges of correspondence. Also you need to bear in mind that if after having exchanges with a solicitor, big motoring world cave in – then you definitely won't get those costs back because you won't have gone to court and therefore a judge will not have made the order for payment of those costs. I suggest very strongly that you avoid paying any money for a solicitor and that you do it yourself. It's not a big deal – although you will have to you react quickly to the help we offer on this forum. Also, an additional benefit is that you will learn a lot and you will gain confidence and eventually you will feel good about suing anybody else who gets in your way. Nothing not to like! If you do decide to instruct a solicitor then you must take control of the solicitor. Most of them prefer to sit in an office writing letters on the clock. If you do decide to instruct a solicitor then you must instruct the solicitor very firmly that they should send one letter of complaint giving seven days. A second letter – a letter of claim giving 14 days and that they must then begin the action. If you don't do this. If you don't take control then it will simply cost you money, you will be without your car even longer and of course without your money. The whole thing is a nightmare. I think I've laid out the options but please do ask questions. I hope you can see that this is the kind of advice that you won't be getting on Facebook. Nothing against Facebook. It's good as a meeting place and to make people realise that they aren't on their own – but after that the advice given is weak and confusing.  
    • What makes you say that?  I have no idea how I would go about that or why they would even entertain discussions now that they've won the Court case
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    • If you are buying a used car – you need to read this survival guide.
      • 1 reply
    • Hello,

      On 15/1/24 booked appointment with Big Motoring World (BMW) to view a mini on 17/1/24 at 8pm at their Enfield dealership.  

      Car was dirty and test drive was two circuits of roundabout on entry to the showroom.  Was p/x my car and rushed by sales exec and a manager into buying the mini and a 3yr warranty that night, sale all wrapped up by 10pm.  They strongly advised me taking warranty out on car that age (2017) and confirmed it was honoured at over 500 UK registered garages.

      The next day, 18/1/24 noticed amber engine warning light on dashboard , immediately phoned BMW aftercare team to ask for it to be investigated asap at nearest garage to me. After 15 mins on hold was told only their 5 service centres across the UK can deal with car issues with earliest date for inspection in March ! Said I’m not happy with that given what sales team advised or driving car. Told an amber warning light only advisory so to drive with caution and call back when light goes red.

      I’m not happy to do this, drive the car or with the after care experience (a sign of further stresses to come) so want a refund and to return the car asap.

      Please can you advise what I need to do today to get this done. 
       

      Many thanks 
      • 81 replies
    • Housing Association property flooding. https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/438641-housing-association-property-flooding/&do=findComment&comment=5124299
      • 161 replies
    • We have finally managed to obtain the transcript of this case.

      The judge's reasoning is very useful and will certainly be helpful in any other cases relating to third-party rights where the customer has contracted with the courier company by using a broker.
      This is generally speaking the problem with using PackLink who are domiciled in Spain and very conveniently out of reach of the British justice system.

      Frankly I don't think that is any accident.

      One of the points that the judge made was that the customers contract with the broker specifically refers to the courier – and it is clear that the courier knows that they are acting for a third party. There is no need to name the third party. They just have to be recognisably part of a class of person – such as a sender or a recipient of the parcel.

      Please note that a recent case against UPS failed on exactly the same issue with the judge held that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 did not apply.

      We will be getting that transcript very soon. We will look at it and we will understand how the judge made such catastrophic mistakes. It was a very poor judgement.
      We will be recommending that people do include this adverse judgement in their bundle so that when they go to county court the judge will see both sides and see the arguments against this adverse judgement.
      Also, we will be to demonstrate to the judge that we are fair-minded and that we don't mind bringing everything to the attention of the judge even if it is against our own interests.
      This is good ethical practice.

      It would be very nice if the parcel delivery companies – including EVRi – practised this kind of thing as well.

       

      OT APPROVED, 365MC637, FAROOQ, EVRi, 12.07.23 (BRENT) - J v4.pdf
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What did the solicitor say about the fact that, by the time you received the dismissal letter, you were no longer an employee and hadn't been for almost a week?

 

Aside from that reason, I don't think you should appeal for another reason. The remedy for a successful appeal is reinstatement. Do you want your job back? If not, don't appeal.

 

Was your grievance ever concluded? Did you appeal that?

 

You really do need specialist legal advice I think.

 

The solicitor can't fathom that one out.

I certainlly do not want reinstated! My grievance was never aknowledged let alone concluded!

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There is the argument that the appeal needs to be exhausted before one could look at making, say, an application to ET.

She certainly isn't looking for reinstatement, I'd imagine. That's always the danger in these situations.

 

The solicitor said that I should state that I do not wish to appeal and why.He said this should cover me if it went to ET. I have no idea if this is true or not!

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I'd just always err on the side of caution and try to at least make it look like I'd tried to resolve the matter before litigation.

That needn't mean going with your cap in your hand and begging for your job back, just making sure you've communicated your opinion and what you want before filing in the ET1.

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I see what you mean. Do you think a letter stating that I do not agree with their decision and the reasons why would do? I would not attend an appeal hearing, the whole thing has been a joke from the start.

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If the solicitor can't fathom it out I'd say visit another solicitor.

 

Its a mess, no doubt about that.

 

On the dismissal front, the odds are far better if pursuing a wrongful dismissal claim than a constructive dismissal one. I'm far from convinced however that the former is an option open to you since you resigned, had served your notice and were no longer an employee by the time the company "dismissed" you.

 

Again, I'm not certain but it seems to me that the company's behavior in this "dismissal" process would only strenthen your cause in a constructive dismissal claim.

 

Yes, ordinarily you should exhaust all avenues and appeal where grievances are concerned. But if you appeal against the "dismissal" you're in effect agreeing with their stance that you were actually dismissed and didn't instead resign...and is that in your favour or not? A good or bad move? I don't know.

 

As things stand, reference wise, the company is probably going to state you were dismissed (and possibly for gross misconduct). Since they seem to be a law upon themselves I suspect that they'll use that excuse not to pay you for your notice period and only upto the date of the supposed hearing.

 

It's looking highly likely that you're going to have to take them to court to get what money you're owed from them, and also to clear your name. How you play it however ie dismissed v constructively dismissed, is another matter and one you really do need legal advice from.

 

In a dismissal scenario I'd say a tribunal woud look very unfavourably on the company's actions- particularly how they proceeded in your absence when you were unfit and off with stress. That's assuming the dismissal was valid in light of the fact you'd left the company by then.

 

In a constructive dismissal scenario I can see potential problems with that on your side. The company's argument will probably be that, faced with an investigation and looming disciplinary, you went sick and soon after resigned, refusing to attend the hearing and you also resigned, not because you were left with no choice, but because you had another job to go to. To strengthen that argument the company has a reference request from another potential employer....which they received before they had the opportunity to hold any grievance hearing to give them the chance to address your concerns. I'm not saying this is all correct-we know it is not- but this is how it tends to work and what employers do claim in their defence.

 

Before you do anything else, we need to determine legally whether this would count as a summary dismissal or a resignation...and soon.

 

Did the dismissal letter state a date of dismissal btw? Did it state exact reasons for dismissal and state you have the right to appeal?

 

Re your grievance - they claimed not to have received the first grievance then you sent it again and it was then acknowledged that time - am I right? Did they ever give you a hearing date for the grievance? Wasn't it to be held at the same time as your disciplinary hearing or am I confusing that with your manager's hearings?

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Ok. I will get working on a letter.

I am worried about my final wage, the reply to the LBA said I'd be paid at the end of the month but I demanded payment within 7 days. Should I just leave it and hope that he pays up on the 26th?

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If the solicitor can't fathom it out I'd say visit another solicitor.

 

Its a mess, no doubt about that.

 

On the dismissal front, the odds are far better if pursuing a wrongful dismissal claim than a constructive dismissal one. I'm far from convinced however that the former is an option open to you since you resigned, had served your notice and were no longer an employee by the time the company "dismissed" you.

 

Again, I'm not certain but it seems to me that the company's behavior in this "dismissal" process would only strenthen your cause in a constructive dismissal claim.

 

Yes, ordinarily you should exhaust all avenues and appeal where grievances are concerned. But if you appeal against the "dismissal" you're in effect agreeing with their stance that you were actually dismissed and didn't instead resign...and is that in your favour or not? A good or bad move? I don't know.

 

As things stand, reference wise, the company is probably going to state you were dismissed (and possibly for gross misconduct). Since they seem to be a law upon themselves I suspect that they'll use that excuse not to pay you for your notice period and only upto the date of the supposed hearing.

 

It's looking highly likely that you're going to have to take them to court to get what money you're owed from them, and also to clear your name. How you play it however ie dismissed v constructively dismissed, is another matter and one you really do need legal advice from.

 

In a dismissal scenario I'd say a tribunal woud look very unfavourably on the company's actions- particularly how they proceeded in your absence when you were unfit and off with stress. That's assuming the dismissal was valid in light of the fact you'd left the company by then.

 

In a constructive dismissal scenario I can see potential problems with that on your side. The company's argument will probably be that, faced with an investigation and looming disciplinary, you went sick and soon after resigned, refusing to attend the hearing and you also resigned, not because you were left with no choice, but because you had another job to go to. To strengthen that argument the company has a reference request from another potential employer....which they received before they had the opportunity to hold any grievance hearing to give them the chance to address your concerns. I'm not saying this is all correct-we know it is not- but this is how it tends to work and what employers do claim in their defence.

 

Before you do anything else, we need to determine legally whether this would count as a summary dismissal or a resignation...and soon.

 

Did the dismissal letter state a date of dismissal btw? Did it state exact reasons for dismissal and state you have the right to appeal?

 

Re your grievance - they claimed not to have received the first grievance then you sent it again and it was then acknowledged that time - am I right? Did they ever give you a hearing date for the grievance? Wasn't it to be held at the same time as your disciplinary hearing or am I confusing that with your manager's hearings?

 

Thanks pippadeee. Firstly, I went off sick before the allegations were made and had seen my GP a month before hand as I was struggling to cope. This can all be verified by GP reports and/or copies of sick lines.

 

I could also prove that I was offered a job after resigning.

 

The letter stated that I have 5 days to appeal, it does not state when the dismissal is effective from. Reason for dismissal is my actions are deemed to be gross misconduct.

 

After mentioning in a letter (resignation, I think) that my grievance letter had never been aknowledged he replied that he never received it but after looking through previous correspondence he noticed that I mentioned that I had submitted a grievance. He said he would be willing to discuss this. I didn't follow it up as I had resigned and thought it pointless.

 

I have an appointment to see my GP as I am quite sure that I am depressed now. I was prescribed pills for anxiety but they haven't helped much. I started my new job but I feel unable to continue with it. The fact that I am lucky if I get 15 hours a week is not helping either!

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Thanks pippadeee. Firstly, I went off sick before the allegations were made and had seen my GP a month before hand as I was struggling to cope. This can all be verified by GP reports and/or copies of sick lines.

 

I could also prove that I was offered a job after resigning.

 

The letter stated that I have 5 days to appeal, it does not state when the dismissal is effective from. Reason for dismissal is my actions are deemed to be gross misconduct.

 

After mentioning in a letter (resignation, I think) that my grievance letter had never been aknowledged he replied that he never received it but after looking through previous correspondence he noticed that I mentioned that I had submitted a grievance. He said he would be willing to discuss this. I didn't follow it up as I had resigned and thought it pointless.

 

I have an appointment to see my GP as I am quite sure that I am depressed now. I was prescribed pills for anxiety but they haven't helped much. I started my new job but I feel unable to continue with it. The fact that I am lucky if I get 15 hours a week is not helping either!

 

 

Good - thats put my mind at rest about what they might argue about it.

 

Get that original grievance letter sent to him again (grrr..) stating "as per my original grievance dated xx and sent to you on xx ,which you claimed not to have received, here again is that grievance which I still require addressing by you. Since I am no longer employed by the company please confirm in writing you agree to use the modified grievance procedure."

 

(modified grievance procedure = no hearing. They respond in writing.)

Modified grievance procedure

 

The modified grievance procedure is comprised of two steps: step one requires the employee to set out in writing not only the grievance but also the basis for it and to send the statement to the employer. At step two the employer responds in writing to the employee. The modified grievance procedure may only be pursued if the employment has ended and the parties have agreed in writing that the modified grievance procedure should apply (see Regulation 6(3) of the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004).

 

 

For the time being I'd just get that sent off. Since we aren't sure whether to labour the fact you resigned, or whether to argue against the dismissal (ie which of the two legally applies, and/or is in your best interests) I'd say stay clear of mentioning either of the two in writing to the company....not until you know which way you're going with this.

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PS - try to persevere with the new job. Even a few hours a week concentrating on something other than this will probably be better than having too much time with not much else to think about BUT this.

 

Don't let the b*ggers win. You're out of it now, you've got another job (thats the biggest hurdle of all after something like this), your ex employer has cocked up and been so vindictive in so many ways its unreal. You'll get the swine

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Good - thats put my mind at rest about what they might argue about it.

 

Get that original grievance letter sent to him again (grrr..) stating "as per my original grievance dated xx and sent to you on xx ,which you claimed not to have received, here again is that grievance which I still require addressing by you. Since I am no longer employed by the company please confirm in writing you agree to use the modified grievance procedure."

 

(modified grievance procedure = no hearing. They respond in writing.)

Modified grievance procedure

 

The modified grievance procedure is comprised of two steps: step one requires the employee to set out in writing not only the grievance but also the basis for it and to send the statement to the employer. At step two the employer responds in writing to the employee. The modified grievance procedure may only be pursued if the employment has ended and the parties have agreed in writing that the modified grievance procedure should apply (see Regulation 6(3) of the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004).

 

 

For the time being I'd just get that sent off. Since we aren't sure whether to labour the fact you resigned, or whether to argue against the dismissal (ie which of the two legally applies, and/or is in your best interests) I'd say stay clear of mentioning either of the two in writing to the company....not until you know which way you're going with this.

 

Ok, I will get that sent off ASAP. I will speak to the solicitor properly and see what he says. I will also see if I can find another solicitor and get their opinions on this mess!

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PS - try to persevere with the new job. Even a few hours a week concentrating on something other than this will probably be better than having too much time with not much else to think about BUT this.

 

Don't let the b*ggers win. You're out of it now, you've got another job (thats the biggest hurdle of all after something like this), your ex employer has cocked up and been so vindictive in so many ways its unreal. You'll get the swine

 

Thanks pippadeee. I am struggling, I am getting up at 5.30am to do 2 or 3 hours work. They give me work then take it off and replace it with less hours.

Moneywise, it is costing me £40 a week in petrol and I am lucky if I am earning £100.

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This is my reply to the letter informing me that have been sacked. Anything I should add or remove?

 

I would like to request a copy of the minutes that would have been recorded at the disciplinary hearing held in my absence on 22nd January 2010. I will expect to receive these within the next five days.

I would also like to inform you that although I strongly disagree with the outcome of the above hearing I will not be appealing the decision as I am aware that this was always going to be the outcome and an appeal hearing would not alter that . The whole disciplinary process has been carried out in an unfair manner and you claimed that Mr XXX was chairing the meeting as an independent party when quite clearly we all know that he is anything but independent to the situation.

Mr XXX stated that I should contact him if I required any further information but unfortunately he forgot to provide any contact details therefore I am having to request the information from yourself.

 

 

Yours Sincerley

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Hi 'Ms J'

 

Sorry to intrude in the middle of it all... but, may I ask, what the written reason(s) for dismissal is/are?

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This is my reply to the letter informing me that have been sacked. Anything I should add or remove?

 

I would like to request a copy of the minutes that would have been recorded at the disciplinary hearing held in my absence on 22nd January 2010. I will expect to receive these within the next five days.

I would also like to inform you that although I strongly disagree with the outcome of the above hearing I will not be appealing the decision as I am aware that this was always going to be the outcome and an appeal hearing would not alter that . The whole disciplinary process has been carried out in an unfair manner and you claimed that Mr XXX was chairing the meeting as an independent party when quite clearly we all know that he is anything but independent to the situation.

Mr XXX stated that I should contact him if I required any further information but unfortunately he forgot to provide any contact details therefore I am having to request the information from yourself.

 

 

Yours Sincerley

Looks good.

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Hi 'Ms J'

 

Sorry to intrude in the middle of it all... but, may I ask, what the written reason(s) for dismissal is/are?

 

Hi Bigredbus

 

No need to apologise. The reason they have given is that my actions were considered to be gross misconduct.

I have been provided with two copies of my signature downloaded from royal mail for two of the allegations and no information or proof with regards to the third letter that they say I received and kept.

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It should be from when you were notified of your dismissal.

 

Fingers crossed it is but I will not bank on it given his track record. I have emailed asking for clarification.

 

Thanks for all of your help elpulpo, I appear to be in a constant state of panic and I have no idea what I would have done without the support of you guys.

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Well, as expected there was no payment made. He advised me that he anticipated payment to reach my account at some point today. That is not good enough, I have now been hit with bank charges.

I am at the end of my tether, I have no money and I have no idea what the hell to do now!

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