Refused to me pay..what can I do?

sangie595 wrote: »

What does a Romanian look like? I ask because I know a lot of Romanians, and it would be useful if you could tell us the identifying mark. Is it like a tattoo or something? And are there special pickpocketing schools in Romania? I didn't notice them.

Who is the "we" who came to all those conclusions? Because another scenario could be that you were working in cahoots with some bloke to steal your van. It happens.

Several months ago the Amazon courier definitely handed my new Surface tablet to me. Definitely. It's a fact. And also a shame that I have CCTV with absolute evidence he never even set foot on my street. Even more amazing because nobody set foot on my street that entire day - it was under five feet of snow!!!! The CCTV pictures are so pretty, and quite damning. You know, these Amazon couriers can't be trusted, they steal stuff all the time.

Not nice when someone decides that an entire group of people are thieves just because of prejudice, is it?

Since you are self employed, you can't be dismissed. And so you have to pay to go to court to recover the money you claim to be owed. That will take so long that cooperation with the insurers would seem to be a much faster route to getting paid. To say nothing of easier, since you still have to explain how someone stole a van without the keys. I'd have thought cooperation would be in your best interests. Because seriously, you are broke and they most certainly aren't! So your threat to refuse to cooperate isn't really a threat - they have a business, other vans, and the money you say you are owed. And refusing to cooperate makes you look guilty of something...

You aren't Romanian, are you? Because people who look Romanian are often guilty of something, don't you think?

I think this post summed it up perfectly well.

I do personally think that there's a fairly good chance that OP was running a scam, as there are some things which OP has done in their post which supports that viewpoint. Sadly, I have no proof so cannot accuse them of anything.

Though they did provide two alternative reasons; pickpocketing or dropping keys. The latter is negligence, the former is probably negligence too (if you have a truck load of goods then you protect that key! Obviously not if someone has a knife and demands it etc).

If negligence, surely OP is liable for the losses incurred? Whether the company can withhold pay is probably one for ACAS though, as I would have thought that the company would be required to pay the wages and claim losses through the civil court. Unless the contract allows deductions for this sort of thing, in which case OP would need to go through the court to claim their money. Also, OP mentions being "Self employed" but is it really? Sounds like they get a wage directly from the company for doing X amount of work..

Anyways OP, I really don't believe you but I have no proof of anything so worry not (but picture this running through your manager's head when they sacked you). You'll probably need to contact ACAS on this one, maybe also look at taking the company to small claims court.

As for the sacking, I think that was justified. BUT I would also consult any contract/handbook you had and see whether it covers anything about your vehicle being stolen.

If you end up getting it resolved through the insurance company then that sounds like a relatively hassle-free solution. I would potentially keep good communication with your ex employer and give them a *bit* of time/send a letter before action.

I'm sort of guessing here (being a free forum you don't get great advice all the time ) but hopefully others can elaborate.