extendor

She gives decent little old ladies a bad name. Its always one isn't it?

Seems like a chancer to me. Can you clarify if the cheque she cancelled included the flooring. Personally I would say that until the goods are paid for they are your property. Title of goods does not pass to the purchaser until the goods are paid for in full and the risk in the Goods shall pass to the buyer. This is a standard retention of title caluse you should have in your contract. You can argue that if she damages them by walking on them that is criminal damage. You can very politely remind her that you will go to court to get a restraint preventing her from damaging your goods (ie forbidding her from walking on the floor) whilst in her care and you are to be given access within seven days in which you can reclaim your goods or repossess them via a bailiff if necessary. Go for the throat.

I made these and they work great.

Sitting in front of a screen playing Halo or Wii or similar mind numbing rubbish is one option.

Took in for MOT and passed with single advisory for slight exhaust leak on first cat. Now has 65K miles on a P plate, 12months MOT, Tax expires end of June so will put another 6 months on ready for sale. Needs a new aerial - stuck down and believe the inner cord broken as the motor still runs. Apart from that all is great and soon to be for sale. Will be looking for £4500 so if you are interested I will add you to the list and send out pics and full spec once officially up for sale. Many thanks Chris

I was interested to see you were looking at the consequences and in that respect you have taken on board what I have said. That is a small victory for me. You have learnt something positive and I feel my work here is done. Remember this is one small step towards being less selfish and you should embrace it.

In some respects I agree the service sector is bad and once again it is those that can do least about it that get shafted. I will say though that I have felt guilty about that particular situation but I did give the staff a tip which by your reconning was more than their nights wages - in cash in their hand and not on the ticket. I never ever add a tip to the bill and always give directly to the waiter/ess and say to split it with the kitchen staff. However, I am a little bit worried by your example. In earlier posts you would have argued that this was just economic forces and sod them because they should do it because you the customer was right and they were there to serve you. Seems like some of my message may have got home to you.

Fair point, its a few jumps ahead in my own mind as well. First of all thank you for the earlier reply. That puts some perspective on it and although it is not a unique tale it is still very distressing. Not everyone is a model employer and there are still a great number who are not bad but who take liberties. Many employers are motivated by targets, profits, absenteism rates and screwing every last hour out of their employees. This leads to horrendous employment contracts and erosion of freedom of choice for the employee by the necessity to survive and keep a job. The employment market is changing, full time jobs are rare, fixed term contracts are the norm, the employee has less and less rights. Take for example the contracts stating you have to give two years notice to book a holiday or two months to arrange a day off. Very few employers pay overtime and yet expect it as the norm - for free!!!!!!! Statutory sick pay is a joke and that is all most employers will pay. Gone are the good pensions and perks. Sunday trading might be steeped in a Christian culture but its relevance and that of many employment laws is more about protecting those that can't protect themselves.

I suppose a forum frequented by people that think nothing of spending their free cash on a 3litre car that drinks petrol at £5 a gallon and probably think nothing of spending a grand on set of alloys and tyres is the wrong place to talk about those workers who have no choice and get a crappy deal in their lives and rely on the law to look after their interests. I am sure there are a few members out their bricking themselves at the prospect of redundancy and the bailiffs knocking on their door to take away their home or their car. Think on peeps. When you have no choices and are working like a dog and are forced to sign crappy contracts and book holidays two years in advance and don't get sick pay and then work whatever days your employer says, this thread will have some relevance.

In retail you are often the lowest paid and least secure member of the workforce. In the never ending quest to drop costs and maximise profite the labour force often carries the can with unsocial hours and onerous demands on their time and a belligerent attitude of the employer who very often gives no quarter and tells you when and what you will do and at what rate they would pay. It is no surprise that very many people work in retail because they often have no choice, often no other option as unskilled or desperate for money. Many people in retail are working to make ends meet and have other jobs or spouses with more regular hours. The Sunday trading laws are founded on good social sense. If we as consumers cannot get our act together then it says that we consider ourselves more important than the next guy and that is very selfish. Put yourself in the other persons shoes for a minute. Be that mum who works a second job and leaves the kids at home and who would never get a chance for a break if the law did not force her employer to close for a couple of hours on one day of the week. Be that young lad who wants to go home to see his parents over Christmas and cant do it because he has to get to work on Boxing Day and the trains don't run. Now if you can't see this then you have to tell me because the world I want to live in is a little less selfish and has nothing to do with being an old git but more to do with occassionally thinking of others.

Thank you, I was looking for this. The point is - it is a few hours here and there and makes absolutely no difference to the vast majority of people who get their lives in order and plan around it. The convenience the shopper wants is far more of an inconvenience to the shop keeper and the staff and prevents them from having some useful and valuable time off. The world will not stop just because some people cant get their life in order and go without a packet of crisps on a Sunday afternoon. Perhaps I am wrong - does the urge to consume trump all else.

Please continue - you might actually come up with something useful to say.

All you see in this debate are your own wants and none of the consequences. I challenge you to put across a few points for the other arguement and the consequences for 24/7 consumerism

Sorry peeps but all I hear is self self self. I want to buy therefore I should be able to buy. I might be older than many of you (46) and I think it shows. What is wrong in having part of one day that gives workers some time off. We are talking about those who have very little choice unless the law makes the break for them. Has anyone ever considered the staff who work on bank holidays. Maybe they would like to have drink the night before and a lazy day afterwards. All you will see in this debate are your own wants and none of the consequences. I wonder how you stand on the minimum wage being abolished as well.

Exactly. Why the need to consume every second of the day. Today's 'now' society had driven a wedge in family life and social structure and created giant shops which force people to work every hour of the day at minimum wages. If it was not for the law some shops would open 24/7 and shop workers would be on horrendous contracts of work. Just think of Bank Hols etc. Many shop workers HAVE to go in on Bank Hols and that really messes up their holidays and family time. We need these compulsory breaks to protect some people and their families. It will not kill you to wait until Monday anyway. What is SO important?

Or to put it another way. Which of the following gives you more pleasure. Sex or boost and how many of each can you cope with a day? Choose wisely.

Now this thread is well off topic. Or did the Ouija board spell out Hairy or Harry?

They all subconsciously co operated to push it. Spoooooooky

Brown, Blair, Darling, Blears etc

But do you believe in a supreme being. Would you say there is someone/thing out there that is 'greater'than you.

I will check that out. thanks.

Having sat quietly in the wings and read everything I can conclude its all bollox. I cannot find any proof in anything anyone has said that shows that a Ouija Board is anything other than a bit of wishful thinking and kidology rolled into a good parlour game.

Quite funny really. My Mum and Dad are old school and that is pretty much their take as well. The trouble is that normal punishments and sanctions have very little effect other than to confuse the child and breed resentment. Let me put it this way. If you punish a child for something it has no comprehension of then how can that be an effective punishment. Its like kicking a dog for licking its nuts. All that happens is the dog associates you with pain and one day you get bitten or the dog runs away. Now I would agree that some of the little darlings are out of control and a bit of discipline would be effective but only on a misbehaving child and not a child that is acting 'normally' for its condition.

"So kids are absolved from attempting to control their behaviour and some parents might feel likewise." Tannhausser I have two boys and they are as opposite as you could get. The Mrs and I often joke that we have someonelse's kid. The youngest has some sort of condition which the docs call ADHD How does it present itself. Easily distracted, no sense of danger or consequence, amazing clarity of thought on some things (usually if they interest him) sensitive disposition, totally absorbed in things that interest him, compulsive tendencies, poor relationship with certain authority figures, empathy with others with impaired ability, no sense of time or urgency and the list goes on. According to teachers either disruptive in class or a joy to have in class (according to most teachers). What the docs say - ADHD, and he is prescribed a high medication which is very carefully monitored both at home, hospital and school. TBH the medication does have a positive effect and helps him slow down and put things in order. As a younger child he was amazingly hard to control and thankfully as he has got older he is more in control of himself and therefore 'easier' to control. The tablets do help as well but are not used at weekends or evenings so he and we learn to cope in a more secure and tolerant environment. Tantrums and fights are fewer and the relationship with his sibling has improved as he has got older. Thank God his relationship with parents has always been good. When we see other kids misbehaving and being a handful we feel incredibly sorry for them and the parents because mostly it is the fault of the parent. We had to learn the hard way and for us that meant tens and tens of hours with doctors, psychologiosts and all the rest but in the end what happens is that you acknowledge something is wrong and work with the best bits and cope with the worst bits. The very worst thing to do is write the child off with a generic 'he has got ADHD'. That might be a title of convenience for the medical profession and for parents that can't cope but it should never be an excuse.