The Energon Pub

For anyone watching and thinking the date is very near, sorry I didn't tell you earlier but its been adjourned as one of their witness's can't make it for the 12th March. New date is now 9th April.

All updates I would have put this week will have to wait till then

Boy, they are sure dragging this out a long time.

Everything still on track for April 9?

Iron Prime wrote:Everything still on track for April 9?

Hey cheers for asking, yup this date looks to be certain now , only two weeks away now.

A few developments to keep you amused. Their side has to put together whats called a bundle, which is basically all the evidence numbered and collated and copies 6 times so that all the judges and every side has a copy to refer to the evidence in.

To that end I have to send my evidence to them who collate it with their own and remove duplicates etc. Anyways they sent me the bundle and I'm doing my witness statement referencing in all the documents, when lo and behold I can't find the pages about the fraud. I email their solicitor who tells me she removed it as she doesn't consider it relevant, however if i explain why i want it in she will "consider it"

I then duly explained to this women that my reasons for submitting this will not be discussed outside of a courtroom and if she wont enter the documents, thats fine I speak to the court....she quickly told me not to bother and she would enter them for me regardless...funny that when i mentioned court. Seems they are trying every trick in the book to keep this stuff out of the public eye, moreso when the guardian newspaper lastweek published documents about the banks tax evasion plans, news of fraud would come as a further blow.

In other news I've been trying to claim my expenses back for a year, they finally paid me in January (i submitted them in July but the company "lost" them) but they taxed me on them. I went ape and emailed loads of senior people explaining that expenses are not taxable, but they ignored me...cue another call to the fraud dept of the police who were more than happy to follow up on another tip by their best informant in the banking sector for fraud news

Well tax got refunded to me, but as its only $42.07, paying it into a UK bank would wipe out any value, so given the company deducted the money, they had to pay for an international transfer which costs just over $80, to transfer $42. This cheered me up no end knowing it costs them twice as much to pay.

I'm very tempted to write a book when this over about this as there is drama every week with this tale

Wow. They just don't give up do they??

Iron Prime wrote::shock:
Wow. They just don't give up do they??

I think they think that if they give me enough hassle and grief I'll drop it, however they fail to realise that at this stage its very much the episode "Starscream's Brigade" I've taken it this far, I won't stop now. Plus when you've lots everything you own more or less then you have the incentive to fight till the very end.

Also I do tend to get a buzz off this so if they try to challenge me on something that I'm owed I get a very good sense of fulfilment when I prove them wrong and it motivates me to keep going.

Next update will be in just over 2 weeks folks

skyshadowprimus wrote:moreso when the guardian newspaper lastweek published documents about the banks tax evasion plans, news of fraud would come as a further blow.

Do you have a link to that?

skyshadowprimus wrote:I'm very tempted to write a book when this over about this as there is drama every week with this tale

I'd read that. I've been following this for a while now. Very interesting stuff.

Shadowman wrote:

skyshadowprimus wrote:moreso when the guardian newspaper lastweek published documents about the banks tax evasion plans, news of fraud would come as a further blow.

Do you have a link to that?

Yup

See below

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree ... injunction

Well folks,

Just another update in the saga.

Got a letter from Singapore today re the tax refund of the illegal deduction for expenses, nothing too major. However when looking into it, it had a refund cheque for $400 odd, quoting that after my recent complaint the bank did a proactive search and discovered a few other errors of taxation money I am entitled to and set the wheels in motion to refund this.

Now first off, its amazing what getting the law involved to a company can generate, me thinks that high up in the bank someone said just reverse any scam going on and pay the guy his money if for no other reason than to shut him up before he complains.

Genius idea, shame this didnt happen last year, still not to complain..... The downside is that clearly there have been screw ups that have gotten past me which begs the question of just what other crooked stuff is the bank up to that is so well hidden. Feel a little concerned that it got past my notice.

Still I'm $400 richer and with the court case coming up its all handy.

The problem now...how to gloat over this???

Congrats on getting more of your money back! That's always nice.

As for gloating - I would wait till the court date; that way you can roll all the gloating into one big event? Maybe a party?

Another little update for you folks.

We did witness statement exchange which is the last opportunity to pull something out of our hats basically as we disclose our arguments.

They have got 1 witness, the HR manager for the UK company who initially hired me, now this woman is dopy, slow witted and very nervous, not an ideal witness.

An example of her cretinous antics were when we flew over there back in 2007 and the flights were booked for 15th Feb from Heathrow, she booked the car to pick us up and take us to Heathrow for the 16th...i was like wow....thats a fast car to get us there for yesterday and make the flights in time.

She never filled in all the paperwork for my stuff to get shipped abroad so on the 13th when the company said they had no record of me on their list for removals she said she would try to get them to come out on the 15th...TRY...TRY....TRY...I then explain I was flying on the 15th so needed more than try.

Well anyways back on track, this is the woman they call upon, who is still claiming the company never employed me.

The crux of their argument is that the company I claim employed me is an english one, they claim it is a singapore company that just sounds the same, they also claim that two different companies with different company registration numbers are the same company.

Anyone not familiar with company law, once a company is formed it has a unique number like a National Insurance or Social Security number that can NEVER be changed, the company name can, but the number can never be changed as its a unique identifier.
Yet they claim these two different ones are the same...WTF

They have a stupid woman in there no doubt if and when it goes wrong to probably take the blame...

6 more sleeps to go....

So folks as we are 36 hours away from the case I can reveal all the stuff I'd kept in reserve seeing as I've now tipped my hand to them.

Through hard saving for the past year and a generous Aunt who has bankrolled my costs I've managed to get the following Barrister to fight my case on Thursday

http://www.11kbw.com/barristers/detail.php?bid=36

There is a specific piece of legislation this woman will need to reference in called the case of Lawson V Serco in 2006 that was a house of lords case in the UK which determines if employees working abroad can bring claims.

This case has never been applied since its ruling as its such a rare case and very recent, so win or lose I make some history as a test case. What gives me the best possible chance of winning is that this woman on my side worked on the original house of lords case in 2006 and won....who is more qualified to reference in her work than the person who worked on it???

Shes extremely high profile, she defended the british government on the hutton enquiry in 2003 re the Iraq war, weapons of mass destruction and death of doctor David Kelly so I'm confident in her abilities.

On there side they have an equally formidable oponent

http://www.blackstonechambers.com/peopl ... xford.html

What also is good is that I have 3 seperate claims I'm raising so even if the judge doesnt rule on one I have 2 other chances to get heard and its unlikely (thought by no means impossible) that a judge will throw all 3 out, moreso when we prove the lie of "He never worked for us"

Next 24 hours will really be intense with email exchanges going mad between everyone so will try to update post case with either smiley or sad faces.

If I lose then just look to the papers for the story...as if i can have victory then maybe I'll just have to settle for revenge

Well drumroll folks as you know last Thursday was court day.....

Two days before as mentioned I tipped my hand about who I had backing me, and low and behold what do you know, my employer has now backed down and changed their argument slightly...

They know conceed that, in fact, yes it might be the case that I did work for them, and the company I worked for is the same one as them. Changing your evidence this late in the game is neither clever nor helpful to your case.

So its the day before the case, its 1pm and emails are flying back left right and centre with my case getting stronger by the second.

DRUMROLL

Email from the court, sorry can't hear you tomorrow as there is not enough judges, adjourned till mid July.

Courts are notorious for overlisting cases as they hope most will settle before they get there, in this instance not enough people did so I now have to wait another 3 months to get back to where i was...

Gutted to say the least, the only bonus is the solicitor and barrister are NOT charging me for a days work...which normally they would which would be £3500 in this case....woooohooooo(not)

Oh, man - that sucks! July?!

As someone who is familiar with the law and lawyers (albeit the US version), I'm not shocked the case got moved back to July. That should give your former employer time to change their argument at least two more times.

The crux of their argument is that the company I claim employed me is an english one, they claim it is a singapore company that just sounds the same, they also claim that two different companies with different company registration numbers are the same company.

Anyone not familiar with company law, once a company is formed it has a unique number like a National Insurance or Social Security number that can NEVER be changed, the company name can, but the number can never be changed as its a unique identifier.
Yet they claim these two different ones are the same...WTF

BTW, nice idea of theirs to try to claim you didn't work for them. That would have worked for maybe 15 seconds. Someone over there is giving out really bad, but funny, advice.

Any updates??

It's been a while and 'mid July' is still so far away. Not to mention that 'mid July' is probably legalese or government lingo for "September"...

Still waiting guys.

Originally got a date for July but that wasnt on my list of available dates so still waiting to hear back. Next slot looks to be October time, so I've kicked their asses saying book me in a date more than 2 weeks before and then dont cancel it.

At the moment, am just trying to get on with my life and enjoying the summer, put it all to the back of my mind for now as there is nothing else I can do between now and then

June is here! July is that much closer! Just a little bump on this thread while we wait....

Thanks guys, to be fair, its my birthday today and almost a year since I got sacked now so its a bittersweet time for me as it should be a laugh (which it has been) but brings back how **** last year was.

Re the birthday check out the link to all the other pics in the other thread I posted...been trying to keep my mind off the case until I get a date. Hiring the A Team van and getting drunk did the trick

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday

Hey folks, there's been nothing of note to report on hence this thread going quite quiet.

Still nothing major, this story is like a bad drama series where a plot thread carries on for 2 or 3 seasons before getting resolved.....

Anyways....

The court offices have now moved into new premesis (cue more delays) and I rang up and moaned as my Barrister isn't free through December and January (currently when they are listing for now) their earliest date is February, so I called up asking for a date in February right now when we all know that we are free.

"No we can't do that, thats not fair listing, wait your turn"

I went a little mad at them explaining that as both sides have representation in demand we need to be given dates a few months in advance to ensure we can book them in our diary. Seems my words had some effect, though not what I was hoping for, as the court have now written back and found me a slot in 3 WEEKS.

As gratefull as I am for this, the chances of any legal company being free at such short notice is slim, moreso when, my solicitor, my Barrister, their solicitor, their Barrister and their witness's all have to be free to attend as well.

Still waiting to hear back from if my side is free then, if not then the case will be heard in February 2010 which is coming near to the 2 year mark for when I got sacked and yet to even be heard.

I've found the only way to deal with all this waiting is to laugh, lest I will actually cry

However if by some fluke we're all free then I'll be in court in 3 weeks folks.


Another interesting thing that made me chuckle was the recent fines they got lumped with (see link)
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/b ... 826612.ece

No paper has divulged what exactly and there are some conflicting details, but they all have a common theme of a seperate investigation into the bank last October relating to potential other fraud that caused them to probe deeper into how these bunch of bankers do things.

I can smile happily knowing full well exactly what "other" investigation it was last year that they got shafted for that has yet to be splashed over the tabloids

My sympathies. Court cases suck plenty when you can actually even get in front of a judge. I can't imagine your frustration about how long this is dragging on.

However, it does remind me a LOT of _Bleak House_. How long did *that* court case drag on? Thirty years? Ahhhhhh, the British legal system.

The plan is, obviously, to make it SO much of a hassle for you that you drop the whole thing. That's how it works in the US. Lawyers get paid, the courts don't have to hear your case, and justice is not served. Keep up the fight!

HK, gee, why does everyone hate lawyers?

another quick update.

Their side have asked for postponement on the basis while they are all the free, the specific barrister they wanted is not available so they want it put back to the week before xmas. They reckon that if they have to get a different barrister it will incur them extra costs which is not fair

I've put a protest in arguing that its costs me extra time and money and im funding this myself so a multi million pound investment bank can hardly plead poverty.

The upshot is that if the judge says "sod it" and we go to a hearing they would have to find a barrister in 12 days and he would need to read 892 pages of material to get up to speed with the case and prepare an argument. Not how to win a case I can tell you.

All depends on which way the judge wants to play this so updates as i get them folks.....