Help and advice needed.

[Daddy dawson]

at the start of the year I was employed by a company selling home improvements and earning an average of £800 per week.

I was approached by friend who asked me to join his company. I said no as they have no sales force at all and no canvassers.

a couple of weeks later he calls again saying they setting up canvas force, door and telephone and that they had big plans for expansion.

it was a role that even though I was based in their offices using their phones working their set hours they classed as self empolyed, they even did this to the telesales staff I was not happy abut this and mentioned it many times and the fact minimum wages were not being paid.

I was promised full autonomy over recruiting and training. I was never given this.

I was told they could do anything, conservatories, flat roofs, traditional roofs, windows, replacement glass. turns out they couldn't and had to subcontract the work out.

I sold several well priced jobs that we could have fit and made profit but they declined the orders as they said there was no profit in it, well there wouldn't be if your subbing the work out. I proved that had we fit one conservatory I sold there was profit in it but because they farmed out the work and still wanted their own massive profit decided there wasn't enough in it.

I was at the firm 3 months, promised a position of manager of a team of canvas and sales rep. for 90% of my time there I was on my own, the recruiting was meant to be done by one of the owners and he just didn't do any.

To try do what I could I even ended up delivering leaflets and knocking on doors myself in an attempt to make some earnings, then they said it wasn't working and closed the office. Monday this week.

I feel very badly done by I've left a very good job to join these people on unfilled promises and then cast aside.

I am unable to return to the other company as they took it badly that I left for a rival company.

Do I have a case?

thanks.

[Snoopy1948]

Re: Help and advice needed.

Hi there ...

Having gone through exactly the same thing ( albeit in financial services some years back ) and having met many people who have been through the same loop as you ( again in various products, including PPI claims ), I feel that this is always a case of beware a stranger bearing gifts until proven otherwise.

I too left a secure employed position in financial services with low interest mortgage and a good pension to join another financial services company on a self employed basis. It turned that the support was zero and both line managers and unit managers were 'let go' due to 'improper behaviour'.

The one golden rule that I learned during all this time was that 'you cannot live on promises' and certainly so when you have no evidence of others who have benefitted as such. Reading your experiences, it sounds like you were dealing with an inexperienced person, possibly feeling his way through the business, and making a complete hash of it. I am sorry to appear negative about this story but it is so common out there and unless you have every promise in print, I cannot see what you can do to redress this situation.

I appreciate that this is all sad news but the best thing that you can do is to work hard at gaining further employment although I realise that is easier said than done. I have a good friend who has for years enjoyed the £100,000+ lifestyle in consultancy but when he was also 'let go' he has now been in five similar self employed sales positions, each and every one being promised an area management position but nothing ever materialising and costing him dearly in the process.