Compensation, stress???
Discussion
Hello all.
I’m currently sat here staring at the compensation forms the DVLA have sent me , ref my claim.
On their notes it says things they won’t pay for and number 7 is
Stress, inconvenience or distress except in exceptional circumstances only.
I think I have a more than a valid claim here, but how on earth do you put the stress issues and there knock on effects into a numerical figure?
Is there an industry standard for this, or would it be on a case by case basis?
Really scratching my head on this. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.
I’m currently sat here staring at the compensation forms the DVLA have sent me , ref my claim.
On their notes it says things they won’t pay for and number 7 is
Stress, inconvenience or distress except in exceptional circumstances only.
I think I have a more than a valid claim here, but how on earth do you put the stress issues and there knock on effects into a numerical figure?
Is there an industry standard for this, or would it be on a case by case basis?
Really scratching my head on this. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.
Your case IS exceptional so you should be able to claim for stress. Whilst dealing with this yourself might save you legal expenses not paying for such advice might lose you money. There are doubtless folk on here that can put some sort of quantity on stress for you - I know Zollar works in fraud claims but I'd have thought he might have a pointer or two.
Putting a figure on what you've actually lost and costs you've incurred will be quite a job but make sure you include everything.
As for stress what would you think is fair compensation - if I said £5000 would you be pleased or disappointed? For me 3 years of abject misery it would be peanuts.
Glad things are finally moving for you.
Do you intend to keep up the chauffeuring or go back to trucking longer term?
Putting a figure on what you've actually lost and costs you've incurred will be quite a job but make sure you include everything.
As for stress what would you think is fair compensation - if I said £5000 would you be pleased or disappointed? For me 3 years of abject misery it would be peanuts.
Glad things are finally moving for you.
Do you intend to keep up the chauffeuring or go back to trucking longer term?
Thank you both.
Salary wise, bills etc should be relatively ok. I know what I could have earned in the period I was wronged, and offset this against what I actually earned on my p60’s.
I see what you are saying Re the £5000 per year, and yes it’s peanuts
imho
But if I said £20000 a year, then am I being ridiculously greedy?
I think you are right, I could go it alone, submit a figure to them and 1 of 2 things would happen, i’d get a point blank no or they’d laugh their cock off that I had gone in to low and hand deliver me a cheque to get it all done and dusted whilst smirking to themselves on their way back to Swansea.
The 2nd option is to get proper and professional legal advice. Would just be a case of finding the right person:company for the job.
As normal I am probably over thinking this far to much, but I do want to get every penny that I am entitled too. I don’t want to appear to be greed driven, I just want what’s right.
Job wise, I would happily stay in the chauffeur game if I could find the right role. The last one just got to much, the commute was a bit daft, (this was my problem, not theirs.) Sadly, the longer I was there, the more demanding the job become mainly in regard to days and hours worked. There were a few 7-8 hour days, the average was 10-12, but there were far to many 15+ hour days and a couple of 17 hour days. There were occasions I finished at 1-2am and yet was still expected to be back in again for 9-9.30. In the end it got to much, I was determined to give it too Christmas to see if all the long hours and effort had been worth it?
I then found out I was the only one not invited to the Christmas lunch, and my Christmas gift was a candle.
It was then an easy decision.
Just dusting my old trucking gear off now.
Salary wise, bills etc should be relatively ok. I know what I could have earned in the period I was wronged, and offset this against what I actually earned on my p60’s.
I see what you are saying Re the £5000 per year, and yes it’s peanuts
imho But if I said £20000 a year, then am I being ridiculously greedy?
I think you are right, I could go it alone, submit a figure to them and 1 of 2 things would happen, i’d get a point blank no or they’d laugh their cock off that I had gone in to low and hand deliver me a cheque to get it all done and dusted whilst smirking to themselves on their way back to Swansea.
The 2nd option is to get proper and professional legal advice. Would just be a case of finding the right person:company for the job.
As normal I am probably over thinking this far to much, but I do want to get every penny that I am entitled too. I don’t want to appear to be greed driven, I just want what’s right.
Job wise, I would happily stay in the chauffeur game if I could find the right role. The last one just got to much, the commute was a bit daft, (this was my problem, not theirs.) Sadly, the longer I was there, the more demanding the job become mainly in regard to days and hours worked. There were a few 7-8 hour days, the average was 10-12, but there were far to many 15+ hour days and a couple of 17 hour days. There were occasions I finished at 1-2am and yet was still expected to be back in again for 9-9.30. In the end it got to much, I was determined to give it too Christmas to see if all the long hours and effort had been worth it?
I then found out I was the only one not invited to the Christmas lunch, and my Christmas gift was a candle.
It was then an easy decision.
Just dusting my old trucking gear off now.
If you can find the right advisor, this is surely something that professional / experienced advice will be massively helpful.
I would be looking for recommendations for a direct access barrister with expertise in this area and seeing what she had to say about it.
A very basic google search for barrister Dvla found this firm.
http://fieldcourt.co.uk/area/dvla-licence-appeals/
This is not a recommendation, so don’t treat it as such, but it does look as if they are the type of firm that might be able to help.
Good luck
I would be looking for recommendations for a direct access barrister with expertise in this area and seeing what she had to say about it.
A very basic google search for barrister Dvla found this firm.
http://fieldcourt.co.uk/area/dvla-licence-appeals/
This is not a recommendation, so don’t treat it as such, but it does look as if they are the type of firm that might be able to help.
Good luck
chilistrucker said:
Thank you both.
Salary wise, bills etc should be relatively ok. I know what I could have earned in the period I was wronged, and offset this against what I actually earned on my p60’s.
I see what you are saying Re the £5000 per year, and yes it’s peanuts imho
But if I said £20000 a year, then am I being ridiculously greedy?
I think you are right, I could go it alone, submit a figure to them and 1 of 2 things would happen, i’d get a point blank no or they’d laugh their cock off that I had gone in to low and hand deliver me a cheque to get it all done and dusted whilst smirking to themselves on their way back to Swansea.
The 2nd option is to get proper and professional legal advice. Would just be a case of finding the right person:company for the job.
As normal I am probably over thinking this far to much, but I do want to get every penny that I am entitled too. I don’t want to appear to be greed driven, I just want what’s right.
Job wise, I would happily stay in the chauffeur game if I could find the right role. The last one just got to much, the commute was a bit daft, (this was my problem, not theirs.) Sadly, the longer I was there, the more demanding the job become mainly in regard to days and hours worked. There were a few 7-8 hour days, the average was 10-12, but there were far to many 15+ hour days and a couple of 17 hour days. There were occasions I finished at 1-2am and yet was still expected to be back in again for 9-9.30. In the end it got to much, I was determined to give it too Christmas to see if all the long hours and effort had been worth it?
I then found out I was the only one not invited to the Christmas lunch, and my Christmas gift was a candle.
It was then an easy decision.
Just dusting my old trucking gear off now.
If their incompetence has cost you £20k per year in lost work whilst they had their collective fingers up their arses then that's what you claim for as a starting point. Even if it was £200k, the answer would be the same. Really you should be using a good brief to handle this for you as someone with experience of dealing with this kind of thing would know what you can and can't get them to do. Asking armchair experts on internet forums is not the path you should be taking.Salary wise, bills etc should be relatively ok. I know what I could have earned in the period I was wronged, and offset this against what I actually earned on my p60’s.
I see what you are saying Re the £5000 per year, and yes it’s peanuts
imho But if I said £20000 a year, then am I being ridiculously greedy?
I think you are right, I could go it alone, submit a figure to them and 1 of 2 things would happen, i’d get a point blank no or they’d laugh their cock off that I had gone in to low and hand deliver me a cheque to get it all done and dusted whilst smirking to themselves on their way back to Swansea.
The 2nd option is to get proper and professional legal advice. Would just be a case of finding the right person:company for the job.
As normal I am probably over thinking this far to much, but I do want to get every penny that I am entitled too. I don’t want to appear to be greed driven, I just want what’s right.
Job wise, I would happily stay in the chauffeur game if I could find the right role. The last one just got to much, the commute was a bit daft, (this was my problem, not theirs.) Sadly, the longer I was there, the more demanding the job become mainly in regard to days and hours worked. There were a few 7-8 hour days, the average was 10-12, but there were far to many 15+ hour days and a couple of 17 hour days. There were occasions I finished at 1-2am and yet was still expected to be back in again for 9-9.30. In the end it got to much, I was determined to give it too Christmas to see if all the long hours and effort had been worth it?
I then found out I was the only one not invited to the Christmas lunch, and my Christmas gift was a candle.
It was then an easy decision.
Just dusting my old trucking gear off now.
I have followed this saga on here and I can honestly say that you need to be claiming as much as you can, the loss of earnings is one thing but never forget that you are the one that has had to challenge, hassle, remind and pursue this, you didn't ask for this, it is not your fault and they are the ones that made it harder than it than it needed to be.
Get professional help, take as much as you can because at the end of the day they are the ones that b
ksed up your life for 3 years.
Plenty of people getting big payouts for far less actual hardship. What if you were not persistent ? would they have done the right thing by you ?
£100.000 + I would be going after them for £250.000 and making sure I got them to learn from this. Make the biggest fuss known to man.
Get professional help, take as much as you can because at the end of the day they are the ones that b
ksed up your life for 3 years.Plenty of people getting big payouts for far less actual hardship. What if you were not persistent ? would they have done the right thing by you ?
£100.000 + I would be going after them for £250.000 and making sure I got them to learn from this. Make the biggest fuss known to man.
Ill get flamed but here goes, can you not put in writing to them that you were earning X amount a year until they fked your over.
Which then became X amount a year whilst they continued to fk you over until they realised they d fked up.
So if your 5 grand a year down for 3 years, you want 15 grand.
End of they day they have fked up and they have admitted it now, so you c0ould say its all most like open season for you to take the piss.
But on the other hand, you got your lively hood back and everything else is a bonus.
ked your over. Which then became X amount a year whilst they continued to f
k you over until they realised they d fked up. So if your 5 grand a year down for 3 years, you want 15 grand.
End of they day they have f
ked up and they have admitted it now, so you c0ould say its all most like open season for you to take the piss. But on the other hand, you got your lively hood back and everything else is a bonus.
If you've accrued any debt as a result of their incompetence, that needs to go in too.
All of your time chasing the to put it right has a value.
Did you have to move house?
Stress can be very bad for your health, so if they injured you or otherwise made you ill you'd probably due a payment.
Having to find a job is a big enough ball ache normally, never mind when it's someone elses mistake.
Get some legal advice and claim for costs too.
All of your time chasing the to put it right has a value.
Did you have to move house?
Stress can be very bad for your health, so if they injured you or otherwise made you ill you'd probably due a payment.
Having to find a job is a big enough ball ache normally, never mind when it's someone elses mistake.
Get some legal advice and claim for costs too.
In addition to my previous reply, having thought about it some more, I think that I would be basing any claims on the following points:
Loss of earnings.
Loss of job.
Having to find another job.
Increased costs while earning less.
Ongoing Stress while you tried to get them to put right the wrongs.
Loss of opportunities, hard to quantify but If you were left alone you may well have switched job to a better position, had pay rises, bonuses or that sort of thing.
You know what you personally lost, maybe partner/house, got in debt that sort of thing, don't post them here but factor it in.
Go see a legal bod, if it were me I would be fighting for enough for my mortgage to be paid off, that way im safe if it ever happens again, and I don't trust the DVLA to not make a future cock up based on your records and how the system up there works. you don't want to be in a position that they can ever balls up your life again.
Loss of earnings.
Loss of job.
Having to find another job.
Increased costs while earning less.
Ongoing Stress while you tried to get them to put right the wrongs.
Loss of opportunities, hard to quantify but If you were left alone you may well have switched job to a better position, had pay rises, bonuses or that sort of thing.
You know what you personally lost, maybe partner/house, got in debt that sort of thing, don't post them here but factor it in.
Go see a legal bod, if it were me I would be fighting for enough for my mortgage to be paid off, that way im safe if it ever happens again, and I don't trust the DVLA to not make a future cock up based on your records and how the system up there works. you don't want to be in a position that they can ever balls up your life again.
I could be missing the point but surely Stress etc. is a separate part of the claim to loss of earnings? Loss of earnings is factual and fairly easy to put a number on as others have said, stress is the less tangible piece and probably why the DVLA have it as an excluded factor due to the extreme subjectivity in determining a value?
HootersGsy said:
I could be missing the point but surely Stress etc. is a separate part of the claim to loss of earnings? Loss of earnings is factual and fairly easy to put a number on as others have said, stress is the less tangible piece and probably why the DVLA have it as an excluded factor due to the extreme subjectivity in determining a value?
This.OP has stated that he’s ok with the claim for lost earnings.
It’s specifically a possible claim for stress suffered that he’s asking about.
You need independent evidence to assist you, to support any claim.
Stress can be manifested into a huge number of conditions, from an anxiety related disorder to PTSD and can be treated.
Speak to a solicitor, if you have any legal expenses on any insurance, they will refer you.
If a solicitor can act on your behalf, they can claim their associated costs and the costs of getting any independent medical reports, to support a claim for all the stress this has caused you.
Loss of earnings can easily be calculated, it's future losses which are a lot harder but must be considered.
In terms of your loss of earnings, you can claim the difference between what you would have expected to earn (from when you should have got your licence back), compared with what you actually did earn.
Stress can be manifested into a huge number of conditions, from an anxiety related disorder to PTSD and can be treated.
Speak to a solicitor, if you have any legal expenses on any insurance, they will refer you.
If a solicitor can act on your behalf, they can claim their associated costs and the costs of getting any independent medical reports, to support a claim for all the stress this has caused you.
Loss of earnings can easily be calculated, it's future losses which are a lot harder but must be considered.
In terms of your loss of earnings, you can claim the difference between what you would have expected to earn (from when you should have got your licence back), compared with what you actually did earn.
Edited by SydneyBridge on Sunday 31st December 20:49
PorkInsider said:
Happy New Year to you too, Chilis. Hope 2018 is good to you.
Cheers Pork, same to you.Pica Pica
I agree fully as the one thing I have learned thtough all of this is not to take things for granted. Driving, my Mrs, family and friends. I now appreciate much more that none of these are a given.
Like you, i’d Have been lost without my Mrs, she truly has been a rock and a legend throughout I don’t think i’d Have got through it without her and getting the right final result on all of this is as much for her, as it is myself.
I’m glad to see you are seizure free, one of the biggest ironies for me from the start of this battle against the DVLA/DMG, is that i’ve never had a seizure in my life.
SydneyBridge
Thanks, that’s very informative, cheers .
I think the whole stress thing is going to be a huge grey area in regards to my claim. What you mention, is a lot of what I think myself and compounds my thoughts on the need to seek professional legal advice in this field.
It’s a real odd one, as only myself and the Mrs have really lived the last three years and at times it’s been really f
king dark. It may sound a bit OTT to some but hand on heart it nigh on ruined me and pushed me to the edge. One day I put far to much thought into just how easy it would be to end it all, rather than carry on, carrying on.
That’s how dark it really got.
Sure family and friends could see the effect it was having to a point, but only my Mrs really has a full understanding of just how bad it got and how much it changed me, sadly not for the better.
It has cost me at times in relationships with family and friends. I became very withdrawn and avoided contact as i’d lost my self worth and belief and felt I had become a burden to those around me. I no longer ever had any positives to offer and the longer the DVLA fight went on, the worse it got.
At times I was even pushing my Mrs away, snapping at her for no real reason, releasing my frustrations at her and telling her she’d be better off without me around anymore.
Luckily for me she has stuck by me throughout, I don’t think many would of.
I know I am a different person now, and have an intense hatred of the DMG and many elements of the DVLA. I’ve said it before, but the hatred is still so deep that it would not be a good idea to put me in a room with these people. Now I know that’s wrong but when you feel you have been so badly wronged it can put some dark thoughts in your head.
I feel there are a few things l would still gladly put right, given the opportunity.
I accept this may not necessarily be sensible/rational but it’s just how I feel and how deep the hatred runs.
These days, post PHSO report and finally with the help of the I.C.A in getting my LGV licences correctly reinstated I am once again finally getting back to my old self which is great, but a part of me has certainly changed forever.
Knowing and writing about it are one thing, I guess proving it and getting the DVLA/DMG to accept it are another.
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