Safestyle Uk????

[Margaret Pilkington]

The worst that could happen is that you spend all day working and get paid nothing for it.
Sorry if that sounds very negative, but I am a realist.

[Boeing Guy]

Hate to say it Margaret, but I think you could well be right. many years ago in the late 80's early 90's I worked for several companies just like this one. I found that I was out of pocket on every one, expected to use my own and petrol. Then I got lucky and got into the car sales business, where I was very successful, not by ripping people off, but by understanding what their needs and desires were. This was before I discovered flying of course....

Unfortunately the commission only sales jobs with double glassing companies/ gas. electric suppliers etc tend to be about pushing and ripping people off.

I have come across Safestyle twice, once my mother in law needed a new front door. Safestyle charged her £3000.00 for one and it was half price! We had ours done, same sort of door, by Sureframe, opposite ASDA for around £500.00 last year.
The second time, they tried to sell me new uPVC windows front and rear, I explained at the door that I had new windows just fitted a few months ago, to which I was told I needed new ones????? The door slammed shut.
So please do not call at our home, as I will do the same again.

On the job front, I believe Costa coffee are moving to Accrington, they will need staff?

[Boeing Guy]

Not forgetting that you are classed as Self Employed by this company, eh this is illegal as you are not allowed to contract for one company under the UK working laws...
You need to look at IR35 in the HMRC web site and call them,
Here is a small section to help:
Employment status
Employed or self-employed?

A worker's employment status, that is whether they are employed or self-employed, is not a matter of choice. Whether someone is employed or self-employed depends upon the terms and conditions of the relevant engagement. The tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) rules do, however, contain some special rules that apply to certain categories of worker in certain circumstances. See section on special cases.

If you work for someone else, it is important to know whether you are working for that person in an employed capacity or in a self-employed capacity as an independent contractor. If you are an engager, it is your responsibility to correctly determine the employment status of your workers.

A worker's employment status will determine the charge to tax on income from that employment or self-employment. It will also determine the class of NICs, which are to be paid.

* Employed or self-employed
* Casual, or part time working. More than one job?
* Special cases
* Tax & NIC charges
* Employer's obligations
* Worker's obligations
* Agency obligations
* Our obligations
* Employment rights/benefits entitlement

General links

* Employment Status Indicator (ESI) tool.
* ES/FS1 - Employed or self-employed for tax and National Insurance contributions.
* ES/FS2 - Are your workers employed or self-employed for tax and National Insurance contributions (PDF 46K)
* Advice for contractors in the construction industry (PDF 47K).
* CIS 349- advice for registered contractors about employment status (PDF 62K)
* Employment Status Manual.
* Disagree with our opinion.
* Contact us.
* Managed service companies.
* Workers who supply their services through intermediaries - IR35

Employed or self-employed?

In order to answer this question it is necessary to determine whether the person works under a contract of service (employees) or under a contract for services (self-employed, independent contractor). For tax and NICs purposes, there is no statutory definition of a contract of service or of a contract for services. What the parties call their relationship, or what they consider it to be, is not conclusive. It is the reality of the relationship that matters.

In order to determine the nature of a contract, it is necessary to apply common law principles. The courts have, over the years, laid down some factors and tests that are relevant, which is included in the overview below.

As a general guide as to whether a worker is an employee or self-employed; if the answer is 'Yes' to all of the following questions, then the worker is probably an employee:

* Do they have to do the work themselves?
* Can someone tell them at any time what to do, where to carry out the work or when and how to do it?
* Can they work a set amount of hours?
* Can someone move them from task to task?
* Are they paid by the hour, week, or month?
* Can they get overtime pay or bonus payment?

If the answer is 'Yes' to all of the following questions, it will usually mean that the worker is self-employed:

* Can they hire someone to do the work or engage helpers at their own expense?
* Do they risk their own money?
* Do they provide the main items of equipment they need to do their job, not just the small tools that many employees provide for themselves?
* Do they agree to do a job for a fixed price regardless of how long the job may take?
* Can they decide what work to do, how and when to do the work and where to provide the services?
* Do they regularly work for a number of different people?
* Do they have to correct unsatisfactory work in their own time and at their own expense?


If Safestyle are such a good company then why do the insist you are self employed, with none of the benefits of employment?
This is off their application page:
An agreement between yourself and Safestyle UK is on the basis that you are in business on your own account as a Self-employed Sales Agent and does not create a contract of employment.

Please understand that as you are self-employed, you will be responsible for all Personal Income Tax, National Insurance Contributions and Value Added Tax Liabilities.

Looks like you better register for self employment with the tax man and start paying self employed NI as well....

[Margaret Pilkington]

Speedy, this job looks like a bum deal to me.
Get to Costa Coffee lad...I'm sure it would be a much better place to work.
And less hassle all round.

[steeljack]

slight wander , but maybe apt ..... as my owd grandad used to say ..."anyone who works for nowt is a thief "

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by steeljack

slight wander , but maybe apt ..... as my owd grandad used to say ..."anyone who works for nowt is a thief "

Ya beat me to that one SJ

[Margaret Pilkington]

I suppose it is similar to the one my Mum uses to this day........'a workman is worth his wage'.

[hedman2003]

Originally Posted by Speedy

Well been for my first day of training today and i have to say so far so good. Still a little bit dubious about it, but im gonna stick with it and see how things go. After all, whats the worse that could happen.

good question but I fear it will end in tears!!!


hope for your sake it doesn't

[Less]

Originally Posted by hedman2003

good question but I fear it will end in tears!!!


hope for your sake it doesn't

Perhaps it deserves to end in tears?

Anyone that has read nothing but negative revues about a Company, the quality and standard of their Salesforce & products then goes ahead and joins this 'team', deserves all they are bound to get.

Do yourself a favour, find an honest job, you'll be happier serving coffee in the long run and you'll find it a more profitable and satisfying job.

[Boeing Guy]

Just found this online:

Advantages: NON
Disadvantages: PLENTY

i worked at the manchester branch of safestyle uk 2 years ago.
i was at the job centre amd an asian man approached me asking me how id like to earn up to `300 pounds per week` plus!
i was only 16, young and gullible, i didnt know what he was talking about, he wouldnt even say the job or company he just told me to come the next week to a warehouse nearby.
i did that, and i started training with 4 other people,
i was told the company was safestyle uk and it was a canvassing job.
the `training` took place in an extremely broken down cold room, for a week, i didnt get a penny for the training even tho he guarenteed me at the begining id get paid normal salary for the training (normal salary was then 5.10 per hour for canvassers)
we were told... normal salary is 5.10 per hour, work 5 days a week, 8 hours per day, plus you get commison for anytime you get a lead (a lead is when the person at the door accepts an offer for a quotation .. which is when the salesman goes round, and if the person agrees to take the quotation and to buy, thats the `sale`)
i should mention by the way that i was constantly being teased (not in a light hearted way) but an abusive foul mouthed way for being *gay* when i am actually straight and not even camp acting.
i reported it to the manager whose response was `oh theyre just having a laugh`!
the next week i was told to start which i did, i was on a team of three people, whod obviously been doing it for years, we were driven to a poor area of yorkshire called bradford.
the first day i was told just to watch, as the people knocked on doors,
they told me all the tricks and trades including some extremely unprofesional comments from them that `we dont do asians as they give us payment problems`... thats what they told me - to avoid asian homes!!!
i was also told specifically to never give out the number of our actual branch, rather the number of the national safestyle hotline.. the 0870 number.
when i got back after the first day, i felt absolutly crap, id been walking around for about 7 hours in a freezing cold area, and it was a relief to get home.
the next day i was told to go by myself, i was dropped off in an area and told to go from house to house.
i must have knocked on about 5,000 doors before the night was up, about ten actually showed an interest, but said no when they heard the company. however two said theyd take a quoatation.
for me this was great - two leads equals extra bonuses!!
however at the end of the week i was told that because the leads didnt go through (the salesman didnt get to sell the windows as the customers decided not to)... that i wouldnt get any extra bonus!!!!!
this is not what i was told by training!! at training i was told that just getting a lead would generate my bonus... after all thats what a lead is... a chance for a possible sale!
to cop it all off, i was paid just 91 pounds that week... the manager said something about `tax` and `being a starter` which didnt make sense.... i was GUARANTEED 5.10 PER HOUR, PLUS A BONUS FOR EVERY LEAD I GENERATED! considering id worked almost 40 hours, i should have been due well more than that amount!
the next week carried on like this.. by mid week id got another two leads, neither of them sold. i was given a warning that if i didnt get a lead by the end of the week, id be sacked...
all the time i was putting up with `homopobic abuse` and ridiculing.....
i decided id had enough, and just didnt turn up for work the next day and quit!

during my time there i experienced the following:
they will use EVERY con tactic to get you to work for them, wether its lying about the nature of the job, or lying about the wages.
they claim on their website to be the best payers in the canvass industry.... that is 100% absolute bull****.
theyll give anyone a job if they think they can make money out of them, hell i saw people there that didnt speak a word of english!

i could go on and on but the bottom line is, they are the lowest of the lowest company, they will do anything to make money, they treat their staff like crap, they hire (i know this for a fact) ABSOLUTLY ANYONE.. even with criminal records! (anyone whos worked with safestyle can vouch for me on that)

i hope my story inspires people to
a/ never even dream of working for that company
b/ never buy anything off them
c/ write to the trading standards, and watchdog.. and create as much media awareness as possible of this lowlife company in the hope that one day their dishonest methods of operation are made known to the world.

the icing on the cake for how sick and twisted these people are.. if you go on their website, their `customer advice charter` says `if we do not live up to these standards.. we will apologise`!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

is that it??????????????????? a simple apology!! are you kidding me!!!!
ummm weve smashed up your home and given you a ten grand debt from the loan for windows which only costed two grand in the first place but we`ll `aplogise` and its all okay?????????????????????? are you kidding me??????
it sums up their diabolical customer service!!
stay far far far away from them!

your comments much appreciated!

Summary: read my story for the true insider on this company


Interesting reading

[hedman2003]

Following on from the prevous post I can fully believe it giving my experience as a customer.

It's about 10 years ago received a telephone call usual story reps are in the area are you interested in double glazing at that time we were so arranged for them to visit the following day at 6pm

Had a call the following day to check if the appointment was still ok confirmed it was

Arrived home at 5.40pm and around 6pm suited guy turns up, no introduction plonks himself down on settee and asks where the wife is I indicate she has taken the kids to Blackpool but should be back soon and is that a problem

He then asks to use the phone and says to his office "his wifes not here" I then go on the phone and am told they cant offer provide me with a quote as I'm on my own and following a court case in Sheffield involving an elderly lady they cant provide a quote

I inform them that all I want is a quote and that I wouldn't be able to make a decision on whcih company to choose until I had at least 3 quotes and there was no way i would be signing for anything today

Mystery suited man gets up and leaves pursued by me down the path, he accuses me of being a time waster at which point I remind him I'm the customer, he has come into my house and insulted me and that there is now noway i would buy from his company and they are clearly a bunch of cowboys. Ay=t which point he follows me back down the path in a threatening manner so I close the door in his face

He gets in his car at which point i wave him a fond farwell!! he then accuses me of kicking his car which is difficult as I'm stood on the pavement and he is in the middle of the road (even Peter Crouch would have been unable to do that!)

I ring last number redial and ask to speak to a Senior Manager nobody their only security I'm told. Ring the following day to say as a result of the inconvienience they will do me a real special deal

Needless to say It didn't take me long to consider their "kind offer"

Following that everytime Safestyle knocked on my door they got the full story and I real didn't mind wasting 10 minutes of my time to waste theirs and prevent them harrassing some other unfortunate punter

Safestyle - wouldn't touch woth a bargepole!!!!

[lancsdave]

Originally Posted by Speedy

Well been for my first day of training today and i have to say so far so good. Still a little bit dubious about it, but im gonna stick with it and see how things go. After all, whats the worse that could happen.

So the real purpose of the thread was to try and get some leads ?

[Speedy]

Originally Posted by lancsdave

So the real purpose of the thread was to try and get some leads ?

No not at all, i simply wondered if anyone had worked for the company and had any stories to tell about them that would influence my decision to work for the company or not.

[heth]

Well let us know whether they are good or bad when you properly start, they are bound to be nice for the first part of the job

[hedman2003]

Originally Posted by Speedy

No not at all, i simply wondered if anyone had worked for the company and had any stories to tell about them that would influence my decision to work for the company or not.

Given that there is not one positive posting about Safestyle and several major negatives I would say that you certainly need a lot of influencing to change your decision.

Perhaps you can only see the good in people - hope you never have to do jury service - it seems like you would find everybody innocent. still working for Safestyle you could soon be in court yourself