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Ann Summers's abuse of employees

Jonathan Handforth | 27.06.2006 16:33 | Workers' Movements | Sheffield

Ann Summers have been engaging in harrassment of their employees, accusing them of owing money which they do not, threatening them with litigation via credit agencies, and ultimately bailiffs.

I am posting this on behalf of my friend Bex, who worked for Ann Summers briefly last year, as I think it needs reporting:

Hello all

As some of you know, I worked for Ann Summers very briefly last year as a party organiser, and it has turned out to be the biggest mistake of my adult life so far...

The basic situation is that Ann Summers are accusing me of owing them money which I do NOT.

On finishing my employment with the company, I was asked to send the demonstration kit back - For those that don't know, this is basically a sample of the catalogue products, valued at around £500, that organisers "rent" from the company to use at parties.

I sent the kit back after a delay (my life revolved around dissertations at the time) when a credit agency became involved threatening legal action for ignoring "repeated" requests for the kit - This is a lie. There was only ONE request for the kit in November 2005.

I sent the kit back in April 2006, expecting this to be the last I would hear from either Ann Summers or the credit agency. I was completely wrong.

Last week I recieved a text message - and I AM being serious - from the credit agency, requesting I call the litigation department. On checking my account on their (extremely shoddy) website, Ann Summers claim that I still owe them £131 which is UNTRUE.

Here's some maths for you - organisers recieve a 30% discount on all merchandise, including the kit. Therefore, whilst the kit's value is actually £500, the organiser only pays £320. On returning the kit, you would assume that the FACE value of the products would be taken into account, NOT the discounted value. You would be wrong. The products have not depreciated 30% in value whilst in my possession. The products I returned were worth £500. Ann Summers claim that this is not the case. Ann Summers could then be accused of committing FRAUD.

The £131 "debt" owed is apparently an extortionate £62 administration fee, plus several months of kit rental payments. This should not be the case.

And now I put this to all of you (or, those of you in the UK):

I know I am not the only ex-organiser to be in this situation. I have asked for advice on another forum, where I have been told that other ex-organisers have been in similar situations, in some cases escalating to baliffs and debt collectors taking their posessions to repay an imaginary "debt". If you know ANYONE who may also be in this situation, PLEASE repost this and help draw people's attention to it.

If an ex-organiser reads this, and wants to get in contact, please add Dominatrix_Bex as a friend, or send her a message, or email Rebecca via:

beautyfiend666@hotmail.com

This situation cannot go unreported. My aim is to get as many similar cases as possible and take this directly to the managers of Ann Summers, and also to alert workers unions and trading standards of their unfair practices.

Please repost this if you know you have an abundance of female friends on your list, some or most of whom live in the UK and may have experience with Ann Summers. I need your help.

Thankyou,

Bex

Jonathan Handforth
e-mail: jhprowler@hotmail.com
Homepage: http://www.myspace.com/camazotz

Comments

Hide the following 7 comments

Dear Dominatrix Bex

27.06.2006 20:10

sorry to hear of your troubles, but Im EXTREEMLY interested to know more about your kit - £500 of kinky goods is a lot of kinky goods! Im sure that if you spoke to a manager at AS they would straighten things out, sounds like the credit agency have an old balance on their computer & an auto message system?

I would love to come to one of your parties

Yours

[very] Bad George

bad george

All too common

28.06.2006 08:02

The exploitation of party plan workers by such companies -- Ann Summers is just one example among many --- is all too common. Workers are 'self-employed' rather than employed by the company -- in fact they are not employees but customers buying products from the company to sell on themselves. Consequently they have no rights as workers. They are also more likely than not to be women with little or no other sources of income of their own (often financially dependent on a male partner).
Another thing that's all too common in the case of Ann Summers is the kind of sniggering and trivialising comment seen above. The work is low-paid and insecure, and Bex has been harrassed and threatened, but because Ann Summers is "naughty" and the workers are all women, tediously sexist men treat it as no more than a joke.

Deja Vue

idea

29.06.2006 12:12

Hi Bex,

I would recommend going to the Citizens' Advice Bureau.

They'll let you know all your rights and how you can straighten it all out. Get a friend to go with you when you go.

dave

Biggest mistake a £131 loss ? Congrats.

29.06.2006 19:47

Bex, count yourself lucky and try to cope better instead of whinging on activist websites. The mistake that cost me most finacially cost me £200,000 and that was far from my biggest mistake, I'd be too ashamed to admit to them. Jeeez, £131, really, don't sweat it. What can £131 buy you ? Sweet fuck all, and I'm a doley who owns nothing before you start.

Actually, I'd say your biggest mistake is admitting in public that you had anything to do with such a tawdry bunch of corporate rip-off merchants such as Ann Summers. Have you no judgement ? And the reason you are getting little sympathy is even if you had success with them, you would have only been ripping off some other poor sap. Slow hand clap.

Have a read at some of the genuine hard-luck stories that are published here before you embarrass yourself further, and show some more respect for yourself - and others- in future.

Danny

Re ann summers kit

26.09.2006 00:34

Hi i have worked for Ann summers for 12 years as a party organiser.
First i would like to comment on Me being the bread winner of my household.
Second when a contract of any type ends, products, goods rented must be returned or rental charges aplply.
Surely mobile phone, internet, tv companys wouldnt leave goods without charges.
As adults we are capable of reading before we sign up and respond to instructions.
Yours
Slash

Slash

Seems to add up

21.04.2007 08:48

Hi Bex, firstly it's never nice when you feel aggrieved by a company you've worked for. The second comment I have to make is that you've admitted to returning the kit late.

If you had a notice to return it in November of the previous year, I am assuming you were supposed to return it maybe a couple of months before that? So let's say you were meant to return the kit in September and didn't until the following April, that's a delay of about 7-8 months. If you add up the weekly kit rental over those months, doesn't that explain your bill? Or at least part of it?

I've posted comments like yours on the internet before to name and shame an ex-employer because I was so angry with the way I felt I had been treated. I ended up regretting it and it didn't make me feel any better. I would advise you to re-read your contract, if you signed one, take it along with all correspondence between yourself and Ann Summers to a Citizens Advice Bureau or if you're really serious about it, find a Lawyer although that's costly.

Make sure you're not getting this wrong otherwise you'll end up feeling very foolish indeed. Sometimes some things aren't worth stressing about but if you really feel you're in the right and they've made a genuine mistake, by all means seek advice and sort it out.

Good luck.

Kim

Yawn!

20.10.2007 17:21

Firstly, you were NOT an Ann Summers employee. Party plan organisers are self-employed business people, so stop bleating on about Ann Summers treatment of 'employees' when you never were one in the first place.

If you can't even understand that, probably you couldn't understand the original agreement which is why you owe money.

Fool.

DCP

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