Most of my readers remember what happened to me last December when I tried to do the right thing by the charity my husband works for. The whole story is here and in these other posts. I made a formal complaint in April this year about the person who treated me like a naughty schoolgirl and heard nothing …apart from a few weak responses to my emails asking when my case would be heard…. until the other day when I sent an email asking why I had not heard anything from them. I also told them then that I have sent everything to The Sydney Morning Herald as one of their journalists is interested in letting the public know about the “poisonous” way the Society is run.
I heard back later that day and was informed that on balance what I said was not believed. Though the person who sent me the email said that he was keen to mend fences and restore my previous worthwhile relationship with the Society. What previous worthwhile relationship? If I am not believed now why was I believed when it was the rank and file that I reported before for wrongdoing? Why is it that when I report a more senior manager that I am not believed? Why is it the responsibility of the customer to tell the staff that they are not allowed to give valuable donations away for free? Why is it not the responsibility of the Society and its staff…why was the onus put on me to not accept what was freely given to me?
I have a past history of reporting wrongdoing in the Randwick Centre and I was believed and thanked for those reports…even though as my past blog posts show I was treated appallingly afterwards by staff who held it against me…to the extent that I could not shop there for much of last year. Of course my relationship has also included praise, support and encouragement of the workers and shoppers there. Only today I was asked for advice as to various shoppers needs because of my dressmaking experience. I happily spend time there helping the people who have no clue how the staff and family of staff are treated.
Until now I have not disclosed the name of the charity but I am not held to a contract as is my husband to do no harm to the Society..because believe me they have done great harm to me and to my family through both their actions and their inaction for months and now their blatant disregard toward a valued customer and senior employee’s wife. This is inexcusable and I will not let it rest.
I have asked for the name of a more senior person and for the committee which oversees charities to investigate this matter. Of course I do not expect to hear back from them…that is their modus operandi after all…ignore and hope it goes away…or perhaps they will take the more agressive stance as they did some months ago of telling me not to discuss the case in the store. Quite a harsh email especially considering I am not employed by them and they were not even acting on my case then.
Speaking of my husband, my oh so proud of his honesty and his sense of righteousness as a Christian husband who has worked there for ten years…his Workplace Grievance of Bullying also was not believed. The person who gave a written statement declaring that she had witnessed incidents of bullying in his shop for two years or more was not even contacted…so perhaps she was disbelieved too. What is it with this Catholic Charity that they disbelieve the very people who have been so loyal to them over the years? Surely compassion and trust should be a cornerstone of a Christian charity.
My husband is now on Long Service Leave, he is in the UK and does not know of what is happening to me…I will keep it from him. He you see had a near nervous breakdown four months ago due to the pressures at the Charity over the past two or more years. That is why I have not been posting much here…this was my refuge against the injustices of the world and my creative place but these four nearly five months have taken that away from me. I did not write about what was going on due to loyalty to the greater good the charity does with the poor and disenfranchised but not writing about it and dealing with my husband regressing to a frightened little boy whenever the phone rang took away my creative drive and I have been unable to complete any sewing really in this time.
So they have harmed me and they have harmed my family…you may remember my son heard me weeping when I was chastised by two senior members of Vinnies when I reported the giving away of donations. After the treatment in the store when I reported wrongdoing before it was too much for me and the very fact that they were turning the whole thing around. Well that was nothing compared with what was written about me in my husband’s Worker’s Comp Insurance file. The person who heard my husband’s Workplace Grievance said in April that they had removed all obstacles to him returning to work so it had to be pressure from me that was keeping him away. The person who scolded me said they had a problem in the store with me discussing Society business…the opposite was true as they hounded me about my husband and how he was doing at his store. She also said she could not understand why I bothered him about such a thing as the donations when he was clearly grieving his mothers health. Well that is the first time she mentioned his mothers state of health since he returned in December….she chastised him the day he returned to work about the my accepting the donation although she denies it now.
St Vincent de Paul has had a lot of bad press in the last year…you can read about their cavaleer treatment of their volunteers and staff here and here. And my husband’s support person Les had a battle with them himself here.
I guess that is what is the most upsetting about this…my tender care of my husband over the almost four month period he could not work was what ultimately got him back to work…he did not want to go back…why would he want to put himself in harm’s way? He may be precious at the moment but he has good survival instincts…but he is too trusting and I do fear for him when he returns. So now you are up to date with my happenings…I have acheived very little except my husband’s sanity and my own. I have read some books…mostly I have played Farmtown on Facebook…its been a lifesaver as it is so mindless and one meets some lovely people.
Much like yourselves only one gets to chat while one works!
9 Comments
Wow Kathleen, that is so awful. First of all that you were treated that way and second, that you are getting no where in your complaint process against them.
I had a similar(as far as trying to grieve a complaint) situation with ebay/Paypal and a transaction in which I sent something to someone and it got lost in the mail. I sent numerous complaints and proof that I sent the item and they never got back to me and ended up giving a refund to the buyer, out of my account without telling me.
So, I know how trying to communicate and getting no response (or a negative one) can be frustrating. I do hope your situation will right itself in the end.
Have a great day Kathleen! and your Hubby too.
Injustice is so hard to deal with isn’t it…and dishonesty…when you know deep down you are right but the world does not know how to deal with honesty. How dare they take that money out of your account…I am glad it did not sour your enjoyment of wheeling and dealing there Angie!
Thanks..I must get back to some sewing…dear Jan…author has to have her quilt before her granddaughter is born and my dear friend Ester’s daughter just had a baby girl to so want to do something for her too. Time to get moving. Hope your day improves after the start you had!
I hope it all works out in the end, but it sounds toxic to me. Is it possible for him to return to work, but look for employment elsewhere?
emailed you kate
Hi Kathleen,
I am so sorry you and your husband are experiencing such difficulties. You are absolutely right that injustice is one of the hardest things to deal with, and resolve. I wish you all the luck I can in hoping it all works out for you.
I’m not knowledgeable about Australian law ~ but if this case was in the UK it would appear to be constructive dismissal (the employer making it impossible for the employee to stay in their job). Is there such a thing in your country and is it worth considering legal advice about it? Of course I know these things are expensive to sort out and sometimes (for this reason) people just walk away and get a new job and put there horrible experience behind them.
It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to say too much at the moment about my own situation because I am in fact taking legal action against my own employer. I gave the paperwork and documentation to a Barrister in Law (UK) and he offered to take the case on for me on a contingency fee (I only pay him if he wins so the fee comes out of the compensation awarded). His view is that I have been treated apallingly. I resigned from my job 2 weeks ago as I could no longer take the stress etc. I am now unemployed but at least I can face each day now and move on with my life.
I go into hospital in 3 weeks time for surgery on my leg (I’ll e-mail you with more information).
Thank you so much for the baby quilt ~ I can’t wait to receive it ~ I know it was created with love and so will be very special.
Kind regards,
Jan
I feel so bad for you! You’ve been treated so badly..and your Husband too…and it just doesn’t seem to end? At least not with any sort of fair outcome! I’m going through a great injustice now myself..and can really relate to what it’s like..to try and get some sort of satisfaction. My design that Quiltmaker magazine used on the cover of their July/August issue has not been paid for..and won’t be..yet they are still using it to advertise their magazine. It’s still posted on their web site. The magazine was in financial trouble and was sold to a new owner. They refuse to pay me the money that’s owed!
I am so sorry for the way that you have been treated when you were only trying to do the right thing. They have a responsibility to the people who make donations in good faith — just the same as if the donation had been cash. And Ann — I am so sorry for you, too. Your quilt is beautiful and was eye-catching on the magazine stand. I’m sure it helped sell many magazines for them!
I had a frustrating incident with eBay several years ago and have been a one-woman boycott against them ever since. I bid on a xbox 360 game system for my son for Christmas when they first came out and were impossible to obtain. I won the auction and received notification from eBay and the seller. Then, the seller returned my money (thank goodness for that at least) and said that someone else had emailed him and offered him more money after bidding was closed. This is absolutely against the rules and defeats the whole purpose of the auction set-up. It took me weeks and months and emails and phone calls to eBay — each time dealing with a different person and having to retell my story. Then they finally admitted that the seller was wrong and had broken the rules. I think because he didn’t keep my money, they really didn’t care that much. They said they would do something about it, but I think they made him suspend selling for one day!!! To add insult to injury, he left nasty feedback about me and how I refused to cooperate (I had exchanged numerous emails with him and he just never did care that he had broken the rule, because he got more money). When I complained to eBay, they said their policy was to keep out of the feedback — even if it was unjust. I always believed that eBay would care about it’s reputation and the experiences of its customers, but I learned otherwise. I was never able to get another game system in time for Christmas, so my son ended up with a promise and got it in January. Really spoiled the Christmas morning I had planned for him! I hope eBay has changed their ways since then, but I haven’t been back!
kathleen,
i am so sorry to hear what you and your husband have been going through. i know you have the strength to see this to a positive conclusion..for you and your family…not for the charity. just know that i’m checking in on you and surely you are all in my prayers. wishing you peace and strength.
j
I have been increasingly disappointed with the way Vinnies and other big charities in Australia have been running. They are all increasingly corporatised, and have very much lost sight of their original charters.
Sending you and your family all my blessings!
Hi Kathleen, sorry to hear that you and your husband are having such a rotten time. I hope it all sorts out successfully for you both. I think one of the problems is that charity shop managers (male ones especially) don’t understand the huge amounts that crafters are prepared to spend on their materials. Apparently about $30 billion in 2006 was spent by crafters in the US. That is a huge source of income for charity shops. Maybe they need some in-service training!
In case anyone wants to look at the figures I quoted they are here http://www.professionalcrafters.com/craftstyles2006.html under Americans Getting Crafty….
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