back to article BT workers cuffed over fake overtime and moonlighting claims

Eight BT employees were manacled in London earlier this month after being fingered on suspicion of falsely claiming hundreds of thousands of pounds in overtime from the telecoms giant. According to The Sun, the unnamed workers were nicked for allegedly setting up a "fake car-clamping business in an elaborate £200,000 swindle …

COMMENTS

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  1. joewilliamsebs

    Ah, clever...

    Create parking tickets from a pretend company, give to your employer who has a policy of paying them, collect fines the account you control.

    1. smileypete
      Facepalm

      Re: Ah, clever...

      Use the clamping fines from the pretend company as proof of overtime hours worked?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Ah, clever...

      Not that clever if you end up nicked and out of a job.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And teh usual government cycle continues

    Give BT money to put in fibre

    BT have to double park etc to put in fibre

    Fine BT for double parking

    Get the invested money back.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Private enterprise and thinking outside the square

    Only wrong if you get caught.

    1. TeeCee Gold badge
      Coat

      Re: Private enterprise and thinking outside the square

      Careful, you'll get a ticket for not parking wholly within the square.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Holmes

    wow so that's where all this broadband grant money is going. Have they not thought of applying for some kind of special parking permit? Has BT management not approached Boris about this?

    questions questions but no answers.

    1. KBeee

      There is a permit to allow utilities to park in London, with restrictions. Do not cause an obstruction, single yellow lines only etc.

      Most Councils in London ignore the permits, and slap a ticket on anyway.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      BT along with lots of similar companies ask continuously, the answer is invariably "no" - not just in London but across the country. And those millions of pounds a year in fines get added to your utility bills.

      Most permit schemes require that the company submits a vehicle reg and location in advance, which is tricky in a reactive area of work like responding to a fault. It's cheaper for most companies to pay the fine than have someone park half a mile away - or further - and then try and lug all their kit to the worksite without breaking their backs or having it nicked, all the while halving their productivity. If someone is using a transit sized van instead of a fiesta sized fan, it's because they've got a lot of kit to carry around with them.

      The only workable exception seems to be around roadworks - which means that if you park your van up and surround it with cones, maybe lift a manhole cover off for appearances, you can legitimately claim to be performing roadworks and thus become exempt from parking restrictions and fines.

      When I worked for BT in the early 90's there were guys with 'foot patches' - city centre techs who had slimmed their tool kit down to something that could be carried in a holdall - normally PBX or data service maintenance people rather than someone who regularly needed to climb poles. Today's approach seems to be to train everyone to do everything, hence the need for a lot more stuff to carry around.

  5. Tibbs
    FAIL

    Isn't the scarier story that BT actually pays the 'fines' doled out by Private Parking Companies?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      You're right - maybe they should Google 'do not pay private parking fines' and learn to ignore the letters like the rest of us.

  6. dorsetknob

    Private Parking fines are only enforceable in the civil court.

    Anyone attempting to enforce collection of these civil penalty's i believe is guilty of the Criminal offense of Extortion and demanding of money with menace .( Especially if they remove your car and demand money to return it)

    If You Park on Private property your committing the civil offense of trespass so Demanding payment to return your car is the Criminal offense of Extortion and demanding of money with menace

    Lets See the Government legislate and prosecute these EXTORTIONIST CRIMINALS

    1. GeekinOrpington

      I think you'll find that private clamping has already become illegal.

    2. BigScaryTiger
      Pint

      Yes, some GOOD LAD / LADY Judge has seen fit!

      See here : http://www.chad.co.uk/news/local/judge-says-excel-parking-fines-illegal-1-701811

  7. We're all in it together

    BT have Openreach engineers?

    I thought they'd got rid of them all. Six weeks and still waiting a single direct exchange line to be installed. Perhaps their van's been towed away.....

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