Advice re Market Trader Please

[purpletea]

Hello, I am new to this forum and hope someone can help.

My husband has been trading a couple of days a week at a private market for about 3 years. He had built up a nice little clientele and his persistence was starting to pay off. However, the market staff were a real rough crowd and had been intimidating, bullying and racially abusing him over the years. The staff usually sit drinking cans of lager while the market takes place. Even after three years he was never given a 'permanent place' - they always moved him to different stalls at their convenience. They were even charging him more than other stallholders for some time before he realised. My husband was not born in this country but has lived here for over 30 years.

The latest episode is that they have barred him permanently seemingly on a whim. He was also verbally abused and threated with violence.

I'll keep it as short as possible but we are desperately looking for some help to take some sort of action. They are not a member of the markets federation but surely someone must oversee them? I look forward to any advice you can give me.

 

[Mister B]

I am sure that there must be somewhere that you can get some proper advice.

As for me, although no legal expert, I would have thought that the market must be governed by a license issued from the council. Therefore, the market will also be governed by any regulations imposed. So, try there first.

On the subject of the bullying and intimidation, go straight to the Police. If matters are that bad then it will amount to discrimination and as such you should report it.

Hope that it all works out well for you.

Mister B

 

[Stonelaughter]

Along the same lines as MrB above, I would think that the local Council is the first port of call - they must licence or otherwise authorise this market in some way and I'm shocked that your Husband has allowed this behaviour to continue for so long without contacting them. At least if they do not have any direct influence over the market they will know who does.

Another thing; is your Husband a member of the Market Trader's federation? They may be able to offer some very real assistance if he is - they may even be able to help if he joins now.

 

[purpletea]

Thank you very much for your quick reply Mister B, much appreciated. I have just tried the Council, guy re licensing is back tomorrow so will speak to him then. We did report the racial abuse aspect to the Council on one occasion months ago but heard nothing afterwards. My husband was going to call the police at the time at the market and after speaking to me on the phone didn't as I said no just leave it and come home and we'll see what we can do. I/we didn't want any more aggravation or make a public display of it. I don't know how how the police would react to reporting it now, after a fortnight has elapsed.

We did write to the market owners a fortnight ago requesting name of rent collector within seven days (as he was the main perpetrator of the threatening behaviour). They have written a week ago and said they have passed it on to the owner.

 

[purpletea]

Thankyou Stoneslaughter. Actually we were initially in a very vulnerable position, financially very bad off and unable to gain employment, this was the only option to make a living. We did complain the market owners on two previous occasions about their staff (on one occasion one of them was drunk & started "helping" to pack my husband's goods away (although he told him not to) and actually clumsily picked up and promptly dropped an armful of goods, resulting in a breakage. He got an apology from the manager following our complaint. Also we did contact the Council.... who were no help whatsoever... other than recording the report.
We are not members of the federation. We did contact them and they have no power over this particular market. Yes, would be good idea to join, thankyou.

 

[Mister B]

I think that you must have a real dilemma about going to the Police for fear of making it worse. I also think though that you need to be strong and report it to the Police who should take it very seriously indeed.

If you have any doubts, just think of what else these people could do. Will it escalate to more violent action? Will they/do they pick on other people?

In my opinion, they are nothing but bullies who need taking care of in the right way-through Police action.

Good luck with it.

Mister B

 

[CertaxBexley]

Your between a rock & hard place, as others have said the Market is probably Licenced by your local council, if phone calls to them have produced nothing, a formal letter of complaint, detailing your grievences, should be wriitten to the Council Chief Executive with a copy to the relevent Licensing department, you might further mention you are considering submitting your greviences to the Local Press and the Commission for Race Equality (or whatever its now called)
Good luck

 

[.Spiralling.]

We are not members of the federation. We did contact them and they have no power over this particular market. Yes, would be good idea to join, thankyou.

They might not have any power over this market, but being a member of the Fed gives you access to free/discounted legal advice, and you may well be able to tap into all the knowledge they have about various matters. For a sole trader it's about £75 a year and includes public/product/employers liability insurances.

 

[deniser]

It's a private market so you need to contact the owners who are probably some property investors who leave the day to day running to the market to the market manager. You say you have written to them but i didn't quite understand what you said about the letters.

Find out who the owner is - presumably a company - and write to them at their registered office asking for a meeting or for them to call you. They probably have no idea how the market is run on a day to day basis. Their name should be in your market licence agreement.

 

[MH1]

In reality some of the privately run markets are a law unto themselves in reality, your main leverage is wanting a permanent stall and knowing about their employees bad habits, some operators have no second chances for staff or customers.

Personally I would advise considering looking for a council run market with correct rules and regulations, it's worth it in the long run, most a crying out for traders with many good opening offers etc.

What area are you in?

 

[templarmc]

Maybe I've missed something here, but if he's been trading there for 3 years as you say, does that not stand for something?

Has this situation just declined to this extent so slowly over that time and it's not been addressed, or is there another less obvious reason as to why it's come to a head just now? :|