Non-motoring > Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Falkirk Bairn	Replies: 35

Thu 6 Jan 11 09:49   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Falkirk Bairn

The snow has gone but some damage to the roans in a newish housing estate. Brackets broken and 3 lengths down on my son's home - so time and a maybe 10-15 brackets on 3 x lengths. How much? My son was quoted £500 by a joiner. What would your expect to pay per hour? / for the job? Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 09:52   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - R.P.

About half that ! Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 10:11   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - sooty123

What's a Roan? Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 10:16   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - L'escargot

>> What's a Roan? >> It's a horse which is red, black or brown with a few white hairs. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 10:20   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - sooty123

He has a rocking horse of some sort? Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 10:29   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Old Sock

>> It's a horse .... Not surpring it's expensive, then :-) Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 10:37   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - VxFan

>> What's a Roan? Typo for road. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 18:11   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - CGNorwich

What's a Roan? Had never heard this word before so had a quick browse. Always easier to understand a word in context so here is an actual quote from another forum. 'I live in Scotland and a while back an old guy in Aberdeen was taken to court and fined for greasing his roan pipe' Funny place Scotland Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 19:40   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Skoda

>> Funny place Scotland If you find somebody old enough, and you offer to clean their gutters, they'll ask what you need the ladder for ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 10:16   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Zero

Whats a joiner got to do with it? unless the fascia is damaged as well. Even if it is, this is a jobbing builder territory. 250 quid max including materials. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 10:33   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - bathtub tom

We could have a guessing game along the lines of 'call my bluff'. My contribution: Roan: A colloquial expression for a length of plastic guttering, deep-fried in batter. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 10:41   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - sooty123

>> My contribution: >> >> Roan: A colloquial expression for a length of plastic guttering, deep-fried in batter. >> Ahh all becomes clear. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 10:42   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Zero

Served with ice cold Irn Bru. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 11:10   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - MD

£495.00 Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 12:32   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - bathtub tom

Just got this year's car insurance renewal that I thought was appropriate to this thread. 28% increase! No change whatsoever to circumstances. Looks like I'll be spending the afternoon shopping around. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 12:49   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Clk Sec

>>28% increase! No change whatsoever to circumstances. Do have a close look at your excess, too. My insurers (no longer) tried to increase mine by 150%. This was well hidden on the back of one of the ten pages of their recent renewal pack writ small. It could easily have been missed. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 13:55   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - madf

Insurance companies manage to make Artur Daley look honest. (and I am prerfectly serious). Their sales techniques are abysmal and the only reason they make profits is that approx half their customers have excrement for brains at renewal time. IIRC Arfur made a good living from dodgy dealing.. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 14:08   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Iffy

...Their sales techniques are abysmal and the only reason they make profits is that approx half their customers have excrement for brains at renewal time... The reason they make profits is because it is compulsory to buy their product. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 14:46   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Zero

>> The reason they make profits is because it is compulsory to buy their product. and frequently never manage to make any, profits that is. You may all b itch and whine, compulsory or not, its a pretty competitive market and there is no reason to get ripped off if you are canny. Last edited by: Zero on Thu 6 Jan 11 at 14:47 Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 21:18   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - NortonES2

If you believe the accounts, you may be led to think they make a loss. Others know accountants are just another non-productive creative industry. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 14:44   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - bathtub tom

>>Do have a close look at your excess, too. My insurers (no longer) tried to increase mine by 150%. They didn't do that, but there's four A4 sides of policy changes, including: No cover if TWOC'd by a family member. No MOT = no cover. They may use non OE or re-cycled parts for repair I pay them £200 to get it repaired other than where they want. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 14:49   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Iffy

....No cover if TWOC'd by a family member...No MOT = no cover... Doesn't 'no cover' in this instance mean 'No cover for the insured, but third party risks still (reluctantly) covered?' Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 14:50   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Zero

usually. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 14:57   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - bathtub tom

Here's the 'update' in full, I think the word must is conclusive: "We have added a requirement that your car must have a valid MOT,if required and that items such as tyres and tinted windows must meet the legal requirements." Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 20:03   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - bathtub tom

I've done the price comparison websites and a few major companies I can think of and there's only less than a tenner saving. It seems strange they can all be so close, or is it my suspicious nature? Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 22:42   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - MD

>> I've done the price comparison websites and a few major companies I can think of >> and there's only less than a tenner saving. >> >> It seems strange they can all be so close, or is it my suspicious nature? >> Car tel Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 22:43   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Zero

not sure what you are using. I get a variation from 250 quid to 1250 quid. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 6 Jan 11 22:47   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Auntie Lockbrakes

And it's nor just in Britain! a lot of the flood victims in Australia are now discovering that their home insurance policies have flood exclusions. In one case a homeowner has been told that they are/were covered for flash flooding but not actual flooding....??! Wtf? Swines! Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 7 Jan 11 13:12   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Snakey

I went through the usual farce with my insurance company - quoted £380 and using a well known website got comparative quotes of £275. One phone call later same insurer offers £275 - they obviously count on a percentage of people not bothering to check Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 7 Jan 11 13:44   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Dulwich Estate

Just tried to book a ferry to France. Last year off-peak prices of about £50 -£60 return were available and we did it several times. This year, mid-week in mid-February I'm looking at £70 to £90. Not only that, P&O are now wanting a £4 credit card surcharge (£2 last year). The 2011 rip-off is beginning I fear. Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 7 Jan 11 14:16   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - CGNorwich

Shop around - you can still get a return for £58 inc fuel surcharge from DFDS, formerly Norfolk lines on the Dover/Dunkirk route. Actually find the service better than P and O Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 7 Jan 11 18:56   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Dulwich Estate

Thanks CGN - I know about Norfolk - in fact Norfolk want £50 + £1 Debit card charge from me for mid-February. I want to go south-west from the French port and Boulogne is ideal, but nobody goes there now and Calais is second choice. The slightly longer Norfolk Lines crossing added to the extra fuel cost and extra time makes it less of an easy decision. Now that Speedferries has gone and LD Lines pulled out it makes it easier for the Dover companies to push up the prices. Last edited by: Dulwich Estate on Fri 7 Jan 11 at 18:57 Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 7 Jan 11 19:17   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Zero

>> Now that Speedferries has gone and LD Lines pulled out it makes it easier for >> the Dover companies to push up the prices. They went bust because they were not making any profit. Making a profit for the first time in years is hardly a rip off is it. Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 7 Jan 11 20:14   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - smokie

ISTR the French held the boat to ransom for a week or so against unpaid port bills, which somewhat impacted their profit-making ability! Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 7 Jan 11 20:17   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - Zero

And why didnt they pay the port bills? Because they were broke? Last edited by: Zero on Fri 7 Jan 11 at 20:17 Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 7 Jan 11 20:48   Rip off Britain alive and well in 2011 - smokie

Well yes, there was that... :-) Reply to this message | Report message