Popsicle

You'd be surprised, the two companies I do the bulk of my work for are really on the ball, they both email me for an update of my insurance policies every year when they are due for renewal. No probs my end, just email them the PDF back. I was talking to the transport manager at one of the firms earlier this year and was very surprised to hear that a few subbys didn't have the correct type of insurance, they had been altering SD&P policies with PDF editors. It had got so bad that they were forwarding the insurance details to there own insurers who looked into how correct the policies are. The sharp compliance checking all came about due to £250k of computer equipment being delivered that disappeared and a mis-placed £900k airplane door! The door was found but the computer equipment was never found to my knowledge.

What you say about checking the legalities of drivers is true, ignorance is bliss, if they checked them regularly their business model would collapse. Business cover is not courier cover. Courier insurance is for the carriage of goods for hire or reward, business cover is for site visiting/carrying your own business goods/stuff about. Then there are different types of carriage of goods levels depending on what you deliver or how many deliveries you make a day. I'm a owner driver same day courier, my policy is worded 'Use for Social Domestic & Pleasure Purposes and for the business of the Insured including use for the carriage of goods for hire and reward'. On top of that I have goods in transit cover, to cover the goods I'm carrying. Then there is public liability cover, in case I damage something or hurt somebody. Then there is employee liability cover as I'm classed as an employee of my own company. I doubt that many same day multidroppers in their own vehicles are covered correctly, same goes for food delivery guys.

Is passed down the line to the self employed below minimum wage subby. They do tend to be covered on the courier companies carriage of goods for hire reward policy, the excess on these policies tend to be in the thousands. I'm sure if something goes amiss then the policy wouldn't pay up, the subby will probably be working a few weeks or more in hand so any costs would be deducted from any income due.

While I'm laid up at home recovering from an operation at the start of the month Mrs P took the couriering Caddy for its MOT. Woohoo all good for another year. I've managed not to catch the advisories on the pic, Corrosion on exhaust rear box - meh had that one for the past 3 years. Front brake discs worn, pitted or scored - yea that will be from it being parked up for the last 3 weeks. Front wishbone rear bushes splitting - yea they need doing again, they were last done at 213k, a mere* 127k miles ago, cue rant about nothing lasting these days!

The delivery companies really don't give a shit, as long as somebody turns up and delivers the parcels, they could be driving virtually anything. I'm sure Evri would have checked the courier was above board when they started, but they will very rarely check if they are still legit further down the line. A lot of the couriers will also subcon the work onto somebody else, while taking a cut, its a pretty brutal, work for a pittance industry.

Lol you need to go to Specsavers 🤣. She'll never tell me but it must have cost far more than the car is worth with all that shit stuck on it. But as I've said before its her car she can do as she pleases with it - we've been together 30 years, she's always been the same girl racer.

Oh I definitely agree, Mrs P has always had a way of taking away from things by adding more, if that makes sense? I prefer things to look more 'normal'. I'll take a pic of her current car one day - I'll add it too the 'naffest most crass giffer mods thread'!

I will take no responsibility for any trinkets or stickers adorning this fine automobile - it was all Mrs P's doing 😄.

Not sure where to put this unique Pact of Steel automobile so this thread will do. Do we have a mis-badged thread?

Just ordered another 20 litres of 5/30 507 spec vag oil, £44.39 = £11.10 for 5 litres, with my £5.88 Mann oil filter that is just £16.98 per oil service 😲.

Service time this afternoon for the couriering Caddy, nothing strenuous just an oil and filter change. Updated my sadgit spreadsheat and noticed it was the 20th service I'd done on the old girl, acquired at 125k now on 338k, so I treated it and wiped all the crap and dirt off the back lights and number plate.

I feel your pain - this happened when I tried to sort out a misfire on daughter number ones Beetle. Which resulted in having to remove the inlet manifold to change the leads. No five minute job goes unpunished.

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/ If you put the reg number in it gives the vin, unfortunately it puts *** over three of the digits.

I love keeping a spreadsheet of work done, just one thing though, why is there no column for cost, I do understand only to well it can make for depressing reading sometimes.....

Four bloody visits to Toolstation today, first one was for a replacement bulb for the downstairs shitter, weird thing that looks like a old style kettle element. Apparently me leaving a little floodlight unit by the door was not adequate enough. Second trip was when the extractor fan failed in the en-suite (I fucking hate that word), it has been making funny noises for a while, despite attacking it with Henry the hoover and spraying some contact cleaner and grease in. It was nice of whoever fitted it to glue it to the ceiling instead of screwing it, so only half a ton of plaster came down on me, also the lazy twats never put any ducting in, so that damp air has been running around the roof void for years. So the third trip was for some ducting to connect to the outside vent as I only noticed the ducting was awol after removing half the ceiling the extractor. The fourth visit was when the outer vent flaps decided they'd had enough of being vent flaps and made a bid for freedom. I don't think the whole series of events cost more than £40 but not the day I had planned.

Not surprising with the winter conditions you guys get, for me the all seasons are a sensible compromise. I presume its compulsory for winter/studded tyres during winter in Norway?

Oh no deffo not with those studs on them, I'd leave the M1 in even more of a hotchpot mess than it already is if I went blasting down it, I'm just curious, they have a really deep tread so in theory will probably never wear out.

They look serious no-nonsense tyres, what make are they? They make the all seasons I put on the van yesterday look like something from a Lego kit!

Costco do have some good deals on Tyres every now and then if you time it right/lucks in. I think the Goodyear Efficientgrips have some kind of 20% extra mileage slogan on them. It does seem to be true with my usage. I'll reserve judgement on the all seasons till they've got a few miles under there belt, although the seem to do well on the tyre review sites, coming 2nd behind the crossclimates. https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2023-24-Tyre-Reviews-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

New all season balloon boots on the couriering Caddys sofa castors this morning. Goodyear Vector 4seasons gen3 to give them the proper name. Good deal at Costco - £249 all in for all four. I've not tried these all seasons before, last couple of winters I've used Michelin Crossclimate 2's, but they seem a bit harder to get hold of this year and are around £400 for a set. Used my spare set of wheels for them as my summers still have 3/4 mm left on them. Pretty good going for 80k miles - still got the bobbles on them. They're also Goodyears, Efficientgrip Performance 2, they're the longest lasting, miles wise, I've found on any tyre so far. Looking at these pics I could really do with wafting another can of satin black over the wheels.

Nice one.

That looks a beautiful 190, well purchased!

More than this you're just a jealous guy.

Couriering Caddy's still rolling along, all the 3's, is that a sextet of 3's or a sixsome? Scuse the poor pic, Mrs P was with me and it was easier to let her take a crap photo, than get moaned at for me taking a decent pic while driving. I complained about the quality of said pic and had to endure silence for the next few hours, ah bliss....