The grumpy thread

[Angrydicky]

Had an almost identical near miss in my Somerset a while back near Norwich Matthecat. I spotted the car going to overtake in my clip-on quarterlight mirror and just managed to stop in time. Flashers were working and they are LEDs too so bright. I suspect the other driver was distracted. Really shook me up I can tell you, with no seatbelts I probably would have been a goner or at least seriously injured had I been hit.

[Bren]

Finished work last night. Looked at BBC news on line. There was a story of a 71 year old man who has just gone to prison for killing his 19 month old son in 1968.

 

The picture of the child really upset me.

[cort16]

You must be far wealthier now though, as you no longer having to constantly throwing money at your Panda...?

I took a bigger loss on that panda than vw did on the emissions scandal I’m lucky I’m not on food stamps.

[Bobthebeard]

Noticed a chunk of cement lying on the drive yesterday morning. Looked like back pointing from the roof tiles on the slightly overhanging roof tiles on the gable end. Peered up with some binoculars and found where it came from. Nothing structural or important so forget about it.

Today went out in the Rover 75 and noticed the collateral damage.The chunk of cement had fallen from the gable, hit the end of the kitchen extension and bounced exactly and precisely onto the bonnet of the Rover 75, then slid off onto the drive.

Three little dents close together from the pointy lump of cement and paint almost down to the metal. FFS!

Annoying to say the least.

[Cavcraft]

Just rang to some dozy dozy bint at Amazon to report the passing away of one of their card holders. THREE fucking times she said they can only speak to the account holder. Three fucking times I asked her how she thought that could be possible. 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I've not been asked either, but the renewal states that you'll be asked in the event of a claim. I'd heard that they were getting stricter on issuing traders' policies only to traders (about time too - I'll bet the number of claim free genuine traders is very, very high) and that Tradex or on the FCA watch list. Again. I think the two may be related. The six items would be pretty easy to put together for any genuine trader.

I've had a Traders policy for over 20 years and for the last few years I've emphasised to them ( Tradewise) that I'm only part time and might only sell half a dozen cars a year. The fact they know my primary occupation is a private hire driver and have a separate policy for that helps, I think. Cheeky fuckers also charge me an extra £250 a year for MrsN to be covered for her( non motor trade ) business.

This all adds up to £1100 for Traders ( £10k limit own vehicle) and £1200 for PH and that's with no claims or convictions this century , but at least I'm never going to be uninsured.

 

Incidentally, they won't be interested if you've made money or not, just that you've been buying and selling cars.

[Dave_Q]

I think more and more upfront checks are coming in, both in private car and trade insurance, probably as a response to shite like I posted.

 

The last lot of insurance I took out on the fireblade wanted one of those licence check codes, and they actually kept me on hold while they ran my details through the claims database to check what I had told them was correct.

 

Most of the time though, they only check when you want to claim. This is easier for them, and of course more profitable, as you take all the money and shoulder none of the costs.

 

As I said in my original post, trade insurance fronting seems pretty rife round here, so I would hope/expect that even if the insurance companies don't start doing more upfront checks, they will be prompted to by the FCA etc when one of these uninsured twats wipes out a nunnery full of kittens or something.

[twosmoke300]

My trade / business / liability insurance is done through a local company that actually sends someone out that walks round my work and sees what I do and insures me appropriately. So much easier than dealing with faceless phone drones . Ok so it might cost a few quid extra but the lack of stress and piece of mind is worth it in my book .

[cobblers]

For the first time in years, I took a car to a garage. It's not through being tight, but every time I ask a professional to do a job I have to redo it myself because they fuck it up. I'm just unlucky I think.

 

The Talbot express was leaking from the master cylinder and the exhaust manifold was blowing from some snapped studs. I knew I'd end up with problems bleeding up etc and I really didn't fancy it at the side of the road in the perpetual darkness and rain. I told them to just have a look at the manifold and only bother if it looked doable without taking the head off etc, because I didn't want to open up a can of worms.

 

2 days later, I get a call. "All done. Turns out the manifold wasn't blowing, it was everywhere else so we've redone it all with new clamps and new hangers and it's sound. £285 plz"

 

I picked the van up this morning. Brakes are spongy and after 45 miles, the low fluid light is on again. The exhaust manifold is blowing exactly as bad as it always has, and while the rest of the exhaust does sound better now, I didn't really ask them to do owt with that cos it's piss easy work I was happy to do myself once the manifold was sorted.

On top of that, they trod a load of greasy muck all over the carpet.

 

Surely I'm not being unreasonable? They'd have noticed most of the problems if they'd taken the time to run it round the block. I told them to take as long as they need, I don't need the van for weeks.

[twosmoke300]

Take it back - be polite but firm and explain your concerns

[cobblers]

They're alright lads and I've used them for MOTs for years so I'm sure they will sort the brakes, but why not just run it round the block.

Plus the manifold is clearly blowing it's fucking sack off, you can hear it clear as day.

[twosmoke300]

Did you supply the master cylinder ? If you did then make sure it’s not that that’s leaking or you will look a right twunt

[cobblers]

Nope, they supplied the parts - I said I could get them one if they struggled to source one. 

[tooSavvy]

ATS guy, who had fitted a new front section almost the day before, heard the front sounding a bit 'chuff-chuffy' when sorting my nails in tyres...

 

Checked it out and insisted on reordering a new front (I suggested the sparkly stick..perchance?). The Y join was faulty...

 

Grand bunch of lads - and potty about old[er] cars

 

 

TS

[New POD]

So 11 days ago we had a weekly project meeting, where the 3 contractors were assured that our client (Frazer Nash Consultancy), would give us a contract for 2018, because their client (Rolls-Royce Nuclear) has so much work that they need doing. I said "yes but you haven't actually got a contract for that work yet and Tim (a permie) is doing work at risk without order coverage, so you'd be taking a punt that you are going to get that work" and I was told in no uncertain terms that there was an understanding.

It's not much of a risk to FNC because Tim was "sitting on the beach" in their Glasgow Office, so he was being paid for doing nothing anyway.

And giving us contractors a contract for 2018 wasn't going to be much of a risk because they can give 2 week notice at any time.

 

So I've been applying for the few jobs in the North West because shit is going on with my wife's mother who seems to probably have dementia. Tests about to start. But there is nothing much within 60 miles of home.

 

But on Thursday Lunch time the project managers, said "can I have a quick word" After 5 minutes of him not getting to the point, I said "So my contract finishes on the 22nd and won't be renewed, is that it?" Yes

Basically they have too many permies with no work, so they are pulling them in and shedding contractors.

 

So since Thursday I have applied for 11 new contracts, locations including Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Telford, Cardiff, Seascale, Derby and Blackburn.

 

Between now and the 22nd I will be maxing the hours, whilst ringing up recruitment agencies.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

That's the life of a contractor though innit, sounds pretty standard fare to me

[LostnotFound]

16 and a half years and well over 250,000 miles I've got a speeding ticket.

 

Popped into the village, didn't slow enough where it drops from 40 to 30, hairdryer caught me at 35. No excuse on my part, shit driving.

 

Fingers crossed for a speed awareness course option, conveniently the nearest one would be in Coventry, a good 100 miles away.

 

 

35mph, you MONSTER, you really should do the honest thing and take yourself to Wormwood Scrubs (by public transport given that sort of reckless driving) and hand yourself in for a good 20 stretch.

 

 

 

 

My grump is people being so safe they're dangerous, I followed a van into work the other morning which had a total of 12 extra rear lights (all 12 were sets of 3 led red lights attached around the perimeter of the van to almost make an outline.) In theory it sounds ok, but they had put them so close to all the brake lights which they were far more powerful than, it meant you couldn't see when they braked. 

 

Idiots, obviously less dangerous trying to cause a pile up than Mr Princess barrelling through a village.

[meggersdog]

on my way back from the chinese takeaway last night I'm on a dual carriageway for about a mile.Some twat in a 17 plate Mokka decides "I've got to overtake that old car" only he doesn't.Pulls out then sits alongside in the right hand lane. I indicate then slow to pull into that lane.As soon as i pull in behind him he starts jabbing on the brakes.So intent on looking in the mirror and jabbing on the brakes he didn't see the get in lane sign or the ten foot long white arrows painted in the road,left for lefthand lane right and straight on for righthand lane.Yeah he even overshoots the roundabout and from the righthand lane he turns left.What a twat.

I'm in the Merc coupe a car that looks like street furniture from a Guy Richie movie.Don't think I'd want to piss off a wannabe bullet tooth Tony.

[Tamworthbay]

Utter dickhead on the A52 yesterday, some of the turnings to get on are tight so when I see a bloke in a fiesta waiting I pull into the right hand lane and give him a flash so he can get out. My thanks for this? A friendly wave? A flash in return to say I can pull back in? No, he accelerates like Vettel and performs a move similar to said man’s title ending shimmy on Verstappen by undertaking and forcing himself through a tiny gap which nearly takes off the back end of a civic and forces us to stamp on the brakes at 70mph. Utter grade A cunt.

[chaseracer]

^ Derby?  Surely, this is no surprise.

[Tamworthbay]

^ Derby?  Surely, this is no surprise.

Borrowash, but close enough to Derby it does seem to have more than it’s fair share of Dickhead drivers, but I guess every city does these days.

[Pillock]

..until there's a claim, and then it becomes a nightmare, I'm afraid. 

 

I appreciate people have said they haven't needed to show driving licences to get insured etc, but recently my daughter and son had to get some sort of code from the DVLA which they passed to their (intended) insurers to check they had the correct licence, and I assume, any points. Whether this is the future, a trial  or a one off, I don't know.

 

That's just something introduced since they did away with the paper licence. You go online, get a code that you can give to someone that lets them access your driving licence details for 21 days and then times out.

It's weird the insurers ask for that - normally they take your word for it, insure you, and then if it turns out during a claim you've got points they just bail out and flick you the bird. Presumably it works out more profitable for them taking money all year and then not paying out.

 

Was that a BMW by any chance? No suprise.

 

Yeah, we're all the same.

[Guest Hooli]

When I did comparison quotes recently they were all cheaper with that licence code.I guess they must factor in a 'liar percentage' if you don't provide it.

[Cavcraft]

Some people (real life, not Autoshite) are just absolute and utterly vile. In other circumstances 'oxygen thief' springs to mind. Still, their day is coming and they're going to fucking get it with both barrels and then some.   

[Guest Hooli]

Some people (real life, not Autoshite) are just absolute and utterly vile. In other circumstances 'oxygen thief' springs to mind. Still, their day is coming and they're going to fucking get it with both barrels and then some.   

 

Having a good morning chief?

[DodgeRover]

Some people (real life, not Autoshite) are just absolute and utterly vile. In other circumstances 'oxygen thief' springs to mind. Still, their day is coming and they're going to fucking get it with both barrels and then some.

I believe in karma, (it helps keep me calm) when karma catches up with certain people I hope karma has had a bad day and is carrying a baseball bat..

[DodgeRover]

Had to turn off the radio, they had Tony Blair on and snippets of Rees-Moog, ended up shouting at Blair and agreeing with the (official) Tory.

 

This makes me grumpy and I now also need a new radio for the van - anybody tried one of the cheap bluetooth single din head units off ebay?

[Cavcraft]

Karma’s that thing where someone experiences some sort of Godly revenge/a similar fate, I think.

 

My sort of revenge will be entirely different.

[richardmorris]

I was shouting at the radio on friday- five live phone in. Gave up and tuned t classic fm.

[New POD]

That's the life of a contractor though innit, sounds pretty standard fare to me

 

To be fair, my wife asked me last night why I was in such a good mood.

 

Now I don't need a good excuse to stop going there. I spent 3 years making myself miserable because I couldn't say no to the rate.