I have a question. Volume 16 - Dynamic Dave

*********Thread now closed - see Volume 17 ***************

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=16...4


In this thread you may ask any question for which you need help, advice, suggestions or whatever.

It does not need to be motoring related. In fact, in this thread it should not be.

No politics
No Speeding, speed cameras, traffic calming
No arguments or slanging matches
Nothing which I think is not following the spirit of the thread.

Any of the above will be deleted. If the thread becomes difficult to maintain it will simply be removed.

However, as has been said a couple of times, there is a wealth of knowledge in here, much of which is not motoring related, but most of which is useful.

This is Volume 16. Previous Volumes will not be deleted.
I have a question. Volume 16 - SteveH42
Right, guys and gals, more advice needed.

As you may have noticed in previous threads I'm having trouble at work over holidays and sick, and was hoping someone here can advise me as to whether I have anything worth pursuing or if I should just give it up as a bad job. The situation, to summarise is: (Starting July 24th)

Thursday lunchtime, get a call from my mother to say that my Gran is very ill and hasn't got long left to live. Explain this to my boss who says that of course I can go and try and get up there in time and can see I'm in a right state.

My Gran died on the Friday so as you can imagine in no state at all to have gone back to work, never mind the 120 mile drive.

My boss had asked that I get in touch either by phone or email to let them know what I would be doing, and as I didn't really want to phone I sent an email on Sunday explaining that I'd been intending to come in for the Monday and Tuesday but simply wasn't up to it.

The funeral was on the Wednesday. Too upset to go back for Thursday and Friday, but went back for the following Monday.

Was asked to see the accounts supervisor to 'discuss' my absence. Was told that I was entitled to a day for the funeral and they'd also give me the Thursday afternoon, but the rest would have to come out of my holiday allowance. Said to my boss that I wasn't massively happy with this but it was better than nothing so I might as well take it. Also commented that I'd been hoping that some of it would count as sick as I hadn't been in a fit state to come in and I'd let the MD know this.

When I was filling in the holiday form, the accounts supervisor asked me to do it for the whole week rather than the time other than the funeral 'to make it easier for her'. I commented that I'd rather have the Wednesday taken as the funeral as by counting the Friday for it I'd be losing out as we only work a half-day Friday. She then got upset and accused me of having no give or take, but agreed in the end.

However, I got a call from her shortly after saying that she'd made a mistake and you only got a day for the funeral of immediate family, not close relatives as she'd first said. On checking the T&Cs there is actually no mention of bereavement leave in the salaried staff conditions, only in those for weekly paid staff.

At this point things were getting too much for me so I went to the doctor who signed me off for 10 days and gave me a retrospective sicknote for the time I was away before.

However, the accounts supervisor is refusing to accept this saying that as I'd put in a holiday form before I gave in the sicknote that comes first. She has also taken away the afternoon off so I've now had to take the entire time I was away out of my holiday, leaving me desperately needing a break but with very little holiday left for the rest of the year.

My contention is that
a) She knew I'd called in sick
b) She told me to put in a holiday form knowing this, I didn't do it of my own free will and my boss knows this.
c) The sicknote covered the entire time including the Thursday afternoon and Friday for which she didn't have a holiday form when I submitted the sicknote. (I later gave her one as I'd been told to, probably a mistake)

So, what do I do now? She's 'discussed' the situation with the MD who agrees with her, but neither her or the MD have made any effort to discuss it with me or get my side - when I've tried to put my side I've been pretty much told to go away. My boss is sympathetic but unwilling to get involved. He has suggested I document everything and put this to the MD to try and get a response but I'd rather know how firm the ground is that I'm on before I do that.

The accounts lady, BTW, says they have discussed similar matters with the company solicitors and they have agreed that if a holiday form had been submitted before a sicknote then the holiday still counts. (Not that they always apply it this way) However, as I say, I only submitted a holiday form because I was told to and because I'd been offered a day and a half as what I suppose is discretionary leave, so I'm not sure this applies in the same way.

Any advice would be most appreciated and if anything needs clearing up, please ask. I normally wouldn't quibble but it's 6 and a half days holiday here and as I've not had a holiday as such this year and still have this (and another matter) to try and get over I could do with one.

TIA!
I have a question. Volume 16 - smokie
Go to the doctor again and tell 'em you have stress and need a month off...

During the month, find another job.

Call them back and tell them where to position their leave form.

This is truly appalling. And the worst thing is, many companies, even ones you might regard as "reputable" are getting away with treating their employees along these lines these days. At risk of being accused of introducing politics, this kind of thing wouldn't happen if there was a decent union representing workers rights.
Ticket Prices in shops - Bromptonaut
Went to well known electrical/computer chain for copy of Norton Personal Firewall (after nasty expereince with partner's PC). Copies on shelf priced, with old fashioned sticky labels, at £29.95. Scanned at checkout comes up as £37.95. After some "discussion" got it at the lowest price. But was told normal policy was scanned price or push off and that some new law allowed that. Can anyone up to speed on consumer law elucidate?.

Thanks in anticipation.
Ticket Prices in shops - mal
Simon, not an expert on consumer law but know a little, and I'm sorry but the store is correct in that if a mistake has been made on the shelf price that is to the customers advantage, they are not under law obliged to sell it to the customer at that price.
Mal.
Ticket Prices in shops - Welliesorter
I believe the law states that when you go to the checkout you offer to buy the item at a particular price and the seller is free to decline.

On the other hand I don't know whether the retailer is committing any kind of offence by displaying a price they won't honour. I seem to remember supermarkets getting into trouble over this sort of thing.
Ticket Prices in shops - HF
Wellie I seem to remember exactly the same thing. I had been under the impression, obviously mistakenly, that if a store showed an item at a certain (discounted) price then they were obliged to honour that. (I also grew up thinking that if no price was displayed then the item was free, no idea who told me that though).

Recent experiences at supermarkets and the like have since told me that, as a customer, I am wrong, and if I happen to have seen something advertised at the 'wrong' price then it is not the store's fault.

Seems strange to me.

HF
Ticket Prices in shops - Welliesorter
My hunch is that they are not obliged to honour the supposedly incorrect price but usually do so to avoid having committed an offence by advertising the item at the wrong price in the first place.

There must be a legal eagle here who can provide the last word on this.

I do remember a case in the eighties where a certain supermarket prosecuted a customer for deliberately changing prices on items, but that's a separate issue.
Ticket Prices in shops - frostbite
I am far from being a fan of Safeway, but if you make a purchase and the shelf price and ticket price differ, they give you the goods AND refund your money!

Doesn't happen often enough.
Ticket Prices in shops - bga
I'm not a legal type but AFAIK a price on an item is something akin to a contract to start negotiation (otherwise you would not be able to get a discount from list price). However I believe there is regulation around the sales of goods act regarding misrepresentation - as would be demonstrated by a shop consistently underpricing articles. In the case of mistakes (which it appears the retailer made) traditionally a retailer was honour bound to match the lower price but was not under any legal obligation. Unfortunately "honour" doesn't count for much for many of the service industries with captive audiences.

This is my own understanding and may be a load of rubbish!
Ticket Prices in shops - Welliesorter
As far as I know (and I'm most definitely not a lawyer) no contract exists until you and the seller have an agreement to buy and sell the goods. In the case of a shop this would take place at the till.

You may remember the recent cases of web sites advertising items at ridiculously low prices by mistake. When this happens, people tend to e-mail their friends and the sites get a glut of orders for the underpriced items.

Some of companies have been forced to honour the low prices while others haven't. The difference seems to have been in the method by which the company confirmed that the orders had been accepted: those that sent a confirmation e-mail had less of a case than those that didn't. In some of these situations it's arguable that a contract exists and in others it isn't.

The reason this seems relevant to the original post is that I don't think there was any suggestion that merely displaying the incorrect price places an obligation on anyone. I think there was also some discussion about whether a reasonable person could have assumed the marked price was correct. This hardly seems relevant in this case because the marked price was not ridiculously cheap.

As I said, I'm not a lawyer and I'll gladly bow out of this discussion if someone qualified to know this stuff would like to give a definitive answer.
Ticket Prices in shops - jeds
A contract can only exist when there is both an offer and an acceptance. A priced item on sale in a shop is not an offer though - it is an invitation to treat. The offer is made when you offer to purchase. The shopkeeper at that point can refuse your offer and the deal is off. Nothing you can do about that.

It is however an offence to display goods at the incorrect price and many of the large retailers have been prosocuted and heavily fined for this. That is the reason why they will usually let you have the goods for the marked price - to avoid you complaining to your local trading standards. You might want to mention trading standards if you ever get into this situation.
Ticket Prices in shops - paulb {P}
I'm trying to remember 1st year undergraduate Law of Contract here, so excuse creaking noises.

AFAIR goods on display in a shop with price tickets on them are an "invitation to treat". By picking them up and handing them to the cashier at the checkout you make an offer, which the cashier then accepts by ringing the goods through the checkout, which is exactly what Welliesorter and others have said. Theoretically by asking for a higher price the cashier is making a counter-offer which you could then accept/reject but let's face it, who is going to get into something that arcane and technical with a spotty youth in a computer superstore?

Fact is, while doing that may in strictest theory be legal, in practice local Trading Standards are reasonably likely to take a dim view & I have found if you get sufficiently shirty with the management they normally back down. Not advocating making a scene in front of many people, but with the money the staff in these places are on they are not going to find it worth the aggro for the sake of 15 or 20 quid.

Had very similar experience, again with well-known high-street computer equipment retailer. Probably the same one. Flat panel monitor, currently fitted to this very machine. Sticker price £219.99. Sales reptile runs it through the computer, tries to say it's now £249.99. "Your mistake, try again," say I, pointing to the identical display model with its price ticket not quite ten yards away. Price drops as if by magic back to £219.99.

Any trading standards officers out there able to elaborate further?
Ticket Prices in shops - Hugo {P}
Paul

My wife works in retail and I can confirm that is what she has basically been told.

There are several reasons why a price may be incorrect. Some smart alics often try this by switching price tickets around. Often the 13 year olds who work in these places can't organise a backroom meet in a brewary and the displays are iffy, wrong prices everywhere.

So a POS 'error' may not be the fault of the store. Even if it is the store is perfectly entitled not to sell that product to you - they simply widthdraw it from sale on the spot. Stinks I know.

However, if Trading Standards believe the store are doing this to lure customers under false pretences then the can and often will prosecute. A well known supermarket was convicted about 14 years ago for regularly overcharging customers.

H
Ticket Prices in shops - paulb {P}
So a POS 'error' may not be the fault of the
store. Even if it is the store is perfectly entitled not
to sell that product to you - they simply widthdraw it
from sale on the spot. Stinks I know.


Now that I didn't know. Of course, it makes perfect sense - and would also explain why some places get very funny about selling you the one on the shelf - unless it is really the case that if they sell the last one they can't then re-order (which is what I have been told on occasion in the past!)

Thanks for that, Hugo!
I have a question. Volume 16 - SteveH42
Go to the doctor again and tell 'em you have stress
and need a month off...


Must admit it's a tempting thought and it would be justified as I'm still having trouble with the initial problems and the attitude from work isn't helping. However, not sure it's the right thing to do and would cause problems at work in terms of production etc.
During the month, find another job.


Well, I'm looking anyway. If anyone knows of anyone in the Stockport area after an electronic engineer with a speciality in microcontrollers and instrumentation, let me know! :)
I have a question. Volume 16 - cockle {P}
Steve, firstly, sorry to hear about your loss.

I'm assuming that you do not have a union at your workplace, or that you don't belong to one, or a trade body of some sort, as that would really be your first port of call.
Personally I would take copies of contract of employment and terms and conditions to your local Citizens' Advice Bureau for advice and explain the situation to them. In the past I have found the CAB to be very helpful and constructive, you'll find the number and address of your local branch in the phone book. Once you have that advice, then is the time to think about putting things in writing and getting a reply in writing, that will be essential if you have grounds and intend or want to go to law at a later stage.
It will be better if you can get a mutually agreed solution, for all parties concerned. Generally speaking the only people who really make anything out of this sort of litigation are Pugugly's learned friends, I'm afraid.

Unfortunately this sort of attitude seems to be becoming more common, I really thought that employers were starting to grow up a bit but from some things I've heard recently obviously not. Only today I heard of a workmate's daughter who had had her leave agreed back in February for the last 2 weeks in August, she and her boyfriend then booked and paid for a holiday. At the end of the first week in August her boss told her that her leave was cancelled as someone else wanted that fortnight and as the other woman had children and could only take her holiday in the school holidays she would now get preference. Friend's daughter explained that she had booked and would lose in the order of £2000 if she cancelled that late and having had the leave agreed she felt it was only fair that she kept it and fully intended to take her holiday. Her boss then said that if she took the leave he would sack her when she got back, she did, and he did. His attitude was 'tough, sue me', the thing is this isn't a small backward company involved but actually a major financial institution with a branch on virtually every High Street in the country. I also know that the same company is concerned about its turnover of staff but it's little wonder if they treat people in that way.

Cockle
I have a question. Volume 16 - SteveH42
Thanks for the advice, Cockle. I was considering going to the CAB, but that will have to wait until Friday afternoon. However, as you suggest, I'm more interested in getting a solution agreed within the company rather than having to go to the law. In fact, I'd rather avoid that as I suspect it will cause me potential problems in future if I am seen as a trouble-causer. What would be useful to know is the legal position, whether they are within their rights to ignore my request for sick and then claim that a holiday form I was told to make and which was heavily edited without me signing it to confirm I accepted the revisions took precedence over the opinion of a trained medical practitioner in full possession of the facts...

I think the trouble is that I've managed to rub one person up the wrong way and she has proceeded to make sure her ill-informed and probably distorted version of events is all that gets told. It's concerning that the MD made a decision on what she said alone and wouldn't let me put my side of the story. It's more concerning in that he used to be a considerate chap but seems to have lost a lot of that now...
I have a question. Volume 16 - eMBe {P}
Smokie & Cockle:

Re SteveH42 - I personally would not rush to any judgement about the Employer until I have heard their side of this case. On their previous history as told by Steve, I had feared somewhat more drastic action than they seem to have done in response to the sick-note.

I standby the advice given by myself, and Mark(RLBS) among others, in "I have a question vol 13" 5aug2003.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=14092&...f
I have a question. Volume 16 - SteveH42
eMBe: To be honest, I'd rather like to hear my employers side of the story as well. They haven't answered any of my points, just repeated that as far as they are concerned it's holiday. I'm not sure what you mean by fearing more drastic action - do you mean from them? I had no real fear of anything like disciplinary action - they at least know that without me there are at least two products in our range they wouldn't be able to make so wouldn't push it to the point of dismissing me, but they seem to be prepared to push well beyond what is reasonable in terms of employee relations.

As for the advice you and Mark gave, it has been taken and I am actively seeking alternative employment. However, there seems to be a shortage of suitable jobs around here - I'm willing to change career but I still need something that pays similar to what I'm on now to keep up with things like mortgage repayments so I'm a bit stuck - I can't just go for anything.

I'm going to have one last try at putting to those in charge why I feel I have been unfairly treated and if I get no joy from that then I think that I'm unlikely to get anywhere short of legal action which I don't want to do. Whether I go back to the doctor over stress I'm not yet decided - it *is* affecting me, but I feel slightly guilty about making too much of a fuss over it.
I have a question. Volume 16 - Hugo {P}
Steve,

If you can get to Warton, try BAE SYSTEMS at Warton Aerodrome. They are always looking for electronics engineers and they're a damn good company to work for. And that's coming from an ex employee who was made redundant!

Alternitively there's the Salmsbury Site, which is effectively a workshop shared by several large aircraft projects.

Also, Mark the mod has my mobile number, He has my permission to pass it onto you from the last time you posted about this. I have several years experience with Trade Union matters.

All the best

H
I have a question. Volume 16 - Mark (RLBS)
I need to put my Sky disk back up on a different wall.

Does anyone know direction and elevation for the thing ? Also, it has a little spirit level on it indicating the horizontal position. I assume that it should be level rather than sloped one way or another.

Thanks,

Mark.
I have a question. Volume 16 - Dynamic Dave
Mark,

South South East, I think. Elevation is dependant on how high you are above sea level. Sky do a "move" service for around £40, where you leave your old dish at your old property and they come fit a shiny (well black actually) dish at your new house. From what I've been told, getting the dish lined up properly with the satellite can be tricky without the signal strength meter. The old analogue system was quite easy and it didn't matter if it was out a few degrees, but the digital system needs to be spot on.
I have a question. Volume 16 - Dynamic Dave
Mark,

Further to my earlier post, quick google found Sky Digital is at 28.2° East of South .
I have a question. Volume 16 - SpamCan61 {P}
Mark;

Useful summary of dish alignment at link below:-

www.brymar.co.uk/info/Astra/align/align.html
I have a question. Volume 16 - Altea Ego
And dont forget to seal your co-ax to LNB connection against moisture.
Carpet Crawlers - NitroBurner
Does anyone know of a good, reasonably priced (say £100 or so) steam cleaner for the home to buy or has anybody any advice on buying one.

Much appreciated....
Carpet Crawlers - buzbee
Have a look in Robert Dyas. I was looking at a steamer with a hand held style pipe with various end fittings in a cheapo shop (£25 !) and the salesman said I should go and look at the Dyas demo (TV ?) a few doors away -- I did not see it. His one seemed to hold about a couple of pints of water and had an 800 watt element (bit low ?). It looked the sort of thing you could use to get creases to fall out of clothing by steaming, rather than going to the trouble of pressing them.

His patter was, "it will clean anything". Can't see that without some sort of vacuum pipe action.

Dyas might know of other makes and, indeed, theirs might be different.

Virus grrrrrrrrrrr - SprinterJK
I know this topic has been covered many times, but my specific problem has not been discussed and I can't find anyone who knows the solution. Basically, both my Hotmail and University email accounts have been infested with the recent virus, and both continually try and email other contacts resulting in hundreds of returned messages. Both accounts have only been accessed through the web rather than Outlook in the last two months. I'm not sure how my accounts became infected, although it could possibly have happened when I checked both accounts at an internet cafe. Despite this, I'm extremely careful about opening email from unknown sources, and definately have not downloaded any attachments. Anyway, my problem is how on earth do I stop my accounts from emailing anyone and everyone who's email address is somewhere in my account? Is this something that can be stopped, or is it a question of getting new email accounts (really not practical)? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Vague motoring link: Seen a new black Volvo T5 police car loitering around Tunbridge Wells... Combination of black body work and high-vis markings looks disgusting
Virus grrrrrrrrrrr - eMBe {P}
SprinterJK: A virus infects your PC, not your account. Go to symantec response centre, identify which virus you have, and download the virus removal tool for the virus you have.

re motoring link; as DD and Mark say at the top of this thread, the posts here should not be motoring linked.
Virus grrrrrrrrrrr - Kuang
There's a very good chance that you don't actually have a virus at all, but that there's a virus on a machine somewhere that's picking up your name from an address book on that machine.

If a virus sends out copies of itself from an email address, it's easy to mail the owner of that address to get him/her to run a virus check. Most viruses will take *two* names at random from the address book and mail itself to one of them, purportedly from the other. Behaviour of this type is generally known as spoofing. If the address it chooses as the 'from' address is yours, then any failed emails will come back to you.

The other tactic was to mail out messages that just appeared to be failures, as people can't resist checking to see which of their emails failed.. even if they realise that they never sent a mail with that subject line. W32.Sobig was notorious for that - my yahoo account recently filled with sobig generated emails returned to me from mailservers as undeliverable, even though a virus clearly can't spread itself from a webmail account (which is just a list of emails of a server somewhere with a pretty front end).

Best tactic is to stick a firewall on there, tell it that Outlook has to ask permission to use the internet connection, and see if it starts requesting access at strange times, even when you haven't tried to send or receive any mails.
Carpet Crawlers - Wilco {P}
My local Woolworth's was recently selling "Earlex" steam cleaners for £35. 2000 watt element and plently of accessories. Bought one but can't comment as haven't used it yet. Seemed like a relatively inexpensive way to try one out though.
Carpet Crawlers - Mark (RLBS)
I borrowed a steam cleaner recently. A similar one was on sale in B&Q for about £80 or so.

Complete and utter waste of time. And I tried it on a number of things over a two or three day period. Useless.

If it was blasting the steam out with a bit more force then perhaps it might be more valuable, but whilst it was certainly blowing it out, the pressure was inadequate.

Mark.
Carpet Crawlers - Altea Ego
Depends on what you want it for. have you tried hiring one to see if it does what you want? about 20 quid a day to hire.
CD Re-Writer - Dynamic Dave
I previously asked this question in Vol 14:-

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=15050&...e

And in reply to Welliesorter's advice, I didn't have any luck with the UDF software download he suggested.
I removed all the Adaptec software prior to installing the new CD Re-writer, and used the software that came with it - Sony's B-Clip. I also use Nero as well. Both these work fine with the new re-writer, it's just that I cannot access previously saved data that was saved using the old re-writer and Adaptec. Looks like I will have to either re-install the old re-writer in the spare 5" slot or purchase the latest Adaptec software that will support the new re-writer.
Travel advice - Marcos{P}
Question and all related answers removed at the request of the author. DD.
Travel advice - THe Growler
Travel advice - Marcos{P}
Travel advice - SteveH42
Travel advice - Pugugly {P}
Travel advice - THe Growler
Travel advice - Marcos{P}
Travel advice - Marcos{P}
Travel advice - THe Growler
Travel advice - henry k
Travel advice - Marcos{P}
Travel advice - cockle {P}
Travel advice - Marcos{P}
Travel advice - SteveH42
Travel advice - eMBe {P}
Travel advice - THe Growler
Travel advice - Hairy Hat Man
Travel advice - Marcos{P}
Travel advice - eMBe {P}
flies - apm
Really dumb question.

When there's a fly in the room, why does it choose to fly in a circle (sort of) under the light fitting, even if the light's not switched on?

I've one in here now. Might swat it soon, once I'm bored of watching it go round and round.
--
Dr Alex Mears
Seat Leon Cupra
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
Travel advice - Altea Ego
Travel advice - Marcos{P}
Travel advice - Hairy Hat Man
Travel advice - Marcos{P}
Travel advice - THe Growler
Travel advice - eMBe {P}
Travel advice - Mark (RLBS)
Travel advice - SteveH42
Travel advice - henryb
Travel advice - Kuang
September 11 2001 - THe Growler
Travel advice - THe Growler
Noise cancelling headphones - borasport20
Does anybody have any experience of noise cancelling headphones - ie do they work, does anybody make them other than Bose, and are Bose's worth the £250+ they ask for them ?

regards

Mike

Noise cancelling headphones - CMark {P}
Mike, Google and www.head-fi.org/ are your friends on this one.
Noise cancelling headphones - GrumpyOldGit
Yes Mike. They are used by American Airlines and are amazing. You put them on, switch on the power and the engine noise of a Boeing 777 goes away! I usually sleep with them on as well.

You can actually hear the music, or the film soundtrack. If you've ever tried to use the standard headsets on a flight you'll know what a huge difference that is.

Are they worth the money? Yes, if you need to listen in a noisy environment. Never tried them anywhere other than on a flight so I can't talk about home use.
Noise cancelling headphones - borasport20
Thanks chaps - whod have thought there would be a forum dedicated to headphones.

What I'm looking for is something that I can wear at work when I need to concentrate and drown out the chatter, but that I can also wear at the gym to drown out 97.4FM(*) played so loud it still drowns out my personal stereo, even when that is at full volume.
So I think something like the Bose, apart from being far, far to expensive, would probably not stay in place, but googling shows other companies do them., and as £29 for some panasonic 'in ear' ones is a gamble I might be prepared to try. - If i do, I'll let you know.


I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
Noise cancelling headphones - borasport20
(97.4fm) - don't even think of listening to it if your IQ is higher.



I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
Noise cancelling headphones - Pugugly {P}
As I was reading this I happened to be wearing my newly acquired
set of Bose noise reducers. Lightweight and actually noise reducing, they do what they say on the box. Don't ask me about their customer service though. (i will on an e-mail.)
Noise cancelling headphones - borasport20
PU - are they worth the money, and did you have to pay list to get them ?

Mike


I have to grow old - but I don't have to grow up
Noise cancelling headphones - Pugugly {P}
Yes,Don't know and Yes
Want a pair of speakers, guv? - henryb
This post is a bit of a survey - Has this happened to anyone else?

I was walking home and a van stopped near me and the driver said that he had an unusual situation - he'd been given some speakers to deliver and too many had been put on the van and did I want some? I said no and walked off. He drove after me and said I really should have a look, so I hesitated. and he jumped out, opened the side of the van, and there were all these big speaker boxes. He carried on with his spiel, showing me sales brochures for the speakers (showing they sold for £2000) and an ad in Loot with a secondhand pair for £1600. He said all he wanted was £400 for them.
Now, I know a bit about speakers and didn't recognise the make of speakers, and anyway, where would I put speakers this big? So, I walked away again. By this time I was sure there was something fishy about the operation, but I wasn't sure what. Anyway he shouted after me that I was wasting his time and drove off.

Later I realised how easy it is to fake a Loot ad and I've heard of other people who've seen this scam but don't know of anyone whose actually bought the speakers.
Want a pair of speakers, guv? - Dwight Van Driver
Henry

You obviously are leading a sheltered life.

Next time your on the Motorway during the day and near a large City, pull into Services and park in the Commercial section. Sit
in your Motor. Within minutes you will be offered Genuine Italian leather coats, socket sets, even rolls of carpet - all surplus to requirements and at a give away price. Dearest rubbish you will ever buy if you succumb.

DVD
Want a pair of speakers, guv? - Flat in Fifth
\"This post is a bit of a survey - Has this happened to anyone else?\"

yepp, different spiel, been at a trade exhibition, too much stock, bla bla bla.

Eventually after the third time of politely saying no thank you and otherwise totally ignoring him, he finally got the message with a dose of \"Which bit of [expletive deleted] do you not understand?\"

Its a scam, don\'t speak to em, don\'t show ANY interest, and even then they don\'t give up.
Want a pair of speakers, guv? - THe Growler
Hey, let him go, he's just trying to make a buck. Pity some of those skills don't find their way into moribund British industry. In Asia we live with hustlers, turn it around and have fun with them.
Is this a virus? - 007
On two or three occasions I have received an e-mail headed 'postmaster@freenet.co.uk.....Delivery failure (tabimiro@freenet.co.uk)'

I have not sent a message to 'tabimiro'...I have no idea who/what 'tabimiro' is...I have not opened the e-mails.

Can anyone throw any light on this one?

TIA.
Is this a virus? - spikeyhead {p}
Its either a failure report from a virus that has used your email address to send a virus to somewhere else or a check to see if your e-mail address is valid. Just delete it, then delete it from your trash bin without opening it.
--
I read often, only post occaisionally
Is this a virus? - 007

Thank-you...Wilco.
Want a pair of speakers, guv? - M.M
These speakers in particular are well known in the hi-fi world. I remember a magazine featuring a guy who got scammed into a pair, also another publication set out to buy some and tested them...complete rubbish really made to sell at something like £120 a pair.

£400 will buy a very neat pair of speakers if you get last years model in Richer Sounds down from an original price of £800.

No need for the white van boys.

They do the leather goods thing door to door this way...we often make a mistake and let the dog out...whoops, distressed leather trousers anyone?

M.M
Want a pair of speakers, guv? - Pugugly {P}
Hope they don't come here - the pshycotic Springer would leave them with something rather more distressed trousers.
1 item remaining? - PhilW
Last week or so, whenever I click on a thread the status bar at the bottom of the screen stays as a full green bar and says "1 item remaining" as if the page hasn't fully loaded. Doesn't seem to have any detrimental effect but only occurs on Honestjohn board. Why? is it just my computer? and does it matter? thanks in advance.
1 item remaining? - PhilW
And the "propellor" thing still keeps going round!
1 item remaining? - Welliesorter
Last week or so, whenever I click on a thread the
status bar at the bottom of the screen stays as a
full green bar and says "1 item remaining" as if the
page hasn't fully loaded. Doesn't seem to have any detrimental effect
but only occurs on Honestjohn board. Why? is it just
my computer? and does it matter? thanks in advance.



Probably a graphic that hasn't loaded yet. There's the odd graphic on the page that's downloaded from a different server from the rest. It could be that this is slower than the one on which the rest of the site is hosted.
1 item remaining? - Kuang
I think that one of the ad-servers occasionally has hissy fits and delays downloading of a banner.
Want a pair of speakers, guv? - THe Growler
>>>>£400 will buy a very neat pair of speakers if you get last years model in Richer Sounds down from an original price of £800.

Why would anyone spend that much on a pair of speakers? I just bought honey-ko for her birthday a whole JVC videoke system inc CD/VCD/DVD and color 21" TV for less than that....
Want a pair of speakers, guv? - M.M
These days there is little point in spending more than £1500 on a car...or a bike for that matter.

Some folks do though.

;-)

M.M
Want a pair of speakers, guv? - THe Growler
Copy that. But I can ride a bike, tinker with it, polish it, have a social life with it, it's special, I get most of my money back when I sell it. But a dumb black box sitting a corner?

I suppose £1,500 is not such a bad bargain for a pair of speakers if they come with a car around them as well LOL.

Now where did Growlette hide that last bottle of Chilean Merlot?
Want a pair of speakers, guv? - M.M
It's just a freedom of choice to spend the "hard earned" as you might wish...something that I would have thought was no.1 on your list G.

M.M
Want a pair of speakers, guv? - Soupytwist
Scam, as others have testified.

What bothers me about it is do I look like someone who carries round £400 in cash with him 'cos I bet they don't take a cheque !


Matthew Kelly
No, not that one.
Vendor suited - MS
What do Estate Agents mean by "Vendor Suited" or "Seller Suited"?

I often seen this in house adverts but have never made any sense of it! Am I being dumb?

TIA
Vendor suited - Altea Ego
It means SOLD or buyer has sold his house, or vendor has offer accepted for his house.

I think?
Vendor suited - THe Growler
Either the buyer or the vendor is not in a chain? I wondered about this too.
Vendor suited - MS
Thanks for the replies.
Vendor suited - Mark (RLBS)
pulling the volumes together