I'm quite cross so I warn you, the language might be quite fruity . . .
Entry posted by GhostOfClayton
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. . . so stop reading now if you're likely to be offended or are under 18. I haven't been this cross since my "I'll stick to buying only one cake" blog entry. Here's the story:
The Ghostmobile is due for its annual MOT test by the end of the month (for anyone not familiar, the MOT is a sort of safety inspection that all UK motor vehicles must undergo each year, otherwise, they�re not allowed to travel on the country�s road network). Most motor vehicle owners dread this time of the year, due to the sizable repair bills that are inevitably involved before a certificate is issued. Mrs OfClayton has just had to part company with �425 to get her car through!
My dread was increased slightly by the fact that I knew the Ghostmobile would fail. The previous owner (some of the sharper blog readers may remember that the Ghostmobile�s previous owner was none other than OfClayton Senior) had neglected to fix the small (on the face of it) problem of the windscreen wiper blade slipping slightly down the mounting, leaving the extreme end of the wiper arm exposed. This metal end had scratched, and subsequently worn a groove into, the windscreen.
Oh well � windscreen problems = insurance claim = �65 excess . . . you may think. Swiftcover.com would disagree. Why should they be responsible for poor vehicle maintenance? I grudgingly agree, but by this time, I had booked an appointment with their authorised glass repairer, Autoglass. So, I contacted Autoglass to let them know that I would be paying for the new windscreen myself. They quoted me . . . wait for it . . . �530!!! The young lady at the other end must�ve sensed me swallowing down the little bit of sick that I had done in my mouth, and was quick to point out that, if I booked the job on the spot, she would be happy to reduce that cost to �445. How joyously benevolent of her. She had done her company out of �85 in a matter of seconds! Still . . . �445 is well in excess of the (coincidentally) �85 I had managed to put aside throughout the year, purely to cover the cost of MOT repairs. By now, my mouth was quite dry, and although I�m sure noises were coming out of it, it would�ve been optimistic to call them words. So, bless her heart, she decided to help me further by offering to reduce the price to �390 if I booked and paid there and then. Wow! This is now �140 (remember that figure!) less than the original quote. I had no idea that Autoglass were a charity assisting struggling motorists. Surely they should have Princess Ann as their Patron.
But, �390 is still �305 more than I had, so I had to reluctantly sob my goodbyes to the generous young lady, promising to myself that I would organise a beetle drive among the residents of the sleepy little village of Aquis-of-the-Romans, to raise funds for the work of this wonderful organisation. I bet this heart-warming tale has brought a tear to your eye, too! So, wondering if there were any other charitable organisations to help me, I got onto Google, and phoned round. I found a very helpful little company called �Screensaver UK� who offered to do the job for �140 + VAT.
Allow me to summarise. Autoglass, a national windscreen company that is the preferred repairer for the vast, vast majority of UK motor insurers, with all the purchasing power that entails, would have been happy to fit my windscreen for �530, had I said "yes" at the time. Even if they had incurred the same costs as Screensaver UK, they would have made �362 more profit. They have no conscience! And yet if I have them all killed, I would be the criminal! What kind of crazy society do we live in? Why do we tolerate organisations that would anally rape their own grandmothers for the chance at getting an extra penny out of us?
That�s why I�m quite cross!
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