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Parcel delivery insurance is prohibited under section 57 – Consumer Rights Act – Read about It Here and in The Times.

reallymadwoman

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Everything posted by reallymadwoman

  1. reallymadwoman
    The lift in our apartment block has had some sort of major failure and is out of action. The management compnay say it will be at least 2 months before work can start, so potentially 3-4 months before it's complete. In the meantime I can't get in or out, so am effectively homeless. This delay is apparently down to the s20 procedures needed before they can even get estimates, is this true and is there no way around it? Surely they wouldn't have to do this if emergency repairs were needed to the roof, for example? Wouldn't me being homeless be an emergency? Any suggestions anyone?
  2. reallymadwoman
    Brittany Ferries' legal department have contacted me - late on a Friday afternoon, again. In fact, 26 minutes before their time limit ran out. At first glance it appeared to be a win, at second glance there are still a few issues, not least that we suspect that option 2 (drop me off at the accessible lift, go back to pick me up when we arrive) or option 3 (park us by the inaccessible lift, offer the onboard chair to get me to the passenger decks) will actually become the default option rather than option 1, which is of course to park us by the accessible lift. From experience, even if they genuinely believe the loading crew will somehow now magically do as they are told, it won't last. We'll maybe get one or even possibly two crossings where there's no arguments and everything goes smoothly, then we'll be back to square one and all this hassle will have been completely pointless. I almost wish they hadn't contacted us as I would have then been able to go to ABTA and any solution from there would have had to be permanent.
  3. reallymadwoman
    What difference do you think it would have made, other than massively increasing the costs?
  4. reallymadwoman
    Indeed. What rational argument and reasonableness cannot achieve, the power of negative publicity can, I hope.
  5. reallymadwoman
    Just been contacted by my local paper. Disabled access on public transport is apparently big news at the moment and something other than being stranded on trains or planes seems to be attracting attention. I don't think it'll be on the front page, but hopefully some of the nationals will pick it up as well.
  6. reallymadwoman
    Absolutely, the point is that it is possible or we would never have been parked by an accessible lift. We and everyone else admit it's more difficult to park a specific vehicle in a specific place, which is why the loading crew don't like it. One argument is that it might hold up departure - we were arguing for at least 15 minutes last time during which loading on that deck came to a complete halt. The ship still left 5 minutes early. If they'd just done what they should in the first place, it would have been at least 15 minutes early. Unfortunately for Brittany Ferries I have official opinion that making travel on my chosen route this difficult amounts to refusing to carry me on that route and the only get out clause for that breach of the EU regs (similar to the ones for airlines about assistance etc) is that it is impossible, not just difficult or inconvenient, and since it has been done before obviously it's not impossible.
  7. reallymadwoman
    Brittany Ferries are most certainly not assisting as much as they can, and the issue is not with my wheelchair, which is actually smaller than a manual chair. If we're parked by the accessible lift, there's no problem, it's actually one of the better ships for access, but we shouldn't be having to argue with the loading crew every time before they (usually) park us there. All Brittany Ferries have to do is tell the loading crew that the needs of passengers must come before their convenience and that would be the end of it, but they simply won't do that. Quite apart from any other issue, expecting anything on wheels to navigate a tight turn in narrow corridors at the head of a staircase is inviting an accident. I doubt it's coincidence that when travelling from France to the UK so that loading is from the opposite direction, all assistance vehicles are automatically parked by the 'safe' lift. We used Pont Aven a couple of times last winter whilst she was covering this route. On both occasions the loading crew parked all the disabled vehicles in a long line between two lifts, one of which was out of order, waited until we'd all left the car deck and then parked all the other vehicles so close around that no one could get back to their vehicle the next morning. Another passenger posted a review on Tripadvisor which described the loading crew directing traffic around my wheelchair rather than wait 30 seconds for me to get out of the way, so no, I don't hope we get Pont Aven.
  8. reallymadwoman
    Final response from Brittany Ferries (late on Friday afternoon !) amounts to ......... tough. Despite providing them with all the dimensions of my chair, including the turning circle, they insist that it will go around the corners = you're lying when you say it wont plus 'you need to tell us when you book etc....' which is hugely patronising. Furious. Anyone know someone in the press who might be interested given that access to public transport is such a big thing at the moment?
  9. reallymadwoman
    If the proposed defendant hasn't collected letters from the post office, hand deliver (or get someone else to do it for you) one to the business, take a photograph of it being handed over - it doesn't matter if it's the franchisee or a member of staff. Alternatively, if they have a letter box, take a photo of you posting the letter through it.
  10. reallymadwoman
    I presume they would have had to pay a fee for that application?
  11. reallymadwoman
    One real bright spot in an otherwise frantic weekend. On Saturday I received a general form of judgement from the Court. It appears that Currys made an application to have the CCJ marked as satisfied. The judge refused.
  12. reallymadwoman
    Like many people with permanent disability and untreatable conditions, I no longer see any specialists and often only see my GP once a year for my annual review. However, as it took 10 minutes to put me in the support group last time and the condition which I got points for cannot improve without a miracle, I've got my fingers crossed about the assessment but I'm not holding my breath. Anyone with any sense wouldn't have bothered insisting on an assessment for PIP either, but they did until I made them agree to a home assessment, after which they decided I didn't need a face to face at all. I am slightly concerned that Maximus insist that if you can get to your GP's surgery, you can get to an assessment centre when my surgery is 300m away but their nearest assessment centre would involve a train and a bus that only runs once an hour and only has one wheelchair space. There's also a major difference between visiting a GP, whom you know well, and going to an assessment which could halve your income. I didn't sleep last night. My brain knows that logically I will stay in the support group even if we have to go to a tribunal to get there, but it's not my brain in charge at the moment. Maximus have replied already, with a copy and paste job from their website. Does anyone know what DWP's rules are for them providing home assessments - I know what Maximus' rules are - I have to pay for my GP to write them a letter to confirm that I'm not lying about the wheelchair.
  13. reallymadwoman
    I emailed a query to the 'new' assessment provider for ESA. The auto response is from the same address that ATOS used.
  14. reallymadwoman
    Hi all, So after being left alone for more than 4 years despite their view that I'd be fully recovered from my genetic condition in 2 years, the dreaded envelope finally landed on the doormat this morninng. Absolutely perfect timing as it's been hanging around in the ether for 6 days so I basically have 3 weeks to return it with a family reunion event this weekend, my son's wedding the following weekend previewed by various family members arriving and wanting entertaining and followed by a 2 week holiday - we get back 2 days after the form is supposed to be in, and whilst we're away the renewal form for my PIP should arrive. For various reasons, it would normally take me 4-6 weeks to get a form like this done, and DWP know but haven't bothered to tell whatever the tossers are called now that I need an electronic version of the form, though I'm sure I'll be able to locate one online somewhere. I know I'm not going to starve if we end up in a fight over this so I'm much better off than most ESA claimants, but even so I feel sick and I'm shaking. After the last fiasco with ESA then the repeat with PIP, I feel I have every right to be scared about what this will do to me this time. For anyone interested, my previous ESA thread is here :- https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?337937-IB-to-ESA-migration/page16 and the PIP thread is here :- https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?452510-Blatant-discrimination-by-DWP-RENEWED-FOR-3-YEARS
  15. reallymadwoman
    It would be best if you or your parents draft something and post it for comments - you know best what happened etc. To give you a start, I'd suggest you first set out what happened prior to the auction, including that they knew you were under age but did not seek permission from your parents so should not have allowed you to have an account. Then state that you are a minor so no valid contract was formed, you will not be paying them and will not enter into further correspondence. Obviously it will need a bit more than that, but if you draft something as a starting point, we can help some more.
  16. reallymadwoman
    They would have wasted quite a lot of money as 1. they can't sue someone under 18 and 2. they shouldn't have let you bid when they knew you were under 18 so 3. if you defend a court claim, they won't win and 4. even if they did, they can't get money from you that you don't have, nor can they get it from your parents. I think the best way forward might be to ask one of your parents to come on here, read what's written and ask any further questions they might have so that they can write to this company/solicitor on your behalf. Bear in mind that just because they say they've copied something to a solicitor, it doesn't mean that they have. If you think you can cope with writing yourself, have a go and post it here so we can help you refine it.
  17. reallymadwoman
    Your insurance policy almost certainly requires that you notify them of any incident which might give rise to a claim, regardless of fault, so you really must tell them. You are not obliged to claim from your own insurers, but it may be easier to let them deal with it. When the claim is fully settled by the other insurers, it should have no effect on your no claims, but insurers almost invariably increase their premiums for anyone who has made a claim, even where it is non-fault. You will have to shop around when your renewal is due. One note of caution - my step-son was recently caught out following a similar incident when his insurers referred him to an accident claims company who let him believe he could have a premium model hire car indefinitely whilst his claim was sorted out - not surprisingly, the other insurers have refused to pay for it. You are obliged to keep your claim against the other party to an absolute minimimum, so if you need to hire a car it should be the cheapest you can find which will do the job and for the minimum amount of time necessary to repair/replace your own car. On the bright side, at least they left a note. Have you got his name and address, vehicle reg and insurance details? If not, ring back and ask for them as your insurers will need them.
  18. reallymadwoman
    So my free caller ID option ends on 1st October. I can renew my line rental before 1st October to get it for free for another year. After 1st October it's free for everyone so I'd get it free anyway, otherwise I'll start paying £1.75 a month from 1st October until the 1st October, so basically, nothing. Clearly a template email inappropriately used. And yes, we do still deal with BT. Apart from the silly issue over renewing things that are free, we've never had a problem with them, unlike every single one of our previous providers.
  19. reallymadwoman
    Received an email from BT 'At the moment, you've got Privacy with Caller Display on a free offer for 12 months*. But just to remind you, this offer is ending on 01/10/2018. Don't worry, you can easily keep it free by renewing your line rental. If you're doing that before 1 October 2018, take a look below for how to do that. But after that date, it's free for everyone, so you won't need to do anything to get it free. Otherwise you'll start paying the usual £1.75 a month for it until 1 October 2018.' Plain English award?
  20. reallymadwoman
    Many people are going to wonder why you bid for a vehicle you cannot pay for, and why you think the auctioneer should be out of pocket because of your actions. That said, you cannot be taken to court until you are 18, and as your parents were not involved in any way, they cannot be sued directly either. As they could not have know about condition no 4, it's an unfair term and is unlikely to be enforceable. I doubt a vehicle this expensive would be considered 'necessary' so I don't think you have formed a valid contract, however the auctioneer is not likely to just forget about this. At the very least you are going to be involved in a long battle. I suggest you inform your parents immediately.
  21. reallymadwoman
    Thanks for this, I've emailed them. Having had a look at their website, I don't think they'll be able to help in the short term, but it's worth a try. I've just booked our next batch of crossings and the problem ship must be going for repairs or something as there's a replacement on that route for the early part of next year so we've actually got until May to find a solution.
  22. reallymadwoman
    Thanks for that, HB, I've contacted them about this issue and also mentioned the lack of additional support for disabled airline passengers where their flight is delayed or cancelled. I assume it's ok to post a link to the organisation campaigning https://www.disabilityjustice.org.uk
  23. reallymadwoman
    This is why we have approached the issue as a breach of the EU regs - Brittany Ferries have to respond, if they don't resolve it I can take the complaint to ABTA and ultimately to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. As the issue has now been going on for over two years (our first complaint was June 2016!) I think we've demonstrated every possible effort to resolve it with the ferry company so I would be within my rights to escalate it immediately, however the more I thought about it last night, the more I realised the senior Customer Service person allegedly dealing with my complaint hadn't actually read any of the information I sent, only my tripadviser review so this morning I emailed to ask if he'd seen my email and, suprise surprise, he hadn't. I've resent it, with enclosures which provide all the detail, and a heavy hint that he might want to review his response.
  24. reallymadwoman
    Finally had a response to my complaint, which I approached as being in breach of EU regs requiring them to carry disabled passengers because making my journey depend upon the outcome of an argument with boarding staff every time amounts to effectively preventing me from travelling on that route. The response basically amounts to tough, but is written in such a way that it's obvious the author couldn't be bothered to read what I sent or even research how often we travel. I think that might amount to the definition of adding insult to injury. I've actually disabled the send button on my email account in case I'm tempted to reply this evening because if I did, I'd be giving Brittany Ferrys the perfect excuse to refuse to carry me ever again.
  25. reallymadwoman
    A helpful chap at DVLA advised me to change my name on my passport first as once that's done, DVLA use your passport as proof of your name. Other than driving licence and passport, I don't think I needed to provide proof to anyone else - utilities etc just accepted me reverting to my maiden name, though i seem to remember one asked for a marriage certificate, which of course you give up when you get divorced ...

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