T.J

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  • in reply to: Discrimination #170970
    T.J
    Participant

      Rene, thanks for the detailed reply 🙂  Seems I was more than a bit off with the “extra pound”….  On one hand there is the argument that well paid staff in a nice environment have better moral which should lead to increased productivity and reduce staff turnover along with all the training + other costs involved in replacing people.

      The other side of the coin is  to “over pay” by such a large amount does leave them open to criticism / scrutiny and they really should give a detailed explanation of the reasons why and certainly give some justification regarding the location and expenses associated with head office.

      There is the also the complete can of worms as to whether or not many customer facing roles in general are underpaid and undervalued whilst those higher up are the opposite but that’s a different discussion altogether.

      in reply to: Discrimination #170947
      T.J
      Participant

        Going a little off topic, I understand the frustration against the management and what they “earn” but every time I’ve spoken to to the front line staff via phone or email they have always been very helpful and gone the extra mile (no pun intended).

        I’d guess that dealing with people on the scheme for want of a better way of putting it can have its challenges, for example to Joe Public a last minute change of colour is probably nothing more than an inconvenience but for someone like my wife it would feel like the end of her world…

        If paying the call centre staff an extra pound (made up number) an hour over what they would earn doing the “same” job elsewhere is the difference between getting a copy / paste reply or a simple response from a script and having someone put some effort in to actually try and help then overall I’m not sure how it can be seen as a bad thing.

        Having said all of that, like most large organisations I’m sure there are many ways to save money and run a tighter ship but from my personal experience I cant really fault the customer facing staff and think the scheme would suffer without them – not so sure I’d say the same about managers, consultants or advisers but never had the the “pleasure” of dealing with them lol

        T.J
        Participant

          Would he be OK with an estate car?  If so and assuming the boot on the new shape is more or less the same as ours (old shape) then the SEAT Leon is also an option – fits the wife’s chair and 2/3 bags of shopping.

          in reply to: Driving and Automatic #155197
          T.J
          Participant

            Glad the test drive went well 🙂  Was going to add watch your speed to the list….

            Until getting our SEAT with the DSG I’d only driven manuals and you get used to “knowing” your speed based on the selected gear and the sound / rpm of the engine – the DSG (most of the time) shifts so smoothly that its easy to keep your foot down without realising your going faster then you think.

            Not a problem now but for the first couple of weeks it took some getting used to.

            in reply to: Help with fitting 13amp plug – my home electric #155149
            T.J
            Participant

              No worries Rachel, glad it helped and sorry for assuming it was council home – our local one is very reluctant to do much of anything to private rented or homeowner property’s but nice to see that in your case they were able to assist 🙂

              in reply to: Help with fitting 13amp plug – my home electric #155059
              T.J
              Participant

                With regards to cost an RCBO is around £25-£35 and a standard (non RCD) outside socket £10-15, add in something for the cost of the cable, wall plugs, screws, silicon to seal around the socket etc and your looking at realistically no more than £50.

                Labour rates of course vary from one end of the country to the other but £200 for what is a small job does seem rather steep….

                Have you been in touch with council?  Ours offers a “handy man” service for the disabled, might be worth a call to see if they do similar – if nothing else they may be able to do it at a more reasonable cost especially if your a council tenant anyway.

                in reply to: Help with fitting 13amp plug – my home electric #155056
                T.J
                Participant

                  Rachel, yup – it’s not really a big job at all and certainly something that even a newly qualified sparky can do with ease 🙂

                  Excuse the technical jargon but hopefully this will explain / help you understand a bit better what needs doing…

                  MCB (miniature circuit breaker) = protects the circuit / wiring from overload, pretty much the same sort of idea as the fuse in an extension lead but an MCB can be reset when the overload is resovled.

                  RCD (residual current device) = protects you from electric shock by detecting when current is going somewhere it shouldn’t for example running over the lawn mover cable or drilling through a cable.

                  RCBO (residual current breaker with over-current) = combines the functions of an MCB and RCD in one module

                  Your “old” consumer unit (fuse box) doesn’t have RCD protection and the law now requires that new circuits under most circumstances have it, this is why when the wet room was done the Hager board was added as it would have been easier and probably cheaper than trying to retrofit into the main house one.

                  In the case of the outside socket there are a few ways the electrician could go about it…

                  Fit another separate board similar to the small ones used in garages, sheds etc –  these typically have space for 3 MCBs with one RCD protecting them.  Is a bit overkill in your case but an option if they don’t want to touch the Hager board for whatever reason.

                  Fit an MCB in the Hager board and use an outside socket with its own built in RCD.  Would provide RCD protection to whatever us plugged in but not to cable between the MCB and the socket.  Depending on cable run / length this may not be an issue.

                  Fit an RCBO in the Hager board, provides RCD protection to both the cable and outside socket.  RCBO’s are a bit more expensive than MCBs but on the flipside it means a “normal” and cheaper outside socket can be used instead of a more expensive RCD one.

                  Sorry its a bit long winded and quite a bit to take in but hope its helps.

                  in reply to: Help with fitting 13amp plug – my home electric #154978
                  T.J
                  Participant

                    For a decent make of outdoor socket with RCD protection, you’re looking at around £60, the circuit breaker in the MCB in the consumer unit is another £10, cable, clips, and drilling to the outside to fit, probably a few hours work. I’d say it was probably about the going rate for a qualified spark

                    Looks like the Hager board has a couple of RCBOs already fitted so would probably make more sense to fit another one for the outside socket instead of an RCD protected socket – overall less expensive and the whole cable run for the “fuse box” is protected as well as whatever is plugged into the outside socket.

                    in reply to: Can I keep my doctor now moving 5 miles away ? #147370
                    T.J
                    Participant

                      Dare say the distance depends on the local catchment area, I grew up in a rural area where “local” was less than 15/20 mile away but where the Mrs comes from “local” is 2 miles at best.

                      Like the OP she had a long history with one GP but she moved 100’s of miles away, came back again and then moved around a bit – one address was way outside their catchment, another was just inside and current is just outside….

                      She contacted them from day one (upon moving back) and based on her past registration and medical history they were more than happy to have her back on their books.

                      Just talk to your doc, you may still be within the catchment area and even if not they may be able to keep you as patient -sometimes honesty is the best policy 🙂

                      in reply to: non driver owners. #122703
                      T.J
                      Participant

                        @Philjb, agree that nothing is better than having own transport…  Shame they council scheme is only fixed destinations, sounds like we are quite lucky to have the “volunteer taxi” system in our area.

                        Sounds like keeping the car for now is the lesser of the evils but hope you find something that works better in the long term 🙂

                        in reply to: Price cap and bhp need increasing #122692
                        T.J
                        Participant

                          @bigdave, thanks for detailed reply – the 5% was just a number pulled out of the air, out of curiosity it would be interesting to see what the price changes for a Focus have been over the years

                          Agree with you on the rock and hard place though, no matter what Motability change they will inevitably make some people happy and others not so…

                          in reply to: non driver owners. #122674
                          T.J
                          Participant

                            @Philjb – not sure if something similar is available in your area but we were are there is a community transport scheme where volunteers use their own cars to as transport for people that don’t drive or cant get out on their own.  You pay a per mile “contribution” but at least the car would be suitable for your equipment and the driver understanding / willing to help load it.  Works a bit like a taxi service but at a lower cost and more disabled friendly.

                            Again not sure for your area but there is also a door to door accessible mini bus service that goes to many of the local super markets, shopping centres and attractions – operates to fixed times and days so not as flexible as the above but another option maybe.

                            in reply to: Price cap and bhp need increasing #122671
                            T.J
                            Participant

                              Maybe the price cap should track / rise in line with some of the most popular makes / models sold in the open market, in other words if a mid spec Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra, Nissan Qashqai, Mercedes A-Class rise by 5% from one year to the next then up the cap by the same amount.

                              The BHP cap is harder to address as its more of a “want” rather then “need” situation – a 115ps base / mid spec Golf will do the same as the 300ps R, it could be argued that given how many Rs seem to be stolen etc very little would be gained from adding them to the scheme.  Would go as far as to say that stuff like the R are not really part of the core model range anyway and petrol heads aside most people would dismiss those and other performance / halo models as being to expensive and simply not necessary for their requirements.

                              Given we are not restricted to base trim / lowest power models and have more or less the same options as the general public would on the the open market the scheme does cater for most if not all needs – as the saying goes “you can please some of the people all the time or all of the people some of the time but not everyone all the time”.

                              in reply to: Skoda Kodiaq 7 seater 1.5 petrol DSG #120702
                              T.J
                              Participant

                                Could always try a different dealer, its possible that another “group” may have one in stock so worth ringing a few just in case.

                                Pretty sure that you can have the servicing done by any Motability dealer and not just the supplying one, so no worries with looking / ordering from further afield for one and using somewhere local for everything else.

                                There is also a small possibility that a dealer will have a cancelled ordered, may have some extra (chargeable) options but some forum members have gotten good deals that way as unless the car is in high demand the dealer doesn’t want to have an unsold but paid for them car sitting around too long.

                                T.J
                                Participant

                                  Seat Leon FR 2.0 TSI DSG. Over the moon with it.

                                  Pretty much the same car but in Xcellence Lux trim, was collected mid July last year though so not all that recent – would guess that Simon’s car is around the same age as the 2.0 petrol was discontinued May / June (ish).

                                  Regardless of date would agree with Simon, ours is an estate and very practical, comfortable and whilst not a rocket ship is certainly not slow.

                                  in reply to: Under 25's being squeezed out #115497
                                  T.J
                                  Participant

                                    Pretty sure the u25 rule applies to all drivers of the car / named on the policy – every time we’ve ordered the dealerships have made a point of making sure that all the drivers have been over 25 when picking something over the u25’s bhp / group cap.

                                    Might have missed something but in John’s case as an under 25 his father will have to pick something within these restrictions.

                                    If John’s father already has an “over 25” car that he can no longer drive Motability will probably be understanding and allow / not charge for an early termination so that he re-order something within the u25 limits but doubt they would make an exception and allow John to drive the current car in the meantime.

                                    The other option is to look outside the scheme and fund it via his PIP, would in theory give a wider choice of cars but as an u25 in practical terms I suspect insurance costs will somewhat limit things, unless of course your happy to pay whatever amount the premiums would be.

                                    in reply to: Under 25's being squeezed out #115114
                                    T.J
                                    Participant

                                      My two cents, keep the BHP limit with the possible exception of WAV as being largely van based I’d guess due to their nature these typically have more powerful engines.

                                      BUT

                                      Increase the insurance group a bit across the board so that more cars are available to under 25’s but by limiting the performance in theory the chances of an causing / being involved in an accident or claim are kept around the same even if the cost of said claims goes up a bit.

                                      in reply to: Wipers and lights included? #108956
                                      T.J
                                      Participant

                                        ^ Very true JS and this is why I mentioned medical reasons, didn’t want it to come across as calling anyone lazy for having the dealer do such things.

                                        in reply to: Wipers and lights included? #108953
                                        T.J
                                        Participant

                                          Thinking about it, its quite surprising what costs are covered / included in the lease.  We had a puncture and predictably the tyre gunk was no help, ended up with the RAC doing a temporary plug and Kwik Fit replacing it.

                                          A few weeks later the car went in for a minor ECU update, during the drop off I enquired as to how much the gunk would cost to replace as despite it being useless the first time round it may be needed again – the receptionist went to check with the parts department and it turns out its considered maintenance and included in the lease, no doubt the dealer would have billed Motability but it was replaced at no cost to me.

                                          in reply to: Wipers and lights included? #108949
                                          T.J
                                          Participant

                                            Smallcar, sorry if it sounds like I’m doubting you but are you sure that’s correct as I’m pretty sure other posters have said all fluids are included.

                                            Just seems a bit odd that something like engine oil which is far more expensive, “complicated” in terms of grade / topping up the amount correct and can cause serious problems wouldn’t be on the list when it makes good sense to be.

                                            On the flip side screenwash is so cheap and easy to sort that beyond medical reasons it seems a bit daft going the the hassle of getting a dealer to sort it and adblue personally should be treated more or less the same as putting fuel in, unless again there is medical reasons for the dealer having to do it.

                                             

                                            in reply to: History #108751
                                            T.J
                                            Participant

                                              DeeBee, just a thought but have you tried giving Motability a call and seeing if they have any record of the car / its history?

                                              Looking at it from a slightly different angle if it had been accident damaged during the lease I’d imagine the repairs would have done at a main dealers or similar approved workshops, admittedly it doesn’t guarantee a 100% quality repair but at the same time it wont have been bodged by some cowboy working from his driveway either.

                                              There are also a couple of minor things to look out for that can sometimes give an indication of a car being ex Motability, for example Vauxhalls and possibly Fords of that age came with parking sensors even if they weren’t standard on that trim – going on that a base spec car with no extras apart from parking sensors has a decent chance of being ex Motability.  The MOT history can also be a clue as Motability do it around a month before its actually due, the online check for your reg numbers shows the first MOT being pretty much exactly 2 years and 11 months from the date of registration.

                                               

                                              **EDIT**

                                              Ok, so none of the above is much good in proving when any damaged occurred but may help confirm if it really was a Motability car.

                                              in reply to: History #108702
                                              T.J
                                              Participant

                                                Could always run a HPI check, not expensive and will / should cover

                                                Outstanding finance
                                                Stolen
                                                Written-off
                                                Stolen V5 document check
                                                Vehicle Identity
                                                Plate transfer
                                                Number plate and VIN/chassis numbers

                                                Ideally its best done before handing any money over but might put your mind at rest.  Any accident damage that’s not been bad enough to write the car off wont show but quite often there are tell tail repair signs to look out for – getting a 3rd party inspection is also an option and should pick on on any notable issues.

                                                in reply to: AD BLUE #108021
                                                T.J
                                                Participant

                                                  Think the last three posters have got a good point, it’s really not expensive and should really be considered as part of the fuel costs rather than maintenance.

                                                  There is also the extra costs the scheme incurs by getting the dealer to top it up, dealers being dealers are going to charge far more than the local car spares place or supermarket, throw in admin costs etc and come end of year accounts it must work out rather expensive for Motability.

                                                  Of course if there is a genuine reason that it has to be done by the dealer then fair enough but for everyone else just because you can get it done for free doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it yourselves.

                                                  in reply to: Cars with start buttons #107739
                                                  T.J
                                                  Participant

                                                    The “current” Seat Leon has keyless entry / push button start on Xcellence and Xcellence Lux trim, would imagine the upcoming version would be similar for the higher trim levels but Seat’s website is a bit light on details atm.

                                                    in reply to: TV recommendations #107568
                                                    T.J
                                                    Participant

                                                      Not sure if slightly OTT comedy is your thing but the Mrs and I both loved

                                                      Derry Girls (https://www.channel4.com/programmes/derry-girls/)
                                                      Lee and Dean (https://www.channel4.com/programmes/lee-and-dean/)
                                                      London Irish (https://www.channel4.com/programmes/london-irish/)

                                                      The latter two are rather silly at times, not very PC and can be rather crass but worth a go if typical / more mainstream comedies don’t really do it for you.

                                                       

                                                    Viewing 25 replies - 1 through 25 (of 100 total)