Its always best to go through your own insurance company for repairs. They claim the money back from the third party's insurance company. YOU get to choose where you want the car repaired you don't need to use their recommended companies. This is your right! The body shop will usually have a car you can use whilst yours is being repaired. May have to book in advance though. Be careful about taking a hire car through other party's insurance as you may have to prove that it was for essential use. The bill could come back to you. You have paid a lot of hard earned cash for your insurance, so make use of your own insurance company. Makes life easier if something like this happens.

Had a similar problem. Paid on the day and takes a couple of days to go through. I phoned straight away to be told that the computer has cancelled my interest free period. I stated that this was unfair and that they should use their discretion to reinstate the interest free period. This was done there and then. They also said that I had to pay a late payment fee of £12 but after I argued about this they refunded this on receipt of my payment. You could argue that the way the date seems to change for payment each month is difficult to keep tabs on. It worked in my case. Hindsight is to set up a direct debit to cover the minimum payment each month. You can then make payments whenever you like to pay off the debit.

six weeks holiday

Mental health does seem to be a dirty word for so many health professionals. Mental illness is an illness, full stop. Remember the fact that one in four people will suffer from a mental illness during their life. We do have haver a postcode lottery for care already. In Birmingham, there is ample support and treatment for patients, but only in the south part of the city. In the northern part of Birmingham we are facing cuts and has professionals retire their positions are not being filled. At the moment we do not have a single psychologist for the whole of North Birmingham. The psychiatrists just keep on administering drugs and even ECT as talk therapy is not available. However travel five miles to a different postcode and it is a different story. We have to keep fighting, but everything takes so long in the NHS. Never give up. Use the complaint procedure, use the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Remember doctors and consultants are people just like us. Tell it as it is and don't put them on a pedestal.

Hi, I work in a mainstream school and this practice occurs all the time. The management will always try to find a way to cope that suits them. The phrase 'the squeeky wheel always gets the oil' is so true. You need to continually voice your concerns, ask for meetings with the headteacher, feedback from how your daughter is coping etc etc. The school will soon get fed up. They are able to put children on part time hours but they have to have a really valid reason to this. It should not be that 'we don't have the staff'. Schools have large budgets and have the freedom to spend their budget where they see fit. The money allocated for your daughter's SENs must be used to support her learning. Ask for records of how this is being done. Keep on fighting, be a pain, a school is just a business like any other. Good luck and keep us informed.

Hi Thanks for the advice on the ebay matter. Totally agree with you on the need to check till receipts. Have always done it and it seems that one in three receipts are wrong when dealing with the big supermarkets. Sainsburys always seems the worst. It is amazing how these small errors can really leave you out of pocket. Carl

Thanks for the advice Googleymugley. Have contacted ebay and surprisingly they were very helpful. They have recorded my concerns and agree that I had a case not to follow through with the 'sale'. Have now sent him a message informing him of the two options recommended by ebay: 1. cancel the transaction, or 2. enter a case in resolution. I reiterated my reasons and kept away from replying to his threats of legal action. I also stated that I would not communicate any further unless it is through ebay's resolution centre. Thanks again, now lets see what happens next.

Thanks for the advice. This has put me from using ebay completely. I restore classic cars as an hobby so I know what to look out for. I would have bought it if the description was more honest. However, i thought you cheeky git! Not everybody has the same morals.

Hi hope you are coping. I sometimes wonder where some of these so called 'caring staff' come from. They should make every effort to make your stay at hospital as pleasant as possible. It does not matter if you are on a section 3, their duty is to provide care. If you feel that you need to take responsibility for your own Care Plan then they must assist you in this. Make sure that you mention this at your review meetings. The consultant should take this as an indicator of your mental stability and should discuss with the nurse in charge how your request can be dealt with. You can also ask for a change of consultant. I would make a written complaint if there is still no support. However, they do have 25 days to respond. Do you have someone who can speak for you, or support you, in the review meetings? You are legally entitled to have a second person there. The squeeky wheel gets the oil! I live in Birmingham, but the NHS do have to follow government guidelines. So practice should be the same across the country. this is not always the case though. I have experience of dealing with mental health trusts, so if you need any advice or someone to just talk to keep in touch Best wishes Carl

This is the message he sent me. Dear carlp1962, This matter is far from "resolu". I have just had dinner with my lawyer, during which we discussed this situation. As it stands these are the facts: The vehicle was described as a "restoration project" which it most definately is. If it only needed some t-cut, or a new interior, it would have been listed as such, and sold for much more. The auction ran for 10 days, timed to go over 2 weekends so that any potential buyers could come and view the car. It was made clear in the listing that if any potential buyers had any questions, they could ask them. You never asked any questions. It was made clear in the listing that any potential buyers could request further pictures of any specific parts of the vehicle. You did not request any. It was made clear in the listing that the buyer should bring a trailer as the vehicle had no MOT and could not be driven on the road. You did not bring a trailer. The vehicle is 44 years old, and a 5 minute check through the VOSA site would show that it has not been on the road for several years. During your visit I willingly used my own fuel, and dirtied my hands changing the battery to allow you to see the engine running. I had no obligation to do this, but did so as it was the decent thing. During your visit I was also aware that your inspection resulted in a broken hinge joint on the hardtop. Given the English climate, and the fact that the listing stated that it had been on my drive for 3 years, I'm not entirely sure why you expected the vehicle to be in a much better condition than it is. Under Ebay policy, when you win an auction you enter a legally binding contract to buy the item. You are not bidding to come and "kick tyres". As I am confident that the description of the vehicle is accurate, I therefore consider you to be in breach of contract. The advice I have been given is that at the moment your cheapest option is to organise a trailer, pick up the vehicle that you won, and pay for it. I await your reply.

will do it now, thanks

yes, this is it. First things first: This Sprite will only include the hartop if the bidding goes over £575. If it doesn't, the hardtop will be sold separately. Here is your chance to get yourself a good restoration project Sprite with no reserve! I have had this car for 3 years, originally buying it as a reference to help me put my other one back together (long story, no time for it here). I had intentions to restore this vehicle, but 3 years down the road and I haven't even started it. Rather than let it continue to sit there, I have decided to auction it and let someone else have at it. I have left the hardtop in place as it helps to protect the interior, although as stated above this will only go with the vehicle if the bidding goes over £575. All in all it's not too bad, I've seen far worse get restored. As you can see in the last pic there's a load of bits that come with the car. The engine ran when I got the car, although it was pretty rough as it had old fuel in it. I moved it into place on the drive and shut it off. The buyer will need a trailer to move it, as there is obviously no MOT on the vehicle. Thats pretty much it, any questions just ask. If you want any pics of specific bits of the car just ask. Carl

Thanks for the replies. I am an honest person, so feel bad by not following through with the 'auction'. I knew that the car would be rough and it was going to be a restoration project for me to carry out. The problem is how do you determine a level of restoration? In my opinion, the car would require total restoration as the rot was so extensive. I was also concerned as he is a private lister, but on arrival said that he also ha a Volvo for sale and the previous week had sold a Mini which was in worse condition. Is acceptable to just say 'for restoration', leaving out the severity of the car's condition? thanks again carl

Hi - love the site. I recently bid on a 1966 car (advertised as ideal for restoration). The car was not in mint condition and was advertised as being owned for three years and had been used as a reference for another rebuild. I bid over two days and won at a cost of £560. On going to pay and to see if I could tow the car, I was pretty disgusted at the condition. It was far worse than the pictures displayed. The lower part of the car (sills, floor, suspension joints) were completely rotted away. As I touched parts of the body work piles of rust built up on the floor. The spare parts were not of serviceable condition. The vehicle was in much more of a worse condition than I imagined from the ebay ad. It appeared that at sometime the complete rear end had been stitched on from another car. I had to think hard about refusing to pay for the car. I did have three other people with me who all agreed. All the alarm bells in my head started to ring. Now I am being threatened with court action if I don't pay and collect the vehicle. He even proudly informed me that he discussed this with his solicitor over dinner. His argument is that we had a contract and that the car was advertised for restoration (however, no mention was made of the severity of decay of the car, when I phoned asking if it was towable, he replied probably not as the tyres were dodgy.) I went with the intention to purchase the car I had the cash in my pocket and a tow rope in the car, I had also arranged for a recovery vehicle for later in the week if I couldn't tow it back. I have now also been accused of breaking a boot hinge during my inspection, however the car was in such a bad state I can't see how this was unavoidable or if it was already broken. I did have the intention to purchase, but the condition was so bad. I feel that his ad should have reflected more accurately the condition of the vehicle. I could have purchased the vehicle to restore but I would have always have the niggling thought that I was conned. Help please, where do I stand?