Ssscrudddy

They do stop your money even when it's their fault. The system is deliberately stacked against the claimant even if you jump through all their hoops. I had an incident where I tried to sign on, only to be told my claim had been stopped 13 days earlier because I hadnt turned up for an appointment (1 day after I had last signed on). This meant I wasnt getting any money, & I also wouldnt be getting any money for the next 2 weeks either because you cant backdate anything. They hadnt told me about the appointment, & they also hadnt told me my claim was stopped until 2 weeks after they stopped it. It also resulted in housing benefit being stopped. Eventually after much form filling an appeal & a formal complaint, they finally admitted they hadnt even sent me the letter about the appointment, & I eventually got my money. My initial form had somehow been lost when I had tried to appeal, apparently I hadnt appealed & hadnt handed in any forms, I put in the formal complaint when I spotted my initial appeal form in my paperwork which I apparently handed filled in or handed in. Another time I was late for signing on by about an hour & a half, because the bus had crashed into a car that had pulled out in front of the bus instead of giving way. We had to wait for the police & give statements, & wait for a replacement bus. When I got to the dole office I had to fill out a bunch of forms explaining why I hadnt turned up on time, so I filled them out & handed them in. Due to what had happened the last time, I tried to get a receipt for the forms I was handing in, but they flatly refused, it is policy that they dont give out receipts. I was told my money would go in anyway & everything would be ok, I wasnt the only one on that bus who was signing on. Anyway on the day my money should have shown up, it didnt. I then went in every day to check on the progress, & kept getting told my money would go in. On my next signing on day, I was told I didnt have a sign on appointment because I hadnt turned up 2 weeks earlier & as a result my claim had been stopped 2 weeks earlier. I tried to appeal but as I couldnt prove I had handed in the forms I lost the appeal, apparently I should have got a receipt. A 3rd time I missed an appointment due to illness. I had woken up with a bad case of projectile vomiting & diarrhea, so I rang them as soon as they opened (6 hours before my appointment) & explained why I couldnt get there. They said they would send out the relevant form which I needed to fill in & return once I was better. Well I got the form the next day. Due to the lack of proof the previous 2 times, I have reached the point where I dont trust them to do anything right, & so I had recorded the phone call on my mobile as proof... Anyway 2 days later (sign on Tuesday, so now Thursday) I filled in the form, scanned it, & went to the dole office to hand it in. I just happened to have my mobile phone in my hand, which just happened to be recording video (quite by accident of course). Just for the record they dont let you use mobile phones in the dole office, security will stop you, & if you dont comply they will have you arrested. I tried to get a recipt for the form I was handing in, but they wouldnt give me one, still policy to not hand out receipts. Although I was behaving myself I was insistent on getting a receipt due to the problems in the past. Well I never did get a receipt, & by this time I had 3 security guards around me. It was at this point 1 of them noticed my phone was videoing stuff. They demanded my phone, which I wouldnt give them. They ended up calling the police, they also restrained me, with 1 of them getting my phone, & eventually he managed to delete the video once he had worked out how to, it took him ages. Sure enough the police showed up, they only wanted the security guards version of events & I was hauled off without being able to put my side of the story. I was still behaving myself (other than I wouldnt leave until I got a receipt for the form I had handed in). Put in a cell without my trousers or boots for around 5 hours. Eventually they interviewed me formally, apparently I was going to be charged with trespass & public order, all of which I denied. Well all I can say is... THANK GOD FOR DROPBOX. My version of events didnt match up with the security guards version of events, I told the coppers that I had videoed the whole lot, but the security guard had deleted it, & that I might be able to prove it if I could have access to my phone, & sure enough my video was there on dropbox (got my phone set to instantly upload vids & pics to dropbox), & proved that I was telling the truth. I was let go with no charge. Well I went in everyday for the next 2 weeks to check on the progress of my claim, only to get fobbed off same as before, & sure enough, on my next signing on day I was told I didnt have an appointment because I hadnt shown up the last time, & I hadnt been in touch, & I handt filled in the relevant forms, & so as a result my claim had been closed 2 weeks earlier. I appealed, mentioning that I had a recording of the phone call, as well as scans of the filled in form, & video of me handing in the form & the resulting debacle. I lost the appeal, apparently any recordings I had taken didnt count because I hadnt got permission from them to record anything, therefore it wasnt even looked at. I then made a formal complaint, which did look at the video & phone recoding, this was upheld, & I eventually got my money. While any investigations of this sort are going on, they completely suspend your claim, which can often result in 3 or more months without any money at all. Typically minimum of 6 weeks for an appeal, & even longer for a formal complaint. I'll also breifly touch upon ESA. I was once found unconcious in my room. Rushed to hospital, turns out I had had a Pulminory Embolism & nearly died. I was apparently grey when I got wheeled in & the doc said later he didnt think I was going to make it. I spent over a week in hospital. I got in touch with the dole office on my 2nd day in hospital. My dole was immediately stopped from the day I was found unconcious & I had to go on to ESA. I was sent the forms (to the hospital). I filled them in, & the day I left hospital just happened to be the day I was due to sign on. So I went to the dole office & handed in the forms, along with stuff from the hospital, Doctors note etc. I spent the next 4 weeks having to go into hospital everyday for tests & injections. Eventually they put me on to warfarin (rat poison, makes you feel like death warmed up) I still had to go to hospital 3 times a week for another 5 weeks for tests & to be issued with my warfarin. Eventually this was reduced to twice a week then once a week, & at the same time I was given a prescription for warfarin instead of it being issued by the hospital. This caused problems because by now I had had no money for 11 weeks. As I wasnt in reiept of JSA or ESA I couldnt get free prescriptions, & I had no money to buy my prescription (or anything else for that matter). Eventually after 3 months my claim for ESA was denied (March), the reason being "Your claim for ESA has been denied". I could appeal, but I had to do it by Jan 5th, 3 months earlier. My appeal was denied because I didnt appeal in time. I also lost my dentist, when he found out I had been on warfarin he refused to treat me unless I got a note from my doctor saying I was ok, my doctor refused to do this on the grounds I had refused treatment, because I had stopped taking my warfarin (because I had no money for 3 months to pay for the prescription) Before you lot go thinking I'm work shy, I did my 1st 6 months at 60 per week agency, followed by a year at 40 hours per week. Then 15 years at 75 hours per week, made redundant, 1 year at 40 hours per week (after 3 months out of work), 5 months in hospital after a hit & run left me for dead & another 7 months on the sick. 6 months agency at random hours (never a full week). Then 3 years at 120 hours per week (I had joined a B&B as a part time cleaner but got put in charge after a month). Now unfortunately I am out of work (the B&B owner sold the properties as normal housing & retired ), applied for hundreds of jobs, & still keep applying.

Many years ago, late 80s or early 90s, I was getting hassled by the TV license people, after moving out from my parents & into a house. I didnt have a TV, & so I didnt have a TV license. Despite repeatedly telling them this they still kept sending me threatening letters & took no notice of my answers. One day a TV detector van showed up at my door & I happily let him in to prove I didnt have a TV (I am convinced to this day the TV detector van was a lie put about by the government to scare people into paying) the guy reckoned he had detected a TV being used in my house. I didnt have a TV, I did have a computer, but that was off at the time. Anyway off he went & still the letters kept coming. Eventually they took me to court for having no TV license, where they lost. Still they kept sending me threatening letters, & eventually I took them to court, where they lost again, & they were convicted of harrassment, unfortunately no one went to prison. More recently I bought a PC monitor from PC World, & straight away I got a demand for a TV license, with them claiming I had bought a TV from Dixons. I filled in a form the 1st time saying I didnt have a TV. They took no notice. The 2nd letter I got from them I wrote on the back of their letter that I didnt have a TV, & put it back in their envelope "Return to sender". When I got a 3rd threatening letter I emailed them, with the relevant details of the 2 previous court cases, pointing out that it was a matter of public record in the past that I didnt have a TV, that they have already been convicted of harrassment once & lost twice to me. I also pointed out that I have now twice responded to this latest demand for a TV license, & I finished it by saying that if I heard anything more from them regarding this matter then I would take them to court again. Havent heard from them since. SPOILER I'm pretty sure this stuff changed in 2004 & probably doesnt work now As for the DVLA, they are a whole load of other crap. Twice with them now they have taken me to court for not SORNing a motorbike... or to be more accurate, they have fined me for not SORNing a motorbike, & then taken me to court for not paying the fine. Trouble is they have never ever contested this matter in court. The DVLA is not a court, so they cannot fine you. Under the legislation regarding court summons etc, Interpretations Act 1978, specifically section 7, basically means if a document is to be posted... the relevant info to whoever... then it is deemed to have been served simply by posting it (properly with a valid postage stamp & addressed properly etc). It is up to the people recieving the document to prove that you havent posted it, they cant just say "oh we didnt get it". & obviously this is pretty impossible to prove. This is why you cant get out of a court summons, but the same applies to SORNing your vehicle, you say you posted it (it would be perjory if you lie about that), & it is then up to them to prove you didnt. Under statute regarding SORN you was only obliged to send them the relevant SORN docment, you wasnt obliged to prove you sent it, you wasnt obliged to chase it up etc. As for the going to court bit, they fine you, & eventually if you dont cough up they take you to court. They take plenty of people to court for this, because most people wont contest it, its cheaper to just pay the fine than to get a solicitor, however anyone who shows up at court to contest it, they withdraw that particular case, because they know they are on dodgy ground. Anyone who doesnt show up to contest it is automatically guilty. Again I'm pretty sure this stuff changed in 2004 & probably doesnt work now I used to be a traffic warden & knew about this stuff... stopped being a traffic warden in 2003, bought a motorbike & cleared off for a few years

Beckets Park Marina Northampton, 15-20 mins walk from the train station. 60 miles away from London (via the M1). Trains go to Euston.

Glad you liked my smiley. OK it's not quite mine, I found it on the internet & copied it to my own image hosting space. Seeing as I use google for this bandwidth is not an issue, but if you want to use it I would suggest you copy it to your own image hosting space, because if I move it or rename my album or whatever, then it wont be available anymore on that link. My smiley collection can be found here (the page can be a bit slow to load)

why not buy a new lappie? Supposedly Ebuyer.com are having a sale today (Monday 28th Nov) where all products are £1 starting at 11 AM. I guess the devil will be in the detail. I shall be trying for a new lappie myself (as the GF is always using mine & reckons she doesnt want 1... "get off my bloody laptop then if you dont want 1 of your own") Edit to add - the Ebuyer sale was rubbish. The website crashed straight away. There wasnt much on there. I managed to order a £50 camera for £1, they took payment, & have since emailed saying "out of stock". Didnt see any laptops on sale. There are now 26 items left not worth even £1.

When I googled "Barby Mooring" it brought up the website for the newly built offending marina that is being complained about in this thread, 1st link. The 2nd link was this thread. Dont forget folks google works in different ways depending on what you are doing, the same search on my laptop (which my GF) uses, still brought these up 1st page, but not 1st & 2nd link.

Well I have to say, although I agree with quite a few points, unfortunately I disagree with quite a few points as well. This manifesto is certainly very reminiscent of a certain individual, who has made it quite clear that (even tho I dont have a boat yet I fully intend getting 1 to live on) I would not qualify as a proper boater, & the manifesto clearly shows that my opinion would not be valid as such. As a cyclist I would be discriminated against. What the hell is wrong with horses? Surely when these canals 1st started the boats were pulled along by horses? Therefore the 2 groups that should use the canals are boats & horses. Motorised vehicles, basically I wouldnt be allowed to keep my motorcycle on my boat, well I probably would, but I certainly wouldnt be allowed to get it off the boat & use it. I cant says as I recall any consultation going on with this manifesto, although I will admit I havent read everything on the internet, or read everything in print, to do with canal boats. Sorry wont be signing it, I feel it would be used as ammunition by a certain person to lord it over others, & god help those others if this person ever got any power. Linky to the manifesto

I used to run a B&B, & 2 of the toilets had macerators. I hate Hate HAte HATe HATE macerators. They block up way too easily. Even too much toilet paper will jam them up. & cleaning 1 of them out after it has jammed is the most disgusting task ever, especially when its someone elses poo. Now obviously if its your toilet, you wont be putting things down it that make them jam up, no ladies products, no pun intended. Even good quality toilet paper as oppose to cheapo crap, would jam them up. Repeatedly replacing the motors in them can get a bit pricey. I dont have a boat, & I'm pretty sure I would want a pumpout when I do get 1. I would also want a cassette/porta potti as a back up as well. What I DO know tho, is that I will never have a macerator. Way too much trouble.

ROFL

Haha. I too havent been able to see this, been trying for ages. But today I have woken up with a swollen eye, for no apparent reason, & the other eye twitching like a mad thing, & was able to see it straight away!

Not boat related, but... Whilst on a motorbike trip, A836 near Bettyhill Scotland Random photo from the internet Proper portapotti Another random pic from the internet

You lucky lucky people. Welcome to the forum. I thought I would have had a boat by now... still working on it. Hopefully by next Xmas instead

mmm a crane out & in every 14 days would prove rather expensive

On a different tangent, what happens if you get a widebeam, but put it on a canal that only has narrow beam locks? so I could genuinely travel up to the next lock. 14 day stay, & back again.

I came top in latin for 4 years running. Unfortunately when I did my O-level I got U - Unclassified. Probably cuz I copied the work of the 2 top people in class for 4 years running, & didnt have a clue in the exam!!!

They dont smell of anything. They will struggle with "proper dirty greasey" stuff. I think they like a hot temperature. But with that said, my washing machine is years old, hot & cold fill, we have no hot water feed, the heating element doesnt work, & so it only ever gets cold water. If something is really dirty I will use detergent, & if I need a hot wash I will boil a couple of kettles full & tip that into the machine before I start. Eco Balls thread

Still says this on their website

Well good luck with it, lets hope she doesnt find out what you're up to before it actually happens... dont go posting about it on the interwebz

I swear by that green slime, great stuff. 1 day cycling back from Blisworth tunnel back to Northampton I got 3 punctures, but only had 2 patches & no spare inner tube. Next time I tried it I got 9 punctures but only had 8 patches. I have since put that green slime in, & although I have indeed had a few punctures since, all I had to do was pull out the thorn (in 1 case a nail) & just pump the tyre back up, without needing to patch the innertube. As for those saying that shops mechanics hate the stuff, yes they probably do, I know motorbike mechanics hate the (similar) stuff & you have to warn them it's in the tyres, but come on, how hard is it to change a bicycle tyre? You really should be changing your own tyres on a bicycle. Mountain bike with big knobbly tyres to avoid getting punctures. No lycra, black jeans black tshirt black hoodie black boots black cap & when its cold black golfing gloves (ok the golf gloves are lycra & rubber)

Tee-hee more of this stuff from you please, much better than your usual drivel where you constantly argue with your other 'arf!

The Arab telephone? wierd thing to call it. "Fluvial", I have a fish tank, & the pump that sucks all the fish poo out of it is called Fluval

Ooh look a whole thread about dog poo! Once upon a time I was a traffic warden. Very often, several times a week, there would be dog poo right outside my front door, which I often stepped in. Anyway one day I saw who was doing it. The dog was on a lead & started doing a poo, the owner dragged the dog to right outside my front door. It was my next door neighbour & he was doing it because I was a traffic warden, even though he had never had a ticket (his crappy old van never went anywhere) Well I confronted him & he denied it, but it kept happening, & indeed I saw him doing this 3 times in the same week. So I confronted him again & told him in no uncertain terms to stop, or he would regret it. Next morning a nice fresh pile of dog poo right outside the front door, so I collected it up & shoved it through his letter box. He accused me the next day of shoving it through his letter box, & I confirmed that I had indeed done it, & every time he lets his dog crap outside my front door I will shove it through his letter box unti he stops. Well he did it 2 more times, & he got it back. He caught me the 2nd time & went ballistic, jumped in his van telling me he was going to Campbell Square (the local nick) to report me... I got on the phone to 1 of my traffic warden mates, cuz he had no tax on his van, & probably no insurance or mot, & it had bald tyres... that was the only time I ever saw that van used. While he was parked outside the local cop shop he got a ticket for parking on double yellow lines, then he got clamped for no tax, & then had his van lifted, which he never got back. I found out later his van got crushed, & he got nicked for driving whilst disqualified, no tax, no insurance etc. When he got out of prison he never spoke to me again, & I never found a pile of dog poo outside my house again.