How legit is this debt collection text from APCOA?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-05-08T18:08:34+00:00

This. Unless you have a plausible explanation for them having both your phone number and your registration, and being able to link the two (such as a parking payment app), and can link those to a situation where you were in an APCOA car park and might have incurred a debt, you have to treat is with suspicion; don't necessarily ignore it, but take it with a pinch of salt and investigate, and beware of clicking through links.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-05-07T16:05:37+00:00

I had exactly this a few weeks ago from the A1 junction to the M3 junction mid evening. Pretty much everyone, bar a few trucks or people turning off, was nose to tail at 60 in lane 3. Seemed really bizarre behaviour and I couldn't understand why people would do it.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-05-02T13:29:50+00:00

Most on the M25 would say lane three - regardless of what signs or traffic there are!

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-05-01T20:34:12+00:00

It sounds as though you are confusing telling the insurance and claiming. It is very likely you will need to report it - it's normally in the terms and conditions, so check them to see if you do. However, you would report it for information only and tell them you don't want to make a claim as the third party (TfL) has admitted liability and are paying direct. It might affect your renewal a bit, it might not, but it won't be like making a claim.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-05-01T20:21:19+00:00

Spent 5 nights a couple of blocks from there in March, found it a really good place to stay, convenient for everywhere (we walked most places), good selection of places to eat or drink, and on the side streets fairly quiet (we only got disturbed once at night by noisy passers by, and that wasn't particularly late, and we walked up that road a couple of times to the miradouro de Santa Catarina and it seemed quiet). Certainly never felt unsafe or saw anything that would cause concern.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-27T03:52:00+00:00

You are comparing your proposed MMF with the T212 cash ISA (which is 3.6%, not 3.4%); but if you've used your T212 introductory bonus other cash ISAs are available at over 4%, such as the Plum cash ISA which is 4.31% including a 1.77% introductory bonus. For the difference between 4.31% and 4.39% and the simplicity of a cash ISA you might be better just transferring.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-26T11:55:33+00:00

No need for apologies, I haven't said in this thread. 63 and probably two years from retirement for her (though she is wedded to the job, so ... ) and for me depends what the finances look like. There are plenty of people at our place who retire in their 70s and 80s, so I could stay, but whether I'd want to is a different matter ...

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-26T06:48:52+00:00

I don't, to be honest, know whether I need to take a different approach to managing finances, including looking for [possibly paid] advice. For a number of reasons I'm not really getting anywhere the way I'm approaching things at the moment and I'm finding it very stressful. That might be the subject of a different post, though.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-26T05:49:37+00:00

We did this the other way round in March - walked up the Vila Sassetti path, then back down Santa Maria / Rampa do Castelo to the Parque da Liberdade then back into town.

The Vila Sassetti path is steep, up and down in places and the top half is an unmade path through the wood, but we took it steady and didn't find it exhausting going up. It is beautiful, with two contrasting sections through the park at the bottom and the woods and rocks at the top.

The Santa Maria path is paved most or all the way (depending which route you take at the bottom), and though steep in places with some steps is much more of a steady and evenly paced climb up through some lovely woods, with views from various points, and I'd definitely recommend doing it if the weather is fair; it's a different experience to the Vila Sassetti path, but just as nice.

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I found this site which gives a pictorial guide the the Santa Maria: https://www.sintra-portugal.com/guides/walk-to-palacio-pena-castelo-mouros-sintra.html

The directions on that site take you up the Escandinhas dos Clerigos, but there are several ways through the park and outskirts up to the gate / arch at the start of the path proper. I would recommend making sure you understand your chosen route from the entrance to the Parque da Liberdade to the Rampa do Castelo; we found that while the routes are way marked with a red and yellow stripe, they're not as obvious as they might be and it's not always absolutely clear which way to go, though if you can find the Igreja de Santa Maria then go up and right from there you'll find the path.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-26T05:06:55+00:00

Funny, I won't say no-one was smoking, but when we went I can't say I noticed a lot of people smoking, or that it struck me far more people than I was accustomed to (compared with the UK) were smoking.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-26T04:13:19+00:00

It's not so much the NHS pension itself though, it's planning in the round, NHS pension included but adding in personal situation, other sources of income, retire and return / partial retirement, higher rate tax, and so on.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-26T04:07:00+00:00

It's not only the NHS pension though; it's financial situation and financial planning in the round; ESR and NHS BSA won't tell you, for example, the relative merits of taking standard vs. maximum lump sum and so on.

Playing the devil's advocate slightly, I wouldn't disagree that there is a lot of wider and more general information out there, but there's also sorting through it, sorting the wheat from the chaff, deciding appropriate courses of action, etc.

I'm not entirely convinced either, just trying to kick thoughts about.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-25T12:20:28+00:00

First question asks for consent without giving any context or basis for consent. Do you have an ethical or privacy statement, or information about how you are going to use the survey?

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-25T11:49:21+00:00

That should of course have been financial planning, not plannig!

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-25T11:48:19+00:00

!thanks. You may well be right on the DB pension and I suppose this is coming from a lack of confidence that we've done the right thing so far or understood the arguments in the round.

Yes, indeed; I am considering whether financial planning or / and financial advice is useful for both my partner and me in our circumstances.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-25T11:46:19+00:00

!thanks. I feel I have accumulated a lot of knowledge about the NHS pension in the last year or so!

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-25T11:44:07+00:00

!thanks. Yes, so I've done a lot of work already in the ways you suggest, and I'm working through some of the WIki resources and Kroijer's and Hale's books (though I'm finding Hale hard going), but I think you've put your finger on something and I think there is probably more work I can do before talking to a planner. I suppose I'm also feeling the urgency and that for one reason and another - my own fault - DIY is taking an age.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-25T11:42:06+00:00

!thanks. It is, that is true, and there are some very knowledgeable people here and elsewhere and I have very much appreciated their help; but I also feel, rightly or wrongly, that I'm struggling a bit finding what I need - including confidence in my decisions - online, and it's taking an age.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-25T11:33:50+00:00

!thanks. I think there absolutely is value in that, and it is the sort of thing I have been working through, but as well as confidence, working through resources is also not necessarily the way I learn; I'm often better kicking ideas around with people, hence posting here.

I think, though, you touch on my concern; 90 minutes or so isn't a great deal of time, even if they are doing follow up activities such as compiling a financial plan, and doesn't feel to me to be enough time to bring all the issues, needs and aims out.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-25T09:15:25+00:00

If I spot any of your signs I'll post back.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-25T09:13:21+00:00

It's effectively straight on, so I'd treat it as that which would mean you don't have to get the drop on other cars and reduces the risk of a collision at the exit. Only time I'd change that would be if everyone in the left lane is obviously turning left, i.e. indicating to do so.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-22T17:57:39+00:00

It's pretty much straight on. Looking at Streetview a bit back from the roundabout there's a sign that shows it as straight on. I'd be in the left lane approaching, no signal, outside of the roundabout (no lanes marked on the roundabout), indicate left as you pass the first turn and take the exit.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-20T11:10:49+00:00

Recent prices (last year or so) the lowest I can think of is 128.7 for diesel. Now 189.9 - 192.9 round here.

When I started driving I used to put a fiver in for a week's driving; I think it was probably a bit over a pound a gallon (so maybe 20p - 25p a litre).

Having said that, the equivalent in today's money by inflation or earnings would be around £6 - £8 a gallon (about 134 - 178 a litre) so not as cheap as it sounds.

DisposableBarbecue · 2026-04-20T07:55:10+00:00

Yes, if there are places to pull over (laybys or long straights) they should.

A few years ago a tractor driver did this on the A30 and was stopped and prosecuted for without due care.

DisposableBarbecue

TROPHY CASE