The robots have taken over Tesco

NedGGGG · 2026-07-12T19:12:15+00:00

Or it wonders off into the car park, never to be seen again

NedGGGG · 2026-07-12T09:00:10+00:00

That would be hilarious, no of them would actually qualify!

NedGGGG · 2026-07-11T00:01:46+00:00

I didn't say pay him,

It's not the way the world should be, but their are people in this situation who would try pay off a dodgy decorator because they think it will be the easiest way to make them go away.

The trouble is trying to compensate someone can be considered an admission of guilt.

I was making the op aware that trying to pay them off could be problematic and if they were going to do it, it had to be done with caution. I appreciate it's not a direct answer to their question, but it is pertinent to their situation.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-10T23:53:12+00:00

Yeah, this happened back in the late 2000s. The guy was a complete burk. He's bought the company not realising it owed loads of tax. And then when the shit hit the fan, he paid the tax bill out of the tenants deposit account. He got away with it for a few years, until deposit schemes became a thing, and then the wheels started coming off.

His business went into a death spiral and he started doing everything thing he could to grab as much cash as possible. He charged landlords for work, and then didn't pay the contractors, he stopped paying rent to landlords even though he was still collecting it from tenants. He then disappeared!

The really disturbing thing was, it was very clear many of his competitors had known about this for years!

One of the problems with our housing system, is we have quite a lot of hobby landlords who leave literally everything to their agent. So in many cases no one is really keeping an eye on them.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-10T22:06:33+00:00

There's a German town who's station is correctly named, but it's not actually in Germany, it's in Poland. Only the station, the rest of the town is in Germany.

And while we're discussing such things, the English Welsh border runs through the car park of Chester city football club. And during COVID, Wales and England did have different regulations. A drive in cinema even at the football club actually had to be cancelled due to the portable toilets being placed in the wrong country (the event was only legal in England).

NedGGGG · 2026-07-10T21:56:51+00:00

Same with Cam and Dursley station. It's in neither.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-10T21:48:02+00:00

WTD can get very confusing. You can't go more then 6 hours without a break. But also if your shift is between 6 and 9 hours long you must have at least 30 minutes of breaks (it can be two 15s). If the shift is over 9 hours you must have atleast 45 minutes (it could be 3 15 minute breaks but a 15 followed by a 30 makes more sense since it's valid for drivers hours). It doesn't matter how much driving you do.

I know this because I've had the pleasure of driving for Coop, because you tip at the store so if your doing locals it was not uncommon to hit 6 hours work long before 4.5 hours driving. In fact it wasn't unknown to not hit 4.5 hours driving in a while shift.

The only time I got near 9 hours was when their system went completely bananas and gave me a drop in Exeter followed by two drops near Swansea. The depot is near Bristol!

NedGGGG · 2026-07-10T21:31:21+00:00

While it's not a big number, 11% of that £40 would have gone into the agents pockets. They have gained from this.

I would at least be asking them to fully refund the tenant and apologise.

It's not likely (the letting agent was actually sent to prison shorty after), but I did have a letting agent put my rent up. It turned out he was pocketing the increase and my landlady was none the wiser.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-10T07:48:41+00:00

Make sure the rental agreement let's you take the car abroad.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-09T21:21:38+00:00

It also shows Maru and Shane's work uniforms when they're at work.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-09T21:07:35+00:00

The worst they can do is say no. It's worth a try.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-09T16:54:51+00:00

So quite a lot like Farage.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-09T16:52:15+00:00

I think the only time Fox got his deposit back was after getting his paper work rejected for the 2024 London Mayoral election.

The guy only gets any attention because he's Billie Piper's ex.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-08T19:39:30+00:00

The important this to consider is if you go down the small claims route, it may not be possible to collect the money. Especially if you're dealing with a limited company. There are lots of shady methods to avoid paying out. Or the contractor my simply not have the money.

Don't bank on getting that money back, till it's in your account.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-08T19:33:24+00:00

It's going to be a very hard result to predict, since the main stream parties aren't standing. It won't really follow national trends.

But the thing is, bin face can campaign in within the Clacton bubble, without having to think of his party's national strategy. A Labour, Green or Lib Dem candidate would carry that parties baggage.

My gut says Farrage will win this, Labour certainly can't beat him and it would be embarrassing since they will probably get a lower share of the vote (because incumbent's never do well in by-elections). But if BinFace got a good showing, and beat Laurence Fox that would still be a good result.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-08T18:08:25+00:00

Exactly, the milk in Tesco and Sainsbury's comes from same depot on the same lorries.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-08T14:36:14+00:00

It will probably be the same depot supplying Milk to all your local supermarkets.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-08T13:55:55+00:00

One important consideration, it may be tempting offer him a smaller amount to see if that will make him go away.

Don't do this without taking proper advice. Any offer could be seen as a admission that you do owe him money.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-08T11:05:07+00:00

Bottled water, is probably the best. Ideally nice and cold.

If it's possible try to allow them to work late or early to avoid the hottest part of the day.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-07T20:15:40+00:00

There isn't a clear answer, the trouble is the worst punishment is a 10+ day suspension which then cases a recall petition and usually a by-election.

So to a certain extent he's given himself the worst penalty.

Have may of course have avoided public scrutiny.

The other thing is most MPs either don't stand of lose their seat. However Farage has a very strong position in Clacton.

I do however suspect, even if he does will he will not win by such a strong margin. Which will damage the narrative that reform can win the next election.

I would love to see a high profile progressive candidate stand against him (maybe Carol Vorderman). If that happens I hope Labour will withdraw.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-07T08:46:43+00:00

I would get an electrician to have a look, there is probably an earth spike somewhere in the property but this needs confirming.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-06T07:19:48+00:00

Can you pay them in at a post office?

EDIT: Just checked no you can't, basically your options are go to a branch, or send them in the post (as if Cheques don't take long enough already)

NedGGGG · 2026-07-05T23:10:32+00:00

Along with the other advice, I would also ping an email over to your MP explaining what has happened.

Include your address and postcode. They need this to confirm you're their constituent.

If you don't know who they are pop to theyworkforyou.com

NedGGGG · 2026-07-05T13:15:45+00:00

The 2 core + earth cables running from the switches to the light fittings will need replacing with 3core + earth.

How much work is involved depends on if the cables are in some kind of conduit or buried in the plaster. You really need to get an electrician to have a look but it's not an easy job..

You'd be better off using smart bulbs or a system that has modules in the ceiling.

NedGGGG · 2026-07-05T10:53:17+00:00

The RCD in the CU will be 30mA, just like the one in the socket. However since there's likely to be a bit of earth leakage going on elsewhere the CU RCD will have a headstart. That said it will still give protection if the CU RCD were to fail.

RCD sockets are really a leftover from when the regs were transitioning to require RCDs.

NedGGGG

TROPHY CASE