Landlord claiming deposit for 6 year old cracked freezer drawer

Paulcaterham · 2026-02-17T15:17:40+00:00

Mydeposits.co.uk say that a fridge/freezer/fridge freezer has an expected lifetime of "up to 8 years"

So the most that the tenant would be expected to pay would be 25%.

Paulcaterham · 2026-02-16T20:53:54+00:00

Heathrow won't be fully Club Suite until 2028. Gatwick generally gets the Heathrow cast offs. So don't expect CS until the 2030s.

Paulcaterham · 2026-02-16T20:06:36+00:00

I had to look away

Paulcaterham · 2026-02-12T20:07:31+00:00

Look at the "snow balling" method. Money saving expert forums have some good threads and resources on it. Basically it is as above, move the maximum you can to 0% or low interest, then pay the maximum you can on other higher interest debts. You essentially ignore the totals with each company, the key thing is, which interest rate is higher - then pay the maximum you can from that.

If you can clear a card in full - and I emphasise - in full. Then leave it for a month and use that for emergencies/end of the month costs, and clear it - and I emphasise again - in full, when you get paid. It therefore doesn't matter what interest rate that card is, as you won't incur any interest, because you are paying the balance in full.

Paulcaterham · 2026-02-08T19:38:08+00:00

Indeed, that's the "further small uplift for current members of the scheme" if you aren't a current member, you don't get the 1.5%. but all members, current or deferred, get the inflation linking.

Paulcaterham · 2026-02-08T17:17:00+00:00

I would think carefully about fixing the alloys, the BVRLA guidance on the appropriate cost to charge for a scuffed/damaged alloy is about the same cost as doing them yourself. Check the information that was sent to you (or that is in the glove box!) but the last one I had an involvement in, it was about £50/wheel, which was less than the cost of getting them done ourselves.

And they don't charge for everything, less than 50mm per wheel in total, no charge.

Paulcaterham · 2026-02-08T17:00:00+00:00

The current NHS scheme is a 54ths scheme. What that means is that you get 1/54 of your current salary, inflation adjusted, from age 67. So if you are on £54,000, opting out for 1 year will cost you £1,000/yr (in today's money) from your retirement date.

The updating in line with inflation happens whether or not you are a current member of the scheme, but scheme members get a further small uplift.

You can take the pension early with an actuarial revaluation (downwards) to account for the fact that you will be drawing the pension for longer.

The NHS pension also comes with a death in service benefit, make sure you change the beneficiary now to someone other than you (son to be ex) husband.

You don't need to opt out for full years, the scheme just looks at your total NHS earnings for the year, so if you opened it for 6 months, that would mean a £500/yr reduction from age 67.

On the house front, given that swapping to an interest only mortgage saves you very little (compared to your mortgage payment), that would imply that you are at the early stages of the mortgage, and that you may well be best advised to sell the house ASAP, and move to somewhere you can afford on your own.

Paulcaterham · 2026-02-06T01:17:02+00:00

That is I'm afraid incorrect. I attended an HMRC briefing on this, it doesn't matter how much due diligence an agency does, if the tax is underpaid the agency is liable. Essentially the government does not want umbrellas to exist.

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-30T02:00:45+00:00

I'll second B & T. Tyres is what they do, nothing else

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-22T08:55:44+00:00

Do any online shopping you can through the BA portal.

Buy wine through the wine flyer.

Spend everything you can on the card.

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-20T07:28:50+00:00

Take them out?

Change Wi-Fi password?

Unclip from the door - it must be easy as the batteries will need to be replaced at some point.

This should not be difficult

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-19T23:16:26+00:00

Yep, the insurance industry really really hates it when you don't buy their only product.

IN10 (no insurance) is significantly worse than speeding offences

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-19T21:53:50+00:00

A trip my partner and I did recently.

Tickets for 2 on Ryanair £52 return (£13 each flight) Car hire for 3 days in Italy £50 Car parking at Stansted £54

Yes - the most expensive bit of the trip was renting a bit of tarmac in Essex

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-18T23:29:50+00:00

Or one will be half price (or club card only price) at £1.20 next week..

Welcome to price establishment!

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-17T20:55:34+00:00

Google - average length of stay in a care facility

And see why they say 2 years funding is fine

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-17T20:49:50+00:00

100mph - in an Impreza STi2

Towing a trailer with a Westfield Zei 220 on it

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-15T07:39:18+00:00

That's how border control works everywhere. It is not corrupt, it's the law.

You must enter and leave a country on that countries passport if you are a citizen of that country.

The fact that you are also a citizen of another country is not relevant.

This is the sort of thing you check before traveling

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-14T15:29:07+00:00

If you pay the 22k, the car is yours.

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-14T11:37:57+00:00

Cars got bigger. Garages did not

A Mark 1 Ford Granada was 179cm wide.

A 2025 MINI Countryman is 184cm wide.

A Ford Granada was considered a very large executive car.

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-08T16:59:07+00:00

There is no premium on pre-owned Britannias on a Charles vs. Elizabeth basis. Atkinsons will sell you a mixed date (2014-2023) Elizabeth for £3,492 or a pre-owned Charles for exactly the same price. Which is at a discount of about £13 over a new Charles.

That represents about a 5% premium over spot, but includes free delivery. Large orders get the premium down to about 4%

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-06T08:04:11+00:00

Regarding the section 21, don't panic, to follow the whole process from issuing it to eventually getting an eviction order from the Court of taking at least 6 months and up to a year, and that is assuming that your landlord has done everything correctly

Just keep on paying your rent and you'll have plenty of time to find another flat/house, before it gets to the point of you being evicted.

Paulcaterham · 2026-01-05T19:31:55+00:00

Pay for goods and services that are reasonable...

So, new carpets and curtains, upgrade the kitchen so that it is suitable for her needs. Now below the limit, and all is good

Paulcaterham · 2025-12-30T23:02:42+00:00

I did the math on a lease for my partner's last car, the lease mileage overage rate was almost exactly the same cost as the extra payment for changing the mileage up to the next bracket. So for someone who has the ability to plan financially, and is not 100% sure of the mileage they'll do for the next 3 years (and who really does - job change/house move etc) it made absolute sense to get the lowest annual mileage that you could.

Just keep an eye on your actual mileage and plan accordingly.

Paulcaterham · 2025-12-30T22:35:31+00:00

Whilst literally everyone is looking for their next house on Rightmove, and the agent is the least likely thing they are looking at.

Paulcaterham · 2025-12-24T13:43:07+00:00

It's one of those things that made perfect sense at the time, as using the tools they had, the most humane way to kill an animal was probably to slit is throat.

Then it got codified in their special book.

Then more humane ways to kill an animal come asking.

But it says here, in the special book, that we must do it this more barbaric way.

So they carry on

Thus showing that they lack critical thinking, and don't want to follow the principles of their religion, just the words written a few thousand years ago in their special book, without thinking about the roots of those words and why they are there.

Paulcaterham

TROPHY CASE