Info and forum posts by 'simon1'

RE: Hohashop.com - is this real ?

Don`t visit this site - it contains a virus!

RE: PC World offers `free` laptop with Orange broadband

Orange have made a mistake re the 24 months minimum subscription, it is actually ONLY 18 months.

RE: Sony 55" RP TV only £999 with FREE 5YR G`TEE (was £1499)

Couldn`t agree more with two posters above. Looking at many similar sized lcd`s & plasma`s - no contest.

This set is 1080p (over 6 million pixels), contrast ratio 10,000:1 and response time 2.5ms.

In contrast, the average is 5,000:1 and 8ms.

JL have just added some more stock - 4 LEFT NOW - HURRY IF YOU WANT ONE

RE: Sony 55" RP TV only £999 with FREE 5YR G`TEE (was £1499)

Could be worth trying you nearest JL store - it`s the same price in store.

I`ve just returned from Currys at my local retail park where it was being fed a HD signal - the picture was awsome! The price not so (£1499).

RE: Sony 55" RP TV only £999 with FREE 5YR G`TEE (was £1499)

Well thats your opinion and I doubt you`re speaking from experience.

I`m actually upgrading from the 50" Sony KDFE50A12, which I`ve had almost 18 months (cost £1200 then). I`ve been very pleased with it, but this 55" is even better.

It out performs many lcd`s and plasmas and has a contrast ratio of 10,000:1 and a response time of 2.5ms.

Only 2 left now.

Sony 55" RP TV only £999 with FREE 5YR G`TEE (was £1499)

This has to be bargain of the century.

Plus, it`s from a trusted retailer, John Lewis.

RE: Very cheap car on Ebay

He says that he`s in Ireland, and finds it difficult to drive a right handed vehicle. WHAT??

They drive on the same side in Ireland as us here in England.

Sudoku Handheld Electronic Card Game was £34.99, Now £4.99

Just bought one for the wife http://www.play.com/play247.asp?page=title&r=GADG&title=688974&p=439&g=539&pa=rgnec

RE: Consumer rights - Your opinion please

I think you should be ok if you have any other evidence that points to you being the legal owner, such as original box or owners manual.

RE: Has ebay buyer ripped me off?

He seems to be genuine. He`s emailed me appologising for the paypal problem and says he has sent a cheque today instead.

I won`t relax until the cheque is cleared though.

RE: Has ebay buyer ripped me off?

Link here

This item was edited on Saturday, 5th November 2005, 23:22

Has ebay buyer ripped me off?

I had a printer listed on ebay with the price starting at £29.99 or `Buy it Now` for £49.99. In the early hours of Thursday morning, someone bought and paid for it - £49.99 with Paypal.

The address was unconfirmed, so I checked his feedback first. It was `91`, and he`d been trading since Oct 2003. Feedback was good, except for the most recent, which read "paypal payment charged back by ppal, doesnt reply to emails - avoid scammer!"

However, underneath that coment, a follow up was posted, "all sorted now, user had a paypal problem, all sorted, please ignore above!"

After confirming his address with 192.com, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and I sent out product later that day. Lastnight I received an email from Paypal, "It has come to our attention that you may have recieved potentially unauthorised funds in your PayPal account. We have initiated an investigation into this event. In the meantime, we have placed a temporary hold on the funds in question until the investigation is complete. This temporary hold will show as a deduction in your available balance. In the meantime, you are free to continue transacting using your PayPal account."

I`ve emailed him and I`ve emailed Paypal - no reply yet.

He bought dvd`s from two separate buyers on Thursday and left them feedback on Friday. I`ve been in contact with them and it appears the same thing has happened to them.

The seller posting the feedback comment above says he got paid in the end, but I`m not that sure.

RE: Quick Ebay problem need help (sorry)

There is a reason why cheque is ok, but not paypal in this situation.

If your address is unconfirmed, the seller is not protected from a chargeback. ie. If the card used to make payment was stolen or cloned, the seller would have the cost of the item deducted from his/her paypal account. This can happen weeks or even months after the transaction.

There is no risk to the seller if they`ve been paid by cheque.

It`s not always possible to get confirmed status for your address, therefore some sellers will make allowances. It depends on the type of item and it`s value.

RE: Lawn Mower Advice?

Just my 2p worth.

I have a `Flymo` branded petrol lawnmower (not the hover). Because of the excellent build quality and plastic body, the mower looks and works like new (this is 13 years after buying it).

I have not had a single problem with it. I think I only ever topped the oil up once and I have only just bought it`s first replacement blade (I was surprised to still get).

I only have smallish lawns front/rear - standard sort of thing with modern housing estates - but I would never go back to electric. It it such a faff on plugging it in through an open window and having to contantly watch you don`t go over it. Plus a petrol is a lot stronger and can cope with tougher, longer grass and weeds.

For the same reasons, I chose a petrol strimmer. £69 from B&Q. The surprise is that it`s only a tiny bit heavier than an electric one.

RE: Balls of steel...worst programme ever ?

I must be very odd then, because I thoroughly enjoyed the programme - save for a couple of bits.

The bit with the dog poo on the pelican crossing button was funny (providing it wasn`t real dog poo). I would not condone the use of real poo.

I found the "annoying devil" funniest. The first week he layed what was supposed to be dog turds across the full width of a public footbridge. It streched about 2ft from front to back, so that you could not simply step over.

This week, he had a car. He was at the front of a que of about 25 vehicles, driving deliberately slow (about 10mph). The joke was that the vehicle directly behind him was a tractor - so everyone would blame the tractor.

I appreciate that some viewers might find the programme distasteful, but I`m sure there`s worse than this.

RE: Mr Bronson RIP

Sad news indeed. I remember him in Grange Hill, but most recently in Auf Wiedersehen Pet. I`ve just been watching the first series which was based in Germany. He plays one of the bosses. He has a most convincing german accent.

Does anyone know where he got this from? I mean, it`s like he must have lived there.

I used to fear him when I was small, but as I got older, I looked up to him.

Excellent actor.

RE: Empire Direct

Superb letter. Well constructed and well worded. Any reasonable company should now refund immediately. You have given them two opportunities to repair - more than I would have.

I don`t know why manufacturers bother having technical contacts (email/telephone), as they are rarely of any help.

I had a problem with a Sony Tv & Sony dvd recorder - wrote to the MD of Sony in the finnish. He got their top technical guy to travel 200+ miles to see me and resolved the problem.

RE: need a washing machine - recommendations please?

I used to work for an independant electrical retailer years ago. Went on a training course at Miele HQ, where we were given a demonstration on their products.

1600 spin machine, spinning at full speed had a 50p coin resting upright on top of the machine. Remained upright for the full duration of the cycle.

Incidently, many don`t know, but you can buy Miele fitted kitchens - units, cupboards, etc. That`s if you`ve got ten`s of thousands of pounds.

I would agree with the geman makes usually being the best, although I`ve heard that some Bosch machines are now made in Turkey (not well known for quality).

I personally have all AEG domestic appliances - very well built.

I bought all of them from John Lewis department store at different times - they were actually cheaper than the cheapest online places, and they give 2 yr gtee as standard + free delivery.

RE: flueless fires

Yes you can buy flueless gas fires. They will be more expensive to buy than regular gas fires, but are cheaper to run. This is because they are completely sealed and run at almost 100% effiecency(sp).

There is no comparison between gas and electric fires - gas gets my vote every time. Its the `real` thing and its much cheaper to run than electric.

RE: Speeding Ticket - Should I accept fixed penalty or go to Court?

Mark has completely missed the point, when responding to my comments.


Quote:
Driving without due care and attention?

Not seeing a 40mph sign (that wasn`t there) is hardly `driving without due care and attention`


Quote:
Thats why the cameras are set at 10%+2mph!

The point was that I`m caught at 1mph over the 40pmh limit. Of course the camera was set at slightly higher than 30mph.


Quote:
Police and the courts act independantly... thats why people can be found not guilty, otherwise we wouldnt have a judicial system in the United Kingdom.

Untrue, emergency service vehicles have to abide by the Highway Code, and the Road Traffic Act just like all other road users. There are certain exclusions when they are exempt, however if there is an accident they are always held to account... infact i know of a Fireman, who was successfully prosecuted for `Dangerous Driving`.


"They seem to be clued up around Middlesborough. It wasn`t too long ago that either 1 or 2 of their force got off because the signs warning of upcoming speed cameras had the black bands around the signs drawn too thinly or that the signs themselves were too small or something. Hardly acting in the "spirit" of the law which is what we are all being asked to do..." posted by Flyer.

This is the area where I live, and exactly the point I was trying to make. Nothing to do with emergency calls.


Quote:
As already stated, I did accept mine!

Given the increase of speed cameras, and the revenue they provide, it won`t be long before our licenses are endorsed to the extent where we are banned or hugely penalised by our insurance premiums.

- I`d rather fight the first three points instead of the last three.

RE: Speeding Ticket - Should I accept fixed penalty or go to Court?

Quote:
ok, you seem to still be very defensive about the whole matter...

go to court and we will wait and see the result, but good luck.


In what way, Mark?

RE: Speeding Ticket - Should I accept fixed penalty or go to Court?

Dan

The point is that the portion of road where I was flashed always used to be a 40mph limit. I didn`t notice the one and only sign that a driver would need to see to be aware of such a reduction.

The highway authority/council have installed several camera warning signs along the road, which I did see. Having seen them, I stuck to around 40mph - beleiving this to be the speed limit in force.

My defence would be:

Insufficient (only one) and poorly positioned signage to inform drivers of a new reduced limit. The sign is actually on the corner of a junction, whereby it could easily be obstructed by a van or lorry waiting to pull out.

and

"By habit and repute" I believed the limit to be 40mph, having used the road regularly for the last 15 years.


Re: "But you were doing 41mph - still over the 40mph limit" Has anyone been fined for travelling at 1mph over a speed limit? I think it would be rather unreasonable, given the analogue equipment a driver has to rely on.

My problem is that with no funds for a solicitor, I probably have little hope of winning `any` such argument like this with the courts/police. And they know it.

In contrast, the police themselves have avoided charges of speeding on tiny technicalities, regardless of wether it was clear if they knew they were speeding or not.

If I had robbed a car, and was caught speeding, then I`d most likely get free representation by a solicitor.

RE: Speeding Ticket - Should I accept fixed penalty or go to Court?

To those that have suggested that I accept the fine/penalty points as I have done wrong, would you be so willing in the circumstances?

I`ve been using said road for last 15 years, where it was always a 40mph limit at the point where I was flashed.

They have taken down the standard circular 40mph signs and replaced with 1x of

This sign is about half the size of the previous 40mph sign and is placed at a different point to where the old sign was.

Speeding Ticket - Should I accept fixed penalty or go to Court?

Last week I was flashed by a mobile detector van while travelling along a main road, at 11am. The portion of road in question was 40mph (or a least I thought so).

The NIP (notice of intended prosecution) that came through the post claims I was doing 41mph on a 30mph road. I thought that stange, so I revisted the area where I had been flashed.

The road in question is mostly 30mph (where houses are on either side), then towards the end of the road, where it widens (no houses), a 40 mph sign was sited. It was after this where I was flashed.

I`ve been along this road frequently for the last 15 years, and this has never changed - untill now!

Having revisted the area today I have noted the following:

1. 3 or 4 small speed camera signs attached to lamposts (no limit marked)

2. Empty lampost (where the normal 40mph sign had been for years)

3. Small, red, rectangular sign (text only): "new 30mph limit in force" attached to different lampost.

This size of this sign is one which you would normally see placed underneath a regular road sign for additional info only.

I decided to enter this part of the road from the other direction - and what do you know? Great big, massive sign making a song and dance act about there being a 30 mph limit!

Fair enough. So why not anything even approaching this level of notice for travellers in the opposite direction?

I am really cheesed off at being caught out like this, as I regularly observe speed limits. I have had a clean license for over 5 years.

I feel the need to have this considered in court, rather than just accept a fixed penalty of £60 fine / 3 points. But my wife says I`m wasting my time and I`ll come off worse, because judges don`t like anyone who challenges these sort of things.

I would be grateful of any thoughts or experiences on this.

RE: How well do you know your road signs?

10/10 Yipee!

RE: pac numbers?

You need to transfer the original ORANGE number to one of the other networks PAYG sim cards - then transfer it to your new ORANGE contract.

RE: Free House Price Check

Very useful. Just checked my road - couldn`t beleive the price one house went for!

RE: Sagem myX-7 - irda or data lead

No problem

RE: Sagem myX-7 - irda or data lead

Fancy this:

http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=IR2000U

I`ve got one, which isn`t used anymore (only used 3 or 4 times). It is boxed like new, complete with drivers, instuctions, etc. It is the exact same one in `beige` - to match PC.

You can have it for £20.

RE: Amazon minor error - moral dilemma (advice appreciated)

jamesL said:

"So many bad things happen to us all in our lifetime.. I have been ripped off and treated poorly more times than I can mention..... SO if a happy "mistake" happens
be grateful and run with it.."


My sentiments, exactly.

The only time I would change this attitude, would be if I were dealing with an individual or a small business.