SAON Anthony O'Neill...Cowboy Builder, Plumber, Decorator...you name it; he can't do it!

This is the business card of a company that should arrive on horseback!  A bigger cowboy you will not find!

The specimen in question is Anthony O'Neill.  He has no website, no trace of him on Google, and I can only surmise he relies on being recommended by The Bath Store (That's now stopped) or by word of mouth.

He calls himself a plumber but says he can decorate and do building work too.  I didn't find out about the decorating and building as he was thrown off the job because his plumbing was a JOKE!

His card says General Builder...in reality; Generally incompetant!

5K was spent on a bathroom suite and tiles.  This idiot was getting 3K to install it. 

He was top of the list of plumbers on a recommendation sheet provided by The Bath Store.  I have had him removed from that list. 

Since he was thrown off this job I have had to arrange other plumbers and builders to repair and finish the work he messed up and to do work he could have had but didn't get.  They were all aware of him.  One of them told me that O'Neill had started a 40K extension and asked for half the money up front as he needed to buy his ex wife (!!) a new BMW.  naturally, he was thrown off the job halfway thru and the Airline Pilot who he was doing the work for employed the guy that I ended up employing to finish the job off.

O'Neill lost his driving license and relies on his wife dropping him off and picking him up until he gets it back.  He has no van and she arrives in a BMW...(BMW?  Hmmm I wonder if that's the one he bought with the upfront money...)  If she cant then he relies on whoever is helping him on a job.  If not, he walks all the way to the job...nice?

Stevie Wonder could cut tiles better.  In fact no sooner were the tiles up on the walls and the floor they had to come up.  Grouting was coming out.  He had put chipped tiles up and tried to fob me off with 'You won't see the chip once it's grouted' and even complained when he had to take two more off and put un-chipped ones up.

The icing on the cake was when he took a radiator off the wall and didn't cap it off.  The ceiling in the dining room was ruined by water leaking from upstairs.

He put together the new bathroom suite which, as anyone knows, when it is brand new and up to date, fits together like a jigsaw with the minimum amount of securing.  It was only two weeks after this prick was sacked that the cistern sprung a leak and an emergency plumber was called.  I wondered why it was leaking but then I started wondering HOW it could be leaking as Anthony O'Neill had glued every single piece together with a mastic sealant gun.  He had used Mastic Sealant on everything to such an extent he must have shares in it.  He had even sealed the cistern to the tiles behind it, not content with the brackets it hung on, meaning that the plumber had to use a hammer and chisel to remove the old one.  Naturally more tiles cracked behind the cistern and they were replaced, as were 9 of the floor tiles that had come loose, by a professional builder. 

O'Neill's personal life has a great impact on his work it would seem.  Just in case you are considering hiring him..(and if you are you should be lobotomized) ...every day began with a 30min to one hour rant about his life, previous evening, daughter from hell etc...some of which are...

1. According to him his wife Sally (The SA in SAON...say no more) rings him 10 times a day and he says he cant be bothered to answer her as she moans all the time (I know how she feels).

2. His wife argues so much he walked out, slept in a B&B for four nights and wore the same clothes for 5 days.

3. Went to great lengths and great detail to tell me his wife was seeing another bloke behind his back and his marriage was over.

4. His Daughter (he sometimes called her 'step daughter') was causing loads of problems for him at home...

5. He went away for the weekend with his wife after they 'made it up'  His excuse was that she had bought tickets to see Mrs Browns Boys on stage.  This was after he said she had another bloke!  I asked him if the 'three' of them went but he didn't get what I meant.

6. He had a lift home one night and NO WAY does he walk....anyone would hire a cab if they had to get to work and had no other form of transport but he doesn't...because he is probably potless.

He then wasted another half hour with a stupid story about when he was in the army and training on Brecon Beacons he and three others had to kill a rabbit to eat so he came up with the idea of them all standing back to back, grab a leg each and walk, thus ripping the rabbit apart.

Fantastist!

I am now pursuing him through the small claims courts for money back.  I am coming for you cowboy!!!  There is only one certainty in your life O'Neill...and that is I am going to get money back from you to cover the cost of what it cost to repair what you have done.  I will get it from you one way or another.  If you don't believe it, look at the previous posts regarding the Mercedes!

WARNING!!

DO NOT HIRE SAON OR ANTHONY O'NEILL....YOU WILL REGRET IT!

This is where he operates from:

Courtesy of Google Maps

Notorious - Giovanni di Stefano...

Not Notorious in my opinion....He is a clever guy who tells it like it is!

A Day in the life of DVM

I am an early riser and my day starts at around 630am.

At the moment I live in East Sussex having been born in the tough part of Londons East End. West Ham was my birthplace and I still own a property there; it is the house I grew up in.

I have lived in Walthamstow, Chingford, Chigwell, Maidstone, Essex and in Paris.

When in London I always have Pie & Mash, a two and two.

Unfortunately, East London is looking more and more like Little Moscow now. All you hear are eastern europeans talking loud on their mobile phones. Blond surgically enhanced polish girls have all the shop jobs and nearly all the eastern european men are driving around trying to create accidents so they can make insurance claims and get more money. It comes to something when even the blacks and muslims feel outnumbered!

In East Sussex there is no hope of Pie & Mash so the smell of Fish & Chips is the thing that makes me smile down here. A trip to Brighton always cheers me up. Looking at the jewellery in 'The Lanes' is a favourite pastime.

I NEVER have breakfast in bed as my bed linen cost me a fortune. Breakfast is normally a large cup of builders tea with two sugars and two slices of Marmite on toast. Sometimes I have poached eggs on Bovril toast. The rest of the day I drink herbal tea and black coffee and diet coke.

I don't smoke and I have very little alcohol, perhaps a glass of wine with dinner now and then but sitting in a pub all night listening to other people roaring away about some rubbish in their life or expecting everyone to find their screaming kids funny or adorable is not my idea of a night out.

I like business lunches because that means someone else is paying for it.

I have a desk in an office but I tend to move around and work wherever I am.

I drive an S Type Jaguar. It's a superb car and I wouldn't change it for a new model. I also drive a top of the range customized Black Range Rover Sport. I don't like sports cars as they are driven by flash harry's or idiots who cant control them.

I own properties in Essex, London, Kent and Sussex. As long as the tenants pay me I leave them alone.

I go up to London on the Train from Tunbridge Wells but they have put the fares up and that really aggravates me. Sometimes it gets too crowded, especially if its a school holiday. It's full of mothers taking their kids out for free.

I am sure a lot of people have kids so they can claim off the state for them. Half the time, during school holidays, you see coffee shops and high streets full of women dragging kids around because they have no idea what to do with them. I don't know why these women have kids, apart from the Benefits system, as they are hopeless at looking after them.

I like proper cooked English food. Shepherds pie is my favourite and I make my own from a secret recipe. Every time I make it I am told it's the best. I do like a glass of champagne with my Shepherds pie and my Fish and Chips. I like a can of Coke with my Pie and Mash.

I like Italian and Greek food too and I have a couple of wonderful Lasagna and Moussaka recipes I keep to myself that have been handed down over the ages. I do not think you can beat a lively buzzing Italian or Greek restaurant in Italy or in Greece for a night out: not so much in the UK as they are clichéd.  I like very hot curries too, which I classify as English food now anyway, and I have a pint of Cobra with my Chicken Balti Ultra Hot Vindaloo.

I am very choosy about restaurants because you are normally sitting next to some riff raff who is half pissed or just talking loud about some fantasy so I prefer to eat at home or at my Hotel or if abroad then I tend to go to a locals 'off the beaten track need to know basis' restaurant rather than a tourist hotspot.

I read a lot. Crime thrillers, biographies, Antiques, Law and Criminology and Business books. I taught myself company law and accountancy in a month from reading some books on holiday.

I watch some TV but mainly news channels. I like movies and DVD's and also classic movies from the 50's/60's and 70's. I prefer older comedy to new stuff. Steptoe & Son, Rising Damp, Porridge, Only fools and horses and Birds of a Feather. Any movie with a criminal element or a horror is fine by me.

I listen to all different kinds of music. All the new stuff is just a load of crap. Bad copies of old songs or loads of kids with inflated egos and no talent. The 80's had the best music, and clothes, and the 70's were good.

I have computers but I like writing stuff down so I never go anywhere without a moleskin notebook or my trusty Filofax. I was a yuppy, and still am.

I am an agnostic. I do not believe that God can be proved to exist. I need to see something to believe it completely. Religion is just something created by someone who was a bit more clever than the others and its a way of controlling people. I heard the phrase 'Jesus Saves' and having seen his property portfolio, he certainly does.

Religion has caused more wars and deaths than anything else.

I believe in Money and Power. That's all you need.

I have a team of people who work for me. I have a couple of minders.Not ex SAS or ex coppers (as if!), my people are more capable than that!  I know a lot of people who 'society' would call criminals, ex bank robbers and cat burglars. A few of my people are ex Bouncers. I trust them more than any police officer or MP.

I have no fear of taking anyone on. No man woman or business. The Law doesn't worry me either. I am a believer in direct confrontation, in saying exactly what I think and I also believe in personal and direct retribution against anyone who tries to rob from me or make my life difficult.  I have a couple of minders who I use occasionally. Sometimes one has to have people moved out of the way so it's best to leave that to minders. Like I said, I don't favour the usual ex SAS or military, these are far more capable.

I have no interest in what anyone thinks of me, I don't need to be liked, I don't care if I am hated. I really don't give a toss. People can say what they like about me as long as they get my name right!

OAP Driving

The AMOUNT of old people driving like lunatics on the roads, especially in the south east like Kent and East Sussex is enormous.

There seems to be a belief that somewhere in the highway code there is a rule that it is permissable to park on a double yellow line, making it impossible to pass without the oncoming giving way, ESPECIALLY in the morning rush hour.  They wait until you are about to drive around them and wham, they open their fucking car door!!!  It is ALWAYS some old fucker, a coffin dodger, that is oblivious to the fact that there are other people on the road.

Whats more, one takes ones life in ones hands when parking in a car park like Waitrose or Asda.  These old bastards just get in their car (ALWAYS a hatchback) and just reverse or pull out, whether they see you or not.  They also stare at you if you happen to have pulled out before them, like you have jumped some sort of queue!!!

Another favourite tactic is to stop at the end of a road before pulling out onto the main road and wait for you to come along.  They wait and they wait and then, just as you get near them, they pull out at 5miles an hour in front of you.

Speed limits are for other people too.  They either drive at 30mph in a 50mph zone, or they drive like a maniac in a built up area.

NONE of them concentrate.  None of the CAN concentrate.  Their mind is filled with 'incontenance pads, hairnets, dogfood, incontinence pads, hairnets, dogfood, pills pills pills' and bang straight through a red light into turning traffic.

Get these bastards off the road at 70 and make them take a test again!!

Can we be quite clear that Indicators are to be used when non clairvoyant people are on the road with you, in other words, ALWAYS.  We don't know what you are doing, just like you don't.!!!

Secondly, there appears to be a fixation with Hazard lights.  It's as if switching them on will make us know what the hell you are doing.  Driving like a cunt seems to be the general rule. 
When people switch their hazard lights on it can mean one of two things:
1. You did it without knowing and are so blind and deaf you cannot see or hear the lights flashing and the clicking noise in your car, and
2. You will be braking suddenly and swerving off the road like a deranged twat to buy a packet of fags in the next two miles.

I am sure no one is interested in your 'Baby on board' signs, unless your baby is driving which, in some cases, would be an improvement.  the baby on board sign does not make anyone take extra care, drive slower or give you room.  It makes other drivers think you are not concentrating and therefore a fucking danger!  You are not the only person to have a baby, we are not interested in your child.

I do not care if a 'sexy driver' is driving. Nor do I care if 'a naughty grandma is driving' nor do I care if 'completely wild woman' is driving.  I only care if 'Driver knows how to drive and has passed a test and is taxed and insured and not prone to do her make up, talk on the mobile and play with the dog on her lap' is driving, ok?  I will not 'honk if I am horny' but 'I will get out and beat you around the head with a wheel brace if you cause me to have an accident'..

Virgin Media

It's the little things that make you mad.

How difficult can a company be?

You fill out a form online for some sim cards and you get to the part where it asks you to enter security password information.

'choose your security question'

I just clicked on mothers maiden name.

Then it asked me to enter security password.

So I entered her maiden name.  With me so far?  Simple huh?

Wrong!

'Error message! You Must include numerics!'

Who the hell has a name with numbers in?

Up pops an online help telling me that they can assist.

Their answer?............'You have to include numerics'

My answer?...........Hello O2, Orange, anyone else....

Victory!

Adam Palmer saw sense.....finally....it only took 8 months.  If it had just been me?  I would have been more direct!  Sometimes people want things done by the law so it takes time...nevertheless...here is the cheque...

Champagne time....anyone want to buy a car?  I have a nice Mercedes here....;-)

Shepherds Pie

DAVES SECRET RECIPE SHEPHERDS PIE

 

INGREDIENTS

2 Large onions - finely chopped

3 Carrots – finely chopped

1tbs Tomato puree

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Garden Peas (Optional)

550g Minced Lamb

5tsp Worcester sauce

2 Lamb stock cubes,

To taste Salt &, Pepper

TOPPING

700g Potatoes

2fl oz Milk

Method

Fry the onion until brown and add mince until softened, in a small amount of oil. Add the carrots and remaining ingredients together with seasoning and simmer for around 35 minutes or until cooked. Leave to cool for up to an hour, for the oil to rise to the top and skim.

Transfer to an ovenproof or microwaveable dish

Cook the potatoes and then mash with butter and milk and add seasoning to taste.

If leaving it to stand for a while add more milk to the mashed potatoes, then when heated up in microwave it keeps the creamy effect.

Put the mash on top of the mince. Pre heat the overn to Gas mark 3 (325 degrees) and put in the oven for 20mins. Take out the oven and serve.  Alternately remove from oven after 20 mins and leave until late when you can heat up in the microwave. You can add a bit more butter to the top for added crunch.

 

Serve with Verve Cliquot Champagne....(or use Moet or Lanson at a push!)

Is it a Law, or an Act?

Where does the Law of the land come from?

So many people are confined by "the law of the land".  Who's law is that?

Most of the things that control the population of the UK are Acts and not Laws.

Vehicle Licensing Act.  Road Traffic Act.  Acts of Parliament.  TV Licensing Act.  NONE of them are Laws.  They are Acts.  You have no legal duty of abide by an act.

It is the same with the unwashed brigade masquerading as

Ramblers.  I see these 'people' with their anoraks and their packed lunches of pork pies and hard boiled eggs, walking across fields and private land for no other reason than they believe they can.

They get no enjoyment from it.  They do it because they believe they can and it's the only way these interlopers can get any sense or feeling of accomplishment in their wasted lives, by trampling over other peoples land illegally.

These so-called 'public footpaths' were for the serfs to walk from A to B. They weren't for the public. The public have never walked anywhere - they've had horses and cars and things.

Do you really think the lord of the manor walked along a footpath? Of course not.

They were just for the serfs. Remember that prior to 1700 and something, nobody had any rights here anyway, they were all slaves.

But normal people walk down legal country lanes, or on public land.

Why do people have to trespass on not just my land, but any private land? And what kind of people go rambling? (Weird people!)

 People who do that sort of thing don't have an eye for beauty, they don't respect people's property. The majority of people who go rambling don't have any good taste. 

There is a pathway between two properties that I own.  Both the properties are empty, I use them for storage of some of my personal historical artifacts.  Also its a way of keeping important documentation away from the prying eyes of the nosey busy bodies who want to know everything about you.  Ramblers occasionally walk in between the buildings as somewhere, in the dim and distant past, some idiot said it was a public right of way.

I put a 6 foot iron gate up.  They climbed over it.  I filled the area with old fridges and freezers.  They climbed over them.

I got a few of my people to scour the areas for those little bombs that Dogs with badly trained owners leave behind and they collected enough to cover the pathway.  They didn't come over again.  They were lucky: it was going to be mantraps next time...

Let's see if they are still smiling after THAT!

0260 Cars Update - this is not an April Fool!

Today I replied to Adam Palmer's letter, just to let them know "the case has gone to court, you were too late, you can avoid the case by paying" etc....and decided to deliver the letter by hand.

Lo and behold, they were open, proudly showing off a car to some potential buyers. 

Most people would have driven off and posted it but I am made of sterner stuff.  In fact, I have always preferred direct personal action, face to face, or calling people on the phone than hiding behind email and letters....I prefer direct personal retribution too but that's another story.....

I walked into the showroom and saw Palmer in his office with three other people and the door shut.  I breezed in, he looked up, slight nervous look on his face I have to admit, I handed him the letter and he said, 'Aah, thank you very much!' and I left.

As I drove away I was laughing as I assume he thought I had given him the breakdown of expenditure....You know the one, the one that he asked for...the one that he already has...the one that he got Crowborough Coachworks to do an estimate for...

...Oh no, I gave him this......I will keep you updated....

Tunbridge Wells

8 flats for students. Communal lounge kitchen and bathrooms....

£800.00 per person per month.

 

 

White Flag or Delay Tactic?

A letter arrived from Adam Palmer of 0260 Cars the other day.

As you will know from my previous posts, 0260 Cars are being sued in the small claims court for £1,252.26 plus costs which they owe us for selling us a car that was not roadworthy and had a catalogue of work that needed to be done still outstanding at the time of the sale.  Scroll down for the full story or click the link: http://davidvanmoore.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/0260-cars-crowborough-catalogue-of.html

Unfortunately for Palmer, his letter was dated and posted outside of the time frame allowing him to
respond to avert legal action so...guess what...the clock is still ticking...tick tock tick tock.... and soon, Mr Palmer, you will be hearing from the court.

The consilliatory nature of your letter, your sudden willingness to 'resolve this matter amicably' all sounds like a delay tactic to me.  Furthermore you ask for a 'copy of the invoice paid to Mercedes highlighting the amount you are claiming for to consider the reimbersement'.

You already have that Adam Palmer...you see... You took a photocopy of it yourself  when I visited your office on September 14th 2012.

There is an air of inevitability about all this.  And the only way you can avert that inevitability Mr Palmer is to get your chequebook, grit your teeth, and write a cheque for £1,252.26 plus costs. 

Call me!  You have my number....I will give you the court costs figure....tick tock tick tock...

Parking Notice

ParkingNotice.co.uk

A very interesting and useful tool from http://www.getoutofdebtfree.org  

My Under-Standing

After I discovered the truth about law, corporations and legal fictions,  etc, I wanted to test the theories and put into practice what so many brave souls on the internet were doing and see if I could follow their guidance and help exit the matrix through understanding the hidden truths.

Warning if you're reading this and don't know what the hell I'm talking about, please stop right here, you need to wake up!

After I was fortunate to unwittingly contract with my local council for an alleged parking contravention, I happily started firing letters to them, and sworn affidavits playing the Strawman card, stating I didn't agree or consent to any acts, I wasn't around when the de facto government (corporation) enslaved the free people of this green and pleasant land, etc, etc, to no avail. Often falling on deaf and dumb ears, ignoring my requests and demands, sending my useless bits of paper (Notice to Owner), as they continued to persist towards controversy... and then it dawned on me, did I just put myself and my vehicle at risk?

So in a haste to understand what may lie ahead I frantically searched the net for possible bully boy actions bailiffs would take to steal my car. As most of the awakening sovereigns, I found it difficult to engage with my new self awareness and challenge the continued drag by the fictional world that was trying to keep me down. I found out that it's now common practice that bailifs drive around with APNR Cameras on their vehicles and can clamp you anywhere if your car triggers the camera! I also found some YouTube posts claiming that placing a Notice on the car would help deter them, so armed with this knowlege I designed my notice, placed it on my windscreen and was surprised at how effective it really was!


First success. Where did you get this?
After stopping on double yellow lines for a few minutes to drop off some paperwork at a friend's flat in the city centre, I exited the building to see 2 parking officers at the rear of my car. Upon approaching them, the lady officer started pointing at me saying I couldn't park here. I asked if she had seen the Notice on the windscreen and advised for her to go and see. As she read the notice, she called over the other male officer, who had written the parking ticket at this point and they both spoke silently to each other. The male officer then tore off the parking ticket from his pad and stuffed it into his trouser pocket. They both walked away without giving me a ticket! Result!

As I turned the car around in the street, the lady officer alone flagged me down, so I pulled over and got out of my car. She asked me where I got the Notice and to does it work? I replied "It's just worked on you, didn't it?" She turned out to be quite intrigued and very forthcoming, claiming that the tickets the council issue are all fake and can't be enforced anyway! She was genuinely interested and I advised her to wake up and gave her a list of websites and YouTube videos to watch and spread the word. I left feeling validated by my Notice and was happily confident that it seemed to work!

Second success. Who you gonna call?
A few weeks later I parked my car, again in the city centre, in a no return within 30mins parking bay across the road from the Building Society I was in. Inevitably my meeting ran well over to 45mins. As I was leaving the Building Society I could see 2 male parking officers at the front of my car, one of which was on his mobile phone. I can only assume that he was calling his superiors to seek help! I bet he never came across a Legal Notice on a car before! The road was quite busy with buses and taxis, which kept me from engaging with the parking officers. Once i found my way across the road back to my car, the 2 male officers had walked off and were already several yards away. Upon inspection of my windscreen, low and behold, no ticket! Result!

Third success. Will you accept the liability mate?
As you can imagine, my empowerment at this point was solid... but had I met my match? On a visit to pick up a item from the Post Office, I just parked my car on double yellows and went to the Post office to collect my parcel. On my return, which wasn't long, I found a large "meat head" CEO (Civil Enforcement Officer) at the front of my car. He didn't even allow me to speak and started his attack on my being with verbal aggression. I kept my cool, but I must admit this was hard to do, as this guy was big, mean and very intimating. He was having none of it! He just refused to engage in any civil conversation, and tried to railroad me with his dominance. So with a stern voice is said, "look mate, will you be happy if the Council was to accept a £10K liability because of YOUR actions?" "Are you really that important, that they'd accept the liability AND keep you in a job?" That struck a cord and I could see the wheels turning in his head. He replied with "you got 5 minutes to move ya f****ng car" as he walked away without ticketing my car. So did I meet my match... I think not!

Get your vehicle protected Now you heard my story, download your NOTICE and tell me yours! It's absolutley FREE and no registration required, all I ask in return is a donation to help fund this site. Thankyou, MT - Designer of the Parking Notice

Go to http://www.getoutofdebtfree.org and donate, and get your notice...the ultimate Pay and Display!!!

0260 Cars Update

Adam Palmer is heading for the Small Claims Court....oh dear oh dear...

Can I be 'palmer'd' off with a derisory offer which he claims he has been 'having some legal advice' about, based on a trade estimate from a friend?  No I cannot...

Amazing how he NOW sees the work neccessary but didn't deem it neccessary prior to selling the car.

I love the comment..."to settle the matter in full and final settlement"....it doesn't make sense as written English let alone business and legal sense....Does he think he is setting the rules of this? Is he Deluded or what?

The bell is tolling Adam Palmer, and it tolls for thee......The small claims court is hurtling towards you like an express train...and the time to save your reputation and business is running out...tick tock tick tock...

The Chapel-Mayfield

A Bargain at £790,000

Brighton...property is like gold

Two more properties snapped up in Brighton.

Tenants - How quickly they change....

Anyone who owns property and rents it out will understand what I mean when I say how quickly Tenants change.

At first, they are grateful.  Grateful that you will rent your property to them.  Grateful that they have somewhere to live.

They have glowing references (if they are too glowing they are fake!).

They pay their rent either on time or a day or so early.  They think this will impress you but here's a shock...it doesn't impress.  Paying the rent is EXPECTED!  It's part of the contract.

After a while, the rot sets in and then they start complaining.  They want new carpets, they want to have people stay for a few weeks (translated: move in) and they moan and moan about the little things.

One even rang to complain about damp in the conservatory, saying it was ruining her kids toys and a carpet.  We all jumped in the cars and headed over.  Why? Because damp is an issue that has a detrimental effect on the property (though it was never an issue BEFORE these people moved in, in fact, there WAS no damp prior to this.).

Damp? No. Dirty tenants? YES!
And a dead moth in the
 bottom right corner of the pic!

She even sent a few pictures of this so called 'damp' and I was very impressed with the dead moth on the floor in one of the shots!
See right --->

What did I find?  All the windows in the conservatory closed, radiators banging away full blast and a load of wet washing hanging over a clothes horse and the backs of chairs to dry!  That explains THAT!

Take my advice.

Give them nothing. Concentrate on the property.  The tenants look after themselves.  You don't look after them.  If they can't look after themselves why should you look after them?  Your only priority is the property.  Its condition and its welfare.  Look after it, your tenants won't.

If they continue to whine and moan, get them out, one way or another....

0260 Cars Ltd, Crowborough - A Nightmare on....Park Road

On the website of 0260 Cars Ltd in Crowborough, in amongst the photographs and flashy images, one finds this golden quote..."0260 Cars is a different concept in vehicle sales..."  I can personally vouch for that!

My partner saw a fantastic looking car in Crowborough during the French Market show in June 2012.  This was when Crowborough was sealed off and the french market arrived with their stalls.  The local businesses took the opportunity to show off their services and there, in the middle of the high street amongst all of the stalls, were two cars: an Audi and a Mercedes.  This was not an ordinary Mercedes, but a Mercedes Md CLK 55 AMG no less.  5.439 litre engine!  AND a convertible.  My partners eyes lit up.  This was her dream car.  Little did we know that what would follow would turn out to be a nightmare, in both financial and safety terms.

Two men in black shirts were standing next to the cars pointing at stuff and answering questions.  Not being a Mercedes fan I had no interest but after a few preliminary questions and a period of time thinking my partner decided that the Mercedes was for her.  One of the questions was 'Can you start the engine?' to which we were told no, as it was  market day and not allowed (?). Another question was "can we see the top up and down" but neither of them knew at that moment how to get the top to go up and down.  We then asked if it was a cam belt or chain driven car....but neither of them knew.  Although it was hardly an episode of Top Gear there followed a period of negotiation and a test drive was set for later that day after the town had calmed down from the Market and the cars could be removed. 



The test drive took place at 4pm when a Director of the Company, Adam Charles Palmer, came to the home.  He was one of the two men showing people the cars at the Market earlier.  Adam Palmer had been appointed a director of the company on the 6th of April 2011, the same day that the company had become 0260 Cars Ltd after a (sleight) name change.  Previously it was called 'Nought 260 Cars Ltd' so although the name change was only minor it is sufficient to make it a new company, a little like double glazing firms close down with hundreds of disgruntled customers only to open up next day as a slightly differently branded company with no responsibility to the previous company's customers.  Not that I am suggesting that this is the case here, I use that as only illustration of the name change.

During the test drive the parking sensors kept flashing.  Palmer said he was aware of it and that it "would be fixed by Mercedes" prior to the sale. The car had "only just been given to 0260 cars to sell so there were some checks to be done".  This was quite a surprise as it was up for sale on their Facebook page the previous month!  This is a screenshot of the advert on Facebook.  As you can see, it is up for sale a few weeks prior to us seeing this "only just been given to sell" car that STILL needed to be checked over.

Palmer went on to say that the car would receive a "clean bill of health" from Mercedes prior to payment but would require a £500 deposit to secure the car.  This was refused as a bad idea, in fact a warning light went off in my head.  Why put a deposit on something like this when we had no guarantee that the car would pass the stringent tests that Mercedes would put it through?  We said we would think about it and Palmer took the car away.

Over the next week negotiations continued and it was decided and agreed that my partner would buy the car if it went into Mercedes for a service, received a clean bill of health and the parktronic was fixed.

The sale took place on 22 June 2012 when, after being assured by Palmer that Mercedes had given the car the 'clean bill of health' and the parktronic had been fixed.  We were told that a couple of minor things had been done, a fuel filter and air filter, and a track rod end by Crowborough Coachworks, obviously friends of Palmers as he continued to quote them every time we subsequently met.  £13,268.67 was paid in full and the car was driven away.

A few weeks later we noticed some difficulty in starting the car.  It would not start until after a few attempts but then would rectify.  Then we noticed that the boot would not lock.  Irrespective of how one closed it or opened it, by sensor or by key, it would be very difficult to open or close.  In fact the handle of the boot appeared to be broken.  When my partner took the car in to 0260 Cars she was told "It is because you are standing too near to the car with your keys in your bag.  It will lock when you walk away from it", and also "the boot is definitely not broken".

While driving at some speed, although well below the speed limit, my partner lost control of the car on the dual carriageway near The Hop Farm in Kent on August 20th 2012, less than TWO MONTHS after buying it from 0260 Cars Ltd.  This was a very dangerous and potentially life threatening occurance as there was a lot of traffic.  The car had suddenly switched off and swerved out of control to a standstill.  The car had to be pushed out of the way of the traffic. Something had happened to the cars electrics.  It would not start.  After a few attempts it finally started 20 minutes later and the car was driven home at a very slow pace.  In calling Mercedes we were informed that the service center in Tonbridge would check the car over the next day.

After the Visual Health Check we got a call that informed us that a faulty sensor had failed and that it needed to be replaced.  We were then told that there were 'STILL' a number of issues that had not been dealt with from 'last time'.  When we queried this we were told that the last time it had 'come in' for a health check was when Adam Palmer had brought it in prior to the sale to us. THAT health check had a list of items that needed attention.  The health check I had done showed that:

1. Brakes were 85% worn at the front
2. Brakes were 50% worn at the rear.
3. Park Brake worn
4. Oil leak from Gearbox
5. Boot Handle not working
6. Wipers front smearing screen
7. Brushes worn on Front Roll Bar
8. Oil leak from Cam Breathers
9. Off Side cross strut brushes worn and split
10. Crank Sensor needed replacement (cause of near accident)

  

The problem is, items 1,2,3,4,5 and 6...

ALL appear on that vehicle health check that Adam Charles Palmer received from Mercedes ON JUNE 6th 2012, 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE SALE!!!

More importantly,

HE DID NOT HAVE THE WORK DONE PRIOR TO SELLING IT TO US BUT TOLD US SOME RUBBISH THAT IT HAD RECEIVED "A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH" FROM MERCEDES!!!!

And what about the 'Boot Handle Not Working' Adam Palmer?  What was it you and your guys came up with: 'you are standing too near the car with your keys'....??  You had ALREADY been told the boot handle didn't work...so what bullshit was that? 

In the subsequent months there has been much letter writing backwards and forwards between Adam Palmer and myself.  I have been in to 0260 cars on a couple of occasions to complain and so far all that has happened is Adam Palmer has offered us £489.52 against the £1,252.26 I am asking for.  He has had a quote for the works from his old friends at Crowborough Coachworks even though he was informed, right at the start, that we wanted the car serviced at Mercedes and ONLY Mercedes to carry out the work required.

Of course he whines that he should have been given a chance to rectify things before we got Mercedes to do the work but, what he fails to understand, or probably refuses to admit (which is more likely) is that he HAD the chance to do that PRIOR to selling the car: Mercedes gave him the visual health check and he ignored it. 

So generous am I that I am only asking Adam Palmer to reimburse me for the work that shows on the original Visual Health Check that he lied about, the one that outlined the work needed to be done to make the car in a saleable condition, the one he told us was a clean bill of health. I am not asking him for the grand total of £1600+ that has been spent on the car to make it roadworthy. I am only asking for the amount he lied about.

Lied may seem a very strong word to use but in this case it isn't. he had the paperwork, the health check from Mercedes, and he knew the car needed work done but STILL sold it saying it was 'clear'. Furthermore he hasn't realised yet that on the original sales invoice he states in the notes 'Car is being serviced by Mercedes'.

Adam Palmer is now facing the prospect of legal action unless he comes to his senses very soon. One way or another I intend to make Adam Palmer pay for his handling of this. This will be either by legal means or by him understanding that business is not done like this and realising the error of his ways, hands over the money he owes by good faith.

Should you decide to buy a car from 0260 Cars Ltd I hope you have better luck than we did. I am certain that this is an isolated incident....;-)

Please remember,

EVERYTHING YOU HAVE READ HERE CAN BE BACKED UP BY DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE AND RECORDINGS OF CONVERSATIONS COPIES OF WHICH ARE NOW HELD IN A SECRET AND SECURE PLACE.
THE ORIGINALS ARE HELD BY MY LAWYER.

EVERY CONVERSATION AND EVENT HAS BEEN DIARIZED.

THIS POST STATES THE FACTS AND THEY CAN BE VERIFIED.

THIS IS NOT LIBEL OR SLANDER OR ANY

OTHER LEGALESE YOU MAY TRY AND LABEL IT WITH SO DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME...MORE IMPORTANTLY: DON'T WASTE MINE!
THIS IS DOCUMENTED FACT.

I CAN PROVE ALL OF IT!