hayfield
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Posts posted by hayfield
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As the OP has stated he is happy to wait then perhaps we should be happy to let him. In respect of what ifs and actuals I think the suggestion below is just pie in the sky and not helpful at all. In fact I don't even know why I have mentioned it as it is that unrealistic. Yes the company are in the wrong but comments like this in no way assist the OP.
Perhaps if they are fined £1000 per hour after the first 2 hours the mistake has been brought to their attention until they rectify it would give them the impetus to take these matters seriously.
Chris
The OP has stated he will, not that he is happy to wait, if he does owe the money they should be able in this day and age to bring up the debt and inform him immediately why he owes it.
For companies who are persistent offenders, who do not make real efforts to reduce these abuses of their power, the final sanction is to hit them where it hurts, either make the fine large enough that it hurts and they take action, or make the company directors pay from their own pockets meaningful amounts.When its cheaper to pay the odd bit of compensation than preventing the action, nothing will change. It will not stop every mistake, but will insure these are at a minimum and dealt with very quickly
The above course of action works in the food industry, the person in charge of the establishment (owner or manager) and if appropriate the person who caused it are liable to prosecution if standards are not adhered to. Result is we are all much safer when buying food in shops and restaurants
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What happens if a meteor lands on the house?
You can bring up all the 'what if' scenarios you like, but dealing in 'actuals' is more productive.
The energy supply industry has a very bad image in cases like these, agreed they are very small in number. This is however a clear example of companies using call centres and those handling the calls totally untrained to handle this type of issue. What is wrong in taking ownership of the problem they have caused and doing the decent thing and dealing with it straight away ?
In cases like these especially like these where the company has already been made to pay compensation for its actions, the account should be flagged up to be handled with special care. OK this one got through so any decent company on receiving a call like this, seeing that they messed up before, been paid in full and sending the debt collectors have a DUTY OF CARE to the customer to investigate it immediately and more importantly insure the customer is put at ease if for what ever reason this cannot be handled and cleared up during the call. No one has the right to demand payments they are not due.
In the old days you would phone a company up, be put through to someone who is in the required department and knows what is happening, the matter was usually dealt with there and then. Mow we have these call centres where the handlers read from scripts. In a case like this a reputable company would have transferred this call to a senior administrator/supervisor and dealt with it there and them, its simply called customer service, sadly lacking in so many businesses
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any one getting rid of any early Ian Rice books?
No, but which ones as they do come up quite often, when listed in the book section of eBay they sell for much less than if listed in model railways section
eBay
Some cheap others very dear
Amazon
Most very expensive, but some reasonable
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Tony
In the past with the 4 wheel SR coaches I removed the W irons, springs and axle boxes from the sides and fitted etched brass W irons from memory re-using the springs and axle boxes, this totally transformed the running of the coaches. May have used copperclad sheet for the floor.
My plan for the 6 wheel coaches is to use the Comet 6 wheel etched W irons, the centre wheels having the axles cut back to the wheels and using the inside bearing part included of the Comet etch, leaving the spring, W iron and axle box of the centre part of the underframe
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Ironically increased value of property is only a benefit if one plans to move house again and house moving is not conducive to getting a layout completed.
Or in these days adds to the amount of a life time mortgage (or whatever they are called) one could borrow in the future
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Jol
Thanks for the info, I think your advice about doing either a bit of research and or being willing to adapt the chassis to the kit is well founded.
In short John's chassis are designed for John's kits. If used on another make alterations may be required. Same goes for Comet eg the K's 14xx is a few mm too short, the Comet chassis was designed to go under the Airfix RTR plastic body, it will only fit the K's chassis if shortened, same goes for the Perseverance chassis for the same loco if my memory is correct
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Well, my stealthy assignation yesterday took me via Scotch Corner, which boasts a WH Smith's.
I have merely glanced, but it is a good, well-proven plan that shows what can be done with the old 6' x 4' format, and it does make an attractive layout when presented in the Edwardian period.
While I, too, immediately thought, 'but why not expand it around an operating well, thus increasing the run, easing the curves and getting side by side to the station'. But, there is an advantage in viewing the depth of scene across the layout that would be lost if the tracks were expanded around a central well. After all, not many 4mil layouts have the benefit of 4' wide baseboards, permitting such a depth of scene. Also, when you think where the fiddle yard is, there is not much advantage to being able to stand on the other side of the station.
I like the look of it and look forward to reading the article in full.
A friend popped over this morning for a chat, he is the type who likes to make things himself, showed him that article with the advice of buying a few copies of 1960's RM's just to see how modellers improvised when making models
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Disagree with that. There is nothing to be gained out of not waiting the 48 hours. The OP will be in an even stronger position, if nothing happens within the 48 hours. Probably a likely scenario, since they've already got a track record of incompetence, wrt the OP.
Much better to go to an ombudsman, with yet another example of them not keeping a commitment.
I managed to get 2 months free electricity, because my supplier charged me for 3 months, whereas I moved out of the old house after 2 months. They managed to get the gas right (same supplier), so they had no excuse. 3 years it took of their blundering, but the limitation is for 2 years back charging. So the charges got wiped. All they needed to do was provide me with a bill for 2/3rds of the amount and I would have paid.
Kevin
We can agree to disagree, I accept waiting 48 hours if it is a normal enquiry/complaint.
In this instance it is a continuation of a previous problem which the company has already compensated him for, he then accepted an offer by said company to help them out. The fact is that when a company escalates an issue to this level they should be duty bound to deal with it immediately.
What happens if within the 48 hours he gets a knock on the door with 2 heavies outside ? Some on here could handle the situation, others will be very intimidated, scared, humiliated through no fault of their own. Why don't these companies employ 9 stone weaklings, simply they want to intimidate the person into paying, even when there is no debt!!
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Had another try at refining the plan, learnt how to rotate the group slightly. Then I curved the left hand exit slightly, I decided to have a 2" to 4" removable end section which could be changed to a fiddle yard.
At the right end I curved the first turnout into a Y shape so the entrance is square to the base board
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They have said they will get back to the OP within 48 hours so whilst your suggestion is reasonable advice should they not I would suggest he needs to give them chance to come back first.
Sorry to disagree with you on this one, but the company should have never sent out the demand for money that was never owed in the first place, especially as their industry has a history of these unfortunate errors
Secondly having taken the nuclear option without seemingly checking they have upped the stakes. Rather than saying they would get back in 48 hours the OP should have been forwarded immediately to an operator who could check out the facts of the case and immediately cancel the legal action they started. It is totally outrageous that when a company embarks on a course of action like this they do not take immediate action to halt proceedings if an error has been bought to their attention. The anxiety and stress their action causes should not be prolonged a further 48 hours.
Perhaps if they are fined £1000 per hour after the first 2 hours the mistake has been brought to their attention until they rectify it would give them the impetus to take these matters seriously.
Dont forget in this case the situation was caused by the providers incompetence, and has already compensated the OP. There should have been a flag up on this case to take extra care. The only way to stop these abuses is to hit their bottom line
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A friend of mine who was a maintance worker for a housing association built a shed where the bottom half was built in concrete blocks and the top half and roof in wood, this is so much cheaper if you are able to design and build yourself. Earlier I said after looking at the costs involved in buying an appropriate shed and fitting it out, it was no more expensive if not cheaper adding the extra space to the extension we were planning, the added benefit is the increased value of the property doing it this way
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It's worth bearing in mind that it is less than 3 months since the turnouts hit the shops. They must have sold exceptionally well for Peco to be announcing this level of investment so soon afterwards.
I wonder if there is anyone in Devon kicking themselves for not doing this years ago?
Martin.
Martin
I think the marketing department had seen from the beginning the potential of a sales boom from their existing customer base from the off, with thew large radius turnouts being the obvious spring board
I'd compare what Peco are doing with track with what the music industry done with vinyl records. People will replace their f/b track with b/h track like people replaced vinyl music with cd music.
It looks good but I'll stick with building my own at the moment. If ever I build a new layout, I'll certainly consider the Peco b/h track. do they list insulated b/h fishplates yet?
I suggested this right at the beginning of an earlier thread, think how much profit there is if only 1% of their customers change over, plus its a premium priced item to boot
Slips? Yes please!
Reading that they're also looking at medium radius and curved turnouts- good news indeed.
I think this was on the drawing board all the time, with the R & D well on its way, as not only using the strike while the iron is hot saying, but a high percentage of potential customers may be waiting for a range or the commitment to produce a range
My one and only reservation is the use of equalised timbering rather than the square to the straight road we are used to, will this be continued through the range ?
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6 years from the date I last paid, which refers to acknowledgement of debt.
One thing just occured to me; they only sent an email, not a letter, not sure that changes things.
What really irritates me is the fact that I don't owe the money, I have paid all that I owe and it is because the energy company are incompetent that I am being accused of this debt. I haven't had anything from the energy company since I made the payment, so if I did owe the money I would have had no way of knowing!
I can understand how annoying and worrying this matter is, what more importantly is what this may be doing to your credit rating, which could have far more implications than the £7.50
On reflection as they seem not to be addressing your complaint you should in my opinion write the the ombudsman and complain about the way the company has treated you from day one to now, especially the effect on your mental well being now and the possible consequences it is having on your credit rating, plus your fears of some heavy handed bouncer turning up at your door.
Send a copy of this complaint to either the companies chairman or MD, plus a copy to a BBC program (Watch dog)
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Thanks Jol, knew John did the Watford tank chassis, not too certain what else he does
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If you have a written a copy of the offer from the energy company coupled with your payment, threaten to take legal action for money you do not owe, claim they are debtor harassing which is illegal. If they do not stop you will employ a legal representative and will reclaim all costs you incur in resolving their mistake
I would also inform them you are reporting them to their ombudsman, of course send all relevant info to said ombudsman
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I have moved away from the Y's as suggested plus started with 2 curves, then added the turnouts.
The idea is for a small (light railway) branch line terminus, which could evolve into a through station
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Looked through this thread with interest. I had quite a collection of K's kits gathered together from EBay with a view to learning how to solder and assemble these before moving onto more taxing kits.
Generally I have binned the tenders, and the chassis, and replaced same with Comet variants, keeping only the loco bodies and further detailing same as part of assembly. I have only 1 remaining unassembled kit for a Black 5, which I will get to in due course.
Here's the end results:
K's Princess Royal
K's Black 5
Fowler 2-6-2T. I love this one actually, and am in the throes of finishing a Gibson chassis for it. The Valve gear is pretty poor, and I'm replacing the lot, including crossheads. There'll be a bit of scratchbuilding required for this.
THis was my first ever kit. I've only this past week or so removed the K's Chassis with a view to replacing the drive/gearbox, but will also have to replace the wheels, and beef up the connecting rods
Last one - from the K's Silver Jublilee kit. My first effort at lining a full LMS passenger livery. Again Comet Chassis and Tender
All the best
Darren
Daren
See most/all wheels changed to Romford/Markits, the Coal tank may benefit from a gem Chassis.
Nice collection of locos
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Thanks for all the advice. Beast, I should have thought about filing closer to the 'near' rail, but didn't. I will, though when I get on to the scissors, and the rest of the points.
David Long. After the single slip, it will be the scissors crossing, whch I will build in on piece. The rest of the track will be built on the main board.
I only decided that as the temperature is so low in the shed, that I would be better off inside, and made a start on the more complex pieces.
Anyway, progress (slow) so far.
and tonight:
and
Slowly, oh so slowly.
I can only manage an hour or so of concentration at the end of the working day.
Weekends, depending on SWMBO (known to all her frtiends as 'Boss') I can usually manage a couple of hours at a time.
Regards. and thanks, all, once more
Ian
Ian
A bit late now but if you were going to fill in the isolation gaps its much easier (and neater) to do it before fitting the rails, as you can sand the filler flat very easily without the rails being in the way. One added benefit (same for making the isolation gaps first) is it allows you to test the trackwork under power as you go
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Ian
That is my preferred option for building them, others may differ. I just like to start testing as quickly as I can , to me its always easier when a diamond crossing is involved to start building it especially if its in the centre
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Hummm............................. I'm probably going to cause ructions with this - but here goes..........
It seems odd that having taken over a company that is possibly most people's choice for buying track components, Phil* has managed to arrange himself into a corner.
He seems to have little time available to pick,pack and send orders whilst 'on shed' because he has shows to attend. Looking at the show diary, it would appear he will be inordinately busy packing, attending then unpacking for shows, all with the attendant travel too. Now this wouldn't be an issue if you could collect at shows , but on the front of his site it states -
I am suspending the arrangement for the time being of orders to be collect at show as this has had a big impact on my time when I should be restocking the stand their are some exceptions to this rule by arrangement.
I am concerned that if this situation continues, will C + L be up for sale again soon?
Emma
*I couldn’t find the gentleman's surname
Emma
Whatever Phil does has an impact on other things which need doing, pick ups at shows are a very small part of the business, in all but a very few cases can be done in front of the customer saving time back in the business to send out stock.
All parts of the business were very run down by the last owner, it will take time to get it back to an even keel. I am certain it will happen as there has been progress,sadly not as much as was hoped for.
Even when the business had a return postal system I planned my buying round the show scheduled I would visit, fine if you or a friend attends shows
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Ian
The order I do these slips is
1 Fit the Vees
2 Fit both stock rails
3 Crossing and wing rails next making sure all works
4 Slip rails (single piece is fine in 2 mm scale)
5 Check rails
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Very Sad news, fond memories at Puffers with Chris, john and a few others
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Izzy and Orion
Thank you both for the plans, just finished laying flooring in my new workroom, so a bit tired
I do like the 3 Y's in the foreground of the photo and there is a reverse curve at the other end, understand what you are saying about the platform, loosing the extreme right hand siding and extending the siding may resolve the platform issue.
Play value is of little interest, rather than (1) a small interesting plan to demonstrate track building, (2) somewhere to run a small collection of P4 stock (3) a place to try out scenic methods prior to using them on the main layout
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Izzy
Sooo much better than mine with the exception of one too many turnouts (have 4 in mind for some reason !!) any chance of a box file of it please
Could do with the left hand end going up a bit and the right going down a bit, twisting it a bit but with the plain track at the left end curving slightly back on its self to be square on with the end .
Was thinking about it when I woke up not knowing you posted this, Top left could be made with the ability to convert to another exit by making the last 2" removable and a fiddle yard with a short scenic section of a bridge ?
Selling book collection
in Books
Posted
I agree with you its sad to see them go to a land fill, saying that at my local reclamation site there was a chap with a van full of books going through those at the site picking those he wanted, perhaps some are bought to be resold ?
I do agree I would rather give then away rather than dispose of them via the local tip