justinbarrow

Had my AA breakdown renewal through today and it had doubled to which I phoned them to see if they could do any better as I hadnt used their service in the last year. I was told that I had been given the "introductory" price as a new customer and that there was nothing they could do in regards to the current price, I therefore cancelled the policy from when it expires in November. I was just about to ring the RAC and get their "introductory" rate when I was called back by someone else at the AA asking why I had cancceld so I explained again that I had not used their service and felt it unfair that my premium had doubled. They then said that the account had been closed which was good, which stunned me as they then said I can now come back to them as a new customer with a new membership account which will give me the same level of cover at the same price as the last year. So I became a new customer despite my old account being closed just 20 mins or so. What a bloody joke, why couldn't they just give me the same price using the details on my previous account, instead they set up a new account and tell me to destroy the membership cards that they had sent out and they will send new ones out with the new membership number (waste of resources or what) Im sure I watched BBC watchdog a couple of months back where a similar thing happened to car insurance the renewal premiums doubled but if customers cancel then re-start with the same company they will get the "introductory rates" What a way to do things.

I think vets mark up on drugs is outrageous We recently lost our golden retriever and the cost of anti biotics was out of this world, something like £67 for a weeks supply only to find that they were Amoxacilin but branded for dogs, In other words they were the same as the stuff we get but always check the "ingredients first" to make sure we did this on a drug for our dog that was prescribed as Noroclav and on looking at the labels it had exactly the same ingredients as Amoxacillin that our Drs give to us. I also worked out that the same drugs were available on-line at a much cheaper price but as said the vets charge you for the prescription in order for you to obtain them on-line. I have come to the conclusion that vets don't truly care for animals, they just see them as profit makers for the people they work for and after all they are a business at the end of the day but surely there has to be some regulation on what they charge for their drugs to treat our beloved pets as the mark up can be as high as 700% which in my opinion is unacceptable. Our dog had cancer which went on for nearly 2 years and as he had been diagnosed with the cancer no insurance company would touch him, It was hard but we struggled through but at one point a weeks worth of tablets cost us £168.96p why they cant round it to a round number god only knows. In the end our dog died on his own (without help)because everything happened after midnight and the vet would not come out when we called them and told us we had to bring the dog to them at a charge of £190 as it was out of hours and then pointed out that any treatment would be charged on top of this. Our dog in question was a golden retriever and as he had collapsed we could not lift him so had to wait until the morning when they opened, we requested a visit as soon as they opened and the vet eventually arrived at 9:25 but our dog had already died before they got to us and although they did not do anything what so ever we were charged £120 call out fee which made us feel numb under the circumstances of that night for which we had stayed up all the time to make him as comfortable as possible but in the end it wasn't enough. I totally relate to anyone that has a pet and having to pay out these expensive charges more so when insurance companies stop paying out after a year after diagnosis of an animals condition.

Just to give everyone an update....Things are slightly easier and we have got our dogs ashes back and he is in a casket on the mantle peace. Trying to focus on the good times and not on that dreadfull morning almost 2 weeks ago. Just thought I would keep you up to date. Our youngest child is now on holiday in Spain with his Nanna and our eldest is now finally coming out of his room and talking again. It still gets to us all how quick our dog went downhill but least he is free from the illness and cancer that took him and im sure anyone here that's lost pets will be feeling the same at the time of things happening and at their leaving. Thanks again for all your posts.

I know we are the same no Cable network in our area - Virgin cant say if they will be putting their cables in our area which frustrates me as we have to put up with slow broadband speeds and have to rely on bloody BT in order to get what we get now even though its Virgin it still has to come down BT lines and services at their exchanges. Virgin is good in fact very good and I just wish they would roll out their cable services nationwide.

I feel the same about BT, If it wasnt for the internet I wouldnt have a landline as I get good chunk of mins and texts on my mobile the problem is BT know that people need a phone line in order to get a decent broadband service. Our eldest is a heavy on line game user so a usb dongle thing is no use. I do get fed up with high charges from BT though, just for having the phone sitting there. Maybe this will change in the future as I cant get cable broadband from virgin as they haven't done this in our area yet and when I called them told me that they have no intention to do at the moment. BT has the monopoly either way, no matter who you go with for your phone or internet BT will always be making money from it unless its a 100% cable service.

Thanks for all the posts they are nice to read - We got our youngest child back and he seems quiet and are eldest has just stayed in his room most of the time. We have requested his ashes to be returned to us so then we can bring him back home in the next week or so. Like said its the downside of having pets. Thanks for the reassurances of him not being aware of things in his last moments - thanks for the support.

Once his legs went it was like he had a stroke as it looked like he could only move his head but then he started moving his legs. I cant believe that its nearly 48 hours since things started to get unbearable. I just hope he was unconscious towards the end. I certainly wouldn't wish what we had to go through on my worst enemy. Luckilly our youngest child who is 10 was picked up by his nanna before the end which we are thankful for. Typing all these posts poring my heart out...thinking what ifs. The most shocking thing was the speed that he deteriorated from his final walk to being gone was just short of 10 hours. Some people have said they wouldn't of let it get so bad but less than 24 hours prior to everything he was normal as can be and showing no signs of pain, walking, eating and drinking. We think, well it is obvious that there was something else going on inside and that something we will never know but think it may of been cancer. Even the VET thought it was arthiritis when he prescribed tablets I keep thinking was it the tablet but the vet assured me that it wouldn't of been as he had had them a few months before without any probs. I just hope he didn't think we let him down :'(

It was awful not being able to do anything the difference was everything started to happen at 11PM and not 11AM just wish he hadn't had to go on his own. As for the post about the vets being wan***s I can agree as if a cow or sheep had been in the same distress at the roadside they would of attended right away but the public calling about a family member/pet they couldn't care unless YOU make the trip to them which when you have a 40kg dog that cant do anything for itself and in discomfort is a no go. Thanks everyone.

We have lost our dog and best friend of 12 years 3 months. Feel absolutely gutted at how he went and cant get over how sudden it was. He was diagnosed with a tumour in his mouth 16 months ago and we was told at that time to enjoy him while we can, as the months passed he was coping fine. However on Sunday we watched the Olympics closing ceremony which finished at half past midnight and after this finished let the dog out like normal before we went to bed. We then got up Monday morning at half 6 (just 6 hours after) to find he had had accidents in the house at both ends we then went to let him out where it was apparent that he could hardly move his back legs and was stiff but he managed to go outside while we cleaned up the house. As the morning progressed he got worse so we called the vet as we could not get the dog to them as he could not get up. The vet came and did the necessary checks and prescribed 10 tablets of previcox (227mg) once a day for the next 10 days. Previcox we were told is an anti-inflammatory drug for arthritis and was told to give it 2 days for it to get into his system and see some improvement. We knew he was ill as he would not take the tablet (wrapped in bread with some meat) and had to sit him up to eventually take it which he did bless him. he slept for most of the day but it was half past 10 that night he started to pant and vomited a bit of blood but what was strange is that he started to walk again and although he was sick blood again before he could get outside he managed to get outside to toilet. Then things got worse when we went to let him in as he just laid there and couldn't move his back legs, it was like he was saying leave me here he could not move his back legs and could only move his front ones and we eventually got him back in the house. It was after 30 mins he walked again like nothing was wrong and came to see me and the wife and went for a drink himself we both said to each other those tablets seem to be working but then he came back into the room and just collapsed on the floor and to cut an even longer story short after a further 10 mins he was vomiting blood but worse, we called the emergency vet only to be told they don't come out after hours and that we will have to take the dog to them which was around an 8 mile journey and at a cost of £175 before treatment (the cost wasn't an issue) it was the fact that we couldn't move him as he was in discomfort and starting to cry when we tried to lift him. We then phoned the so called emergency vet back to be told to keep him comfortable until the morning.... It was the longest night ever - me and my wife both slept with him but at around 3am in the morning he started to howl loudly (it was awful) but again he could not move I called the emergency vet again who just wanted us to bring the dog into them which was impossible to do. Anyway he started to go quiet and started to fall into a deeper sleep (Now I think back believe he probably went into some type of coma) as he remained in the same position right through until 8 in the morning until he started to cry again we calmed him down but now noticed that his eyes remained shut then his legs started to move like he was paddling I couldn't get my head around this as it showed he could move his legs then his stomach moved rapidly and he was trying to vomit again, luck lily we were with him all the time and managed lift his head with my hands were he was sick blood again. We then had a call at half 8 from the vet who had the details passed on from the overnight vet asking if we still wanted a vet to come out, Obviously we said yes and was told he would be 20 minutes. During this 20 mins the poor dog started to fit like a flapping fish and I had to hold his head to stop him smashing it on the floor, I could not get over how much strength there was at this point. My wife then called the vet during this moment but they could not say when they will arrive but our loving dog started fitting more violently again and had to hold his head it was around 5 minutes when then his breathing started to slow and his stomach movement started to slow that we knew we was losing him....Our dog then stopped breathing and died. What annoys me is that the vet then arrived a further 20 mins after (45 mins in total from requesting a visit) to find me and my wife cradling our beloved dog on a blood stained carpet. I still cant comprehend what had happened to our dog and why everything happened so quick but after a day I called the vet to try and get some answers and whilst talking to the vet they think that our dogs cancer had spread aggressively. But why would such a thing affect his legs. We are so numb after an experience we will never ever wish to go through again and one we will never forget - I would like to say our dog went peacefully but after going through what we did with him seem unsure. It was the worst night ever. You buy pets and never think to realise what their final day will be like and I just hope nobody here has to go through it. I would like to think that our dog thinks we helped him but the way he went feel like I have let him down as everything happening so quickly. Sorry for the long post.

Thanks for the link AlphaPapa - Wonder what the cause is it also seems some o2 phones are working and some not - nightmare

Anyone else having trouble with O2 as of today (Wednesday 11th july) cant get texts or make calls all the family are the same. Cant get through to customer services either. Just wondered if anyone else was having problems.

Might put it onto the house contents as an item used away from the home etc., The only thing I am concerned about it being on the house insurance is if something did happen and I had to claim it would be how long would they take to process and would they be quicker at sorting it out compared to a dedicated policy.

Thanks gadgetman for the links, makes good reading, thanks to the others in this thread also. Top advice

Thanks for the help, I purchased the phone sim free, I am on a sim only plan which is a 30 day rolling contract. I did contact them about insurance but they told me that I would of had to have purchased the handset from them and the insurance would of have to be taken out at the point of sale. Swings and roundabouts - My bank also doesn't cover mobile phones and my house insurance excess is set high so wouldn't be worth considering that option. Not sure about the protect my bubble (doesn't sound good for starters) or the gadget cover both seem cheap at £6 a month but its the going through an actual claim with a company that counts. In other words they will soon take the payments but what are they like if a claim had to be made.

Nothing worse than a knackered phone, I had a nasty experience with an old Sony Xperia X10i. Phones now do so much and can get quite hot also which can cause boards to fry. Glad you got it sorted.

I have just purchased a Sony Xperia Arc S and because it is so thin am looking at mobile insurance but wanted to ask what you guys would recommend. At the moment I am looking at Protect my Bubble and Gadget Cover from the go compare website. Any recommendations would be appreciated as all of the reviews dont seem to have any people who have had experience of claiming etc.. I got the phone from Phones 4u and they want £12.99 per month for the insurance. Just trying to compare them.

But how do people give this sort of surprise at the age of 21 and not 18 without them knowing we so wanted to give more when they turned 21 not 18, thanks everyone for the posts/help with this. Looks like our child will have to know in 2 weeks time at this rate

No chance of this lol

Thanks They did mention something like this when we were talking on the phone today to them, They advised us that we can open a student account with a better interest rate but they will have to come into the branch and sign all the forms and provide up to date identification along with the account details which obviously makes it known to them that they have the money that is supposed to be a surprise. We just wish we saved it all into our account now and then we could do what we wanted irrespective of them being 18 or 21 but then we wouldn't of got the good interest rate (cant win)

We have kept all the yearly tax deduction certificates since they started taking tax, We just would like to put it somewhere and give it to them when they are 21 not 18 lol (they will have a better head on their shoulders at 21)

When our eldest was 1 year old we opened a young savers account at a building society and added to it each month now they are 18 years old in 2 weeks we have had a letter saying the account must be put into his sole responsibility and that he must sign a change of signature form. The issue we have is that we wanted to give this money on their 21st birthday and not their 18th now the building society where the account is held say that they have to fill in the forms so that our child has control over the account. At the moment my wife is the operator of the account, Obviously this will make them know about the money if we go down this route and all we get off the building society is "most people give the money at 18" and not 21 We want to give them the money on their 21st birthday and not now but feel like we are being forced into give it earlier than we intended. Another thing is the inland revenue have deducted Tax from the interest earned since they were 16 years old and wondered if there may be a way to get this back when we give them the money or control of the account they are not in employment at the moment and is in full time education at the moment and has been since leaving school at 16. We don't know what to do as we are worried they will blow it on rubbish which is why we wanted to wait until they was 21 before we let know but apparently the law states that when a child turns 18 they have a right to that money and to have full control of the said account something that was not said or ever mentioned when we opened their account 17 years ago. When I mention this we are just told that the "terms & conditions have changed" Any help would be appreciated, Thanks.

May go for the Avons then, like I say i have heard of them but thought they were a cheap low budget brand.

It does seem that windows phone 7 seems to get a good write up - Would be nice to be able to upgrade to the newer Apollo software when it comes out when I asked at the carphone warehouse they told me that all current Windows Phones will get the free upgrade. Im not after app s just the ease of use and synchronise between PC and to make a phone call

Thinking of changing my phone at the moment I have a samsung wave 3 running bada operating system but have heard that the new windows mango software phone seem to be good. Just wondered if anyone here had one and how they rate them as the software seems to be much quicker than the bada software on the samsung wave 3, Thanks

Due 2 front tyres soon for the MOT and at the moment have nankangs on which have done ok for pottering around town and the odd motorway trip, However I found that they were not to good when it was wet. I am after a middle of the road tyre and there seems to be good deals near me on Firestone and Avons I can get 2 for £100 just wondered which ones are better I have heard of firestone but new to Avon although I have heard of them. Not after the performance side of it just something good for wear and will last around 15,000 miles - Thanks,