The Oscar for "Best Rip Off" goes to......

Another week gone and it was time for some major decisions. The votes were in, the envelopes sealed, and the speeches prepared. There can be only one winner for the Best Rip Off Oscar.

This week I have chosen a removal company, a letting agent for my flat, a maintenance company for the boiler, plumbing, etc, and readdressed a bunch of accounts.

Quotes for removals have varied from $3052 - $8500, and quotes for letting from 10% - 17.5% of the monthly rental (£650/$1200 for my one bedroom flat). The good news is that the nice UK taxman (I bet they don't hear that very often) tells me I can pretty much deduct anything related to the rental of the flat, so hopefully I should not have to pay any tax at all. Which is just as well, as after the mortgage, building insurance, content insurance, rental indemnity insurance, agency fees, arrangement fees, maintenance fees, ground rent and I am sure other bills that I have not even thought about yet, I will be left with about 10p from the monthly rent!

The winner for my flat is Leaders, they seem to know what they are doing, as having only listed it on Wednesday, I am having someone to see it tonight.

The winner for the removal is Allied Pickfords, as they came in at over £700 better than their rivals, and their head office is in Chicago, so hopefully they will know what they are doing.

Now the race is on to get everything ready before I go on holiday, skiing in Alp D'Huez no less, damned bad timing though, the week before we go, but it was booked before I even heard about the job, so a-skiing we will go.

The removal is booked for the 11th March, at which point I will be bunking up with Lorraine, unless she gets her place let too, and then we will both be bunking up with her mother, lucky Jan! I still need to get a gas safety certificate, all my white goods need to be PAT tested, all my soft furnishing need to be fireproof, and I have to get the whole place cleaned!

And I still haven't sold the B!**$& car!

And so, the moment you have all been waiting for, the Oscar goes to.......Bishops Move, who for less quoted volume managed to come in at £692 more expensive than Allied Pickfords!

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