Marcus - Fire

[g-o-g-g-o]

Have just heard from Marcus he says that Julian whose motor workshop is next to his studio had a enormous fire on sunday morning - destroying the six cars hat were in his garage - it singed his brothers rafters and cracked the screen on the "band" van, he has no phone internet or power - so he will not be contributing to this forum until everything is restored - he can't unwrap his Trojan yet because of all the debry in the yard - but thinks that it is allright.
                                                                                                                                                                                            Mike

[richard]

singed rafters - sounds painfull 

[Big Al]

Oh dear. The big fear along with theft. Might have some interesting shaped windows. Fingers crossed.

[marcus]

Cheers folks! Tues for 8 hours and Wed for 12 hours my brother and I had to dig a trench 25 x  1/2  x 1/3 meters  (Al, that's 80' x 20" x 12"!), breaking through 8" of hard concrete and flint, then 12" of hard-core bound up with ultra heavy and sticky black London clay. Sparkies came yesterday and after a long, tough day got new cable installed and some circuits connected, still no lights or 3 phase in my room or the 1st and 2nd floors, but getting there, next week sparkies return to finish, inspect and test all circuits, breakers, relays, fuse boxes and all the other stuff in our system, then certificate it all.

It has been a really tough time, and for a while looked like we could loose our workshops and homes, and it will still be 2 or 3 weeks to clear-up and get back on an even keel. Sadly I will not be able to make the Rum work party or Bromley Pageant, and I will have to sell DUF.

Since my first drive in it once I had re-built and restored it (with a lot of help from Goggo and others) I have politely but firmly declined a lot of purchase offers for DUF, but now securing the future of The Studios is top priority.

[Bob Purton]

Sorry to hear that Marcus, were you not insured?

[marcus]

We are, but the mechanic whose garage was burgled and torched was not. The Men In Suits are due to visit next week, but Men In Suits are all useless, deceitful conniving and arrogant pen pushers and penny pinchers in my experience. If we get 50p out of them for the many thousands of pounds worth of damage, they will add 100 times that onto our next premium. None of us or our tenants have been able to work for almost 2 weeks, and the yard is still like a bomb-site. The stink is horrid, and we still cannot use the washing machine. By the time the Men In Suits finally make their "Emergency Visit" it will be over TWO WEEKS since the fire, and by diiging the trench for the new cable ourselves we have saved them at least £3,000, but that sort of thing means nothing to penny pinching pen-pushers.

Still, we have it good compared to many thousands of people in Japan., that puts it all in perspective.

[Bob Purton]

oooh, I had better get out of this suit and put down my pen then!   No, I shouldnt jest, it sounds like a horrible situation and I know exactly what you mean about insurance people, they are all too quick to hike up there premiums but when it comes to shelling out its another story. Hope things work out for you.   

[Jonathan Poll]

We are, but the mechanic whose garage was burgled and torched was not. The Men In Suits are due to visit next week, but Men In Suits are all useless, deceitful conniving and arrogant pen pushers and penny pinchers in my experience. If we get 50p out of them for the many thousands of pounds worth of damage, they will add 100 times that onto our next premium. None of us or our tenants have been able to work for almost 2 weeks, and the yard is still like a bomb-site. The stink is horrid, and we still cannot use the washing machine. By the time the Men In Suits finally make their "Emergency Visit" it will be over TWO WEEKS since the fire, and by diiging the trench for the new cable ourselves we have saved them at least £3,000, but that sort of thing means nothing to penny pinching pen-pushers.

Still, we have it good compared to many thousands of people in Japan., that puts it all in perspective.

Make the most out of the Insurance people! Say the top price of what things are worth. Bit different subject, but our Ausi was free, in some way...

2 feminin drivers driven into us, and we got cash refund. Didnt really damage the car much, and we got back more than we paid for the whole car!

Good luck with it anyway, all the best    - Jonathan Poll -

[Big Al]

 I would take some quick advice before agreeing or doing anything as this apparently simple claim is likely to get sticky as your insurer has no easy target to chase for money and the great uninsured will undoubtabley plead poverty and hid behind the complexity of lease laws. Unfortunately doing things correctly does not defend you against the skint in this country. The fact is you are insured. Due to a neighbour you have suffered loss and the insurer should pay up and pursue the cause of the damage for his expense to regain any money he can get. This is not actually your problem. The quicker they act the better position they will be in over those claims coming in from customers/suppliers wanting property and invoices paid for as they can at least grab some assets before matey goes bankrupt to escape the fall out - which will see the Government and Bank suddenly at the head of the kew for bunts. If he has been negligent then they have an easier target.
 Your property has suffered second hand. It has not been burgled nor set on, or accidentally caught, fire. It still represents a fair risk so they have no grounds to unfairly penalise you for making a claim. Indeed they are not able to behave that unreasonably and would have to resort to refusing to quote. They can do so informally so that no record is sustained to blight your cover history further.
 This situation is analogous to one a mate found himself in. He sustained a big loss even after initial settlement, doubt that can be helped, but long term he was able to improve his situation by getting the bite on the insurers and using the damage to improve his property during the rebuild. It finished with him about quits after 5 years. It is all about gaining leverage and being a real pain in the arse in a constructive way as the insurers do seem to leave gaps the intelligent can use to drive wedges into as they expect people to be thick and stupid. You are neither so deep breath and get after them.
 First thing to point out is they are already weakening their case for passing the costs down the line by not attending the site under claim in writing. A judge will latch onto that straight away if the insurers start crying in court about paying you. This is not your problem strictly but in pointing it up they are seen to be stupid and unreasonable. You have them on the run straight away. From there you hammer their every move, preferably before they make it. They will hate you for it but it wins cash. Another chum did such a good job he banked £30k damages on top of the claim - mind you he was helped by the contractors crashing a truck full off effluent upside down into the neighbours garden after he had advised them all in writing the lane was not capable of taking 8 wheelers. He was right and the road edge gave way under the weight. However this only worked because he employed the above tactic and gained full reward for his efforts and the insurers arrogance in ignoring his written advice.

[marcus]

Cheers folks, Al's advice follows my feelings! The good thing is that with the neighbour's garage out of action we have been able to dig the trench and lay the new cable. The ballast and concrete to fill it is due 3 hours and 40 minutes ago.....(!).......but when/if it does arrive and we get the trench filled and full power restored to all circuits, then at least we will have good certificated electrics. Several buildings in the yard were badly damaged by Heinkel Kabines, er 111s, during the Vera Lynn War, and I think the awful electrics were botched together then to get the buildings operational again quickly.

We have been wanting to renew the power cable since we have been here because it was stretched and sagging, and because we were supplying electricity at our cost to other buildings and businesses in the yard. Totally illegal, but whereas pre-privatisation the LEB would have been legally obliged to renew, we bought the building post-thatcherisation, and now the power company's  only legal obligation is to make as much money as possible and leave all infrastructure to rot in hell, same with railways, water, and gas. Interesting to note that if we do anything to "their" cable we commit an offence, but if we ask them to replace it, then it is "ours".

Another reason why I have a deep distrust of Men In Suits Who Are Not Called Bob Purton, and that also applies to Women In Suits. I have had various dealings with developers, lawyers, Assessors, Councillors, Bankers etc., and my opinion of them all is "not great".

[jackiep]

Hi Marcus ,
       If you even think of selling DUF you will regret it ALWAYS  , see if there is any other way .Can you beg borrow or steal
     some cash from anyone . SO MUCH work went into that resto & you have a photo history of all of that piece by piece  .
          Micro are not nesscessarily selling for there worth at the moment , so hold on PLEASE 

[Jonathan Poll]

Hi Marcus ,
       If you even think of selling DUF you will regret it ALWAYS  , see if there is any other way .Can you beg borrow or steal
     some cash from anyone . SO MUCH work went into that resto & you have a photo history of all of that piece by piece  .
          Micro are not nesscessarily selling for there worth at the moment , so hold on PLEASE 

What is a DUF, anyway? Pictures please

[marcus]

My red Trojan 200's reg no is 553 DUF, so that's what a DUF is! I did think of painting it purple and calling it Plum DufF, a traditional pudding.

Jackie, I hear what you are saying, but I have to be realistic and The Studios is top priority.

[marcus]

The Insurance Assessor and his suit visited yesterday. Actually quite amiable and sized up the situation quickly. My brother and I made him fully aware that our back-breaking work digging the long trench for the new cable, then concreting it up again has saved the insurers at least £3,000, and he seems to think that it should go through fairly promptly, so fingers crossed.

About an hour ago the electricians finished, and we now have full power again for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks. Last night we got one more burnt-out car out of the yard, meaning that we can now get our car or van up to our building again, and the yard now looks slightly clearer and better than the war zone it resembled for 2 weeks.

Still much to do, but it seems we are over the worst.

[richard]

havent messaged on this before but i am sure you have everyones sympathy . keep the faith