Sue

MrBen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Funny...but I actually feel quite awful for Sue. > I'm almost tempted to launch: MR BEN'S DIY RESCUE xxxxxxx NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :)):)):)) Gary Lee supposedly "came to the rescue" of my bathroom after I started a thread about driftwood worktops (on which DJKQ posted, incidentally, though obviously I had no idea she was the person who had ordered my very expensive iroko in the wrong width in the first place (6) ) He started off fine, and ended with a basin sliding round the worktop, taps not parallel, the bath not sealed, and wood oil all over a newly painted wall, designer spout and new bath - none of which he removed. (ETA: He's now gone AWOL, bit like DJKQ with the OP only we're talking months - not answering emails or texts, and he's still got my keys. And yes I stupidly paid him because I trusted him to come back. I will never never never learn, it seems). Re the iroko, DJKQ told me that the woodyard had sent iroko of the wrong dimensions. It didn't occur to me until much later that if that was the case, why hadn't she arranged for it to be sent back and the correct dimensions obtained? (6)(6)(6)

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The main question here is, why in the name of God > would anyone hire a bird as a builder!?! xxxxxx The bloody ironic thing is, I thought I was striking a blow for the sisterhood, or something. I was quite proud that I had employed a woman in a non-sterotypical job. (6)(6)(6) But it was nothing to do with her gender - I have had appalling work done by men on my house as well, Gary Lee for example (whole thread on him on this forum somewhere - it was too late for me sadly). Oh yeh and Dean Richards - that was even more stressful. He didn't finish the job but said unless I paid him in full that afternoon he would come round and smash up the wall and path he had just built. I paid him. (6) He was the one who said I was "nitpicking" because the border of my very expensive Victorian style mosaic path was different on one side than the other because he had measured things wrong. At least he put that bit right after I burst into tears in the street, being already off work with stress :-$ He then laid a rope tile edging with great wodges of mortar in between each tile, and said he thought it looked fine. I had to pay somebody else to redo the edging (and finish the wall Dean was supposed to have finished).

*Bob* Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This is shocking, Sue. > > > Are you seriously telling us you applied to be on > a home makeover show? xxxxxx Yes, it was called "Love the Place You're In". Made by Talkback Thames. I'd never heard of it, but they advertised on here for people. I only applied because I couldn't decide what to do with my living room. In fact, I went through a lot of stress to end up with my default, which was white :)) ETA: But it was on over two years ago now, and on some channel/s I can't get, though I gather it's aired again every so often - I had somebody come up to me on the South Bank last year who recognised me from the programme :)) ETA: I like my living room now, but I had to make a lot of changes from what the designer did before it felt like my own room again. The bathroom was also supposed to be being made over, but DJKQ was so bloody slow elsewhere it never got anywhere near meeting the (twice extended) deadline for the programme. There were a few genuine holdups which accounted for a few days, but nothing sufficient to account for the delays. She also wouldn't let me get anybody else in to help when she got stuck eg she said part of my living room wall was concrete (or something) anyway it was so hard she couldn't drill into it. Oh yeh and she made a lot of fuss about the living room walls not being straight. Erm, yes, it's a terraced house which is over a hundred years old and has had bomb damage, we would expect straight walls, no?

Oh she fitted it in alright, "expert" that she is. Working very slowly and charging me by the hour. And yes, I was a fool but I was on a deadline for a TV programme (unfortunately I was paying for the building work, just getting design advice) and I didn't have time to find anybody else. And it took me some time to realise that things were very wrong. And she gives an initial impression of being very confident, knowledgeable and experienced, and I am very gullible. And I should have asked for references, but she was recommended by someone I know (just to sand floors) and then it was an "I can do that", "I can do that" scenario. And I was naive and stupid. There was once one whole morning when neither I nor her "apprentice" could contact her - when I had taken time off work to speak to her. And then when she eventually turned up at lunchtime, she had the cheek to tell me I was "unprofessional" because I had asked her "apprentice" if he had ever worked with her before, and what he thought of her work. Well, we had to talk about something during the hours when we were kicking our heels. As it was, despite being extended twice, the deadline was nowhere near being met. I also investigated some of her excuses for work not being done and found they were lies. Unfortunately for me, two years down the line I still haven't had the energy to get finished/rectified much of what she and her "apprentice" did. If it hadn't cost me a lot of money and traumatised me so much that I was off work with stress, it might be funny. Nothing was ever her fault, eg bad work was because "the light was bad" (you've never heard of artifical lighting?), and delays were because "you changed your mind" (once, with a shade of white in my living room - which I said I would repaint myself later, but she said the "apprentice" could do it while she was doing other things) and nothing to do with things like having to repair my kitchen ceiling because the "apprentice" had put his foot through it - I found the rubble still there on top of the kitchen cupboard months later). And nothing to do with taking a day (I think it was) of my money to source hinges (I think it was) - which she actually bought from B&Q (6) and which a few phone calls could surely have tracked down. I withheld her last payment pending discussion of unfinished work and work to be put right, upon which she refused to discuss anything until I had paid her in full. I then said if she didn't want to discuss it with me, I would pay a final payment of whatever an independent mediator thought was fair, which she refused. She then threatened to take me to court!!! And said I'd better pay up or if it went to court I would lose my credit rating etc!!! The TV company said that having seen a day of her work (on the day of the "reveal") they would back me in any court case, but she wouldn't have had a leg to stand on anyway - I would have counterclaimed, and the fact she had refused an offer of mediation speaks for itself really. I sent her a detailed letter by recorded delivery, which she never picked up from the sorting office and it was returned to me several months later. I had also sent it to her by email, which she never replied to either. And I only found out very recently that my "builder" was no other than DJKillaQueen who had been giving me grief on here for two years, when I had no idea who she was, and no idea why she appeared to hate me so much.

Well she appears to have been playing football on Sunday, according to this

loobylou Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dear Sue > I really am very sorry, I misinterpreted your > post. I was probably a bit stressed out by the > whole thing. I have emailed the address and will > post when I get a reply. > Again very sorry > LL xxxxxxxx OK no prob, sorry if I was a bit sharp, apology accepted and sorry if I made your stress worse :)

She may have been ill, but it seems she has found time to post on here but not let her clients know. She's a "builder". Inverted commas deliberate. If you want to know more, please PM me.

Perhaps she's regretting being outed as Angetastic, having said that she had only ever had one user name on this forum. ETA: I will PM you, I was once her client as well (6) ETA: She quite often didn't return my calls etc either when she was "working" on my house. She will have had time to find a very plausible excuse, I'm sure. Good luck. (6)

It's bondage gone mad :))

Excellent news! We have just heard that Wizz Jones has agreed to give his services free to headline at the fundraiser on 22 January!!! OK he's not from East Dulwich, but he is from Sarf Lahndon :)) We have also got some of the Wayne Drury Project to come along (some of whom ARE local), who supported Wizz when he appeared at the Ivy House a couple of months back. Not the one who has gone back to the States, obviously, not sure his commitment to the music extends to paying his own return fare to the UK to play a fundraiser for free :)) :)-D

buddug Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- As > for marking kits - horse, bolted. I wish people > wouldn't do this stats/marking kits thing every > time a burlgary is mentioned, as it doesn't help. xxxxxx It helps some people, surely? Those who haven't yet marked their stuff and are reminded to do so? Just because the horse has bolted for some people doesn't mean others shouldn't lock their stable doors :)

Oh OK - the only time I've needed it later than 3am was on Christmas Eve about 4.30pm in the morning, and the noise team weren't working on Christmas Eve anyway. The noise at the house in question was so loud they couldn't even hear me ringing their bell and banging on the door (and yes, that probably woke up even more neighbours :-$). It wasn't a party, just one a******e. Woke me from my sleep in a room at the far end of my house from the place the noise was coming from. Great rested Christmas Day I had that year. (6)

the-e-dealer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hate the change at London Bridge but yes you can > do that. xxxxx The train from ED stops right next to the bridge at London Bridge - all you do is walk a short distance over the bridge to Platform 5/6. Takes less than a minute! Why would you need to go via Lewisham? Sounds bonkers to me :))

loobylou Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks Sue, sarcasm noted. xxxxxx Eh? I wasnt being sarcastic. I never knew that bit of the forum was there until quite recently when someone mentioned it. Probably hardly anybody else does either. My post was written trying to be helpful Why did you think it was sarcasm? ETA: You asked for a number. I gave you one in good faith. Maybe a thank you would have been more in order than a nasty remark?? ETA: And maybe an apology? ETA: For anyone else who doesn't know, you go to the Home page of this forum and on the top right hand side, next to the Forum tab, there's a greyed-out tab saying Local Info, which if you click on it brings up - Local Info

DulwichFox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------ > > Or drive to S........'s and fill the car up with > things you think you need but don't and > fill up your new Brown Bins with all the stuff > that you end up wasting... > > Buy 1, waste 1 Free... > xxxxxxx Just need a bit of discipline, Foxy :)) Avert your eyes from the Ben and Jerry Phish Food and all that (I see the Co-Op has Ben and Jerry's on special offer this week btw folks)

The people who work on the front counter at the ED delivery office are very helpful. I imagine they're quite embarrassed when people have problems caused by other staff.

rahrahrah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If it was necessary to cut noise team budget, then > how about closing the daytime service rather than > the nighttime one? It seems obvious that it is at > night that noise disturbances are a greater issue. xxxxxxx Presumably they have to pay staff more at night - I imagine that is the reason. But if they're only going to have the service during the day, I can't see why they didn't just close it completely. Probably because they can still advertise that they've got a noise team, and most people won't realise that it doesn't work at night - until they try to phone them.

I would prefer them with handles as well, much easier to tie up and get them out of the kitchen bin, and as DipDap says, you can get more into them.

Surely you don't need to get a train to Lewisham to go to Charing Cross? You can go from ED to London Bridge then get a train from there to Charing Cross, short walk to platform 5/6 and a very frequent service.

ibilly99 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Since a burglar with a phone was found by the cops > under a car and let off I suspect telling the > authorities will be met with incomprehension so I > would go for a or d. xxxxxxxx It's not true to say he was "let off", if you are implying that the police should have done more than they did. The CPS wouldn't prosecute because they didn't think there was sufficient chance of getting a conviction. There was no evidence, or insufficient evidence, to prove that the person under the car had stolen the phone, even though it was not his phone. Circumstantial evidence is not enough in a case like this. There is a long discussion of this incident in another thread - which presumably you have read.

Thomas Micklewright Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Sorry sue still no clearer? Care to try again? > Tom xxxxxx Here's my post again. Does anybody else not understand it? OK I've had several glasses of red, but I just want to say, if people didn't eat meat, then there would be very few cows, sheep, pigs or hens in the countryside, if any. At least they have a life, even if a fairly short one. And I personally think battery farming is a load more cruel than animals getting their throats slit. I used to live on an organic farm. Strange as it may seem, the farmers really cared for their animals, and their welfare, even though they were going off to be slaughtered at the end of the day. I was a vegetarian once. Now I'm not. But I would never knowingly eat animals who had spent their lives in a cruel environment.

the-e-dealer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Blimey all his friends ganging up on me over > little joke. xxxxxxx I'm not his friend, and your "little joke" (it wasn't funny in the first place) is getting to be a major pain in the a**e, made at every opportunity on virtually every thread you post on. Water under the bridge now, why can't you just let it go? :-S

stoo31 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >if not > then you can call the noise department during the > day. xxxxxx That's totally pointless because they won't do anything unless they come out and hear it for themselves, anyway it would be too late to stop the noise then, wouldn't it?

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thomas Micklewright Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Do Iceland do good vegetables and fruits? > > > Yeah, but more importantly, they sell loads of > cheap meat! xxxxxx Bad, bad Otta :))

Is this it? Came from the "local info" page on this forum. Safer Neighbourhood Team phone 020 8721 2447 ETA: Email address is given as [email protected] But I have no idea if any of this info is up to date.