And unfortunately there lies the heart of it. It is a sad fact that the aggressive threat of litigation is often enough to make someone back down, even when the aggressor knows they're in the wrong. People often shy away from litigation, because it is often costly and still doesn't resolve the matter even if you see it through. I blame the lawyers.
I suppose it's unrealistic to expect the general public to work like a professional when making a major purchasing decision like a van restoration, they are much more likely to believe what they are told by the 'experts'. I know plenty of major projects gone tits up because the purchasing decisions were based on unrealistic promises from unproven suppliers, and these were decisions made by 'professionals'.
I dunno - I think where it goes wrong for bus owners (and restorers) is when heart leads brain - that well proven path of love blights common sense. However - even schoolboy maths tells you if you ordinarily Pay X for something, then by vigilant when offered it for Y.
Mega ass chafe was dissolved in 2012 for none payment of VAT so you can slag them off all you want as there's nothing they can do, you can find this information from companies house.
1. As Owen suggested a couple of pages back, I was very tempted, to start a thread merely showing all the photos and "Guess the price". With hindsight I almost wish I had. This is still an option regarding the last as yet unpaid relatively small bill for delivery that the company in question is still nagging for payment. Not sure what stage this has got to. I suggested VZi as the historically appropriate place for this. TLB has decided it isn't the place for this sort of thing and no reason why it has to be IMO. 2. What companies do if they don't like a forum is to get on to the hosting company and threaten them. The hosting company is set up to have a pile of computers and sell space, not fight legal battles on behalf of it's hostee's so what happens is the site gets suspended and pulled off air - after all they are a small part of the host's income and the host won't want to risk it's entire business to back up one of it's customers in a fight that isn't theirs. Then you have to find a host that'll be more prepared to say "stuff them". There are in fact a host or two that are set up to do just this, but they will vet your site and the reasons for it getting pulled first to ensure they're really not going to get in the poo.
people slagg me of when i do a resto , why, because i take so many pictures of my work , i am not qualified in any way in welding panel work painting etc . but i do take a lot of pride in what i do , i do things as best i can . if i cant do it, or dont understand i ASK . people can pic faults in my way of working as can i some times , i do some thing my way , go on here see zeb para birdy dale etc do some thing there way and thing feck it i ll try that , it might not suit but i tryed it , the same applies to a pro restorer , he s or she is only as good as there last job , do a good one you get great praise , do a bad job its the one eVERYONE TALKS ABOUT . not everyone can do a cheque book resto , most on here do theres better than some of the so called pro , BUT THE PRO S HAVE OVER HEADS , thats why they charge so much , what we see as to expensive they see as a fair price , so if some one is going to pay to get a dealer, pro to do the work , go down every couple of days look at the work , ask ur self is it up to scratch , are they ripping the arse out of the time spent , take tonnes of pics of the work . if u dont think its up to scratch then pull it out ,. look at previous work ask questions , are they friendly will they let u in to see the work , if not are yes walk away , so u see why i take so many pics of my cars , if some one in gb wants to see my work before buying a car i send a link ,. then and only then would i consider talking money , or they can fly over , saves everyone time and money . so in this case zeb is picking up the pieces , fair play to him , HATS OF , OWEN NW
