chipfork
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What's A Really Good Cat Flea Treatment?
chipfork replied to The_DADDY's topic in Sheffield Pet Owners
We use Frontline Plus and it has been effective. The "Plus" version used to only be available from vets but for some time now it's freely available, our last batch came from Amazon. A few years ago we hadn't kept up with flea treatment and had an infestation. Indorex was very effective along with a lot of cleaning and washing of clothes and bedding. I think we found that to be cheapest from a seller on Amazon or eBay. -
Great advice, I believe Citizen's Advice can also help. A good solicitor will be able to assess the needs and if relatively straightforward guide them through the forms for a nominal fee. Family on my partner's side were charged over £4k which seemed excessive given the requirements were very similar to those that I'll discuss below. Therefore it is essential to get a few quotes for the work before entering into an arrangement with a solicitor. Look for a specialist, the Law Society is a good starting point. This will find regulated solicitors (SRA) but is no guarantee of their quality, reviews and word of mouth can help. We recently looked at probate advice and the quality of the responses and projected fees were very mixed. I helped my partner's parents with an LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney). I'm not a solicitor, I did a lot of research , triple-checked everything and then validated what I had learned with those who had knowledge. We talked everything through, filled out the form on the government web site, paid the nominal admin fee and received the completed agreement some weeks later. My partner's mother's health was expected to worsen so we wanted her spouse to have control over her health and financial affairs whilst she was an a position to agree. It was relatively straightforward and proved to be worth the effort.
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My partner is a nurse so I have some insights. She went through the traditional nurse training/qualification. About 5 years ago, on her own volition, she completed her degree in order to help with advancement and opportunities. She funded it and we worked on it outside work. From what I understand the degree focus doesn't change things dramatically, there's still placements and hands-on involvement. Privatisation is slowly creeping across the NHS. She works in NHS mental health and the service they manage is tendered every few years. This service is one of the few of this type, it might be the only one, that was won by an NHS trust aligned team. Across the country many mental health services are now with the private sector. You may have seen the news/Panorama and the problems with at certain privately run mental health services. That's not to say the NHS services are perfect, it just demonstrates that there is a level of privatisation which many may not realise. We'd be deluded to think that the private sector priorities aren't aligned to profit and returns first and foremost.
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I'd never ever thought about this until I went to my local tyre fitter. I tend to wait and watch the process. My local tyre fitter cleaned up the rims first to help the bead of the tyre sit better in the rim (?), they added a bit of copper grease to the wheel nuts as mine were a pain to remove and then finished tightening the bolts with a torque wrench. When I've been desperate and gone to a chain tyre fitter there's been none of the cleaning and the bolts were just put on with a gun. I don't know what torque as when I had to take a wheel off I could only shift the bolt with an extended wrench and was worried about breaking the bolt. I'm much more picky where I get tyres fitted now.
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There's very little information as to the restrictions, particularly in relation to insurance. Because of the way insurers still like to price their renewals, we've swapped insurers every year since I can remember, we make sure we have more than adequate cover. Thanks, we'll put the freehold on hold 😉 The key concern was the lack of communication and a bill from the new owner of the freehold. At least the ball is in their court.
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Thanks, so a little shy of £1,500 which doesn't sound an unreasonable amount. I am struggling to understand what we would gain from this investment by acting now rather than in 5 or 10 year's time. We've no plans to alter or sell the property and the £7 per year fixed ground rent isn't much of a burden.
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Thanks, the main concern was about the ground rent and the lack of communication, we're happy that the ball is in their court. I'm still unsure of the benefit of looking at the expense involved in purchasing the freehold now when we have 700+ years on the lease and a £7 a year fee. Is there any rush when there may be reforms in the future that make the whole process easier, perhaps even fixing a formula to the cost.
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Thanks. I guess we wait for an invoice for the ground rent. It appears to be a one-man band operation, not sure why they took over a batch of properties with so little return. There's very little information about the terms and nothing about the alterations that would constitute an admin fee and what those fees would look like. We've no plans to sell anytime soon and no plans to make alterations. Given the long lease and little outlay in ground rent is buying the freehold worth the cost? I guess there's no harm in asking for a quote.
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I posted over a year ago now when we received a letter explaining that a company called "Fee Simple Estates" had purchased the Freehold Interest in our property from Norrow Estates. Our leasehold has 713 years left, the ground rent is £7 per year, we have no alterations planned and therefore see no reason to attempt to purchase the freehold. Unless we're missing something? The letter from May 2021 includes a rent demand notice for arrears of £0 as we were up to date with Norrow Estates, the fees run annually from March. It also states it sets out the amount of rent due and by when, but it only refers to the arrears in the letter where our balance is £0. The letter makes clear the action and penalties should we not pay the ground rent, yet we've not had any letters from them. Norrow Estates used to send an invoice and for a while we were posting cheques until we determined a standing order was easier for us, and certainly advantageous for them. Should we be the proactive party, are they expecting us to contact them to understand the fees, when they are due and how we can pay? The letter states that if there are any questions then we should write a letter. I'm concerned that if we wait on them to send an invoice then we'll be hit with the penalties or court action that they outline in the letter. I will ready a letter, this had slipped my mind. Given we're beyond March when the ground rent is due, what penalties are they able to apply?
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I sanded (hired a floor sander), stained and varnished most of our house around 15 years ago. Most is wearing well and that was with 3 to 4 coats of hard-wearing varnish specifically for floors. Over the last few years certain heavy footfall areas have worn and I have been instructed that re-sanding, changing the colour and re-varnishing is on my list of jobs. Can't wait 😁
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I rang mine, Scottish Widows, a short while back and without much of a wait got through to someone who surprisingly answered all of my questions without having to put me on hold and speak to someone else. You don't customer service to be like that these days 😁
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I did exactly the same thing once I was better informed. I'll certainly look at the Pension Wise site. I have decided not to take an initial appointment with the company that unbiased.co.uk passed my details too. They aren't local and the moneysavingexpert forum consensus is that unbiased are simply a lead generation site that most smaller IFAs don't pay a subscription too. I would much rather conduct my own adviser research.
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In a similar boat, looking for a pension adviser/IFA to help with pension advice and consolidation. Tried unbiased.co.uk which is linked on many of the government web sites. Not that impressed with how that works though as I expected to be given a list of IFAs in my area and then conduct my own research to select one. Instead they refer you to one they've selected. The one they selected for us is based in Sunderland and has an agent in Doncaster. I'm going to take the free no obligation first meeting but I'm already thinking I'd like to do a bit more research. So I'm interested too in hearing about local recommendations. I found the Pension Wise session useful, if you're not overly familiar with pensions then it puts you in a much better place before speaking to an IFA.
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I've just received this Save the BBC Petition from change.org, unusual as I never normally receive emails from them. There's an overly hysterical diatribe for why the licence fee shouldn't be abolished. Unfortunately, there seems no option to vote against the petition 🙄 Each will have their own perspective. Personally, I think the changes are long overdue and I would imagine that by 2027 the options and way we consume media will make an even better case for licence to be abolished.
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Should Kate Josephs Resign As Sheffield's Ceo?
chipfork replied to Baron99's topic in Sheffield News & Discussions
As CEO of Sheffield City Council she is expected to lead by example. Do you really think people will have much confidence in someone who flouted the Covid restrictions that she, as director general of the taskforce, was involved in creating? Will this demonstration of morals affect decisions she makes for Sheffield, who knows, but this will cast significant doubt. We expect little to come out of the investigations. Civil servants investigating senior civil servants at best seems to end with lukewarm criticism and guidance followed up by a template apology from the transgressor. It will be interesting to see if the police become involved although from what I have read and appears unusual, they will await for civil servants to conduct an investigation and then make a decision then.