Non-porting “portable” mortgages

Posted by Justin on Feb 5, 2011 in Nelsons' Column | 0 comments It is important to read the small print when paying extra for a so-called portable mortgage – often it will turn out not to be portable after all. Clients of ours are moving to Kent from another part of the country. They are selling their existing house for the same price as they are paying for their new one, both are valued the same, and they want to borrow the same amount: should be...
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NEIN! (No Excellence In aNything)

Posted by Justin on Feb 5, 2011 in Abaddons Musings, cynicism, service | 0 comments There are, it seems, a large number of (usually large) organisations that simply cannot be bothered – they have, and aspire to, no excellence in anything A prime candidate seems to be BT – reliable, trustworthy, customer-friendly, value for money? Not in my experience! Can you suggest other candidates for the NEIN list?
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The end of civilisation …

Posted by Justin on Feb 3, 2011 in Abaddons Musings | 0 comments … as I know it What a depressing visit to Waitrose, Tenterden, this evening: not a single bottle-conditioned beer on the shelves. The stocks of Brakspear Triple had been steadily diminishing over the last few days, but I expected them to be topped up – wrong! Looking for an alternative, it was disappointing to see that neither Hopdaemon Skrimshander or Hog’s Back TEA is...
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Not all conveyancers are the same

Posted by Justin on Jan 30, 2011 in conveyancing, Nelsons' Column | 0 comments We pride ourselves on being efficient, swift, approachable and good value for money – but we would, wouldn’t we? Anyway, that’s what they all say but, contrary to widely-held assumptions, not all firms offer the same standard of service or value for money.  How can you actually tell what a particular firm is like before you commit to them? First, take a look at their website...
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Discounting legal fees

Posted by Justin on Jan 27, 2011 in Nelsons' Column | 0 comments I have touched on this before, but thought I should give a little more explanation. We offer discounts in appropriate circumstances – to members of an established discount scheme, or on referrals from business networking groups we belong to, or to established clients who have already gone through the ID checking procedure, for instance Outside these situations, we do not discount our...
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