Claim's Cabbies Corner. Repo Revenge.

[bub2006]

If it keeps you earning mate it's better than nothing. The mg6 doesn't sound too bad but maybe a bit small?

[Hooli]

I saw a nissan puke working here once, I'd have thought that too small too

[Eddie Honda]

I'VE LOST A WHOLE FUCKING WEEKEND ON THE LEAD UP TO XMAS OVER A FEW WHEEL NUTS!!!

#checkyournuts

[bub2006]

I saw a nissan puke working here once, I'd have thought that too small too

We followed a 63 plate Yaris that was plated up the other night. How's that possible?

[cuntbuster]

MG6, old cars now, how did that get plated?

[Warren t claim]

A year ago today I was frantically trying to get a tax code from HMRC.

[AMCrebel]

Maybe we should do a thread for vehicles unexpectedly working as taxis?
I got a ride in Pug 205 taxi - but the was in Cuba so wasn't that odd - in fact it was odd that it wasn't a Lada, or a late 50s/early 60s American car of some kind.

[mercrocker]

Not so much unexpected as plain unsuitable but I have never understood the proliferation of 190E cabs in mainland Europe and beyond. Worst 4 door saloon I have owned in regard to getting some bugger to sit in the back.

Apparently, Brighton once had a fleet of E494A sit-up-and-beg Anglia cabs but I should think those were easier to get in and out of and at least the luggage lids dropped horizontally for all that guest house baggage.

[Warren t claim]

I suppose you all think that this is the end of the story? Well, rather like a Rod Warren story penned by myself and eddyramrod, there's a cheeky little plot twist at the end. ​​​​​​​
At about 6pm I get a phone call from a mate who's recently bought, and replated, an E7 automatic last month and now it's disgraced itself with suspected HGF! He's phoning me to ask if I know anyone who's got a cab to rent out. I know Phil doesn't have any left after I blagged the blue TX1.5 but I do point him in the direction of the TX2 for rent on the taxi FB page. My mate uses a different insurance company to me so he's got the luxury of being able to message the vendor and swap his insurance over on Saturday. 

The vendor sends him a reply an hour later and my mate arranges to collect the silver TX2 the following morning. As my blue cab was a misery to drive due to the undiagnosed loose wheel seeing him smoking around in the tidy silver TX2 fills my heart with a black cloud of depression to the point where I'm working a different rank to him so I can avoid seeing him. I know that it's not his fault but I never said that I was a perfect human being! 

Earlier on today I was parked outside a shop perusing my PDA when a familiar silver TX2 pulls alongside me. Yes it's my mate! we lower windows and he remarks that a week ago who'd have guessed that we'd both be driving shitters, cab slang for rental TX cabs, over Xmas. Earlier that week I'd given a ride to his lad who noticed the loud knocking and had obviously passed that info on to his dad because I was asked about it. I replied that it was a simple fix and my TX1.5 now drives great. He answered that although his TX2 is no E7, it's not as bad as he thought it'd be. Would I swap my TX1.5 for his TX2 right now? To be honest, probably not. 

Avid Warren Worboys Watchers will remember a few posts back that the worst thing about my TX1.5 was the heavy clutch. It's not the heaviest clutch I've experienced in an LTI product, that accolade goes to a black Y plated TX1 that I only stuck with for so long because it was plated for six passengers which was pretty rare and lucrative back in 2005. Anyway, I was at Phil's cab garage yesterday when I saw another driver switching cabs from a TX2/4 auto into a manual 55 plate TX1.5. This made me think about asking to swap my cab for the auto TX so I had a word with its former driver. He told me that he was swapping because he prefers a manual, the auto is heavy on diesel and what really put me off was that the autobox is playing up, he has to pull away in 1st before shifting into drive. I really didn't fancy having to nurse a transmission that's on its last legs over the festive period.

[Warren t claim]

So where are we up to now and how did we get here?

To be honest I'm quite surprised I've got back in work and found a car before Xmas.

Getting my DBS check complete this year 50/50.
Getting a badge appointment with the council before Xmas. 50/50
Getting an HMRC tax check code with my dodgy history. 50/50.
Finding a car/cab before Xmas. 50/50.

To put this into perspective, I didn't just bet everything on black on roulette, I had to leave the chips on black and let the wheel spin another three times. Even now I can't quite believe my luck!

My day started with an alarm call at 8.30am as my council appointment was at 9.45am. I logged onto the HMRC not hopeful of getting a tax check code as they refused to generate one for me the previous night. I clicked a few different options and the magic code appeared. I promptly snapped a pic of it on my phone before His Majesty's Revenue And Customs changed their mind.

Next was the simple task of generating a DVLA driving licence check code. A piece of piss.

After checking that I had all the forms, including my DBS certificate which only arrived that morning, I set off early to the council offices. After arriving I had to do a simple spoken and written English and numeracy test which was easy.

Still slightly worried about the HMRC check the lady dealing with me ran it through her computer and told me that I'd be getting my badges today. Result! Whilst waiting another lady walked past the room I was sitting in and walked in after seeing me and said that it was good to see you again Warren and asked how I've been. I have no idea who she is but I played the nice guy!

After paying £143 plus another £35 to be licenced for both PH and hack, I left clutching both badges and heaved a sigh of relief!

Next port of call was the insurance brokers to get the Insignia insured. As you can imagine this didn't go totally smoothly. I had to phone the guy renting to me for the date he bought the car which took a while for him to respond and I needed to find a copy of my existing policy for the P38/Fiesta/Disastra to prove that I'd been insured on a car sometime in the last 12 months. Last time I had to go through this with the same company they refused to take my traders policy as proof that I'd insured a car in the previous year. I'd had the good sense to Whatsapp Claim_Intended a copy of my policy so after some digging on my phone I found the screengrab and emailed it to the broker. After paying £72.20 for a week's fully comp cover plus a £25 admin charge I was insured on the Insignia.

Time for a quick dash to the other side of Wirral to get the Insignia from Dave. I arrive to see it looking like it'd been dragged out of the Mersey but I really didn't care. The problem was that he'd been letting his daughter use it and the taxi plate had been lost! The replacement cost of a lost plate is only a tenner but more seriously, to get the replacement involves making an appointment with the council to get them to make another. I make the executive decision to wing it and turn up on spec hoping to blag a new plate. Instead of the cute 20 something lady who'd just given me my badges, I get boy bastard jobsworth who asks me if I have an appointment. I lie and say that the plate was never issued and he agrees to do me a favour and make a new plate during his lunchtime.

Plate acquired, I hot foot it to the taxi office via the IMO car wash to get the white Insignia at least looking like something the fare paying public would want to travel in. It actually scrubbed up OK so I drove the 50 yards to the taxi office to get activated. The prick behind the desk starts pulling a face because I apparently owe them £42 from ten months ago! He makes a few phone calls and agrees to put me online as a big fucking favour for me. Despite this, it takes an hour of head scratching before they can get my new Samsung PDA graft phone to work. I'm told that I need the new corporate door signs so ask him for some but he says that he can't give me them until I hand back my old door signs that have been stuck to my fridge freezer for the last ten months! Petty cunt! I decide to use my old door magnets and fuck him off.

I go home and get my old door mags. I go to the cash machine and withdraw my last £30 and use the self scan at my local Co-Op to buy cat food to get change to use as a float.

As the Insignia has a quarter of a tank of diesel I'm good to go!

Finally, at 4pm I'm back on the road and spend the next 14 hours bidding on any work on the screen and return home fucking exhausted!

From a year ago today.