In 2009. they,(Kettering Classic Motorcycles), took one complete bike & one bike stripped down plus a substantial amount of spares, he only phoned up for a quote on value & they turned up the next day with a van & cleared out his garage, he thought he had a cancer & had panicked & they I believe they preyed on hie vulnerability, he was in his 80s, they also tried to charge him £100 transport costs as they took his bikes & spares away, he refused to pay this fee.
They agreed a price, I believe it was too low, £200 less than £2,000 & then on the back of "Jampot", they advertised one machine above the value they gave him for the lot, they later dropped the price of this machine slightly. But , the worst thing was it took them over a year to send him the money, they had agreed to pay him in the first place, I sent them an email on his behalf they never got back to me, to the AJS & MOC, so I told him I would go up there with support & bring the machines back & contact the Police, we agreed a set date, one week before the set deadline, we had agreed with each other, they weirdly paid up, they must have had Mystic Meg in their workshop with her crystal ball!
The point that peed me off was that it caused him stress & if he had have died in the meantime then what then? I believe the AJS & Matchless Owner's Club are also £37000 down, by their own admission, in their accounts through some dishonest activity by some individuals, but I do not know who is responsible for this misdemeanor, they have now restructured their Committee & set-up!
Whoever was running KCM @ that time 2009, was not acting in my opinion, in a fair and ethical way! Guys do not fall out over taxhave you never wondered how the rich seem to keep their wealth whilst those trying to amass it seem to get knocked back down through tax laws & adherence to them?
You pay tax when you earn, you pay tax & duty on many things that you buy some of which are essential, some foods & petrol! VAT finds it way on to almost everything, because its on goods @ the clever bit, SERVICES & death duties, well maybe its the allowances that are screwed up but I think this particular angle is often less than ethical, plus you have only to consider our own MP's expenses scandal, to comfort yourselves that the right people are running the country, making the right decisions && all is tickety- boo!
I can see both points of view, I personally think we in Blighty are taxed to death, so come on guys shelve your differences & lets enjoy some banter, you both have many valid points to make & knowledge to share.
I heard of other businesses taking peoples bike collections selling them & not either informing them of the sales or not bothering to pay up, when they should have, a Lancashire firm near Blackburn was guilty of this. Then there are relatives putting pressure on Dad or Uncle or Grandad to sell whilst prices are high & maybe they do not want too & still get some joy polishes their beloved Cleethorpes 350cc V4 machine.
"Where there's brass there's muck", should be rewritten as "where there's brass there's, lies, cheating, skull-duggery, theft, deceit & on occasion honesty & trust".
But hey, this is what happens when things get too precious, makes me think of Gollum's, dilemma!
Cheers
JBW
