Why does moving house bring out the rip-off merchants? I won't go into two examples of where I've parted with lots of money (for me) for lousy, cowboy jobs, but the last few days have also brought unexpected expense for something that I think, should have been a standard service.

The dogs microchip had to be updated with my new address so I sent off the form only to have it sent back to me with a "that'll be a £10 fee, thankyou" letter. As I didn't want her being shipped back to her old address and probably be held to ransom I had no choice but to pay up. She's worth £10 anyways, well more like £9.87 but we won't argue about the difference.

Then................(guess who's been sending out change of address letters!!) my car insurance peeps phoned me and said they wanted another £23.00. "WHY? says me. Am I living in a more deprived area than my previous address?" NOPE, says they. Tis an admin fee. Hmmmmmm, how long does it take to type in a new address and click SAVE? Bliddy money for old rope and I told them so and I told them I would not be renewing my policy. Did the young man care? Nope again.

Wendle...........off her soapbox.