Poor Service. So I changed insurance. I save £174 and get what I want so it's

Dear Swiftcover.com,

Thanks.

Even though you offered me a direct debit option on one car, I was surprise to discover the same option had not been offered for my other vehicle I insure with you.

When I rang to enquire why this was I was told that it was because of my postcode. I questioned how one car could have a DD payment but the other one could not when my postcode was the same.

I was then told that both cars could now only be paid with a one off payment, (even tho your website would allow me to renew it right now by one simple click if I wanted cos I've just had a look).

When I asked what my postcode had to do with whether I could pay or not pay monthly I was told that, "well some people in your area may not have paid on their insurance so it's an high risk postcode". I believe two things about this, 1) It's discriminatory, 2) It's a bad business plan.

So I have decided to cancel both polices with swiftcover.com, which has turn out to be a "win win" for me. I've managed to save £174.01 on your renewal quotes plus both insurance's are paid by direct debit. Which is all I wanted to start with. So thanks. Your "bonkers" way of dealing with loyal customers has made me money and lost you business. I'll never use you again.

Regards,

David Markwell

First Audio Boo For A Bit.

Ban the England Flag- The truth is out there.

Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I've seen and heard quite a bit across the last week about "the police" banning people wearing replica England football shirts in pubs during the World Cup.

I realized the first time I saw it, it was cobblers, but it still upset me because for some it was an opportunity to stir the cesspit of hate. So the Facebook groups have been created and statuses updated by some  eager join the campaign, defy the law, attack minorities and fight PC gone mad!

I thought it might help if there was a bit of research done on the matter, not surprisingly it was easy to find the truth

England flag police crackdown rumour 'nonsense'

Police: England football shirt pub ban is a myth

So Come On England! if you wish you "can" wear your England shirt, fly your England flag, sit in your England Gazebo or push your England wheelbarrow with pride this summer and enjoy the football, but please don't use it as an excuse to attack and hate your fellow English citizens.


PS: You can get the wheelbarrows from B&Q @ £32.98, tell em Davos send you..

"Having sex while making unreliable cars"

Apologies if I've told you about this in the past but I am a huge fan of a radio programme called This American Life. It's a weekly show from Chicago Public Radio and quite frankly it has produced some of the finest radio programming I have ever heard. Earlier this week I listened to one of their shows from the 26th of March 2010, called "Nummi".

It's the story of how two major car manufacturers with very different cultures managed to run an automobile factory together. At one of the car plants workers were buying drugs, turning up drunk and having sex while they were making unreliable cars. The other carmaker needed to expand into a new market place.

Here's the radio programmes description

A car plant in Fremont California that might have saved the U.S. car industry. In 1984, General Motors and Toyota opened NUMMI as a joint venture. Toyota showed GM the secrets of its production system: how it made cars of much higher quality and much lower cost than GM achieved. Frank Langfitt explains why GM didn't learn the lessons – until it was too late.  

It is wonderful radio. You can listen to the programme here: This American Life
Added extra: Recently the TAL team launched an application for iPhones that costs under 2 quid, it is the best app on my phone. If you love great story telling and you've got an iPhone you must buy this app.  What do you get for your cash? well every programme the TAL team have produced for radio and TV and it's all searchable! 

Lets try again shall we!

As the eagle eyed ones amongst you might be able to tell, if you've had the inclination to have a look at davidmarkwell.co.uk, a lack of blogging going off. Well without going into all the details all I'll say is that 2010 could nearly have started the way 2008 ended, but thanks to the wonderful NHS staff at Barnsley General Hospital and The Northern General in Sheffield, I'm still here, I've got a pulse, I'm 19 lbs lighter and a new outlook on life 

So it gives my great pleasure to say,

I'm back blogging, audio booing, twittering and talking fluent Markwell crap. So get ready for lots of bad spelling - which comes to you thanks to a very poor teacher who would shout at me and make me look at twat in front of the whole class, when all I wanted was help with a word. Thanks Mrs O.

I hope you enjoy what I do here, but just in case you don't or you're offended with what I say or write, in the worlds of my dear old grim gram, you can go "Nallocks yor sen" (copywrite Nellie Cawthorne 1984, Balla Street, Barnsley)

 (Photo our Nellie as I remember her during the power cuts of the 1970's)