Grrrrr....

Today I was conned and I'm mad. Hopping, seething, punch-the-wall kind of mad.

A man telephoned me and said in a scruffy, regional accent 'I want me carpets cleaned, luv. Can ya give us a quote and please bear in mind I'm just a skint pensioner.'

'How big are your rooms?' I asked.

'Oh, just average size. There's two of 'em and can you just clean me hall on the way out. It ain't big. Just, y'know. Average size. And the missus says could you run over the mat in the utility room on ya way out. Now be kind. Remember I'm a skint pensioner. I'll leave ya the key. You can do em when I'm gone. It's a holiday home ya see.'

Okay. That last bit should have rang warning bells. Only it didn't cos lots of people have holiday homes here and they are all shapes and sizes.

'Tell you what, luv.,' he continued. 'Tell us the price and I'll leave ya the cash.'

Ah. Nice man, I thought. No probs with payment. Yeah this should be all right.

I gave the geezer a quote based on the information he gave me, thinking I was getting a fair deal and so was he. Besides which I google earthed the house and it didn't look that big. (By the way do not trust google earth! It lies)

So off me and my husband went. Uh-oh. Wrought iron gates. Long drive. House the size of the Albert Hall. And the two 'average' size rooms were the size of frigging tennis courts. Skint pensioner my **** This was his second home. What was the size of the other one? And not one but two boats outside the house. SKINT PENSIONER!!! I don't think so.

Gut reaction was to walk away. Stuff the money. But then how ever small it was, we needed it. So should we just do some of it? That's the trouble you see. We just can't help but do a proper job however much we've been conned. So we did it. But I did leave a note just to let him know I knew he conned me.

When I join OAP land. Let me say here and now that, apart from never wearing green or beige (see previous blogs) I will never, ever, EVER play the old age pensioner card to get something on the cheap.

And now I'm going -- I have a wall to punch.