Skoda Rally Blog

… well, I’ll leave you to fill in a word of your choice.

Last time up, I was waiting for Tyres and still no news on the helmet.

So it’s been a day of dealing with other people’s BS and screw-ups.  Firstly the tyres – they arrived yesterday, and I didn’t get a chance to look at them other than the tread (I didn’t get in until after 11), noticing that 2 of the tyres were way more worn than I’d been told or sent pictures off.  Packed the others off to Kinson Tyres for fitting, only to be told that the beads on several of them were knackered, and they wouldn’t inflate.  And looking at the bead (which should be a smooth bit of rubber, as it seals against the rim and holds the air in), it’s not surprising to see why:

So that's the bit that seals the air in...

Needless to say, this isn’t good, according to the tyre fitter, nor anyone else I’ve asked.  The seller says he’ll have them back and use them himself, which is fair enough, but it’s been a pain in the backside dealing with all this, and means that I’ve spent more on postage than I should have, have to mess about sorting them going back out, and of course don’t have as many tyres as I wanted.

Secondly, the helmet.  As I’d paid the guy THREE WEEKS ago and heard nothing, I started a Paypal dispute on Monday, having emailed and phoned the guy several times with no response.  I then put a post on the forum where I’d seen the helmet, saying that I’d paid out 250 Euros and got nothing in return.  And amazingly, I get a phone call from said seller, who wants me to “take my comments back”.  So after a protracted discussion in which he finally admits that he should have sent it a while ago (after I had to turn into a prosecution lawyer), and that he said he’d already sent it yesterday and could give me a tracking number for it, I agreed I’d remove my message as soon as I could track it.  And of course, the punchline?  The tracking number he sent me doesn’t work, but he’s still had the cheek to ask me again to remove my comment!  Just as soon as the helmet arrives, dear, just as soon as.

In the meantime I’ve had to shell out £400 on a new G78 HANS helmet from EARS.  It should be arriving tomorrow, providing they aren’t from the same fantasy island that the seller of the other helmet was!  No of course, this is a joke, they were very helpful on the phone, so I’m sure I’ll at least get that in time.

Stickers are in the post, mind..