So all through 2001 I had had to put up with the antics of Chrysler in what seemed like an action that would go on forever. That was my now trying to force them to drop their appeal application. My Cobra Viper business had been spinning along. One year slow, one year good, but I was getting weary of the whole Kit Car scene. I had had 16 years of unremitting hard work, constant uncertainties, the frustration of being so close on two occasions to making it big time. Putting up with others in the industry who I would happily shoot on the spot, if only I could be guaranteed to be able to get away with it. What did the future hold? The chance to at least get some money off Chrysler for the Mark had all but gone down the plughole thanks to Busbridge. One thing that made me happy, was that it was almost certain, neither would he get any pay out, if he had not got something already, which I doubt. The only thing I was determined to carry on doing, was to make sure he did not make any more money out of my trade name. However I was coming to the conclusion that life was more than beating your head against a brick wall all the time.
So really because of that, I decided that I was going to retire early. I would sell the business for what I could get. The last trading year had been good and a good buyer could build on that and I would help all I could. I would still own the trading name as I would just licence it out. So I sold my house and moved into a flat while I worked out what I would do and to get the business sold off. By the end of March, Chrysler were almost at the point of throwing the towel in at last. So I decided I would take a break in Spain to wind down. I still had my faithful Moke Replica and I decided to drive that down to the South Coast of Spain.
I got the ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao and drove the 800 miles in one day arriving at my destination of Nerja just in time for a Chinese at around 8pm. I booked into the small family hotel I had used before, and had my meal. After I retired to my room and as I was trying to get off to sleep I started to feel very funny. First I thought it was just the meal, I got up and was deliberating whether I should get the landlord to call an ambulance, when it hit me. I was going into a heart attack. I knew what it was so got down on the floor, while an ambulance was called. The pain was crushing on my chest and the pains down my left arm. After what seemed an eternity the ambulance arrived and they got the necessary drugs into me and off to the local hospital.
I was in there for three weeks, for I had suffered what they said was a massive heart attack. To make things even worse after two days there I got appendicitis and they had to operate. I was told that I may not come through this operation, and I guess things were that bad because they called my two children to come to Spain. Luckily I must be made of harder stuff than they thought, as I pulled through. However after an event like that it certainly changes your perspective on life.
I can only believe that all this had been brought on by years of stress, and particularly the stress of the last two years. I was slim, always on my feet, loads of walking, cycling and I ate only the best foods for your body. No history in the family of heart attacks, and what was found was a blocked artery which they put a stent in. Of course you cannot prove it, but stress is known to do this, and it is true that even though I am not a person that shows stress, it could have been affecting me. Who knows?
So whilst I was recuperating in Spain, word got to me from the IPO that Chrsyler had thrown in the towel and my own registration was automatically going to be granted. It took effect from my application date of 1996. However this happiness was completely blocked by the next news from the IPO......They were allowing the application from Busbridge to also register the name. Can you believe this mob at the IPO?
I went apeshit at them and their excuse is that he put in his application to appeal Chrysler and register the Mark in his name and before me! To Hell with the fact that I had proved that I had used the Mark since 1986 long before Busbridge could prove any usage on his own and not as an agent of myself. To Hell with the fact that the business that applied for this registration, was no longer in operation as it was bankrupted. To Hell with the fact that the partnership that applied was also defunct. I was so mad I wrote a letter of complaint to the CEO of the IPO at that time, a woman as I recall, but whose name escapes me right now. The main point apart from stating the obvious points I have made above, that I made, was if they had listening to the many warnings that Busbridge was bankrupt as from 1993, this application of his should not not even be in existence. But was this really the IPO oly trying to make sure they got thier own back on me???
As with so many of the compaints that I made to the IPO over the years, they just ignored my complaint. The bitch never even replied but got one of her minions to send a letter which just ignored every point I had complained about. I kept banging away at them but in the end they in effect just told me to go away. Although when I at one stage posed a hypothetical question as to what they would do if they were told that an application to register a Mark, the applicant had gone bankrupt, they answered that if they knew this had happened they would contact the Receiver to see what he wanted to do. I had my answer, and from someone high up, but do you think it made the slightest bit of difference?........ not on your life! So I decided for future reference to trick them. I was so sure that I was right about this question of the bankruptcy especially now I had one answer on it. I contacted the department that dealt with the applications. I posed as another person completely and got them to answer the question in writing. I got the same answer.....it should have been made null and void!! Of course when I complained again to high ups in the IPO, they just ignored me again.
I decided to make an official complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman over their behaviour.I set out a thorough and comprehensive story of all the events, pointing out that what they had done was to deny me justice, lose me money, and their continual refusing to answer questions was against their own good ractice rules. That they had taken months to reply to letters and sometimes never answered at all etc etc. That my complaint to their CEO had effectively been ignored. That they had been guilty of maladministration. I saw my MP about it all and he told me very straight....."All Omsbudsmen are a waste of space and a con on the Public" How right he was for my complaint was rubbished by them and nothing I had said was found to be right. It was all a monumental waste of my time. They are there just to PROTECT their "incompetent civil servants", who are their bosses anyway.
By the way I had forgotten to tell you about Chrysler and the fact that when they backed out and gave in, they had to pay all most of my legal costs by my having to chase them to finalise. Plus they had to pay me the costs I was awarded when I won in my opposition to their rego app. So at least I wasn't out of pocket on that score. Wasn't in pocket either! But would you beleive these Yanky arseholes, they only continued to call their car in their dealer adverts and everywhere else.....THE CHRSYLER/DODGE VIPER. This prompted me to get a lawyer to threaten them with a big bill once again. They had to concede and I got my legal bill paid again. Not long after this they are at it again with asking me if I wanted to sell the Mark. But once again they never came up with a cent, all Yanky bullshit AGAIN.
About this time I went to the Press over this business of Chrysler, and my local paper did a front page with a photo of me and one of my Cobras and explaining the battle I was having with Chrysler. This appeared before I had retired and I thought it would be a good bit of publicity and I got more publicity when Auto Express took up the story too. Didn't make a scrap of difference though.
No comments:
Post a Comment