Ceased trading. I moved back home to the West Midlands but this time to South Shropshire.
For Reading / Henley on Thames areas. You might want to contact: Mike West (like myself, ex Sonning Common Electrical), phone number is 07540222655 for washing machine, dishwashers, tumble dryers and ovens/cookers. UPDATE 18/04/2024. Mike will cease trading around early June 2024, he too saw the attraction of retirement. Steve Edwards phone number is 07831248395 for fridges and microwaves, not overly sure when he will retire but I will no doubt will be informed in due course.
All this above info will be deleted on 1st June 2024.
I am now often found in Ludlow library pondering The Times Newspaper and reading all the stuff I never got to earlier in life. As a volunteer at the Archaeological Museum Lab and chasing around as a Hands Together Charity Volunteer. The resumption of fishing (restarts in June – watch that piece of sewage float past and ponder: it that yours or mine?) and on various country walks (there must be a pub stop nearby surely?) and gemmological stuff – revisited seriously after many years.
Thanks to all Reading and Henley on Thames area residents for your past custom, spreading the word about, the nice reviews over my final last 11 years (out of a total of 40 years in the trade and in all probability 30 years too long!) but it was becoming evidently pointless carrying on by late 2022 (actually in all honesty by late 2020) as so many customers had ditched the business probably because of my reluctance to repair anymore dishwashers from 2018 (most being repeatingly failing rubbish, the same ill thoughtout part/s and that is including Bosch..unless lucky and many were not. You may think “well that is good business if the stuff is challenged” but you forget that the trade warranty on any part is 3 months at the very most: Bosch heat pumps mostly failed after 3 months leaving myself at 120 quid a shot to pick up the tab with no recourse..that is why!)) and I was also tied up with the ill, and as things morphed into the decending disaster it became, friends and family all dying in early to mid 2022 – the year of 5 funerals of which none were, surprisingly, due to Covid: 2 due to old age (1 my dad, 1 g/friends mother) and 3 friends by sheer bad luck: 1 by infection following a broken hip, 2nd by cancer and 1 fatal heart attack just by crossing a road. Typically after my move in late January 2023 the phone did not stop ringing, sadly folk were all too late as I had moved on as was noted of my future intentions published on this very site in mid November 2022; just shows me how pointless this site was over the 11 years: few ever bothered to read it despite the 10000+ flyers and this website address on receipts advertizing it. Never mind, one can but try..
I am glad I am out of the whole thing to be honest: the job was becoming a pain in the arse, the technology had changed for the worse, the cost of spare parts were becoming rip off prices, and machines with long warranties conspires somewhat against independent repairers but not of course if you are part of the manufacturers service network; things just became hassle, costly hassle and so good riddance to it all I say.
And so on that rather last grim paragraph note, and yet a reasonable honest summary, I can only wish the very best of luck and good health to you all..
Andy. FGA. N.A. Goldsmiths, RJDIP.