The insurance company Aviva recently conducted a survey amongst their clients which dispelled the myth that “White Van Man” was no more than an urban thug.

Tradesmen in London are the smartest, sexiest and most successful drivers on the road their research showed, with over 70% having an interest in politics and current affairs.

Smart Tradesmen in London

Over half of the white van drivers surveyed said that they regularly read books, compared to one-in-ten sports car owners.

Sexy Tradesmen in London

Most of the white van drivers questioned responded that they like to keep themselves in shape and pursued some form of outdoor leisure activity.

Successful Tradesmen in London

Half of all van drivers were the boss of their own business, as compared to 83% of sports car drivers who work for someone else.

Nigel Bartram, motoring expert at Aviva, who carried out the survey, said: “It’s great to prove what we already knew – van drivers are switched on and enterprising! Gone are the days of the traditional white van man stereotype. What our research shows is that van drivers are entrepreneurial and responsible.  This is why we have tailored direct motor insurance to cater for the 21st century van driver.”

With half of van drivers opting to fix household appliances when they break rather than ask for help, they are also the handiest to have at home. After a hard day’s work, a tradesman in London is more likely to catch a news bulletin or documentary than anything else on the box and, out of all drivers questioned, is the least likely to watch reality TV.

Sofeminine.co.uk added a female perspective to the results of the survey with the comment that “A white van driver may not be so likely to have a degree, but he has a big package” – So much for stereotypes!

For a deeper look into the psyche of a white van driver tradesman in London, visit the Social Issue Research Centre web site, who produced a quite eye-opening and humorous insight into this social phenomenon, and concluded that in order to change their image, tradesmen in London should paint their vans a different colour!

 

The cost of DIY bodge-ups according to the Clydesdale Bank

Research from the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks has revealed that bodged DIY jobs in the home cost homeowners £235 million to put right last year.

The recent survey was conducted amongst two thousand of the banks´ customers and showed that over a quarter had experienced a DIY disaster within the past twelve months.

With one in ten respondents having to pay up to £500 to get their mistakes fixed, a spokesman for the Clydesdale Bank commented that while DIY may be a great way to save money, it is important to have the correct tools and right set of skills to avoid a job around the home becoming a very expensive exercise.

The bank estimates that nearly 5 million people across the country ended up paying for DIY mistakes after they attempted to do DIY jobs such as decorating, plumbing or gardening. Instead of wishing you had never started a job that is ultimately going to cost you a lot of money, why not consult Mr Skill´s Tradesmen’s Directory and benefit from the financial advantages of using a London tradesman.

 

Once upon a time, cat burglars had easy opportunities to take advantage of homes that contained pets, as burglar alarms with sensory devices were rarely used because any movement of the domestic animals would set the alarm off.  Then alarms were introduced that could allow for the midnight prowling of a small pampered pooch or had independent zones which enabled you to lock the dog/cat/guinea pig in one room and protect all the others. Still the problem remained that if you had a larger dog, particularly one that was meant to guard your property, you would not want to lock him away in a room and yet he could not move around without triggering the motion sensors.

Now, a “Big Dog” alarm system has been introduced by ESP. The system uses a combination of three contact detectors and two vibration detectors for doors and windows to cater for the movement dogs in excess of 50 pounds (23kg) and has the optional extra of glass break detectors for added security. The ESP wireless alarm system can be fully armed for when your property is empty, part armed for when parts of your property are being used or perimeter armed to protect the immediate external area around your property, outbuildings and valuables outside. As well as the usual internal alarm detectors our range of external weatherproof movement detectors can be set to any of the alarm arming modes

Other features that are included in the ESP Infinite Prime “Big Dog” system are Speech PSTN telephone dialler, remote arm/disarm using telephone, voice indication of alarm status, voice memo pad, no motion zone, a USB port for software upgrades and an attractive cool blue LCD display.

ESP Infinite Prime “Big Dog” alarm systems are available from locksmiths in London and are classed as BS-EN50131:2006 Grade 2 Class 2 professional alarm systems and therefore require professional installation.

If you would like to find out more about securing your house from unwanted intruders – whether you have a pet or not – contact one of the local locksmiths in London available through our Tradesmen´s Directory.