Dear Mary…
Q. I was driving my wife and children to the Warwickshire countryside. My mother followed us in her car. At a slanted T-junction, I stopped to allow some far-off traffic to pass. My mother, thinking, perhaps, that I was still driving like the boy racer of my youth, accelerated straight into the back of my Mercedes. The result: damaged bumper, knackered tow-bar, car in need of repair. Do I: a) claim on her insurance – with all the associated form-filling and grief? b) Claim on my comprehensive insurance and risk a premium rise next year? c) Get the car repaired and send her the bill? Please help.
M.F., Nethercote, Warwickshire
A. The insurers will consider it the fault of the driver whose car has done the crashing into. Between yourself and your mother, however, it is a moral grey area, since you both know that her driving style was reflective of your own former recklessness. Compromise by claiming on her insurance but pay her next year’s premium rise yourself.
Q. At six foot five with a misshapen shoulder following a motorbike accident, I am always being told by well-meaning friends that I should have my clothes made to measure. They invariably go on to boast that they themselves have had made-to-measure suits and shirts knocked up in the Far East for a song. I find this irritating as I never go to the Far East. How can I find a tailor outside Savile Row, perhaps even a provincial tailor, Mary, who could do me proud for a Far Eastern price?
F.O., London SW1
A. I recommend that you try the amusingly named new tailoring firm of Addison & Steele, which does not quite offer Far Eastern prices but does offer a Savile Row service for less than half the normal price.
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