Monthly Musings: May 2016

An overview of opinions and observations for the month.

Travel: Krakow, Poland

• Tez had glass in his sausage.
• Moz punched a door because his wife Alice left him before the engagement.
• Moz broke the wheel off his bed
• Moz sounded like an industrial ventilation system when he slept
• Ben slept in the hotel corridor
• Tez got a taxi from a petrol station
• Moz laughed about Blackadder at the Auschwitz death wall
• Moz wore a skeleton t-shirt to Auschwitz
• Ben walked 10k more steps than everyone else everyday
• Moz wanted to just drink beer with free WiFi everyday
• We had to walk 3km to the exit of the Salt Mine
• We walked all the way to the Dragon Den exit by mistake trying to find the entrance
• Tez went asleep at 9pm on the first night there
• Ben gave an insanely spicy kebab to a tramp who likely shit themselves the next day
• We massively misjudged the distance from the hotel to the city centre
• We had to sprint to the train station to not miss our Salt Mine booking
• Ben got told off for taking photos in the Auschwitz prison cells
• Tez was the last person to board the return flight back

Wieza Ratuszowa

Wawel Royal Castle

C.K. Browar

Fortuna & Friends

House of Beer

Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau

Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau - Judenrampe

Auschwitz Snack Bar

Muzeum Żup Krakowskich Wieliczka

Wieliczka-Rynek Train Station

aleja Jana Pawła II

Kopalnia Soli "Wieliczka" Szyb Regis

Plac Inwalidów

COŚ Nowego U Szwagra

Zgromadzenie zakonne Ojców Karmelitów

Plac Szczepański

Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie | Kamienica Szołayskich

The Cloth Hall

St. Mary's Basilica

Restauracja - pizzeria Virtuoso

Dobry Kumpel Pub

St. Florian's Gate

Kraków Barbican

Kraków Główny

John Paul II Kraków-Balice International Airport

Cybermachina

Plac Bohaterów Getta

Fabryka Emalia Oskara Schindlera, Oddział Muzeum Historycznego Miasta Krakowa

Stara Synagoga

Synagoga Izaaka

Wawel Cathedral

Smocza Jama

Baszta Sandomierska

Zamek Królewski na Wawelu. Centrum wystawowo - konferencyjne

Smok Wawelski

Wawel Treasury & Armoury

Lost souls alley

Beer House

Piwnica pod Złotą Pipą

The Square Club

Adam Mickiewicz Monument, Kraków

Galeria Krakowska

Restauracja Polska "Czerwone Korale"

Krakow Plaszow

Wagony kolejowe PKP Kraków Bieżanów

Wieliczka Dworzec

Kościół pw. Św. Klemensa

Lord's Transfiguration Church

Church of St. Wojciech

Kościół św. Jana Chrzciciela i Jana Ewangelisty

LAJKONIK-PIEKARNIA I KAWIARNIA

Liceum Profilowane Zespołu Szkół Ekonomicznych nr 1

The Royal Sigismund Bell

Cyfra 7. Druk cyfrowy Solwent

Irsa-Wawel s.c.

Restauracja Pod Wawelem

Zgromadzenie Księży Misjonarzy

Muzeum Etnograficzne im. Seweryna Udzieli w Krakowie - Ratusz

Church of Saint Bernardino

Parafia rzymskokatolicka pw. św. Katarzyny Aleksandryjskiej Klasztoru Augustianów

Dom Norymberski. Promocja Niemieckiej Kultury

Corpus Christi Basilica

Tempel Synagogue, Kraków

Synagoga Kupa

Endzior

Judaica Foundation - Center For Jewish Culture

Synagoga Poppera

Remuh Synagogue

Es-system SA

Krakow Ghetto Wall

Who You Gonna Call? Not GHOSTBROKERS!

Ghostbroking is a word that should make all of us angry.

For most everyday run of the mill motorists, Ghostbroking will be a term you are unfamiliar with, though lately it has been rearing it's ugly head more publicy. In a nutshell, Ghostbroking is insurance fraud. A "Ghostbroker" will often arrange unbelievably cheap insurance policies for their clients, however the policy is quoted incorrectly and not worth the paper it is written on in the event of a claim.

The latest prosecution relating to Ghostbroking is that of Maur Dumitru, a 38 year old Romanian national residing in Manchester. Dumitru had acted illegally as an unlicensed insurance broker, arranging cheap policies for over 150 other drivers by intentionally lying on their Aviva insurance applications and taking advantage of cheaper area ratings whereby rural areas are cheaper than urban areas due to the reduced risk of a collision or theft.

Despite the insurance policies Dumitru arranged being invalid and void due to the fraud aspect, he still raked in around £200,000 with his bank accounts clearly indicating he had received arrangement fees from his "clients". After initially being remanded on May 5th 2015 and due for sentencing on July 3rd 2015, instead Dumitru evaded justice and he disappeared on the run. The IFED (Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department) finally relocated Dumitru in Manchester where he was arrested on April 27th 2016, and has since received a 20 months custodial jail sentence for fraud by false representation and obstruction of justice by failing to appear for his original court hearing.

Ghostbroking affects the industry and all motorists, regardless of how honest they are. Insurance companies lose revenue due to the deception of fraud, meaning they must recuperate their losses by marginally increasing premiums across the board. Furthermore, in the event a law-abiding road user is involved in a collision with an uninsured driver (such as those sold policies by a ghostbroker), the ensuing claims process will likely be lengthy and problematic trying to ascertain accountability and liability to pay for damages.