YOUR PROBLEMS SOLVED
Q. For over 23 years I have rented a beat on a South Ayrshire river. For the last six years the proprietor’s wife has cooked for my party, and her food is delicious. Since the beginning of this arrangement I have paid her a fixed sum without an invoice. This year, to my surprise, at the end of the week, her husband handed me a letter itemising the cooking costs with a hefty 30 per cent increase in the price. There was no prior notification of this increase, but I paid the account. The proprietor and his wife have become good friends, and I do not wish to upset them. How do you suggest I write to them explaining that this is not the correct way to do things and if the cook wanted an increase, it should have been mentioned ab initio when I made the booking?
Name and address withheld A. Of course the couple should not have larded on the extra charge without prior notification, but in the current climate it would be inadvisable for you to rock the boat. You did well to see no increase for six years and you must consider the loyalty of the proprietor and his wife. In letting the beat to you for over 23 years, rather than letting corporate days for absurd amounts, they may have been forgoing substantial sums. The 30 per cent increase probably reflects only a small percentage of what they have missed out on in funny money from the City.
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