Permanent U.K. address.

So just what is the postcode for, say, the southbound hard shoulder 1.5 miles south of junction 18 on the M1? Do they deliver much mail there? ;)

However, if you are in the Tescos car park at Fleetsbridge, Poole, they (the call centre ) don't recognise it without the postcode - even though the patrolman probably shops there!
 
A few years ago I wintered on the River Fal. Up on the flood in the dinghy to Truro, and I went into a radio/TV shop in the town trying to buy a speaker to improve the sound of the car radio I have fitted in my boat...

This one looks ok...take it to the counter.
Shop assistant.." They are the ones advertised on TV"
Me.."Ah! I haven't got a TV"
Assistant..with surprised look...." I need your post code for the sales receipt please"
Me.." I don't have a post code at the moment"
Strange look from assistant..." Can I have your email address then please sir?"
Me.." Sorry, I don't have a computer yet, so I don't have an email address"

Assistant.." I have to speak to the manager, will you wait please sir?" and off she went...

Manager.." Have you some identification sir?"
Me.." I'm paying cash mate, not credit card"
Manager.."I still need some identification sir?"

On yer bike...later I bought one off a stall in the Arcade Market..;)
 
However, if you are in the Tescos car park at Fleetsbridge, Poole, they (the call centre ) don't recognise it without the postcode - even though the patrolman probably shops there!

I've no doubt you're right (I was partly being flippant): the patrolman probably just punches the postcode into his satnav in order to find you. I know from experience the call-handlers aren't always that good at identifying somewhere truly remote. I once had to spell 'Wales' phonetically.

Sorry, OP. You can have your thread back now.
 
Not only that but if your car breaks down the AA will have trouble finding you if you can't give a postcode!

And the RAC! I tried to phone them on behalf of a young family broken down outside the Kirkstone Pass Inn.

"They are in the carpark opposite the pub at the very top of the Kirkstone Pass, 5 miles north of Troutbeck on the A592 going to Patterdale and Glenridding in Cumbria."

"Do you have a postcode?"

After 15 minutes of trying every description possible (including the Grid Ref), but not the postcode, the RAC operator wouldn't accept she had enough information to dispatch a repairman.
Eventually I got her to patch me through to the nearest patrolman to Kendal. Two seconds later he said, "right I'll be with you in 10 minutes".
 
Join ADAC. They provide worldwide breakdown cover to their members and even have an iPhone app to link your exact location to your account, so that ADAC HQ can send the recovery person to the right place.

I register the account at my UK address and they know I live in Italy. They don't care where you reside as the policy provides worldwide coverage.

Www.adac.de

I would call them as you need a German bank account to register online, but they will take a UK credit card.
 
Nothing wrong with the AA service. Just the over reliance on technology for such a simple thing.

BTW Whats an "iPhone app"? Sounds like a disease to me.
 
:D Great idea but unless that sheep shack has a post code you're snookered. Without a post code I found myself treated as NFA (no fixed abode) and I didn't exist officially, just one of the great wandering unwashed...;) Get yourself a post code and you become acceptable, respectable and beloved by officialdom...( and they even let you join the local Library)...;)

Not only that but if your car breaks down the AA will have trouble finding you if you can't give a postcode!

I recently moved house to a new development. Although I had a post-code, it wasn't in ANY of the databases used by utilities, banks etc. It still isn't in sat-navs.

Never had any problems about being "No fixed Abode" - but I could give them a street address and post-code, even though they couldn't validate it.

I did once encounter an organization - forgotten what it was - that I couldn't do business with because it didn't have a way of accepting an address without a post-code that it could match in its database.

The biggest problem is the sat-nav one - I regularly have to tell delivery drivers how to find us!
 
p19-postcode-cartoon.jpg

'I was talking to the wretched woman for at least ten minutes until I realised she was quite an unsuitable postcode.’
 
The OP was asking about what to do if you don't have a convenient family member whose address you can use.
I am a non UK resident. I have a UK address. Bank and a few other things.
I have someone with a power of attorney to take care of things when I'm gone. It cost’s a few bucks but keeps things going ok. For officials and banks its good enough.
 
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The OP was asking about what to do if you don't have a convenient family member whose address you can use.
I am a non UK resident. I have a UK address. Bank and a few other things.
I have someone with a power of attorney to take care of things when I'm gone. It cost’s a few bucks but keeps things going ok. For officials and banks its good enough.

Erm, but unlike you, the OP does not have a permanent UK address.
 
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