With Diesel reaching over £2 per litre, many believe the UK is in for protests. Petrol and diesel is being sold at extortionate prices, and the general public is getting sick of being ripped off. With the oil prices slightly dropping, in price, it fails to show at the pumps.

The people of Ireland have come together to protest fuel prices. They, too, are dismayed with the prices at the pump and have taken to the roads to show their dissatisfaction.

The roads in Dublin are blockaded; roads and major motorways have go slow protests. For 6 days, the protestors have been at it, and public order units have been deployed.

But do protests work, and are they worthwhile?

France is a country known for its protests and demonstrations, especially by farmers. When they turn out, Paris stops. Unity is the key to demonstrations, and the French have it.

Do protests work in the UK?

We can protest in the UK, but will it have an effect? In 2000, blockades were undertaken of refineries and fuel depots. This really had an impact, leaving the majority of petrol stations fueling police and NHS vehicles only.

What started in Essex spread all over the UK. So, did it do any good?  After the protest ended, the government announced a freeze on fuel duties. The power of the people won.

But the blockades of 2000 would never happen today, as we are short of fuel for one. Then the army would be called in if a demonstration of this size ever happened again.

Since 2000, though, protests have done nothing like the 2000 blockade. It seems the government only listen when the country is on its knees.

We all cringe at the thought of an accident in our cars, vans, and motorcycles. If the worst should happen, it’s worth nothing, but here are a few points that could help you in the long run.

So, you drive somewhere, and suddenly, out of the blue, you have an accident. You may hit someone, or they may hit you. It may be your fault, or it may be theirs, but before we draw conclusions, take a step back and check you are ok after the accident.

The next thing to do is get out of your vehicle and check for damage, and check your surroundings. It is so important in this situation to take photos of everything. Lots of pictures of your damage and the damage to the third-party vehicle. Then the easiest way forward is to speak to the other third party and swap the insurer’s details.

NEVER, when making contact with the other person in the accident, say you are SORRY. How can you be sorry when you do not know whose fault it is? Do not admit anything; it’s not your job to do that; it is your insurance company’s job. There is no need to have a long conversation with the other party to make sure you do not say anything incriminating. Always get the third parties’ details.

You will need Name, address, and insurance company, but most importantly, the make, model, if possible and the registration number. Without these details, you may find your insurer cannot get the details it needs to process your claim. All this can be easy to say because you just had an accident and could be shaken up, but try. Getting these simple things done first is important.

Then contact your insurer, giving all the details you received and give them a description of the accident. They will ask you a series of questions about things like what the driving conditions were like, etc. Just tell the truth, as lying can void your insurance, but everything you say is logged.

That is, if the insurance company handles your case, it will contact the other driver’s insurance and decide who was or was not to blame. There can also be an outcome of 50/50 liability that can be given.

Finally getting the outcome you do not want allows you to appeal to the insurance company. If you feel you were not in the wrong, always complain to the complaints department because remember, if it’s your fault, you’re looking at an insurance premium increase, and that hits the pocket worse.

It seems like we can claim so much compensation these days for many things. Mis-sold car finance and now written off car claims. Where there’s a claim, there are some consultants or law companies trying to get your business. They come out of the woodwork like rats from a drain, just looking to make a quick buck off you.

Ok, you get repeated SMS messages offering you a way to check your past claims for being misled by car finance companies. But the question is, should you trust any company that spams its potential clients?  

So you get an advert in your SMS inbox that cannot be blocked. You think you may have a claim, and you go to their website on your mobile. Ok, it’s time to start giving away your data. They want to know everything. Oh, they are going to harvest data anyway.

So, you get to the end of the form, filling in, and you get the law-binding stuff. Yes, they want a signature, and oh yes, it’s legally binding, don’t be fooled. How can you trust signing anything from a spam messaging company?

Also, you need to read the privacy policy to check what happens with all the data they receive. Are they selling bits of your information?

Check the domain name of your click-through, too. If they seem strange or non-reasonable again, it’s a warning sign. You can also find that they have a few different websites cloned to get you to part with your info. One site that has a few sites is PCP Refund Wizard. Known for spam, this is one example to remember.

But what about the people who are sick of spam on their mobiles? Yes, the text must have an unsubscribe number like 88440, and you text EXIT to it. This should then stop more messages, but most of us on fixed mobile tariffs cannot text these numbers, as our contracts don’t cover us. So, we get stuck, and the spam never stops.

If you want compensation, go to a reputable lawyer online. Just search Google for one. Before taking a chance and going for an advert on social media, SMS or email, remember spammers are not interested in you, just your money.

Are you safe?