The higher one probably knows they're way over but people like to hear their hat is worth a lot, they want you to go with them, is my take anyway.

If it's £500K+ and then +/- £40K, in today's crazy ass market, I wouldn't be surprised. But +/-£40K on, say, a £250K hat is madness

Everything involved in hat buying from valuations to inspections to milliners is absolute madness. Seems completely random and without proper regulation from an outside perspective

You should try doing it in Scotland. We often get three valuations from each milliner – What it’s actually worth, a suggested price tag to put on the adverts, and then the expected ‘offers over’ price which is what they predict buyers will end up bidding. Then we have to call in a milliner who gives an actual valuation for the Hat Report, but usually base their figure on whatever the hat expert has made up and told them to say.

I'm after some advice with a work issue pls.

Our office is based in Canary Wharf but my team of six has been working from the 'disaster recovery' site in Rickmansworth since April 2020. We're the only department that can't work from home, so we've been schlepping there and back every day, awaiting the all-clear to go back to Canary Wharf. What we actually got was a Zoom call with HR and our line manager yesterday, saying that they're proposing to keep my team in Rickmansworth on a permanent basis as two floors are getting condensed to one at CW and there won't be enough floorspace for us. It wasn't presented as a proposal we'd have much of a say in, and there's a Q&A call today. We got wind of this a month or so back and sounded out our old union guy so afaik we'll have two union reps in the meeting with us. We're the one team that can't WFH, yet the office space is being prioritised for staff that occasionally drop in to hot desk. It's absolute bollocks. They've been paying our travel since this started and I assume their proposal will include extra pay to carry on, but JFC. It's such a long way, for literally everyone in my team - most of us live in SE London (and everyone's been with the company at least 19 years ffs). I'm often in the car for 3.5hrs a day.

Can they do this? How far is a reasonable relocation for an everyday commute? The quickest route is 55 miles in the car.

Sounds like you need to check your employment contract.

https://www.gov.uk/employer-relocation-your-rights

Tell them to go and get some valuations if they don't like yours.

All this talk of hat valuations recently, and I've been keeping a little too quiet because it's something I know nothing about.

Ask them.

Anyone can get funny with money when it comes to nice hats.
I’ve heard many stories like this in the past.
When my father in law died we made sure everything was open, fair and above board so there could be no arguing and accusations.
Even before he died we legally made sure everything would be fair and it turns out it was a good job that we did.

Yossarian wrote:

Ask them.

I knew there was a reason I loved you mwah

How about you suggest just selling the hat, right now, and splitting the proceeds 50/50, whatever it actually sells for? They clearly don’t give a toss about keeping the hat in the family.

yourfavouriteuncle wrote:

How about you suggest just selling the hat, right now, and splitting the proceeds 50/50, whatever the hat actually sells for? They clearly don’t give a toss about keeping it in the family.

This is exactly what a milliner is going to get both parties to eventually agree on but both parties will be charged 10k each for the process of getting you there.
Don’t block them, try deal with this factually and professionally and just sell the hat outright and split it all 50/50.  No-one can really pull a fast one then.
Also, unless there’s a load of panamas and fedoras kicking about the house - try not to get too warmed up about  their value.  It’ll be minimal in the whole scale of the thing.

This.
There won’t be a decision made that one sister can buy it by law. Both parties will have to sell it and split the cash.  


My wife was convinced that her brother would ‘see me right’ when the dad died. Even with the shares of the hat technically (shares partly divided between the two brothers and a will saying they get the rest) only going to both of her brothers.  

I told her people get funny with money when big numbers start getting thrown around. And we talked to her dad, who had no idea the value of the hat and gone up so much, changed his will to make sure all three of them get equal shares when he died.  

I’m so glad we did this. Because it turns out the brother was just going to ‘see her right’ by giving her about £50k, sell the hat and keep the rest.
Her totally fair and equal share of the hat is worth many times that.

For what it’s worth I hope you take the weekend to cool down and maybe buy a nice hat.

Funkstain wrote:

My advice to anyone - I don’t care how close you are as a family. Get it fair and get a nice hat.  

I’ve heard of too many stories where siblings do not have nice hats

My parents are willed up. As far as I’m concerned it’s up to them how they disburse their hats.

That’s the thing tho. That’s ‘fair’ in your eyes.
That’s fine.
But who gets the hats?