I RECENTLY visited Johnsons the cleaners in Knutsford to hire a carpet cleaner machine.

They wanted my passport, a recent utility bill and £25 cash deposit.

Not to mention the £20 daily charge on the machine itself.

I wasn’t opening a credit account, just hiring a machine.

Had they gone mad?

So I went to Redwood hire instead, where a very obliging man let me hire a machine for £18 a day plus a card imprint. No brainer?

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