John, u r (quite rightly) a cycnic!

But to give a glimmer of light - a pal of mine took a fiddle to be valued, just a verbal valuation no perperwork or anything. They asked him to come back in a couple of hours whcih he duly did, they gave him the valuation and when he asked for the fee they refused on the grounds it was both part of their service and a pleasure to handle such an instrument.

So it's not all doom and gloom there are some good guys left in the world, apart form catters that is.