The RANT thread (often contains fruity language)

[ian]

I'd be several hundred pounds richer if I had but that's the price of being a dimwit (thought to be fair, it's was my wife's travelcard, I just use it when she's not looking).

It's a TfL annual travelcard, not sure how it works for train season tickets.

Anyway, I'm a thousand pounds richer that I was. Commence Project Cheese Mountain.

[rr]

I cancelled my season ticket within two days of lockdown starting.

I cancelled mine after a week, and only recently discovered you were allowed to backdate the cancellation date 

Mini's was changed to a season ticket from devonport to Devenport Dockyard, which due to the perversities of the pricing system gave us several hundred pounds more back than cancelling it.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[perpetual dan]

My season ticket was close enough to up that I couldn’t get a refund when lockdown started, though there was several weeks left on it.

My (minor) rant: I’ve been eyeing a fancy stem for a while. Last week there were two in stock. Waited for payday. One left in stock. But, not for delivery - only collection. Bugger. From miles away (they have nearer branches). So now to wait for more to be delivered to them, which probably involves someone else buying the other one so that it looks out of stock.

[hatler]

If the collection could be in the SW London area and you are, IIRC, in the Brighton area, then a delivery could be arranged.

[rower40]

Youtube's fine if you take care with what you're watching.  It only seems to be a few steps from SCIENCE and tech Youtube, through computer gaming Youtube, to misogynist incel flat-earth conspiraloon Youtube.  Like Friendface, it's probably best not to let anyone under the age of 15 or over the age of 50 have access to it without supervision, in case they become radicalised by the far right.

I resemble that remark...
And all the stuff about the railway timetable not being available.  There's all sorts of stuff on
https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/the-timetable/working-timetable/

[TheLurker]

And all the stuff about the railway timetable not being available.  There's all sorts of stuff on ...

I note that is a Network Rail site and not a TOC site.  I think the previous posts castigating the various TOCs still stand. 

[Jaded]

I thought the TOCs were effectively temporarily Nationalised at the Moment?

Which would help to explain if they are shittier.

[Polar Bear]

My trains were spot on on Wednesday.  I had a whole carriage to myself in both directions and they ran according to the timings available on the National Rail Enquiries app which, despite being over 50 and blind as a bat, I successfully used without being radicalised on one of those newfangled cleverphones or whatever they are called.  😉

I quite like this re-nationalisation as it seems to be working just fine.

[Wowbagger]

My trains were spot on on Wednesday.  I had a whole carriage to myself in both directions and they ran according to the timings available on the National Rail Enquiries app which, despite being over 50 and blind as a bat, I successfully used without being radicalised on one of those newfangled cleverphones or whatever they are called.  😉

I quite like this re-nationalisation as it seems to be working just fine.

Objection! Stop diluting the rant thread with positive, happy thoughts!

[Polar Bear]

I know somebody who would rely upon the predictable lateness of a particular privatised train service.  Timetables are for optimists.

[Wowbagger]

Fucking Virgin Fucking Media!

It was one of your officials who persuaded me not to dump your packages in July by offering me a significant price reduction. I've got it in writing, you despicable turds. My latest bill shows me that you have overcharged me. It shows that you are not providing the services that we agreed to, and of which you sent me confirmation in writing on 27th July at 3.19pm. Why is it that your record keeping system is so utterly shite that you cannot identify your employee "Phil" who made me this offer, and that you cannot find the email you/he sent me? I'm sick to death of phoning you up and waiting about half an hour every time while you play mindless crap music to me, especially when the lyrics of the song that features most prominently are along the lines of "I'll be waiting for you...". Why do I have to wait an hour for you to provide me with "an email address" so I can send back to you the email you sent me only about 5 weeks ago?

Edit: arising from the above...

Dear Mr. Little,

Also f.a.o. Keiran Henry.

After a great deal of wasted time - my time, waiting to have my calls answered - I am hoping that we have finally sorted out my contract (see .pdf attachment) with Virgin until January 2022. I fail to understand why a copy of this contract was not stored in your database as one of the records attached to my account.

I will take this opportunity to remind you of what needs to be done.

1. Attaching the “Mixit TV” package to my contract and removing the “Mix TV”. It’s quite confusing having two different packages with similar names.

2. Issuing me with a landline number and the "Talk Weekends" with fully itemised billing.

3. Showing my mobile phone as part of the package - at present I can see the details if I log into Virgin Mobile, but not from Virgin Media. This may be the standard modus operandi - I don’t know. Please confirm if this is normal.

4. Refund me the amount I was overcharged in my last bill.

5. One month’s credit to compensate me for the amount of time and effort I have had to dedicate to what should have been a routine alteration to my package. Quality control of your staff’s work isn’t part of my job description.

Yours sincerely,

[orienteer]

From being one of the best, since the sellout to US-based Liberty Global VM has rapidly descended to the bottom of the pit.

I dropped them after over 20 years (starting with Telewest) when they "lost" my email address for almost a month, with frustrating daily calls to their service centre relocated to India. When you get a notice of price increase (very frequent), you have the right to terminate the contract without penalty, as I did.

Now with Zen for broadband, and Giff Gaff for mobile. Never wanted the TV from VM, it was always just part of the package.

[Wowbagger]

We are over a barrel somewhat as Virgin is the only supplier to our locality with anything like a decent broadband speed. A year or so ago "City Fibre" made a mess of our pavements as they dug shallow trenches everywhere in order to compete with Virgin, but it appears that, despite one of their cables passing within a metre or two of our front door, ours is not one of the addresses they can supply. If that changes by the time my new contract expires (Jan 2022) then I shall bugger off to Andrews and Arnold post haste. At the moment, our only alternative would be <10 gigabit.

[citoyen]

Inconclusive! What the fuck use is that to anyone? And now it’s too late to get another test unless I travel over 100 miles...

Seriously weighing up whether the journey is worth not having to self isolate for another 10 days.

[arabella]

So, I need to hire a car to take son's stuff back to uni.
Shop around says he when I point out the per day cost goes up when you go from 2 to 3 days (cos weekend).

So I do.  Confirmation comes back for a 5-door economy eg Corsa.  All good.  though we don't understand the business model, never mind.
So I amble along to collect the car, fill out the forms and am presented with .... a Fiat 500.  This does NOT have 4 doors and is too small.  So I refused to accept it and demanded a refund.  I think most of it has been voided apart from the deposit for which I have to jump through several hoops.  The hire company tried to tell me a 5-door Corsa was in the same class as a Fiat 500 to start with ....

So the business model is tell the hiring party they are getting a bigger car for a low price.  Then reserve them the tiny car.

F*** off, I don't need this the day before our departure.

(I went back to the usual place, I will be quizzing them later as to why per day is cheaper for fewer days.)

[ian]

This never gets old when it comes to hire cars.

[Kim]

This is why I like the car club approach.  The daily rate might not be quite as competitive, but it's worth the extra to know exactly what vehicle you're getting.  And to be able to return it at late o'clock on Sunday.  And not to have to deal with any pointy-shoed mustelids.

[ian]

House behind ours had their small, steep front garden cleared over the weekend. All fine (well, it looks shit, but) except for the fact that when returning yesterday, we noticed something a bit odd with the verge of our property.

It seems we are now the proud owners of his garden (not all of it, I assume Saturday's output as we weren't in).

Honestly, what a bunch of cunts. Dispose of the waste correctly. This bunch were too fucking lazy to do the usual and flytip it on a local country lane or a layby so they dumped it in the verge opposite (which is our property). They've even tried to make it less obvious, I'm sure more effort than simply putting it in back of their truck.

I presume it's the same company that put a leaflet through the door before they left, the guy who lives in the house never seems to be home, but it's his garden and he can have it back.

[ian]

Ah, they came back to finish up. They were 'storing it there because their truck was full.'

My arse, given they could have stored it out front of the property they were working on, and they wouldn't have needed to try and hide it. They'll take 'care of it' apparently. It's fortunately a scruffy verge that our gardeners don't normally touch, but still, fuck off.

[Ashaman42]

What a bunch of arses. Still at least they didn't claim it was nothing to do with them and someone else must have dumped stuff there...I guess.

[ian]

Well, it remains to be seen if they bugger off at the end and leave it...

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, they seem to be a legitimate company with a presence on Facebook etc. Ironically, had they done a good job, my wife and I did briefly discuss (because I have no enthusiasm for further building works) getting a quote to redo our rather lumpy montane driveway – this was supposed to have been done when we moved in seven years ago.* I don't think we'll be doing that now.

*the driveway company we'd selected didn't turn up for some excuse, and then they didn't turn up on the rescheduled date, and we never heard from them again. There's no point coming around and showing us all the testimonials** etc. if you don't turn up to the do the work (and at least phone to say 'sorry, we overscheduled ourselves, we can't fit the work in' rather than not bothering to turn up).

**One thing that they never tell you when you are growing up is that you'll one day as an adult spend part of an evening looking at videos of newly paved driveways.

[citoyen]

Back in the office today. Aside from the IT hell of my ancient computer* working its way through a six-month backlog of updates and dropbox syncs, I've also had to deal with some of my cretinous colleagues needing a firm clobbering round the head with the cluebat.

When half your team is still WFH and you're having an online meeting at your desk, at least have the courtesy to keep the volume down or wear headphones. This is especially necessary when there are two of you in the office taking part in the same meeting. It's bad enough having to listen to your boring shit once, but having to listen to it again a moment later, echoed through your colleague's computer, is beyond the pale.

On what planet do you imagine this is considered an acceptable way to behave in an open-plan office? FFS!


*Since upgrading my home computer from HD to SSD several months ago, I've forgotten just how mind-numbingly slow it used to be. Being back on the office machine is very much a reminder...

[cygnet]

DOYC this was beginning to slip to page 2.

Towards the end of every month I now have to have the same conversation with the bean counters

BC: Your forecast project spend this month is higher than the time booked.
Me: Has this month finished? [Checks bank statement in the hope of being paid]
BC: No, there is one week left until the end of the month
Me: come and tell me the problem in 8 days time.

Projects do not work like a clock. Multiple projects even less so.

[cygnet]

IKEA
Yesterday, all was happy, smiling, ooh look we've got your order from 3 weeks ago coming tomorrow, be sure to be in, we'll be delivering in the morning and send you a text and email so you know we're on our way.
Today: Zero, Zilch, Nada. Until 1pm. Emails start arriving.
Thank you for amending your order
Thank you for cancelling your order
Thank you for your order which we will deliver in Monday.
(Not mentioned unless you examine the attachments - your "new" order is now missing some parts of your old order. Hope you weren't expecting to receive everything you'd paid for)
As an added bonus (I was in meetings until 5.15pm) the Contact Us bit of the website claims that phone lines are open until 7pm weekdays, until you click the link to get the phone number (Why?) and closing time magically moves to 5.30pm and because it's Friday, they've shut the phone line down 15 minutes early.
Fuckers.

[CAMRAMan]

Nikki Homes Estate agent: You are a lying pile of excrement. I have put in an offer for a flat at the asking price (it's a nice place with low overheads), but I suspect you haven't passed on my offer to your sellers, have you? Why? Well, it's probably because I will be making a large deposit and I already have finance for the rest in place, so you won't get any commission from me, will you? So, you place hoops in front of me, which I jump through - probably to your surprise and disappointment - then you move the  goalposts late on Friday. You had said you would put it up as sold STC before the weekend. However, you haven't and I think that is so you can get more potential buyers through the door who will be more lucrative to you. I wonder if your sellers would be happy at your chicanery?