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Post by michael on Jan 13, 2015 15:01:48 GMT 1
Those of you who visit the forum regularly will recall I have some pension issues. This has now become two separate issues worth an estimated £30/week at 65. Anyway I am plodding on but got really annoyed when I got my latest phone bill. One organisation I am talking to says it has an 0800 freephone number. However they are only open when I have access to a mobile. This costs 10/minute – hardly free. What bugs me is that Ofcom have been looking at this for years and still not resolved the issue. But then Ofcom, and Oftel, before them have in general seemed a waste of space. I now have an 0870 number to ring at 35p/minute – arghh. The other issue Ofcom should sort are all these stupid calls about PPI, etc. If they were paid on results they would be paying us!!!
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Post by michael on Jan 16, 2015 14:17:08 GMT 1
Up until a few years ago any device with a battery had a simple clip on cover. Now this have mainly morphed into a ill fitting cover held by a tiny screw. I just had to open one up to remove the isolator below the battery (it said on it remove before use for the benefit of those with X-ray vision!). The whole thing is so flimsy that I will probably have to resort to sellotape to hold it in after a few battery changes. Why cannot things be made properly instead of bowing to the bean counters?
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Post by colin on Jan 29, 2015 20:50:51 GMT 1
My immersion heater packed up about a week ago and after doing all the usual checks, discovered it was the actual unit, so, off to buy a replacement and the square tool to shift it, drain down etc; got a mate to hold the tank while I gradually increased the force and leverage to undo it......I said "it's starting to budge"... getting exited! My mate says "The top of the tank is bending.....!"I said "oh bol....s", stopped just in time so it didn't leak. So, off to buy a new tank and fittings etc; the higher authority said "why don't you leave it untill the weather warms up, we can use the gas boiler can't we???"; "Yes dear";...... today the gas boiler packed in.....GRRRRRRRR!!!!!! it never rains, it pours!!!!So light the wood burner and put the kettle on and have a cold shower....the gas valve is up the creek, managed to source one from a mainland supplier,£65 and it's quite simple to put in,I've seen it done before 5 years ago when it packed up then, the thing's 40 years old!....but the gas bloke is trying to work a new boiler plus God knows what in to me.....GRRRRR! Why can't someone just do the efffing job????It's a licence to print money....GGGRRRRR! Good mind to put it in myself....
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Post by michael on Feb 4, 2015 15:00:55 GMT 1
Regular readers of this forum may recall I have an ongoing pension issue. This has developed into two separate ones - one related to contracted out contributions and the other to a shortfall in stakeholder contributions. Together they are causing a shortfall of ~£35/week to my predicted income at 65! Some way off but needs sorting. Recently I e-mailed one pensions company using an e-mail address I have used previously. Not having any acknowledgement I rang today to find this general e-mail address was no longer valid and I had to use another. What really annoys me is if they felt they had to change it why not put an auto-response on it to alert you to the situation. I can't be the only person to have fallen foul of this. It is a total lack of joined up thinking!
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Post by michael on Feb 8, 2015 12:33:02 GMT 1
Yesterday I was very grumpy indeed. We had been given tickets for the matinee performance at the Rex cinema in Berkhampstead. Despite arriving in plenty of time we were just unable to park as any available space was either limited to an hour or carried threats of wheel clamping. It is years since I was last there but it seems that all available space has been consumed by the infill building that affects so many areas. Is it not about time the planners and developers realised that many places are now full up and all this infill building is lowering the quality of life for many.
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Post by Joe on Feb 8, 2015 15:09:01 GMT 1
Berkhampstead was always a hard place to park! I used to work there in the seventies (at the Underhill and Young garage) I used to live in Hemel Hempstead, do you live close by? Maybe we bumped into each other in the old days
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Post by michael on Feb 8, 2015 18:54:14 GMT 1
Berkhampstead was always a hard place to park! I used to work there in the seventies (at the Underhill and Young garage) I used to live in Hemel Hempstead, do you live close by? Maybe we bumped into each other in the old days Hi Colin... Until 1983 I lived on the St. Albans/Hatfield borders near British Aerospace. With my mates we used to go ten pin bowling in Hemel, to the Stevange Mecca and crazy golf at Batchwood when we weren't messing about with cars/motorcycles, banger/stock car racing or down the pub. I am not sure how I used to go out Saturday night, drive the tow car to Grest Yarmoth for Sunday night and arrive at work bright and breezy at 8:00 am on the Monday. The years passing by are unkind in many ways! If you arre stilll l;ocal to Hemel maybe we could meet for a beer (ior coffee) as my girlfriend's mum lives there...
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Post by Joe on Feb 9, 2015 19:23:01 GMT 1
Berkhampstead was always a hard place to park! I used to work there in the seventies (at the Underhill and Young garage) I used to live in Hemel Hempstead, do you live close by? Maybe we bumped into each other in the old days Hi Colin... Until 1983 I lived on the St. Albans/Hatfield borders near British Aerospace. With my mates we used to go ten pin bowling in Hemel, to the Stevange Mecca and crazy golf at Batchwood when we weren't messing about with cars/motorcycles, banger/stock car racing or down the pub. I am not sure how I used to go out Saturday night, drive the tow car to Grest Yarmoth for Sunday night and arrive at work bright and breezy at 8:00 am on the Monday. The years passing by are unkind in many ways! If you arre stilll l;ocal to Hemel maybe we could meet for a beer (ior coffee) as my girlfriend's mum lives there... No I moved away years ago although my brother and sister still live there, I live on Mersea Island in North Essex now.
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Post by colin on Feb 9, 2015 22:47:23 GMT 1
Hi, Michael....and Joe for that matter... seems like wires are getting crossed somewhere!!! I live on the Isle of Wight and Joe lives on Mersea Island... I think the Islands are getting confused..a bit like Brian....!!!or is it age? You see confusion and age are inextricably linked..well, that's what I reckon and anyway over here we've all got Carrots for noses and Straw growing out of our ears!!! I haven't moved away yet either.... as if anyone would could put up with a boring old fart like me..regards..Col.P.S. I think I'm going bonkers!!!!
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Post by cardaft on Feb 10, 2015 13:49:13 GMT 1
Well Guys,had a bazaar happening this morning!but I'm getting ahead of myself,roads around here are terrible,like everywhere else,we have a short road from the main road,that serves 4 houses up a hill, its about 1/2 mile long and full of potholes,its a council road and they come along from to time and throw some stuff in the worst of them,anyway ,late last year reported the road again,an inspector came along and said it needed doing,but as it only served a few houses ,the road repair budget had to be spent were it would do most good,no argument there,I asked him to put that comment in an email to me and bless him he did,I then sent this to the local council along with a request for a community charge rebate and reduction,obviously as I'm not getting the full service I don't want to pay for it and why I'm being discriminated against by living in a rural area? So the road is now scheduled for a complete resurface (yeah right),anyway bit of snow fall a week or so ago,I was taking my triumph TR4A for its mot I skidded on the road on the first bend,less than walking speed and I went into the first pothole,it promptly took out the drivers side tyres sidewalls,it was like a couple of gunshots,I bought a set of Avon Turbospeeds (£185 each) for the car approx 5 years ago,there is less than 500 miles on them, I was pissedoff and gutted ,so I phone up the roads department to complain,a nice young lady commiserated with me and sent me a claims form in the post. I have been visited by a claims inspector this morning to ask if I'm ok,he looked at the damaged tyres asked if there was any damage to the car and Oh, as the tyres were a matched set to get an estimated to replace all four,now I think I will wake up any moment and Jereamy Beagle and Harry Hill will jump out from behind a bush and they are going to resurface the whole (or should that be 'hole') road,maybe there is a Santa Claus? DR
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Post by michael on Feb 10, 2015 14:21:57 GMT 1
Hi, Michael....and Joe for that matter... seems like wires are getting crossed somewhere!!! I live on the Isle of Wight and Joe lives on Mersea Island... I think the Islands are getting confused..a bit like Brian....!!!or is it age? You see confusion and age are inextricably linked..well, that's what I reckon and anyway over here we've all got Carrots for noses and Straw growing out of our ears!!! I haven't moved away yet either.... as if anyone would could put up with a boring old fart like me..regards..Col.P.S. I think I'm going bonkers!!!! Just don't get confused with the tide table when visiting the mainland unless you have a Zephyr dinghy!
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Post by michael on Apr 20, 2015 13:49:49 GMT 1
I don't believe we are suddenly all happy! Last week I took my girlfriend to an outpatients appointment. The coffee shop run by volunteers had to close when Costa got a concession. However the coffee machine was out of order. It would have been forgiveable but last time I took her they had had no coffee deliveries. What a joke... On a similar vein I have been told all day breakfasts are not available between 12:00 and 14:00 at a local supermarket and a friend was told yesterday that Sunday roast was only available Monday thru Saturday! These people are not doing what it says on the tin!
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Post by michael on Apr 22, 2015 13:43:18 GMT 1
Just been on a car spares web site for my daily driver. A live chat started (allegedly to help me) so I asked for the parts that I was after and told him the make/model. The guy insisted he needed my registration. He then came back and said they did not do parts for my model. Next time I will give the reg of a random car in the car park as too many people don't listen to what you are saying and ask for what their screens/prompt sheet says. Arrgh...
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Post by colin on Apr 23, 2015 13:24:59 GMT 1
Something similar happened to me the other day, I think it's a disease that's infected parts of the U.K., about 25 years ago I installed a "one way flap valve" in my central heating system to stop the upstairs radiators getting hot when we want hot water only, (it's an ancient 40 odd years old system, but still does what it says on the tin!), anyway I had to drain the whole lot to put a new hot tank in the airing cupboard, which is another story!' this valve has been working properly for all these years, but on refill the upstairs rads got hot, so give the valve a clout with 2 hammers and it shut, so disterbed crud in it, well get a new one, took a photo of it, went to "plumb centre", showed the bloke with "have you got one of these please?", his reply "that wont work, it's in vertical, it needs to be horizontal", I said "well I'd like to buy one anyway", reply "it wont work mate, you've put it in wrong, you're not a professional plumber", I said "have you got one?", reply "no,don't stock 'em mate, anyway you'll need a plumber for a big job like that",I said under my breath "bloody hell, what the f--ks the matter with people", walked out, went to B&Q, got one for £6.00, still got to fit it, but heating working o.k. since the clout, I thought "the bloody thing's been o.k. for 25 odd years why have we got to be threatened with so called "professional advice" when something is so obviously simple and all he need of said was "sorry we don't stock 'em anymore", GRRRRR!
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Post by cardaft on Apr 24, 2015 9:03:20 GMT 1
Hi Colin, Maybe you should have asked him if he was a professional plumber? A good store man ,or should it be supply chain executive,can be a god send,or nightmare.Last time I bought car paint,cellulose,first place recommended,virtually refused to sell me any,so phoned a place in Brighton,they could not have been more helpful,asked what I was doing,what I wanted to achieve and they sold me a kit,I know where I will go again,I hope I get the same bloke. Also,up to this present central heating system,new and fitted and looked after by Calor,The ones I fitted and looked after (pre gas safe) I used to fill them with a mix of water and water soluble oil (machine tool cutting fluid,was put onto this by an old professional heating engineer)never had any crud in the system,never replaced a pump or a boiler heat exchanger,also run the occasional cars cooling system with this mixture,never any trouble! Latest news,band from Supermarket shopping trips (yippee) as I insisted bringing my calculator along,great to work out the cost of things,only thing trip took twice as long and store staff started hiding from me,senior management will not let me go any more,so a bit of win win
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