Grumble Thread

[cloughie]

I have known road markers to get in some strong arm brigade in to bounce obstructing parked cars away from kerbs and re-bounce them back after finishing the operation!

Reminds me of an episode of Hancock’s Half Hour when Tony was asked to move his car which had had the road resurfaced around it 3 times and the bit of road it was on was now considerably lower than the rest of the road!

[Serial_Apologist]

Reminds me of an episode of Hancock’s Half Hour when Tony was asked to move his car which had had the road resurfaced around it 3 times and the bit of road it was on was now considerably lower than the rest of the road!

Yes I remember that episode now!

[oddoneout]

I have known road markers to get in some strong arm brigade in to bounce obstructing parked cars away from kerbs and re-bounce them back after finishing the operation!

Even more risky in these days of dashcams and alarms. Any damage caused to the car when being manhandled becomes the responsibility of the contractors. Decades ago water company contractors decided to 'lift'(ie bounce and shove) my little VW out of the way. I had not been notified that they needed access, and I was in the house at the time, so went out to remonstrate. They were not inclined to listen anyway but also implied that I was lying. Fortunately a resident opposite had also seen the whole incident and came out to back me up. I took the car to a garage to get it checked out(luckily no damage) and sent a letter to the company concerned with a copy of the bill; it claimed that the incident couldn't have happened. I left things there, but a while later, thanks to small town network talk, found out that I was not alone, but the heavies had 'run out of luck' with one of their 'obstruction removal operations' and caused damage to a car that was witnessed and a claim was pursued.

[Old Grumpy]

Hefty fine for the owner of the parked car (where parking clearly temporarily prohibited) might do the trick!

[Serial_Apologist]

Speaking of things about which nothing can be done in this wonderful everything digital age, on checking my bank accounts just now I discovered that £64.20 was the amount deducted on Monday for a tea and croissant. I make that long journey with the intention of de-stressing from life's tribulations for a few precious hours. At the time I noticed the receipt missing on the tray and, nonchalantly presuming it must have dropped on the floor, overlooked the matter. On the home journey I did stop to check if I had pocketed the bill, but being in a relaxed frame of mind did not give it further thought. It was one of the rare occasions i had not bothered with checking the bill amount on the premises' registering machine. If I were to go back to demand my money back without proof of payment they would as likely as not claim I could be anyone, so this is just something t will have to put down to experience - but we've reached a pretty pass when every move we make, from answering mystery phone calls and investigating interesting-looking websites to cycling without risk from fellow road users and paying by card, has to be undertaken with fear and suspicion.

[Pulcinella]

Speaking of things about which nothing can be done in this wonderful everything digital age, on checking my bank accounts just now I discovered that £64.20 was the amount deducted on Monday for a tea and croissant. I make that long journey with the intention of de-stressing from life's tribulations for a few precious hours. At the time I noticed the receipt missing on the tray and, nonchalantly presuming it must have dropped on the floor, overlooked the matter. On the home journey I did stop to check if I had pocketed the bill, but being in a relaxed frame of mind did not give it further thought. It was one of the rare occasions i had not bothered with checking the bill amount on the premises' registering machine. If I were to go back to demand my money back without proof of payment they would as likely as not claim I could be anyone, so this is just something t will have to put down to experience - but we've reached a pretty pass when every move we make, from answering mystery phone calls and investigating interesting-looking websites to cycling without risk from fellow road users and paying by card, has to be undertaken with fear and suspicion.

If you're a regular there it might be worth printing off your bank statement if it shows typical amounts paid on other visits, and mentioning it to them next time.

[Serial_Apologist]

If you're a regular there it might be worth printing off your bank statement if it shows typical amounts paid on other visits, and mentioning it to them next time.

Hmmm... unfortunately I only normally visit there once a year. It's a "heritage" site owned and run by the council, so I'm sure it's some sort of systemic error rather than deliberate. Next time - if ever - it will be cash.

[Serial_Apologist]

A friend advises me to contact Fulham Palace to sort out my overcharge, which I shall do tomorrow, either by phone or email.

Stand by for further news!

[oddoneout]

A friend advises me to contact Fulham Palace to sort out my overcharge, which I shall do tomorrow, either by phone or email.

Stand by for further news!

Nothing venture, nothing gain. Even by London standards that an expensive croissant and tea. I wonder if a previous transaction didn't clear through and was added to yours.
Not the same cause but the same issue of amount being way adrift. Last year I had an incident at my local petrol station where the amount on the till was about 4 times what I was expecting so I refused to pay. Turned out the chap ahead of me gave the wrong pump number(not I think deliberately, but chose not to correct when it became obvious) paid 'my' bill and left - but not quickly enough as the staff got him back. It was evident from his embarrassment that he knew there was a mistake and had just hoped to get away with spending some £40 less than he should. It was all dealt with quietly and efficiently, so other customers in the shop would have assumed it was a till malfunction rather than human deceit. One of those occasions though when being known to the staff worked in my favour - when I said the amount was wrong they didn't waste time challenging me but immediately looked to see if the other person was still on the premises.

[Pulcinella]

I wondered if a decimal point was out of place, but £6.42 seems an odd amount.

[vinteuil]

... £64-20?

Proudhon has taught us that 'proper tea is theft' - but this is ridiculous!





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[french frank]

A friend advises me to contact Fulham Palace to sort out my overcharge, which I shall do tomorrow, either by phone or email.

Stand by for further news!

Was your visit to Fulham Palace or are you escalating your grumble to the Bishop?

[vinteuil]

Was your visit to Fulham Palace or are you escalating your grumble to the Bishop?

... back in the 1970s it used to be 'Bishop of Fulham and Gibraltar', and notionally included the Pope as one of his charges.
Nowadays the see has become 'the Diocese in Europe', much less poetic...

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[Serial_Apologist]

Was your visit to Fulham Palace or are you escalating your grumble to the Bishop?

Just complaining about a bish up!

[Pulcinella]

It just mitre been a genuine mistake, and when they came to cash up, they realised that they had a surplice; let's hope that nobody stole the money.