Grumble Thread

[Serial_Apologist]

Yes, I noticed reference to buying that way and had it in mind as a fall back if the telephone route didn't succeed. I have now in theory got a Railcard in the pipeline which should turn up sometime in the next few days. During the call the operator said there was no record of my account or any of my details, so a new one had to be set up before proceeding. There appears to be some sort of parallel set-up with senior-railcard.co.uk and railcard.co.uk which makes it even more odd that a) my account on the latter(which I've used several times over the years) doesn't show up on the former and b) the person I spoke to who processed my application with the former said that there were no technical problems, although when I had tried that site myself the webpages were identical and I got the identical error message. The various email messages(account login recovery, complaint, confirmation of order) originate from the same address for both "companies". I am now in limbo as the account set up via telephone to complete the transaction I have no access to(no login), the original doesn't work, and payment is being handled by a third party. Oh well, all I can do is wait and hope.

This is precisely the same problem I had in trying to do my usual monthly Council Tax deduction, and also my re-application to Smarty for my mobile, last month. In the end I decided the only option was to go DD for the CT, but this was not acceptable to Smarty's system, so I am now entirely without mobile provider.

[oddoneout]

This could have gone in the Good News thread but makes more sense here - I received my railcard this morning, hurrah. I had an email on Monday to say it had been dispatched, not bad going for an order that went in late Sunday evening, but I wasn't going to cheer until it actually landed on my doormat.
Now I've got to find a train I can use it on...

[Guest]

March: 'Time and Tide' / Vincent Turner.
Need notes to help compere a concert - can find nowt on web.

Can anyone help?

[subcontrabass]

March: 'Time and Tide' / Vincent Turner.
Need notes to help compere a concert - can find nowt on web.

Can anyone help?

Have your tried contacting the publishers: Wright and Round ( https://wrightandround.com/contact ). It seems to be still in their catalogue

[Guest]

THX

[Dave2002]

Expired credit card details - refresh!

I have had issues about credit card refresh before, and this year I may have a few more.
A month or so I had an email from GiffGaff telling me that my credit card details would expire.

I did nothing to alter or update any details.

Recently I realised that the date had passed, but my phone still seems to be working. GiffGaff has an aggressive pricing policy if there are failures - for example if one runs out of download allowance - rather than stop - it simply bumps the price up by a huge factor - I think around 1000!!!

However, my thought was that this would probably not happen. If I didn't pay, I'd simply get no service until I bought back in, or alternatively I could switch to another provider.

But no - now I find another email from GiffGaff telling me that my latest Goody Bag has been purchased successfully.

I have had problems before - assuming with other organisations that when the credit card details expired, so would subscriptions and/or service, but some seem to be able to circumvent this. Quite frankly this is a pain - as while sometimes continued service may be desired, sometimes it is not, and is deliberate on my part.

Checking every possible service provider before and after credit card expiry dates to see whether they have done this, and are still taking funds for services no longer wanted is a real nuisance.

It is also worse with a lot of services now which are run almost exclusively online. Some providers are good and send out sensible reminders and checks, but others do not.

[smittims]

It sounds like what Kingsley Amis called the 'Easier for them Association'.

Went to buy some soup in Asda. Thought I'd use the self-service tills to save time. Turns out you have to queue to use them . Actually quicker to queue for a cashier and be served by a real live human being. Meanwhile the self-service tills inspector general stands back with her arms folded , except to keep the queue in order.

Pity, I used to like Asda.

[Serial_Apologist]

Expired credit card details - refresh!

I have had issues about credit card refresh before, and this year I may have a few more.
A month or so I had an email from GiffGaff telling me that my credit card details would expire.

I did nothing to alter or update any details.

Recently I realised that the date had passed, but my phone still seems to be working. GiffGaff has an aggressive pricing policy if there are failures - for example if one runs out of download allowance - rather than stop - it simply bumps the price up by a huge factor - I think around 1000!!!

However, my thought was that this would probably not happen. If I didn't pay, I'd simply get no service until I bought back in, or alternatively I could switch to another provider.

But no - now I find another email from GiffGaff telling me that my latest Goody Bag has been purchased successfully.

I have had problems before - assuming with other organisations that when the credit card details expired, so would subscriptions and/or service, but some seem to be able to circumvent this. Quite frankly this is a pain - as while sometimes continued service may be desired, sometimes it is not, and is deliberate on my part.

Checking every possible service provider before and after credit card expiry dates to see whether they have done this, and are still taking funds for services no longer wanted is a real nuisance.

It is also worse with a lot of services now which are run almost exclusively online. Some providers are good and send out sensible reminders and checks, but others do not.

My Adobe "account" has now expired, preventing me from photocopying anything. I didn't know it could - it has been "running" for as many years as I can think. I have a desktop computer, and a Canon printer connected into it, but because I wrongly thought Adobe was just an app, this happens.

One day, they will be putting replacement body parts "on account" - pay up or we turn your kidney implant off.

[Serial_Apologist]

It sounds like what Kingsley Amis called the 'Easier for them Association'.

Went to buy some soup in Asda. Thought I'd use the self-service tills to save time. Turns out you have to queue to use them . Actually quicker to queue for a cashier and be served by a real live human being. Meanwhile the self-service tills inspector general stands back with her arms folded , except to keep the queue in order.

Pity, I used to like Asda.

Yes, this is yet another case of something being introduced at great expense and time to alleviate an existing problem, such as a motorway or HS2, which ends up making things worse.

[Frances_iom]

My Adobe "account" has now expired, preventing me from photocopying anything.....

how - whose property is the copier ? - do you use a 'cloud' based server?
(My usual answer to most of this type of problem is to move to a Linux system)

[Serial_Apologist]

how - whose property is the copier ? - do you use a 'cloud' based server?
(My usual answer to most of this type of problem is to move to a Linux system)

I own the printer, otherwise TBQH I don't know Frances - I am waiting for my computer expert whom I've informed to help me out.

Later: Printer problem sorted by just simply by-passing Adobe!

[oddoneout]

Yes, this is yet another case of something being introduced at great expense and time to alleviate an existing problem, such as a motorway or HS2, which ends up making things worse.

Well from the company's point of view it does solve a problem - staffing costs - as it enables them to reduce the number of staffed tills. My local Morrisons used to have a couple of Express tills for those with a small number of items, which was fairly quickly reduced to one, and not in use at all times(although it was supposed to be) then got rid of altogether and then the space was rejigged to provide two self service tills for larger shops, ie trolley or overloaded basket rather than lunch items or the odd pint of milk. The other "proper" tills are still in situ but only a couple or 3 in use mostly,and the queues are often allowed to get quite bad before another is opened up. Despite that I don't go through the self serve, unless there is absolutely no alternative (but I do my best not to be in a hurry or needing to be somewhere else which just about eliminate that reason) - for me the glitch rate is too high(I seem to have a bad effect on devices like that), the screen info isn't always intuitive, and I refuse to have to wait for "miss" to give me permission to buy alcohol. I know they have to do it but I'm a grumpy OAP on that one. There are still staff there that I know from my time working there and sometimes there'll be someone I know in the queue, or someone happy to chat, so a chance for a bit of human interaction.
The Poundland in town tried to go completely selfservice, but had to backtrack quite quickly, and have reached a workable compromise by having one always manned and 2 others that are opened as necessary(quickly unlike M,sons), to one side of the bank of selfserve points. Although there is a single queue for both a member of staff makes sure that those wanting to DIY get to a vacant slot as soon as one is available.

[smittims]

My 'little Tesco' (the one attached to a petrol station) has now introduced two categories of till, one operated by a human, and the other a set of self-service tills marked 'card-only non-petrol purchases' , yet another complication to baffle the confused shopper ; anyone just wanting to pay cash for a bag of crisps has to queue behind the petrol-heads (presumably 'petrol' includes diesel, if anyone can still afford it, now it's 26p per litre more than petrol).

[Dave2002]

I own the printer, otherwise TBQH I don't know Frances - I am waiting for my computer expert whom I've informed to help me out.

Later: Printer problem sorted by just simply by-passing Adobe!

Has that fixed copying as well as printing? If so, well done!

[Old Grumpy]

Has that fixed copying as well as printing? If so, well done!

I'm sure Adobe pdf opener used to have more free functionality than does now. Even to rotate a document you have to take out a subscription! I have found opening pdfs using a browser such as Edge or Chrome provides such a facility - especially useful when reading scanned documents.

Must admit I've never come across using Adobe to link to a printer...

Well done, S_A for sorting that one out!