That’s easy for them to say…

[Mike McMillan]

TV Licensing said:

Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn cysylltu
â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.

Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw olaf
a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.

Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i gwblhau
arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae rhagor o
wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.

Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!



--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

[Joe Kerr]

An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?


--
Ric

[Mike McMillan]

The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was pay my
half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!

[J. P. Gilliver]

In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1...@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:53:23,
Mike McMillan <toodl...@virginmedia.com> writes

>Joe Kerr <joe_...@cheerful.com> wrote:
>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>
>>> TV Licensing said:

[Welsh]

>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>
>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?
>>
>>
>
>The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was pay my
>half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>

That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic response
from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue your
complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).

I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the correspondence
they receive is complaints; certainly responding in that manner will
only increase the proportion.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

I love listening to music that make my eyes water.
- "Super8rescue" 2022

[Sam Plusnet]

Strange.
It wouldn't be too surprising if I got a missive from them in Welsh[1],
but when someone living in the heart of England gets one...

[1] Not surprising, but not understandable.

--
Sam Plusnet

[Tony Smith]

On Monday, 13 November 2023 at 09:36:19 UTC, Mike McMillan wrote:
> TV Licensing said:
>
> Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
> gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn cysylltu
> â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.
>
> Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
> talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw olaf
> a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.
>
> Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i gwblhau
> arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae rhagor o
> wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.

Be thankful it wasn't scots gaelic. On crossing the county boundary from Moray to Invernessshire the road signs become completely impenetrable.

[Wenlock]

Klingon:

“Today is a good day to renew your TV licence.”

[Nick Odell]

You've just brought back horrific memories of getting onto the
Brussels ring road and being unable to get off. Okay, so it was a
very, very long time ago but those memories were embedded deeply. I
was navigating by the AA Atlas of Europe which was open on my lap but
none of the towns highlighted on the maps appeared on the ring road
exit signs so they might as well have been written in Scots Gaelic.

The first time this happened I surfaced somewhere -anywhere- and
busked my way through the road system in the general direction of
Luxembourg; the second time I took a compass and when I emerged from
the ring road I was at least on the Luxembourg side and the next time
I planned ahead and avoided Brussels altogether.

Nowadays I suppose people just follow their sat-navs.

Nick

[Kate B]

navigating round Kidderminster was much the same, as I shall never forget.

--
Kate B

[Sam Plusnet]

It was Cognac for me - or one quite small roundabout on the outskirts
thereof.

Enough to drive anyone to drink - which may have been the plan.

--
Sam Plusnet

[John Armstrong]

On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1...@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:53:23,
> Mike McMillan <toodl...@virginmedia.com> writes
>> Joe Kerr <joe_...@cheerful.com> wrote:
>>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>>
>>>> TV Licensing said:
> [Welsh]
>>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>>
>>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>> complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was pay my
>> half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>>
> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
> communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic response
> from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue your
> complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>
> I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the correspondence
> they receive is complaints; certainly responding in that manner will
> only increase the proportion.

I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or so.
The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV programmes
in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed on screens
with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the picture. See, for
example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes are even worse.

Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
paraphrased thus:

"We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us again."

[Mike McMillan]

You aren’t supposed to attack them!

[Mike McMillan]

Which is very much the gist of any reply to any question addressed to them
on Fed-Up.

[J. P. Gilliver]

In message <krgsgm...@mid.individual.net> at Tue, 14 Nov 2023
09:21:24, John Armstrong <j...@blueyonder.co.uk> writes

>On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:

[]

>> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
>>communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic response
>>from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue your
>>complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>> I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the
>>correspondence they receive is complaints; certainly responding in
>>that manner will only increase the proportion.
>
>I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or so.

Me too (well, not fifty years).

>The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV programmes
>in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed on screens
>with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the picture. See, for
>example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes are even worse.

I agree - why, if they're intended for TV anyway? However, I find far
_more_ irritating is their mangling of old 4:3 material: if they quickly
rush together something because someone has died, you can be sure that
about half of it will be squashed/stretched, presumably because those
making it were born in the shortscreen era and just are unaware of the
existence of 4:3. But also a lot of their (mostly music) material on
BBC4 is made by people who _do_ know about 4:3, but chop the top and
bottom off, in a mad desire to fill the screen at all costs, even if it
means cutting off the top of people's heads.

>
>Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
>paraphrased thus:
>
>"We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us again."

The one I mentioned above, though, said something like "your complaint
will be looked into" - but was in reply to something that wasn't a
complaint. And I don't think it's the first time I've had that.
(Certainly they - and lots of other companies, many a lot worse than the
BBC - make their website very difficult to use to contact them _without_
making a complaint.)

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

She didn't strike me as much of a reader. It's never a good sign if someone
has a leaflet with a bookmark in it. - Sarah Millican in Rdio Times, 17-23
November 2012

[J. P. Gilliver]

In message <pj15lihkkr1brfrrt...@4ax.com> at Mon, 13 Nov
2023 20:26:54, Nick Odell <nicko...@yahoo.ca> writes
[]

>Nowadays I suppose people just follow their sat-navs.
>
>Nick

Plenty of (mainly apocryphal) stories of people driving over cliffs,
into lakes, etc.; mine wasn't as drastic, but https://255soft.uk/SatNav/
(I was surprised the Google Maps link still worked when I checked just
now; I'd assumed those were temporary. But I probably set that up when I
created the page, in 2012.)

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Experience is the comb life gives you after you lose your hair. -Judith Stearn

[Sam Plusnet]

"We are sorry that you disagree with our choices, but we hope that our
educational output will, over time, raise your intellect beyond the
mediocre."

That sort of thing?

--
Sam Plusnet

[John Armstrong]

Not really, no. That's far too polite for the beeb. And they wouldn't
use such long words. "Educational" has five syllables!

[Nick Odell]

Erme - why do they call it 18:9 rather than 2:1?

Nick

[Mike McMillan]

That’ll lurn ya!

[Mike McMillan]

That’ll lurn ya!

[John Armstrong]

The BBC didn't call it anything. I called it 18:9 after very carefully
measuring the picture on the screen. You are of course quite right, but
I thought that comparing 16:9 to 18:9 might be easier than 16:9 to 2:1.

I could of course have compared 1.777777777777778:1 to 2:1, but that
would just have wasted bandwidth - a thing I never do.

[Joe Kerr]

On 13/11/2023 20:26, Nick Odell wrote:

> Nowadays I suppose people just follow their sat-navs.
>
> Nick

No. Last Sat'day I was going from London to Birmingham, and being a
straight line I was familiar with had no need for satnaving. Until the
M40 was closed and we all got thrown off somewhere near Oxford with no
indication of where to go next. It was dark, I was lost, most sign posts
were hidden by overgrown hedges, traffic was fairly heavy. The first
chance I had to pull off the road to sort myself out was in Cheltenham.
Cheltenham! Google told me where the M5 was but was reluctant to tell me
how to get there. I might try naving saticaly next time, just to be safe.

To add to my bad day, the takeaway I went to that should have been open
unquestionably wasn't so I opted to get a delivery that variously
insisted I log in to an account I don't have, deleted the order, and
refused to let me enter my card expiry date wasting 45 minutes and
delaying my dinner to just shy of midnight.

--
Ric

[Joe Kerr]

On 14/11/2023 23:46, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <pj15lihkkr1brfrrt...@4ax.com> at Mon, 13 Nov
> 2023 20:26:54, Nick Odell <nicko...@yahoo.ca> writes
> []
>> Nowadays I suppose people just follow their sat-navs.
>>
>> Nick
>
> Plenty of (mainly apocryphal) stories of people driving over cliffs,
> into lakes, etc.; mine wasn't as drastic, but https://255soft.uk/SatNav/
> (I was surprised the Google Maps link still worked when I checked just
> now; I'd assumed those were temporary. But I probably set that up when I
> created the page, in 2012.)

My TomTom comes up with a warning/disclaimer that says the driver is
responsible for controlling the vehicle. This has to be agreed to before
it will display the route.

--
Ric

[Joe Kerr]

have you thought of complaining that you cant contact them other than
with a complaint?

--
Ric

[J. P. Gilliver]

In message <uj5jsq$2bvq9$2...@dont-email.me> at Thu, 16 Nov 2023 17:35:22,
Joe Kerr <joe_...@cheerful.com> writes

>On 14/11/2023 23:42, J. P. Gilliver wrote:

[]

>> The one I mentioned above, though, said something like "your
>>complaint will be looked into" - but was in reply to something that
>>wasn't a complaint. And I don't think it's the first time I've had
>>that. (Certainly they - and lots of other companies, many a lot worse
>>than the BBC - make their website very difficult to use to contact
>>them _without_ making a complaint.)
>
>have you thought of complaining that you cant contact them other than
>with a complaint?
>

Yes, and have done so; it gets ignored. If included with other
correspondence, that part (usually more than just that part) gets
ignored. (Multipoint correspondence is a bad idea these days - I'm not
sure why: if they respond to one, or at best two, of your points, they
think they've responded. Far from just the BBC. I partly blame
top-posting.)

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Today, I dare say more people know who starred as /The Vicar of Dibley/ than
know the name of the vicar of their local parish. - Clive Anderson, Radio
Times 15-21 January 2011.

[Chris]

Speechless!!

Mrs McT

[Penny]

On Mon, 13 Nov 2023 14:16:59 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6...@255soft.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

>In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1...@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:53:23,
>Mike McMillan <toodl...@virginmedia.com> writes
>>Joe Kerr <joe_...@cheerful.com> wrote:
>>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>>
>>>> TV Licensing said:
>[Welsh]
>>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>>
>>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?
>>>
>>>
>>
>>The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>>complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was pay my
>>half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>>
>That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
>communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic response
>from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue your
>complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>
>I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the correspondence
>they receive is complaints; certainly responding in that manner will
>only increase the proportion.

I've had two credit cards for years (and have always paid them off in full
when billed). Not because I live on credit, but the newer one had a good
cash-back offer (and still does) so I've mostly not used the other one for
ages, but was pleased it was there in case of theft of the newer one.

I had a letter from the older credit card recently to say they would not be
renewing my card in December. The bulk of the message implied I was in
arrears with payments and they would pass the debt to a collection agency.
I feel thoroughly affronted but frankly can't be bothered to complain,
although I do wonder if this would prevent me having a new card from them
in the future.
--
Penny
Annoyed by The Archers since 1959

[krw]

Our local surgery you cannot even contact to make a complaint.

--
Kosmo Richard W
www.travelswmw.whitnet.uk
https://tinyurl.com/KRWpics

[krw]

On 16.11.23 18:11, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> I partly blame top-posting.

Exactly.

[krw]

On 16.11.23 17:26, Joe Kerr wrote:
> I might try naving saticaly next time, just to be safe.

This is often why I have the sat nav on. The newer car has a way of
finding itself in unexpected traffic jams and sorting itself out eventually.

The older car has such old maps that it frequently has no idea where it
is and the stupid f****** decided to discontinue the Trafficmaster
service both cars use and so I no longer get reports of impending
traffic problems.

Why they turn off something that recent cars (2018 plate on the newer
one) is integral to their use I do not understand but assume that VW and
Audi (to name at least two) assumed they could stop paying the bills.

[Vicky]

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 11:35:37 +0000, krw <k...@whitnet.uk> wrote:

>On 16.11.23 17:26, Joe Kerr wrote:
>> I might try naving saticaly next time, just to be safe.
>
>This is often why I have the sat nav on. The newer car has a way of
>finding itself in unexpected traffic jams and sorting itself out eventually.
>
>The older car has such old maps that it frequently has no idea where it
>is and the stupid f****** decided to discontinue the Trafficmaster
>service both cars use and so I no longer get reports of impending
>traffic problems.
>
>Why they turn off something that recent cars (2018 plate on the newer
>one) is integral to their use I do not understand but assume that VW and
>Audi (to name at least two) assumed they could stop paying the bills.

In car sat nav spent 3 years directing me to Hammersmith bridge after
it was closed and it was hard, not knowing the area, to get out of the
area and head N to home.On some routes where I know the way the
various sat navs have not gone the best way.

[Vicky]

On Thu, 16 Nov 2023 01:09:28 +0000, Penny <sp...@labyrinth.freeuk.com>
wrote:

>I've had two credit cards for years (and have always paid them off in full
>when billed). Not because I live on credit, but the newer one had a good
>cash-back offer (and still does) so I've mostly not used the other one for
>ages, but was pleased it was there in case of theft of the newer one.
>
>I had a letter from the older credit card recently to say they would not be
>renewing my card in December. The bulk of the message implied I was in
>arrears with payments and they would pass the debt to a collection agency.
>I feel thoroughly affronted but frankly can't be bothered to complain,
>although I do wonder if this would prevent me having a new card from them
>in the future.
>--

Some years ago in a recently bought flat baliffs came round and it was
for previous tennants. I had bars and gate round the entrance so just
said not me from inside. I don't think they can come in but if you
open the door they try and push in.

[J. P. Gilliver]

In message <ouednUSTxNVt08r4...@brightview.co.uk> at Fri,
17 Nov 2023 11:30:57, krw <k...@whitnet.uk> writes
[]

>Our local surgery you cannot even contact to make a complaint.
>

Presumably you can hand-deliver one. (If you do, have a friend film you
doing so [perhaps panning to a current newspaper headline].)

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"You _are_ Zaphod Beeblebrox? _The_ Zaphod Beeblebrox?"
"No, just _a_ Zaphod Beeblebrox. I come in six-packs." (from the link episode)

[J. P. Gilliver]

In message <hdqalilh4uv4g33hj...@4ax.com> at Thu, 16 Nov
2023 01:09:28, Penny <sp...@labyrinth.freeuk.com> writes
[]

>I've had two credit cards for years (and have always paid them off in full
>when billed). Not because I live on credit, but the newer one had a good
>cash-back offer (and still does) so I've mostly not used the other one for
>ages, but was pleased it was there in case of theft of the newer one.
>
>I had a letter from the older credit card recently to say they would not be
>renewing my card in December. The bulk of the message implied I was in
>arrears with payments and they would pass the debt to a collection agency.

When I took out my co-op one, it was because (at that time, many years
ago) a lot - including Barclaycard, which I had (I can still remember
the - only 13 digit! - number) - were introducing an annual charge, and
they promised none for life - but you had to _use_ it (some minimal
amount, like 12 quid a year, which I had no problem with). Your older
card didn't have something similar did it, which you've fallen foul of
by not using it?

>I feel thoroughly affronted but frankly can't be bothered to complain,
>although I do wonder if this would prevent me having a new card from them
>in the future.

I would, as it might affect your credit rating in general, not just with
them.

If they don't sort it out without problem (assuming the above minimum
use/charge isn't what's happened), then on the second or third
communication, ask for some compensation (in your case, for the libel!).
IM recent E, companies not infrequently give you some. May be only a
fiver or tenner, so not worth the hassle for that alone, but if you're
corresponding (including calling), nothing to lose by asking! (I did get
one of 50 sometime in the last decade, but that's rare! I think that
might have been from British Gas.)

[J. P. Gilliver]

In message <ouednUaTxNWazcr4...@brightview.co.uk> at Fri,
17 Nov 2023 11:35:37, krw <k...@whitnet.uk> writes
[]

>Why they turn off something that recent cars (2018 plate on the newer
>one) is integral to their use I do not understand but assume that VW

(I'm a bit puzzled by "integral to their use".)

>and Audi (to name at least two) assumed they could stop paying the
>bills.
>

All one company - VAG (Volkswagen-Audi group; I think it includes Škoda
and at least one other big European name). [I learnt this in my last -
6-month - employment, with a company that refurbished dashboards (which
are a small computer these days) and other car electronics.]

[John Ashby]

On 17/11/2023 11:31, krw wrote:
>
> Exactly.

>
> On 16.11.23 18:11, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> I partly blame top-posting.

Fixed that for you.

john

[krw]

On 17.11.23 12:52, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <ouednUSTxNVt08r4...@brightview.co.uk> at Fri,
> 17 Nov 2023 11:30:57, krw <k...@whitnet.uk> writes
> []
>> Our local surgery you cannot even contact to make a complaint.
>>
> Presumably you can hand-deliver one. (If you do, have a friend film you
> doing so [perhaps panning to a current newspaper headline].)

Where to? They allegedly have four locations - my wife has recently
been sent to the two which are nowhere near where we live - but are any
of them actually occupied by thinking human beings?

[Joe Kerr]

On 17/11/2023 11:35, krw wrote:
> On 16.11.23 17:26, Joe Kerr wrote:
>> I might try naving saticaly next time, just to be safe.
>
> This is often why I have the sat nav on.  The newer car has a way of
> finding itself in unexpected traffic jams and sorting itself out
> eventually.
>

I used to do that when I first got it. It felt a bit silly using a
Satnav[1] for commuting but as the journey included the M25 at Heathrow
there was plenty of scope to take a different route where I didn't know
the roads.

> The older car has such old maps that it frequently has no idea where it
> is and the stupid f****** decided to discontinue the Trafficmaster
> service both cars use and so I no longer get reports of impending
> traffic problems.
>

It might be that Trafficmaster discontinued the service. I know they
stopped doing something.

> Why they turn off something that recent cars (2018 plate on the newer
> one) is integral to their use I do not understand but assume that VW and
> Audi (to name at least two) assumed they could stop paying the bills.
>

[1] The spill chicken recommends "savant". Comments on a postcard, please.

--
Ric

[Joe Kerr]

I'd definitely recommend investigating rather than just ignoring it. It
could be identity fraud or something other than them sending an
inappropriate letter regarding a dormant account.

I'd also question whether Penny needs to worry about her credit rating.
I get am email every month telling me my credit rating has gone down and
I should investigate improving it. Every month I buy stuff. My rating
goes down. I pay off my cards. My rating goes back up. I get mildly
annoyed. I don't envisage ever needing credit. I don't see why I should
worry about it.

> If they don't sort it out without problem (assuming the above minimum
> use/charge isn't what's happened), then on the second or third
> communication, ask for some compensation (in your case, for the libel!).
> IM recent E, companies not infrequently give you some. May be only a
> fiver or tenner, so not worth the hassle for that alone, but if you're
> corresponding (including calling), nothing to lose by asking! (I did get
> one of 50 sometime in the last decade, but that's rare! I think that
> might have been from British Gas.)


--

Ric

[Sam Plusnet]

On 17-Nov-23 14:35, Joe Kerr wrote:
>
> I'd also question whether Penny needs to worry about her credit rating.
> I get am email every month telling me my credit rating has gone down and
> I should investigate improving it. Every month I buy stuff. My rating
> goes down. I pay off my cards. My rating goes back up. I get mildly
> annoyed. I don't envisage ever needing credit. I don't see why I should
> worry about it.

Penny must either get a regular statement from them by post (monthly?)
or have some way of checking on line. If they actually think she owes
them money (and it's not just a case of the letter containing some
inappropriate boilerplate text) then it would show up there.

--
Sam Plusnet

[Vicky]

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 14:35:18 +0000, Joe Kerr <joe_...@cheerful.com>
wrote:

>I get am email every month telling me my credit rating has gone down and
>I should investigate improving it. Every month I buy stuff. My rating
>goes down. I pay off my cards. My rating goes back up. I get mildly
>annoyed. I don't envisage ever needing credit. I don't see why I should
>worry about it

I get more each month from..umbrella, saying my rating is good but
would I like to apply for new CCs. Or change power co or insurance.

[Wenlock]

I might have gone with 16:8 for comparison purposes as the width of the
picture is the same, it’s the height that is different.

[John Armstrong]

Yes, that is a very good point.

[Penny]

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 13:03:02 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver" <G6...@255soft.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

>In message <hdqalilh4uv4g33hj...@4ax.com> at Thu, 16 Nov
>2023 01:09:28, Penny <sp...@labyrinth.freeuk.com> writes
>[]
>>I've had two credit cards for years (and have always paid them off in full
>>when billed). Not because I live on credit, but the newer one had a good
>>cash-back offer (and still does) so I've mostly not used the other one for
>>ages, but was pleased it was there in case of theft of the newer one.
>>
>>I had a letter from the older credit card recently to say they would not be
>>renewing my card in December. The bulk of the message implied I was in
>>arrears with payments and they would pass the debt to a collection agency.
>
>When I took out my co-op one, it was because (at that time, many years
>ago) a lot - including Barclaycard, which I had (I can still remember
>the - only 13 digit! - number) - were introducing an annual charge, and
>they promised none for life - but you had to _use_ it (some minimal
>amount, like 12 quid a year, which I had no problem with). Your older
>card didn't have something similar did it, which you've fallen foul of
>by not using it?

If that were the case, they would surely have billed me by now, or just
'plundered my bank account' (as my father called Direct Debit) for the
money.

>>I feel thoroughly affronted but frankly can't be bothered to complain,
>>although I do wonder if this would prevent me having a new card from them
>>in the future.
>
>I would, as it might affect your credit rating in general, not just with
>them.

Hm, maybe I will, if I can summon up the energy (and buy a valid stamp).

>If they don't sort it out without problem (assuming the above minimum
>use/charge isn't what's happened), then on the second or third
>communication, ask for some compensation (in your case, for the libel!).

I don't really see there is a problem to sort, apart, perhaps, an apology.

>IM recent E, companies not infrequently give you some. May be only a
>fiver or tenner, so not worth the hassle for that alone, but if you're
>corresponding (including calling), nothing to lose by asking! (I did get
>one of 50 sometime in the last decade, but that's rare! I think that
>might have been from British Gas.)

Huh, you did well to get anything out of them - they were early members of
my 'never again' list.

I recently purchased some cleaning products from a misleading advert on
Facebook (I really must install FBP on the browser so I don't see these
things). The product came with two guarantees - 2 day delivery or your
money back, and, return for refund if you are not happy after 100 days. I
got a surprisingly swift refund when the items took 3 and 5 days to arrive.
I haven't bothered with the refund for the disappointing results, it
doesn't feel fair to get paid for not liking the product.

[Penny]

On Mon, 13 Nov 2023 20:26:54 +0000, Nick Odell <nicko...@yahoo.ca>
scrawled in the dust...

>You've just brought back horrific memories of getting onto the
>Brussels ring road and being unable to get off. Okay, so it was a
>very, very long time ago but those memories were embedded deeply. I
>was navigating by the AA Atlas of Europe which was open on my lap but
>none of the towns highlighted on the maps appeared on the ring road
>exit signs so they might as well have been written in Scots Gaelic.

I was delighted to realise my tiny amount of philatelic knowledge was
useful when driving through the Netherlands. Someone in the band asked why
there were so many places called Uit. I said, "U. I. T. spells Out." :)

[Penny]

On Mon, 13 Nov 2023 20:54:48 +0000, Kate B <elv...@nospam.demon.co.uk>
scrawled in the dust...

>On 13/11/2023 20:26, Nick Odell wrote:
>> Nowadays I suppose people just follow their sat-navs.
>

>navigating round Kidderminster was much the same, as I shall never forget.

I updated my satnav the day before heading off to Cheltenham recently. I
went round the same lengthy circuit several times, ending up in Asda car
park twice, before I reached my destination. Satnavs being unaware of road
works is one thing, but reporting a new building as a road off a roundabout
is very unhelpful!

[Penny]

On Fri, 17 Nov 2023 12:09:48 +0000, Vicky <vicky...@gmail.com> scrawled
in the dust...

>In car sat nav spent 3 years directing me to Hammersmith bridge after
>it was closed and it was hard, not knowing the area, to get out of the
>area and head N to home.On some routes where I know the way the
>various sat navs have not gone the best way.

I was once driven home to north Kent from the 100 Club by a Londoner who
insisted on heading north until he got to the route he knew, rather than
allow me to navigate us in a more direct and shorter way.

[Chris]

What credit rating? I have no idea and nobody has ever asked me. I must
be a very boring person! (But I don’t use a credit card nor take out loans
so am of no interest).

Mrs McT

[John Ashby]

Philately? That'll get you nowhere.

john

[Sam Plusnet]

On 18-Nov-23 17:05, Chris wrote:

> What credit rating? I have no idea and nobody has ever asked me. I must
> be a very boring person! (But I don’t use a credit card nor take out loans
> so am of no interest).

I wouldn't want you to think no-one noticed your pun at the end there.

I have no idea what my (our?) credit rating might be, and we do both
have credit cards. The last loan we took out was the mortgage on this
place - in 1980.

--
Sam Plusnet

[Nick Odell]

Same here. The only reason I use credit cards is because I think the
Section 75 protection is still more reliable than debit card
chargeback. The bank direct debit automatically pays the full credit
card balance as soon as it becomes due and I don't think I've actually
needed to make a Section 75 claim since 2007. [1]

Nick
[1] Air Madrid went belly up and took my ticket money with it.

[Chris]

Didn’t know I had.

Mrs McT

[Mike McMillan]

Just a compound error then?

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

[Sam Plusnet]

Yep. My loans are of no interest to anyone.

--
Sam Plusnet