A thread to report idiotic things that people/companies do or say.
Not, please, things you just don't like. Things that are unarguably stupid.
This may not be entirely negative, because I have, on occasion, complained about something I considered daft, only to have a very good reason for it pointed out to me.
Tesco 'Scan and Shop' checkout.
When you check out after a scan and shop, you present your credit/debit card.
It then says: "Clubcard Accepted", and you have to present it again to pay.
But you MUST already have used your clubcard to release a scanner, so there is absolutely no point in 'accepting' it again.
Over the last few years I've unintentionally got free goods, because I've forgotten this feature. It's always been for one or two items at a Tesco Express because I'm used to the 'double tap' for big shops but forget that Tesco work differently that just about anyone else when I'm picking the odd item up in a hurry.
Full inquiry.
When something unfortunate happens, you often hear that someone has ordered a 'full' inquiry.
Has anyone, ever, hear of someone ordering a partial enquiry?
@qpw3141 ... Different take, but I actually wish that partial inquiries were a thing !
So many of these things cost a fortune and take years ... only to eventually publish findings that are exactly as most people predicted.
Just sit the key people in a room for a day and let them thrash it out. Record the whole thing and write it up over the next week. Sorted.
This is the one that really sticks in my mind - absolutely obscene, when the money could have been spent helping ... ?
The public inquiry has been running for more than four years and while hearings are due to conclude in July, its chair, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, is not expected to deliver his final report until 2023.
Twenty-four firms of solicitors have been receiving public funding to represent survivors. Public funds pay for 13 barristers ... £43,000 for every working day, while the inquiry’s own legal team and panel of experts has so far cost over £23m.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/10/grenfell-tower-legal-costs-public-inquiry
Also dragging it out makes the "right people" lots of money - e.g. Boris's facing parliment he was granted £220k for legal fees - but as they keep putting it back that has already been wasted so tax payers will stump up same again
I agree driver8, but public inquiries are designed to obfuscate, and remove the answers, temporally, from the initial problem so slow progress is built in.
We were at Stonehenge last year - obviously lots of tourists from all over the world - heard a voice behind me - "what are those white things in the field" - a pause and a proper question "are they sheep?" - this was from an american women in her 30's-40's.
18 year old has has new McLaren taken off him for doing 122 on M40 after buying the car 2 days before and didn't have any proof of insurance
Yesterday I spent 75 minutes (*) chatting to Santander over 4 different calls about the same thing - 4 different people (2 in Belfast, 2 in NW Eng).
The first person I got was like a batty PO mistress - light-hearted and well meaning, but clueless about the tech. It was only the 4th person I spoke with who actually knew what he was doing, and he was very sharp and knowledgeable.
Today, another 62 minutes and finally my problem is resolved (although I still need to visit a branch with photo ID to resolve something else).
Their automated system is good if a little long-winded, and their "my voice is my password" system is excellent, and serves as your PIN/password.
The most frustrating thing throughout was being asked the same security questions (from a set) on reaching each new person (6 in total). Also, before you make a money transfer they have scripts to ask you "are you being coerced" in about 6 different ways.
Now I realise there is lots of fraud, but I do wonder how OAPs would manage with this sort of thing - making genuine customers jump through a whole series of hoops.
TIP: Avoid premium rate numbers by using saynoto0870 to find geographic equivalents - glad it's still going, as I've not used it for years. And of course you can use these geo numbers with your 60 free Skype minutes from an Office 365 sub (although I didn't have enough, so it was £2.40 for monthly unlimited landlines).
(*) EDIT - I should have added that the call waiting time was actually very low - after the autosystem, I was put through to a person almost straight away, every time.
I went into out local Santander to discuss some options with our mortgage - 1st attempt failed half day closing - second failed as they shut at 3. eventually went one lunch time waited to speak to someone to find - "we don't do mortgages here...." after much faff they could give me half the info I needed was then told best to ring, but not on mon-tue as very busy and probably not a Friday (and avoid end of / beginning of month if you can) - left it over Christmas and it sorted itslef out in our favour. How anyone with real issues and 9-5 jobs manages to sort stuff out!
Huge companies with bad websites, plus the deliberate obfuscation of important settings (usually when cancelling your account!)
? Amazon is well known - their emails are appalling, and often include html code and broken links! And nowadays, their website is hampered by a myriad of sponsored ads, often for unrelated products. And don't get me started on the non-working filters, such as 4TB, etc.
? PayPal is terrible ... they have a bright shiny GUI that falls back to 1995 when you try to do anything serious (similar to clicking around Windows 11 Settings, and encountering system settings unchanged since circa windows 3.1).
? Paypal - check your pre-approved payments ('direct debits') - I had loads of stuff in there that I no longer need, and some connections I don't even remember setting up. Of course, the settings are buried away :
My Account - Settings cog - Payments - Automatic Payments - Pre-approved Payments (the name changes!) > paypal.com/myaccount/autopay/
? Telco - I wanted to cancel my payg sim, that I ordered some months ago in about 10 seconds, totalling 3 clicks. But oh no, I have to cancel via live chat ... and that somehow took me through to Switzerland! So I gave up, read up how others do it, and just cancelled my auto-renew with them, and then with PayPal to be sure.
✅ Some good news! We needed to go into several high street banks recently, and both Santander and Nationwide were excellent (and on a Saturday morning, too!) Natwest on the otherhand, despite having a shiny new branch, were polite and enthusiastic but lacking decent advice.
Pay to park meters. Why are there so many different companies/apps (often in the same town) and usually in areas with little or no signal to download the app or call them up! Hope this is the right thread?
