The moaning old git thread

[MilozFolly]

Don't worry, you can 100%  trust PayPal.





*message courtesy of PayPal world domination Inc.

[MisterDavey]

Who's that eejit at my bank, that decided to log on to my online banking, I first have to logon to my mobile phone app to confirm my identity 

If wanted to use my mobile phone for everything, I would, and what if my phone isn't available, I simply wouldn't be able to do my business banking. F*****g lunacy.

[Brockett]

DHL sent an email - Parcel to be delivered Tuesday. I clicked the link to change the date to Wednesday. All done easy as that.

[2112]

Credit card companies - does it really have to be that difficult? I was trying to chase up two fraudulent transactions (two £20 pay-as-you-go phone top up's - we both have contracts) made last week on my Nationwide credit card, but failed the security check? WTF? I've had the card for nearly 8 years and none of my details have changed in that time? My date of birth is still the same, been in the same house for 27 years, same phone numbers, but no, you've failled? So now that's locked until they send a new password out to my home address, not the end of the world but far from ideal. We almost never use the card so spotting fraud is dead easy and we were going to close it anyway as we have a new card with a different bank. We'll not use that very often either, but that was an ordeal to activate and involved codes, passwords & pins that I'll never remember... It really doesn't need to be this hard.

[Brockett]

My Garmin thing Is really cheesed off with me since I selected the setting "shortest journey". It still tries to guide me into Dual carriageways and away from "B" roads and lanes with grass growing down the middle. I was in bimble mode dawdling through the wealthy desolate parts of Suffolk when my Garmin friend pointed to a road in the west. I thought it was a bit strange and stopped to check the route Ah! it was diverting me away from the straight and narrow and onto a much longer route via the A140 and the A143. Although not dual carriageways, they would add 10 miles to my journey. I cancelled and then re entered the required destination and it restarted and showed me my preferred route. A few mile later it showed a sharp turn the the right and reverted back to the "faster but longer" route. I really do get vexed when things don't work as I want and so I am considering adjusting it with a large hammer.  Am I being unreasonable?? My bike is limited to 40 or 50 MPH while it is at this stage of the running in process. I think the A12 A14 etc traffic will be less than pleased with that in their way.

[MisterDavey]

Aha Brockett, I reckon I have your Garmin's identical twin 
The damn thing is always sending me into the most ludicrous situation, it once had me going through someone's side entrance to get to the church behind. Also, why the heck doesn't it say, "Oi dickhead! you've just gone past your destination, flick the arse around and back back the other way", no, it just sets course for the most convoluted route possible, usually several miles being out in the sticks, just to bring me back around to the place I missed just three hundred yards in the opposite direction.........

[Brockett]

Ah! yes that old joke telling us we need to take the junction we have just passed.

It comes to something when the Satnav has no idea where we are and I have check google maps on my phone so as to aim it at a known town that is nearby and in the right direction.

But that goes with radio traffic warnings and overhead dot matrix displays  "road is closed at junction 7" oh! yeah where the fudge is junction 7 Do I have to stop on the hard shoulder and look at the map to find out. Why not say the "road is closed at junction 7 for Bogworthy". Then I would know the closure will or will not affect my journey.

[nigel s]

My Zumo gets upset if you ignore it . After the first few missed turns the rerouting is OK but the further away I get from the route the worse it gets. I think it is trying to get me back to the nearest point on the original route not the best way from where I am.

On page 34219644431  of the Garmin help forum there is a complicated method of getting round this involving way point priorities and flux capacitors , or summit....apparently... a deeper dive than I can be arsed with 

 It is a problem I get round by mostly changing to straightline as the navigation method. Then using the lines  and with the distance to destination being set instead of time left it is easy to work out where to go. If the distance goes up I look at the line and take the next right or whatever is needed .
Not the quickest way of doing things , but I do find some great bits of road and views that would have been missed otherwise 

I have yet to try Dirk Gently's ( Douglas Adams holistic detective ) method of following random cars till I get to where the universe decides I NEED to be, not where I WANT to be....next weekend maybe 

Ho Hum

[TLPower]

Garmin users, check your custom avoidance settings.

Turn on "U" turns allowed.

Brockett turn on "avoid motorways".

I'll post up how I do a very simple route on the device later. My Garmin is in the garage, I'm not allowed in there since the incident, so I can't go through the step by step bit and I'm too stupid to remember without looking at it.

[Rusty Nuts]

Send Henry to fetch it for you

[MisterDavey]

Thanks TL Power, I'll take a look

[Brockett]

There are no motorways to avoid in Suffolk and Norfolk. There are very few dual carriageways and some of those have sub 70 speed limits. In Essex there's the M11 but that's too far west and the M25  and that's to be avoided whatever is being driven.
I planned a route with way points all was going well until the satnav got lost and tried to direct me to a place not on the route. By then I knew where I was and still got to my intended destination. Then I tried the Track back feature and that went well up to the first way point when it stopped as if it had done all it needed to. On the bright side I have been through villages and towns that were, up till then, completely unknown to me. I asked my friends, who live just twenty miles away, if they knew these places and they said they have never heard of them.

[Sir Trev]

Carpet shops. I think they've all been to the Ryanair School of How to Charge More. Oh you'd like the old carpet taken up and disposed? That will be extra. Oh you want the new carpet fitted? That will be extra. At least he didn't insist I needed new gripper bars.

I ended up paying double the price their online calculator quoted. 

[Brockett]

On one hand this is the place for a moan, see the title and on the other .. as you know I don't do a lot of moaning. No it's just some of my observations. Today, out on the V7 for a 90 odd mile round trip and before half way to my destination the traffic comes to a halt on a dual carriageway. I bimble south  through the middle in 2nd gear until I find the road begining to clear. What is the hold up? A crash on the opposite carriageway  and some twit on  my side has stared too much and steered too little and run off the road showering the surface with pebbles half a cubic meter I would guess.  2 hours later on the way back the Northbound traffic comes to a stop and again I thread my way to the front and there's a police car lights flashing and stradling the white line. in the distance a carvan at an odd angle partially up on the side kerb. Police were walking back to their car and then back down to the caravan. Ah! just teasing us. 30 minutes go by and another police unit turns up and the caravan is slowly dragged on it's way to a safe parking area. Around me, the undoubtedly civilised motorists were moaning and a talking very loudly suggesting the police were not at all useful or clever.  "They could have let us use the outside lane " And I'm thinking yeah! and some of you lot are just as likely to smash into the back of that caravan and then the police would be in trouble. Eventually we are on the move BUT at 2mph  because the caravan was still not quite clear of the road. My V7 at tickover runs at 8mph so I have to keep stopping and behind me there is a hoard of impatient vans and Audis  Then a shout " why do you keep stopping" and I'm thinking 'if I have to explain then you are too stupid to understand'. 10 minutes of this and then it's all clear.  All part of the fun to be had on the road.  The police did a pretty good job.

[The Doctor 46]

I went into Central London in my car last month, 23 May bank holiday and knew I would have to pay a congestion charge and that my car is emission charge free. Having not driven in London (though I have driven cars, motorbikes and lorries there many times in the past) since the charges began I didn't know how to pay the congestion charge so decided to drive in and then wait for the bill to drop into my mail box.

Yesterday the bill arrived, £90 fine and a lot more if not paid soon, my friend was with me when I opened the letter and immediately Googled his phone and told me it would have cost £15 had I paid in advance. Maybe £15 + £5 admin charge would have been expected and easily accepted but £90! for a hospital appointment 

I hope the Mayor of London lives a long, very long unhappy life. 

[Froglodyte]

Frankly, I'd rather ride through the gates of hell than ride in London

[Upt North]

CCM gone!
Sad day.

[Ianmc]

    I used to go to London regularly for work when the Congestion Charge first started and my company had 2 fines sent to them for not paying on the day for my van.But the problem was that I wasn’t in London both of the times they said I was,and when they sent the pictures of the offence it wasn’t my van.It was a totally different colour without any sign writing on it.😂

[Brockett]

  car insurance - Last year with Churchill and this year they send me a renewal quote a good bit more expensive. So I go back to search and end up with RAC insurance via "Go Compare". And this morning I get an email from Churchill to say my car insurance has auto renewed.
30 minutes  with an AI "help" desk which puts me through to an idiot who insists my phone number is not what I say it is and then says she can only deal with the policy holder and cuts me off.  Another 10 minutes of AI insanity and I got through to as really pleasant South African help assitant and the policy was cancelled without further ado. I queried how it was that Churchill did not communicate their intention to auto renew when their documentation clearly states that they will do just that 21 days in advance of the renewal date?
However the real cracker in this matter is the renewal price was £150 less than their previous quote and £50 less than I have paid the RAC 
 AI is 100% artificial and 0% inteligent.  I wonder if old age will get me before some bloody AI attack drones run amok.

[FR22]

Despite being around for 18 years now, the UK insurance system still amazes me to this day...

Absolutely shambles....

I miss arguing with my insurance broker about 10€ to bring it down below 150€ so I could insure more than one car...