Rant of the Day v2.

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ian16th
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#481 Post by ian16th » Thu Nov 15, 2018 3:28 pm

Capetonian wrote:
Thu Nov 15, 2018 2:03 pm
I am a RR shareholder as it happens(about £12000 of shares). Just wondering why you asked!
If I held them, I'd be worried.
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#482 Post by Capetonian » Thu Nov 15, 2018 3:32 pm

I've held them for so long that I am sure that they are of substantially more worth than when I acquired them, and I have had dividends. They are part of a portfolio and I must admit that I don't track very closely the individual components. I have got rid of tobacco and other unethical holdings but other than that I very rarely instruct the portfolio managers as I am sure they are making a better job of managing than I could.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#483 Post by ian16th » Thu Nov 15, 2018 3:37 pm

CharlieOneSix wrote:
Thu Nov 15, 2018 1:51 pm
It was obviously beyond the wit of Aberdeen Council to make the bridge one way today and send the opposing traffic to the next bridge. X(
Would you believe it, that in backward Seth Effrica they did just that, on a permanent basis.

An existing narrow bridge had a new bridge built in parallel and the two with adjacent road, are treated as a roundabout.

It was a suspension bridge, built alongside of the motorway. One end was on a very large concrete ball, when finished it was pivoted on the ball and ends fixed.
The motorway was only closed while the pivoting happened.
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#484 Post by Magnus » Sat Nov 17, 2018 8:35 am

Apple software. I installed Mojave the other day, and it appears to do what it says on the tin. but, 'kinell, it takes forever to wake up.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#485 Post by Woody » Tue Nov 20, 2018 9:08 am

The Law( Canadian) versus pester power, could be interesting
A Quebec father has launched a class-action lawsuit against McDonald's, alleging the company's Happy Meals break strict provincial laws against advertising to children.
Since its debut in 1979, the Happy Meal has been a staple of McDonald's menu and a go-to meal option on family road trips.
But some parents are decidedly unhappy about the hold the fast-food empire has over their children's stomachs.
Antonio Bramante is the lead plaintiff in a newly certified lawsuit that alleges McDonald's is unlawfully aiming advertising at children under 13 years of age.
That would violate the province's strict youth consumer protection laws.
Mr Bramante, a father of three young children, says he eats at McDonald's about once every two weeks on the urging of his children, according to the court documents.
He estimates he has spent hundreds of dollars on Happy Meals, which are children's meals that come with toys.
The Quebec father says the toys are often linked to popular film releases and his children often want to return to the restaurant so they can complete their set of toys.
He also claims the restaurant is directly targeting children by displaying the Happy Meals toys at their eye level.
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#486 Post by izod tester » Wed Nov 21, 2018 10:23 am

Update on post #464. Received letter from Parking Eye this morning cancelling the parking charge.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#487 Post by ian16th » Wed Nov 21, 2018 1:59 pm

izod tester wrote:
Wed Nov 21, 2018 10:23 am
Update on post #464. Received letter from Parking Eye this morning cancelling the parking charge.
:-bd
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#488 Post by Wodrick » Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:05 pm

+1....
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#489 Post by CharlieOneSix » Wed Nov 21, 2018 4:28 pm

I'm sure most here know what a scam car insurance renewal quotes are and what a little bit of effort can achieve. For those who don't - read on! My Direct Line renewal price arrived a couple of days ago - £393.12 up from £379.68 last year.

Rule No.1 - never just accept a renewal quote.

I went online and got quotes from (1)Moneysupermarket.com, (2)Confused.com, (3)Gocompare.com, (4)Comparethemarket.com and (5)Aviva.

Their like for like quotes were (1) LVE Plus £322.95 (2) Saga £349.86 (3) Saga £364.57 (4) Saga £282.73 (5) Aviva £652.00.

I don't think I fitted Aviva's required profile!! I phoned Direct Line and said I couldn't ignore a quote from Saga that was £110 lower than theirs for identical cover. A few minutes later they came back with a revised quote of £291.20, just £8.47 more than Saga. I accepted it because of the hassle in changing insurers and also because Direct Line were very efficient and fair in dealing with Mrs C16's two accident claims in her own car - one her fault and one which wasn't - in the last two years.

£102 saved in return for an hour's effort on the computer - well worth it! :-bd
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#490 Post by Slasher » Wed Nov 21, 2018 11:10 pm

CharlieOneSix wrote:
Wed Nov 21, 2018 4:28 pm
£102 saved in return for an hour's effort on the computer - well worth it! :-bd
Well done Charlie. Your mindset is that if the rich.

Around 1994ish I came across a small paperback book in the Flipperines called "Think Like The Rich". It was written by a rich Malaysian who's name escapes me at present, but I thumbed it open expecting the usual how I'll make millions of bucks using motivational euphemisms and examples of John Getty, Nelson
Rockefeller, Warren the Buff etc etc and a bunch of clicheic "and if you work really hard" crap. But it was the complete opposite.

Page 1 said (near enough) "if you think you are going to make millions of dollars by reading this book, chances are you won't. Put the book back and go away. If you want to improve your financial standing with the little you have then turn the page and start reading.

So I started reading. I read and read and read (Sir are you going to pay for that book? Yes here you are. Sorry) and read and read and read! After I finished reading and walked out the shop I got what drunks call "clarity of vision" and immediately applied what I had just learnt. I would reread the whole 120 pages at least once a month for years.

One of the Golden Rules summary at the back of the book (and applicable in your case Charles) reads: a poor man will say "yes I like this. I'll take it". A rich man will say "yes I like this. But do you have similar that's cheaper?"

I know I have that book somewhere around the house. It really changed my attitude and mindset towards money and how to successfully gain wealth even if I'll never be a Bill Gates. If I locate it I'll quote the title and author as well as ISBN. It was bloody remarkable and should've been a best seller...in my book! ;)))

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#491 Post by Hydromet » Thu Nov 22, 2018 12:31 am

Or as my Granny used to say, "Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves."

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#492 Post by CharlieOneSix » Thu Nov 22, 2018 12:37 am

Thanks for the compliment. Slash! I forgot to mention that the UK's consumer champion, Martin Lewis, https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ advises that 21 days before the renewal date is the ideal time to challenge the renewal quote. Don't leave it until just before the renewal date.
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#493 Post by llondel » Thu Nov 22, 2018 3:56 am

I used to play the game with Direct Line. I'd let them get away with it if the increase didn't seem too bad (i.e. I could earn more than that so it wasn't worth wasting the time) but when they did hit the threshold for action, the first thing I'd do is put my details into their website for a fresh quote, then ring them to ask why my premium was a couple of hundred higher than they were offering new people. That usually got them to offer me the lower price. To be fair to them, they were helpful when I got rear-ended once, unlike one of their competitors who caused me great inconvenience many years ago and who I've avoided since.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#494 Post by Ex-Ascot » Thu Nov 22, 2018 1:06 pm

just been to file annual return for our Botswana Company only to find they failed to file last year and we have been fined. All complicated but I think the following e-mail to them just now explains the situation.
We informed the company that we would be at your offices at 08.00 16th November 2017 to sign and pay for our annual return.

When we arrived the papers were not ready. Call us British but when we have an appointment with a professional organisation who we are paying for a service we expect on time delivery of said service. Why should we sit around whilst people get their act sorted out? Unless of course you are prepared to pay for my time as a management consultant whilst I wait. It was pointed out that we could not print off copies at home as we operate a paperless office in accordance with ecotourism guidelines. We were assured that the matter would be sorted out. We expected to be asked back the following week to sign the papers. We are only in town once a week.

Despite saying that we have no printer, then, that afternoon we received the below with instructions to print off the forms and sign. I assumed that this was a standard form e-mail which I am sure it is and took it to be just information for us and file copies. To ensure it was I responded The fee was paid in your Maun office today. Please advise if there is anything further to do.

Nothing more was heard. In the past in the UK I have always done my own accounts and returns. I do not know the system here so employ your company. It is not exactly onerous or time consuming for which we pay you around 2,000 BWP a year. Why were the papers not ready for our appointment? Why were we sent attachment papers with instructions to print off when we had stated we had no printer? Why was my e-mail of any further action required not answered? Why was there no follow up when it was realised that you did not have the required papers to file? In the UK in extreme circumstances a filing can be made, with a well-established company, without the directors signatures so it was not unusual to us that we had not signed. This is why we employ you to ensure the correct procedures are followed.

This statement : They asked us just to email the annual return which you did and they will bring the signed copies next week. Is completely incorrect. We had stated more than once that we had no printer so how could we possibly have said that?

I have never in my whole business career filed late. When one employs professionals one certainly doesn’t expect them to fail to file. You had already been paid. Perhaps we should have withheld this until we had ensured that you had executed said actions. This is a black spot on our records at Companies House. Records which are openly available to the public. This is effectively defamation of character of the directors of the company. Please give me one reason why we should not sue your company for defamation.

As far as we are concerned the failure to file is in your court and you are liable for the late filing fee. What way forward does your company wish to go regarding this massive failure in your system and the embarrassment caused to the directors of our company. Your misdemeanor reflects directly and completely on them?
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#495 Post by CremeEgg » Thu Nov 22, 2018 5:23 pm

Effing Halifax – just been trying to renew my mothers insurance – buildings & contents. Previous premium around £450; renewal comes in at £600. Go online and put all her details in, replicating current policy – quotes from £125 to £650. The effing Halifax (current insurer) comes in at £133.

So I ring Alex (sounded suspiciously like Abdul to me) to see why a straight renewal is a 33% increase and why as a “new “ customer they want only 33% of current fee. Alex unable (unwilling) to explain because of Data Protection as I wasn’t the policyholder. Not that he could say which part of Data Protection Act he’d be contravening – always a useful means of tying such script readers in knots. He said I clearly wasn’t Mrs XXX by the sound of my voice. I asked for his supervisor as I was most offended as I happened to be trans-gendering which was a painful emotional process. Another twenty minutes spent discussing the DPA with Alex’s superior. They wouldn’t (couldn’t) offer any form of explanation. Useless beings. So I made sure they knew that they could put their renewal quote where the sun don’t shine.

Renewed with Esure – saving £400 and Mum’s given me half the saving for my trouble. Result. Interesting to see how much they want this time next year.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#496 Post by Slasher » Thu Nov 22, 2018 5:33 pm

I asked for his supervisor as I was most offended as I happened to be trans-gendering which was a painful emotional process.
Brilliant! 👍🏻

I'm nickin' that to assist when dealing with braindead bureaucracy in PC-riddled countries.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#497 Post by CharlieOneSix » Thu Nov 22, 2018 5:53 pm

CremeEgg wrote:
Thu Nov 22, 2018 5:23 pm
....... Alex unable (unwilling) to explain because of Data Protection as I wasn’t the policyholder.....
During my renewal discussion with Direct Line in post #489 they asked if there was anyone I would like them to note as being able to discuss the policy on my behalf. Maybe it would be worth your mother registering you as being able to do that with Esure?
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#498 Post by OFSO » Fri Nov 23, 2018 7:58 am

Timber yard seemingly sold me a load of asbestos logs. Used half a packet of firelighters last night, stove kept going out so living room cold this morning. Central heating feeble Spanish variety.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#499 Post by Woody » Fri Nov 23, 2018 10:10 am

Halifax house insurance, complete rip-off, I dealt with them on behalf of my late parents and saved them about £400 a few years ago X(
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#500 Post by ribrash » Fri Nov 23, 2018 2:04 pm

During the summer we have had a large influx of motorhomes that park up for a few days,staying mainly down the bottom end of the prom,out of the way doing no harm except spend money at New Brighton.Our scumbag councillors have now seen fit to put signs up all the the prom saying no parking between 8pm and 8am.There are no yellow lines in place.Surely if the motorhome is taxed,insured and MOT'd then it should be able to park where it likes in the absence of double yellow lines.There has been rumour of a legal challenge so time will tell.

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