The whinge thread

[gill216]

Biscuit, I had a similar stop on a payment because it was out of the norm, for - wait for it- £1.50.

I instructed my bank to remove ALL stops- after all I was paying bank charges for their services, and if they ever had any doubts they should ring me. Not much good after the event but worth shouting about for the future.

[giraffe]

One time when we moved house the bank forgot to push the button to send the money and it could only be done once a day at a certain time, so we didn't get possession of the house until 24 hours later. Fortunately we had arranged to have a bridging loan so that we could have both houses for a couple of days, so we weren't homeless and my brother in law worked for the bank in question so I rang him and he found out what had really gone on from the inside. Stressful to say the least, particularly as I was moving with one year old Kingsley, whilst expecting Fernando and OH was working in Japan at the time and because the move had been delayed by the chain he was unable to be in the country on the day we actually moved. The banks just don't seem to realise that what they do has a real impact on people's lives, it's just little numbers to them.

[Biscuit]

mine was for a lot more but i had told the branch i was saving for a car - and done the extra security which even abbey thinks it was a bit weird and are going to check - i just hated the confirmations that they had put it throught on chaps when they must have known they hadnt - and the ring you back in 30 minutes which they did not. This time i told them i was happy to wait whilst they typed the email to the other manager and cc'd me and additionally agreed to phone me back by 9.30 tomorrow in case the manager they had sent the email to didnt start his shift till the afternoon. - i feel that i am having to work to hard for a service that they should be providing - and i am only trying to spend my own money that in the mean time they can make a mint on the money market.

however last year i told hsbc that i was going on holiday on the 10th so on the 10th they stopped a payment for a hirecar that we always use (so not an abnormal payment) when we go to Majorca followed by purchases of magazines at wh smith stansted airport - you really cant win - i thought it was funny but my husband was mortified.

Biscuit

[Biscuit]

wow kingsley and fernando must be close in age - what a challenge - my first two were nearly 17 months apart which was really hard - but they are v close now. But hard at the time.

I remember going to usa and my oh saying there is so long a q for the hire car - you collect the luggage and look after the children (5,3,1) and I will q up to save time - not sure i got the best deal there!! Have you ever managed 5 suitcases, two push chairs, 4 lots of hand luggage and some very tired toddlers after a 7 hour flight. - happily at 20,19,15 it is much easier just cant get them up in the morning.

Biscuit

[clvrlad]

sometimes i think im lucky not having any
and then other times.....

i know im not lucky having any
i jest but seriously its not the puzzling skills that amazes me its the puzzling while looking after the kids that amazes me

[giraffe]

The gap is 20 months, so bigger than yours! I too have done the 2 hour queue for a hire car after 9 hr flight with similar aged children, only to find at the front of the queue that it was the wrong queue and the real one was much shorter

[Biscuit]

i think kids are amazing sometimes - i remember some friends who didnt have children around for dinner and they noticed that my two year old was pointing to all the maze answers in one of his sisters books - hadnt even noticed his spacial ability at 2 but my friends did. Have no idea to this day how he knew the correct answers but how observant of my friends to notice. Lovely friends - i wish they could have been parents they would have been brilliant but they just met too late. - my friends and i actually introduced them and it worked - still married 20 years later. I did have them around for all the important fun times like making mince pies together on christmas eve and our get together - just such a shame they werent parents.

Biscuit

[Bunnylump]

That's so annoying about the bank, Biscuit, especially when you were planning a surprise. Give 'em hell.

Oh, and Clvrlad, it's when we start looking after the puzzles and solving the kids that the problems start...

My whinge (well not really a whinge, more a OMG I'm gobsmacked) is...
my daughter's boyfriend who works for an electricity supply company has been called out tonight for the second time this week because thieves have broken into electricity sub stations and stolen the copper core that makes them work. The totally gobsmacking bit is that the engineers leave a safety tolerance of 4 metres from the live plant. Whoever has stolen it had to get under a working substation (I think he said 33 000 volts) and unbolt it. The really awful thing is that there was a child's glove underneath it (it's a very small gap).

[eirian]

Well, it's noticeable that I haven't had much help in solving puzzles lately - Sigur is the one looking after Thomas all day while I'm at work solving puzzles! He just doesn't have time to do his usual research (which is where I use his skills most).
But watching Thomas working things out is amazing. It was very early on that he was working out that he needs to move things out of the way in order to get to all those nice wires that work our internet

Oh, and Bunny. Think I agree

[Bunnylump]

(This thread seems to be taking a bashing lately!!)

Garages.
My daughter just had her car serviced and MOT'd. They originally quoted her £125 + the cost of the MOT. Now, after having done all those mysterious things garages like to do, which you get done anyway because you don't know what they mean, plus VAT it's gone up to £305. And get this, we went to pick it up, and typically, they hadn't stamped or filled in the log book. So we went back and got them to do it. Good job we did because my daughter spotted that they filled in the mileage as 68560 miles. Which, on checking, they had also put on the MOT certificate. The car has actually only done 33 000 miles! We queried it, and they said, no, the mechanic had checked the mileometer. We had to get them to come with us to look at it again. The silly buggars had read the TRIP meter, which was reading 685.60!!!!

[clvrlad]

work and promotion stuff
as i mentioned before i applied for a promotion at work
i posted the letter to the given address and i waited heard some others had been for an interview.
as the manager doing them was in and i was heading home i checked to see when mine was he looked blankly at me.
after further questioning found he hadnt received my appication luckily i had posted it on here. i quickly copied it and personally handed it to him (yes i used work computers and work paper and work ink)
on the way home i get a call asking me to come in on my night off (wednesday the next morning) for the interview and since im in i can stay and get some overtime. all good
during the interview i twig that from some of the questions theres more than one job going, but say nothing (on the advert it was advertised as one job 35 hours not including sundays) anyway in the interview im told ill find out that friday whats going on
unfortunately steve has to go to a different branch on the friday im not sure why. so no one finds out anything...steve is then off for a weeks holiday
after hes back on a wednesday morning everyone else but me goes into a meeting and discuses what jobs there offering them, and to keep quiet about them untill everythings sorted. im not there its my night off i keep quiet and slightly miffed.
afterwards one individual read theyre piece of paper upside down and has told everyone in the branch what everyones been offered including what they are offering me.
the following week i recieve a phone call tuesday evening just as im about to go into a pub from my branch manager explaining that they want to offer me a role covering a new supervisor and assisting him i tell him that its ok in principle but obviously i cant agree untill my exact role and hours and pay ect is sorted out, then explain im meeting friends and cant talk then.
i find out when i return to work that on the wednesday morning everyone else was again in meetings explaining things and telling them what other jobs had been given out. please note ive still not accepted the job nor been told what it will involve last saturday my branch manager finally gets round to me and asks me to do certain hours i explain that those hours and shifts dont suit me and that id rather remain on my current shifts he asks me to do them as a one off to see what i think of them and since hes on holiday for a week after that shift. friday morning a supervisor asked me to do them again next week since the branch manager isnt in till mid week and one of the alternative shifts id be doing is b4 his return
not only are the shifts awkward for my social life they will be paying me slightly less money to be in charge covering someone elses role when there not there
the only carrot being "this will place you better for the next time we offer a supervisor role out"
me happy? no
me taking the new job? not sure depends if i can get the shifts changed to a less unappealing layout

ok rant over.....

[Bunnylump]

It strikes me they are taking the mickey.

[giraffe]

That's awful. They have you over a barrel. If you don't accept they'll probably make you feel like you'll never be considered for promotion again, and if you do accept they'll feel they can twist you round their little finger next time as well. As always with jobs it's a promise of Jam tomorrow and unfortunately you could just end up with mouldy bread.

I once found a very interesting list in a manager's file that he had given me to do some of HIS work that he couldn't be bothered to do. The list was of the date by which they hoped people would leave by! My own name was on the list with a future date by it. I could have photocopied it and done them for constructive dismissal, but I was too loyal an employee and just made sure I found myself a new job before that date. At my leaving party the same manager said to me that he was sure I would do well in my new job as I always gave 110%. Two faced or what? (Or to be fair maybe HIS boss had given him the list and he was genuinely sad to lose me? )

[LAT]

Gosh that's awful Giraffe! What a cheek!

And clvrlad, I do hope you sort things out so that you get the work you want and are valued too.

[giraffe]

Just one of the reasons I became disillusioned with accountancy.

[clvrlad]

oh im valued just not by the management

[Bunnylump]

Chin up Clvrlad. They just don't know a good thing when it's there. Have a sneaky look round for another job - when you get one you can drop them right in the poo.

[MBH]

That's awful. They have you over a barrel. If you don't accept they'll probably make you feel like you'll never be considered for promotion again, and if you do accept they'll feel they can twist you round their little finger next time as well.

I thought that was just basic busniess management

Knowledge is power clvrlad - get all the information you can, and present your 'alternatives' in a clear, calm, and factual manner. If they expect you to get rattled or angry and you DON't then they have to re-think 'on the hoof' - much harder to do

[clvrlad]

i dont get rattled or angry and i know more about my rights and legal obligations than the management im in control really when i actually get a meeting to discus it they wont be liking the results
working to rule i think they call it
for instance my current contracted hours are illegal on several counts
i have less than 11hours between 2 shifts i finish 6 am saturday morning and start again midday saturday
and several of my current shifts are longer than 6 hours and im unable to have a break in that time
and for some reason because i dont drive a van they think the driving regulations dont aply to my forklift driving...
that and im contracted for specific hours and nowhere in my contract does it state they can change them with x days notice or that i must stay if the packs late both of which management have repeated tried telling me and my work mates
ive all ready busted the have to work late bit by simply going home at my contracted time (well a few minutes late to be specific)
got told by my manager he would have to see me about that hed let me know when...apparently he was fuming however this was months and months ago
apparently when he was preparing to see me hed be informed by several others that he couldnt do anything since it wasnt in my contract and i hadnt been advised of it b4 i started.....strange that the fact im normally the last one out allways willing to do over time and allways in b4 my start time (which almost no one else does) and im allways working a few minutes past my finish time by 5/10 minutes didnt suggest im a conscientious employee
well thats ok im a well trained employee in a strong union and i know my rights
i think ive decided not to take the job but you never know with me

[Bunnylump]

Just don't rattle too many cages without having something to fall back on Clvrlad. I know you're peed off, but whatever you do don't end up with no job!!