The grumpy thread

[Jazoli]

You an download an app called ACR onto your phone and it will record every call for you! It came in very handy for the wife when she was being bullied by her boss. 

[brownnova]

To me that really sounds like something which should be reported on to the police. Especially if it’s something which happens again. 

[mrbenn]

7 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

<snip>

If they don't disappear back into oblivion tomorrow I guess I'll be calling Vodafone and seeing how to change my phone number if they can't somehow block the calls. 

<snip>

When we were at school, certainly "back in the day", it seemed that a certain amount of bullying was tolerated and almost expected.

As an adult, this is not acceptable, even as a one-off.

Speak to the Police. You can even ask that they log it in case of future problems, but that you don't want to pursue it at this time. They should log the incident and give you a crime reference number.

Then ring Vodafone. If you have a crime reference number then will likely take it more seriously. I wonder if they could even see the number that rang you and block it even though the number was hidden by the caller. Alternatively, if your number does need changing, one would hope that the process would be expedited in view of there being a potential crime involved.

[dozeydustman]

I'm sorry to hear you've had to go through this @Zelandeth. You've been offered some really good advice here so I'd certainly heed at least telling the police and log down every harassing call. Nil illegitimi carborundum. Maybe while this is going on take nan's number off of withheld, if you consider it safe to do so, so you'll know it's her calling you.

In other grumps I have picked up a horrid throat and sinus infection. Every single cold, flu or similar illness that goes around my body seems to think "Mmm, I like the sound of that". Mrs slept on the sofa bed last night because "the bedroom smelled of ill"

 

[SiC]

8 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

If they don't disappear back into oblivion tomorrow I guess I'll be calling Vodafone and seeing how to change my phone number if they can't somehow block the calls.  Though blindly blocking all unknown numbers isn't an option for me sadly as I have several regular callers (aforementioned Nan and two overseas friends) whose calls come through to me as blocked numbers. 

As others have said, phone the police in the first instance. Hate crime seriousness and enforcement has come a long way in the last 18 years.

Vodafone should be able to block the numbers, even if the number is being withheld. Interestingly, a withheld phone number gets transmitted right across the phone network and into your handset. It is the handset that sees it withheld and doesn't show it (something required by the standards). So it is logged by them if further action is needed by different entities.

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

17 hours ago, purplebargeken said:

……. flat renting cunts parking his cunting Renner right across the cunting garage, entirely fucking up the fucking plan that I had ……...

Sorry - but brake fluid would have been deployed………….. fuck them.

16 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

Idiots with dogs they struggle to control...……..

 

Pepper spray/Mace - I've got it because of a couple of the idiots near me. Usual posers wanting to look butch with the bull type ……. one is seriously demented. Pepper spray (you can make your own!) works wonders fella……..

9 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Oh, hello thoroughly displeasing blast from the past - circa 2001 last time it happened that I can specifically remember

02:01...phone rings, showing unknown number.  Now my 91 year old Nan has been having health issues lately so I felt compelled to answer it - otherwise at 2AM ……..

Sucks to hear this type of shit is ever even thought of...……. so sorry for you dude. May not prove popular, but I'm of the old school middle of het night visit - you know they'll be awake so go 'hav a chat' - take chemicals and heavy weaponry as negotiating 'tactics' - some people really do only understand one method of communication! Sad but true

[Zelandeth]

Spoke to the police this morning. They consider it nuisance, nothing more. Now if it were directed squarely at my sexuality, religion etc..."protected attributes" to quote the mumbling Muppet on the phone, they'd be interested.  In this case, associating myself with that specific group of fluffy idiots...nope.  It's just a prank call and is "a civil matter" for us to resolve ourselves.  Advice is "if they persist" speak to your phone company to block the number.  Funnily enough, they never actually got wind of the fact I was gay (granted, the kind of fact you play close to your chest in that sort of area)...goodness only knows what level they'd have turned things up to if they'd been granted that as ammunition.  Things didn't end well for the only person in my school I knew of who was openly gay, and I'd be hugely surprised if this same group of idiots hadn't played a part.
 

Colour me unsurprised.  They did absolutely zip back in the day when the idiots in question were vandalising my cars almost weekly, egging the house nearly daily etc, despite us having clear video evidence at the time.  This was not in a busy city - our house was one of only four in an area of several square miles...not exactly a crime hotspot.  That went on literally for years.

Visiting them?  Um...no.  They're farmer's offspring and it's well known that the household is well armed.  Aside from anything else they're 400+ miles away...which was one aspect involved in making the decision to move down here (which is a decision I still regret to be fair).  This isn't worth finding myself staring down the barrel of a shotgun.  Yes, I know someone who had that pulled on them too.  Well known, "influencers" in the area in the family = no charges ever sticking, and any legal challenges against them being invariably dropped due to "technicalities" it seems.

I've spoken to Vodafone and it seems that they're using a VoIP service and each call has come from a different number...so not much they can do from their side.  They were actually making some effort to be helpful it felt though.

Haven't had any more calls today...so hopefully they've had their fun for one drunken night and I won't hear anything else of it.  We'll see.  Personally, not holding my breath.

 

[Cavcraft]

It absolutely stinks, Zelandeth, really sorry to read that. Can Vodaphone tell you the numbers they did ring from, at least you could block them and possibly be wary of any other calls from  same area code? Changing your number probably best, but if you do have their numbers then even if it's against your nature you could always return the favour at 3.00am one day with a spare phone.

[HillmanImp]

I like your location Cavcraft the unstoppable sex machine

[Tadhg Tiogar]

54 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

....Can Vodaphone tell you the numbers they did ring from, at least you could block them .....

I think the nature of VoIP is that you can spoof whatever number(s) you choose to pretend to be calling from. Commonly used in banking scams.

[Cavcraft]

53 minutes ago, HillmanImp said:

I like your location Cavcraft the unstartable sex machine

Fixed that for you, M8.

[Zelandeth]

3 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

It absolutely stinks, Zelandeth, really sorry to read that. Can Vodaphone tell you the numbers they did ring from, at least you could block them and possibly be wary of any other calls from  same area code? Changing your number probably best, but if you do have their numbers then even if it's against your nature you could always return the favour at 3.00am one day with a spare phone.

They couldn't give me the actual details to me without supporting evidence that I had a valid reason to request them eg. A crime reference number relating to harrassment (which Thames Valley Police will not provide.  They did me a favour essentially by revealing they had come from a VoIP system, and that each of the calls (which came in within a matter of a few minutes) were all from totally different numbers, so as folks have said they were probably spoofed.  Also means I sadly wouldn't be able to return the favour!

Given the lot of them didn't generally have two brain cells to rub together I'm surprised they've managed to keep tabs on my phone number (which I never knew how they got hold of in the first place) for twenty odd years!

Guess it's like old times looking at changing my number...we had to do it with the land line three times back then for exactly this reason...

 

It's just bloody irritating.  You'd think they'd have found better things to do with their time by now...

[richardmorris]

From the MET police website....my bold.

A hate crime is when someone commits a crime against you because of your disability, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, religion, or any other perceived difference.

It doesn’t always include physical violence. Someone using offensive language towards you or harassing you because of who you are, or who they think you are, is also a crime. The same goes for someone posting abusive or offensive messages about you online.

If it happens to you, you might be tempted to shrug it off. But if you tell us, we can investigate and stop it from getting worse – either for you or someone else.

[Kiltox]

People who think this is acceptable behaviour need to get in the fucking sea  

[LightBulbFun]

the Police response is fucking bullshit, and itself is an issue that im sure someone should get in trouble for...

is there another "department" of the police you can call and raise the issue with?

I have a good feeling its just a case of having to call back, and hope you get someone else who is competent etc, failing calling the people, are there and physicial police stations left where you live?

perhaps if you go visit the police in person it might have a stronger impact on things 

(especially if you quote/show what richard just posted)

 

regardless of, im so sorry to hear of the abuse @Zelandeth if you ever need a friendly face to talk to at silly-o-clock in the morning your always welcome to give me a ping, as im usually awake then too

[purplebargeken]

He blocked the garage once before. I slid a trolley jack under the rear end of the car  and moved it that way. Couldn't do that this time sadly.

[mrbenn]

4 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

Spoke to the police this morning. They consider it nuisance, nothing more. Now if it were directed squarely at my sexuality, religion etc..."protected attributes" to quote the mumbling Muppet on the phone, they'd be interested.  In this case, associating myself with that specific group of fluffy idiots...nope.  It's just a prank call and is "a civil matter" for us to resolve ourselves.  Advice is "if they persist" speak to your phone company to block the number.  Funnily enough, they never actually got wind of the fact I was gay (granted, the kind of fact you play close to your chest in that sort of area)...goodness only knows what level they'd have turned things up to if they'd been granted that as ammunition.  Things didn't end well for the only person in my school I knew of who was openly gay, and I'd be hugely surprised if this same group of idiots hadn't played a part.
 

Colour me unsurprised.  They did absolutely zip back in the day when the idiots in question were vandalising my cars almost weekly, egging the house nearly daily etc, despite us having clear video evidence at the time.  This was not in a busy city - our house was one of only four in an area of several square miles...not exactly a crime hotspot.  That went on literally for years.

Visiting them?  Um...no.  They're farmer's offspring and it's well known that the household is well armed.  Aside from anything else they're 400+ miles away...which was one aspect involved in making the decision to move down here (which is a decision I still regret to be fair).  This isn't worth finding myself staring down the barrel of a shotgun.  Yes, I know someone who had that pulled on them too.  Well known, "influencers" in the area in the family = no charges ever sticking, and any legal challenges against them being invariably dropped due to "technicalities" it seems.

I've spoken to Vodafone and it seems that they're using a VoIP service and each call has come from a different number...so not much they can do from their side.  They were actually making some effort to be helpful it felt though.

Haven't had any more calls today...so hopefully they've had their fun for one drunken night and I won't hear anything else of it.  We'll see.  Personally, not holding my breath.

 

This sounds like more of a sustained campaign albeit with a gap in the middle.

As others have suggested, do keep a diary of this and any future issues. In the event of any more communication I'd be straight back on to the Police and ask for it to be logged. Fair play to Vodafone. They were helpful to a friend of mine in a similar situation some years ago.

Do you use a smart phone? On the iPhone you can set a feature called "Do not disturb" but then specify a caller whitelist, so everyone except numbers on that list cannot get through. I assume Android has a similar function available.

[Zelandeth]

Problem with the "do not disturb" modes etc is that one of the most likely people to want to/need to contact me is behind a blocked number.  She's 91 and isn't likely to budge on that - and being honest I don't think she would know how to undo it anyway so I could actually see her phone number anyway..

She's the only direct blood relative I have left, and I feel that it's kind of my duty to be here if she needs me.  Especially given that the rest of her offspring have made precisely zero effort to stay in touch.

Thus far every single encounter I've had with the police down here has left me wanting to smash my face to a gooey paste against the nearest brick wall.  Which it pains me to say as two of my uncles on my father's side were police officers for several decades...and through my job back up north I worked quite closely with Grampian Police on a bunch of issue...so am really have every reason to give them the benefit of the doubt and know full well what pressures they're under.

Thames Valley Police though...it seems if they're not handing out fines for going 51mph on a dime straight dual carriageway road which has no bloody reason not to be a 70mph road or stuff like that they just seem utterly disinterested. 

We did as a family end up on the other side of them briefly a few years ago when one of my housemates suffered a nervous breakdown and went through a disassociative event following on from that.  Let me just tell you that the whole principle of "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't exist outside Hollywood.  We were told that if we fought the charges (drunk in charge of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving and drink driving), that it would be up to us to provide the "burden of proof" and that we'd have zero chance of winning and prison time would definitely be involved.  The person in question was found passed out drunk in their car which was safely and legally parked, not in possession of the keys (they were found about a quarter of a mile away), with no proof that the car had moved any time in the time period in question.    So we basically had to plead guilty to crimes that we're 99.999999% certain were never committed.  As it was that warranted a two year ban, two grand fine & £700 or so costs.  Oh, and the drink driver rehabilitation course which was an absolute chapter of Hell in itself.  On the plus side (if there is one) this did finally make the NHS sit up and take notice about the fact that the person in question had mental health issues which we'd been trying to get help with for about five years...funny how they're happy to pick up the pieces after something happens, but won't do jack to try to prevent it.  That's a whole rant in itself though!  We reckon the event which tipped things over in this case was hitting a fox in the car on the way to work that morning.  That being a stressful thing in itself plus the worry of having to tell the keeper of the company loan car it had been damaged was just one thing too much and all hell broke loose.  They'd been struggling against depression, severe anxiety issues and associated issues for years...just had been unable to get anyone to provide any useful help.

Bottom line of *that* mess is that four and a half years after that morning where someone mysteriously vanished half way to work... we've just about finished picking up the pieces.  Actually as a family have come out of it stronger, but it's left me psychologically broken in some new and exciting ways which I'm now trying to get help with too. 

Suffice to say though, it tarnished our views on the "system" which is meant to be there to protect us, seeing the book thrown at us for a crime nobody could actually prove had been committed, yet the stuff folks seem to walk away Scott free after getting caught red handed for...

 

Sorry...that turned into a bit of a TMI style rant...

[chaseracer]

Zel, did you call Plod#1 near the end of his shift, 'cos he sounds like a borderline-incompetent lazy arse; "protected attributes", FFS...  

Report it as a hate crime again.  You satisfy the criteria for two protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, and Richard's quote above from the Met is helpful.

 

[GBJ]

3 hours ago, Kiltox said:

People who think this is acceptable behaviour need to get in the fucking sea  

Agreed, Not even close to the kerb.

 

That is poor parking.

[robinmasters]

Bloody moderns. I only want to take the stereo out. 

 

[Aston Martin]

Just been to ASDA and there's a duck outside with a knackered right leg, he has a mate with him who won't leave. RSPCA website says find a local vet who'll take him... Or call us.

 

So, I call them  "can you wait so he doesn't wander off?" I've been up since 3 am and had no tea and it's a two hour parking fine...  I didn't say this to him, but he said he's sending someone out, can I tell ASDA staff.

I tell the security guard and cunt services... "He's here all the time, they know about him. You go near him and he flies away "

 

He can't fucking walk or move you useless cunt.  Does the guy in the van ring me, or is my deed done?

[MikeR]

On 6/6/2019 at 6:57 PM, Cavcraft said:

Idiots with dogs they struggle to control. Some dickhead has got one of those husky type things round here, and the day it pulls the owner over and attacks another dog can't be far off. He struggles to contain it normally, when it sees another dog it goes off it's tits and tries to make a break for it. Other people have similar dogs that don't seem as badly trained or vicious, how can they manage it yet the tiny minority can't? He's joined the club with some weird/smelly dole cheat type woman (walks with a stick when people are around, doesn't use it when she thinks nobody can see) with a vicious bastard Labrador usually not on it's lead and some tit with a walking stick, a mountain bike and a dog that appears more frightening than a hungry bastarding lion.

 

just had some silly cow with a "dog with a temper" do that , pulled her over into the mud and she let go , dam thing was like a missile at my dog who managed to dodge it so it fell over and rolled in the the grass but got up for a return ... after a few dodges the owner  got back up and got hold of it , but my big softie was crying and yelping , I could not drop the lead with being a grey or he would be a missing dog now ....

I have my walking boots for taking my  dog out next time .....  used them before " in self protection " ...

[Aston Martin]

Fuck me, RSPCA called.... "Oh, yeah we know about her. We tried catching her and she fucks off."

 

...

 

They're sending someone round in morning. 

[Cavcraft]

You've done the right thing though, AM. Respect to anyone trying to help an injured creature.

[brownnova]

It’s utterly hurling it down out there... 

The Mazdas sills keep filling with water when it rains. At this rate it’ll be the whole bloody car which is filled with water!! 

One more month then it can go back in a garage! 

[BorniteIdentity]

Zel, be proactive. Change your number. Buy a nice one on eBay for £15 or whatever. Make a positive step. 

It’s not right, and it’s unjustifiable. But you can stop it immediately. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t. Peace of mind is much more valuable than sentimentality. 

[clayts450]

Another stealth tax - acoustic cameras !

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48564995

[LightBulbFun]

28 minutes ago, clayts450 said:

Another stealth tax - acoustic cameras !

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48564995

I saw that in the BBC news app today as well

I cant imagine the Meteor V12 powered SD1 is going to have a fun time

(I also wonder how they would implement it exactly, could you stand next to one of the "acoustic cameras" and scream really loudly next to it as someone you dont like drives past and get them a noise ticket or something? LOL)

[colnerov]

 

 ...And how can it pick out which car is making the noise?