The grumpy thread

[Tadhg Tiogar]

1 minute ago, fairkens said:

I used to work with a blind woman who had a guide dog, god knows how the thing ever passed his training, he would walk her in to every single solid object around, desks, door frames, random pillars...

That sounds like a dog getting its revenge. Quite what for, however, is another thing.....

[fairkens]

6 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

That sounds like a dog getting its revenge. Quite what for, however, is another thing.....

That was one working theory, the other was that instead of getting her a guide dog her relatives had just bought a black labrador and a harness and hoped for the best

[GrumpiusMaximus]

6 hours ago, fairkens said:

I used to work with a blind woman who had a guide dog, god knows how the thing ever passed his training, he would walk her in to every single solid object around, desks, door frames, random pillars...

One day the canteen were doing bangers and mash and he ran into the canteen at 100mph with her being dragged virtually horizontal in mid air behind him.

I spose what I'm trying to say is not all guide dogs are made equal

 

My parents have a (big) Lab that was bred as a guide dog.  He was medically retired early in his training because of a spinal embolism, was paralysed, recovered and is now fine.

He is, however, not the sharpest tool in the shed.  He's not 'thick'.  He's just 'a bit thick for a Lab'.  I don't think he would have been a terribly good guide dog - but he'd passed all the tests to start!

[New POD]

Sister in Law has had 2 guide dogs. She's  been run over by a bus. Both have been a little under trained. 

[sierraman]

10 hours ago, New POD said:

I got in a bit of a quiet strop on Saturday.  We were in the Arndale centre in Manchester, with daughter and her boyfriend and wife and me.

I see a levi shop. I said, "My work jeans are starting to look worn. I'll see if they've got the same again" 

Yes black.501s in 38 x 30. 

No I don't need to try them on. They will be my 4th identical pair. 

Wife insists that I try them then tells me they are too baggy around the ankles. They clearly fit perfectly. She gets some bloke to find me other black jeans. More expensive and not 501s.  They look.shit. 

Apparently I should buy them. I refuse. They don't have a button fly, the material isn't as soft. The fit on the arse is wrong. They are not what I know to be right. 

My whole life balance has been ripped from under me. 

 

I do have a bit of a grin.  Amazon has them. 25 quid cheaper and I can click and collect. I'll just buy them and start wearing them.  Nobody needs to know. 

 

Same here mate. It’s like living in 1950’s Russia, you are told what to think all the time. 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

22 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Same here mate. It’s like living in 1950’s Russia, you are told what to think all the time. 

Eventually,  Stalin died....

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Good news!  What I thought might be a terminal failure on my other half's Focus was in fact the PAS hose suddenly splitting.  It turns out that the low oil level is merely coincidental... that needs looking at...

On the other hand, when it initially happened I did say that it sounded like the power steering pump.  So there's that.

Diagnosis?  I'm crap at diagnosing cars.  Garage can get it done by Thursday and whilst it's a bill, they've checked the car over and given it general approval.

The 1.4 Focus Studio that lived.  Although I need to see to the rust bubbles on the O/S wing.

[MikeR]

I invested in 2 packets of Tescos gruns and when i got home threw out every sock . hanky or gruns that had a hole in them .... I now have underwear for every day of the month ..... The one on . one in the wash and one spare idea went awol ....

[GBJ]

23 hours ago, New POD said:

Yes black.501s in 38 x 30. 

 

Wow, you've got long legs!

[Tamworthbay]

Got confirmation that two things I ordered have shipped, first tracking comes through for Hermes, feck, oh well, at least it can’t get worse.

 

 

 

ten minutes later Yodel email me about the second...........

[New POD]

19 minutes ago, GBJ said:

Wow, you've got long legs!

Short legs fat arse actually

[MarvinsMom]

not long got home after a shit time at work, to find that there is no telly.

well the telly is still in its corner of the room, just there is no signal off the aerial, 

bloody marvelous....

 

[Cheggers]

Short legs fat arse actually

"Oversquare"

[Cavcraft]

On 11/12/2019 at 6:25 AM, New POD said:

Sister in Law has had 2 guide dogs. She's  been run over by a bus. Both have been a little under trained. 

Maybe you're missing a trick here? Find the timetable for the 159, invite your missus to a fancy dress party, tell her she's going as Roy Orbison and lend her the dogs. Job jobbed. 

[New POD]

Brilliant. 

[Lord Sterling]

On 11/11/2019 at 9:35 PM, New POD said:

I got in a bit of a quiet strop on Saturday.  We were in the Arndale centre in Manchester, with daughter and her boyfriend and wife and me.

I see a levi shop. I said, "My work jeans are starting to look worn. I'll see if they've got the same again" 

Yes black.501s in 38 x 30. 

No I don't need to try them on. They will be my 4th identical pair. 

Wife insists that I try them then tells me they are too baggy around the ankles. They clearly fit perfectly. She gets some bloke to find me other black jeans. More expensive and not 501s.  They look.shit. 

Apparently I should buy them. I refuse. They don't have a button fly, the material isn't as soft. The fit on the arse is wrong. They are not what I know to be right. 

My whole life balance has been ripped from under me. 

I do have a bit of a grin.  Amazon has them. 25 quid cheaper and I can click and collect. I'll just buy them and start wearing them.  Nobody needs to know. 

I have a similar problem with Mrs_Sterling. My style of clothing is all wrong, I don't look modern or stylish enough. Mind you I have seen photos taken and my style made me look like a worn-in drug user (old baggy trackies, ill-fitting jackets). Her idea of what I should would wear clashed with mine and we argued about this a few times. However, I have taken some tips from her and made it my own. My newer style of less baggy jeans and better fitting jackets is much better.

[Parky]

Well here we are six weeks from my car accident and the situation report update.

Other party admits liability, his insurer has car for a fortnight, finds loads more structural damage and declares it a write off.  Makes offer that doesn’t cover the outstanding pcp after early redemption penalties - having had the car three months that was inevitable.  They recommended going to my insurer as I have new for old cover in first three months.

My insurer won’t accept their assessment of the car being uneconomic to repair and so it is shifted to another shop “approved” by eSure.  This is a an old petrol station in Basildon with a shed out the back where the car sits in a muddy puddle in an insecure compound for another week.  These guys declare the car repairable and let on that the repair figure is 54% of the cars value,  at 55% it is a write off.  If I hadn’t paid extra for sat NAV, the repair cost  would have exceeded limits and it would have been declared a total loss.  However they also slip up by revealing salvage parts may be used where appropriate in order to keep costs down,

Complain to insurer who is adamant the work quality is superb, meet standards for uk repair shops etc.  Claims it is a superb garage but has never been there himself.  Don’t get me wrong, they are great panel beaters but when their main engineer rolls his eyes at the prospect of removing the dash and making sure it all works after I lost a lot of confidence.  And if anything doesn’t work after, like the auto wiper function the car has to Ben fixed by Brian out the back who has the big screwdriver.   

Then told it is standard practice to use salvage parts on repairs and my insurer can’t understand why I would want my car fixed with genuine parts.  I don’t fancy it being bits of crashed Mini with a blow over respray.  And I know Mrs P won’t use it anymore as she won’t trust it.  I also doubt this mob will reassemble it to factory  as the dash and screen have to come out, as does the front suspension to allow removal of the entire side panel.  In the factory this is done by laser guided robot, this lot have a mig welder and a tape measure.  

And the car will have a marker on it showing extensive repairs estimated to take at least six weeks. And that will fuck my pcp trade in figure as the garage isn’t Mini approved.

So have just insisted it has to go to the local Mini garage for an approved repair.  Insurer not happy as “They will be more expensive and they will write the car off” which is what I want them to do. 

I tell you what, dont ever let anyone crash into you.  The guy who hits me with his £500 Focus goes off and buys another.  His work is done.  I have had nothing but grief and shit and it seems to be never ending.  I can’t understand it, the other party admits liability, the insurer agrees and has stated in writing they are liable, their engineer writes the car off, but mine is determined to fix it on the cheap.  I don’t understand why they don’t just give me a cheque, claim it off the other party, and draw a line under it.

I certainly don’t see why I should end up with a patched up poorly aligned amalgamation of salvage parts on a three month old car.  Or am I being snooty and unreasonable?

[Nowimbroke]

@Parky Insurers use salvaged parts these days it's more common than you realise, the repairs will also be warranted too so should be fine.

[MikeR]

Why does you other half ask you if your awake at 4 in the morning ...... 

Told her to go to sleep ...

[bramz7]

Got a delivery email from Hermes about a camera I won on eBay. Sigh, ok.

So I arranged them to divert it to a neighbour. Email confirmation as well. 

Got an email today saying they had left it on my front porch. 

Check the Hermes app and it says it's not been delivered yet. 

I was really looking forward to that parcel too. 

 

[Bren]

1 hour ago, Parky said:

Well here we are six weeks from my car accident and the situation report update.

Other party admits liability, his insurer has car for a fortnight, finds loads more structural damage and declares it a write off.  Makes offer that doesn’t cover the outstanding pcp after early redemption penalties - having had the car three months that was inevitable.  They recommended going to my insurer as I have new for old cover in first three months.

My insurer won’t accept their assessment of the car being uneconomic to repair and so it is shifted to another shop “approved” by eSure.  This is a an old petrol station in Basildon with a shed out the back where the car sits in a muddy puddle in an insecure compound for another week.  These guys declare the car repairable and let on that the repair figure is 54% of the cars value,  at 55% it is a write off.  If I hadn’t paid extra for sat NAV, the repair cost  would have exceeded limits and it would have been declared a total loss.  However they also slip up by revealing salvage parts may be used where appropriate in order to keep costs down,

Complain to insurer who is adamant the work quality is superb, meet standards for uk repair shops etc.  Claims it is a superb garage but has never been there himself.  Don’t get me wrong, they are great panel beaters but when their main engineer rolls his eyes at the prospect of removing the dash and making sure it all works after I lost a lot of confidence.  And if anything doesn’t work after, like the auto wiper function the car has to Ben fixed by Brian out the back who has the big screwdriver.   

Then told it is standard practice to use salvage parts on repairs and my insurer can’t understand why I would want my car fixed with genuine parts.  I don’t fancy it being bits of crashed Mini with a blow over respray.  And I know Mrs P won’t use it anymore as she won’t trust it.  I also doubt this mob will reassemble it to factory  as the dash and screen have to come out, as does the front suspension to allow removal of the entire side panel.  In the factory this is done by laser guided robot, this lot have a mig welder and a tape measure.  

And the car will have a marker on it showing extensive repairs estimated to take at least six weeks. And that will fuck my pcp trade in figure as the garage isn’t Mini approved.

So have just insisted it has to go to the local Mini garage for an approved repair.  Insurer not happy as “They will be more expensive and they will write the car off” which is what I want them to do. 

I tell you what, dont ever let anyone crash into you.  The guy who hits me with his £500 Focus goes off and buys another.  His work is done.  I have had nothing but grief and shit and it seems to be never ending.  I can’t understand it, the other party admits liability, the insurer agrees and has stated in writing they are liable, their engineer writes the car off, but mine is determined to fix it on the cheap.  I don’t understand why they don’t just give me a cheque, claim it off the other party, and draw a line under it.

I certainly don’t see why I should end up with a patched up poorly aligned amalgamation of salvage parts on a three month old car.  Or am I being snooty and unreasonable?

Was you car an amalgam of scrap parts before the bump? Thought not.

Tell them to fuck off and go to the ombudsman. If your car had scrap parts fitted prior to the bump they would have adjusted their payout accordingly.

[Bren]

The oil I ordered eight days ago has not arrived. While I accept that there was an issue with the courier, the courier cannot be blamed for lack of communication from the seller. In future my local factor will get my business.

The passat chucked up some warning lights - battery was first port of call. 12.4 volts was low - lots of short trips with lights blower etc. on won't help. 14.2 volts with engine running - the battery and alternator are both less than two years old.

[New POD]

45 minutes ago, MikeR said:

Why does you other half ask you if your awake at 4 in the morning ...... 

Told her to go to sleep ...

ALWAYS ask if she's woken you up for a bit of hanky panky. If not, then why? 

Strangely your wife's sister woke me up at almost the same time and didn't want sex. I did ask if that was her reason, but no. Apparently not. She'd had worries. Wanted to tell me about them. My alarm went off at 5am and she was still telling me.

[Kiltox]

2 hours ago, Parky said:

Well here we are six weeks from my car accident and the situation report update.

Other party admits liability, his insurer has car for a fortnight, finds loads more structural damage and declares it a write off.  Makes offer that doesn’t cover the outstanding pcp after early redemption penalties - having had the car three months that was inevitable.  They recommended going to my insurer as I have new for old cover in first three months.

My insurer won’t accept their assessment of the car being uneconomic to repair and so it is shifted to another shop “approved” by eSure.  This is a an old petrol station in Basildon with a shed out the back where the car sits in a muddy puddle in an insecure compound for another week.  These guys declare the car repairable and let on that the repair figure is 54% of the cars value,  at 55% it is a write off.  If I hadn’t paid extra for sat NAV, the repair cost  would have exceeded limits and it would have been declared a total loss.  However they also slip up by revealing salvage parts may be used where appropriate in order to keep costs down,

Complain to insurer who is adamant the work quality is superb, meet standards for uk repair shops etc.  Claims it is a superb garage but has never been there himself.  Don’t get me wrong, they are great panel beaters but when their main engineer rolls his eyes at the prospect of removing the dash and making sure it all works after I lost a lot of confidence.  And if anything doesn’t work after, like the auto wiper function the car has to Ben fixed by Brian out the back who has the big screwdriver.   

Then told it is standard practice to use salvage parts on repairs and my insurer can’t understand why I would want my car fixed with genuine parts.  I don’t fancy it being bits of crashed Mini with a blow over respray.  And I know Mrs P won’t use it anymore as she won’t trust it.  I also doubt this mob will reassemble it to factory  as the dash and screen have to come out, as does the front suspension to allow removal of the entire side panel.  In the factory this is done by laser guided robot, this lot have a mig welder and a tape measure.  

And the car will have a marker on it showing extensive repairs estimated to take at least six weeks. And that will fuck my pcp trade in figure as the garage isn’t Mini approved.

So have just insisted it has to go to the local Mini garage for an approved repair.  Insurer not happy as “They will be more expensive and they will write the car off” which is what I want them to do. 

I tell you what, dont ever let anyone crash into you.  The guy who hits me with his £500 Focus goes off and buys another.  His work is done.  I have had nothing but grief and shit and it seems to be never ending.  I can’t understand it, the other party admits liability, the insurer agrees and has stated in writing they are liable, their engineer writes the car off, but mine is determined to fix it on the cheap.  I don’t understand why they don’t just give me a cheque, claim it off the other party, and draw a line under it.

I certainly don’t see why I should end up with a patched up poorly aligned amalgamation of salvage parts on a three month old car.  Or am I being snooty and unreasonable?

Shitty situation. One point of note is that it won’t have any marker on it if they repair it - if they don’t get Stevie Wonder to paint it there will be no indication it has been repaired. 

[xtriple]

It is raining so hard here it just sounded like someone was knocking on the door, bloody dog jumped up to do his thing and was left hopelessly confused as no one there.

[artdjones]

2 hours ago, Parky said:

Well here we are six weeks from my car accident and the situation report update.

Other party admits liability, his insurer has car for a fortnight, finds loads more structural damage and declares it a write off.  Makes offer that doesn’t cover the outstanding pcp after early redemption penalties - having had the car three months that was inevitable.  They recommended going to my insurer as I have new for old cover in first three months.

My insurer won’t accept their assessment of the car being uneconomic to repair and so it is shifted to another shop “approved” by eSure.  This is a an old petrol station in Basildon with a shed out the back where the car sits in a muddy puddle in an insecure compound for another week.  These guys declare the car repairable and let on that the repair figure is 54% of the cars value,  at 55% it is a write off.  If I hadn’t paid extra for sat NAV, the repair cost  would have exceeded limits and it would have been declared a total loss.  However they also slip up by revealing salvage parts may be used where appropriate in order to keep costs down,

Complain to insurer who is adamant the work quality is superb, meet standards for uk repair shops etc.  Claims it is a superb garage but has never been there himself.  Don’t get me wrong, they are great panel beaters but when their main engineer rolls his eyes at the prospect of removing the dash and making sure it all works after I lost a lot of confidence.  And if anything doesn’t work after, like the auto wiper function the car has to Ben fixed by Brian out the back who has the big screwdriver.   

Then told it is standard practice to use salvage parts on repairs and my insurer can’t understand why I would want my car fixed with genuine parts.  I don’t fancy it being bits of crashed Mini with a blow over respray.  And I know Mrs P won’t use it anymore as she won’t trust it.  I also doubt this mob will reassemble it to factory  as the dash and screen have to come out, as does the front suspension to allow removal of the entire side panel.  In the factory this is done by laser guided robot, this lot have a mig welder and a tape measure.  

And the car will have a marker on it showing extensive repairs estimated to take at least six weeks. And that will fuck my pcp trade in figure as the garage isn’t Mini approved.

So have just insisted it has to go to the local Mini garage for an approved repair.  Insurer not happy as “They will be more expensive and they will write the car off” which is what I want them to do. 

I tell you what, dont ever let anyone crash into you.  The guy who hits me with his £500 Focus goes off and buys another.  His work is done.  I have had nothing but grief and shit and it seems to be never ending.  I can’t understand it, the other party admits liability, the insurer agrees and has stated in writing they are liable, their engineer writes the car off, but mine is determined to fix it on the cheap.  I don’t understand why they don’t just give me a cheque, claim it off the other party, and draw a line under it.

I certainly don’t see why I should end up with a patched up poorly aligned amalgamation of salvage parts on a three month old car.  Or am I being snooty and unreasonable?

Why are your insurance even involved in making decisions about this?If the other party's insurers are admitting liability then they have to put you back where you would have been if you hadn't been crashed into,which would include any early redemption penalties if the car was written off.

Have you talked to the finance company about this?,because it's their car,not yours,and as the owners they may be on your side in getting the best possible job done.

[Parky]

Yeah that’s the next step.  If they insist on a repair, they can pay Mini to do it while I swan around in a Mercedes for six weeks.  At £50 a day for 40 days there is £2000 worth of hire car costs straight away.

I will tell finance if I don’t get any joy with the insurer.  As said it’s not an economic repair if Mini trained technicians and genuine parts are used at the nearest authorised repair garage - that just falls inside London’s boundaries and enjoys correspondingly higher labour rates.  Anyway it’s being paid for ultimately by the other party insurance company (who have been excellent, anyone with Privilege is well looked after). I really can’t see why my insurer is the only one fighting me - they should be on MY side!  It’s not even their fucking loss!

Reason my insurer is involved is they do new for old if the car is written off in the first 12 months.  The other party insurer only pays out market value.  So accept option A that leaves me carless and a few grand out of pocket, or option B that puts me back to where I was with no financial loss.  As the purpose of insurance is to pay valid claims to return the innocent party to their pre accident position, i figured my insurer with whom I have a contract can step up to the plate.  That’s why I pay them.

BREN - haven’t mentioned the Ombudsman yet, that’s probably a couple of steps further down the line.  And no, it was built out of new bits, I saw it on the production line and at no stage did anyone walk in with a Copart carrier bag and start nailing things to it.

[Tamworthbay]

20 hours ago, Tamworthbay said:

Got confirmation that two things I ordered have shipped, first tracking comes through for Hermes, feck, oh well, at least it can’t get worse.

 

 

 

ten minutes later Yodel email me about the second...........

Well credit where credits due, the Hermes one was on time and hadn’t been used as a football and thenYodel one was a few days early and similarly had not been used for either sports or a pit prop support.

[Tamworthbay]

3 hours ago, Parky said:

Well here we are six weeks from my car accident and the situation report update.

Other party admits liability, his insurer has car for a fortnight, finds loads more structural damage and declares it a write off.  Makes offer that doesn’t cover the outstanding pcp after early redemption penalties - having had the car three months that was inevitable.  They recommended going to my insurer as I have new for old cover in first three months.

My insurer won’t accept their assessment of the car being uneconomic to repair and so it is shifted to another shop “approved” by eSure.  This is a an old petrol station in Basildon with a shed out the back where the car sits in a muddy puddle in an insecure compound for another week.  These guys declare the car repairable and let on that the repair figure is 54% of the cars value,  at 55% it is a write off.  If I hadn’t paid extra for sat NAV, the repair cost  would have exceeded limits and it would have been declared a total loss.  However they also slip up by revealing salvage parts may be used where appropriate in order to keep costs down,

Complain to insurer who is adamant the work quality is superb, meet standards for uk repair shops etc.  Claims it is a superb garage but has never been there himself.  Don’t get me wrong, they are great panel beaters but when their main engineer rolls his eyes at the prospect of removing the dash and making sure it all works after I lost a lot of confidence.  And if anything doesn’t work after, like the auto wiper function the car has to Ben fixed by Brian out the back who has the big screwdriver.   

Then told it is standard practice to use salvage parts on repairs and my insurer can’t understand why I would want my car fixed with genuine parts.  I don’t fancy it being bits of crashed Mini with a blow over respray.  And I know Mrs P won’t use it anymore as she won’t trust it.  I also doubt this mob will reassemble it to factory  as the dash and screen have to come out, as does the front suspension to allow removal of the entire side panel.  In the factory this is done by laser guided robot, this lot have a mig welder and a tape measure.  

And the car will have a marker on it showing extensive repairs estimated to take at least six weeks. And that will fuck my pcp trade in figure as the garage isn’t Mini approved.

So have just insisted it has to go to the local Mini garage for an approved repair.  Insurer not happy as “They will be more expensive and they will write the car off” which is what I want them to do. 

I tell you what, dont ever let anyone crash into you.  The guy who hits me with his £500 Focus goes off and buys another.  His work is done.  I have had nothing but grief and shit and it seems to be never ending.  I can’t understand it, the other party admits liability, the insurer agrees and has stated in writing they are liable, their engineer writes the car off, but mine is determined to fix it on the cheap.  I don’t understand why they don’t just give me a cheque, claim it off the other party, and draw a line under it.

I certainly don’t see why I should end up with a patched up poorly aligned amalgamation of salvage parts on a three month old car.  Or am I being snooty and unreasonable?

Sometimes decisions they make just do not add up in any rational world at all. It can’t be saving them money, time or hassle so short of some dodgy backhand deal with the repairer it’s hard to see how they could possibly see it as a sensible course of action. Hope it gets sorted soon.

[meggersdog]

A couple of weeks ago I walked into the office and there is some random bloke sat there. Asked him if I could help "no I'm fine.The bloke said I could sit here while he fixes my car". Erm, this is an Mot station and we don't do repair work. He replies " well the bloke said I could sit in the waiting room and that sign says waiting area"  So I point out it says MoT reception and waiting area. It's not the waiting room for the chap who fixes lawnmowers down the road or the bloke who sells polish opposite, it's the waiting area for the MoT station.With that he buggered off.Don't know how long he'd been there and he wasn't doing any harm. He told my assistant earlier the bloke said he could sit there and she thought he meant me. Nothing to be grumpy about, but.

He had gone next door for a quote .While they were looking at the car he just disappeared . They hadn't said to sit in the waiting room (they haven't got one). So the car was in for some welding work and should have been collected last week.Tonight just as I'm getting ready to close a car pulls up outside my unit and matey gets out and goes next door. There is still someone in the car engine running and lights on. I came out of the unit looked at him then made a point of turning and looking at the MoT parking only sign he is right infront of,then looked back at him before bringing a car in the workshop. I came out to bring another car in and did the same only this time loudly reading MoT parking. If the DVSA inspector turns up and some random vehicle is in the allocated parking area I am the one who gets a bollocking. Anyway this is only mildly grumpy but add the two together and then find out these two people are motoring journalists. How the fuck can you write for a living if you can't fucking read.