The grumpy thread

[Lord Sterling]

  On 08/09/2014 at 16:51, chaseracer said:

Worcester's my old manor.  Grew up in Malvern, but there's Foxtrot Alpha to do there if you're a teenager.  

 

And that's exactly why I want to move there. No one seems to be around, it seems quiet and friendly. Much better than this bastard road I feel trapped in.

[cort1977]

  On 08/09/2014 at 10:42, EssDeeWon said:

FFS just called my bank Santander about this £430 that was swiped from my account last week, got through to Brian the Snail in the fraud team who tells me its pending investigation and 'should' be resolved by 6pm tomorrow. I asked a few questions and he went into robot mode.

 

How would you go about proving you have not bought items despite your debit card details being used??

 

Hope this doesn't result in a nitty gritty investigation, or I might have to visit my local branch and refuse to leave.

I'm sure you will but stay on top of Santander.  

 

Last year my credit card was used fraudulently, reported to Santander, 'no problem sir we will investigate and refund'.   3 months later (my fault I know but was moving country, stopped using UK card etc) they start sending threatening letters over unpaid debts.   Finally spoke to one of their call centre chimps and was rudely told 'we don't believe you, you're liable for the debt'.   It was an easy investigation as the card was used in New Jersey and I am in Texas.   The moving company took my details for an extra fee, their office is in NJ so easy enough to work it out.   Cue one strongly worded letter and all was sorted with an apology but why couldn't they have done it the first time?   No point in dealing with the branches or call centres on this stuff, you need to write to the head of the fraud dept or whatever they call themselves.  

 

This was the last f*cking straw for me with Santander, I shut all the accounts and moved to First Direct, they have been good so far.

 

It's not up to you to prove that you didn't buy the items, they should investigate on your word that it was fraudulent.   They can look at the activity on your account and fraudulent ones will probably stand out like a sore thumb.   If you live in London and almost all your purchases are in the area you're not likely to be shopping for a freezer at Argos in Glasgow.   I doubt you have even got to that stage yet, you're still at the 'being fobbed off by mouth breathers' stage.   Good luck and seriously consider moving bank, it's the only way the  bastards will ever learn!

[sporty-shite]

My capital one card got cloned a few years ago. I used to use it for fuel when I was a courier, so it got some serious stick. I got one monthly statement and there were about five transactions that weren't mine. Phoned them and they went through them, cancelled the card, moved the fraudulent trannsactions off my account and reissued another card within days. Never heard another thing about it. I'm sure the thick twats must have got caught, though, seeing as tbey paid a parking ticket to Manchester council with it.

[EssDeeWon]

^^Trust me I will be on the blower daily until this is resolved, I am already dealing with the fraud department @ Santander and I am told 6pm tomorrow I should have the funds back unless it requires further investigation.

[willswitchengage]

I don't want to spark a debate or anything, but this is a viral video released by Norfolk police that has been doing the rounds of facebook and was shown to me at work today.

 

Use the roads safely.

 

http://youtu.be/xq2xStb0R-c

 

NB the footage of the crash itself is at 2:40

[panhard65]

A very sad tale but seems it was 50/50 the car driver was a twat for pulling out and the biker was a twat for doing 97mph. Most bikers know every car driver is out to kill them and ride accordingly. This poor bugger got it wrong and is a lesson to us all to be more careful out there whether on 2 wheels or 4.

[drum]

There are places that it's safe to do 100mph but that wasn't one of them. I've done stupid things on a fireblade too.

[Mr Lobster]

  On 07/09/2014 at 20:51, JohnDeere said:

I hope not but the same dealer has an 07 plate Ka on for the even more ludicrous price of £3391 .... because it's available on finance - over 54 months. The bloody thing will have been cubed by the time the lucky buyer's finished paying that one off.

 

All of their prices are also "psychological" odd numbers.... i.e. 3391 or 1491 rather than 3395 or 1495... that's very cynical because there's lots of evidence to show that people don't haggle as hard with those sort of prices.

 

Evans Halshaw's 'Runabouts' department is by far the most profitable bit of each site. Rather than sending the older p/x stuff to auction they bought a Portacabin for each branch and introduced new branding and signage in an area of an existing site to sell them. In fairness they generally got a very thorough pre sale prep but the cars were always ridiculously expensive and most customers bought with finance. Hence the profit from Runabouts was massive. They started it in Preston about ten or fofteen years back and it was so successful it got rolled out to most of the 'volume' franchise sites.

 

The pricing thing - where there are odd numbers at the end - is / was used to denote how long they had had that particular car in stock. Can't remember the specifics but that was the reasoning. They used to be very, very keen on everything being turned within 90 days and there was generally trouble if something stuck around longer.

[Mr Lobster]

  On 08/09/2014 at 17:10, cort1977 said:

This was the last f*cking straw for me with Santander, I shut all the accounts and moved to First Direct, they have been good so far.

 

 

First Direct are very, very good.

 

A few weeks ago they range me on Sunday teatime, asked if I had my credit card on me and could I verify the last few transactions. Apparently no money had been taken but they believed that someone, somewhere was trying to verify my card details on some website so as a precaution they had cancelled my card there and then and reissued another. Really impressive service.

[wuvvum]

Just had a letter from the DWP saying that they have contacted my employer asking them to commence deductions from my earnings for an amount of £263.17 that I apparently owed them.  Rang the number and the Brummie bird on the other end said it was in respect of a social fund loan I took out when I was on the rock'n'roll back in 2002.  That'd be why I didn't recognise it then - it was fucking twelve years ago!  Apparently the statute of limitations doesn't apply when it's the government you owe money to (although I bet it'd apply if they owed money to me).

 

Fair enough, I did take the loan out, and I have no memory of paying it back so I probably do still owe the money, but it's annoyed me that this has come out of the blue after twelve years, and also that they've gone direct to my employer and made me look like a twat rather than coming to me first.  Still, the amount owed almost exactly matches the amount of overtime I'll be getting paid this month, so at least my actual wages should survive relatively intact.

[Parky]

  On 08/09/2014 at 18:26, panhard65 said:

A very sad tale but seems it was 50/50 the car driver was a twat for pulling out and the biker was a twat for doing 97mph. Most bikers know every car driver is out to kill them and ride accordingly. This poor bugger got it wrong and is a lesson to us all to be more careful out there whether on 2 wheels or 4.

I was planning on buying a bike tomorrow. We know this happens but we always think it will happen to other people. Think I might have to contemplate matters having seen that.

[DVee8]

The wife's uncle has 3 petrol stations which he has had for around 30 years.A couple of weeks ago he went into Santander who he and the petrol stations have banked with for years,to withdraw around 3k,told he was unable to.But it is my money,sorry but you can not withdraw that sum.So out he walked,went home collected all relevant documents,went to another bank opened new accounts for him and the petrol station.He then went back to Santander and closed both accounts with them.He says the manager came out to talk ashen faced as the amount of money that goes through.

[M'coli]

That biker video makes me very pissed off: ok, the car driver was in the wrong because they failed to see the motorbike nor the following car, but reading between the lines of what the dead biker's mum said, I believe she knew he used the roads as his own personal racetrack, that she thought this was the proper and correct state of affairs and that everyone else was at fault for her son's death because they didn't look out for him.  Perhaps if you hadn't overindulged him when he was young he wouldn't have had this attitude (just going by what she says in the vid), he wouldn't have been so narcissistic. He accelerated into the junction...he was 38 with 22 years of experience FFS, could he not see the danger himself?

[richardmorris]

  On 08/09/2014 at 19:24, DVee8 said:

The wife's uncle has 3 petrol stations which he has had for around 30 years.A couple of weeks ago he went into Santander who he and the petrol stations have banked with for years,to withdraw around 3k,told he was unable to.But it is my money,sorry but you can not withdraw that sum.So out he walked,went home collected all relevant documents,went to another bank opened new accounts for him and the petrol station.He then went back to Santander and closed both accounts with them.He says the manager came out to talk ashen faced as the amount of money that goes through.

 

 

Doesn't surprise me - banks take business custom for granted. I haven't heard from my business manager since 2009, at which point he had taken two years to change the signaturies on the accounts. They're all useless.

[EssDeeWon]

The driver probably looked as he approached the junction and it looked clear for a right turn, couple of seconds later a 100mph bike comes flying along, feel abit sorry for the poor bugger tbh, no one is expected to go out and look for 100mph bike on a 60mph road.

 

The reason the biker is dead is purely down to his speed, and as I heard it on the news the other day the mum was giving out a warning to bikers rather than drivers.

[fordperv]

Shit a brick if that isn't a video to slow bikers down I don't know what is, there was simply no reaction time there at all, a very scary thing indeed

[saucedoctor]

A very similar accident claimed the life of a mate of mine, years ago. He always DLAC on his bike, and one morning he hit a car that was coming out of a petrol station. Same circs: car driver looked, road clear, car driver pulls out, Ian was going so fast that he came into view and covered the gap so quickly the car driver had nowhere to go.

[richardmorris]

  On 08/09/2014 at 19:38, EssDeeWon said:

The driver probably looked as he approached the junction and it looked clear for a right turn, couple of seconds later a 100mph bike comes flying along, feel abit sorry for the poor bugger tbh, no one is expected to go out and look for 100mph bike on a 60mph road.

 

The reason the biker is dead is purely down to his speed, and as I heard it on the news the other day the mum was giving out a warning to bikers rather than drivers.

 

You'd think biker's, being more vulnerable, would drive very defensively but many don't. My mum, after one particularly traumatic session in casualty, made me promise never to buy a motorbike. She had just had to x-ray a young guy  my age who had gone under a lorry and basically chopped the top of his head off. Still alive when he arrived, but only just. Died when my mum was there.

 

A friend of mine volunteers at the London Motorbike Museum in Greenford (well worth a visit - ask for Jerry Cox), and is an advanced instructor of some sorts. He has plenty of suggestions for making biking safer and has written to the government about it, but all the good suggestions in the world don't help when some people ride at 50% over the speed limit and other people pull out without looking.

[chaseracer]

Cyclists also appear to think they are immortal and that the rules of the road do not apply to them, if the twat with whom I had a full and frank exchange of views earlier is typical.

[richardmorris]

Not all.

[willswitchengage]

  On 08/09/2014 at 19:57, chaseracer said:

Cyclists also appear to think they are immortal and that the rules of the road do not apply to them, if the twat with whom I had a full and frank exchange of views earlier is typical.

 

I actually bought a copy of the highway code earlier in case I ever get stopped by a self inflated motorist whilst out on my bicycle.

 

Try reading rule 147.

 

Rule 63 I find I need to use frequently: "Use of cycle lanes is not complusory"

 

Rule 213 I found surprising, but necessary. I'd say ~50% of "oy wanker"s I get are from people who don't consider this.

 

Not a bad way to spend £2 of Amazon.

[EssDeeWon]

I cycle quite abit, the only time I am careless is when im trying to ride one handed with the camera in the other hand trying to pap some crusty shite on a driveway without trying to bring too much attention to myself incase the owner or a neighbour spots me taking pics. See Essex Spots Thread for evidence.

[richardmorris]

I do 8.5miles each way commuting on my bike and have no cycle lanes to ride on anyway.

 

As for 213 - well quite.

 

212

When passing motorcyclists and cyclists, give them plenty of room (see Rules 162 to 167). If they look over their shoulder it could mean that they intend to pull out, turn right or change direction. Give them time and space to do so.

213

Motorcyclists and cyclists may suddenly need to avoid uneven road surfaces and obstacles such as drain covers or oily, wet or icy patches on the road. Give them plenty of room and pay particular attention to any sudden change of direction they may have to make.

 

 

 

I'd be happy if more people followed this rule..

[Cavcraft]

I love cycling but I ain't avoiding no wet patches, crazy fool.

 

 

*Edit: I have to say that I find 99.9% of motorists are fine these days. There's always the odd knobhead (same as there's always the odd knobhead cyclist) but mostly driving standards seem a lot better these days regarding cyclists. I suspect it's because more and mor drivers are cyclists themselves now.

[Negative Creep]

  On 08/09/2014 at 19:38, EssDeeWon said:

The driver probably looked as he approached the junction and it looked clear for a right turn, couple of seconds later a 100mph bike comes flying along, feel abit sorry for the poor bugger tbh, no one is expected to go out and look for 100mph bike on a 60mph road.

 

The reason the biker is dead is purely down to his speed, and as I heard it on the news the other day the mum was giving out a warning to bikers rather than drivers.

 

 

Even if he hadn't been convicted of anything he'd still have to spend the rest of his life knowing that he was responsible for another person's death. Could only watch the video once,  but it seems  a mix of the driver turning too soon and the biker going way too fast. Sadly there seem to be far too many bikers out there who treat the road as their own racetrack and all other road users as mere obstacles to be passed as quickly as possible.

 

I appreciate this makes me sound like my Dad, but a part of me does wonder if superbikes are simply too quick to be on the road...........

[DS20]

  On 08/09/2014 at 22:05, Negative Creep said:

 

I appreciate this makes me sound like my Dad, but a part of me does wonder if superbikes are simply too quick to be on the road...........

 

I had a near miss this afternoon, on the way to Lincoln. A gormless-looking man in an Iveco pick-up came very close to T-boning me as he turned right on to the A46 at Caistor. He just didn't see me, it seems, until it was nearly too late. I was driving over a tonne of car, at 45mph; had I been on a motorbike, travelling at 90-something like the lad in the video, I'd have had no chance. Iveco-driver would've had a new bonnet mascot

[Spiny Norman]

  On 08/09/2014 at 20:28, richardmorris said:

 

 

I'd be happy if more people followed this rule..

 

 You're lucky if an Audi driver gives you that much room between his front bumper and your rear at 80mph....

[drum]

I'm an old granny behind the wheel but I was a dick on a superbike.

[maxpower]

i was gonna put this in the "stupid question amnesty" but seeing as it's bike related i will stick it here... but just so i don't bend the grumpy old man rules.... the biker in the video was going way too fast IMHO.... ok the question i want to ask... i am sure everyone has seen them on the roads... scooters with clipboard in front of their line of view... doing the knowledge or whatever.... are these people "driving without due care and attention" if they are too engrossed in checking a route rather than watching what is on the road??

[rml2345]

  Several Autoshiters said:

Santander

There's your problem. Having worked for them I reckon Santander are one of the worst banks in terms of customer service. Apart from constantly fiddling with systems and procedures, cack handed complaints processes and making it impossible for staff to actually take control of a situation there's the deep mistrust between branch and call centre fostered by poor training.

And their hold music is shit.