The grumpy thread

[Dobloseven]

9 minutes ago, SH1TE said:

One dead hamster, 

two children going at each other hammer and tongs 

Youngest thrown up crying as thinks they may have killed it (heart attack at a guess as 2 yrs old) moved cage round. 

All this occurs as I walk through door with dog. 

FFS to much drama 

All good practice for the misery and suffering of later life. 2 isn't a bad innings for a hamster. When Max Bygraves hamster died, he boiled it in a saucepan with lots of sugar, poured it into a jar, planted some bulbs in it and in the spring he had "Tulips from Hamster jam." Sorry.. 

[chaseracer]

Dickhead plasterer flounced off the job this morning, taking misplaced offence at my surprise* that he was refusing to honour commitments previously made after full disclosure of the potential complexities.  I should have known it was going to end badly when he introduced himself as 'the scrap man come to take away the old car, mate' - ie. the Dyane.  Yeah, fucking hilarious, pal.  

#FirstWorldProblems, I know - but you really needed to be there to appreciate the levels of TERMINAL TWAT.  Conversely, the builder who recommended him (and subbed the job to him) is a completely sound bloke.

And breathe. Thanks for listening... 🙂

[twosmoke300]

9 minutes ago, Nyphur said:

It's not a business though is it. You aren't providing a service which a rational person can choose whether or not they consume.

It's having 2x, 3x, 4x etc of a finite resource as you need, at the expense of someone else who has none of that resource so is forced to pay you for it at an inflated rate.

Fuck land barons.

Said person doesn’t have to rent THAT house from THAT person .

Same as you don’t have to buy that car from that dealer .

Ita very much a business . Huge amounts of invested capital and risk involved too . 
 

 

[Dobloseven]

8 minutes ago, Nyphur said:

It's not a business though is it. You aren't providing a service which a rational person can choose whether or not they consume.

It's having 2x, 3x, 4x etc of a finite resource as you need, at the expense of someone else who has none of that resource so is forced to pay you for it at an inflated rate.

Fuck land barons.

To say tenants rent solely because they can't afford to buy is a bit simplistic. I do a lot of my work in rental properties and it's surprising who does rent. Premiership footballers, doctors, academics to name but a few. Often needing somewhere short term for a work contract. Businesses will rent for employees from abroad. Tenants often own a home or even homes they rent out themselves. Did a job once in a house rented by a fellow who had built up a business transporting expensive cars in covered transporters. He'd got a car collection including a new Mustang he'd had modified and painted in his company livery, a Sunbeam Lotus, a very smart new VW Combi, to name but 3.Must admit the rental market seems a bit crazy at the moment though. Left the keys to a house we own with an agent I do a lot of work with to see what rent it could achieve  and what needed doing first and was quite shocked with the figures he came up with. 

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, Ghosty said:

Don't suppose you have a dashcam? That's very very illegal.

Yes...sadly not in the car I was driving at the time!

I really do need to get one fitted in the Caddy given it's the car...van...whatever it is...I keep oscillating between whether I call it a car or van, that I do by far the most miles in.

Cavalier will definitely be getting one, probably plus a tracker.

[Split_Pin]

36 minutes ago, chaseracer said:

Dickhead plasterer flounced off the job this morning, taking misplaced offence at my surprise* that he was refusing to honour commitments previously made after full disclosure of the potential complexities.  I should have known it was going to end badly when he introduced himself as 'the scrap man come to take away the old car, mate' - ie. the Dyane.  Yeah, fucking hilarious, pal.  

#FirstWorldProblems, I know - but you really needed to be there to appreciate the levels of TERMINAL TWAT.  Conversely, the builder who recommended him (and subbed the job to him) is a completely sound bloke.

And breathe. Thanks for listening... 🙂

Classic tradesman who's covering up the fact that they are either incapable or more likely, too flipping lazy.

 

[RoverFolkUs]

To explain the security tags in the supermarket: 

The reason the meat or energy drinks or cans of deodorant is quite simple.. It may seem random but in reality it isn't.

Supermarkets collect a lot of data about shopping habits and shoppers (Tesco, Iceland + CO-OP are only offering deals to loyalty card holders nowadays. It's much easier to collect data about shopping habits that way) 

So when a specific line gets disproportionally stolen compared to other lines it will be security tagged. 

Recently I saw a store manager being accused of racism when one line of hair dye, which happened to be dark, was security tagged but the same brand in a different colour was not. The only reason for this is because the dark hair dye was flagged as a high risk item due to having a considerable number of products recently stolen. It could well be the lighter ones were simply out of stock when the incident occurred so they were not affected by the theft and subsequently were not flagged. 

It is not tagged under staff or manager discretion. Their theft management algorithm tells them which products to security tag. 

The cans of energy drink as above is a prime example. A shop near a school is more prone to have cans of drink and other petty items stolen than a shop that isn't near a school. That's just one example 

[RoverFolkUs]

43 minutes ago, chaseracer said:

Dickhead plasterer flounced off the job this morning, taking misplaced offence at my surprise* that he was refusing to honour commitments previously made after full disclosure of the potential complexities.  I should have known it was going to end badly when he introduced himself as 'the scrap man come to take away the old car, mate' - ie. the Dyane.  Yeah, fucking hilarious, pal.  

#FirstWorldProblems, I know - but you really needed to be there to appreciate the levels of TERMINAL TWAT.  Conversely, the builder who recommended him (and subbed the job to him) is a completely sound bloke.

And breathe. Thanks for listening... 🙂

Translation: 

"Ah bugger, this isn't as easy as it looked. I have no idea what to do as I only do the easy jobs = easy money. Sod that"

In similar vein to a garage refusing to investigate a running fault on a modern diesel but happily lap up a job for something like discs and pads...

[RoverFolkUs]

^ bugger, sort of cross posted split pin there!

 

[High Jetter]

8 minutes ago, RoverFolkUs said:

To explain the security tags in the supermarket: 

The reason the meat or energy drinks or cans of deodorant is quite simple.. It may seem random but in reality it isn't.

Supermarkets collect a lot of data about shopping habits and shoppers (Tesco, Iceland + CO-OP are only offering deals to loyalty card holders nowadays. It's much easier to collect data about shopping habits that way) 

So when a specific line gets disproportionally stolen compared to other lines it will be security tagged. 

Recently I saw a store manager being accused of racism when one line of hair dye, which happened to be dark, was security tagged but the same brand in a different colour was not. The only reason for this is because the dark hair dye was flagged as a high risk item due to having a considerable number of products recently stolen. It could well be the lighter ones were simply out of stock when the incident occurred so they were not affected by the theft and subsequently were not flagged. 

It is not tagged under staff or manager discretion. Their theft management algorithm tells them which products to security tag. 

The cans of energy drink as above is a prime example. A shop near a school is more prone to have cans of drink and other petty items stolen than a shop that isn't near a school. That's just one example 

Sure, but non-booze wine? OK, it's a poor area, but really?

[Ghosty]

An Asda near me was security tagging Hot Wheels recently...

[SH1TE]

P30lite battery failed and unbeknownst to me partner says there's someone on the phone. 

Hello yes what the fuck do you want- "police operator 999" look at phone and letter A on screen and appears rapid pressing on power button has dialed 999.

"My apologies the phone malfunctioning"

To make matters worse  it wouldn't stop so pulled out glued in battery. 

About as much  excitement as I need in one day! 

[Pieman]

1 hour ago, Dobloseven said:

All good practice for the misery and suffering of later life. 

I've heard that tale a few times - parents buying their offspring a hamster to introduce them gently to the concept of death.  I never needed that - when I was eight years old I was watching live on TV when Ayrton Senna was killed.

[RoverFolkUs]

27 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Sure, but non-booze wine? OK, it's a poor area, but really?

Anything. They don't decide what gets stolen and subsequently what gets tagged! 

Anything that gets pinched regularly gets tagged. 

Shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted etc though!

[SH1TE]

5 minutes ago, Pieman said:

I've heard that tale a few times - parents buying their offspring a hamster to introduce them gently to the concept of death.  I never needed that - when I was eight years old I was watching live on TV when Ayrton Senna was killed.

Personally I hate Hamsters,  Gerbils etc- however it does allow the children a pet of their own and responsible for cleaning out. 

Our son is much better behaved with pet gerbils he has and our dog. 

It's just a shame the lifespan of small animals. 

[Dobloseven]

8 hours ago, Nyphur said:

Agreed. That isn't what I said. 

Your examples are outliers too. And the tenants who rent while they rent out their "own home or even homes"..... Yeah.

Perhaps I see things from a different angle. In Leicester we've two large universities and a teaching hospital. People come here for perhaps a couple of years for a Masters or Phd. They might well own a home in another part of the country they rent out short term whilst they're away. A fellow trader rents a house for himself and family whilst building up a portfolio of rental flats. People move to a new area and want to get a feel before committing. I know of folk believing a property price slump is coming and selling up, hoping to buy back in at a lower price. I know of people selling their home and using the money for a business venture. When couples split up, one will need a roof over their head quickly until things get sorted. Just a few real life examples of why people rent,and why rental properties are needed. Many more available. 

[Dobloseven]

7 hours ago, SH1TE said:

Personally I hate Hamsters,  Gerbils etc- however it does allow the children a pet of their own and responsible for cleaning out. 

Our son is much better behaved with pet gerbils he has and our dog. 

It's just a shame the lifespan of small animals. 

I used to try to explain to ours that two years might seem a long time to a hamster. He might feel quite old and that he's had a good life but is now ready to slip away peacefully. Don't know if they took it on board, but they haven't got them for their own children. 

[New POD]

9 hours ago, chaseracer said:

Dickhead plasterer flounced off the job this morning, taking misplaced offence at my surprise* that he was refusing to honour commitments previously made after full disclosure of the potential complexities.  I should have known it was going to end badly when he introduced himself as 'the scrap man come to take away the old car, mate' - ie. the Dyane.  Yeah, fucking hilarious, pal.  

#FirstWorldProblems, I know - but you really needed to be there to appreciate the levels of TERMINAL TWAT.  Conversely, the builder who recommended him (and subbed the job to him) is a completely sound bloke.

And breathe. Thanks for listening... 🙂

Have you mentioned to the original builder that his recommendation appears to be a fucking twat? 

Or rather asked him nicely if he can recommend Some one better, and then passive aggressively tell him, you hope he turns out to be better than the fucking twat he recommended previously. 

Was once recommended an accountant by the father of my son's best friend.  Turned out to be an unqualified idiot. I mentioned this in passing after he'd managed to get me a fine of £150, for late submission, due to His mistakes, meaning the paperwork was returned twice to me, with a try harder to.get it right letter) 

The guy that recommended him, conceded that he was indeed a nightmare and they were now using another accountant, this time qualified. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

10 hours ago, Yoss said:

I know, sorry I was generalising, not all cats are the same just as not all dogs are,  or people for that matter. When I was a kid we had a Siamese cat who thought he was a dog. This was probably because we got him as a kitten when we already had two dogs in the house. Even when we got more cats he would sleep with the dogs. He even came on walks with us. 

My mum is a general animal lover,  we've had all sorts including 13 tortoises! We had two but they bred even though they said you couldn't breed tortoises in this country. My mum made an incubator out of an old fish tank to put the eggs in and it worked. I think the most things we had at the same time was four cats,  two dogs,  two ducks and some fish. 

It's totally fine. I just get a little frustrated by some people's attitudes towards cats. When I chose to get an animal again as an adult, I chose to start over and leave behind what I thought about cats and learn as much as I could about them and that changed my view of them and it has helped me a lot in socializing with them.

And sorry I feel like sharing this so it's going to be a long one.

And I put as much effort into choosing a cat as many would into choosing a partner. Personality is the most important thing as we will live together for many years and the gut feeling and first impressions are important. When I got the cat I have now, I spent a lot of time on the websites of animal shelters and animal rescue looking at cats. My vet called me and had one who needed a home, I met this one and we didn't get along and the first thing it did was claw me properly so of course it wasn't chosen.

So after widening the search I came across her 2 hours away. In the description she sounded perfect but I knew that they often didn't share everything but the gut feeling was there that she was the right one. And when I came over to meet her and the woman at the animal rescue who had her understood what I was like, she became honest with me. This cat is scared very scared and is afraid of strangers and has had a very bad start in life so don't expect much and we have had others who have been interested in her but they all didn't want to take her. So I went into the room where she was and she hid right away I sat down spoke calmly and held out my arm to her and she carefully came forward and sniffed my hand and I gently began to cuddle her and she began purring and came to me and I got to cuddle and greet her. And the woman who was present was speechless as she had never experienced anything like this. So this cat came home with me and after a lot of patience and understanding, she has become the most wonderful animal I have ever known and we have had 6.5 years together now.

[New POD]

9 hours ago, twosmoke300 said:

Said person doesn’t have to rent THAT house from THAT person .

Same as you don’t have to buy that car from that dealer .

Ita very much a business . Huge amounts of invested capital and risk involved too . 
 

 

Unless you are right at the bottom, with near zero income, and no deposit, there is choice.  Not much. We had 32 expressions of interest on a nice 3 ded semi. 5 people wanted it.  The choice was ours not theirs 

There used to.be more choice, but governments have chosen to aggressively tax smaller landlords, in such a way that many have taken the decision to sell up.  There's enough private buyers out thier that it decreases the choice for renters. 

Renting is big business, whole housing towers, are going up all over Manchester and Liverpool, owned by corporate organisations, but you won't get a garden and you'll pay an extra £££££ for a balcony and ££££*s for a parking space.  But that's the way the government want it.  Keep the proletariat in rabbit hutches.  

As an aside, there's a young engineer I work with, lives with his parents. Looking to move out. Spends ££££ on food and fags. My suggestion that he make a packed lunch and stop smoking and find a mate to share a flat and share the bills, was dismissed, as that would involve compromise.  Meanwhile he complains that my generation have screwed it up for his generation.  Right. Because I didn't stop putting margarine on my bread when the mortgage rate went over 14% ? Because I washed in  water from a kettle, because the only way to heat it was an electric Emerson that cost £££s to run. Because my kids had clothes handed down from thier older cousins. 

Yours Gammon faced angry twat of ASland. 

 

[paulplom]

Landlords alternative view.

 

We bought a flat for my mother to rent. Got her to pick it as it'll be the place she dies in. Make sure you pick one you're happy with and needs no work doing.

She picked a decent one on a private estate and it was clean and ready to move in. 

So far she's had us replace all the doors and windows, full kitchen, new bathroom with shower quadrant instead of  bath, new boiler. And now she's asking for the patio door to be bricked up and a window fitted. She can fuck off.

Other than the boiler none of the work needed doing. It just wasn't to her style even though she fucking picked the fucking flat. We only charge what the mortgage is too so she's getting an immaculate 2 bedroom flat on a private eatate for not much more than £300 a month.

 

Tldr.  ALL tennants are cunts in my experience.

[andy18s]

12 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

As someone who has lived with both: a dog has a master, a cat has staff.

 

[goosey]

After almost an hour on the phone to VW fleet to arrange my car service and then this 

[cort1977]

25 minutes ago, andy18s said:

 

Cats are furry bastards.

In my experience they pick you.  Our current one appeared on our doorstep one day and wouldn't go away.  Wife and kids decided we should keep it despite me pointing out that cats are shit and we were about to move  to another fucking country.

Paid for cat to be imported at massive cost and a few weeks after that the little twat broke its hip, because it was a fat bastard.  Another massive bill.  Then a few week after that it did the other side, bonus time for the vet.

I genuinely could have bought a nice Boxster for the money that fucking cat has cost.  And how does it repay this kindness?  By bringing in vermin most days (not always dead), truffling its ringpiece noisily when I'm eating and waking me up at all hours if you forget to shut the door.

Incredibly, despite all this I quite like it.  

[Floatylight]

Booked some last minute leave this week, just at home but booked the works van in for a service today at main dealers via the lease Co. 

Went and got van out of storage this morning, took to main dealer who haven't got a courtesy car which was booked a week ago, apparently the rang yesterday to tell me they don't have one available, but as on leave work phone switched off.

TL:DR  - Main dealers are useless twonks. 

[sierraman]

24 minutes ago, goosey said:

After almost an hour on the phone to VW fleet to arrange my car service and then this 

If being on the phone to VWFS gets you off and you aren’t harming anyone then crack on. 😆

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, paulplom said:

Landlords alternative view.

 

We bought a flat for my mother to rent. Got her to pick it as it'll be the place she dies in. Make sure you pick one you're happy with and needs no work doing.

She picked a decent one on a private estate and it was clean and ready to move in. 

So far she's had us replace all the doors and windows, full kitchen, new bathroom with shower quadrant instead of  bath, new boiler. And now she's asking for the patio door to be bricked up and a window fitted. She can fuck off.

Other than the boiler none of the work needed doing. It just wasn't to her style even though she fucking picked the fucking flat. We only charge what the mortgage is too so she's getting an immaculate 2 bedroom flat on a private eatate for not much more than £300 a month.

 

Tldr.  ALL tennants are cunts in my experience.

I would never rent a property to a relative or friend, you’ll always end up doing things to keep them happy that cost you money that you wouldn’t do for a stranger. And do you get thanks? No they moan about you charging them rent because they feel entitled to stay for free.

Cant pay the rent? Doesn’t matter , you’re their friend , you don’t mind do you? After all you have a spare house , you’ve got plenty of spare cash obviously. Rent increase? Never, they’ll be paying the same in 20 years time.

[sierraman]

What you should do is set a housing foundation up, rent the properties out at something like £200 a month and just weather the loss between that and the mortgage. Complete altruism.

On a serious note on a Buy to Let part of the criteria is an adequate rent coverage as a percentage of the actual mortgage payment. That said many are interest only so the payment is probably £2-300 a month. 

[SH1TE]

3 minutes ago, Metal Guru said:

I would never rent a property to a relative or friend, you’ll always end up doing things to keep them happy that cost you money that you wouldn’t do for a stranger. And do you get thanks? No they moan about you charging them rent because they feel entitled to stay for free.

Cant pay the rent? Doesn’t matter , you’re their friend , you don’t mind do you? After all you have a spare house , you’ve got plenty of spare cash obviously. Rent increase? Never, they’ll be paying the same in 20 years time.

Wouldn't entertain it,  couple no children and well paid jobs- rest are just slow motion train wrecks. 

[sierraman]

5 minutes ago, SH1TE said:

Wouldn't entertain it,  couple no children and well paid jobs- rest are just slow motion train wrecks. 

Years ago you used to see the ads ‘No DSS’ even long after the DSS had ceased to be.