The grumpy thread

[maxxo]

On 13/11/2024 at 09:33, chaseracer said:

AS hive mind: who do we know in the TS postcode area might be able to help Max fix this without involving the landlord?

not in TS anymore! SR8 now but 2 miles down the road is TS

anyway i've sorted it out now, cut out the broken bits, screwed some plaster board to the joists and skimmed it and it looks half decent

will be painting tomorrow

[maxxo]

so i've managed to completely ruin my mobile phone

a proper job of it as well!

it's had a cracked screen since i've got it, i got it for free so wasn't too bothered

it slipped out my pocket and got slammed in the very angular door of a Citroen XM

it's not bent but the screen is just lines

apparently the local mobile shop will fix it for £30 so taking it there tomorrow

[Markeh]

57 minutes ago, maxxo said:

so i've managed to completely ruin my mobile phone

a proper job of it as well!

it's had a cracked screen since i've got it, i got it for free so wasn't too bothered

it slipped out my pocket and got slammed in the very angular door of a Citroen XM

it's not bent but the screen is just lines

apparently the local mobile shop will fix it for £30 so taking it there tomorrow

I managed to split my old Sony Xperia in half in a similar fashion involving a tight car parking space, my fat thighs and the B pillar of a Megane II

[maxxo]

7 minutes ago, Markeh said:

I managed to split my old Sony Xperia in half in a similar fashion involving a tight car parking space, my fat thighs and the B pillar of a Megane II

it seems to only be the screen that's affected

thank god for that, going to take it to a phone shop in the town tomorrow to get mended

living old school at the minute relying on the landline only for communication

[Remspoor]

Had a oil leak on the back of the engines dripping from the bell-housing. (2 litre Peugeot diesel  from 2003). So in to the garage to see what is what. News is it has not affected the clutch but it is worn plus some marks on the fly wheel. I had a new one on the car  just over 100,000 kms ago in 2017. I changed from a dual mass flywheel to a solid one. the clutch does not slip but it looks as if it is on the way out. The part number on the recent does not match any one known now. The garage who done the work closed just after Covid. So to install a new flywheel and clutch will cost around 1000€ in parts alone. In 2017 the cost including labour was just about 600€
Bugger I am not wanting to payout more to repair the car.  I have a load spent on it this year. I do like it, but the are issues other than this. Time to look for something new.
I hate the Spanish car market, incorrect details, high prices and looks to be getting even higher because of the recent floods.

 

[artdjones]

19 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

Had a oil leak on the back of the engines dripping from the bell-housing. (2 litre Peugeot diesel  from 2003). So in to the garage to see what is what. News is it has not affected the clutch but it is worn plus some marks on the fly wheel. I had a new one on the car  just over 100,000 kms ago in 2017. I changed from a dual mass flywheel to a solid one. the clutch does not slip but it looks as if it is on the way out. The part number on the recent does not match any one known now. The garage who done the work closed just after Covid. So to install a new flywheel and clutch will cost around 1000€ in parts alone. In 2017 the cost including labour was just about 600€
Bugger I am not wanting to payout more to repair the car.  I have a load spent on it this year. I do like it, but the are issues other than this. Time to look for something new.
I hate the Spanish car market, incorrect details, high prices and looks to be getting even higher because of the recent floods.

 

If it's a 406 HDi, a complete  LuK 4 piece kit with DMF is under €300 on the Autodoc app.

[reductiongear]

E scooters. Just eat/Uber eats riders. Majority of them, not all of them have no road sense. Wrong way down a one way street and running through red lights. 
 

 

[sierraman]

2 minutes ago, CGSB said:

Every tenancy agreement I have ever had specifically says not to touch anything to do with plumbing. Presumably a condition of the landlords insurance but that is just an assumption.

Results in some stupid call outs for "tap keeps dripping" so they pay £50 for someone to turn up and fit a new £2 cartridge that I could do myself in 5 minutes but thems the rules.

I suppose on the other end of the scale is "I did it myself and now my house is flooded" or "my ceiling has a man shaped hole in it".

A few select people would be capable of doing a good repair but a sizeable majority would make an absolute mess of it. A friend of the wife’s painted the front door pink in her rented property, apart from looking an eyesore it’ll have been done with a four inch brush. Then people wonder why they can’t get the deposit back…

[vulgalour]

In short: Job Centre and Renting.

I want to have a big long rant about it even though I know it won't do any good.  It comes down to shouting for help from the authorities that are supposed to and being met with utter confusion that someone is doing that, rather than actually helping.  As per usual, I'm just going to have to do it myself and magically find a way to get well again without any sort of assistance with the process.  So far I'm not doing too badly, I can do some work now without completely fucking myself over, I just need to make that into more work so I can get earning properly again and get off this ridiculous benefit system.

 

[dean36014]

58 minutes ago, vulgalour said:

In short: Job Centre and Renting.

I want to have a big long rant about it even though I know it won't do any good.  It comes down to shouting for help from the authorities that are supposed to and being met with utter confusion that someone is doing that, rather than actually helping.  As per usual, I'm just going to have to do it myself and magically find a way to get well again without any sort of assistance with the process.  So far I'm not doing too badly, I can do some work now without completely fucking myself over, I just need to make that into more work so I can get earning properly again and get off this ridiculous benefit system.

 

Can relate to all this. I can't work anymore due to disability.  I own my house with a mortgage.  The only help I can get is a loan tied to the property for the monthly interest payments only. Luckily I get pip, but it's still half of what money I get goes to the mortgage company.  So I'm left with 450 every four weeks to pay for everything else. I'd like to cash in a private pension which, after tax, would clear my mortgage. However,  this would be classed as income in the eyes of universal credit and I'd lose my benefits bar the pip payment for a year. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.  I need to find an advisor of some sort to see if there's anyway I could do this.

[Talbot]

It does rather depend on what the plumbing issue is as to whether your LL would want you poking around with it.  A dripping tap is likely better fixed by someone who isn't going to snap the tap off or make a pigs ear of it, and it's not exactly going to cause an issue dripping for a few days.

Conversely, when I walked back into the kitchen last summer to find water pissing through the ceiling, managed to isolate the issue (burst flexible in the top floor loo cystern), vaxxed up all the water through three floors of the house,  then informed the plumber what the issue was, and eventually as the plumber was a bellend ended up sourcing and fitting the burst hose myself, the Landlord (or in this case, the LL agent) was extremely appreciative of my efforts.

Didn't knock any bloody rent off though.  Must have saved them thousands on the potential for an utterly waterlogged house.  Twats.

[Talbot]

2 minutes ago, dean36014 said:

Can relate to all this. I can't work anymore due to disability.  I own my house with a mortgage.  The only help I can get is a loan tied to the property for the monthly interest payments only. Luckily I get pip, but it's still half of what money I get goes to the mortgage company.  So I'm left with 450 every four weeks to pay for everything else. I'd like to cash in a private pension which, after tax, would clear my mortgage. However,  this would be classed as income in the eyes of universal credit and I'd lose my benefits bar the pip payment for a year. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.  I need to find an advisor of some sort to see if there's anyway I could do this.

And yet if you were in a rented house, where the rent was paying a landlord's mortgage, they will cover that as housing benefit.  Makes zero sense.

You'd actually be better off selling the home you live in and renting somewhere, as they'd pay that.

[vulgalour]

That's the reason private rent is so high.  Mortgage payments on the equivalent property is HALF what the rent is.  The government could literally save money by paying people's mortgages, and as a side effect they'd solve a good chunk of the housing crisis... there's probably reasons it doesn't actually work this way and a good reason people on benefits should pay other people's mortgages, I'm just too poor to know what that is.

 

Shit, I started ranting.  Best stop here before I get too into it.

[Inspector Morose]

What benefits? Im not apparently eligible for a penny, even though I’ve paid in through taxes and NI contributions (self employed so apparently it’s not the right NI). I have no savings at all as I’ve had to live on them even though I've been in and out of the doctors with various mental health issues over the years. Doctors either loose interests or flat out ignore my pleas for help. They assume I am capable of helping myself from scratch even though I’ve proven to them I am incapable of doing what they require.

I've been on various housing lists for years without a hint of anything available. We’re talking over 20 years here - oh it makes me so happy to see others flitting from one house/flat to another. 

Yet I’m not supposed to be upset? I’m supposed to be happy for others? Truth is, I’m at the end of my tether. I can’t get assistance, my marriage is over, I can’t seem to get employed, houses are a fever dream at age 52. I think I’ve had enough of all of this. Screw this, I think it’s time to bail out.

[High Jetter]

11 minutes ago, Inspector Morose said:

Screw this, I think it’s time to bail out.

Sorry you feel it's that bad. Help is available

[Inspector Morose]

22 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Sorry you feel it's that bad. Help is available

It bloody isn’t, and that’s the problem.

[maxxo]

the plumbing issue was very simply a bit of silt inside the valve in the loft tank

it was removed and allowed it to close properly, refills better and doesn't drip now

i would argue the repair i have done is to a much better standard than the ceiling was previously, as in it was quite damaged in that exact area which makes me suspect i'm not the first to have done this

[vulgalour]

@Inspector Morose Sometimes it's just about impossible to get any help, been there a *lot* and it's awful.  For self-employment it's really tough, these days Universal Credit is the only option and it's a top up on what you earn.  UC rolls what used to be Working Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Unemployment Benefit, and possible some others, all into one.  The maths is weird on how they work out payments.  You should, if you're low income, be able to apply for it, you're still young enough.  As for getting help with the mental health stuff... I hear you on that one.  It's only since moving to Scunthorpe that I've actually started to get any help after a good twenty years of being dismissed for the most part, and pushed into work that just made me worse.  I'd like to say the house move for me is something I want to do, it's not, I'm sick of moving house and having house purchase constantly just out of reach.

Know that as awful an experience as it is you aren't alone, and as hard as it is to get help, there is genuinely help out there.  The challenge is grabbing hold of it, so any chance you get hold on with both hands.

[Inspector Morose]

I’m not allowed it apparently. Stupid as it seems, a wife who earns more than the bare minimum, even though she wants a divorce so wont be a beneficiary.

I want to get out of where I am, I’m a country bit at heart and have lived in cities/built up areas for nearly 30 years. It’s destroyed me so my option is to get out of it for my mental health if nothing else. But how?

because of the unique* nature of my illness, I have to rely on others to such an extent that they think I'm bullshitting/perfectly capable of doing stuff that I really aren’t capable of. Being dismissed as fine is part and parcel for more of my life than tou could ever imagine. It’s a curse and it’s biting me hard right now. I’ve been living on my savings so far but that’s now over. Where do I go? What do I do now? I can’t stay, I can’t move, I cant even stay the same. The only option left to me is to remove myself from society.

I’m drinking pretty hard right now in the hope that I don’t wake up the next morning and yet I see others being fawned over due to their second house/flat that they’ve been given isn’t quite what they want.

Am I losing it? Yup, I’ve got to that line where enough is enough.

[Pieman]

Dude, feel free to DM me if you need help.

[sheffcortinacentre]

I can relate to most of that.

[LightBulbFun]

7 hours ago, Inspector Morose said:

I think I’ve had enough of all of this. Screw this, I think it’s time to bail out.

Hey hey! there! I am not sure what I can do/if I am good for anything in this situation, but please dont exit stage left! if theres anything I can do to help feel free to give me a shout, you are a throughly decent chap, who has an awesome encyclopedic knowledge on buses, who has very kindly answered all my questions and queries about em (even if we do have polar opposite opinions on Routemasters  )  

so please dont feel like people dont care about you, at least in this beige corner of the internet I think its safe to say we all do care about you, and again if theres anything you need or think any of us can help with give us a shout! 

even if its simply just to talk bollocks about any random old thing!  

 

also regarding the issues/problems around benefits etc, these guys where extremely helpful in my case https://www.marywardlegal.org.uk/

hopefully maybe they could help you out?  

[Remspoor]

13 hours ago, artdjones said:

If it's a 406 HDi, a complete  LuK 4 piece kit with DMF is under €300 on the Autodoc app.

No it is a 307SW. Same kit here was  the price I mentioned. The garage will not fit anything other than what they supply. New or second-hand.

[Jazoli]

47 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

No it is a 307SW. Same kit here was  the price I mentioned. The garage will not fit anything other than what they supply. New or second-hand.

That’s fair enough if they have to warranty it.

[Saabnut]

8 hours ago, Inspector Morose said:

I’m not allowed it apparently. Stupid as it seems, a wife who earns more than the bare minimum, even though she wants a divorce so wont be a beneficiary.

I want to get out of where I am, I’m a country bit at heart and have lived in cities/built up areas for nearly 30 years. It’s destroyed me so my option is to get out of it for my mental health if nothing else. But how?

because of the unique* nature of my illness, I have to rely on others to such an extent that they think I'm bullshitting/perfectly capable of doing stuff that I really aren’t capable of. Being dismissed as fine is part and parcel for more of my life than tou could ever imagine. It’s a curse and it’s biting me hard right now. I’ve been living on my savings so far but that’s now over. Where do I go? What do I do now? I can’t stay, I can’t move, I cant even stay the same. The only option left to me is to remove myself from society.

I’m drinking pretty hard right now in the hope that I don’t wake up the next morning and yet I see others being fawned over due to their second house/flat that they’ve been given isn’t quite what they want.

Am I losing it? Yup, I’ve got to that line where enough is enough.

You have a job interview on the 19th. Go and smash that interview then GTF from where you are and start again somewhere new. You know it makes sense.

[artdjones]

22 minutes ago, Jazoli said:

That’s fair enough if they have to warranty it.

No-one minds an extra 25-30% on top, as you say they have to stand over it . But 100%+ on top is taking advantage.

[DavieW]

44 minutes ago, Jazoli said:

That’s fair enough if they have to warranty it.

I thought there wasn't a warranty on customer supplied parts. Could get messy though if there's a problem with the parts. 

[reductiongear]

Landlords poking their arses in at random times of the day and turning up without notice.

[artdjones]

2 minutes ago, DavieW said:

I thought there wasn't a warranty on customer supplied parts. Could get messy though if there's a problem with the parts. 

The problem is, some garages will fit cheap stuff and charge for top brand if they can get away with it. As long as a clutch lasts a year, the warranty is up, with no comeback to them. Also, with a clutch, the only way of checking what's gone in is taking the gearbox off. So with clutches one might definitely want to supply the parts for the job, just to make sure it's not having to be done again in 18 months.

With @Remspoor, the garage is charging €1000 for the identical parts that can be profitably sold online for €300. No-one would mind a garage getting one for €350 from a factor and charging it out for €450. But €1000?

[primeradoner]

44 minutes ago, reductiongear said:

Landlords poking their arses in at random times of the day and turning up without notice.

Dont let them in . You are entitled to a notice period that is stipulated in your tenancy agreement (usually 24hrs). Same applies to trades doing maintenance work including gas safety certificates.