The grumpy thread

[High Jetter]

22 minutes ago, Mally said:

Someone wiped the drivers door mirror off my 75 last night. On the bright side the glass didn't break and no other damage so I Gorrilla taped it back on for now and set off to Chester to pick a Yaris up.

Got to Chester, Car was as described except they forgot the rear axle sub frame was hanging on by a prayer and the anti roll bar had been gas cut through for some unknown reason. Also described as running, but wouldn't start, so we left it there.

Kia next door, mirror was wiped off at the same time, but their mirror is smashed to bits.

Happened to mine to, used the gide on the MG&ZT forum to sort it - pics are on my on my thread - search for 'pogweasled' should find it

[chaseracer]

20 hours ago, vulgalour said:

After the fun and games of the NHS overpaying me £900 just before Christmas which I then immediately paid back because of how it might fuck up my Universal Credit, and several weeks of runaround trying to get the Job Centre and the NHS to talk to each other to resolve a problem caused by them not me, today I got an invoice for overpayment of wages to the tune of £250 for a job I left several months ago.  Whether or not I really do owe them that money remains to be seen, and I can't call the understaffed payroll department until Monday to be able to find out.  What fun!

 

 

Use email from the outset, to ensure a record of communication.  They will need to provide evidence of overpayment; the 'invoice' is not sufficient.

Don't call them, unless it's to get the email address of a named person.  Then email them.

If it turns out you do owe them something, pay it back over the longest possible period.  It's their fuckup, and you don't work for them any more.

[Mally]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

Happened to mine to, used the gide on the MG&ZT forum to sort it - pics are on my on my thread - search for 'pogweasled' should find it

Yes have read that, and will have a go.  Also ordered one from Ebay @£32 in case the bodge fails.

[Datsuncog]

On 22/02/2025 at 16:48, Datsuncog said:

Big shout-out to EuroCarParts for wasting my entire fucking day, when the brake pads that were meant to be ready for collection at 9am were actually still in the delivery M8, here any minute; no, not that delivery, the other delivery this afternoon; no, wait, looks like it'll be Monday before they're here squire, actually maybe Tuesday.

Yeeesh.

Just got an email from ECP this morning thanking me for collecting my order.

I have not collected my order.

Fuxsake.

[warch]

Took my two daughters to the dentists for a checkup this morning, that'll be 88 quid please!

I do miss the good old days when we had an NHS.

[richardmorris]

9 minutes ago, warch said:

Took my two daughters to the dentists for a checkup this morning, that'll be 88 quid please!

I do miss the good old days when we had an NHS.

Not much less for NHS band one charges.

The NHS dental charges in England are as follows:

• Band 1: £26.80 (covers an examination, diagnosis, and advice).
• Band 2: £73.50 (covers additional treatment, such as fillings).

[Mally]

5 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

Not much less for NHS band one charges.

The NHS dental charges in England are as follows:

• Band 1: £26.80 (covers an examination, diagnosis, and advice).
• Band 2: £73.50 (covers additional treatment, such as fillings).

Are under 18 not free on NHS?   I know NHS dentists are thin on the ground.

[Stanky]

11 minutes ago, warch said:

Took my two daughters to the dentists for a checkup this morning, that'll be 88 quid please!

I do miss the good old days when we had an NHS.

 

1 minute ago, richardmorris said:

Not much less for NHS band one charges.

The NHS dental charges in England are as follows:

• Band 1: £26.80 (covers an examination, diagnosis, and advice).
• Band 2: £73.50 (covers additional treatment, such as fillings).

This is my approach as well. My wife and eldest daughter go to an NHS dentist who gives them a crap service and frequently messes them around. I think the 'best' experience has been that they only got rescheduled (on the morning of the appointment) twice before being seen. The worst was 5 times. They HAVE to go twice yearly or they get struck off the patient list so it costs me them £53.60 plus whatever charges/treatments* they deem necessary x2 per year.

I go to a private dentist and take my youngest daughter. The requirement is to go once per year as we have good teeth, total cost is about £95 for the pair of us (I know hers is half what mine cost as she's under 16). We get outstanding service, can book at a time that suits us, and never get rescheduled. 

Its a shame its come to this, but I'd rather pay a little bit more (actually less, annually) and get a decent standard of service from the service provider. If I don't like it, I can vote with my wallet and go elsewhere.

[wuvvum]

I'm with an NHS dentist and they've been pretty decent to be fair.  They only need to see me once a year and when they've had to reschedule they've let me know well in advance.  You do notice a difference in the standard of care though - they're pleasant and professional but it's quite obvious they want you in and out as quickly as possible to make room for private patients.

[warch]

It is sad though, I bet quite a few people (kids included) now never see a dentist. I used to go at least once a year, haven't been since 2021 (they kept cancelling my appointments).

[comfortablynumb]

MK3 daughter has an NHS dentist, but is also seen by Addenbrookes Hospital Dental team because she was born with a cleft palate, and one of the problems with that is poor quality tooth enamel.

Issue I have is we then get two conflicting sources of information!

I just go with the hospital 

[warch]

15 minutes ago, Mally said:

Are under 18 not free on NHS?   I know NHS dentists are thin on the ground.

I thought they were. My local practice seems to have put everyone on private despite all their correspondence having the NHS logo in the top corner.

[myglaren]

It has been about fifteen years since I last saw a dentist.  He was arrogant and unpleasant and made a lashup of the filling.  Went back to have it corrected and there was no-one there.  Used a magneto file to fix the filling.

Next time I went to the RVI in Newcastle as I was there anyway, having cut a finger off.  Just wandered down to the dental hospital and was seen and sorted very quickly.  A student who was one of the best dentists that I have seen, supervised of course.

I have been thinking that I should go again and tried two on Friday, Private only.  One said that they had clients coming from Ripon as it was so hard the get a dentist now and they had no more openings anyway.

The butcher I saw seems to be gone and it looks like the practice has a Chinese dentist now, well recommended so will try there.   Private of course.

[MikeR]

1 hour ago, myglaren said:

It has been about fifteen years since I last saw a dentist.  He was arrogant and unpleasant and made a lashup of the filling.  Went back to have it corrected and there was no-one there.  Used a magneto file to fix the filling.

Next time I went to the RVI in Newcastle as I was there anyway, having cut a finger off.  Just wandered down to the dental hospital and was seen and sorted very quickly.  A student who was one of the best dentists that I have seen, supervised of course.

I have been thinking that I should go again and tried two on Friday, Private only.  One said that they had clients coming from Ripon as it was so hard the get a dentist now and they had no more openings anyway.

The butcher I saw seems to be gone and it looks like the practice has a Chinese dentist now, well recommended so will try there.   Private of course.

we use a private dentist , to be fair the cost is not much differant for check ups and minor work , I had a tooth pulled and it was a far better experiance than my NHS jobs .  I think wifes last job with a NHS dentist was the last  straw that made her go private ...

our son also uses the same dentist and he really enjoys his visits compared to the clinic he went to so that says something !

[MikeR]

with the weather being warmer I decided to check the air related filters on the car ..

cabin filter - black with bits of seeds , flies etc , I only changed 2 years ago !!!  

the air filter , the one that sqwarks and squeaks , I took it out again and checked its rubber seal seating in the air box , it did not quite match up , and some lugs pressed into it lifting it of the seating , so I took it right out again and spotted some recesses in the rubber seal to clear the lugs ,

2 ways the filter  could be fitted , I did not use the right one  !!!

[New POD]

7 hours ago, comfortablynumb said:

MK3 daughter has an NHS dentist, but is also seen by Addenbrookes Hospital Dental team because she was born with a cleft palate, and one of the problems with that is poor quality tooth enamel.

Issue I have is we then get two conflicting sources of information!

I just go with the hospital 

My son's tooth enamel "fell off" with his first teeth and the dentist tried to tell my wife it was all our fault for giving him sweets and pop and not getting him.to brush properly.  Which didn't go down well as we were ultracareful from a baby. .  He ended up having 8 teeth out in hospital aged 7.  He's not had one filling on his adult teeth and he's now 31. 

[wuvvum]

7 hours ago, myglaren said:

it looks like the practice has a Chinese dentist now, well recommended so will try there.  

I understand that you can only get appointments there at certain times of day, generally in the early afternoon.

[myglaren]

3 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I understand that you can only get appointments there at certain times of day, generally in the early afternoon.

I'm sure that I am missing something there.

[wuvvum]

Went online to check my credit report, given that there's a chance I might be applying for car finance soon.  My credit score on Equifax has gone down since I last looked, and one of the warnings that came up was for "too many unsecured loans" - on checking the details I have two device plans with Vodafone showing up as loans.  Which would be fine, except that I paid the plan for my old phone off on 5th January, shortly after I upgraded.  That should have updated by now (they say 5 weeks max) so I'm going to have to try and get hold of someone at Vodafone who isn't completely clueless to sort out whatever hasn't happened at their end that should have.  So that'll be fun.

[artdjones]

8 hours ago, Stanky said:

 

This is my approach as well. My wife and eldest daughter go to an NHS dentist who gives them a crap service and frequently messes them around. I think the 'best' experience has been that they only got rescheduled (on the morning of the appointment) twice before being seen. The worst was 5 times. They HAVE to go twice yearly or they get struck off the patient list so it costs me them £53.60 plus whatever charges/treatments* they deem necessary x2 per year.

I go to a private dentist and take my youngest daughter. The requirement is to go once per year as we have good teeth, total cost is about £95 for the pair of us (I know hers is half what mine cost as she's under 16). We get outstanding service, can book at a time that suits us, and never get rescheduled. 

Its a shame its come to this, but I'd rather pay a little bit more (actually less, annually) and get a decent standard of service from the service provider. If I don't like it, I can vote with my wallet and go elsewhere.

In my youth children had dental work gratis at the local health clinic. Which may sound like Utopia, but when I was around 9 I went in, and wouldn't sit still to the dentist's satisfaction. Also he was irritated by having his small daughter running around the treatment room. He relieved his feelings by removing two perfectly healthy molars. Every dentist I've attended since has asked me why I have the gaps, as I have all the rest of my teeth in good condition, except for a few small fillings, apart from one which had to be capped and later extracted when the root cracked.

Not much point having free rubbish treatment.

[Cavcraft]

11 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Just got an email from ECP this morning thanking me for collecting my order.

I have not collected my order.

Fuxsake.

I bet they showed up on another depot's stock, then they went to collect via interbranch and it wasn't there.  Not that that's excusing it.

[wuvvum]

2 hours ago, myglaren said:

I'm sure that I am missing something there.

Sorry, should probably have been more specific.  14:30.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, myglaren said:

I'm sure that I am missing something there.

Equidistant between 2 & 3. In chinglish.

[reb]

5 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Equidistant between 2 & 3. In chinglish.

I still don't get it.

[High Jetter]

16 minutes ago, reb said:

I still don't get it.

Tooth hurtee. 

[myglaren]

I did find it rather obscure.

[bramz7]

On 22/02/2025 at 11:58, bramz7 said:

Boiler failed it's safety inspection on Thursday so I've had no hot water since. Luckily, or not, I have a power shower. Except the pressure is like being dribbled on. The other, better shower, runs off the boiler supplier hot water. 

Neither my landlord or letting agent have been in contact. Now I'm not expecting it to be fixed right away, but a courtesy email would have been nice, especially when they want to increase the rent yet again in April. The house next door, which he also owns, has been empty since the last tenants left a month ago, maybe partly because the rent is too high and the heating is controlled by a range cooker! Quaint in the countryside I'm sure, but in Basingstoke it's borderline mental. 

 

 

As a follow up to this, still heard nothing. So I emailed my letting agent to see what was going on, turns out they hadn't been told either. 

Supposedly 'parts are on order' and I'll be contacted by the engineer in kind. I don't want to kick up any fuss, but tbh it's a pretty poor show all round so far. I wish I wasn't feeling too lazy to move house.

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, myglaren said:

I did find it rather obscure.

Am surprised, tbh. Long running christmas cracker 'joke', thought it was widely known.

[Zelandeth]

It's been a few years since I last used one.  Good lord I'd forgotten how utterly pointless most filling station forecourt jet washes are.  I'd have been better just spitting on the car and smearing it around with a finger.

Only thing I've achieved is wasting £2 and getting wet feet.  The car isn't visibly any cleaner.

[reb]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

It's been a few years since I last used one.  Good lord I'd forgotten how utterly pointless most filling station forecourt jet washes are.  I'd have been better just spitting on the car and smearing it around with a finger.

Only thing I've achieved is wasting £2 and getting wet feet.  The car isn't visibly any cleaner.

You've got to use the scratch-o-matic foamy brush for them to work at all well