It’s definitely setting out to be “one of those days” today.
This morning I received a phone call from my BMW dealer asking me where I was. They thought I was supposed to be delivering my car to them and leaving it with them to sort out a heating problem (with a loan car provided). Strange, because I’d originally booked the appointment a month ago and arranged the date etc then. However, I cancelled the appointment by the email link they had given me a week ago as the problem had resolved. They replied with an email saying someone would be in touch. Didn’t happen, so yesterday I rang the garage, got referred to their (I assume) Head Office, which denied that I had ever had an appointment, even though I quoted the reference number to them. They said they “had no record”. Thought that would be the end of it until this morning’s phone call.
I managed not to be abusive to the poor girl who rang me, but that is the END of my relationship with this chain of BMW dealers. I’ll ask our local garages if they can do the servicing etc for me when the time comes.
SWMBO is on one of her occasional rants ATM. Somehow her 2nd Covid vaccination has not been registered, which she found out when she checked on how to get a Covid Passport (which she may well need if she has to return to Malta for any family reasons (she’s Maltese, naturalised British). GP had no record of her second ‘shot’, referred her to the NHS website, who promptly referred her back to GP to sort it out (took them her card with the time/date details and let them photocopy it). Been going on for nearly 2 weeks now. Hope it gets sorted soon. Somehow it seems to be my fault (in her mind). I did point out to her that the text had come from a mobile phone, which is a definite indicator of scam in my mind.
This was compounded this morning when she received a text message saying that she could now apply for a Covid Passport and clicked on the link in it (in spite of me telling her NEVER to click on links in emails/text messages, but always go direct to the company/organisation website). The link, luckily enough did not work, and she actually said “why didn’t you tell me not to click on links” in spite of multiple previous occasions when I have!
Now I’m about to ring Lichfield Garrick Theatre and ask them why I haven’t received the emailed tickets I paid for a week ago. Does nothing work properly at the moment?
There are 2 potential very significant - and almost obvious - reasons why things do not work properly at the moment. One is often quoted at the reason for anything going wrong, being delayed, etc. The Medical One…
The other one - we dare not mention its name…
There are always other options for car servicing. Try your nearest Independent BMW specialist…
All my VW servicing is done by my local Independent VAG specialist… Thank fully, I do not need to deal with a Main Dealer these days…
Funnily enough reading your thread I’m getting fed up with Audi. Brought new A3 Year ago and this is the 3rd visit for software issues. There seems to be a generic software fault affecting a lot of Audi owners to do with the eCall and MMI system. A fix was due last July but I was promised it would be ready in October. So routine Oil change combined with the fix. You guessed it fix still not available. Then took them 8 hours to do an oil change. Come on how long does it take a main dealer 30-45 minutes tops. Couple that to the fact they charge £30 for a courtesy car (which they never used to) and won’t even drop you off at the nearest railway station - covid of course so I had one of those days too. Getting fed up with Audi. They only give you half a tank of fuel and stopped giving a 1l can of oil. Plus £120 for a space saver spare wheel all smacks of cost cutting and doesn’t give a good impression to the customer
I think today just triggered a “Victor Meldrew” moment for me.
The car heating fault was that it the heating (set to auto in climate control), didn’t kick in until we turned up both of the dual zone controls to 28 centigrade. The engine was already at normal running temp so that wasn’t the problem.
Don’t know why it’s working properly now, but my experience with intermittent faults in anything is that I can almost guarantee that no problem will be found when the offending item to be fixed.
SWMBO has calmed down now. It’ll be our 50th Anniversary in a few weeks, so I ought to be used to being blamed by now. I’m used to things such as her telling me how to use our Nikon SLR, when it was me who showed her how to use a camera properly in the first place. I learnt a long time ago never to discard a written shopping list she has given me until she has checked the purchases after I return home. If I don’t she’ll say “you forgot to get xyz”, and then I produce the list and point out that it wasn’t on it! Helpful tip : write your list on a post-it note, then you can stick it on the supermarket trolley handle. Saves having to hold it (and probably drop it!)
Lichfield Garrick are sorting the problem with tickets out. Computer glitch, I suppose. (oops - split infinitive)
VW are just as awful - I keep getting letters/calls/texts saying they need to inspect and return my lease car when I’ve already told them I’m extending the lease.
Additionally why have all these bloody utility companies/whomsoever started sending me important texts which I don’t see as they go to the unrecognised message folder that I rarely review???
Courtesy cars - yes - used to be free, £20 now for the next MOT.
I just got a letter from lex today telling me I need to creat an online account with them so I can tell them whether I want them to collect the car et the end of the lease or extend the lease etc I am so sick of the number of online accounts I already have, really don’t want more
VW also keep telling me I can extend online via the ‘portal’ but it’s all nonsense, there are no such options and I have to phone people who moan and tell me it’s easier to do it online when I can’t!
Someone from BCA rang me last week when I was playing tennis and I told them to please record that I was extending the lease and to stop pestering me, naturally thereafter got many more calls asking to inspect the vehicle and yesterday a threatening letter saying they’d send it to debt collectors if I didn’t return the vehicle. Utter shambles.
My VW is now well out of its VAG warranty. I have none of the problems mentioned here. My local Independent VAG Specialist looks after me & my car. Cannot fault them. Nice people, helpful - none of the Main Dealer - Big Garage - ‘attitude’.
I had occasional difficulties which could have been a sign my cancer was returning and as it has happened a few times and more frequently recently I decided I should speak to my GP. I went to the app and there wasn’t a free telephone appointment with my regular GP, so I rang the surgery to book one. None were available that week, instead, I was given a face to face appointment a couple of days later. Saw GP and he was concerned enough to make it urgent, saw the consultant a week later, cancer hasn’t returned which is good. Turns out I am unlucky to have some late-onset worsening of side effects of my radiotherapy treatment. More importantly, I am fortunate to be still here and experiencing these side effects, unlike many others. Whilst this was going on, I was experiencing hassles in renewing my resident parking permit due to a change in the council’s IT system, which in some ways was more stressful but equally totally trivial in comparison.
Since my cancer, like people here, I do sometimes get frustrated by some of the hassles of modern life but equally, I have discovered in the greater scheme of things they are transitory and fairly minor and best if at all possible, kept in proportion, easier said than done I know from experience. The big question for me now though, is whether I can hold to this and not get totally frustrated by solicitors and utility companies during my upcoming house sale and purchase. This I expect will test my ability to maintain a calm and accepting stance towards some of the current ways of delivering customer service.
Glad to see that I’m not the only person annoyed by always having to ‘register’ when buying something from previously unused site. As a result I’ve got a lot of logins/passwords etc hiding in the ‘Keeper’ app on my phone and iMac. It’s the only way I can keep track of them. Most of these sites will probably never be visited more than the one time I used them to buy something.
On a similar note, why can’t the online companies (Amazon etc) make it possible just to EDIT the details on a credit/debit card when it is renewed? I hate having to delete the old card (some sites seem to make doing that very difficult/impossible) register the updated card as a “new card” and enter the updated information (usually just the expiry date and 3 digit number on the back)
That is understandable if the actual number on the front of the card is different (usually because the card has had to be replaced because of a possible scam), but why when it’s just a regular update of a card that is about to time expire?
One thing annoys me is people not wearing a face mask on the bus despite signs and regular announcements. However remonstrating with them would only lead to big trouble. Sign of the times
Oddly today I had an email from a credit card provider which was very vague saying ‘we often receive information that helps us improve our security. On this occasion the safest thing to do was to send a new card…’.
Really strange especially as I can’t see any odd transactions or had any declined recently.
Maybe your card was on a list of cloned cards that someone was trying to sell on the dark web or similar and bank’s fraud dept picked up on it. Or your email address or….
Could be, though I’ve not used it much online in recent years - I wonder if it was a transacrion processed abroad (Nintendo) which may have looked odd.
Perhaps unusually the existing card is still fucntional until the new one arrives and it relies on phone authentication for any online transactions.
The new £100 contactless limit has pros and cons in my view.
I am so sick of the number of online accounts I already have, really don’t want more