Grumble Thread

[Joseph K]

Hope you are successful. However, why use booking.com in the first place? I would always book hotels, train tickets, concert tickets etc. direct and cut out the middleman. I see from their website that St Christopher's claim that it's cheaper if you book direct and I'd expect it to be easier to resolve any problems that way too.

I suppose I am used to there always being some kind of middleman - certainly for train tickets and concert tickets, from what I've seen, I mean you don't buy tickets direct from an artist or a venue (or at least not always in my experience) or obviously the train company. I suppose also, the idea of going through something like Booking dot com might even seem to be like an external authority to which I might appeal, which wouldn't be the case had I just gone direct through the hostel. Maybe...

[french frank]

However, why use booking.com in the first place?

I've used booking.com while abroad and moving from place to place. You don't neceassrily know which hotels are available at your usual price ( in my case) or whether they're in walking distance from a station. But I did suspect my bank details were hacked from their site which meant two unauthorised payments went out of my account (fortunately only £40 in all) apparently payments to Amazon Marketplace. So I would be more cautious in future.

[Joseph K]

Just for the record and FWIW I have/did not in fact manage to get my money back. So I was also lied to on more than one occasion about being able to get my money back. Honestly, I wish they'd just told me straight up that I won't get my money back, rather than have me waste my time making phone calls...

[Serial_Apologist]

Just for the record and FWIW I have/did not in fact manage to get my money back. So I was also lied to on more than one occasion about being able to get my money back. Honestly, I wish they'd just told me straight up that I won't get my money back, rather than have me waste my time making phone calls...

How disgusting - my sympathies, Joseph K.

[Serial_Apologist]

I am suddenly unable to log into my Sky mail account today. The system refuses to recognise my password or Sky ID. When I attempt to create a new password it says they will send me an email explaining what to do, but if I can't access the account in the first place I won't be able to see the email!

Is anyone else experiencing anything like this, or have any idea what to do?

Yours in desperation!

[Joseph K]

How disgusting - my sympathies, Joseph K.

Thanks!

I am suddenly unable to log into my Sky mail account today. The system refuses to recognise my password or Sky ID. When I attempt to create a new password it says they will send me an email explaining what to do, but if I can't access the account in the first place I won't be able to see the email!

Is anyone else experiencing anything like this, or have any idea what to do?

Yours in desperation!

The only thing I can think of is to open another email account.

[Pulcinella]

I am suddenly unable to log into my Sky mail account today. The system refuses to recognise my password or Sky ID. When I attempt to create a new password it says they will send me an email explaining what to do, but if I can't access the account in the first place I won't be able to see the email!

Is anyone else experiencing anything like this, or have any idea what to do?

Yours in desperation!

Have you perhaps registered another email account (gmail/outlook) with them for just this eventuality (and perhaps forgotten)?
Check them (including Junk folders) if you have any just in case they've sent the message there.
Though it would have been kind of them to tell you if they have.
Good luck.

[Serial_Apologist]

Thanks for the suggestions, Joseph K and Pulcinella.

It turned out I was trying to register using an old ID. Took a bit of searching around to find the correct one, but now all's well - phew!

[Pulcinella]

Thanks for the suggestions, Joseph K and Pulcinella.

It turned out I was trying to register using an old ID. Took a bit of searching around to find the correct one, but now all's well - phew!

That's good to know!

[oddoneout]

The wonders of the digital age...
I went to the GP surgery yesterday to book an appointment and was told that my GP was no longer with them, having left a few months previous. I suggested that it might have been a good idea to have let me know that. "Oh, we sent a text message". Turns out they sent a single text at the beginning of January to my mobile which as they know from my notes is not my main contact - they only have the number because they insisted - but although I don't use it (other than for the 2 factor verification which work and my bank insist on) I do check it regularly so would have picked up if I'd received such a text. It's a bit of a blow as I'd built up a good relationship with my GP, which when one has several chronic and degenerative conditions going on is important - not least for saving time in appointments, which are not frequent as it happens(last one 11 months ago) hence not finding out about her going. I have been given an appointment for the middle of August with the newest member of the practice; I'm not hopeful that much will be achieved, but I have to start somewhere!
I know why they choose to use mobile contact but to send just one text? During Covid I got multiple texts nagging about jabs, and have had other repeat texts from the surgery about health checks (until I asked them not to) in the past. Perhaps they were too busy being in Special Measures to deal with such things as keeping a patient informed about the GP's departure...

[teamsaint]

As good a place as any I guess, though I haven’t read about this issue in depth, so just assuming it should be a grumble.

https://slippedisc.com/2023/07/dutch-to-pull-down-schoenberg-statue/

[smittims]

As I read this dear old Regina Spektor's song 'they made a statue of us' kept going through my head.

Nothing surprises me in this crazy century but it seems statues are not wanted in some places. Maybe it's because we have so many other images, or maybe it's because statues were used so much for propaganda from Ozymandias to Saddam Hussein that they've aquired a bad image. We criticised the Taliban for destroying statues in Afghanistan but suddenly it was OK to destroy them in Bristol.?

[Serial_Apologist]

As good a place as any I guess, though I haven’t read about this issue in depth, so just assuming it should be a grumble.

https://slippedisc.com/2023/07/dutch-to-pull-down-schoenberg-statue/

The article is just the appeal statement, without covering explanation of any reasons why this demolition (presumably) is intended. Whatever the reason, this is an appalling decision in a supposedly culturally aware country.

[oddoneout]

The article is just the appeal statement, without covering explanation of any reasons why this demolition (presumably) is intended. Whatever the reason, this is an appalling decision in a supposedly culturally aware country.

I've been doing a bit of googling. The statue(s) are in the old Conservatoire building which is due to be demolished as the institution itself has moved to a new building - Amare.

https://www.thehagueonline.com/news/2022/02/14/gemeente-approves-demolition-of-royal-conservatoire-and-construction-of-new-anwb-head-office

Schoenberg doesn't have much connection with the proposed occupants of the new building so no reason for the statue(s) to be put back when the build is complete, and as the appeal says no-one else seems to want it(them)
Seems a bit at odds with this tourist initiative https://bkdh.nl/en/routes/rondje-centrum/ where No 9 is by the Town Hall, at the back of which is the Conservatoire.

[french frank]

Message from Lloyds bank to say they're closing my local branch in November, nearest branch will be 2 miles away (I don't have a car). Thinking about it though, I don't go in that often to do something like 'business' - more to ask questions, which I shall probably find impossible via the app.