rants - rsmck

Shop Direct, a VERY dodgy outfit?

Maybe you've seen ads of tempting deals from "Very" (who also operate under the Littlewoods brand) who mainly appear to exist to take advantage of people who have to rely on credit to purchase goods. (Arguably, offering ~50% APR credit terms on low value 'luxury&

customer service

Brevo 'transactional' email

I recently discovered Brevo, formerly known as "SendInBlue", when looking for a reliable eMail provider for transactional eMails as an alternative to Sparkpost as they have a more generous free tier and I'd had some deliverability issues to one provider in paritcular with Sparkpost. It didn&

covid-19

Arts vs Religion

The Scottish Government have, again, decreed that gatherings of over 200 people indoors are prohibited, supposedly because of the need to protect us all from COVID-19. An admirable aim, perhaps. However, the guidance [https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-staying-safe-and-protecting-others/] (the Regulations haven&

customer service

BMW - Get a handle on this!

BMW are ignoring a safety-critical issue in the F10/F11 5 Series cars caused by... a door handle.

namecheap

"Submit a ticket"

Now, let me start by saying I love ticket systems. They are the order amongst the chaos in the IT support world, and when supporting customers often the correct approach is to ask them to raise a ticket. However, when a member of the public brings to your attention a

rants

I need some DIY done.

Today's pet peeve... and I've seen it in many places; > "I need some DIY done..." No you don't. You need some WORK done. The whole point of DIY is you Do It Yourself, it's literally what the initialism represents.

consumer rights

TEKnically Incorrect?

It became illegal in 2017 to charge payment fees per the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 (As Amended) - Why do CCTVTek.co.uk ignore this law?

rants

Taxpayers are not paying for a wedding!

Seen so many posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc about “the taxpayer paying for the royal wedding” 🙄 Ok, I’m not a 'royalist', but I am generally quite pragmatic, so firstly; No, we’re not. However, unlike all these ridiculous posts, I tend to like to support my argument

eurovision

Why do we keep paying for Eurovision when we will never win?

This is the recurring sentiment by loads of posts I've seen on Facebook and twitter, and they're beginning to grate a little. Most of the time people make stupid outlandish claims like we pay for 1/5th of the cost of Eurovision wherever it's

rants

Argos (again)

The expression "too many cooks" comes to mind. Anywhere I've worked, people take ownership of a customer's case - irrespective of how it arrives. There's usually some sort of ticket which can be transferred between people, but it's not a rabble

security

Security Theatre and the Airport

I've previously ranted about "security theatre" that we all suffer every time we fly anywhere [https://rsmck.co.uk/blog/security-theatre-brussels-and-beyond/] so imagine my surprise that I write this airside at a major airport holding a bag that's not been

rants

Argos...

Update 6th November Knew it was too good to be true. Seems Jack completely lied about what they'd done, because apparently the order has been cancelled (again) and I've been refunded (I haven't)... so I now need to phone and re-order the same

security

HP Ink DRM

> I am never buying an @HP [https://twitter.com/HP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] product ever again. This “Ink DRM” is a joke, I don’t even want a colour print but I can’t use this paperweight! — Ross McKillop (@rsmck) October 7, 2017 [https://twitter.com/rsmck/status/

consumer rights

aqva-usations

Ok, so that pun didn't really work. I've already posted a lengthy rant about aqva bathrooms [https://rsmck.co.uk/blog/aqva-bathrooms/] and their complete lack of customer service after supplying me with defective goods. Well, today, after sending them the recording of the call

consumer rights

aqva Bathrooms

Another day, another customer service (or lack thereof) rant this time it's the turn of aqva Bathrooms. Turns out this company has directors in common with QS Supplies, a company that I've not dealt with since 2012 for similar reasons and - had I know about the

rants

Do Not Reply

> I am very sorry about our delay in getting back to you, only your message was sent to a 'do not reply' email address, which is not monitored closely. This is the message I got today from a (otherwise very helpful company) because I replied to an

roads

Stopping Distances

Following the recent tragic death of Kim Briggs, killed by cyclist Charlie Alliston riding an illegal bike with no front brakes, there's been lot of debate over whether or not he could stop even if the bike was legal. These people often cite the Stopping Distances in the

flying

Transavia, KLM and a couple of bags...

Some people will know I've had issues with KLM in the past [https://rsmck.co.uk/blog/self-help-exits-on-klm/] specifically when their policy was to allow aircraft to depart with exit rows unoccupied; a situation EASA believe represents "an inadequate level of safety"

rants

Road Rants - Single Track Roads

Told you I could do a series of these... I now live in quite a rural area and we have a lot of roads that seem mildly unusual to some, and seem to strike the fear of god in others! Whilst they seem to have disappeared from most of the

highland life

Road Rants - Overtaking

I could probably put together an entire 'Road Rants' series, but this one is inspired by some comments I saw today on a facebook post about overtaking > "Why should we have to brake in our cars with our children to let them in" Firstly, pet

rants

How not to do APIs

The company involved here will remain anonymous, as they offer a good (and relatively unique) service and I don't want to damage any relationship with them, nor discourage others from using them just for this reason! Additionally, their support has been excellent. I hope others find this though,

rants

Nominet DRS

I recently had a case decided by Nominet DRS (thankfully in my favour, but that wasn't unexpected). Now that's finally over I can publish this ;) ... complete with my own inimitable, occasionally sarcastic, insightful(!) comments ;) The case was against the owner of the domain stagelampsuk.co.uk,

travel

Jet 2, a rant...

This was originally posted on Facebook, and sent to Jet2, who did respond with a generic "Sorry, we look forward to welcoming you on board again" type message. I had tried to be mildly humourous too :( EDI to OLB... via LBA Firstly the operator billed the service as