Insignificant/ Significant things that BYP or just wind you up a little

[McNab]

£27 to declare my bike SORN! That's £27 for the Government to allow me to not ride my bike.

I've only used the thing twice in the last year and a half and only now decided SORN would be a good idea, but I've got a feeling I'm gonna have to go back to the office at some point soonish, so I'll be taxing it again anyway. (Yes. I understand I am a fool).

But, 27 fucking pounds to allow my bike to not be used.

As Weeksy says, it's free. Did you go through one of the scam sites that charges a 'fee' to submit the info?

I reckon I did. I just tried to cancel it using their support email address. It bounced back.

[Yorick]

Wanna buy some magic beans?

[Horse]

I reckon I did. I just tried to cancel it using their support email address. It bounced back.

I think there might be options / possibility to get it back.

But also make sure that you haven't been signed up for any auto-renewal (ie they claim an annual fee to allow you to use their services).

[McNab]

Wanna buy some magic beans?

Ooh, How much?

I reckon I did. I just tried to cancel it using their support email address. It bounced back.

I think there might be options / possibility to get it back.

But also make sure that you haven't been signed up for any auto-renewal (ie they claim an annual fee to allow you to use their services).

Dunno how I can, there are very few options on their site, and if their email isn't working there is no other way to get in touch.
I've cancelled my credit card and have raised a dispute through the card company. Other than that, I dunno.

[Horse]

I'm not sure either, a quick Google didn't help. Sure I've seen something...

[Noggin]

Dunno how I can, there are very few options on their site, and if their email isn't working there is no other way to get in touch.
I've cancelled my credit card and have raised a dispute through the card company. Other than that, I dunno.

The credit card company should be able to claim the money back - cross fingers

[McNab]

Dunno how I can, there are very few options on their site, and if their email isn't working there is no other way to get in touch.
I've cancelled my credit card and have raised a dispute through the card company. Other than that, I dunno.

The credit card company should be able to claim the money back - cross fingers

Yeah, I hope so.

Well, thanks all for pointing it out. I would have been blissfully unaware if it wasn't for you lot.

By the way Yorick, you still got those magic beans? I've only got a spare cow left now though.

[Nidge]

@McNab my piss is boiling on your behalf- these companies always appear high in the Google rankings and look kosher. They are parasitic scum

[Yorick]

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.this ... -road.html

[slowsider]

@McNab my piss is boiling on your behalf- these companies always appear high in the Google rankings and look kosher. They are parasitic scum

Caveat emptor. It's been going on so long there's a Latin phrase for it.

Not SORN obvs.

[Cousin Jack]

Caveat emptor. It's been going on so long there's a Latin phrase for it.

The annoying thing is that Google/Bing/et al allow these scammers to appear at the top of the search. They know they are scams, but put extra profit waaay before any scruples.

[Taipan]

Wanna buy some magic beans?

Ooh, How much?

I reckon I did. I just tried to cancel it using their support email address. It bounced back.

I think there might be options / possibility to get it back.

But also make sure that you haven't been signed up for any auto-renewal (ie they claim an annual fee to allow you to use their services).

Dunno how I can, there are very few options on their site, and if their email isn't working there is no other way to get in touch.
I've cancelled my credit card and have raised a dispute through the card company. Other than that, I dunno.

I think you'll be covered by the distance selling regulations as you are entitled to a 7 day cooling off period. Talk to your credit card people.

Distance Selling Regulations
The Distance Selling Regulations (DSRs) are the rules that apply if you are buying products or services from suppliers without face-to-face contact, and where the consumer has not had an opportunity to examine the goods before buying or discuss the service in person. Examples of distance selling include selling via: the internet, text message, phone call, fax and interactive TV or mail order.

One aim of the DSRs is to ensure a minimum level of consumer protection across the European Union (EU) although other EU countries may have implemented them differently.

The regulations apply to both new and second hand goods regardless of how you pay for the item, as long as the transaction is between a supplier and a consumer.

The regulations say that you:

• must be given clear information about the goods or services before you buy. This is called pre-purchase information

• must receive written information after you have bought the goods or services

• have a right to cancel your order within a seven day cooling-off period

• have a right to have goods or services provided within 30 days after the order was sent, unless otherwise agreed

• can get a refund if items aren’t delivered on the agreed delivery date. If no delivery date is given, you can get a refund if items aren’t delivered within 30 days of placing your order

• have a right to a refund if someone has used your payment card without your permission

• have a right to keep goods delivered to you that you didn’t ask for. These are called unsolicited goods.

When buying at a distance you also have the same legal rights as you would if buying in a shop under the Sale of Goods Act and the Supply of Goods and Services Act.

The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling ) Regulations do not cover any of the following purchases:

• financial services such as insurance, personal pension, investment or payment service

• sale of land or buildings except for certain rental agreements

• sale of land plus construction of buildings (a contract to construct when the land is already owned by you would be covered)

• long-term rental agreements (three years or more in England and Wales, one year or more in Scotland)

• auctions

• internet auctions, unless you use a ‘buy now’ function, rather than bidding.

• purchases from vending machines or automated commercial premise

• the use of a telecommunications operator through a public payphone

[Mussels]

They offered a service at a price, if they have fulfilled that service then they may not have done anything wrong legally. They are scam artists but not sure if it will count as an unfair contract.
I'd be more worried that they have also signed you up to a discount club that will take money every month, keep an eye on statements and check your emails carefully as it is probably buried in there somewhere so they can prove you were told. Edit: Cancelling your card will have taken care of that.

[millemille]

8 weeks ago my 67 plate citroen van, 96k miles and 3 1/2 years old, dies on me over in Derby. AA called, plugs on OBD reader and much sucking of teeth as it's throwing cam and crank sync errors. Get recovered to home.

Local garage, who do all the work on the van, come and collect it and take a look. Cam belt has lost a load of teeth and piston valve munchety crunchety.

All is not lost, say local garage, given that cam belt change isn't due for 29k miles Citroen should put their hand in their pocket for some/all of cost of new engine.

Ring Citroen UK, take it to local main dealer and they'll investigate and make warranty claim if appropriate. So local garage take it over to Derby.

Main dealer look at it and confirm what local garage had said, cam belt failure and that it shouldn't have happened so they'll start a claim. 48 hrs, they tell me, for Citroen to decide.

Don't hear a dicky bird for a week and I'm chasing the dealer, after 10 days they say citroen have agreed to replace the engine under warranty and it'll take 7 to 10 to complete.

Don't hear a dicky bird for 10 days and I'm chasing the dealer, spotting a theme yet? All going well, say dealers, all parts have been ordered and just waiting on a few bits and pieces. What bits and pieces, asks I, given you've had it for 10 days and the repair is supposed to be complete by now? Oh, just the engine, they say. I may have slightly lost my shit with them at this point.

Didn't hear a dicky bird for 10 days and I'm chasing the dealer. What progress, asks I? Still waiting on parts, says they. It better not be the fucking engine! No, they say, it's the bell housing seal. When is it due, asks I? Don't know, they say, it's on back order and there's no due date.

Right, so you've had the van 4 weeks for a repair that you told me would take 12 days max and you can't tell me when it's going to be started, let alone finished?

So I got a courtesy van out of them.

Didn't hear a dicky bird out of them for 10 days and I'm chasing the dealer. Got all the parts and the old engine is out, should be done for Monday.

Ring them on the tuesday. Got all the parts and the old engine is out, should be done for Friday. WTF, am I living in some kind of gordian knot of a time loop?

Meantime, I send them an email to.clarify a couple.of points about future warranty and servicing and also to make sure they put the old and new engine numbers on the receipt so I can make sure DVLA will change the V5 details with no problems.

Get to the dealer today, 7 weeks to the day after the van was given to them for a 12 day repair, and guess what? No engine numbers on the receipt. Takes them 45 minutes to sort that.

Fi ally get the keys, go out to the van in the car park. Fuck me! It's hot in the cab, best turn the AC on. ACs not working. No cold air. Maybe it needs to be driven, press the clutch pedal down and it shoots to the floor. Let it up and it feels like it's working against a hand brake ratchet.

Go back in to the dealers, tell them the problems. Oh no, we took it for a 20 mile test drive and everything was working fine. Odd, says I, because it hasn't got 20 more miles on the odo than when it was brought in...

So, I'm back in the courtesy van and they've still got mine.

Useless, lying, incompetent cunts.

Bad form to quote oneself, I know, but....

Finally got my van back last Wednesday. Drove it around for a day and was convinced the clutch biting point was not in the same place twice and was starting to feel a vibration through the clutch pedal when it was being let out.

By Friday it was definitely not right, juddering the whole van when trying to pull away and the pedal was vibrating that much you could see your foot shaking so rang the dealers.

They wanted to treat it as a completely new issue and book the van in for two weeks time. No fucking chance, says I.

They promise to ring me back on Friday.

Obviously they didn't.

Rang the dealers Saturday, had to go through the whole farce of them wanting to treat it something new again so I reared up on them and spoke to workshop manager who promised he'd get it booked in for Monday and ring me Monday morning to confirm and have a courtesy vehicle ready for me.

Obviously he didn't.

Rang yesterday afternoon and they couldn't have been more helpful.

Drove over yesterday afternoon and they were polite and helpful and I've got a courtesy van.

What has prompted the change, you may ask? Well, it could be coincidence, but on Friday I received an email from Citroen UK asking me to complete a customer satisfaction survey and, suffice to say, I let my feelings be known. "You would have to hold a gun to my head for me to even contemplate darkening the door of this dealer ever again.....". They scored 1 out of 10 for every area, other than "cleanliness of the vehicle after repair", where I gave them a 5 out of 10.....

[the_priest]

Trying to get hold of Royal Greenwich Council after they sent a threatening letter saying I owe them council tax when they actually owe me a 50% rebate on 9 months as a minister of religion and they are simply not adhering to the law. Slightly boils my piss, but I'll bless them and be nice, maybe.

20 minutes waiting now and my call is still important enough that I have to keep waiting..... emails are answered after 20 days and this apparently has to be paid in 7 days or they submit to Magistrates court.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Trying to get hold of Royal Greenwich Council after they sent a threatening letter saying I owe them council tax when they actually owe me a 50%

I got six e-mails from Scottish Power today, all delivered in a 1s window, telling me everything from they owe me £250 to If you don't pay this £50 bill we'll start court proceedings.

I think their IT might be a bit shit.

[Yorick]

Trying to get hold of Royal Greenwich Council after they sent a threatening letter saying I owe them council tax when they actually owe me a 50% rebate on 9 months as a minister of religion and they are simply not adhering to the law. Slightly boils my piss, but I'll bless them and be nice, maybe.

20 minutes waiting now and my call is still important enough that I have to keep waiting..... emails are answered after 20 days and this apparently has to be paid in 7 days or they submit to Magistrates court.

Write a letter, recorded delivery.

[weeksy]

I'd let it go to court, turn up in fill kit and explain it all to the judge.

[the_priest]

I'd let it go to court, turn up in fill kit and explain it all to the judge.

TBH I simply don't have the time for this kind of malarkey. I'm in the middle of buying a home, waiting for my wife to have brain surgery, visiting people who are dying, lining up a wedding for a family next month and much more. This is low level stuff that just boils the piss, it is only money and should just be a simple thing for them to sort, but they are ducking and diving over what constitutes the law and housing.

[the_priest]

Trying to get hold of Royal Greenwich Council after they sent a threatening letter saying I owe them council tax when they actually owe me a 50% rebate on 9 months as a minister of religion and they are simply not adhering to the law. Slightly boils my piss, but I'll bless them and be nice, maybe.

20 minutes waiting now and my call is still important enough that I have to keep waiting..... emails are answered after 20 days and this apparently has to be paid in 7 days or they submit to Magistrates court.

Write a letter, recorded delivery.

I just paid it, £66 is what they said I owed them. It is not the money, but the principle. I have better things to do with my time and 40 minutes of sitting on a phone and not being answered is more time than I have spare for things like this. Still, I am playing the longer game with them. I found useful info on Westminster Council Website which I have referred to them and it covers it all in plain English.