Room 101

[Dawnstar]

5 hours ago, AnneMarriott said:

I'm putting parfumiers into Room 101.  The blighters will keep discontinuing my favourite perfumes: Antilope (Weill), Ivoire (Balmain) and now, to my bitter disappointment after only 10 years, Iris Prima (Penhaligon), all gone.  It's such a difficult business trying to find a replacement.

 

I still haven't forgiven Penhaligon's for discontinuing Lily & Spice several years ago. I spent ages trying to find a replacement & eventually ended up forking out a fortune on Duchess Rose, as I couldn't find anything cheaper that I liked. It was so expensive that I only use it when theatregoing so I'm still using the same bottle, bought at the end of 2019. I don't know what I'll do when I finish it as the price is even higher now so I won't be buying it again.

[AnneMarriott]

2 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I still haven't forgiven Penhaligon's for discontinuing Lily & Spice several years ago. I spent ages trying to find a replacement & eventually ended up forking out a fortune on Duchess Rose, as I couldn't find anything cheaper that I liked. It was so expensive that I only use it when theatregoing so I'm still using the same bottle, bought at the end of 2019. I don't know what I'll do when I finish it as the price is even higher now so I won't be buying it again.

I genuinely do feel your pain!

[alison]

Can I just add various food manufacturers to the list?  Seems recently they are gluing packets etc. with such strong glue that it's really tough trying to get into them!  Cereal packets, biscuit packets, pretty much anything in cardboard ...

[zxDaveM]

8 hours ago, alison said:

Can I just add various food manufacturers to the list?  Seems recently they are gluing packets etc. with such strong glue that it's really tough trying to get into them!  Cereal packets, biscuit packets, pretty much anything in cardboard ...

 

It's a distraction so you don't notice the shrinkflation of your purchase

[Guest oncnp]

The ROH "Friends" Office....

 

Today ( 13 Oct) I sent an e-mail asking them to check their mailing list as I had not received a fortnightly newsletter since 8 Sept

 

Their answer:

The last edition of the enewsletter was sent on Friday 6 September. These are sent fortnightly so the next one will be sent out on Friday 20 September. If you don't receive this next week, please do let us know.

 

My reply will be "Thank you for giving me another reason not to renew my membership."

Edited October 13, 2023 by oncnp

[Sim]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.  Do humans not read the incoming emails??  It looks to me as if they just pressed a button to send an automatically generated response, from the last time someone complained about not receiving the newsletter.

[alison]

Sounds familiar.  I recently opened a loyalty account with one of my building societies.  A loyalty account, so they know who I am, right?  They ask me to prove my ID: only widely available acceptable items of proof are a photo driving licence and a valid passport, and loads of esoteric things which I don't have, either.  I don't have either of those, so I emailed to ask how else I was supposed to prove my identity.  I got back an obvious copy-and-paste response which just parroted what it said on their webpage, and didn't address my query at all.

 

Anyway, my latest grouch:

 

Sainsbury's have been driving me mad for months now.  Between the ones I can access from home and those I can from the office, I have 4 reasonably accessible large branches, A and B, and C and D, respectively.  (There's also a superstore E which is not too inaccessible, although a much longer distance away).  Trying to work out which one sells what is a bit of a nightmare, though, as none of them carry all the things I want, so I have to pick and choose which branch to shop at very carefully!

So:

- B sells one type of squash I want: A, C and D don't

- A seems to be particularly short on types of falafels: the other 3 have a much better selection

- A and B both have very poor selections of (butter-type) spreads, so I have to go to C or D for those

- A doesn't sell a type of salad I like, but B, C and D do

- A and D don't sell the sliced deli products that I want

- D doesn't sell the cheese I want (haven't actually checked A and B for this, but I'd guess that one of them doesn't, either)

- A doesn't sell the biscuits I like, but B, C and D do

 

You get the general drift.  I feel I need one of those grids they use for solving logic problems in order to work out where I should be going!  (Obviously not A, for preference)  No wonder I keep ending up going to Waitrose!

 

[zxDaveM]

3 hours ago, alison said:

Sounds familiar.  I recently opened a loyalty account with one of my building societies.  A loyalty account, so they know who I am, right?  They ask me to prove my ID: only widely available acceptable items of proof are a photo driving licence and a valid passport, and loads of esoteric things which I don't have, either.  I don't have either of those, so I emailed to ask how else I was supposed to prove my identity.  I got back an obvious copy-and-paste response which just parroted what it said on their webpage, and didn't address my query at all.

 

Anyway, my latest grouch:

 

Sainsbury's have been driving me mad for months now.  Between the ones I can access from home and those I can from the office, I have 4 reasonably accessible large branches, A and B, and C and D, respectively.  (There's also a superstore E which is not too inaccessible, although a much longer distance away).  Trying to work out which one sells what is a bit of a nightmare, though, as none of them carry all the things I want, so I have to pick and choose which branch to shop at very carefully!

So:

- B sells one type of squash I want: A, C and D don't

- A seems to be particularly short on types of falafels: the other 3 have a much better selection

- A and B both have very poor selections of (butter-type) spreads, so I have to go to C or D for those

- A doesn't sell a type of salad I like, but B, C and D do

- A and D don't sell the sliced deli products that I want

- D doesn't sell the cheese I want (haven't actually checked A and B for this, but I'd guess that one of them doesn't, either)

- A doesn't sell the biscuits I like, but B, C and D do

 

You get the general drift.  I feel I need one of those grids they use for solving logic problems in order to work out where I should be going!  (Obviously not A, for preference)  No wonder I keep ending up going to Waitrose!

 

 

I'd say choice C

[2dancersmum]

2 items for room 101 today

 

twice weekly text reminders to book my flu jab - from the GP clinic who administered said jab several weeks ago

 

student loans company - daughter graduated last year and was asked to send details of what she was doing now. It listed forms of ID to provide for her identity and address. She did as requested. They then send her a letter to say that since they were unsure if she was in the UK and could not prove it, she was being issued with a penalty fee to her student loan and they again send the list of acceptable forms of ID she can provide - same list as before that she has already provided. Took months for them to finally accept their mistake and remove the penalty fee (and charges) - because guess what - they had all the information they had requested all along

Edited October 31, 2023 by 2dancersmum

[Jan McNulty]

13 minutes ago, 2dancersmum said:

2 items for room 101 today

 

twice weekly text reminders to book my flu jab - from the GP clinic who administered said jab several weeks ago

 

student loans company - daughter graduated last year and was asked to send details of what she was doing now. It listed forms of ID to provide for her identity and address. She did as requested. They then send her a letter to say that since they were unsure if she was in the UK and could not prove it, she was being issued with a penalty fee to her student loan and they again send the list of acceptable forms of ID she can provide - same list as before that she has already provided. Took months for them to finally accept their mistake and remove the penalty fee (and charges) - because guess what - they had all the information they had requested all along

 

At least you got reminders!  I had to cancel the date they gave me and I never heard from them again.  I had my flu jab with no need for an appointment in Superdrug.

 

That's awful about your student loan.  Not a student loan but some years ago when Universal Credit was introduced a family member (who lived on their own) was on benefits and the govt. department messed up the transfer.  They didn't get any support of any kind for 2 months and eventually the govt. department finally admitted they had made a mistake but wouldn't issue any back pay and it took them nearly 6 months to repay their rent arrears a bit at a time!

[alison]

Aaagghh!!  It's not only the ROH booking site where you have problems.

 

I logged into the Ticketmaster site this morning to try and get tickets for Bruce Springsteen at Wembley next summer, having missed out on Hyde Park this year. They have a Lobby > Waiting Room > Queue system, which I didn't realise, not having booked with them for ages.  The advice was to get into the lobby 10 minutes before sale started, which I also hadn't realised in advance, and also to log into your account beforehand.  So I did that, only to get a message asking me to update my password, which delayed me still further - reset email sent to email address, then 2-factor code via phone!  By the time I finally made it through to the ticket-buying area, there was very little left, and certainly not in my price bracket, but then there was a pop-up saying that a new date had been added.

 

So I clicked on the link for that, and thought that I must be one of the first in there, so would surely be able to get a ticket.   Persuaded the site to offer me a ticket, but before I could pay for it a message came up saying Sorry, there were connection problems.  And again.  And again.  And they went on for ages.  I tried changing to another computer in case the connection problems were at my end, but when I did that I got a warning that if I logged on there I'd lose my place on the original computer and have to go back to the beginning.  In the end, I did that, and managed to get a "cheap" ticket for the relevant date, but it was a real struggle.

 

I say "cheap", although the prices, to my mind, are pretty horrendous - although I realise that with electricity prices what they are at present the operating costs are going to be very high - but where I'd really like to put someone in Room 101 (and I'm not sure whether it's Ticketmaster or someone else) is the add-ons on top of the ticket price, which are absolutely obscene. 

 

Now all I need is a decent standing ticket for tonight's Don Q (ha ha!)

[Jan McNulty]

34 minutes ago, alison said:

Aaagghh!!  It's not only the ROH booking site where you have problems.

 

I logged into the Ticketmaster site this morning to try and get tickets for Bruce Springsteen at Wembley next summer, having missed out on Hyde Park this year. They have a Lobby > Waiting Room > Queue system, which I didn't realise, not having booked with them for ages.  The advice was to get into the lobby 10 minutes before sale started, which I also hadn't realised in advance, and also to log into your account beforehand.  So I did that, only to get a message asking me to update my password, which delayed me still further - reset email sent to email address, then 2-factor code via phone!  By the time I finally made it through to the ticket-buying area, there was very little left, and certainly not in my price bracket, but then there was a pop-up saying that a new date had been added.

 

So I clicked on the link for that, and thought that I must be one of the first in there, so would surely be able to get a ticket.   Persuaded the site to offer me a ticket, but before I could pay for it a message came up saying Sorry, there were connection problems.  And again.  And again.  And they went on for ages.  I tried changing to another computer in case the connection problems were at my end, but when I did that I got a warning that if I logged on there I'd lose my place on the original computer and have to go back to the beginning.  In the end, I did that, and managed to get a "cheap" ticket for the relevant date, but it was a real struggle.

 

I say "cheap", although the prices, to my mind, are pretty horrendous - although I realise that with electricity prices what they are at present the operating costs are going to be very high - but where I'd really like to put someone in Room 101 (and I'm not sure whether it's Ticketmaster or someone else) is the add-ons on top of the ticket price, which are absolutely obscene. 

 

Now all I need is a decent standing ticket for tonight's Don Q (ha ha!)

 

 

I got an email yesterday saying that Tom Hanks is appearing at the Liverpool Empire (and presumably elsewhere) next year.  I decided to have a look to see how much the tickets were.  There was an enormous queue ahead of me on the ATG site (I've never known that before)!

 

Please don't start me on "added extras" on the ticket price!!!

[LinMM]

Avanti have just announced the cancellation of lots of Saturday trains from now until Christmas….they are blaming mostly “industrial action” ( and engineering works) but what industrial action? There has been none for quite a while now and none announced for the next two weeks at least so they just don’t want to admit they haven’t trained enough drivers up to keep the trains able to run to a decent timetable. 

[bridiem]

23 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

Please don't start me on "added extras" on the ticket price!!!

 

When I booked a ticket at Sadler's Wells yesterday, there were two add-ons (the usual processing fee or whatever they call it, and a 'building fund' fee or some such) and then they ask if you want to add a donation too!! For goodness sake.

[alison]

On 26/10/2023 at 18:45, alison said:

Sounds familiar.  I recently opened a loyalty account with one of my building societies.  A loyalty account, so they know who I am, right?  They ask me to prove my ID: only widely available acceptable items of proof are a photo driving licence and a valid passport, and loads of esoteric things which I don't have, either.  I don't have either of those, so I emailed to ask how else I was supposed to prove my identity.  I got back an obvious copy-and-paste response which just parroted what it said on their webpage, and didn't address my query at all.

 

This ongoing situation: I'm about to lose this account because I can't supply the necessary "proof of name".  I have "proof of name" (not address, note) in the form of a letter from HMRC, but because it's sent to my busines address and not the address the BS have registered they won't accept it.  I can supply bank statements aplenty as proof of address, it's only proof of name I can't supply (they won't accept a birth certificate, for some reason).  I applied to be put on the register of electors, because I suspect that the electronic identity check failed because I wasn't on it, but this won't happen until the beginning of December, which is too late.  So it seems my options are to close the account application, re-apply (which will then throw up the same problems as previously, as I will still be "unknown"), and wait for December in the hope that I can then persuade someone to redo the electronic check and confirm that I am who I say I am!

 

Just think, anyone else without this sort of ID will have problems providing ID to vote in future (I'm desperately hoping that legislation gets repealed as soon as possible), and will need to apply for separate voter ID.  Be warned, given that there will be a possible general election coming up.

[Jan McNulty]

1 hour ago, alison said:

 

This ongoing situation: I'm about to lose this account because I can't supply the necessary "proof of name".  I have "proof of name" (not address, note) in the form of a letter from HMRC, but because it's sent to my busines address and not the address the BS have registered they won't accept it.  I can supply bank statements aplenty as proof of address, it's only proof of name I can't supply (they won't accept a birth certificate, for some reason).  I applied to be put on the register of electors, because I suspect that the electronic identity check failed because I wasn't on it, but this won't happen until the beginning of December, which is too late.  So it seems my options are to close the account application, re-apply (which will then throw up the same problems as previously, as I will still be "unknown"), and wait for December in the hope that I can then persuade someone to redo the electronic check and confirm that I am who I say I am!

 

Just think, anyone else without this sort of ID will have problems providing ID to vote in future (I'm desperately hoping that legislation gets repealed as soon as possible), and will need to apply for separate voter ID.  Be warned, given that there will be a possible general election coming up.

A family member is job hunting and has just got a passport for proof of ID.  It’s ludicrous isn’t it.

 

Good luck Alison.

[LinMM]

I cannot understand why they won’t accept a birth certificate as a passport is based on the evidence provided by a birth certificate of your identity. 

[Pas de Quatre]

I think the problem with birth certificates is that anyone can buy a copy of a birth certificate, not just the person named on it!

[LinMM]

So how are they accepted for passports then 🤔

[Sophoife]

Birth certificates are accepted by banks in Australia, but they're what's called secondary ID.

 

Primary ID has a photo of you: 🇦🇺passport (up to 2 years post-expiry), current foreign passport, current 🇦🇺/NZ driver's licence, current government-issued proof of age card.

 

OR

 

Secondary (we need two of these): birth certificate (🇦🇺/foreign), citizenship certificate (🇦🇺/foreign), current non-photo 🇦🇺 licence, current Commonwealth pension or health care card, current 🇦🇺 Veterans card.

 

OR

 

Any one of the secondary ones plus one of: current foreign licence or current (3 months) utility bill with name and address, Tax Office notice (12 months), current federal or state security licence.

 

Usefully there's quite a selection of non-photo items.

[Pas de Quatre]

5 hours ago, LinMM said:

So how are they accepted for passports then 🤔

Possibly because it is only part of the documentation? There is are legitimate reasons in genealogy to get copies of various peoples birth certificates, but it is also supposed to be a way false identities are created.

[alison]

I'd also like to dump in Room 101 my (now former) mobile broadband supplier, which totally omitted to notify me that it was going to be switching off 3G this month.  This was for my business PC: fortunately I'd sent off a couple of jobs slightly early before it happened, but I was unable to renew my subscription and spent over half an hour on the phone to tech support trying to work out what had gone wrong.  If someone had only said "Wait, are you still on 3G?" ...

[zxDaveM]

Much as I believe in the NHS, they can be frustrating at times! Just had a letter saying my appointment changed from the 3rd Jan, to the 27th Dec - which I cannot attend as I'm Nutcrackering. So I replied to the email address in the letter to ask for a change - and the auto-response says that the location I am due to attend is amongst the list of locations that can't be dealt with at this email address!!!

[zxDaveM]

 

an update - the 'wrong' location forwarded my mail to the right location, and new appointment sorted inside an hour. So hats off to the Moorfields' admin teams!

[MAB]

Oddly enough I had a Moorfields appointment change too, from May to June in my case.

[JohnS]

It’s trying to deal with emails from ‘no reply’ addresses that bugs me. If email is good enough for the sender, it seems arrogant in the extreme not to allow an email reply. And worse still where the reply option listed is a premium rate phone number.

[bridiem]

4 hours ago, JohnS said:

It’s trying to deal with emails from ‘no reply’ addresses that bugs me. If email is good enough for the sender, it seems arrogant in the extreme not to allow an email reply. And worse still where the reply option listed is a premium rate phone number.

 

Or where there's no indication that it IS a no-reply address, so you send a long email and it just bounces back... ☹️

[Jan McNulty]

Motorists who think traffic lights don't exist for them.

 

I was coming down the dual carriageway this morning towards a rather complex roundabout structure when a car came around the roundabout at speed and didn't even slow down, just shot through the lights on red.  They hadn't just changed to red as at least 4 cars had gone ahead of me.  I had to brake very hard and fortunately the car behind me also managed to stop.

[LinMM]

Glad you are okay Jan 

Such reckless driving could cause someone to lose their life. Very scary. 

[Fiz]

I’m so thankful that you are all right, dear Jan. May I add recurrent glandular fever or Epstein Barre infection to room 101. We’ve both been off colour this week and I’ve actually been in bed today whilst my husband was on Monday. 

[Jan McNulty]

45 minutes ago, Fiz said:

I’m so thankful that you are all right, dear Jan. May I add recurrent glandular fever or Epstein Barre infection to room 101. We’ve both been off colour this week and I’ve actually been in bed today whilst my husband was on Monday. 

So sorry you’ve both been unwell Fiz.

[Fiz]

Thank you. 

[Dawnstar]

Whatever idiot decided to leave a metal peg/stake sticking about 6-8 inches out of the ground on a public footpath, after it was dug up for power cable installation at the end of last year. Yes, I did catch my foot in it & fall full length onto a muddy path.