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[roycv]

Hi all I have been in battle with the above for 3 days now.  The latest was from my energy provider a few hours ago, telling me 'Great News you are on our best fixed tariff.'

 Scrolling down it says my new bill will go up £2000 yes, 2 thousand pounds this coming year. 

Apparently I accumulated some debt over this last part of winter about £387 in all.  It extrapolated on this figure.  I have just spent an hour talking to a real person on MSN and sorted it out.  Just a single payment then back to the old monthly amount. 

It is the tweenies who write these programmes not used to a life in the real world.  I am enbattled with Australia as well but that is in another thread.
I had to contact my travel insurance company and after several conversations the wait to the final transfer was 45 minutes and then a not very helpful person whereas all the rest had been very good.
I note that many companies really do not want to speak to you, yet their FAQs and menus can leave you in despair!
regards
Roy

[roycv]

Hi again as a further advice to travellers who need a PCR test.  Make sure that you can use a home test kit as some countries do not accept a home test now.
I find out the really hard way!!!
Regards
Roy

[justboatonic]

Hi all I have been in battle with the above for 3 days now.  The latest was from my energy provider a few hours ago, telling me 'Great News you are on our best fixed tariff.'

 Scrolling down it says my new bill will go up £2000 yes, 2 thousand pounds this coming year. 

Apparently I accumulated some debt over this last part of winter about £387 in all.  It extrapolated on this figure.  I have just spent an hour talking to a real person on MSN and sorted it out.  Just a single payment then back to the old monthly amount. 

It is the tweenies who write these programmes not used to a life in the real world.  I am enbattled with Australia as well but that is in another thread.
I had to contact my travel insurance company and after several conversations the wait to the final transfer was 45 minutes and then a not very helpful person whereas all the rest had been very good.
I note that many companies really do not want to speak to you, yet their FAQs and menus can leave you in despair!
regards
Roy

As someone who worked in IT, I can assure you it isnt the developers, programmers etc who determine company policy on handling your debt and determining future minimum payment.
That is determined by whatever company you are dealing with, who, will state in a Requirements catalogue how such User stories should be handled. The system will then be built to automate that process with manual intervention an option in cases like you describe.
Ive had this with United Utilities. They keep telling me to pay by direct debit. The only problem is they want to take a full year's advance consumption on top of my current consumption into the calculation. This effectively doubles any monthly DD compared to what I would pay if they divided my current annual cost by 12.
I politely declined their invitation.

[grendel]

my energy company decides its fine to send me a letter saying I am behind on my payments, usually 2 days before a payment is due. I avoid the issues with direct debits, and the companies allowing you to get into debt, then reviewing the payments that suddenly mean they would recoup the debt in 2 months then not review again for another 10 months, leaving you paying way more than necessary into your account (where they then get the interest accrued on that money) as I said, I avoid direct debits by paying via standing order, each payment is set just under what I expect to use, so when the next bill comes I owe them maybe £30 which I will pay, as i said though they send the bill in 2 days before the payment, demanding £250 payment, when £220 is going in anyway in 2 days. they are sneaky, and want every customer to be in credit, so they can get the interest from their bank on that credit (1 million customers, each £10 in credit - imagine the interest earned through the year on that, its not insignificant, and to my mind is an absolute rip off to their customers.)

[roycv]

Hi I think one of the biggest swindles going at the moment is large companies settling bills in 90 days.  Thus borrowing from the small trader. 

I took my own company to task over this.  I had been involved in making a specialised item, which you may have seen.  It was the transperant till cover over the drawer as it opens in M & S stores, some years ago now.  It was an anti theft device for the time.

He was a small trader in perspex at a bad trading time, this order was a life saver.  I spoke to our accounts dept and said do you want to phone M&S (paid to them in 30 days) or shall I, and explain that you have taken M&S money but not paid for the product from the supplier as he needs the money to get through the next couple of months.  He may be out of business for future orders.
As an aside he used to make all the perspex F1 racing car screens and then they changed the way the cars looked and the screens got very small.

They paid after 30 days.  M&S were very good payers as they liked their suppliers to stay in business.  Our supplier then was able to fulfil future orders needed in the M&S stores in UK.
The till podia suppliers just copied my design without even a thank you. thats life!

regards
Roy

[derekwarner]

Credit Card Providers ...don't ya just love em

My Amex account...established in October 2001

Monthly payment by the due Date = the 25th day of the Month

For 20+ years I electronically paid [transferred] the full balance on the 25th of the Month by B-Pay
I have not missed a payment, so have paid ZERO interest

On 25.12.2021 [Christmas day] I repeat this action and B-Pay my November Balance
My December Statement arrives on January the 6th, complete with a $20.00 late payment charge

I check my electronic payment date of the 25th OK

I check my Credit Union Account which confirms the outgoing payment to AMEX on the 25th
So  I telephone the wonderful     helpful AMEX Helpline.......who respond .......

The 25th was a Saturday...not a working day
My $ was not received into their accounting system until the 27th.....
Hence the Late Payment fee 

I explain that my payment left my Financial Institution on the 25th, so where did the $ go until the 27th?
I also explain that since the year 2001, there were 36 Months where my payment on the 25th coincided with being a Saturday, and this was the first time a late payment has been applied

Kind young woman placed me on hold for a few moments & then confirmed the $20.00 will be refunded to my Account, but requested in future, I pay my closing balance "by the due Date"

Derek

[RST]

How long a list do you want for me:
My mothers electricity used to be with Scottish Power but the way the split their bills now it it is almost impossible to work out usge.
I am on Scottish Hydro and they went th same way -absolutely no clear way to work out my energy bill these days compared to how it used to be.
Between two of us we were probably worth 1k of correction.

....what can I say that's PC correct when you spend 3 hrs just correcting a bill then the other person sitting in the Phillipines sayes theres been an errror made in the first place and someone will call you back.  When you refuse that they need all the same evidence you povided again, then another set of readings you just gace them 2h'rs ago because you've been waiting on the phone that long!
...It's a joke with energy providers wer'e stuck with.  My own provder "Scottish Hydro" took many attempts to give me back 350 quid fr the ast quarter and re-set my drect debit.
The "law" is they don't have to give you back any money you are in credit unless you can justify it's excesive.  They are not allowed to collect interest on cutsomer credits though I doubt they don't profit somewhere.  Their aim (to be fair) and wht I have always done it to maintain one months biling period in credit which is not unreasonable.

On the other hand I rented a car with Europcar last month.  They issued me with an invoice in the end to a different company and after 6+ weeks complaining, they mintain they will NOT change the invoice becuse it's impossible to remove the other company.  So, I'm left with nothing for tax reporting.  Apart from that that the vat breakdown is wrong anyway.
...Because I live in Scotland I cannot take this to Trading Standards.  I must go an intermediate proces which previously has proved a complete and utter waste of time before anythig comes out at the end of it.
...................I believe what we have now is called "progress".  Peesonally for any issue I have now with aything, if there is any option to "leave", I find I get through to anyone 10x quicker in the queue.

[roycv]

Hi I know the complaining process is a waste of time I went to Resolver because a Hermes deliverer threw a model boat in a package over a 6 foot fence as a way of delivering it.  Got absolutely no where.
Regards
Roy

[Taranis]

Lets not talk about EON 

[Colin Bishop]

On the other hand I rented a car with Europcar last month.

Europcar have a dreadful reputation.

Colin

[Circlip]

BREL used to be 120 days to sub contractors.


  Regards  Ian.

[jaymac]

Apparently I accumulated some debt over this last part of winter about £387 in all.  It extrapolated on this figure.  I have just spent an hour talking to a real person on MSN and sorted it out.  Just a single payment then back to the old monthly amount. 

Shame on you Roy killing the planet at least I was only
£341 short

[Netleyned]

Shame on you Roy killing the planet at least I was only
£341 short

.


Too much use of the Dremel methinks