Sunday 6 March 2016

More call centre woes and a good old burn up

This weekend we managed to get a few things done in the garden finally. We have been making piles of vegetation from the various jobs around the garden all year. Remember the incident with BT and their 'we couldn't possibly climb our pole to fix your phone line' fiasco? Well we've had a 6 foot high pile of Ivy made by the very helpful Western power distribution men hanging around. It finally got burnt, yay! Some yew that was overhanging the cabin and some leylandii cuttings went on the pile. We also burnt a whole host of wood pulled from the house in the last few months renovations. We even found the old gate that we replaced well over a year ago now and put aside for God knows what. As the burn up was so close to the cabin we very carefully kept the bonfire small but burnt things over the course of a few hours.



We also finally got some seeds planted, a bit later than normal but satisfying none the less. I have tried to be more choosy and not plant too much this year in deference to the busy schedule we have planned.

We had a guy come to quote for the damage to our front wall as the insurance company wants a number of quotes. Well neither of us took to him so we're hoping to get the builder for our extension to quote for it.

Talking about the extension, we're in the middle of getting quotes for the work. We had a builder all set that has been friends with James for many years. Unfortunately after months of asking for an official quote and repeated promises of bringing one round I decided enough was enough. He's had some sickness in the family so I think it's just too much for him at the moment and I can't help but think it's just too hard for him to say he can't do it anymore. So we're hoping it won't bring an end to a long friendship. We've asked for recommendations from friends and have had a number of people round for a quote. We've had one back and we're waiting for a few more to see what the going rate is. We had a good feeling about a few of the people so if they're not overpriced we'll choose 'the one' from amongst them. I am hoping for one guy in particular and if he's the one then I'll get him to quote for the front wall too. Someone may be recommended but if you don't like them you don't want to give them your hard earned cash. It's a balance between money and personality.

The washing machine I had last week to replace the old one gave up after 10 years faithful service is no bloody good. I rang AO.com who will only pass you to the manufacturer. It doesn't matter what the consumer rights websites say that your contract is with the retailer and not the manufacturer, you simply cannot speak to someone at AO. They said if Zanussi come and say it's broken they will replace it, otherwise tough shit (my words not theirs!). It's another fight to add to the ever growing list, one day you'll see me on the news having lost my cool (you may chuckle once again at the thought of me on the phone going tonto).

6 comments:

  1. You have not lived until you have dealt with a contractor to build an extension. They will tell you anything to expedite the work even if it means saying something you want is no longer available. I wound up sub contracting the mason, roofer and had to haul the contractor to a lawyer after he just up and left the job for a period of 4 months because he had another job. Good luck to you and don't give them too much money up front and get a late clause in the contract, too. Best way to ruin a friendship is to have a friend work for you.

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  2. I dont envy you over the building work, been there at our previous house and still recovering from it mentally, so I am in no rush to have building work started here, I feel for you over the call center woes look forward to seeing you on the news :-)

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  3. hon - i always say that if it weren't for bad luck, i wouldn't have any luck - but you take the cake when it comes to luck - bahahahah! so sorry for all of this "bollocks" (is that the right word?) that you have been going through. keep your chin up and your poor ear stuck to the phone and do whatever it takes to accomplish all of this!

    sending much love to help with all of your frustration! your friend,
    kymber

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  4. We were lucky in that the right builder seemed to arrive on our doorstep at the right time when we were renovating the house, and we were very pleased with all the work that was done. Hope your washing machine is sorted out easier that your sofa has been!

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  5. nothing better than getting rid of garden mess that can harbour vermin. We also have problems with people and quotes.

    I am afraid to get a new big fridge when we do the kitchen. So many people i know say that new white goods last a lot less time,although yours takes the biscuit. Take to twitter I say they soon respond. I will never buy big items from argos again. We have a 18 year old fridge I am scared its going to stop working...

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  6. I sometimes find that the actual planting of seeds makes me feel more accomplished than almost anything else. It's just like "Yes, I finally did it! Now the (literal) fruits of my labor will sprout for the world to see!" LOL. This seems like the season of broken washing machines. It's so weird, a lot of people I know have been mentioning their washing machines giving out!

    Joey @ Amerika Link

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