D4D

There's something I should tell you. I'm not left-handed either.

Archive for the month “June, 2012”

29 Jun 2012
3 Comments

Restoring

So, while the insurance bullshit rumbles on, I went to the local Apple store tonight and sorted a replacement phone. Apple sell replacement phones for ‘out of warranty’ replacements. (a much nicer terminology than “water-fucked phones”, to be fair)  Apparently they’re made from some reconditioned parts, but that means they cost £140 to replace, not £500.

The entire process has actually been really simple. I know I’m no Apple advocate, but sometimes they’re worthy of praise all the same – just not brainless adoration.

In this case, the actual transfer process took about fifteen minutes, start to finish. Restoring all the data is taking a long time, but it looks like I’ll have a complete restore, that I won’t have lost a single thing. And that is impressive, however you look at it.

All my contacts, all my email, even all my photos. (which were the thing I really expected to lose)  This is A Good Thing, for sure.

Posted by lyle in Customer Services, Domestic, Geeky, Technology
28 Jun 2012
6 Comments

Phone Insurance – Rejected

So, following on from yesterday’s post about the idiots at Homecare Insurance (part of CPP Insurance) it now turns out they’ve rejected my claim, because I “didn’t take reasonable precautions”.

Now, the phone is (supposedly) covered against accidental damage. But that apparently doesn’t include accidents. Of course, with insurance, the devil is in the details.

The actual circumstances of the phone’s demise are that I left it on the cistern of the toilet while I had a shower. While in the shower, I assume I received a call or a message and vibrated, because the poxy thing was in the toilet when I got out of the shower. And since then, it’s been knackered, for obvious reasons.

So apparently, I didn’t take enough care of the phone. Sure, I could have been in the bathroom, then left, put the phone somewhere else, and gone back in. I could have put the phone somewhere else in the bathroom – a windowsill, or whatever. But the fact is, I didn’t, I didn’t even think past “It’ll be fine on a flat surface”. Which it has been in the past. I didn’t think it’d fall in, because it was on a flat safe surface, not even close to the edge.

And this all means I didn’t (currently) take reasonable precautions. I freely admit to being an idiot, but the process wasn’t a careless or slapdash one – just a stupid one.

It’s being appealed, and the entire process is now also a full formal complaint.

But short story? If you’re insured with Homecare or CPP, don’t expect accidental damage to be covered, even when they say it is.

 

Posted by lyle in 1BEM, Charm School, Customer Services, Cynicism, Domestic, Insurance, Stupidity
27 Jun 2012
1 Comment

Missing the Point – Insurance

Just under two weeks ago, I buggered up my iPhone. Like an idiot, I’d laid it on the cistern of the loo while I had a shower. I assume it received a message while I was showering, vibrated, slid off the cistern, splosh.

Fortunately, the phone is/was insured, so a claim is being processed.Equally fortunately, the insurance is an added benefit to my bank account – and that’s fortunate, because if I was paying for this policy, I’d be a lot more annoyed than I currently am.

The company, Homecare insurance, are part of the CPPGroup and  are – frankly – a bunch of clowns.

When I first called, their systems were unavailable. So they said they’d call me back – except they can only call me back on my registered number. Which is, of course, my mobile. Which is knackered, hence why I’m calling them. But you can’t change the number, it’s only the registered one.  And when I asked to speak to a manager, they couldn’t be put through because the systems were down. (Why managers are unavailable when the system is down is something we’ll just ignore for now. I suspect it’d make my brain hurt)

So. They can send out a claim form, but you can’t email or fax it back – it’s got to be posted. And then it takes five days to process. Bearing in mind that everything in the policy says “covered against accidental damage, water damage etc.”, I don’t quite know how it takes five days to make that decision.

Anyway. I got an email from the cretins today.

“We have attempted to contact you by telephone to discuss the claim you have made on your phone insurance policy but were unsuccessful in contacting you.“

Yes, they’ve tried calling the mobile number – again – and can’t get through. Considering it’s the phone I’m claiming for, I wonder why they can’t get through?

Posted by lyle in 1BEM, Customer Services, Cynicism, Domestic, Insurance, Stupidity, Thoughts
26 Jun 2012

Getting Back in the Saddle

As things change chez Lyle, I’m trying to get back into the regular writing here. I’ve slacked off a lot here of late, and definitely fallen out of the habit of writing.

At the same time, in a lot of ways I haven’t felt I’ve got a lot to write about – there’s been a lot of stuff going on, but it’s not anything I’ve actually wanted to write about, so I haven’t.

So yeah, see how it all goes. I won’t guarantee daily posts or anything – but I’m going to keep on trying. Some (most) of it will be shite, but at least it’s written shite.

Overall there’s a lot I want to write about – not just here, but in other media as well – but first and foremost I need to get back into the habit of writing, and that’s always what was at the core of D4D. So I’m going to try and get back into it again, and we’ll see where things go from there.

 

Posted by lyle in D4D™, Domestic, Writing | Leave a Comment
25 Jun 2012
3 Comments

M1

Since moving, pretty much my entire commute now consists of the M1. It’s only two junctions-worth, thankfully, but all the same, it’s the M1.

The worst bit of this – for the next year, anyway – is that those two junctions I travel are in the process of having lots of work done on them, which leads to an ‘average speed limit’ of 50mph along the entire stretch.

Sadly, this “average 50mph” seems to remove driving skills in the massive majority of drivers. It means they sit in their lane, regardless of anything else going on around them. I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve seen sat in the outside lane, with two empty lanes beside them.

I don’t know what causes it. It just seems like their brains lock down into “50mph, and don’t change anything”.

Needless to say, it’s infuriating.

Posted by lyle in Commuting, Domestic, Driving, People, Stupidity, Work-related
24 Jun 2012

Current State

One question that came up this week, following on from a couple of posts here, was “Am I depressed?” (Well, technically “Are you depressed?”, but that makes less sense when written here)

It made me think a bit, but really the honest answer is “No, no more than usual”. I’m nowhere near as bad as I have been, that’s for sure – I don’t feel the need for going back on anti-depressants or anything. (Probably a good thing, as I’ve not moved GP yet – must make a note to do that this week)

I’m pretty functional – but then, I always have been, even on my worst days – although motivation is still pretty dog-shit.

What I am though, rather than depressed, is just so, so tired.

I’ll figure things out, I know. But I hope to find some energy first in order to get them figured out.

Posted by lyle in Depression, Domestic, Thoughts | Leave a Comment
23 Jun 2012
2 Comments

Reverse Parking

When visiting the local supermarket – I’m not going to specify, because this set of thoughts are location-independent, having seen the same thing at at least six places – I’m always bemused by a certain parking style.

No, this isn’t YPLAC (You Park Like A Cunt) – for once – but it’s something just as bizarre. And I’m going to phrase it as a question

If they’re going to a supermarket, and doing their weekly/monthly big shop, why the FUCK do these people reverse into parking spaces ? I always see at least one per visit where they’re then faced with real issues when it comes to putting that shopping into the boot of the car.

I just don’t understand the logic – or maybe the lack thereof – that goes into this. I do get that some people don’t like reversing out of a space, although I’ve no idea why. Personally, I think reversing in to a space is far more prone to being visited by the Fuck-Up Fairy, but there we go.  Still, personal choice, and all that shite.

But for loading shopping into a car, it seems like it just makes things so much harder when you’ve reversed into the space, rather than going in forwards, and leaving the boot of the car out in the open, so you can just lift’n'load.

People are, to be sure, weird.

Posted by lyle in 1BEM, Driving, Parking, People, Shopping, Thoughts

Post Navigation

← Older Entries