Contrary to what you may read elsewhere on the Internet, these jokers are indeed calling with Sky TV’s collusion and permission but not mine: they’re trying to sell you a £100 a year warranty for your TV and Sky box. See http://www.skyprotect.com for proof:

“Sky Protect HD is the only extended warranty scheme for Sky HD boxes that is approved and operated under the Sky brand name. Sky Protect HD is provided by Domestic & General Services Ltd.

Independent companies can legitimately offer extended warranties on digital satellite equipment, but these companies and their products are not connected to Sky or in any way endorsed by Sky. It is illegal for companies other than Domestic & General Services Ltd to state or imply that they are approved by Sky to sell extended warranty products.”

What happens is that Sky give your details to Domestic & General who then call you every single day trying to sell you this warranty, whether or not you are registered with the TPS not to receive such calls and whether or not Sky have obtained your permission to give/sell your details to them.

I rang Sky to complain – at 5p a minute too – and when I was finally put through to a Customer Complaints droid, she started looking up my details and then cut me off. And despite having my details to had, she’s not tried telephoning me back.

Appalling lack of customer service.

1. Are not due for renewal anyway; and
2. Were transferred away to a different host ages ago – see this link for proof.

Maybe it’s time to get trading standards involved? I had to threaten to report them to the police for fraud before they’d credit me last time they tried this.

“service unavailable
sorry…

This service is temporarily unavailable. Your last action cannot be completed and details have not been recorded.

If you have not received confirmation of a successful transaction then your application has been cancelled.

Please click the button below to return to the DVLA Personalised Registrations home page.”

And that’s how it remains at present: you can search and view the public site but try and log in…

So I went online, filled out the application details, sent them proof of address, etc. and then waited. Yesterday, I received a letter saying that due to my credit score from Experian, Citibank wouldn’t let me open the account.

It’s a current account with no credit card and no overdraft facility. No credit or borrowing required. So why should a credit score affect this? What a wunch of bankers!

Oh dear!

http://www.valshawcross.com/index.php?id=78&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=475&tx_ttnews[backPid]=8&cHash=e505d2fd4e

http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/4221

It’s not looking good, is it?

Yes, that’s been left disconnected…

That’s after they’ve played you “Alone” by Heart – oh the irony – when they put you immediately on hold!

“Till now I always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
How do I get you alone
How do I get you alone”

Well after more than two weeks without heating or hot water, we know what’s it like to be alone and chilled to the bone.

They’ve sent out one guy twice who had no idea what was wrong with the boiler and left it limping and leaking. It died later that night. He came back – after locking himself in another customer’s house – and said it needed a particular part. The guy who came out to fit that said it didn’t and that these other parts needed to be fitted. He had to order them from KIMS’ suppliers and they take three working days to deliver off the shelf parts.

So we still don’t have heating and hot water. Useless twats!

I wanted to close an account, so I rang their phone number as printed on the statement. I had to wait whilst the automated service threw a wobbly as I didn’t enter a card number – I have no card with them – before I sat in a queue for 21 minutes. The dial tone then changed … and the fuckwit telebanker cut me off!

Useless wankers.

After another 22 minute wait, I finally got through to an operator who couldn’t help me anyway!

What you get for at least $500 – so £500 in the UK, then – will be a glorified ebook reader with the ability to look at photos or browse the web and send e-mail … provided you’re at a WiFi hotspot because it doesn’t ship to start with with any 3G connectivity (and won’t at that price either).

What’s worse is that, like an ebook reader, it’s not exactly pocket sized either.

Now if you’re in the market for an ebook reader that’s twice the price and that brings the option of web browsing where there’s a WiFi hotspot – and with no USB ports a 3G dongle is not an option – then you might want to consider it. For me, I’ll make do with a 3G phone for portability and the ability to look at photos, play music or films, and send e-mail and browse the Internet, or I’ll use a cheap netbook like the one I already have that does a similar job for half the price.

Thanks, but no thanks, Apple.

And guess what? Yes, they rang me at 9.20pm and cancelled tonight’s delivery leaving me without food and milk due to a problem with the van. Great! Tesco cannot afford more than a man with a van that’s a bit rickety, apparently.

The customer services operator was surly at best but after prompting from me, he promised me another £10 voucher against my next online shop and in the meantime rescheduled the delivery for Wednesday night.

We’ll see if they can be arsed this time!

It doesn’t really matter though because after I’ve used that voucher, I’ll be switching to Sainsbury’s…