So, this year has for the most part been a good one, my mother’s continuing depression not withstanding. But, apparently I was feeling too good about it, because it’s opted to remind me of the worst bits just as I’m leaving. I know I’m tired, and this is the worst time to deal with money issues, and with BT. BT have *again* screwed up my leaving. So, let’s run through trying to depart from BT Broadband. Infact, to avoid me going through it in an angry hissy fit when I’m doing my year review, let’s do it all now:
– BT Got the start date wrong
– Supplied faulty equipment that they refused to replace, including a phone which they appear to know is faulty but appear to continue to supply.
– Promised they’d ring me, but didn’t.
– Eventually after many broken promises supplied equipment that worked badly, but adequately for me to ‘deal with it’
– On cancellation of the BT Broadband put a ‘Stop’ on the ADSL line making it impossible to transfer to another supplier without a long break in service despite giving me a MAC code.
– Promised they’d ring me back, because they’re system was down, but didn’t.
– ‘Fixed’ the ‘Stop’ by cancelling my BT Broadband cancellation and recancelling it as a ‘transfer’, supplying a new MAC code.
– Have now billed me because “you cancelled with less than one month warning”.
– Have now put me through to 3 separate departments, each of which goes ‘ah, not our problem’, and seem surprised that I’m becoming somewhat terse.
– Alledge that they have refunded the incorrectly billed amount. I have had, again, to appolgise for being somewhat terse (which isn’t something I enjoy), and on this occasion have remembered to take the person’s name, so that I can quote it if there are future problems.
Argh.
I don’t need this right now, not when I’ve got the bill through for Rebecca. It means that at new year I’m going to have to prod one of my close friends for paperwork so we can get back money owed to us. I know it’s not a big deal for her, but for me that money was meant to pay off a big chunk of my credit card and is now going to have to pay back a big chunk of my car’s work. I hate having to push about money, but it’s been a long old time, and I’m really stressed about my finances at this point. I’m just going to have to work all the hours I can; other people manage multiple long days a week, and it’s the only way I’m going to be able to afford to do anything – I’ll try and mainly make them days when Kathryn’s on a full day at work.
The sad thing is, this is an interim invoice. This is basically getting the structure (which I thought was what my father paid another company to repair) repaired to make her sound.
This is nearly 2,000 pounds of remedial work that I should not have had to get done, because it wasn’t done properly the first time around. Worse than that, they’ve spent over 50 hours on her, that’s a week and a half. I’m paid approximately 1/3rd, per hour, as they charge. So I have to work 3 and a half solid weeks to make that money back – and I still won’t have a driveable car. After that the engine needs around a further grand (hopefully less) of work to get it to the state I want it to be for Canada. I wanted turreted rear shock absorbers, because the standard (reconditioned) ones wear out so quickly; and I wanted it done by experts, but I don’t think I can afford it. And having seen how bodged the rear of my car was, I’m scared for what a mess they might have made of the front. She handles well, really well for a 40 year old car. But, if they’ve bodged the alignment of the front chassis legs?
And under all that waxoyl they sprayed around; there’s no paint. There’s probably nothing in the A posts that support the doors. Any concealed metal work I can’t assume they’ve painted, and I don’t know what to do with it. JLH’s only suggestions are way out of my budget, we’re talking into the thousands, just to rectify the damage that the other restoration place have done. How can they do that? I shall make a priority this coming year of getting some of this money back. I shall go and see solicitors; frankly, I want all the money back. Because that might be enough to strip and dip the car, and then repaint it, and if they do that then hopefully they won’t find too many other bodges lurking in the dark and we can save the metal that’s there before it rusts out completely (the depressing photoset is here).
One thing that saddens me, also, is I suspect that the EV concept will have to be ditched, because I’m going to almost certainly have to sell Brick to get the money to pay for Rebecca. I’m not concerned about selling Brick in the long run, but it was a fun concept and I was quite looking forward to it. I still think it’s the right concept, in general terms. Classic UK cars are light and big enough to contain the batteries to carry them. The classic EV would be a great and clean way to have a Zero Emissions at Vehicle, uh, vehicle and a classic. Most of these classics were powered by engines that, by modern standards, are insanely small. The Viva weighs in at just over 3/4 ton, and yet is dragged around by an engine that produces maybe 50bhp. Simple bodies that are easily repariable give you the potential for a long life vehicle. Retrim the interior, rebuild the suspension and you’ve got yourself a new car… more or less… for far less resources than building a new car’d take.
But I don’t have the money for that spare. I don’t have money spare. I guess 2008 is expecting me to put up a fight, and although right now I don’t feel much able to do that; I reckon that with a little love and support I’ll survive. Anyhow, I really ought to go shower, I’m on a ridiculously horrible shift today, so I’m gonna be kicking round the house a while longer.
As another side point, the Men In Trees kick has filled up my harddisk. This is not good. I need to get that Mac up and running for the purposes of making space on the music pc to check out Gentoo.
