The Nice People No. 17

GDB2222

Pyxis said:

GDB2222 said:

Oh, and for safety reasons, I had my sunscreen confiscated. 

Was it more than 100ml?

Yes. It was 200mls of Boots own brand SPF 50+. I bought the same again in Boots Duty Free for £5.

GDB2222

Amazon have just refunded me for 5 pairs of curtains, even though they only collected 3 pairs. I’m worried about their apparent inability to count to 5. Or 3 maybe.

 Will that have an adverse effect on Mrs Bezos's divorce settlement?  

And we now have two pairs of curtains we don’t need. Amazon have no means of picking them up.

Pyxis

GDB2222 said:

Amazon have just refunded me for 5 pairs of curtains, even though they only collected 3 pairs. I’m worried about their apparent inability to count to 5. Or 3 maybe.

 Will that have an adverse effect on Mrs Bezos's divorce settlement?  

And we now have two pairs of curtains we don’t need. Amazon have no means of picking them up.

I’ve been trying to work that out.
Did you order 5 pairs?
Or did you order three pairs and they sent you five pairs? No, that can’t be right, because then they’d only have refunded you for three pairs.

So why did they only pick up three pairs?

confoosed.com

silvercar

GDB2222 said:

I was up at 5.30am yesterday, then continually on the move until we arrived 13 hours later at our hotel by the med. It's a 5 hour flight, so that’s 8 hours doing other stuff. For example, it’s out of season and the flights are half empty, yet passport control still takes 30 minutes to get through. EasyJet still parks on the far side of the airport, 15 minutes bus ride from the terminal.

Forget about supersonic planes. The real time saving to be had is the easy, low tech stuff of speeding up what happens on the ground. 

That's why business travellers love London City Airport, smaller and speedier.
Early starts do mean that you have some of the day at your destination, which is hopefully a plus.

PasturesNew

It's one of those "hearts -v- heads" choices. 

Plan B was: If you can't find something where you want to be, look for "a nice one".... and something's come up that's fine, but well priced.  It's "nowhere" in that the area doesn't have a distinct identity and it's 4 miles inland.  It's well placed for access to shops/transport etc (most things being 1-4 miles away).  There's a chippy 100 yards away, a Toby 1 mile away and a big Tesco store 1 mile away ... also 1 mile are the usual parades of shops, chinese, indians, papershops, etc.  1.5 miles away is the big retail area inc Dunelm, The Range, Matalan, Lidl.  3 miles away is the area's largest out of town retail park.

It was bought in January 2018 and was OAP dated decor.  The layout was "wrong" for me (lounge at the front, kitchen at the back).  It's now: got the kitchen and lounge at the back, with a breakfast bar; white kitchen units. It has a full width conservatory.  Bed1 has a small en-suite (VERY small). It has been rewired, replastered, new flooring laid throughout.  New internal doors.  Front garden's been dug out/made better for parking.  Ceilings have all been replastered so all flat.  It's modern, it's decorated. Living room is wood effect flooring, bedrooms have new carpets.  Bed 2 has a new built in, mirrored, wardrobe.  New windows throughout. 

The conservatory was not new, that was pre-existing. It might need a little attention.  It's not elaborate or of "extension quality" build, looks like a typical wooden upright frame, infilled with DG units/sliding patio doors and a polycarbonate roof.

In short... he's done the lot.  And it's now on at £279,950.  The calculators that advise price movements in the area suggest that it'd be worth £257k two years after its last sale.  

I think £30k, or £20k if you discount the rise in the market, for the work done is a "bargain".  Probably did it all expecting to stay there, -v- a flipper (who'd have splashed paint over it as it was and wanted £50k more). 

In short: I think that's cheap as chips ... for the cost/work that's gone into it.  It's kind of where I'd like a place to be. 

Cons: Not where I'd have chosen it to be.  Living room's a little small (11'11"x9'10") but open plan/breakfast bar and with the conservatory coming off it that's not critical (there is only me isn't there).... and at Xmas the tree can go in the conservatory and observed from inside.  There's no garage and no room to get a car up the side (I don't think), unless they start making cars narrower and I buy the narrowest. 

There's nothing actually "wrong" with it.  By comparison, price-wise its competition would be the bungalow behind the council estate that's got the door in Bed2 and undefendable parking and probably no scope for putting a conservatory on due to the trees with TPO on and special requirements for foundations were laid out... 

In short: For quality/finish/ready to move in and live .... it's the best there is right now. 

Doesn't look anything special, but I think I'd be mad not to really consider it.  
Bungalow, 2 beds, detached, fully modernised, £279,950, s-facing garden, 21'x8'6" conservatory.

Biggest compromise over wished-for-lifestyle: Can't stroll/walk to any beach from there whatsoever as it's 4 miles away.

SingleSue

I like that one....

I live 4 miles from the sea front, it is close enough to get to really easily but far enough away not to get the holiday makers searching around for parking. With public transport or even just walking (something I used to do quite frequently before my body quit), it was absolutely fine.

My parents live just off the sea front, in the summer they can't move their car, people will park over their drive way, throw their rubbish in the gardens on the way back to their cars etc...it's not all it is cracked up to be.

PasturesNew

SingleSue said:

..

4 miles when it's up/down and hilly and through some grot spots isn't that great   
The tourists in many parts round here aren't like those you describe.  While the main/popular beaches would have those issues, there's a 7 mile strip of sand, so if you're, say, 3 miles along and 1 mile inland, you can be at an almost deserted spot by walking 1 mile through a green and pleasant area. 

As for walking... when the roads are at a standstill ... it'd be nice to know I could simply load up my trolley and walk to the beach, avoiding roads and traffic - and, parking here is a nightmare... £7-10/day too, if you get a spot.  No freebies to be had anywhere. 

I want the moon on a stick.  

When none are "just what I wanted" it can be hard to choose and decide.  

That one 4 miles in is "about the right price for that area" .... there are two other local comparables, so spent some time mulling the differences.... 

Still not sure. I'll sit on it.  If you rush at it they'll expect full price    If you're not sure it's best to wait a bit, so they get the idea that there won't be a mad rush. 

Price-wise down here, one's competing with London money as everybody and his dog appears to have originated from London, with many of them still working there.  They've deeep pockets.

GDB2222

Pyxis said:

GDB2222 said:

Amazon have just refunded me for 5 pairs of curtains, even though they only collected 3 pairs. I’m worried about their apparent inability to count to 5. Or 3 maybe.

 Will that have an adverse effect on Mrs Bezos's divorce settlement?  

And we now have two pairs of curtains we don’t need. Amazon have no means of picking them up.

I’ve been trying to work that out.
Did you order 5 pairs?
Or did you order three pairs and they sent you five pairs? No, that can’t be right, because then they’d only have refunded you for three pairs.

So why did they only pick up three pairs?

confoosed.com

I ordered 5 pairs. They came in three packages. I rejected the lot, and Amazon arranged to pick them all up. The courier refused to take one package, because Amazon had assigned it the same carriage  number as one of the others. So, the courier took two packages containing three curtains. Amazon have nevertheless acknowledged receipt of five and credited me with five.  I still have two curtains.

I cannot imagine any simple way to explain this to someone in a call centre on the other side of the world! Can you? Even if I could, and Amazon collected the other two, how would their system cope with apparently receiving two more curtains than they dispatched?

ukmaggie45

So, the courier took two packages containing three curtains. Amazon have nevertheless acknowledged receipt of five and credited me with five

Seeing as you can't get Amazon to sort it out, and you don't want the curtains, I suggest donating them to a local charity shop might be the way to go?

Pyxis

GDB2222 said:

Pyxis said:

GDB2222 said:

Amazon have just refunded me for 5 pairs of curtains, even though they only collected 3 pairs. I’m worried about their apparent inability to count to 5. Or 3 maybe.

 Will that have an adverse effect on Mrs Bezos's divorce settlement?  

And we now have two pairs of curtains we don’t need. Amazon have no means of picking them up.

I’ve been trying to work that out.
Did you order 5 pairs?
Or did you order three pairs and they sent you five pairs? No, that can’t be right, because then they’d only have refunded you for three pairs.

So why did they only pick up three pairs?

confoosed.com

I ordered 5 pairs. They came in three packages. I rejected the lot, and Amazon arranged to pick them all up. The courier refused to take one package, because Amazon had assigned it the same carriage  number as one of the others. So, the courier took two packages containing three curtains. Amazon have nevertheless acknowledged receipt of five and credited me with five.  I still have two curtains.

I cannot imagine any simple way to explain this to someone in a call centre on the other side of the world! Can you? Even if I could, and Amazon collected the other two, how would their system cope with apparently receiving two more curtains than they dispatched?

The way you’ve just explained it was perfect! And simple!

Instead of phoning, could you send an email?