or, perhaps the death of the paper letter entirely.
It is ironic that in an age when almost everyone has a printer, and Microsoft Word, the paper letter is in decline.
Archive for the 'ambrand' Category
Before buying a second hand car the wise man should investigate it’s history…
In the private sector if you find yourself dealing with an incompetent company you can vote with your feet and take your business elsewhere. Often times it hard like in web hosting where you will have to migrate databases but it can be done.
However what if the incompetent company has a monopoly? Who can you move to? No one. Will you even complain to the company and let them know about thier poor practices? Probably not, because you might enjoy even worse service then.
Fortunately there are few private sector monopolies. One that comes to mind is the NCT. A couple of months ago we wrote how the NCT doesn’t send reminder letters anymor, sure why should it? It is private sector company enjoying a Government contract, why would it waste money on postage when it knows that car drivers have to use its services.It is the only show in town, it would be illegal not to use its services!
Indeed, the Government may me infomally happy that it no longer sends reminder letters, because it can pile on penalty points and enjoy some income. Insurance companies must also be smiling on the lack of reminders, as those penalty points allow them to extract higher premimus from drivers, who again must havecar insurance, it would be illegal not to have insurance.
Moving up the ladder the Revenue Commissioners are my favourite example. You have to pay tax, it would be illegal not to. Why should they provide information, indeed they will often say informally “ask an accountant” but who will pay his EUR 60 per hour fee? moi?
Josef Locke
John McCormack
Jussi Bjorling
Beniamino Gigli
Government must deal with the reality of repossession
Published January 20th, 2010 in ambrand. 0 CommentsTHE Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Cork Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen has called on the Government to urgently address the growing risk of home repossessions occurring across the country.
Figures published by credit rating agency Moody’s show that the 6,400 mortgage holders did not make any repayments in 2009. Deputy Allen warned that when repayment moratoriums begin to expire there is likely to be a dramatic rise in the number of repossessions being sought by lenders.
Deputy Allen said, “The threat of repossession is not just an economic one. Every home repossessed represents a story of heartbreak for the family involved affecting everyone. It places people under incredible stress and can contribute to family breakdown.
“Given the billions that are being pumped into the very institutions who created this disaster in the first place I believe there is a moral duty on the Government to do all they can to help ordinary people who find themselves in trouble as well.
“It is now time for the Government to give serious consideration to the Homeowner Support Scheme put forward by Fine Gael to help those in dire need and protect the thousands of Irish families facing repossession of the family home.
“The clock is ticking now for thousands of Irish families and it is time for the Government to step up to the plate and help,” he concluded.
Sark Island (pop. 600), Bailiwick of Guernsey, Channel Islands is a Crown Dependency in the southwestern English Channel. It has a population of about 600. Sark’s main industries are tourism, crafts and finance. Sark has an area of two square miles (5.45 km²) and was the last European territory to abolish what some called classic feudalism, in 2008.
Owners of the island’s 40 tenements had an automatic seat in the Chief Pleas, and islanders chose 12 people’s deputies.
Sark’s government can directly trace its roots back to Queen Elizabeth I, who once granted the ruling “Seigner” a fief on the tiny Channel Island.
The unelected descendents of 40 families brought in to colonise Sark, after the French abandoned it in 1553, had governed life on the island ever since. But its feudal system of government started coming under pressure in 2000 in the light of human rights laws. Two proposals for reform were rejected in 2005 and 2007
Seneshal Lt Col Reg Guille, who acts as a presiding officer of the Chief Pleas, said the original settlers of the island would be “horrified” at the change. A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “Sark is seeking to reform its feudal constitution in order to make it comply with the European Convention on Human Rights and other international obligations. The UK is responsible for ensuring that Sark’s constitution meets those requirements and the UK is vulnerable to challenge if it does not.”
The man with the silky smooth voice
pool.com locked me out
Published December 31st, 2008 in custhelp, problem, sucks and ambrand. 0 CommentsFor some months now I’ve been locked out of my pool.com account. When I try to login it says my username/password combination is incorrect.
Firstly why can’t it be specific as to which is incorrect? Is it the username or the password. Well it turns out that both are correct. If I use the “Forgot Password” route I am emailled my password, which is correct.
But yet the system won’t let me in. The drones on technical support are of no assistance. As we all have experienced when dealing with large companies (anything above 20 persons in my book) a different person signs off each email, and despite there being a subject tracking number they never seem to read back one page. Thus the customer remains the expert on an issue and the customer service drone is a chair warmer.He or she only has the power and inclination tosuggest I do something I’ve already done i.e. use the “Forgot Password” route.
I assume pool.com eats its own dog food, and thus I must conclude the reason for the lockout is I have bagged a good domain and someone in pool.com wants it. They have ensured I cannot login so that I cannot update my credit card information. Once a certain period has elapsed the domain will revert into the hands of pool.com itself as I will be a non paying customer. At that point perhaps my account will be unlocked?
Suggestion: If you use pool.com then input your credit card that has the longest expiry date.
Noel Coward had perfect diction, but just like Brian Sewell when one speaks too perfectly and happens to be male one sounds a bit Brian Sewell.
no, on with the music.
Chris Ewbank is the “Lord of the Manor of Brighton”, although this is a purchased Title, rather than a Royal appointment. He has used the ancient right of this position to appoint a Town crier.
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