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What really grinds your gears?

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3M Jan 2023 10:55am, 10 Jan 2023 20,115 posts	Quote Pin 3M [Sorry, GordonG, I have to disagree on that one. Full disclosure: I do work for an Insurance company. In IT, though.... The Insurer is obliged to tell you a policy is coming to an end and give you the right to cancel or change it. (Part of the "Treating Customers Fairly" FCA regulations.) But the default is usually set to auto renewal to ensure that insurance doesn't lapse without your realising - there have been cases in the past where people have ended up un-insured without realising it, and for motor at least, subject to legal penalties as a result - and then complained that they assumed the Insurance company would have told them they weren't insured any more! Equally, cases where people have been caught out and found they're not covered for home/contents, and travel, and liability - which has cost them a lot personally. Usually they feel aggrieved with the insurance company..... And finally - from Jan 2022 it's been illegal to charge more for renewal than it would have been to buy the policy as a new customer of the same company. fca.org.uk . You may be able to buy it cheaper elsewhere, as your existig insurer must remind you, and you always have the right to change or cancel, (https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/transparency-insurance-renewals ) but the onus (in law) is on the individual to ensure they have appropriate cover. Unrant over!]
Raemond Jan 2023 11:39am, 10 Jan 2023 9,976 posts	Quote Pin Raemond People being late for appointments. Particularly people who charge huge amounts for their time. My time also has value, and you know they're never going to offer you a discount to reflect the amount of your own time they've wasted.
Eynsham Red Jan 2023 11:54am, 10 Jan 2023 9,415 posts	Quote Pin Eynsham Red Companies that have an online enquiry form but then fail to respond to the enquiry.
Hills of Death (HOD) Jan 2023 4:03pm, 10 Jan 2023 36,558 posts	Quote Pin Hills of Death (HOD) People giving advice (wrong advice) when they ain’t qualified to do so
Ocelot Spleens Jan 2023 6:01pm, 10 Jan 2023 36,060 posts	Quote Pin Ocelot Spleens Surely giving the wrong advice when you are qualified is worse?
GordonG Jan 2023 6:20pm, 10 Jan 2023 9,567 posts	Quote Pin GordonG 3M, that's all valid points, but why can't the company send a reminder the following year anyway, without having forced an auto-renew in the first place? My issue isn't really about auto-renew per se, but the way companies use it and the fact it's usually set to 'on'. It's a bit like the opt out of "mailing that will be of interest to you" option - i see no reason why that couldn't/shouldn't always be an opt-in-only option, but I still find plenty of sites that make me opt out if i don't want mailing. My auto-renew issue is exacerbated by the fact that with my car insurance this week and house insurance last week, having purchased both online I then had to separately email both companies to tell them I wanted to opt out of auto-renewing. Why should I have to take those extra steps? When I purchase insurance online, why can't the last thing be for the company to have a page saying "we won't auto-renew unless you tick this box telling us you want us to"? My objection is that it's always set as opt out, never (in my experience) as opt in. From an IT point of view there's no reason why I can't tick a box to auto-renew (or not). These companies have taken an active decision to make it more difficult because they know many people won't be bothered to email them and they hope they will be equally not bothered to look around at renewal. i can't see this as anything other than insurance companies making it more hassle for me to opt out, with their own interests at heart.
GordonG Jan 2023 6:21pm, 10 Jan 2023 9,568 posts	Quote Pin GordonG [and thanks for taking the time to put your point across ]
Eynsham Red Jan 2023 12:45pm, 11 Jan 2023 9,417 posts	Quote Pin Eynsham Red I want to by some aerosol paint from a large DIY retailer. There are a lot of filters in their search categories, including texture, finish, finish group, coverage, price and rating. BUT, is there a filter for colour? 🤷‍♂️
macca 53 Jan 2023 4:47pm, 11 Jan 2023 30,889 posts	Quote Pin macca 53 [you may find there are still 20 or 30 shades of “blue” if you are looking for a car touch up]
Fields Jan 2023 6:41pm, 11 Jan 2023 8,163 posts	Quote Pin Fields Coming into the office to babysit new starters who then go and work in a different office