He got there ...

... this week - to the Day Centre. They remembered to pick him up but I think he was more disappointed than I realised about missing the 'pub crawl' last week. He says that this week wasn't as good, although he did nothing different from his taster week and he still had plenty to tell me. Main problem seemed to be that everybody chatted together and I think he felt a little left out of that. Told him that once he's been a few times he will start to get to know people and he'll be joining in. We've got to get him going a good few times I think and then he'll be OK.

Carers are noting that he seems really happy now. They haven't noted that in his care records before and Dad tells me that it's feeling more like home so it looks as though the corner's been turned and he is, finally, really settling in. I'm taking him out on a little trip tomorrow ... to the chiropodist! It will be a little trip for him as it's a longer journey from where he is now and it's all along the coast road so he'll have plenty to look at on the way there and back. He hasn't been since he moved for one reason or another and he needs to get back on track with that treatment.

Oh yes ... to any TV Licensing people out there! A month before Dad moved I went round the Utilities notifying the up and coming change of address, including changing address on his TV License - or so I thought, until today. I'd had to ring them 3 times back in April because we were given one postcode by the flat's Estate Manager, then another, then back to the original and I had to keep changing it with them. Every time the woman I spoke to repeated the full address back to me and, if not repeated correctly I gave it again until it was. I had verbal confirmation that the address had been changed and everything was fine. Today Dad had a letter from them - or technically 'The current occupier' - advising that the address was showing as unlicensed. Hmmmm, not according to my records it wasn't!

Rang them when I got home and it was confirmed that there was no license registered to his address and they wouldn't take another change of address from me without his authority. Their mistake but they weren't prepared to correct it! Decided, because I couldn't get any sense out of them that I'd go online to change the address except - I couldn't! It didn't recognise the info on his license. Alarm bells ... had they cancelled his license when the new occupants of his old address had their license changed? Rang them back. This time the young lady I spoke to confirmed his address had been changed but the flat number wasn't his. She still wouldn't do anything about correcting their mistake saying that I'd need to write with his authority and the old postcode. Ummm, I'd no idea what address the license was registered to now as it wasn't his new one and it wasn't his old one!

Then a light went on! Young lady just given a clue - address changed but not correct flat number. Back online to change of address page and try new postcode and every blooming flat number (all 75 of 'em except Dad's) if need be. Had License number, name and postcode and Bingo - found it ... registered to Flat 60 but now changed to right flat! Couldn't get 'em to do the change 'face to face' because of Data Protection but I could do it totally anonymously online! Makes great sense, don't yer think?????

Thanks for dropping by .....

You couldn't ...

... make it up!

I got a letter today from Hewlett Packard - yep, that's HP, my ex-laptop manufacturers! Nothing strange about that I thought, especially following my complaint. Oh, was I wrong! It was from the repair centre in Warrington saying they'd tried to contact me (when???) about collecting my laptop for repair and that I should ring them to arrange a convenient collection date. If they don't hear from me within 5 working days the repair would be cancelled. I had to read the letter a couple of times more to take it in. Well, I couldn't resist. I rang them.

First question I was asked was if I was ringing from Comet! No, says I, I was the owner of the laptop. When did I need it collecting and from where? I didn't - anymore, was my reply. We've tried to collect it from Comet but they refused to hand it over, says they. Really?, says I and, just where were you trying to collect it from? Unit 4 Goldstone Retail Park, Unit F Leeds Road Retail Park, Huddersfield. (See clue in address - 2 retail parks?) Guess that's why Comet, Huddersfield refused the collection then, 'cos my laptop was left with the branch at Goldstone Retail Park, Hove and they were trying to collect from a store some 250 miles away!

Now this would be funny if it wasn't so tragic 'cos I knew that they were probably going to try to collect it from Huddersfield less than an hour after I'd left it with the store in Hove. Why? 'Cos I'd gone home and phoned HP to cancel a pick-up I'd got booked for a couple of days later and they told me that it had already been changed by the Hove store and that it would be picked up from..... Huddersfield! I told them they'd be lucky 'cos it was at Hove and not even I had managed 250 miles in ½ hour. Indian call centre's don't have a clue as to the UK geography and I got the distinct impression that the rep hadn't understood what I was telling her. Decided to phone Comet to warn them, spoke to the Hove store and explained what I'd been told. Was thanked and told it would be sorted out. Now let me guess why I was given a brand new laptop instead of the other one repaired??? At least Comet, although not admitting what had happened, did sort me out which is more than HP managed in the 2½ months (at that point) since I originally started the process with them on New Years Eve!

First mistake HP made (or the repair/spares centre at Warrington) was to send me a replacement hard drive but ... for a desktop, not the laptop. That was collected and then I waited and waited for the laptop one, only to be told it was out of stock but on Express Delivery when it came in. Phone call after phone call I was told it was out of stock. I was then told that the claim had been closed as finalised! Right - so why was I still without a working lappy which was still waiting for a hard drive? That's when I arranged for collection from me (all info taken off of hard drive by techie at this point) to go to repair centre as I was told that they should have the part (although out of stock to me from the spares place - right?). In meantime thought I'd see what retailer could do and, although they wouldn't - at this point - give me a replacement lappy they could get the repair done in a couple of days ................................ which is why, 2 weeks after leaving the lappy with them I ended up with a brand new one and let's now guess what happened to the one I left with them! Oh yes, that would be the one that's still sitting in the Hove branch because Huddersfield branch refused to let the repair centre pick it up from them! Strange thing is though - I've had new lappy since 16th March having left the HP one with the store on 24th February. Repair centre man tells me his 'ticket' was dated 18th March but I've still got the original worksheet that Comet gave me a copy of and 24th February was the date and that was when I found out they were going to 'collect' from Huddersfield!

Don't yer just love this HP customer service?????? Anyway, I very politely told the very nice chap I spoke to at the repair centre that, as I now had a brand new, non-HP laptop, courtesy of Comet, he could do what he liked with the booked repair, that I had no idea where the HP laptop was (although I could now have a damned good guess) and that I couldn't care less! He laughed and said he didn't blame me - LOL!

Guess it now explains why Comet offered me a new, replacement laptop but thumbs up to Comet and a great big thumbs down to HP!

Thanks for dropping by .....