The Anonymous Widower

Halifucked Or Spam From the Halifax

Over the last couple of days, I have received several spam e-mail from a marketing company, working on behalf of the Halifax. They all offered me a new credit card, which is like offering someone like Andy Murray a new tennis racket, as the ones I’ve got, are perfectly adequate for my modest needs.

So not only do we have bail out this wunch of bankers, but we have to endure their spam in our inboxes.  Interestingly, it very much looks genuine and some of it has come to e-mail addresses, I’ve not used in at least ten years.  I’ve kept them as spam traps for tossers like these and they’ve worked well.

Interestingly, the Halifax web site appears to have no means of contacting the bank on it, that is obvious to an irate non-customer.

July 12, 2011 Posted by | Finance, World | , , , , | 3 Comments

The IKEA Obstacle Race

I need some stuff from IKEA and want it to be delivered, as that way I don’t have to carry it all the way on a bus. The total was of around £300 and was a total of 10 pieces. 

The order went through efficiently from the web site and they said delivery would be around the 16th of July.  I do take IKEA a bit sceptically about delivery dates, as some of the items I have ordered in the past, have arrived a few days after the originally quoted delivery date. But as someone who understands scheduling very well, I know that you can’t meet all the quoted dates, but I would have been quite happy to wait a few more days.

However, yesterday they phoned me and the courier firm said that the earliest they could do deliveries would be the 4th of August, which is quite a way into the future and four weeks later than I was originally quoted.

So this morning, I cacelled the order. I still want the goods, but they are just a bit much to bring home on the bus.  And one of the pieces wouldn’t fit in my son’s old Mini.

Why is it that other companies like John Lewis, Dixons and Marks and Spencer, seem to get the last delivery right, but others, like IKEA just cause more and more hassle?

Incidentally, in this case, I would have paid  a few extra pounds to get the item delivered on a day convenient to myself.

July 12, 2011 Posted by | World | , , | 4 Comments

Are Fake Job Adverts Returning?

I haven’t seen any for some time, but this one turned up this morning.

Hot Jobs from Reliable and Successful Company Running its business since 2005, Company has several openings for goal-oriented and independent individuals looking for excellent career opportunities.

Requirements
– 25+ years old
– UK citizenship
– No criminal record
– Good credit history
– Basic computer skills
– A proven level of secondary education

What we offer
– high and stable income
– exciting career opportunities
– two weeks’ paid holiday a year
– great team to work with
– bonuses and our private employee loyalty programme benefits
– and many other things

What you do is just work from home and get advantage of all these opportunities, as the job we offer requires only a few hours of your time spent on your computer.

You are full of energy, learn fast and seek for best career opportunities? Do contact us at xxx@xxx.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
 
We look forward to welcoming you as a new employee.
Sincerely,
irvine thierry

It was a bit better than most of the previous scams, which are designed to get your bank account details, so you can donate large sums of money to the criminals.  It was even sent from what looked like a valid UK e-mail address, although mine was addressed to a man called Fidole Shem, who is definitely not me.

It was also marked by my anti-spam system as spam.

But what was a real giveaway was the low level of paid holidays.  I wouldn’t get out of bed for a job like that!

So it went the way of the others and I dispatched it humanely with the delete key.

July 12, 2011 Posted by | Computing, World | , , | 7 Comments

Scottish Independence! Surely Northern Ireland Needs It!

Yet again, Northern Ireland is rioting and causing mayhem.

If we are giving the Scots and the Welsh a degree of independence, in these times of austerity, shouldn’t we cut Northern Ireland adrift and leave it to its own resources?

I just don’t like seeing bigots burning my taxes as a form of entertainment! Perhaps, they should impose a local income tax!

July 12, 2011 Posted by | News | , , | Leave a comment