Following on from my post yesterday in respect of the Adblue for the car.
Hubby has topped up the reservoir and it took another eight litres. Having now put in twelve, and a full reservoir is apparently sufficient for twelve and a half thousand miles, it would appear that the additive had never been topped up on its three previous services.
It would also appear that had we dropped another litre, we would have had a warning light come on and not known what for, especially if on a long drive when it happened.
It reminds me of something my Dad once said:
“Cars, kids and house maintenance keeps you poor.”
Now that we know about it, it shall be added to the car running expenses sheet.
As our plans today were to have a relaxing day, we decided to apply for my state pension on line so that there was no excuse for them to forget me.
What followed was an hour and a quarter of pure frustration having to open accounts to verify identity and then being flipped somewhere else to complete more online forms. Best bit? On yet another form in cyber space, photos were required to confirm verification of ID, and had to be downloaded via a smartphone. We don’t have one, so get this, they say to BORROW one, download the app and upload the relevant pictures.
I despair as everything is assuming everyone has all mod cons in the technology line.
Whatever happened to a clerk with a pen?
The application to renew our passports is also a nightmare, with costs varying depending how, and again, technology, apps and downloads are called for. We shall therefore be going into a main Post Office we know does it all, and ask them to help us.
Quiet day? I think not.
We’ve had lunch (a delicious chicken curry as made by me) and I need to relax, so I’m going to get the card kit out now.
pensitivity101 
The official paper work is so frustrating at times.
We ended up going round in circles.
Been there!
If I lived next door, I would have taken a photo of you to download. Yes, everything assumes you have a smart phone. We both have one now but up until about a year ago my husband did not. Technically he doesn’t need one since I have one but it’s come in handy especially when he’s been in the hospital. We renewed our passports a few years back and at least at that point we could go to our local AAA (auto club) and get photos to mail in.
The Post Office have a full service for passports, so we hope they can help us.
Thank you for your offer too!!
I still don’t have a passport. Everything gov’t here is frustrating too 😞
Apparently we need a passport to renew our driving licences!!
This is the thing, as you say, not everyone has all these things. Hopefully the Post Office can help you on this, which I would think they can.
It’s annoying Liz that everyone assumes everyone does, but to be told to BORROW one? That sucks!!
Yes, it does suck.
Ugh, bureaucracy paperwork is such a pain.
Definitely!
I feel this pain sharply!
Tell me about it 😦
I agree with your dad. Cars especially will break the bank.
We got our first smartphone last year when one of our boys put us on their family plan when they changed providers and he gave us one of the free phones that came with the offer. My daughter-in-law is a nurse, so we all got a very reasonable rate. I share the phone with my husband. Most of the time I don’t bring it with me unless I’m picking up groceries and have to call in to let them know I’m there. Here, you sometimes have to download a store’s app in order to do curbside pickup with them.
We have the app syndrome here too and some supermarket discounts are only available with it. Our phones make and receive texts and calls which is all we want a mobile phone for.
That smart phone thing deserves a Monday Peeve from you. I’d grouse about it again, but people are probably tired of hearing me do that. I hate the damned things, spent three hours last night trying to get mine running. A 45 minute wait on hold with no end in sight had me trying the ‘chat’ option on line. I was 75th in line! 😱 They’re blaming the excessively long waits on Covid of course. The lack of workers (it’s a shitty job I grant you, I wouldn’t care to work Customer Service in a call center. I have and I know what I’m talking about) right now due to my country’s senile leadership, paying folks more to stay on unemployment than any such job could pay. (unemployment = the dole over your way I think). It’s really all f*cked up. My sympathies!
It is indeed FUBAR’d. I’ve worked in CSD too and it can be a thankless job at the best of times. Years ago I also knew a guy who got more money being out of work than holding down a job.
We have just read that covid restrictions are being lifted from 6am tomorrow……. this includes social distancing, restricted numbers at gatherings and no need to have a Covid pass to go to clubs and bars. My bestie is in the hospitality trade and that is pen for normal business as from tomorrow. Masks though will still need to be worn until February.. Bojo hasn’t given a date for that yet though. Madnness.
I understand your frustration. I tried making an important call for days. I kept getting the garbage recording, your call is important to us. After 15 minutes they change the response to we are experiencing excessive wait time please call back. Then they cut you off . Frustrating beyond belief.
Yep. Been there too. Our previous GP surgery immediately comes to mind, on hold for 45 minutes plus to eventually be told to call back tomorrow as no appointments are available. So glad we changed!