BS: Useless Ryanair

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: Senoufou
Date: 05 Jul 18 - 03:00 AM

I often needed help with their online Tax Return (my husband did a little self-employed cleaning and we wanted to declare his earnings in order to be legal.) The wretched page wouldn't load and go on to the next one. I used to call them and it was sheer hell trying to get through.
But you're right David, I (eventually) got a pleasant person who explained with great patience what to do. It was the ridiculous lack of call centre staff, for the volume of calls, that annoyed us. Obviously, every January people are submitting their Tax returns and they should realise that.
I was never so pleased in my life when my husband was offered full-time employment as a school cleaner. He loves the job, loves all the staff, it's only ten minutes from our house and....I'll never again have to deal with his Tax returns. Long live PAYE!!

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 05 Jul 18 - 03:09 AM

Yes, and most of HMRC's departments also do 'Webchat' so you don't have to hang on the phone. Just set your computer to make a loud 'Ping' when you get a response. (saves you staring at the screen, you can get on with something else)
A list of departmental helplines is available here: HMRC Helplines Checking a few of the more common I find that at least the following have a Webchat option:
Tax Credits
VAT
Customs
Income Tax
Child Benefit
Self-assessment

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: David Carter (UK)
Date: 05 Jul 18 - 03:18 AM

They are one of the few organisations who take you seriously when you suggest that they might have a bug in their software (in this case Basic PAYE Tools).

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: Senoufou
Date: 05 Jul 18 - 03:28 AM

Oh Nigel, I wish I'd known that! But I'm not terribly techno-savvy, and my husband's English is a bit dodgy, so we really were struggling.

Back to airlines, we're always astonished at the difference in air fares depending on when one flies, and with whom. Getting from Norwich to Abidjan is sheer hell. One can do all sorts of combinations, and the fare last year was £1400 return, a huge sum for us to find.

He has to access an airport that flies to Abidjan, and there are Brussels and Paris, with Air Brussels or Air France. Then there's Air Maroc, via Casablance.
Heathrow do some, but how to get down to West London from rural Norwich (£500 return by taxi)
He has four enormous suitcases, so Megabus or the train would be problematic.

However, recently, he's found that Air France do the lot for £400 return (!!!) if booked either months in advance or at the last minute. This means he could afford the taxi down to Heathrow and catch the Air France flight there. But what if the buggers decide to go on strike at a moment's notice?
If only lovely Emirates did Norwich to Cote d'Ivoire direct!

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: Senoufou
Date: 05 Jul 18 - 03:29 AM

Casablanca, not Casablance!!

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 05 Jul 18 - 08:10 AM

"Casablanca, not Casablance!!"
Easy mistake to make Sen
YOU'RE LUCKY - MIGHT HAVE BEEN THIS
Jim

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: Senoufou
Date: 05 Jul 18 - 08:36 AM

Hahaha Jim, 'The boy stood on the burning deck...'
That'll start a whole flurry of funny parodies on here. (I look forward to reading them if so!)

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 05 Jul 18 - 08:44 AM

Not sure you're ready for mine Sen
Jim

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: leeneia
Date: 05 Jul 18 - 11:38 AM

"lost the will to live waiting while the same music plays over and over, and a robot repeats the same inane drivel."

Helpless rage again. Twisted again. You have to hold onto the phone to get help, but you don't want to because of the music and drivel.

Study your phone. Does it have a button that says SP Phone? That's speaker phone. Push it and set the phone down, and you will hear what's on the line. While you listen with one ear, you can be doing something else.

When the agent finally comes on, don't pick the phone up and talk into it or you will hurt the poor person's ears. Leave the phone on the desk and speak into from a distance. 12-16 inches, maybe.

Then again, there's the Webchat feature, as described. The important thing is to avoid twisting followed by helpless rage.

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 06 Jul 18 - 11:14 AM

Eliza (Sen):
Boy stood on the burning deck parodies Loads of 'em.

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 09 Jul 18 - 02:33 AM

Where is the former Monarch Airline fleet now? We always paid for extra legroom seats, which provided a very comfortable flight.

Subject: RE: BS: Useless Ryanair
From: Senoufou
Date: 09 Jul 18 - 03:16 AM

Hee hee Jim and Nigel! Many of these I remember from my childhood.