Gripe of the day - What is yours?

[timwilky]

Data/Account protection

Daughters bloke has divorced his ex and he has kept the house. They are trying to sort out utilities. But they are all in the name of the ex... When they phone to change bank account details for direct debits... We need to talk to Mrs... Err she doesn't live here anymore and the reason you are sending nasty letters about non payment is the accounts are closed we want to give you new bank details.


Sorry sir we need to talk to the account holder.. and round and round they go.

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by timwilky

Data/Account protection

Daughters bloke has divorced his ex and he has kept the house. They are trying to sort out utilities. But they are all in the name of the ex... When they phone to change bank account details for direct debits... We need to talk to Mrs... Err she doesn't live here anymore and the reason you are sending nasty letters about non payment is the accounts are closed we want to give you new bank details.


Sorry sir we need to talk to the account holder.. and round and round they go.

send a letter to threaten the utility company with legal action within 14 days and remind them that they will be responsible for any fees incurred.

get a solicitor to talk to them. its what i had to do regarding my mums. remember and tell the solicitor to send the invoice for his fee to the utility company.

its upto the utility company to chase the "account holder" and has nothing to do with the "new" householder.

[maviczap]

In the same theme as Stingo. I used Paypals 12 month interest free offer to buy something and set up a standing order to pay it off within the 12 months.I got a letter from Paypal today, saying I wasn't paying enough to clear the balance & I'd incur interest fees if I din't increase the monthly payment.

Thing is, I paid the balance off mid August!

[garynortheast]

Effing cars. Leaky EGR valve, possibly blocked DPF, and no money.

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by garynortheast

Effing cars. Leaky EGR valve, possibly blocked DPF, and no money.

Can't remember which year Zafira you bought, but I got one of these to get rid of the EGR once and for all

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/70-EGR-Va...item2a3788112d

When I got mine, it came with the 'Cheat' to fool the ECU, but its a seperate item now, or you can get it mapped out?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/05-EGR-AG...item2a5014ce23

Appreciate its money you might not have, but once you do, then it did work. Cheaper than a new EGR

Twas the only thing that spoilt my experience with the Zafira

[garynortheast]

In the scheme of things a new EGR isn't too pricey tbh Mav. £43 delivered, although I can ill afford even that atm! It's the potential cost of the DPF clean or replacement which is the big headache.

It's also now an MoT fail to remove the EGR valve and replace it with a blank.

The DPF light is on and has remained on despite running an active regen on it. For about 20 miles after the regen the engine ran with no smoke then it tried to run another cleaning cycle. It's dumped a load of excess diesel into the oil now so I'm also going to have to drop that and refill it with fresh oil and a new filter too.

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by garynortheast

It's also now an MoT fail to remove the EGR valve and replace it with a blank.

Dang! Good job my poor old Zafi went to the scrap yard

[Red ones]

If the DPF is regenerating then it should be fine. They can get too bad to regenerate which is a real pain. The engine then just stops working because the exhaust blocks.

I think it's long been illegal to remove a DPF from a cat that had it factory fitted. It's just now a failure at MOT if it APPEARS to have been tampered with.

Try cleaning the EGR with a drop of petrol. Usually works for a few months.

I'm guessing you have the 1.9 CDTi. Check the actuator arm for the swirl flaps. It's a thin bar over the top of the inlet manifold. They fall off when the flaps get encrusted with soot. It's not a cheap fix if you can't do it yourself.

I feel your pain. My Zaf had the swirl flaps, EGR, DPF, gearbox, clutch, and alternator all go over the years. I didn't bother fixing the AC or electric windows. I sold it when the glow plugs seized in the head. I was getting close to the RAC sending me Christmas cards. The neighbours were already hiding from me on cold mornings.

[garynortheast]

Originally Posted by Red ones

If the DPF is regenerating then it should be fine. They can get too bad to regenerate which is a real pain. The engine then just stops working because the exhaust blocks.

I think it's long been illegal to remove a DPF from a cat that had it factory fitted. It's just now a failure at MOT if it APPEARS to have been tampered with.

Try cleaning the EGR with a drop of petrol. Usually works for a few months.

I'm guessing you have the 1.9 CDTi. Check the actuator arm for the swirl flaps. It's a thin bar over the top of the inlet manifold. They fall off when the flaps get encrusted with soot. It's not a cheap fix if you can't do it yourself.

I feel your pain. My Zaf had the swirl flaps, EGR, DPF, gearbox, clutch, and alternator all go over the years. I didn't bother fixing the AC or electric windows. I sold it when the glow plugs seized in the head. I was getting close to the RAC sending me Christmas cards. The neighbours were already hiding from me on cold mornings.

I'll check the swirl flaps actuator arm later today, thanks for that piece of info Red ones.

Broke out the credit card and bought a new EGR on ebay, along with oil and filter. Should be here Tuesday/Wednesday. Once that's fitted and the oil and filter are changed I'll get out onto the motorway and have one more go at and active regen cycle. If that doesn't work then it's either one of these or a visit to these people

[garynortheast]

Yet another gripe from me, sorry.

About to break two promises I made to myself and have so far stuck with.

The first one was never to do another job that I didn't enjoy, made over 25 years ago. Well that is about to go out of the window with some pretty crappy, poorly paid part time work in the offing. Customer service/admin/basic IT work for a company selling ride on toys. Thrilling! Er... no... I know, I know, needs must and all that, but I'm not looking forward to it and I'm treating it as a purely temporary thing until either my work picks up again or something better turns up.

The second is about never taking out another loan. I'm about to take another loan in order to clear an overdraught, pay a large outstanding bill (to someone who has been incredibly patient and understanding, but who doesn't deserve to be kept hanging on any longer), and to cover me for the month I'm going to have to work before I get paid.

I just need to get through the next 12 - 14 months.