TV Licensing said:

Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn cysylltu
â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.

Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw olaf
a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.

Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i gwblhau
arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae rhagor o
wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.

Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>
> TV Licensing said:
>
> Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
> gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn cysylltu
> â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.
>
> Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
> talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw olaf
> a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.
>
> Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i gwblhau
> arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae rhagor o
> wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.
>
> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>
An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?

--
Ric

Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> wrote:
> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>
>> TV Licensing said:
>>
>> Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
>> gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn cysylltu
>> â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.
>>
>> Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
>> talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw olaf
>> a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.
>>
>> Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i gwblhau
>> arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae rhagor o
>> wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.
>>
>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>
> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?
>
>

The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was pay my
half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:53:23,
Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> writes
>Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> wrote:
>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>
>>> TV Licensing said:
[Welsh]
>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>
>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?
>>
>>
>
>The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was pay my
>half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>
That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic response
from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue your
complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).

I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the correspondence
they receive is complaints; certainly responding in that manner will
only increase the proportion.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

I love listening to music that make my eyes water.
- "Super8rescue" 2022

On 13-Nov-23 9:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>
> TV Licensing said:
>
> Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
> gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn cysylltu
> â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.
>
> Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
> talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw olaf
> a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.
>
> Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i gwblhau
> arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae rhagor o
> wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.
>
> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!

Strange.
It wouldn't be too surprising if I got a missive from them in Welsh[1],
but when someone living in the heart of England gets one...

[1] Not surprising, but not understandable.

--
Sam Plusnet

On Monday, 13 November 2023 at 09:36:19 UTC, Mike McMillan wrote:
> TV Licensing said:
>
> Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
> gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn cysylltu
> â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.
>
> Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
> talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw olaf
> a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.
>
> Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i gwblhau
> arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae rhagor o
> wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.

Be thankful it wasn't scots gaelic. On crossing the county boundary from Moray to Invernessshire the road signs become completely impenetrable.

Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> wrote:
> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>
>> TV Licensing said:
>>
>> Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
>> gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn cysylltu
>> â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.
>>
>> Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
>> talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw olaf
>> a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.
>>
>> Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i gwblhau
>> arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae rhagor o
>> wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.
>>
>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>
> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?

Klingon:

“Today is a good day to renew your TV licence.”

On Mon, 13 Nov 2023 11:43:01 -0800 (PST), Tony Smith
<agsmith578688@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Monday, 13 November 2023 at 09:36:19 UTC, Mike McMillan wrote:
>> TV Licensing said:
>>
>> Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
>> gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn cysylltu
>> â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.
>>
>> Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
>> talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw olaf
>> a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.
>>
>> Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i gwblhau
>> arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae rhagor o
>> wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.
>
>Be thankful it wasn't scots gaelic. On crossing the county boundary from Moray to Invernessshire the road signs become completely impenetrable.

You've just brought back horrific memories of getting onto the
Brussels ring road and being unable to get off. Okay, so it was a
very, very long time ago but those memories were embedded deeply. I
was navigating by the AA Atlas of Europe which was open on my lap but
none of the towns highlighted on the maps appeared on the ring road
exit signs so they might as well have been written in Scots Gaelic.

The first time this happened I surfaced somewhere -anywhere- and
busked my way through the road system in the general direction of
Luxembourg; the second time I took a compass and when I emerged from
the ring road I was at least on the Luxembourg side and the next time
I planned ahead and avoided Brussels altogether.

Nowadays I suppose people just follow their sat-navs.

Nick

On 13/11/2023 20:26, Nick Odell wrote:
> On Mon, 13 Nov 2023 11:43:01 -0800 (PST), Tony Smith
> <agsmith578688@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Monday, 13 November 2023 at 09:36:19 UTC, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>> TV Licensing said:
>>>
>>> Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
>>> gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn cysylltu
>>> â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.
>>>
>>> Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
>>> talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw olaf
>>> a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.
>>>
>>> Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i gwblhau
>>> arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae rhagor o
>>> wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.
>>
>> Be thankful it wasn't scots gaelic. On crossing the county boundary from Moray to Invernessshire the road signs become completely impenetrable.
>
> You've just brought back horrific memories of getting onto the
> Brussels ring road and being unable to get off. Okay, so it was a
> very, very long time ago but those memories were embedded deeply. I
> was navigating by the AA Atlas of Europe which was open on my lap but
> none of the towns highlighted on the maps appeared on the ring road
> exit signs so they might as well have been written in Scots Gaelic.
>
> The first time this happened I surfaced somewhere -anywhere- and
> busked my way through the road system in the general direction of
> Luxembourg; the second time I took a compass and when I emerged from
> the ring road I was at least on the Luxembourg side and the next time
> I planned ahead and avoided Brussels altogether.
>
> Nowadays I suppose people just follow their sat-navs.

navigating round Kidderminster was much the same, as I shall never forget.

--
Kate B

On 13-Nov-23 20:54, Kate B wrote:
> On 13/11/2023 20:26, Nick Odell wrote:
>> On Mon, 13 Nov 2023 11:43:01 -0800 (PST), Tony Smith
>> <agsmith578688@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On Monday, 13 November 2023 at 09:36:19 UTC, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>> TV Licensing said:
>>>>
>>>> Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
>>>> gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn
>>>> cysylltu
>>>> â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.
>>>>
>>>> Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
>>>> talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw
>>>> olaf
>>>> a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.
>>>>
>>>> Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i
>>>> gwblhau
>>>> arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae
>>>> rhagor o
>>>> wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.
>>>
>>> Be thankful it wasn't scots gaelic. On crossing the county boundary
>>> from Moray to Invernessshire the road signs become completely
>>> impenetrable.
>>
>> You've just brought back horrific memories of getting onto the
>> Brussels ring road and being unable to get off. Okay, so it was a
>> very, very long time ago but those memories were embedded deeply. I
>> was navigating by the AA Atlas of Europe which was open on my lap but
>> none of the towns highlighted on the maps appeared on the ring road
>> exit signs so they might as well have been written in Scots Gaelic.
>>
>> The first time this happened I surfaced somewhere -anywhere- and
>> busked my way through the road system in the general direction of
>> Luxembourg; the second time I took a compass and when I emerged from
>> the ring road I was at least on the Luxembourg side and the next time
>> I planned ahead and avoided Brussels altogether.
>>
>> Nowadays I suppose people just follow their sat-navs.
>
> navigating round Kidderminster was much the same, as I shall never forget.
>
It was Cognac for me - or one quite small roundabout on the outskirts
thereof.

Enough to drive anyone to drink - which may have been the plan.

--
Sam Plusnet

On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:53:23,
> Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> writes
>> Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> wrote:
>>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>>
>>>> TV Licensing said:
> [Welsh]
>>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>>
>>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>> complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was pay my
>> half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>>
> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
> communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic response
> from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue your
> complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>
> I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the correspondence
> they receive is complaints; certainly responding in that manner will
> only increase the proportion.

I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or so.
The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV programmes
in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed on screens
with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the picture. See, for
example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes are even worse.

Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
paraphrased thus:

"We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us again."

Tony Smith <agsmith578688@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Monday, 13 November 2023 at 09:36:19 UTC, Mike McMillan wrote:
>> TV Licensing said:
>>
>> Diolch i chi am gysylltu, bryddwn yn cysylltu â chi ymnhen 5 diwrnod
>> gwaith. Os yydych yn gwneud cwyn, bydd ein tîm yn ymchwilio ac yn cysylltu
>> â chi o fewn 8 diwrnod gwaith.
>>
>> Ar ein gwefan gallwch weld neu newid manylion eich trwydded neu gynllun
>> talu yn hawdd, ewch i tvl.co.uk. Dim ond rhif eich trwydded a’r enw olaf
>> a’r cod post ar eich trwydded fydd ei angen arnoch.
>>
>> Er mwyn gwella ein gwasanaeth, efallai y byddwn yn eich gwahodd i gwblhau
>> arolwg yn gofyn am eich profiad trwy neges destun neu e-bost. Mae rhagor o
>> wybodaeth am ein polisi preifatrwydd ar gael yn tvl.co.uk/preifatrwydd.
>
> Be thankful it wasn't scots gaelic. On crossing the county boundary from
> Moray to Invernessshire the road signs become completely impenetrable.
>

You aren’t supposed to attack them!

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

John Armstrong <jja@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:53:23,
>> Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> writes
>>> Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> wrote:
>>>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> TV Licensing said:
>> [Welsh]
>>>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>>>
>>>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>>> complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was pay my
>>> half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>>>
>> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
>> communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic response
>> from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue your
>> complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>>
>> I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the correspondence
>> they receive is complaints; certainly responding in that manner will
>> only increase the proportion.
>
> I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or so.
> The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV programmes
> in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed on screens
> with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the picture. See, for
> example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes are even worse.
>
> Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
> paraphrased thus:
>
> "We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us again."
>

Which is very much the gist of any reply to any question addressed to them
on Fed-Up.

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

In message <krgsgmFalg2U1@mid.individual.net> at Tue, 14 Nov 2023
09:21:24, John Armstrong <jja@blueyonder.co.uk> writes
>On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
[]
>> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
>>communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic response
>>from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue your
>>complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>> I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the
>>correspondence they receive is complaints; certainly responding in
>>that manner will only increase the proportion.
>
>I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or so.

Me too (well, not fifty years).

>The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV programmes
>in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed on screens
>with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the picture. See, for
>example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes are even worse.

I agree - why, if they're intended for TV anyway? However, I find far
_more_ irritating is their mangling of old 4:3 material: if they quickly
rush together something because someone has died, you can be sure that
about half of it will be squashed/stretched, presumably because those
making it were born in the shortscreen era and just are unaware of the
existence of 4:3. But also a lot of their (mostly music) material on
BBC4 is made by people who _do_ know about 4:3, but chop the top and
bottom off, in a mad desire to fill the screen at all costs, even if it
means cutting off the top of people's heads.
>
>Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
>paraphrased thus:
>
>"We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us again."

The one I mentioned above, though, said something like "your complaint
will be looked into" - but was in reply to something that wasn't a
complaint. And I don't think it's the first time I've had that.
(Certainly they - and lots of other companies, many a lot worse than the
BBC - make their website very difficult to use to contact them _without_
making a complaint.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

She didn't strike me as much of a reader. It's never a good sign if someone
has a leaflet with a bookmark in it. - Sarah Millican in Rdio Times, 17-23
November 2012

In message <pj15lihkkr1brfrrtmm3n1dhk6p9p7j75t@4ax.com> at Mon, 13 Nov
2023 20:26:54, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca> writes
[]
>Nowadays I suppose people just follow their sat-navs.
>
>Nick

Plenty of (mainly apocryphal) stories of people driving over cliffs,
into lakes, etc.; mine wasn't as drastic, but https://255soft.uk/SatNav/
(I was surprised the Google Maps link still worked when I checked just
now; I'd assumed those were temporary. But I probably set that up when I
created the page, in 2012.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Experience is the comb life gives you after you lose your hair. -Judith Stearn

On 14-Nov-23 9:21, John Armstrong wrote:
> On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:53:23,
>> Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> writes
>>> Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> wrote:
>>>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> TV Licensing said:
>> [Welsh]
>>>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>>>
>>>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or
>>>> Braile?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>>> complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was
>>> pay my
>>> half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>>>
>> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
>> communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic response
>> from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue your
>> complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>>
>> I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the
>> correspondence they receive is complaints; certainly responding in
>> that manner will only increase the proportion.
>
> I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or so.
> The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV programmes
> in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed on screens
> with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the picture. See, for
> example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes are even worse.
>
> Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
> paraphrased thus:
>
> "We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us
> again."

"We are sorry that you disagree with our choices, but we hope that our
educational output will, over time, raise your intellect beyond the
mediocre."

That sort of thing?

--
Sam Plusnet

On 15/11/2023 00:29, Sam Plusnet wrote:
> On 14-Nov-23 9:21, John Armstrong wrote:
>> On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>> In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023
>>> 13:53:23, Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> writes
>>>> Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> wrote:
>>>>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> TV Licensing said:
>>> [Welsh]
>>>>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>>>>
>>>>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or
>>>>> Braile?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>>>> complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was
>>>> pay my
>>>> half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>>>>
>>> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
>>> communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic
>>> response from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue
>>> your complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>>>
>>> I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the
>>> correspondence they receive is complaints; certainly responding in
>>> that manner will only increase the proportion.
>>
>> I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or
>> so. The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV
>> programmes in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed
>> on screens with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the
>> picture. See, for example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes
>> are even worse.
>>
>> Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
>> paraphrased thus:
>>
>> "We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us
>> again."
>
> "We are sorry that you disagree with our choices, but we hope that our
> educational output will, over time, raise your intellect beyond the
> mediocre."
>
> That sort of thing?
>
Not really, no. That's far too polite for the beeb. And they wouldn't
use such long words. "Educational" has five syllables!

On Tue, 14 Nov 2023 09:21:24 +0000, John Armstrong
<jja@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

>On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>> In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:53:23,
>> Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> writes
>>> Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> wrote:
>>>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> TV Licensing said:
>> [Welsh]
>>>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>>>
>>>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>>> complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was pay my
>>> half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>>>
>> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
>> communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic response
>> from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue your
>> complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>>
>> I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the correspondence
>> they receive is complaints; certainly responding in that manner will
>> only increase the proportion.
>
>I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or so.
>The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV programmes
>in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed on screens
>with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the picture. See, for
>example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes are even worse.
>
>Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
>paraphrased thus:
>
>"We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us again."

Erme - why do they call it 18:9 rather than 2:1?

Nick

John Armstrong <jja@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> On 15/11/2023 00:29, Sam Plusnet wrote:
>> On 14-Nov-23 9:21, John Armstrong wrote:
>>> On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>>> In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023
>>>> 13:53:23, Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> writes
>>>>> Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> wrote:
>>>>>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> TV Licensing said:
>>>> [Welsh]
>>>>>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or
>>>>>> Braile?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>>>>> complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was
>>>>> pay my
>>>>> half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>>>>>
>>>> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
>>>> communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic
>>>> response from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue
>>>> your complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>>>>
>>>> I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the
>>>> correspondence they receive is complaints; certainly responding in
>>>> that manner will only increase the proportion.
>>>
>>> I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or
>>> so. The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV
>>> programmes in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed
>>> on screens with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the
>>> picture. See, for example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes
>>> are even worse.
>>>
>>> Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
>>> paraphrased thus:
>>>
>>> "We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us
>>> again."
>>
>> "We are sorry that you disagree with our choices, but we hope that our
>> educational output will, over time, raise your intellect beyond the
>> mediocre."
>>
>> That sort of thing?
>>
> Not really, no. That's far too polite for the beeb. And they wouldn't
> use such long words. "Educational" has five syllables!
>

That’ll lurn ya!

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

John Armstrong <jja@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> On 15/11/2023 00:29, Sam Plusnet wrote:
>> On 14-Nov-23 9:21, John Armstrong wrote:
>>> On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>>> In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023
>>>> 13:53:23, Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> writes
>>>>> Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> wrote:
>>>>>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> TV Licensing said:
>>>> [Welsh]
>>>>>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or
>>>>>> Braile?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>>>>> complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was
>>>>> pay my
>>>>> half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>>>>>
>>>> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
>>>> communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic
>>>> response from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue
>>>> your complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>>>>
>>>> I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the
>>>> correspondence they receive is complaints; certainly responding in
>>>> that manner will only increase the proportion.
>>>
>>> I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or
>>> so. The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV
>>> programmes in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed
>>> on screens with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the
>>> picture. See, for example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes
>>> are even worse.
>>>
>>> Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
>>> paraphrased thus:
>>>
>>> "We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us
>>> again."
>>
>> "We are sorry that you disagree with our choices, but we hope that our
>> educational output will, over time, raise your intellect beyond the
>> mediocre."
>>
>> That sort of thing?
>>
> Not really, no. That's far too polite for the beeb. And they wouldn't
> use such long words. "Educational" has five syllables!
>

That’ll lurn ya!

--
Toodle Pip, Mike McMillan

On 15/11/2023 09:15, Nick Odell wrote:
> On Tue, 14 Nov 2023 09:21:24 +0000, John Armstrong
> <jja@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
>>> In message <uit9oi$m0bc$1@dont-email.me> at Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:53:23,
>>> Mike McMillan <toodle.pip1@virginmedia.com> writes
>>>> Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> wrote:
>>>>> On 13/11/2023 09:36, Mike McMillan wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> TV Licensing said:
>>> [Welsh]
>>>>>> Fortunately, they also sent some words in English!
>>>>>>
>>>>> An offer to send you a copy in Urdu, Polish, Punjabi, Klingon or Braile?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The English text I read was all about they were sorry to hear of my
>>>> complaint and that it would be replied to soon. All I had done was pay my
>>>> half price TV license on line and was expecting a confirmation!
>>>>
>>> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
>>> communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic response
>>> from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue your
>>> complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>>>
>>> I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the correspondence
>>> they receive is complaints; certainly responding in that manner will
>>> only increase the proportion.
>>
>> I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or so.
>> The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV programmes
>> in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed on screens
>> with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the picture. See, for
>> example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes are even worse.
>>
>> Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
>> paraphrased thus:
>>
>> "We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us again."
>
> Erme - why do they call it 18:9 rather than 2:1?
>
> Nick

The BBC didn't call it anything. I called it 18:9 after very carefully
measuring the picture on the screen. You are of course quite right, but
I thought that comparing 16:9 to 18:9 might be easier than 16:9 to 2:1.

I could of course have compared 1.777777777777778:1 to 2:1, but that
would just have wasted bandwidth - a thing I never do.

On 13/11/2023 20:26, Nick Odell wrote:

> Nowadays I suppose people just follow their sat-navs.
>
> Nick

No. Last Sat'day I was going from London to Birmingham, and being a
straight line I was familiar with had no need for satnaving. Until the
M40 was closed and we all got thrown off somewhere near Oxford with no
indication of where to go next. It was dark, I was lost, most sign posts
were hidden by overgrown hedges, traffic was fairly heavy. The first
chance I had to pull off the road to sort myself out was in Cheltenham.
Cheltenham! Google told me where the M5 was but was reluctant to tell me
how to get there. I might try naving saticaly next time, just to be safe.

To add to my bad day, the takeaway I went to that should have been open
unquestionably wasn't so I opted to get a delivery that variously
insisted I log in to an account I don't have, deleted the order, and
refused to let me enter my card expiry date wasting 45 minutes and
delaying my dinner to just shy of midnight.

--
Ric

On 14/11/2023 23:46, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <pj15lihkkr1brfrrtmm3n1dhk6p9p7j75t@4ax.com> at Mon, 13 Nov
> 2023 20:26:54, Nick Odell <nickodell49@yahoo.ca> writes
> []
>> Nowadays I suppose people just follow their sat-navs.
>>
>> Nick
>
> Plenty of (mainly apocryphal) stories of people driving over cliffs,
> into lakes, etc.; mine wasn't as drastic, but https://255soft.uk/SatNav/
> (I was surprised the Google Maps link still worked when I checked just
> now; I'd assumed those were temporary. But I probably set that up when I
> created the page, in 2012.)

My TomTom comes up with a warning/disclaimer that says the driver is
responsible for controlling the vehicle. This has to be agreed to before
it will display the route.

--
Ric

On 14/11/2023 23:42, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> In message <krgsgmFalg2U1@mid.individual.net> at Tue, 14 Nov 2023
> 09:21:24, John Armstrong <jja@blueyonder.co.uk> writes
>> On 13/11/2023 14:16, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
> []
>>> That, sadly, is the default BBC response - to imply that whatever you
>>> communicated was a complaint; I've just received an automatic
>>> response from spaminterceptors that included "if we're able to pursue
>>> your complaint" (my input wasn't a complaint).
>>>  I do _hope_ it doesn't mean that the vast majority of the
>>> correspondence  they receive is complaints; certainly responding in
>>> that manner will  only increase the proportion.
>>
>> I have made many complaints to the bbc over the last fifty years or so.
>
> Me too (well, not fifty years).
>
>> The most recent was about their annoying habit of making TV programmes
>> in formats different from 16:9, so that they are displayed on screens
>> with broad black stripes at the top and bottom of the picture. See,
>> for example, "Shetland", made in 18:9. Some programmes are even worse.
>
> I agree - why, if they're intended for TV anyway? However, I find far
> _more_ irritating is their mangling of old 4:3 material: if they quickly
> rush together something because someone has died, you can be sure that
> about half of it will be squashed/stretched, presumably because those
> making it were born in the shortscreen era and just are unaware of the
> existence of 4:3. But also a lot of their (mostly music) material on
> BBC4 is made by people who _do_ know about 4:3, but chop the top and
> bottom off, in a mad desire to fill the screen at all costs, even if it
> means cutting off the top of people's heads.
>>
>> Their replies have all been virtually identical, and could be
>> paraphrased thus:
>>
>> "We are the BBC. Therefore we know best. Go away and don't bother us
>> again."
>
> The one I mentioned above, though, said something like "your complaint
> will be looked into" - but was in reply to something that wasn't a
> complaint. And I don't think it's the first time I've had that.
> (Certainly they - and lots of other companies, many a lot worse than the
> BBC - make their website very difficult to use to contact them _without_
> making a complaint.)

have you thought of complaining that you cant contact them other than
with a complaint?

--
Ric

In message <uj5jsq$2bvq9$2@dont-email.me> at Thu, 16 Nov 2023 17:35:22,
Joe Kerr <joe_kerr@cheerful.com> writes
>On 14/11/2023 23:42, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
[]
>> The one I mentioned above, though, said something like "your
>>complaint will be looked into" - but was in reply to something that
>>wasn't a complaint. And I don't think it's the first time I've had
>>that. (Certainly they - and lots of other companies, many a lot worse
>>than the BBC - make their website very difficult to use to contact
>>them _without_ making a complaint.)
>
>have you thought of complaining that you cant contact them other than
>with a complaint?
>
Yes, and have done so; it gets ignored. If included with other
correspondence, that part (usually more than just that part) gets
ignored. (Multipoint correspondence is a bad idea these days - I'm not
sure why: if they respond to one, or at best two, of your points, they
think they've responded. Far from just the BBC. I partly blame
top-posting.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Today, I dare say more people know who starred as /The Vicar of Dibley/ than
know the name of the vicar of their local parish. - Clive Anderson, Radio
Times 15-21 January 2011.