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This is a question Corporate Idiocy

Comedian Al Murray recounts a run-in with industrial-scale stupidity: "Car insurance company rang, without having sent me a renewal letter, asking for money. Made them answer security questions." In the same vein, tell us your stories about pointless paperwork and corporate quarter-wits

(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 12:13)
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Robbed overseas... shafted by the UK.
Banks that won't let you cancel your cards because you're in shock and can't remember the name of your first pet tortoise.

Travel insurers with freephone 0800 emergency numbers that you CAN'T DIAL FROM ABROAD.

The UK Embassy consular division (open 10am-11am Tues-Thurs only) which requires applicants for emergency replacement passports to attend a pre-arranged interview INSIDE the building. Which you can only access by presenting VALID ID.

Airlines who bump your booking because you can't present the credit card it was booked with.

UK Border Agency staff who single you out for an invasive search because you've been flagged as suspicious for travelling without any baggage (uh yeah, IT WAS STOLEN).

Tesco who humiliate you with two hundred pounds of groceries on the checkout and then cut up your new bank card in front of your face BECAUSE THE COMPUTER SAYS IT WAS REQUESTED TO BE CANCELLED.

Boss who says: Nice holiday?
(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 12:41, 16 replies)
Stop taking your holidays abroad?
It really isn't worth the stress.
(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 12:44, closed)
Or alternatively
you could make more effort to not get robbed by Johnny Forriner
(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 12:49, closed)
Yeah but the UK is shit and cold

(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 13:06, closed)
The grass is always greener.

(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 13:19, closed)
It really is though

(, Sat 25 Feb 2012, 1:33, closed)

1. Nope.

2. Possibly.

3. Nope. How did you get home?

4. Nope. How did you get home?

5. Invasive search - you mean they looked up your arse, or made you empty your pockets? I'm going with the latter.

6. Nope. This cutting cards up in front of people doesn't happen.

Still, sounds nice and dramatic the way you wrote it.
(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 12:58, closed)
Nicely
done
(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 13:02, closed)

6. Cutting up cards does/did happen, I've done it and seen it done, I used to get £50 for every dodgy card I sent back.
(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 13:41, closed)
Yes
I'm sure they're often confiscated, but did a supermarket cut up a card in front of this person, in plain view of all the other customers?

Nope.
(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 13:56, closed)
happened to me once.

(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 13:59, closed)
OK, but I'm talking about
normal people.
(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 14:11, closed)
oh. fair enough.
carry on.
(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 14:13, closed)

Yes. We used to get a message telling us to ring for authorisation, the person on the end of the line would usually tell us that the card was reported stolen and ask us to cut the card up. If we had confiscated it people would've refused to leave without their card and stood around arguing for ages.
(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 22:57, closed)
WAAAAAAAAAMBULANCE FOR MZUNGU.

(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 13:03, closed)
I once lost my passport, debit card, credit card and wallet in Rabat, Morocco
After a mostly hellish but occasionally brilliant week of long haul bus travel, I arrived rather raggedy and malnourished at the British Consulate in Tangier. It was awesome, like being in Tangier in Victorian times, everyone was incredibly posh and always referred to the locals as 'The Arabs'. But they were great, really nice and helpful, and a couple of days + £70 later I had an emergency passport and a plan to get home. First time I ever felt proud to be British.

Then they tried to take my emergency passport off me at Gatwick, when I still had to fly to Scotland. Missed my flight arguing with staff, and went back to thinking Britain is shit.

edit - wrong town!
(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 13:24, closed)
Pwned.

(, Thu 23 Feb 2012, 14:20, closed)

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