Kitescreech
I live in Dorset and know the exact garage you're talking about. They still to this day charge way over the odds on fuel. Just thank your lucky stars you didn't try to buy any of the 'food' inside which is permanently teetering on the sell by date and about 50% more expensive than the esso 2 miles down the road. Rural garages are frankly a massive wast of time effort and money, presumably surviving on selling embarrassingly over priced 4-star to classic car owners.
(menashem, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 11:19, Reply)

Estate Agents
Not me, and not really ripped off ... but anyway. I worked briefly as a paper shuffler in an estate agents where slightly dodgy practises abounded. They had this technique of posting adverts for nice sounding flats in newspapers, like:

"Lovely 26 bedroom mansion, actually inside Liverpool Street Station, full staff of dwarf butlers, £26 per Month"

Of course no such dwarf butler infested property ever existed, so when customers phoned up the conversation would go:

"Oh how sorry I am Mr. X that property has just been taken, but wouldn't you like to come in and see this other slightly smaller property"

Customer is then quickly taken around 1 bedroom grotty rat faeces encrusted hole in Bethnal Green while the agent distracts them with his voluminously gelled hair.

Everything you've ever been told about estate agents is true ... there was this other time when they fought each other with broken broomsticks for clients, but we'll save that for another QOTW.
(Mr_Rigby, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 11:18, Reply)

Because I'm a Britisher...
...a few years ago I owned part of a national rail service that worked pretty well and took people where they wanted to go when they wanted to go there for a reasonable price.

Then, without anyone asking me what I thought, it all got sold off to a set of multinational banks and private companies who now offer me a worse service for far more money, in order that their shareholders and directors can enjoy big dividends and bonuses. I regularly have to endure computers telling me they are "VERY. sorry. for the. SEVERE. delay. to my service" and endure people who never travel on the trains they run telling me that overcrowding is good for me. I've been well and truely ripped-off like a bloody kipper.

This story isn't funny, I know, but then neither is handing over £15 to First Group every day for the privilige of travelling on the Chav Express.
( Olembe Refuses to write in this space, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 11:11, Reply)

Home stuff
Got home insurance with Sainsbury's Bank? Make sure you check your renewal quote well before it expires otherwise they'll continue taking payment via direct debit a new rate of about £60 a year more than previous. No doubt loads of companies do this, just talking from recent personal experience.

Bitter? Pints of the stuff!
( abefroman skating on the thin life of modern life on, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 11:11, Reply)

"Are you a British Gas customer?"
Yes.
Three days spent waiting for an engineer who didn't turn up, hence three days' less money for my parents who really can't afford that, and then my dad rings up to complain and gets told he's lying about the engineer not turning up. Or turning up late and lying about the time he got there (he claimed he arrived at half nine as he was supposed to, my mother was in until 10 waiting).
Cunts.
(and now for someone completely different, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 11:10, Reply)

Destiny nightclub Milton Keynes (now closed down)
Went out with gf & mate for the night.

Got to night club, went to bar for first drink of the night.

Paid with a £20 note, bar witch ran through till as £10 and gave me change on that basis. I argued the toss and she argued back. Got the "bar manager" who cashed up the till and found no error in the money, to which I said if she's made one mistake she could have made several tonight. I was clearly stone cold sober and basically told there was nothing I could do.

So we decided we were in a mood and decided to leave. In the foyer I spotted the "customer complaints" notice and was writing down the details when the nightclub manager asked me what I was doing and talked it over and gave us back the missing money.

Then the cloakroom lost my £80 coat they'd been looking after for all of 30 minutes at a cost of £2.
(golddust QOTW now revolves around being a cunt, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:56, Reply)

New Bus prices
In the County of Swansea they've put them up a bit, to the point of idiocity in some places. I live about 20 minutes walking distance away from the City Centre and about 5 minutes by bus. A return would cost me £2.70. A multi-use Day Return for any bus around the entire COUNTY of Swansea for as many bus uses as you want all day (Gower, Neath, Port Talbot etc) would cost me a gobsmacking £2.75.

Yes I'd pay that much for the smell of tramp-piss.
( Jeccius Steam Borderlands 2 junkie, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:48, Reply)

my parents went to Iraq
and all I got was this bloody tshirt.

But at least they used real blood.
(apeloverage committed the vile act of onanism on, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:45, Reply)

**
Me and some mates were at the now defunct Phoenix festival at the age of 14, and wanting to get with what we though was the vibe of the place start asking for some people for some 'draw'. eventually we attract the attention of a typical scally, who went through an overly rigourous procedure to ensure we/he didnt get caught in the act of dealing, even though we were in the middle of a field full of tents. Being naive, we were impressed by his security measures, less so by the mud he had carefully wrapped in cling film.
(balboa, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:41, Reply)

festive cnutybollockmerchants
Made an Xmas purchase of a nice Playstation game for my boyfriend. Couldn't really afford it full-price so I went for the 'slightly cheaper, probably off back of lorry' eBay option.

The seller's PayPal 'wasn't working', so he gave me his home address:

Mr J Noble, 29 Carbeth Road, Milngavie, Glasgow, G62 7PR

and I sent a cheque. (Yes, I know, but my PayPal account has gone down from time to time so I was inclined to believe him).

Cue 3 weeks of waiting, sending increasingly pissed-off e-mails AND eventually having to buy a full-price last minute replacement - bringing the total cost of the game up to more than £50 ffs.

And then I Googled and found this: www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/feed/tm_method=full&objectid=18321881&siteid=64736-name_page.html

I'm posting the address here because any fraudster stupid enough to give their home address out to their victims doesn't really deserve data security. So if anyone happens to live near this pair of festive cnutybollockmerchants, please feel free to go round and post shit through their letterbox with my blessing.

That's: Evelyn and Justin Noble, 29 Carbeth Road, Milngavie, Glasgow, G62 7PR.

:-(
(pandora peroxide thinks it's a blocker, master! on, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:39, Reply)

Petrol
Went to Bovington Tank museum last year (well worth it if you like tanks) and on the way back I was getting really low on diesel - fuel warning light is on. Trundling along country lanes, dont know the area and we see a sign "Local Services" and an arrow. So I follow it and on entering a little village theres a garage/workshop thing and fuel is about £1.10 a litre (national average was about 90p a litre at the time. I pull up, no one appears so I shout whereupon some old fart appears and says "Gimme time, I cant be everywhere at once". So after this warm welcome I ask, through gritted teeth, for £20 worth of diesel (figuring that will get me somewhere with a reasonable price fuel supply) , despising the money grabbing twunt with every whirr of the pump. He finishes, I begrudgingly give him £20 and drive off...and round the corner is an ESSO.
Bitter ? ALWAYS.
(kitescreech still here, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:36, Reply)

nmbam
we were out on the chrismas do last year and my mate was approached by some guy while waiting in the taxi rank. he was selling vodka and rum in big litre bottles for a fiver a pop. my mate almost bites his hand off and buys two bottles of vodka.
later in the cab, he cracks one of them open to find that it's full of warm water. surprisingly, the other one is filled with water too. ten quid spunked on two bottles of water. expensive round that, but at least a smack head was ten quid closer to his next score so it wasn't a total loss!
(localhost, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:34, Reply)

Ribbed off
Having recently started seeing a new lady, I decided to invest in a box of protective sheaths. Knowing how expensive they are from high street pharmacies, I did a little research and made a bargain purchase online.

However, upon informing new lady of aforementioned new purchase, she tells me that she's allergic to latex. I check the new purchase and of course, they contain latex. So I emailed the online retailer to enquire whether it would be possible to exchange my prophylactics for non latex ones due to allergy issues having clearly stated, and I quote "The box is still sealed and in excellent condition".

The reply? (Again quoted) "Sorry we don’t accept returns as they are a total loss, We can’t re-sell second hand condoms". Second hand?! It's not a bloody Geronimo I've used and washed out, rolled back up and popped back in the wrapper then carefully resealed the foil! What a cretin!

Anyway, I decided you can't argue with a person that uses such logictupid as that and took the £7.50 loss.

So what to do with a 12 pack of johnnies I can't use? That said, my mate's getting married next month and his request for wedding presents was "Something for the honeymoon"......
( abefroman skating on the thin life of modern life on, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:32, Reply)

cash CONverters
Says it all really
(never-right -getting it wrong since '78, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:29, Reply)

I used to work in "Game" (well, Electronic Boutique)
The mark-up was ridiculous; they regularly give £2 for a game and sell it 2nd hand for £15. Gamestation isn't anywhere near as bad, but you still lose alot of money.

Ebay rip off tip of the week; Gamecube Zelda Twilight Princess, on average £60 plus. Or on the HMV site in stock at the mo, £35. Buy about 10, stick on ebay = profits :D
( Jeccius Steam Borderlands 2 junkie, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:25, Reply)

GAME
Never take your old games there, or they'll scam you to death. I took about 20 Xbox games there last year and they offered me about £50 for the lot.
Wankers. Sold the lot on Ebay for 3 times that.
(steadfastmeat Laconic ham, perhaps?, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:15, Reply)

The Stetson Brothers
This story was relayed by a mate:

My pal Iain had the use of a Vauxhall Carlton company car and took it to a local garage to sort out a dodgy alternator. Anyway, local garage (in Shrub End, Colchester with the letters O, T & M in it's name) fits a replacement. Iain drives away, but shortly afterward the alternator falls out of the car, necessitating a tow back to get it replaced. One of the "mechanics" had simply not bothered to tighten the bolts holding it in place.

The first time this happened might be put down to bad luck, but it happened twice. One of Iain's colleagues had random bits fall off his car after it had been there and an unlucky VW camper had an engine literally fall out after it had been in the care of this particular establishment.

The two chaps responsible for the operation cultivated such a reputation for cowboyism that they're locally known as the "Stetson Brothers".
(Bicycle Repairman "you're also a bit of a wanker", Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:14, Reply)

Garages
I have a feeling garages are going to pop up quite alot in this QOTW.

Since I had my first car at 17 I did all the work on them...Even changed engines,head rebuilds etc.

I like to think I know what i'm doing.

I havn't got the space to do my own work on my cars anymore so I have to use garages.

I always make a point to let them know, that I know what I'm on about.

Example: Its knocking on the front Its the anti rollbar bush (not the Shock absorber) etc

anti rollbar bush =£4
shock absorber=£70

Much cheaper.

Its always worth asking someone that knows first so when you take your car to the garage
you can tell them what needs doing.

Your less likely to be conned
(never-right -getting it wrong since '78, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:12, Reply)

strip joints
Note to everyone who's ever been tempted to pop into a strip joint in Soho. Don't do it. Get in a cab and ask him to take you to the titty mile in the east end. Start at The Spread Eagle and work your way down to Browns. If the girl who looks like Sandra Bullock still works there, get a private booth dance off her for me. Go with your mates, take a fortune in loose change, and prepare to stock up on enough tunnel action to keep the wank bank in credit for months.
(kaptinkurtz, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:07, Reply)

MOT garage in Swansea
Not quite sure what the name of it is off the top of me head, but it's on Hafod Road. Me dad needed a bit of work done on his clapped out Skoda a few years ago to get it through the MOT. Takes it to this garage for an MOT check, and they analyse that it's going to cost about £200+ to get it done. As he's about to pay, he notices that there is a line of 3 year old black BMW company cars being done at the same time, and this mechanic has failed all 5 of them for random things. Me dad goes "I'm sorry, I'll have to get back to you on this", hops in his car and drives off to another garage to have it passed after £60's worth of work. Conning cunt.
( Jeccius Steam Borderlands 2 junkie, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 10:04, Reply)

well....
There are various routes I can take when I go to see my parents and on one of the roads, there is this rickety old gas station that sells its gasoline 30 cents higher than the rest of the stations in town.... only thing is, you'd probably drive the 30 cents worth to get to the nearest next station who sells it cheaper and this place knows it and takes advantage of the maybe 10 people who get thier gasoline there......

That, or they probably don't get a whole lot of business, therefore they have to have higher prices......But I still like to think they're ripping off the consumer
(Sebowe Aphex says I have a killer pout, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 9:56, Reply)

trendy bar in east end of london...
firstly, the whole troop of us (about ten) are shoved to the back.
secondly, the waiter shouts at me for leaning on the edge of a sofa, rahter than just saying 'excuse me'. He quite literally *SCREAMED*. I asked him to just be a little more polite, all with a smile, trying to calm him down.
thirdly, after taking a position standing with my boyfriend and friend, said waiter walks past, turns to me and says "bitch".
fourthly, i go over and ask the birthday girl, whose 'do' it is, NOT to tip him. She eventually gets out of me why. Her scary eastern-european boyfriend corners him, asking him in freaky bouncer-tones to be 'courteous and polite' at all times.
lastly, after all this drama, we get the bill for our drinks. The round for myself, my boyfriend and our friend alone, which consisted of 2 nasty beers and a tepid cranberry juice...
£40.

I've lived in London my whole life, and can honestly say I have never been so ripped off in my whole life.
(niceandwarmandhot vive la résistance, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 9:53, Reply)

pee sea world
Imagine that...

Like seaworld but with thousands of gallons of urine behind magnified glass aquariums.

If you look closely you can almost make out the outline of a lesser spotted urchin in a purple shirt.
(never-right -getting it wrong since '78, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 9:41, Reply)

As below, wouldn't trust Pee Cee World with anything
"What's that madam, you want to use emails? You need a top of the line computer to do that."

I went up there the other day, against my better judgement as I was after a 5 Pin USB2.0 cable for use with me PSP. I check the price, only ones there are £19.99. Fuck that methinks, I go into work, open up ebay and had one delivered within 2 days for £2.99. What a bunch of ripoff cunts.

PS I know a guy who works in the local PCW and before he got that job he failed an interview for McDonalds.
No offence, but if McDonalds wouldn't trust him with a 69p burger, I wouldn't hand him a £1000 laptop to upgrade thank you very much.
( Jeccius Steam Borderlands 2 junkie, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 9:37, Reply)

Personal Computer world
I am willing to bet anyone who has purchased from PC land will have been ripped off.

The fecking adverts say it all....WOW and it comes with a processor? I'll take it
(never-right -getting it wrong since '78, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 9:29, Reply)

how much?
On a big works do with the marketing department for a (that there) London Tv station, we all met in Number 1 Aldwych. Its a hotel bar, in the lobby. Nowt spesh. I rocked up a little late, and seeing that noone was drinking pints of pedigree, and there was nothing resembling beer on tap, i opted for the highly cosmopolitan vodka tonic. The barman turned to the optic of red smirnoff and dished out a single shot. Reaching under the bar he pulled out a room temperature bottle off schweppes tonic water and uncapped that. Two ice cubes later and he presented me with a bill for £9! I nearly fell over, but in the spirit of playing fair, I clenched my teeth and handed over a tenner. He vanished to do the do with the money, then started serving someone else. After he had dealt with a couple of people, I called him over to ask after my £1 change. He looked at me with wide eyed incredulity and uttered the immortal words "that sir was the tip". I left. cunt
(kaptinkurtz, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 9:28, Reply)

its gonna be a long day
Once on a college trip to that there London, we were keeping the bar in the hotel open like the bunch of braying art students we pretended to hate. One lad had struck up a rapport with the barmaid who, it turned out, could supply us with a couple of quarters of Morroccos finest. Fuckin A!
Deal done, she rang a mate who appeared in the lobby, took our cash then vanished into the night. We left the bar (which she promptly closed) and all piled into one of the rooms for an enormous smoke up. It was only then we discovered we had paid £40 for a couple of toffees wrapped in clingfilm.
We reported the bitch to the duty manager.
(kaptinkurtz, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 9:23, Reply)

Georgia grocery store bastards!
Back in college the local grocery store carried ramen noodles for 57 cents a packet. Upon leaving college and moving out into the real world I learned that ramen is usually priced at about 20 cents a packet or less. The bastards at the grocery store KNEW we college students lived on those noodles!
May not seem like much, but that 37 cents could've equaled a lot more ramen!

Pop!
(Windy Shrimp "wuz heah", Fri 16 Feb 2007, 9:23, Reply)

Cyber Squatting
I once sold a domain name, that I had forgotten I even owned, to a large company for £15K. Result!

The thing is, I absolutely hate people that sit on domain names and charge extortinate sums for them.

Still we all have our price and mine is apparantly much lower than I thought.
(Tom Jones's Mojo Hasn't had any since, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 9:15, Reply)

(apeloverage committed the vile act of onanism on, Fri 16 Feb 2007, 9:03, Reply)