Home Delivery Network to sack 700 people?

Great news for consumers who like to get their purchases delivered properly, as incompetent delivery firm, HDNL (Home Delivery Network Limited) look like they’re going to make 700 workers redundant, adding to the unemployment in the country.

Now, when this sort of thing happens to most companies you can expect a tad of sympathy, but with HDNL you’re not going to get any sympathy at all. I’m glad they’re sacking 700 workers, in fact, why can’t they sack all of them and just wind up the company? My original post about how Home Delivery Network botched a delivery has attracted well over 100 comments from angry customers who have also had their items lost, damaged or stolen by HDNL staff, and also comments from HDNL delivery drivers who have spouted racist abuse at customers via this website.

The post has become one massive advert as to why you shouldn’t use HDNL.

The news that HDNL could be sacking almost a thousand staff is great news for people who like to have their items delivered properly, as now perhaps Amazon will have to use a decent delivery service.

Julia Long, from the ‘Unite’ union, stated:

We have been working together over the last year putting changes in place to help the business move forward and become profitable after years of what we believe were bad decisions and poor management.

Irene Radigan from the Usdaw union added:

We are working with HDNL to minimise compulsory redundancies as a result of this restructuring. The home shopping sector has seen a steady decline over the last few years and these redundancies are not a direct result of the economic downturn.

According to the reports, HDNL depots in Basildon, Daventry, Newcastle, Eastleigh, Burslem, Sheffield and Edmonton will be closed, and the staff made redundant. HDNL has 59 depots in the UK, so there’s a few more to close before we can expect decent service once again.

HTC Touch HD

htc-touch-hd-001I’m looking at getting a new mobile phone to replace my Windows Smartphone (which is the size of a small car and is getting quite slow). The phone I intend to get is the new Windows Mobile 6 HTC Touch HD, the one without the keyboard. I’m not getting the keyboard version because my fingers are huge and I can’t operate the tiny keys anyway (I can’t even use the keyboard on the Eee PC properly).

One thing I need to check out though is the best place to get one, as obviously I can’t buy from Carphone Warehouse, as they’re likely to rip me off the same as they did the last time I used them, where they lied to me repeatedly. Their staff as bad enough too, as one of their former store managers proved when he emailed me just to abuse me. Quality customer service from Carphone Warehouse.

So, where do you think is the place to buy a mobile phone?

I might get lucky and hang on a few months as I’m due an upgrade on the Nokia N95 I had from Vodafone, but not sure I can wait that long.

Student Property Shop request clarification

I’ve received an email from Chris Johnston from the Student Property Shop requesting that I clarify something for him. Chris’ website, StudentPropertyShop.com is in no way related to the website I blogged about last week, The Student Property Shop known as thestudentpropertyshop.co.uk.

Chris’ website and business has been around since June 2005, whereas the thestudentpropertyshop.co.uk website is brand new, and has just taken up residence in Leeds.

Chris writes:

Hi, please would you be able to point out somewhere on your website that ‘The Student Property Shop’ is nothing to do with my website StudentPropertyShop.com (which I have been running since June 2005). I am currently in a dispute with ‘The Student Property Shop’ about their choice of trading name.

Thank you,
Chris Johnston
Founder, StudentPropertyShop.com

No problems Chris, sorry if anyone thought that your website was in any way related to the letting agent in Leeds.

While we’re on the subject of the letting agent in Leeds, we wrote last time how they’d leached an image from the website of My Homez (note, by leached, we mean stolen – that’s an Internet technical term meaning a website is using an image hosted on another website). Well, now it seems that the website for thestudentpropertyshop.co.uk has now been taken down, as the domain name shows a ‘coming soon’ message.

But… they haven’t done it properly. Would you have seriously expected them to?

No, they’ve removed the index page, but left the rest of the website (including the Google Maps which is registered to another website, as explained here). Have a look and see what we mean.

Here’s the home page, removed, and here’s the website, still accessible!

Good work guys, you’ll get it right one day.

My reply to Chester City Council Parking Services

As you may have read previously, Chester City Council are trying to extort money from me for a parking ticket, when I tried to pay for my parking, and the machines didn’t work. I complained about it, but they responded, refusing my complaint.

Naturally I phoned up this week, was told someone would call me back, which they didn’t. Then I phoned again and spoke to a chap named Chris Follis. Chris asked why I didn’t phone them at the time. Like I was going to phone up Parking Services, on a Sunday, from the car park, in the pissing snow!

Anyhow, he confirmed that the car park does have CCTV, so it should be a simple matter to prove I am telling the truth. Just check the damn footage!

He said I needed to complain to a more senior parking official, Mike Leicester. Here is my letter to Mike.

Dear Sir

Further to my complaint dated 4th January, and your subsequent reply from the 29th January, I wish to challenge your decision regarding my parking fine. As per my original email, I tried to pay at TWO separate machines, only for them to refuse to accept my money. Furthermore, as per my email, they gave me an additional £2 to that which I tried to pay – a bizarre thing to make up if you believe I am lying.

As I tried to pay, twice, I will not be paying your fine and suggest you check the CCTV footage from the car park which will show that I tried to pay, at two separate machines. If the CCTV footage does not show me attempting to pay I will not only pay your fine, but you can have my car.

I refuse to be extorted by you when I made every effort to pay and will gladly go to court to prove my innocence. I have already decided to never spend any further money in Chester, and will stick to Manchester from now on.

I await your response.