Mr Daz http://www.mrdaz.com So much anger, so little time Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:00:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 2006-2007 daz@whatdvd.net (Mr Daz) daz@whatdvd.net (Mr Daz) posts 1440 So much anger, so little time Mr Daz Mr Daz daz@whatdvd.net No no http://www.mrdaz.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/MrDaz144x144.jpg Mr Daz http://www.mrdaz.com 144 144 Angry people looking for Mr Daz http://www.mrdaz.com/angry-people-looking-for-mr-daz/ http://www.mrdaz.com/angry-people-looking-for-mr-daz/#comments Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:00:36 +0000 MrDaz http://www.mrdaz.com/?p=1488 Now, I realise I do tend to offend people from time to time. I can’t help it, I just speak up about things that bother me and that tends to bother other people. HDNL drivers, Carphone Warehouse employees, chav scum – they’ve all been angered by me in the past. It’s something I’m comfortable with.

However, I was still a little surprised to see how many people have found this website by searching for Mr Daz specifically… and in case you think it might be another Mr Daz, check out some of the search phrases that people have been using – in order of popularity:

Mr Daz
mrdaz
Mr Daz CSA
Mr Daz is a wanker
Mr Daz computeach
Mr Daz home delivery hdnl
daz on hotmail
Mr Daz is a prick
usability before seo and ppc mrdaz
Mr Daz hdnl
mrdaz insults
Mr Daz.com
CSA Mr Daz

Who are these people?

I particularly like the ‘mrdaz insults’ – it’s given me an idea for a blog, and possibly a book. The little book of Mr Daz insults: for that time when your own vocabulary leaves you devoid of a cutting vitriol.

]]> http://www.mrdaz.com/angry-people-looking-for-mr-daz/feed/ 2 123-Reg Complaints http://www.mrdaz.com/123-reg-complaints/ http://www.mrdaz.com/123-reg-complaints/#comments Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:36:00 +0000 MrDaz http://www.mrdaz.com/?p=1485 I’ve had more than my fair share of problems with hosting companies over the years. Nothing will ever quite compare the morons at Fasthosts, who I have never used since in any capacity (for any company I have worked for) after they switched off one of my websites on a Friday afternoon and sodded off home for the weekend. But that rant is for another time, today I’d like to talk about 123-Reg – who I use for domain registrations.

I wanted to update my card details this month, a task which should have been fairly straight forward – except when I tried the form didn’t work, insisting there was something wrong with the card. After trying several times I contacted their customer support department where, had I known how utterly retarded they were, I wouldn’t have bothered. Here was my first message:

Account Owner
02/03/2010 17:07:54

I have tried several times to update my credit card details only to be told there is a problem with them. I know there is not because I use the card quite a lot, it’s a business card. I’m getting quite fed up with it and I have domains due in April.

Please sort this out because it’s very annoying.

What is also annoying is that when I went to submit this form it asked me for the ‘domain’… it’s not about a domain, it’s a billing question. No wonder your forms aren’t working properly, they haven’t been coded correctly.

So – not only did the credit card form not work, the support form insisted I reference a specific domain name when it clearly wasn’t about a domain. Some simple user testing wouldn’t go amiss on their website. I received a response from ‘Nick’.

Support Agent
Nick
02/03/2010 17:30:58

Dear Darren,

Thank you for contacting 123-reg on the 02nd March 2010.

I can confirm that the error message for your transaction is appearing because the billing address entered in your payment process does not match the address that your bank account is registered to. Please ensure that this matches when trying to make the payment again. Please note that stringent security checks are put in place on our payment processes for fraud prevention purposes. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

If we can be of any further help with regard to this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind Regards

Nick
123-reg

This was annoying – because their ‘address’ field consisted of a series of text boxes with address line 1, address line 2 etc on them – no real indication as to what fields were required. I attempted to clarify this with Nick.

Account Owner
02/03/2010 17:41:08

Thanks for the update

Could you point me in the right direction of what the fields ‘Address line 1:’ etc are supposed to refer to seeing as it needs to be an exact match with what is stored with the bank? Perhaps City, County etc might be a better label for the fields so that we know what part of the address is supposed to go in which field?

A simple question, but sadly it was picked up by an even simpler person, called Kristy. This is what I really hate about customer service people – sometimes they don’t even read the question and just submit the stock answer. I may as well have clicked on a random link in the FAQ for the help this bint was:

Support Agent
Kristy
03/03/2010 12:11:55

Dear Darren,

Thank you for contacting 123-reg on the 02nd March 2010.

If your account email address is wrong or your details need updating you can change these by doing the following.

1) Login to your 123-reg control panel.
2) Scroll down to the section titled ‘Account management’.
3) Click ‘Update personal information’.

All fields need to match the exact billing address of the card/

If we can be of any further help with regard to this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind Regards

Kristy
123-reg

That angered me, as you can probably imagine…

Account Owner
03/03/2010 12:45:53

You didn’t read the question did you?

Please read the question before replying…

This time Lewis picked up the batten, and at least he gave it a good effort.

Support Agent
Lewis
03/03/2010 14:22:37

Dear Darren,

Thank you for contacting 123-reg on the 03rd March 2010.

When the card details are processed we check the first line of address and the postcode.

I have checked your account and no postcode is listed. Ensure the card billing address is registered to the address below.

*****
UK

If we can be of any further help with regard to this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind Regards

Lewis
123-reg

No postcode? Firstly, pretty sure I entered one and secondly it should be mandatory anyway? Checked the form again – after Lewis had ‘mentioned’ the postcode thing and yeah, my browser shows I definitely entered one.

Account Owner
03/03/2010 15:30:00

No Postcode is listed?

That’s funny because my browser history shows that I have entered one, and have entered one each time I have attempted to update the card details.

Maybe I’ll try again, maybe I’ll just give up and use another registrar. Haven’t decided yet. Full marks for actually reading the question though, that’s more than Kristy managed. Perhaps she’s having an off day?

Then, just to completely piss me off – another moron chimed in having completely ignored everything that had been written so far. This guy, Ray, was asking for a verbal volley.

Support Agent
Ray
05/03/2010 12:19:18

Dear Darren,

Thank you for contacting 123-reg on the 03rd March 2010.

We check the address on your 123-reg user account and the address that the bank hold for your card.

If your account email address is wrong or your details need updating you can change these by doing the following.

1) Login to your 123-reg control panel.
2) Scroll down to the section titled ‘Account management’.
3) Click ‘Update personal information’.

From here you can change any of the details for your 123-reg account. Please note that any alterations made here will not change domain name registration details, they will simply update the 123-reg database.

If we can be of any further help with regard to this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind Regards

Ray
123-reg

Ray got just what he asked for in my opinion…

Account Owner
05/03/2010 12:28:30

I’m amazed at the way you guys just copy and paste your stock responses into this system without reading a single word of the original question. I give up. Truly. I’ve known some bad customer service in my time, NTL and BT being very high on the list, but at least they actually know what you’re asking before they ignore you. You guys aren’t even concerned with that.

Amazing, really. Full marks.

This got Kristy’s attention – and she decided to check that the issue had been resolved.

Support Agent
Kristy
08/03/2010 16:32:04

Dear Darren,

Thank you for contacting 123-reg on the 05th March 2010.

Please can you confirm that you are still having an issue?

If we can be of any further help with regard to this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind Regards

Kristy
123-reg

After trying for what had to go down as the last time, the form worked. Perhaps one of their developers was made aware of the issue at long last?

Account Owner
08/03/2010 16:34:53

Magically it seems to work now. Correct something on the form did we? Looks to me as though the postcode field wasn’t labelled correctly last time.

And then Kristy mopped up, closing the support ticket.

Support Agent
Kristy
08/03/2010 16:45:12

Dear Darren,

Thank you for contacting 123-reg on the 08th March 2010.

Sorry for the inconvenience this caused you.

If we can be of any further help with regard to this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind Regards

Kristy
123-reg

Why couldn’t this have all been done first time round? Why did it take 3 different support agents to solve a very simple problem? I’ll know next time not to bother with 123-Reg’s support, they’re imbeciles.

]]> http://www.mrdaz.com/123-reg-complaints/feed/ 0 Flakelet.com reply about duplicate content http://www.mrdaz.com/flakelet-com-reply-about-duplicate-content/ http://www.mrdaz.com/flakelet-com-reply-about-duplicate-content/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:41:57 +0000 MrDaz http://www.mrdaz.com/?p=1482 It seems I was wrong and the marketing monkeys at Flakelet.com did reply – and with an explanation on how duplicate content works and that I have nothing to worry about! I can go on my merry way copying their articles and pasting them on my site, and Google won’t care a jot – at least according to Ms. Weng Lopez. Here is what she said:

Hi Darren,

Thanks for replying. For details, you can browse the database of our articles at www.flakelet.com, where you can also learn more about how we work.

For concerns about duplicate content here are two reasons:

1. Duplicate content is an issue only when present on your own site (and that kind of duplicate content could cause some serious trouble for you). But, Google won’t punish you for reprinting other peoples’ content and they routinely index duplicate content pages, without a problem. You can easily check this by Googling a random article title from an article directory, such as EzineArticles.com. More often than not, you will find that multiple copies of the same article exist in Google’s index.

Why yes, if you search for a specific article title then you will find the sites where that article has been used. Naturally – if Google didn’t show you the sites where it had been used, it wouldn’t be of much use as a search engine. However, if I searched for phrases relating to that article I would NOT find each of those pages, all being duplicates of each other.

Google won’t punish you for copying content? I happen to think that’s about as inaccurate as you can get. Good luck with that Ms. Weng Lopez.

She continued:

2. We don’t require you to republish our articles “as is.” In fact, you can change them as much (or as little) as you wish and you will own the copyright. In our experience, it’s enough for Google to consider a page unique, if it has a unique title and a meta description. By adding a short 1-2 sentence introduction at the beginning, you should be more than covered.

“In our experience, it’s enough for Google to consider a page unique, if it has a unique title and a meta description.” …erm… no. A world of no, and once again, just in case I’ve not made myself perfectly clear, no.

Btw, we will be covering the issue of duplicate content in detail in our community, which is another good reason for joining. If you are interested, just follow this link http://flakelet.com/wp-register.php and register with the following invitation code: w4507l .

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

Best regards,

Ms. Weng Lopez
weng.lopez@mikino.com
www.flakelet.com

Now I have to admit, I am curious as to what they’re going to say about duplicate content – merely because I need a good laugh and don’t often get chuckles on an SEO front – since I stopped visiting the forums at SEOchat at least.

However, I think I’ll leave this be for now… although I can feel the urge to reply coming on.

]]> http://www.mrdaz.com/flakelet-com-reply-about-duplicate-content/feed/ 2 Flakelet.com http://www.mrdaz.com/flakelet-com/ http://www.mrdaz.com/flakelet-com/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:14:53 +0000 MrDaz http://www.mrdaz.com/?p=1480 I’ve been running various websites online now for, well, forever really. I think it goes back to 1998 somewhere, my memory fails me. The point is that I’m fairly web savvy and I know when a website looks suspect.

Due to running so many websites I’ve also had numerous emails over the years from affiliate networks, potential sponsors and various companies who have wanted me to sign up or advertise their products.

Many of which are genuine affiliate networks, many of which are not.

Again, I feel I’m pretty good at telling which are the genuine ones, and which are the spam emails destined for the deleted items folder. Yesterday however I had one email that I just couldn’t bring myself to delete, so blasé was it about its ‘free’ service to me.

Have a read of this:

From: Weng Lopez
Subject: Re: CSA Hell: Re: your site, www.CSAhell.com

Hi,

I just want you to know that your site meets our criteria and we would like to sponsor it. The membership is free but only the top-notch sites are allowed.

What’s in it for you:

- Placement in an exclusive “Best of Content-Oriented Web sites” directory.
- Free content for your site, written around your topics by our in-house writers.
- Promotion of your site across our networks of 2,000+ of blogs.
- Marketing tools developed exclusively for our members to help you drive more traffic.
- Expert advice on search engine optimization (SEO), content development, monetization, conversions, etc. to make the most of what you’ve got.
- Participation in our community support forums.
- …and more.

Note that none of these benefits are available to non-members, it is an invitation-only community for webmasters. So, if any of the above appeals to you and if you’d like an invitation, please let me know. I will send you more details.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,

Weng Lopez
weng.lopez@mikino.com
www.flakelet.com

I so nearly deleted it… but instead felt a compelling urge to reply, especially after I had a quick look at their website and saw what a dodgy Facebook knockoff it was.

Here is what I wrote:

So, if I understand this correctly – you want to place content on my site, with links to your sponsors, without paying me for it and have advertised this as being a free service to me?

I can see what you get out of it – websites willing to post your content promoting your sponsors, but I don’t seem to get anything out of it all. Your website seems to be using the same design as Facebook (I’m sure that’s a coincidence) and has no PR, meaning it’s fairly new or has been penalised.

In addition, should I place your content on my website I would be penalised by Google for duplicate content AND for selling links, even though I wouldn’t actually have received any money for them.

Perhaps I’ve missed something? Do let me know if I have.

Regards
Darren

I doubt I’ll get a reply back – but seriously, if anyone gets an email from these jokers, the ‘free’ membership that allows you to promote their clients without any charge to yourself isn’t the best deal you’ll find online.

]]> http://www.mrdaz.com/flakelet-com/feed/ 1 Looking for a pedestal desk http://www.mrdaz.com/looking-for-a-pedestal-desk/ http://www.mrdaz.com/looking-for-a-pedestal-desk/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:55:50 +0000 MrDaz http://www.mrdaz.com/?p=1475 Those who know me will know that I can be fairly superficial, but I choose to look upon that as having good taste. For example, I’ve wanted to own a decent desk from which to work for years, as I’ve always made do with cheaper, flat-pack rubbish (usually from Argos). There’s nothing worse than your entire desk shaking when the printer is running, knowing that the screws are working themselves loose with every pass of the printer cartridge.

I have looked for a decent pedestal desk a few times, trying new furniture shops mainly, but haven’t found anything that I like. It has to be old, preferably Victorian, and come with a suitably regal captain’s chair – although I know from trying them out that captains’ chairs aren’t that comfortable.

I’m going to start looking again soon, so that I can get rid of my latest flat-pack job from Argos, and will be starting with eBay and antique dealers around my local area, such as Manchester and Lancashire.

Hopefully, thanks to the power of the Internet, I won’t have to look for long before I find the perfect antique desk in Lancashire, close enough to have one delivered and cheap enough that it doesn’t break the bank. Quality is important, but as I’ve seen them online for well over £4,000 I may yet end up disappointed.

This is the type of antique desk that I’m looking for, so hopefully I’ll find one within budget. I can just see myself sat at this, sipping wine while annoying people online in a professional capacity.

]]> http://www.mrdaz.com/looking-for-a-pedestal-desk/feed/ 2 Tariq Zaman arrested over money laundering allegations http://www.mrdaz.com/tariq-zaman-arrested-over-money-laundering-allegations/ http://www.mrdaz.com/tariq-zaman-arrested-over-money-laundering-allegations/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:30:52 +0000 MrDaz http://www.mrdaz.com/?p=1470 Former boss of Leeds student lettings company Providence Properties, Tariq Zaman, was arrested recently and held by police, suspected of committing acts of money laundering and fraud.

According to the Yorkshire Evening Post, the former boss of the student accommodation company, the one that was investigated by BBC Watchdog, was arrested. The YEP also states that Tariq Zaman, whose brother Bashirt Zaman runs student letting agency My Homez, was stripped of rental licenses meaning that he can no longer rent properties to students, or to anyone for that matter.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police stated:

A 41-year-old Leeds man was arrested on February 2 on suspicion of money laundering and fraud by false representation and is currently on police bail pending further enquiries.

The former premises of Providence Properties, in Leeds, are now occupied by The Student Property Shop. The Student Property Shop itself has been investigated by Trading Standards over allegations of fraud and keeping students’ money.

]]> http://www.mrdaz.com/tariq-zaman-arrested-over-money-laundering-allegations/feed/ 0 McAfee virus scan is really annoying http://www.mrdaz.com/mcafee-virus-scan-is-really-annoying/ http://www.mrdaz.com/mcafee-virus-scan-is-really-annoying/#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:47:07 +0000 MrDaz http://www.mrdaz.com/?p=1468 As I work online, I obviously us a computer throughout the day (and often all night and weekends too, but that’s another matter). I also have this hate-hate relationship with Microsoft and Windows, as I find it the most infuriating think in my life. I don’t understand why Windows just has to keep annoying me with its constant nagging about stuff I really don’t care about.

I get daily messages telling me that some program I’m not using has stopped working, and shutting down merely prompts to offer feedback to Microsoft (which I have done in my own colourful way) only for the same damn error to keep happening.

I don’t care about the program, sod off!

McAfee is another thorn in my side. Only today I was writing an article when, in mid flow, the focus was taking off word while I was writing a sentence, only for this message box to force itself onto my screen.

McAfee Virus Scan

I couldn’t give a rat’s arse what it’s about to do, don’t interrupt me when I’m working, only to give me the options of ‘piss me off now’ or ‘piss me off later’.

Where’s the ‘sod off and never bother me again’ button?

Windows is full of this crap and it’s extremely infuriating.

/rant

]]> http://www.mrdaz.com/mcafee-virus-scan-is-really-annoying/feed/ 2 Carphone Warehouse Manager tells woman ‘sweaty ears caused fault in phone’ http://www.mrdaz.com/carphone-warehouse-manager-tells-woman-sweaty-ears-caused-fault-in-phone/ http://www.mrdaz.com/carphone-warehouse-manager-tells-woman-sweaty-ears-caused-fault-in-phone/#comments Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:28:07 +0000 MrDaz http://www.mrdaz.com/?p=1464 I’ve had my problems with Carphone Warehouse in the past, as I mentioned here. I wasn’t expecting so many people however to come forward and post comments about they feel they have been ripped off by Carphone Warehouse.

My post has attracted over 80 comments, some from angry customers and some from angry Carphone Warehouse employees. This woman (Claire Robinson), a Carphone Warehouse employee, even pretended to be a customer to try and fool others into thinking Carphone Warehouse were a company that offered great customer service. The complaints against Carphone Warehouse on this website suggest otherwise.

I have now been contacted by another disgruntled Carphone Warehouse customer who has been told that her phone is faulty because of her husband’s sweaty ears!

Have a read of this response to a complaint email from Carphone Warehouse:

Dear Mr ******

Thank you for your email.

I’m sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the repair you have received and the decision that has been made to the fault with the handset.

When a mobile gets wet, whether it’s from precipitation, humidity or any type of liquid, it causes corrosion to the electronic circuits. This gets worse with time. Often, when the mobile dries out, it will work for a short period of time, anything from a day to several months, but eventually stops working for good.

A fault like this often happens when the mobile hasn’t been in obvious contact with liquids. This is because liquid damage can be caused by a variety of factors, and often without you being aware of it.

Important information

Liquid damage is something that is not covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. Even if you wanted to pay for us to repair your mobile, we won’t because we cannot guarantee how long the mobile will work for if it was damaged by a liquid. If you have insurance for your mobile, you should find out if you’re covered for liquid damage. If you don’t have insurance, then you may have to buy another mobile.

If you’d like another second opinion we would advise you to contact that manufacturer directly on 0845 045 5555. Taking all this into account we will not be able to action your request of repairing the handset free of charge.

I apologise I can not offer a more favourable response. If you need any more help please call our Customer Support team on 0870 087 0168, between 8 am and 8pm Monday – Friday, 9am – 8pm Saturday and 10am – 5pm Sunday.

Regards

Kelly Cole

The customer was told that the sweat from her husband’s ear could have been the cause of the fault to her phone, and they will not be repairing it for her.

So, be warned that if you buy a phone, answering it and holding it up to your ear could invalidate the warranty with Carphone Warehouse. This is almost as good as when Carphone Warehouse told me that their returns policy didn’t apply to phones.

Classic stuff.

]]> http://www.mrdaz.com/carphone-warehouse-manager-tells-woman-sweaty-ears-caused-fault-in-phone/feed/ 7 Student Property Shop protest http://www.mrdaz.com/student-property-shop-protest/ http://www.mrdaz.com/student-property-shop-protest/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:50:39 +0000 MrDaz http://www.mrdaz.com/?p=1461 You might remember the posts I made a while back about Tariq Zaman and his Student Property Company in Leeds. It seems that students in Leeds are still upset over the practises of Tariq Zaman and his company, and there is a protest planned for this weekend on Saturday January 30th, between 1pm and 3pm. The protest takes place outside the Student Property Shop, and details can be found on Facebook.

The Facebook page reads:

Finally we have some progress in the fight against Tariq Zaman and his cronies…

According to BBC Watchdog:

‘Tariq Zaman has been named as a HMO licence holder for 18 properties owned by his family. Due to the prosecutions, the council has taken the view that he is no longer a fit and proper person and we are now taking steps to remove his licence completely.

Now is the time to step up and the pressure to tell Mr Zaman to return the thousands of pounds students have reported he’s stolen from them and to alert other students before they sign with either him. Mr Zaman had links with Providence Properties which closed down last year, and the shop front was taken over by the Student Property Shop.

SO COME MAKE SOME NOISE OUTSIDE THE STUDENT PROPERTY SHOP ON SATURDAY AND SHOW THAT THE STUDENTS OF LEEDS HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE FIGHT AGAINST TARIQ ZAMAN.

And of course, invite all your friends!!!

]]> http://www.mrdaz.com/student-property-shop-protest/feed/ 0 HDNL employee to customers: You are all morons http://www.mrdaz.com/hdnl-employee-to-customers-you-are-all-morons/ http://www.mrdaz.com/hdnl-employee-to-customers-you-are-all-morons/#comments Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:21:21 +0000 MrDaz http://www.mrdaz.com/?p=1459 Since my post just over two years ago about how a HDNL driver threw a parcel over  a gate, into a puddle, the post has received over 250 comments from angry HDNL customers, and arrogant, racist drivers who work for Home Delivery Network and insist on insulting their customers. The latest comment is by no means the worst, but the abrupt way that the imbecile chose to call all HDNL customers morons in his opening tirade is indicative of the attitude of the company towards its customers.

I particularly like the badly written line that reads: “Get off you fat arses and walk to the fucking shops”

The comment can be read below, and here, and you can read the original post (with the 250+ comments) here.

HDNL Employee
hdnl.co.uk
a@b.com
86.159.220.35
Submitted on 2010/01/23 at 1:39am

You are all morons. Do not use a 7am-7pm delivery company if you are going to be at work. I got an idea for you… Get off you fat arses and walk to the fucking shops…? Makes sense. If you order something be in for delivery! Hell its not hard people. What are you gaining bitching on this website? Why not just pick up a Thompson Local and ring the depot if you have a problem?? HDNL has a 99% delivery sucess rate, and with customers like Amazon moving more parcels through our network than in the past due to failures by other companies its hard to believe we’re as bad as you lot make out.

]]> http://www.mrdaz.com/hdnl-employee-to-customers-you-are-all-morons/feed/ 11