Inconvenient Annoyances

Good luck with your new place, Tama and good riddance to the old one - sounds awful!

Good luck with your new place, Tama and good riddance to the old one - sounds awful!

Thanks! Since hubby shouted the other night, it has been quiet at night. We are still excited about the new place, and not even thinking of how if we had shouted weeks ago, all this wouldn't have come about. We're still getting away from the trains. 

Nothing huge in the grand scheme of things, but I can't find my veggie peeler.  It is a Pampered Chef peeler I have had for ages and ages. I'd guess since '98 or '99. It is just as sharp as day one, and I suppose I might be a bit emotionally attached to it,

We looked the whole place over before leaving, so it can't be at the old apartment. I can only hope it is in a box somewhere. It isn't in my Pampered Chef tool turnabout with the other gadgets, spoons and such where it belongs, and isn't in the silverware drawer.

If need be, I can buy another one, but much like a fave old sweatshirt, you can buy one that looks like it but just isn't the same.

I hope you find your peeler TamaMoo.  I really hate when things get missing.  I'm pretty sure a black hole randomly opens up all over the world sucking in objects never to be seen again.

 

I hope you find your peeler TamaMoo.  I really hate when things get missing.  I'm pretty sure a black hole randomly opens up all over the world sucking in objects never to be seen again.

 

Thanks. I only realized yesterday I still haven't seen my fave knife either. My only hope is, if they are in that black hole you mentioned, they are together and living a good life, perhaps even hanging out with the Snoopy sock I haven't seen in a few years. We have enough boxes left to unpack that I still have hope of finding them.

We just received a check for the balance of our deposit from the old place, after all cleaning and damages, etc were taken out. It was for $39.36 of the $435 we paid. They charged us for cleaning the stove, sinks, shower, and other things that WE cleaned before moving out. We were charged for damages to a door (screw holes and scuffing) that were there when we moved in. That really chaps me, because I am sure they charged the people who moved out prior to us, and will charge the people who move in next, when they move out.

What chaps me most is they charged us $45.00 for a 'past due water bill they had to pay'. We were on direct debit for it, so it came out automatically on the due date. The water company knew this, so why they had them pay it is beyond us. They had our new address to forward the bill in addition to the fact it is direct debit. The due date was yesterday, and it came out of our account as scheduled.

So, now I have to go in there Wednesday and be insistent with them. I hate having to find the balance between letting people know just how annoyed I am, and being polite about it.

That really chaps me, because I am sure they charged the people who moved out prior to us, and will charge the people who move in next, when they move out.

This really grinds my gears.  You have to pretty much go into any rental these days knowing you're going to lose your deposit.   

Ugh that's such a pain! I've gotten in the habit of taking pictures of EVERYTHING when we move in so that we have proof of the condition of things. And then offering to show them to the landlord before we move out so they're not tempted to pull any fast ones. Good luck!

We just received a check for the balance of our deposit from the old place, after all cleaning and damages, etc were taken out. It was for $39.36 of the $435 we paid. They charged us for cleaning the stove, sinks, shower, and other things that WE cleaned before moving out. We were charged for damages to a door (screw holes and scuffing) that were there when we moved in. That really chaps me, because I am sure they charged the people who moved out prior to us, and will charge the people who move in next, when they move out.

What chaps me most is they charged us $45.00 for a 'past due water bill they had to pay'. We were on direct debit for it, so it came out automatically on the due date. The water company knew this, so why they had them pay it is beyond us. They had our new address to forward the bill in addition to the fact it is direct debit. The due date was yesterday, and it came out of our account as scheduled.

So, now I have to go in there Wednesday and be insistent with them. I hate having to find the balance between letting people know just how annoyed I am, and being polite about it.

That taking whatever they like out of your deposit is not allowed any more in England. Changed in Feb 2007. By law, they had to hold your deposit in one of the government set deposit schemes and it's that deposit scheme that sorts out any disagreements.

If you are in England, have moved in to that property since Feb 2007 or have renewed your contract since Feb 2007, than the landlord or their letting agent had to send you details of which scheme they put your deposit in within 14 days of taking your deposit. It's called the Prescribed Information and has to be in a set format.

If they haven't protected your deposit in one of those schemes within 14 days of receiving your deposit and sent you, the tenant, the Prescribed Information in the correct format, then they have broken the law. The penalty is the deposit back in full plus up to 3 x the deposit as a fine, given to you the tenant.

Another point. Did you get an inventory when you moved in, signed by both parties?

Unfortunately, this is in the States. We have checked into it, and some of the things are protected by Indiana's renter's laws. Things they have listed (stove drip pans) are in the normal wear and tear list, and after nearly two years, there is going to be a bit of wear due to drips.

I am going in tomorrow,  and dispute some of these things. We may not get far, but we can show them the list we found for normal wear and tear, prove we paid the water bill, and it wasn't our fault the water company charged them knowing we had it set to come out on the due date, and tell them that the door was damaged when we moved in. They have to know the door was damaged prior to us, or they didn't do a good job of checking it over before us.

when you rent  a movie ON Demand  and  probably won't get to  see it  all..  boo!

Ugh, that sounds like a pain in the butt, Tama

I'm having apt/flat issues as well. I've only looked at a few places so far and I'm already done with it.  How people can show these flats with a straight face amazes me.  Seriously.  "Redecorated." You go in there and the paint is about 10 years old, knocked hole in the wall and the paint is faded in spots and faintly black because I imagine they tried to bleach the mold off. Forget trying to repaint.  I guess I just guessed redecorated mean paint/carpet/nice stuff not mold and carpet that is literally patched together.  You could trip over the random pieces jigsawed together to make one patch of carpet in a room. 

Hubs and I saw one that was Ok. (Ok so years ago I would have laughed and walked away, things are different now) Sorry said the estate agents, the tenants moved out a few days ago and the landlord wants someone in there by next week. So they said they would keep looking for other tenants.  We found another on Saturday after a viewing that was good and we told them we wanted it.  Turns out the letting people aren't there on Saturday so a sales person showed us it.  She tells us to call on Tuesday and put a hold on it (Monday-bank holiday) Hubs calls early this morning.  Sorry, someone already put a hold on it Saturday afternoon. Because another estate agency was showing it too! WHAT?! Is this a common thing here?  Many agencies showing the same exact flat? Back to square one again. 

General annoyances that I just HAVE to vent!
This job search is really starting to get me down… I apply for 50+ jobs to only even receive a response from 2 (saying i'm not qualified to do something 10-20 hours a week that i've done 40+ hours a week for 3 years) and one interview. It's becoming really disheartening. It doesn't help when the best form of encouragement I get is comments like "you might think that you'll never get a job here because you're American… you know, 'i'm american why would they hire someone like me" but honestly you're fairly well spoken for someone like you!"
Is that supposed to make me feel better?? Because it sounds like a passive aggressive insult 

Nothing huge in the grand scheme of things, but I can't find my veggie peeler.  It is a Pampered Chef peeler I have had for ages and ages. I'd guess since '98 or '99. It is just as sharp as day one, and I suppose I might be a bit emotionally attached to it,

We looked the whole place over before leaving, so it can't be at the old apartment. I can only hope it is in a box somewhere. It isn't in my Pampered Chef tool turnabout with the other gadgets, spoons and such where it belongs, and isn't in the silverware drawer.

If need be, I can buy another one, but much like a fave old sweatshirt, you can buy one that looks like it but just isn't the same.

I agree with what expatx said about a black hole opening up! Sure enough, though, as soon as you buy another one your Pampered Chef one will reappear! 

Sending you hugs RTC.  I had the same thing happen a few times here with jobs that I am supposedly unqualified for despite me doing them for years in the US for a major company.  Others have had this as well. I wish I had advice, just know that you're not alone. I've had one place tell me after pressing them a little why I wasn't qualified for the job and had them tell me they don't like hiring Americans because they have an attitude. No idea if they had one employed with them previously and some drama happened or what. Regardless pretty stupid and discriminatory. But it happens. All you can do is keep trying.  If you can find a place that already has a few non brits on staff so much the better.