Things that are meant to be better but are not better

I’ve just bought a home with a super fancy modern boiler. I generally just run heating when I’m chilly, rather than on a schedule but I can’t do that here. I can’t just switch it on or hit boost. It has to be programmed against the thermostat the a remote every time. I just want an on/off switch!

And parking apps. Register your car, upload card details, remember another password, select location… I just want to beep my card on the terminal and be done!

I'm regularly infuriated by NatWest - I buy something online, enter my card details, it defaults to the screen that tells you the bank will send you a code. I get a text from the bank detailing the amount and who I'm paying and a code to complete the transaction. But the text starts with a message that says "WARNING if somebody has asked for this code they are a criminal"
Erm... it's the bloody BANK who are sending me the code that I HAVE to input before I can buy the ruddy thing!

Also, to echo those who hate the parking apps - our town has just introduced (or rather forced) paying to park. You get a free 30 mins (only once a day mind), then have to pay for each 30 mins afterwards. However, to get your free 30 mins, you have to enter a specific code, either in the app or on a machine in the street (which doesn't give you a paper ticket or anything, so you've no proof and then have to remember the time you arrived).

If you want to pay for additional parking, you then have to enter a different code in the app, or schlep back to the machine in the street to do it. So if you're in Sainsbury's or the Post Office in a queue and your time is nearly up, you have to abandon everything to go out in the street because there is no mobile signal in the store! And the app has a countdown timer on it, but also a default setting that charges you 10p to send you a text to remind you your time is up, rather than giving the option of turning that ON, so half the town have been paying 10p for 'free' parking. I don't really mind paying to park, but the council seem to have chosen the most complex way possible to do so.

Autoflush toilets. Flush when sit down, halfway doing your pee. When you want it to flush, wave your hand over the sensor panel, does it flush? No! Waving, put hand over sensor and everything inbetween, then it flushes a minute after you done this.

Surely wastes more water than a manual flush?

I often have to rinse my hands under a hotwater tap to turn on my digital induction hob as my hands are too cold.
But if I leave the edge of a tea towel on the ceramic top, the hob bleeps constantly it’s so sensitive.

Oh they’re not worried about in house sales these days given 1 in every 5 new casr is sold on the Mobility Scheme to customers who never enter a car sales showroom. 😏

Having to accept or reject cookies all the bloody time.

Wow, I wasn't aware headphone jacks have been removed. I haven't tried these earbuds but they sound like something I would hate. I can't bear putting things right in my ear. YANBU.

yes to the 'appification'

I'm also bemused by banks/solicitors/phone companies/energy companies etc who make access 'secure' via apps and tell you to not click on links and at the same time send emails to you with 'click on this link to access important documents'...

Buying new oven soon. Which was bad make and what did you replace it with.

You can get ear buds for small ears - haven’t tried any myself but I plan to as I have this same problem www.techradar.com/audio/headphones/earbuds-airpods/best-earbuds-for-small-ears

Thank you! Of course.

Oh I looove app based ordering!! Just pay as you go and walk out whenever you please, no getting the attention of a waiter etc. As long as they bring the food and drinks promptly with a smile and do check backs and clear up quickly then I’m more than happy to pay the auto tip. The places I go regularly have great apps that allow customisation.

Google Maps reads everything phonetically. Welsh place names are not always phonetically plausible to readers of English, so it comes up with some VERY interesting pronunciations.

As I'm still learning Welsh, I end up spelling out the names of places that I've been to, or going, "Google says it like this..." and then my Welsh-speaking colleagues stop, think, and then go, "Oh, you mean such-a-place!" The actual pronunciation is nothing like Google Maps says. This might be partly why it is taking me so long to learn Welsh 😁

Or as is more likely - something light and barely registering a weight - telling you to place said item in the holding area like a birthday card. I'd sooner keep someone in a job!!

This Was much cheaper and easier to buy a new battery and just replace it without dismantling phone

The need to use apps has to be one of the most irritating things about life today. DH and I were looking at cars a while back and dropped into a car showroom to browse what was around. There was no information about any of the cars to read in the windscreens etc. The salesman came out and asked us what we were looking for and we pointed out that there was no information available to read about any of the vehicles. He started on about downloading the app and how easy it was and so on - I said I've left my phone at home and I'm not downloading info on my DH's phone for every single car just to find out if it's even in our budget! If this app was so good - he could walk around with us and tell the price of every car in the showroom. He refused and we walked out and he lost a potential sale.

I solved it by not watching TV nor owning one.

A few months ago I decided I fancied a Burger King while on a rare foray into town. Walked in to be confronted by computerised screen / app / QR code thingy approximately 6 feet away from the counter where I could see real people but I wasn't allowed to approach them until I'd done the digital thing. I wilted and walked out. I suppose the silver lining is that it will be better for my waistline, but honestly, I really fancied something flame grilled and some onion rings. Bastards.

I can't use the hard plastic ones either, but some like JLab or Anker still come with the rubber bits in different sizes.

OP, they don't have to cost zillions either. Anker is about £15, JLab is about £17.50 if you shop around or wait for them to be on offer at Amazon again.

...that said, shopping around for the best price when retailers change their prices every second is bloody annoying. Even CamelCamelCamel is not as accurate as it once was 😭

My mistake. I assumed she meant normal old meters.
So why are these rts being turned off if lots of people use them?

They're starting to have card readers on car park ticket machines now thank fuck, which signals the end of several years of parking a mile away and walking in for me, because I was a total app refusenik.

For me, I'd say supermarket loyalty schemes and manipulative pricing. "ONLY £5.00! (or £6.50 if you're not a Tesco Clubcard member)". Piss off to Lidl I shall then, which has no truck with this nonsense and has a far superior selection of wine anyway- and as an added bonus, my local branch has no self checkouts.

Oh, and can I add- bloody autocorrect!! No phone, I WANTED to say "refusenik", NOT "refusing"!

Yep, me too which prompted me to look up if I was under any obligation to change and I'm not.
Rags me off that they make out its compulsory

Yes it was on the receipt. Basically the staff did everything other than bring over the card reader. Good to know though, I did not realise that!

Definitely App ordering in restaurants. Happy to have it as an option for those who prefer but I don't want an app for every place I might eat. I have a field based role and am away overnight for work frequently - I don't want to download an app every time I stop for food. Popped in Nandos recently for the first time in a couple of years and the waiter actually said my only option was to download the app. What a pain, by the time we'd had the conversation about it he could have just taken my order! (Don't worry I know he doesn't make the rules so I was polite)
Also, screen ordering in Tesco cafe. Fine for me but let's be honest, the demographic of a supermarket cafe is somewhat elderly and it's horrible seeing people struggling.

Needing an account for everything - with 2FA 🙈

RTS meters are the ones that switch between peak and lower rate electricity. People whose homes are heated by storage heaters usually rely on them. RTS is being switched off in June.

It's not that @ERthree is being conned or anything. If she doesn't get new smart meters, her electricity supply will stop switching rates at night.

The obligation isn't on the customer to change meters, her provider MUST change them before RTS is discontinued. It's a legal obligation. There are a lot of customers in this position at present, my Mum included. The providers have to come up with something to make it work, even if it means paying for them to have broadband or installing a mobile relay at their own cost.

https://www.myabri.co.uk/news-and-events/news/switching-to-smart-meters