Family blacklists do you have them?

[Bearnecessity]

We do....got Zenith car insurance, Barclays Bank on ours...

DP refuses to go to our local garden centre as when lockdown was lifted for plant nurseries they had a rule on ‘customers must buy plants if they wish to buy soil’ or something like that (we only wanted soil). I still go there, just can’t mention it or he starts frothing and ranting.

I refuse to get my coffees from the 3 big chains (mostly nero, but I avoid the other 2 as well) only because I worked that job for a decade and don’t want to set foot in another one of them until I’ve forgotten everything.

Warburtons (me because of politics, DP because he feels they’ve changed their thick slices)

Halifax BS who decided that I wasn't using my savings account often enough, even though I logged in every month. They took all my money and then refused to return it for about 8 months. It was enough to buy a house, hence why I was saving it!! At one point they told me to guesstimate the interest for my tax return.

So illegal in so many ways. They never apologized.

There's an amazing deli in my town. Unfortunately, the owner had a stupid rant on FB that demonstrated her intolerance of diversity. I've never shopped there since, though I yearn for their produce.

Asda Chinese ready meals. I had a couple while pregnant and on both occasions I promptly suffered morning sickness. Possibly unrelated, but the memory lingers.

[quote PatchworkElmer]@follygirl I thought that the formula thing was nestle, not J&J? Or was it both?[/quote]
To be honest I have no idea. My parents were pretty opinionated about a lot of things. It would ironic is we were merrily blacklisting the wrong company!

Hello Fresh. They would not honour their introductory offer of 50% off 1st + 20% off next 3.

They charged me full price from the first box and offered 30% off the second one. I have cancelled and will never use them again.

NPower - for being a lying bunch of cunts. Not long after they first launched they had reps everywhere in the street trying to sign you up. My ex had given our details not realising that I was already on a pay weekly stamp arrangement with Scottish Power (young and skint, and back in the days when you had a stamp booklet to take to the post office). Rang and cancelled the contract with them the same day and I was there in the callbox with him when he did it (too skint to have our own landline in those days). Three months later, started getting shitty letters threatening court action as we hadn't them. Hours spent in callboxes going through £££ trying to sort it out.

Lush - for various reasons including the way they have behaved with JKR.

Ryanair - just don't like them so won't fly with them.

Can't think of any more - my boycott list is fairly short these days!

Local branch of a restaurant chain I daren't name. We all got the spectacular shits from there once, and when we reported to Environmental Health received the world's arsiest email (pun intended) from the manager.

Wayfair! Some of the worst delivery and customer service I’ve ever dealt with.

Curry’s - awful customer service
Ernest Jones - awful customer service
Virgin Media - had to fight for months to get the refund I was due.
The Sun - obvious reasons
L & G - sexist would only speak with my husband even though both our names were on the policy.

The local shop because the woman that works there does an exaggerated eye roll/tut if you ask for anything that involves her having to look up from her phone or move off her stool.

Historic one.
A Lloyds Bank manager refused to let my grandparents open a bank account in 1959. They had emigrated and were Indian. They met the qualifications to open the account, but were refused 🤔.

That was the 50s, times have definitely changed, but no one in my family uses Lloyds because if it.

Aldi- the lady accused me of stealing peppers when I had done a shop elsewhere and stopped in there with my bags for a few items the other place was out of. I had the receipt and everyone behind me was embarassed for her.

Santander- refused us an account when the ex was a high earner but I hadn't found a job yet having recently moved back to UK. They were one of his company's clients and he was on their project. I even tested their service offering- that I was later denied.

Ebay- run in with seller selling the frame only of a tv (small print kind of thing) and ebay told ME off for making a stink

Virgin- terrible customer service and don't reward longterm customers

BBC tv license- it was so hard to cancel when we left that I refuse to get it again despite really valuing the BBC for news

Natwest- nearly made my list for making a stink about my title Ms vs Mrs but they apologised

I am fiercely loyal to Octopus, Monzo, and Whirli.

We black listed Audi because they were knobs

Then got another Audi because it was the best deal 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Tesco because it's shit

Miss Selfridge.
About 30 years ago I bought a pair of trousers . I tried them at home and they didnt fit.
The shop assistant refused to give me a refund and said they had been worn. They hadnt. I only had them on for less than a minute and tags were still on. She was with an sales assistant and it was bitchy and humiliating.
Mind you miss Selfridge is easy to personal boycott now as I cant fit into anything in there any more!

My mum refused to buy French products when I was a child because the lorry drivers were always on strike, I was gutted when it meant no more glacé cherries.
Hastings direct car insurance, had huge problems with them after someone drove into me on the motorway then a year later claimed I went into them. Hastings increased my insurance by £500 and it took nearly a year to sort. They caused my dad no end of trouble too.
Sky tv, they talked me into a new broadband deal after a few years of being with them but never told me it was a new tv package too. When I wanted to cancel the tv I was told I was tied into an 18 month contract. Soon as the 18 months was up cancelled broadband and tv with them and will never go back no matter how many enticing deals they send me.

I boycott a hotel a few miles away, the wedding coordinator sleeps with her clients and breaks up relationships.

Actually I think she's acting in the public good. If a groom can't keep it in his pants before the wedding, he's never going to do it after. Best bride discovers it sooner than later.

There’s one company (think it’s a utility) who phone every now and then and start to ask me for personal info. I refuse and say as they have phoned me I want them to tell me a few things from the screen in front of them (and tell me what they want with me) before I start to share info with them. We have a bit of a Mexican standoff which I end by saying ‘well why don’t you email me or even send a letter and I’m sure if it’s important that’s what you’ll have to do anyway’. I think this is EDF. Kind of yearly.
It may in fact be a scam.
Person calling doesn’t ever understand why I’m not going to give details first.
Everything still working and all bills paid - life too short for whatever it might be.

Lloyds nonsense - had appointment with manager about big sum of money. Think she was going to offer me an unusual type of account but I had to watch 15 min video first. Asked what the account was because I might not be interested. She refused to tell me until I had watched vid. Walked out and have never been back to that branch or asked Lloyds for anything other than de minimus banking. Awful. Repeatedly awful. Shame as have some good employees obvs.

Currys carphone warehouse
Bt
Sky

My parents have a long standing boycott of Maxwell House coffee since the early 80s. Something to do with an on pack promotion they failed to honour.

Argos is on its last warning after live chat lied to me about where my order was and 2nd operator said that "available from" doesn't actually mean the goods will arrive then.

All these scatter gun but deeply held boycotts going on. Imagine if we harnessed it all and had a targeted approach. Eg nine I am feeling outrage for your maxwell house situation.
Having said that I know my ma’s various boycotts were almost private in their zealotry. Not sure she wanted us to know all of them as somehow diluting the strength of the inner conviction.

Virgin mobile
Sofa workshop
Dominoes Pizza - our local one delivers lukewarm pizza and makes you wait an hour for it.

I avoid my local Subway sandwich shop. The woman who works there is a right cow and she acts like every extra pickle she puts on my salad is coming straight out of her wages.

My whole family also boycotts John Frieda, the haircare company. They headhunted my uncle for a new regional manager position, he quit his job and spent two weeks working on a big, national John Frieda project. They then decided they didn’t need the role anymore, sacked my uncle and left him unemployed.

Not a business but I haven’t watched GBBO since it left the BBC. It was so perfect and I hate how hammy and typically Channel 4 they’ve made it.

Scottish Power. Scamming bastards.
Travel Lodge. Often filthy.
One of the local curry houses after a bowel 'incident'.
Pre made trifle. Dad used to work in a factory that made them.
A local jewellery shop where the sales assistant hates me after I broke up with her mate.

Warburtons after their awful sexist advert. They put out their justification but just no.

Santander - absolutely wankers, will never trust them with a penny of my money.

A local solicitors who, because I was completely naive to buying a house and questioned what paperwork they needed from me and why, accused me of money laundering. Then when I cut ties with them, sent me a snarky letter, which had attached the banking and other private details of another client of theirs. Proved me right not to go with them.

British Gas
United Utilities
Barclays
HSBC
Mark's and Spencer
Vodafone
BT
Talk Talk
Nestle
Lush
Millie's Cookies
Aldi
Various local takeaways over the years...we have a longer list than I realised...