Best CF stories part 2

[HepLaurenceLB]

First thread
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3905995-Best-CF-Stories

My OH friend is a roofer.
He lives in a small village and mentioned a few times about never being asked about by neighbours to do any work.
Often comments about another roofing firm turning up to do work etc.

He had spotted a new roof being done on a neighbours house and also noticed when the work was finished that the standard wasnt very good.
Middle of the night he answered his phoned to an irate man shouting you have to come now we have rain pouring in through the roof.
Roofer asks why are you phoning me....answer because you are a roofer and we have an emercency.
My OH friend told him where to go.

I’ve told this before but sod it. When I was 23 I had a group of friends the same age. Regina was one of these friends but I had known her the shortest out of them all.
Regina was pregnant with her second and told us that as she hadn’t been able to enjoy the experience of being pregnant the first time, she really wanted to this time.
Regina creates a groupchat fo

for all of us callE

Sorry! My phone is being a prick. Regina set up a group chat for us and gave us her set of demands, where, when, what food, games etc
I was lumbered with purchasing, cooking, decorating etc for the whole ridiculous thing while everyone else made ONE plate of sodding cakes between them. I was on the bones of my arse at the time as well.
It turned out she expected presents too because she came over to my table and took it away (!!) stating that it would be the present table.

Funny thing was that only one person bought her a gift and she was very excited because it was in a massive bag and looked beautiful... It was a single dummy
All her family were there and none of them brought gifts so maybe they know that she's a grabby and sponging cow? I didn't get even a nod of thanks despite being very ill.

@DicklessWonder

I only had one bridesmaid/best woman. Managed to get the £160 dress we both liked for £40. As I had saved a fair bit I took her out and bought her the stroppy sandals she fell in love with, which cost more than the dress. She kept them to “break them in”.

Few weeks later she rings to confess that she had worn them on a night out and ruined them. I lived and worked away so ordered another pair to be sent to her.

Wedding was fine. Unbeknown to me she arranged for her (very) new boyfriend to pick her up straight after the meal and came back 2 hours later in jeans.

We went on honeymoon and she listed the dress and shoes (worn for literally 4 hours) on eBay. She covered what I spent on them more than 2 times over. She only confessed when I asked for the dress to dry clean it with mine. And never offered me the cost of the second pair of shoes, which I think is the least I deserved. We now live about a mile apart but haven’t seen each other for over 5 years.

I had a similar experience. I had three bridesmaids and of course paid for the dresses, shoes and hair/makeup on the day. I was living overseas at the time so I didn't have a hen night or bridal shower, etc. So there was nothing that the bridesmaids had to "do" other than show up, smile and pose for pictures.

The dresses were very "bridesmaid" and couldn't be worn for anything else, and we were skint, so I asked the bridesmaids to give me their dresses back so that I could sell them as a bundle on eBay.

Two of the bridesmaids gave them me straight away. My maid of honor said that she'd be happy to send them back as long as I reimbursed her for the postage, plus the £12.50 she'd spent getting the dress shortened. I was so shocked I didn't respond for a while. I wasn't sure if she was joking.

Came to open the wedding gifts, and she had gone in with her boyfriend and her mum, who had all come to the entire event. Three kitchen spatulas. So they'd each kicked in about £5.00. (Before the backlash; boyfriend minted, no kids, no hidden gambling habits.)

As my Dad so charmingly put it, "She wouldn't give you the steam off her piss, that one."

BIL and SIL were going to some all day music festival thing with friends, like £80 a ticket or something. One couple dropped out because of a family issue and they told them it would be fine as we would just buy the tickets.
BIL rings to tell us this (not ask) and we explained that this music thing was the same day we were flying back from holiday (and we live over 300 miles away) AND we don’t want to go and they would never have invited us.
BIL starts suggesting we drive straight from the airport for a few hours at the end and then straight back home so we can go to work the next morning.
We refused. SIL tells anyone she can find that WE backed out and owed them this money, including my MIL to try and get the money out of her.
In the end her sister and BIL went but they didn’t ask them for money ‘as they are family’. She kept trying to drop it into conversation about how skint they were to make us feel bad.
We’ve had 20 more years of this behaviour.

Mine is a small slightly cheeky fucker story but it gave me the warm and fuzzies...

We are a little family (1 adult two little children) so we don’t create an awful lot of rubbish, so our big rubbish bin is often only 3/4 full come bin day (every two weeks). I live in a property that is basically 4 properties that share a garden and all our bins live in the same place in that garden until we drag our respective bins out for collection.

So. I work nights, so I what I do Is bring the bin round in the evening as I leave for work, then so I don’t have to do it when I’m tired after a 12 hour shift.

Now let me preface this with a notice; if a neighbour asked me ‘hey you have some extra Room in your bin and ours is overflowing, do you mind if I put some in yours? I would be absolutely fine with that (has happened before, totally happy to help a Neighbour, and I can understand that two weekly collections can be hard for bigger families)

But for two weeks when I got back from work, I noticed my bin went from 3/4 full to overflowing with the lid not even able to close properly.

Now I was pretty sure I knew who was doing it, as one property is me, one property has one single woman living in it so doubtful she creates that much rubbish, other property again, single woman. Then there is the last of the four, which is a man and woman and 3 children.

After two weeks of this happening, the best thing ever happened. I pulled up to my house having finished work a bit earlier than usual, and there she was, the woman from the big family, putting her bins in my bin.

Now instead of being a pushover, but also not being an asshole, I said to her ‘hey so it’s you that’s been using my bin? It’s ok if you want to use it, but is it ok if you ask first? Just in case I have to put something in last minute and there’s no room’ and she quickly ran in her house. I wasn’t rude, I was just firm because, well, it’s my bin, and sometimes I do have an extra bag (say I forget to empty the kitchen bin before work so do it after work or something) and would just appreciate the heads up.

I know it’s boring but I thought MNers would like a bit of bin wars :-D

@StrawberryFizz26 I didn’t mind the hours time, because he took that buying and setting up the tv. He does have a right to be paid for his time. The virgin media was a piss take because he got some sort of bonus for it. It’s caused all sorts of problems. She doesn’t have a working phone!

What got me angry was he would turn up on the doorstep, act like a sulking child (bottom lip). Conversation would be him saying “I worked 2 hours, nearly three”,

nan replying, “I’ll pay you for the three then, and did you have lunch today?”.

Him “No!” (Like a sulking child).

Nan “I’ll give you a fiver for lunch then”.

Him “you can’t get much for a fiver”.

Nan “ok love, have a tenner and buy something at the cafe”

He starts smiling like a sulky child got what they wanted.

It was “little amounts” here and there, so we let it go. The phone line switch has caused headaches ever since though!

Re employers using info from peoples’ applications, is quite a thing with tv production companies.

Back in the day, a programme such as say TFI Friday, were rumoured to ask would be applicants to to submit 5 ideas for the show.

I’ve also heard of design students taking their portfolios to interviews only for the portfolio to be taken away to be looked at (aka copied) and designs ripped off.

I sold a double buggy on gumtree. I could have got about £200 for it but I put it on for £50 as I'm really pro selling used things for cheap. Anyway.... The lady came to the door.... She seemed so nice and I was happy that the buggy went to her........... But she didn't pay and owed too ridiculous to ask her for the money! I was really young and stupid. I thought that maybe she had just forgotten and would call back with the money. But no. I never heard from her again.

I’ve also heard of design students taking their portfolios to interviews only for the portfolio to be taken away
I once had an employer keep my whole PhD thesis. They asked to borrow it at the interview to look at my work further, then kept it - without telling me I hadn’t got the job. After several weeks I followed up on the job and they said no we won’t be hiring you, you’re too nerdy. So I said can I have my thesis back? Yeah, we’re still looking at it but will get it back to you. So they obviously wanted my knowledge just not me!

Excuses over the months ranged from “we need to organise a courier” to “we can’t afford a courier so we’ll look at other methods of getting it dropped off” - and when I called to say I was in town and could collect, they said “it’s locked in Matt’s cupboard and he isn’t in today”, and finally “but we’re still busy using it!”

In the end I got an email admitting that they found it really useful as a reference so “truthfully we are looking at not returning it, it’s published and in the public domain so technically we are allowed to have a copy”. Yes you can get a copy from the university, but you can’t keep my copy that I’ve paid to have printed! When I finally got it back they’d written all over it with notes in the margins.

Years ago I started dating someone who was a specialist doctor. When meeting my friends and colleagues at a party they casually mentioned their profession and offered a free checkup. A while later I was called by one colleague - one of a group of friends at most, not anyone close to me at all. “Hey, you know (ex)?” Um, yeah, I do know ... cue long spiel their friend is visiting from overseas and needs an expensive procedure, since ex is free could they do it for nothing?

A casual offer to check something for one person was not an offer of free services to the world, so that would be no.

LittleSilverBird sorry I didn't see your question last night, and thanks to BloggersBlog for making a great job of making it clear

Yes, the fake, info-harvesting interview's a pretty lousy thing to do (almost up there with "Ooooo, we made a mistake when listing the salary!!") but sadly it's still seen too often ... it's just that some are better at masking what they're doing than others

There was a thread on MN a few years ago from a poster who had been to a job interview and as part of the process had been asked to design a poster/leaflet for the company, hadn't gotten the job but then a few weeks later saw her exact design on the company's facebook page!

I'm not sure if she ever confronted them!

@Lardycake4me

Re employers using info from peoples’ applications, is quite a thing with tv production companies.

Back in the day, a programme such as say TFI Friday, were rumoured to ask would be applicants to to submit 5 ideas for the show.

I’ve also heard of design students taking their portfolios to interviews only for the portfolio to be taken away to be looked at (aka copied) and designs ripped off.

Many years ago an ex-boyfriend sent an animation showreel to a large production company.

They copied his animation, uncredited, for a Bond movie a year later.

I was 16 or 17. I'd been working in small restaurants since age 11 (family business) so got a job as a commis chef in a local restaurant. It was supposed to be part time, 6pm to close 6 days a week to fit around college. Due to my age the boss got an experienced commis chef for the lowest minimum wage he could, £3 an hour. (CFer!)
He also employed the minimum staff so we were all running around at breakneck speed trying to keep up every day and we weren't allowed to so much as go to the bathroom.

Second weekend there I got a call at 8am asking me to come in immediately. "No time to stop for breakfast, just get in NOW!" Being young, new and stupid, I did. I was supposed to work til 12pm and then come back for my 6pm shift. I told my parents I'd be back for the big family Sunday dinner where relatives were coming.

I began working and it got busy. Real busy. I wasn't allowed to stop at all. Boss kept yelling.
Along came noon. I wasn't allowed to go. "We're far too busy! Get these customers done and you can go!". 1pm. Still going. 4pm, still going. 6pm, still going. And in all this time I wasn't allowed a drink, food or a toilet break. My one attempt at the loo (mostly for a rest, I didn't need to pee as I hadn't had a drink!) was thwarted by him yelling that he needed XXX NOW! And turning me back around before I reached the bathrooms. Fuck knows why I put up with it. I was young. I needed the job. I'd never worked outside the family's old business.
I eventually finished after 11pm.
I got home and dad was furious. He'd been calling all day and I had ignored him. How fucking dare I! According to dad he'd phoned all day long and boss told him I refused to come to the phone and had told boss to tell dad I would call back. Dad then came down in person and boss said I told him to leave. The family had put off lunch for almost 2hrs waiting for me. Boss lied through his teeth, the cheeky fucker.

CFNeighbour asked me to pick up few items for her at shops. I gave them to her with bill which was about £6. She offered me £50 note and asked if I had change. When I said no she said she would give me money ASAP. Few days later she again asked for shopping. This came to £3. When I told her she now owed me £9 she told me to take it out of £50 she claimed to have given me before and asked for the change. She died few months later leaving vast wealth. No wonder.

This was many years ago - I arrived at my children’s primary school to pick them up. DD1 (think she was about 8 or 9) runs out and says that her teacher wants to speak to me. Turned out that DD1 had come top in a series of tests they had carried out. They had sent a letter out to the parents with their child’s position in the class, but the teacher wanted to tell me privately that DD had scored full 100%! It was a lovely surprise and we were naturally proud. At tea time, the doorbell rang and I opened the door to find the mother of a girl in DD’s class standing on the step. She told me she was very shocked that her daughter had come second and surely it must be some sort of mistake? Her reason being that her daughter was much more clever than mine so should have come first. She spent a good 15 minutes trying to persuade me to see her point of view, and must have thought she’d got through to me when she finished with, ‘So, do I have your word that you’ll go into school tomorrow and complain about the marks so it can be put right?’ The look on her face when I declined still makes me laugh to this day. Think her head would have exploded if she’d known about the full marks!

Same boss, months later. I'd booked a Saturday off a month in advance as mum had bought tickets for early access to Alton Towers which was 2hr drive away. I was allowed to invite a friend too so it was Dad, mum, friend, my two brothers and I. Big, hugely expensive family day out.

As we arrived Boss phoned me.
"We need you in today."
Me: "Sorry, no can do. It's been booked and approved for a month and I'm here now"
Boss:"No, we need you in."
Me: "Erm... I'm miles away now and I can't. Sorry. Listen, I've got to go, I'm just about to get on The Runaway Ghost train. Bye"

I thought that was the end of it. Before the ride was done I could hear my mobile ringing from my bag.

He rang back half an hour later. "Where are you?! You're not here yet. Why aren't you here yet?!" He genuinely thought I would do as he'd said! Maybe he thought I was lying about where I was too?

Me:" Because I told you, I can't work today. I'm hours away and won't be coming back until late tonight. I'm off today!"

He called repeatedly for the 4 hours. Every 15 minutes or so. Sometimes him, sometimes his wife. He even got my friend, a fellow chef to call who thought it was mental he was ringing and told me to try Nemesis and enjoy!

Boss called with a perfectly reasonable solution in his view.. "Set off back now and you can be here by 2pm. Yes, I suppose that will do. We can see you at 2pm!"
As he was hanging up I said no and explained that there was no bloody way I was making my dad and family leave a paid for family day out and ruining their day so I could come in to work on my day off.
"Oh no, this is no good. We need you here. It's a busy day. No, no. You'll just need to come in."

My dad took my phone out of my hand, turned it off and put it in his pocket.

I never lost my job or anything. In fact, I handed in my notice a while after. Two months notice so my work friends wouldn't suffer with having no replacement for me. I kept reminding boss that I was leaving on XX date and he needed to get a replacement. He got one person. An inexperienced kid in and she was awful. Not her fault but commis chefs you can pay teens wages to are rare. He'd need an adult.

Come my last day my workmates all said goodbye and boss said, "See you Tuesday then."

Me. "No. I don't work here. You know I'm finishing."

Boss:"But you need to come in. There's no one to work downstairs. I'll see you Tuesday."

I laughed and walked away. He called on Tuesday asking where I was.

Mil is being a CF right now in fact. She has her vaccination at the end of the week, she doesn’t drive ‘sigh I suppose I’ll have to get a taxi...’ Yep we are both working and can’t use annual leave right now. So she started moaning about why can’t DH take her, he explained he’s sorry but he is working and can’t get time off. Then she moaned about using a taxi and what if it is snowing? Well if it is snowing which looks unlikely surely a taxi from 3 minutes away is better than her son driving 10 miles in dangerous conditions there and back 🤷🏻‍♀️...I’m waiting for the crying to start as that will be tonight’s call! She tries to use emotional manipulation whenever she can. The taxi will cost £5 and she is fairly financially comfortable.

I neighbour once asked my Mum if she could mop her kitchen floor, as she was six months pregnant and couldn't bend down.

That wouldn't have been CFery but my Mum was eight months pregnant...

I can only really think of one CF that I've encountered. I used to work in a pub and would sometimes stay after my shift on a Friday night for a drink and catch-up with the other staff. The team leader's GF would also stay behind to wait for him to finish his drink but would moan about being hungry and wanting to go to McDonald's every week. She knew I usually stopped for something to eat on the way home from work but we lived in completely different directions and she didn't drive. I did take her a couple of times but stopped after the time she insisted on sitting in the back of the car and dictating her order like I was the chauffeur and mentioned, at least 4 times, "don't forget the sweet chilli dip!" After I decided to stop providing lifts to McDonald's she took to moaning to her BF about how much she wanted a burger, etc while we were all sat there, maybe hoping he'd ask for a lift instead. I never offered again. She was always quite cheeky in asking for lifts places that were out my way and never offered any petrol money. She also thought it was OK to kick up a fuss about me asking her to put on a seatbelt when she got in my car the once - she was 7 months pregnant and thought I was being ridiculous for refusing to move until she had put her belt on.

Another one. Former 'friend' in university. She was always moaning about getting the worst end of everything, every housemate was a 'nightmare', she had the boss from hell, her tutor had taken a dislike to her and so on. The common denominator was her I finally realized.
Anyway we went on a cheap week to Spain organized by another friend. Four of us in a one bed apartment, with a double bed and a single in the bedroom, and then a pull out couch that had to be made up every day. She announced when we arrived that it was only fair she got the double bed to herself as she had an awful bed in her rented flat so she deserved a break, leaving the three of us to negotiate how to share the single and couch bed. She then proceeded to make every evening a pain as she'd scrutinize the menus/look of places and dismiss every single one so we'd end up at the same place every night. It was the beginning of the end of our 'friendship' and there's no way I ever put up with that now.

... bill which was about £6. She offered me £50 note

Ah yes, the indestructible £50 note - it's a while since I've seen that one tried!!

Dexysmidnightstroller what your "friends" tried to do with the specialist doctor was disgraceful, but TBH I'm only surprised they mentioned what they do, never mind offering free checks
Most I've ever known tend to be very vague about their jobs among strangers, precisely because they know they'll be asked for consultations over the buffet or whatever