Admin eats time

Once upon a time, from 1985 to 2020, all our insurances were due on the same day in the third week of August. This nicely concertinad insurance renewal into one day of admin time for 35 years.
Then came ‘The Great and Prolonged Move North’ and ‘The Building Projects’ plus the necessity to buy new cars, which have now resulted in 3 different renewal dates, thereby now kissing goodbye to 3 days of my available daily active hours every year.
If you carry out extensive building works, many insurance companies simply cancel your insurance once you notify them (as you legally have to), leaving you high and dry and scratching around for a new company that will cover you at short notice, for exorbitant rates. If you buy a new car, many insurance companies hugely inflate your premiums, or refuse to cover you at all (if your new car has a soft top), and all brokers have gigantic admin charges for alterations, so forcing you to look elsewhere.
And so it comes to pass that we now have one renewal date in February, one in August and one in December rather that just one date for all three in August.
So, I started the week looking around for insurance for Mr BW’s car. Current company wanted 55% more than I got it for eventually, with better cover, and the promise of a brand new car if it is ever more than 60% damaged in its first 2 years (who needs Gap insurance in these circumstances?). I could have got it for half the renewal price, but budget insurance (2.9/5 on Trustpilot) is too much potential hassle, and better safe than sorry.
On Monday I decided I’d had enough of paying Octopus 70p per day standing charge when we only use 7 or 8 units of electricity per day, and are sick of their inane ‘save money by cutting down on usage between x and y hours’ when you just eventually get 5p for having sat in the dark for 2 hours. Plus, our fixed tariff with them runs out in 8 weeks anyway. Some comparison site searching and then looking for reviews made us decide that changing was the best bet, and at midnight last night (just 30 hours after deciding) we moved electricty company, and they’ve already picked up our smart meter readings. No more waiting a month, or even a week, for changing. £148 per year saved. All good. I think that makes the 7th electricity company we have been with in just over 5 years here. One was the inherited company that we changed from immediately, 2 went bust, leaving us with the ‘supplier of last resort’, from whom we quickly moved, and the final one was a ‘once good, now too big for their own good’ company.
Today was spent agonising over where to move some ISA money – after MSE (and other more academic sources) suggested that their info was that the base rate would come down another 0.25% on Thursday week, I realised that the nice flexible ISA instant access I’d been watching an nurturing was dead and that I needed to move quite a lot of money elsewhere pronto. My transfer went without hitch and (amazingly) despite being told it would take up to 15 days, I’ve just had an email to say that my money is already with the new provider.
However, yet again, Mr BW’s auto-ID checks failed (how mine pass every time while his fail every time I have no idea), and depsite having (against my better judgment) to email in a photo of his photo ID (driving licence), the receiving company still have not confimed acceptance. Looking elsewhere found that the rates offered in the MSE email this morning are being pulled faster than a dodgy dentist (ie seemingly most of those in the north) pulls teeth, so a strongly worded email has been sent to the offending company demanding that the rates offered be honoured as the delays were entirely their fault. We’ll see…
I forgot to mention that all our technology is going wrong at the same time, yet again.
A set of new inks for our old HP printer is now £185, or £90 as compatibles. We swopped to remanufactured cartridges 3 years ago, and I’ve now had issues with 4 compatible cartridges. Despite the re-manfacturers giving a 12 month guarantee, they just ignore you if you email with evidence that cartridges have failed (so leaving you to the mercy of credit card company chargeback, and all the hassle that entails).
I was intending to get an Epson eco-tank printer, but, in researching it, found so many complaints that I then didn’t want to go that route. I also discovered that HP now do a tank machine, so managed to buy a new machine (originally £279) with (supposedly) 3 years ink included, for £169 (after manufacturer’s and Costco discounts). I don’t want to junk the old printer, which is perfectly fine, apart from the cost of the ink now, but I have no choice. What is the point of HP selling a brand new machine, with a 3 year guarantee, and 3 years of ink, for less than the price of one set of new inks (which last us about 8 months)?
I’m beginning to think that I am the only person who actually cares about this sort of thing any more. Am I?
Tomorrow’s post will no doubt contain moaning about being forced to get new laptops. Yet another time sink.