Today is all about…February 2023

I’m playing a little bit of catch-up, as I needed to take a break so I could quickly write up a post about the Neighbours celebration tour.

The Socials

Again, I’ve not had time to write a blog about this, how in February I went all Martin Lewis on the socials!

Mobile Phone Charges

My beef with mobile companies is not. I’ve been here before on how they are set out to shaft you.

Now the fat cats are changing their contracts so loyalty means fuck all!

Turns out that O2 are giving the highest increase, with all other giving just as high increases.

It appears that trying to lock you into a longer contract wasn’t enough, they want to try and bleed as much money out of you.

So now they are adding either CPI or KPI increases every year.

And just in case that isn’t enough, or it turns out negative one year, they are going to fuck you over even more by having a set % that they will increase by.

That’s not a minimum that the amount has to go up. It will be that and whatever the CPI/KPI increase is!

We’re not being shafted. We’re being double-fisted!

Taking into account the unprecedentedly high KPI at the moment, instead of freezing any price increase, like GiffGaff, they have rubbed their hands together gleefully.

These fat cats are all about profit. Loyalty means fuck all now. And this isn’t just mobile phone companies. Gone are the days when you get discounts/good rates for being loyal.

Instead, they are forcing you to sign a new contract with “better rates”, but likely they’ll have shitter T&Cs.

Or you can keep those T&Cs that could be beneficial, but then pay the price of over-charging.

I joined O2 because they were the only mobile company that offered free roaming when overseas. However, is that even a benefit anymore when your contract is constantly increasing?

You got to love the fat cats of all mobile companies as they rub their hands together gleefully while they rip British customers off.

As a lot of tariffs are set to use RPI + %, everyone is seeing their price increase above 13.4%

My @O2 bill has increase 17.3%

But the shitter is, even if RPI reduces and it’s a negative, you will still have an increase as they have that extra % just to cover their asses in times like that.

The mobile phone industry is set up to fleece loyal customers. If you can, shop around and give them the ????

Dick Turpin ????

Originally tweeted by Mike DH (@AScottishManc) on February 27, 2023.

So here is my best Martin Lewis impression.

If you’re out of contract, or when your contract ends then shop around!

I can guarantee that your existing/similar contract will be cheaper with your current supplier.

But don’t just renew with your current supplier just because it is easy. Remember, loyalty means fuck all to them, so why should it mean anything to you?

The process of changing suppliers couldn’t be any easier to follow.

Talking Points

Benalmadena

Benalmadena holds a special place in the hearts of my in-laws, who have spent the beginning of many years there.

In the process, it holds a place in ours too. We’ve been here several times with family and also on our own.

This year is the first without Beryl, so as a family, we all headed out to keep the father-in-law company and to scatter some of Beryl’s ashes.

First-day drama

What’s a holiday if there isn’t drama of some sort? And this time, it wasn’t me!

After a long ass day of travelling, we arrived at the hotel, wanting to check in and get a rest.

Alas, that wasn’t meant to be as we arrived just after a coach-load of other people checking in.

We decided to get a coffee and wait a bit. It was then that the husby realised he left his phone on the transfer coach!

Let the panic commence!

After what felt like a hundred phone calls, and tracking the phone disappear further inland, we got through to the Jet2 helpdesk.

They were extremely helpful and would help by getting in contact with the relevant people.

Several hours later, we received the call confirming it had been found and was handed into the office.

The next day we headed to Torremolinos where the office was based to pick up the phone.

We decided to walk back while taking a few breaks along the way. The sis-in-law who came along translated this to a bar crawl.

Who was I to correct her?

CoffeeGate

The holiday was half board, so breakfast and tea were included.

Okay, let’s be honest you are not going to get Michelin-star food at these hotels, but it was palatable.

However, when it came to providing coffee, it was shocking.

There were no drinking facilities in the rooms. At breakfast, they had six machines. Not all of the machines worked/on!

Also, you would select the latte option, and you would just get the milk. But you could get an espresso! To top it off after queuing for an age, it wasn’t a great taste!

It was a shambles!

After a couple of days of this, I couldn’t take the lack of caffeine anymore. So I headed to the reception to complain.

As the day went on, we forgot all about it. Or presumed that they’d just fix the issue for tomorrow’s breakfast.

So, when we arrived back to our room that evening, there was a kettle and teabags (we don’t drink tea) provided for us.

For the rest of the holiday, we were sorted and my caffeine levels were stabilised.

Beryl

One of the main reasons that we were all over was to scatter some of Beryl’s ashes.

So off we went with a couple of their friends to a dedicated spot in the park. A park that holds many memories for us all.

It’s a place where we come to share stories, whether it be doing a photo shoot with the nephews, knowing better than me climbing through the kid’s climbing frame or one of us falling into the cacti!

This is now a new one, that we can add to that memory bank.

Overall

This holiday was a well-needed break.

The weather at this time of year is never the best, however, it was not as bad as it could have been.

Put it this way, I came home with more freckles!

It was also nice to catch up with a mate who has moved to Torremolinos.

We will be back, I’m sure!

‘Today is all about…’ photos