What makes you annoyed?

[Bertie]

Yes, that was it, Boatbuilder. It was the option of paying for a month or annual pass, and with no clear statement (probably hidden amongst the T&C's) that the month's pass would automatically renew unless I emailed them to tell them otherwise.
Which is what was especially sneaky / annoying about it as there were no clear signs that you had to email them to cancel it, no option just to click cancel on the site, and no notification telling you it had been renewed when the month ended.

As for the free trials, I've always found those OK on the few sites I've signed up to - in terms of them clearly stating that it would automatically renew unless I cancelled it (which I can accept more for a free trial, rather than a pass you've paid for, as it's why they offer the free trial in the first place); and they've always had the option to click 'cancel the subscription' on the sites any time during the trial.

[Moonraker]

Yes it's obviously designed to ensure people either forget to cancel, or can't be bothered to cancel.

Yes, it would probably be a bonus for the EBS Journal sales!

[Boodi 2]

With regard to the EBS journal, I would actually welcome such a solution as it would save me having to remember to renew my subscription and then having to go through the motions with PayPal! Perhaps an idea for Tony???

[IceMaiden]

An item I bought had the option of paying an extra £6 for 1pm special delivery next day which I opted for as it's a gift. It's not arrived so I went to track it and found it's been sent by standard Royal Mail 48! I'm quite cross about it as not only is it now in the regular mail which I didn't want, charging for special delivery but sending by the cheaper tracked service seems a bit sneaky. If you pay for a next day service you should get that otherwise why pay the extra?

[Boatbuilder]

You are entitlrd to a refund then. Was it a reputable (well known) supply source, IceMaiden?

[Wolfgang]

It seems that mail services want to make additionally money with services that should be standard: German Post intends to charge additionally if a letter etc is supposed to arrive punctually. I suppose next step is to charge additionally to deliver the item at all.

[Boatbuilder]

Wolfgang, that is already the case here. We have a first class and second class tier. First class is supposed to deliver the next working day and second class can take up to 3 days to deliver. It doesn’t seem to work that way a lot of the time though.
A standard letter is 95p first class and 68p second class.

[Jack400]

I have found the postal service to be unreliable and occasionally very slow since the Covid pandemic. By now it should be back to normal, but, with strikes it borders on hopeless. I saw a TV program that explained how second class was delayed (by putting it onto the railway and storing it overnight in a siding to create a delay to make first class appear quicker). Of course since both the railways and the Royal Mail are now privately owned this would make second class more expensive (I imagine it must have always been dearer to delay it like that) and now they treat all post the same! There may be times when it gives customers a better impression if a first class stamp is used.

[Courtenay]

Always thought there was something a bit suss about this 1st Class and 2nd Class business with the mail in the UK. In Australia, where I grew up, there's no such thing — you just pay the same standard rate for your letter or parcel (according to its size and weight), no matter where it's going within the country, and, well, it gets there when it gets there. In other words, we have no class at all.

An item I bought had the option of paying an extra £6 for 1pm special delivery next day which I opted for as it's a gift. It's not arrived so I went to track it and found it's been sent by standard Royal Mail 48! I'm quite cross about it as not only is it now in the regular mail which I didn't want, charging for special delivery but sending by the cheaper tracked service seems a bit sneaky. If you pay for a next day service you should get that otherwise why pay the extra?

Seriously though, IceMaiden, that is just dire and shouldn't have happened. Do see if you can get a refund on the postage. Especially if you bought it through eBay or Amazon Marketplace or a similar service — they tend to be good at making sure customers are compensated if a seller does something dodgy.

(To be fair, it could have been a completely honest mistake, especially if it was coming from a small business — they might have just accidentally put your parcel in the wrong pile and it got labelled for standard delivery rather than special delivery without anyone realising. Hopefully that's the explanation and they'll be happy to refund the postage when you tell them what happened.)

[IceMaiden]

My special delivery parcel was indeed sent by regular post and finally showed up last Friday instead of the previous Saturday. I messaged the seller asking nicely if they could let me know how and when it was sent. I got no reply so next day sent another message, this time asking if they could please explain why my parcel had not been sent by the service I'd paid extra for. I did get a reply saying it had been refunded but no real explanation. I'm really not sure what happened as this company had a 100% positive rating which doesn't fit with being deceitful on postage charges and not replying, but at least I did get a refund.

[Moonraker]

That wouldn't have happened in the fifties!

[Jack400]

Just seen a TV report of a 97 year old who's been convicted of war crimes. What annoys me is that the ITV news blurred her face. Why, it's not a six year old that needs protection!?
UPDATE: it's according to German law.
Prisoners used to shuffle to the perimeter fence in order to electrocute themselves in order to end their suffering.
This post is not intended to upset/blame any of the forumites from Germany, many of whom are greatly into Enid's books, and -in my estimation - decency.

[IceMaiden]

That wouldn't have happened in the fifties!

No there wouldn't have been special delivery to rely on!

[Boatbuilder]

There was something called 'Registered Post' though, which I think 'Special Delivery' replaced. I don't know what the delivery terms were for that as I don't think I ever used it. I do remember my mother using it as you could have a specific 'Registered Letter' envelope which was marked with blue horizontal and vertical lines in the centre. It even went back to the Victorian era as on this image below. I don't know if you could send anything larger than a letter though, although I do seem to recall seeing parcels marked around the centre on each side with similar blue lines to the letter which were drawn on with maybe a blue crayon. That would have been in the early 1960s at the place where I worked as I used to help out in the post room.

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

Just seen a TV report of a 97 year old who's been convicted of war crimes. What annoys me is that the ITV news blurred her face. Why, it's not a six year old that needs protection!?
UPDATE: it's according to German law.

Apparently she was tried in a juvenile court because of her age at the time.

A 2 year suspended sentence for being complicit in 10,000 murders may seem pitiful as a punishment, but I am pleased that the trial has gone ahead. It is a reminder to all current combatants that such gross behaviour has no expiry date for justice.