What are the top things to do in Sintra, other than the obvious?
Tim Worstall
20 years since I was there so difficult.
1) Slightly up the hill from the main square used to be a Welsh sweetie shop. Which made double dipped (white and dark chocco) strawberries. Worth looking out for.
2) The bus/taxi to Cabo de Rocha. Westernmost point of mainland Europe. Pretty view, get a signed card (for €) saying you’ve been to westernmost point etc.
jgh
Similarly, my ISP doesn’t have an email address. How do they expect people to contact them?
BlokeInBrum
Just been on the blower to Parcelfarce. Have a delivery from outside Uk so it’s been stopped because I need to pay customs charges.
Great – go on the website, only to find that I need a17 digit number, which isn’t accessible with my tracking details because it’s only included with the package itself, which they can’t deliver yet until the charges have been paid.
No good having the phone company’s number if your phone doesn’t work. Totally logical.
Bloke near Worcester
‘No good having the phone company’s number if your phone doesn’t work. Totally logical.’
Indeed…. a couple of days ago I tried to ring Shell (yes, that Shell) to report a problem with my broadband. Managed to find a number, which when connected a message told me that the ‘answers to many broadband problems can be found on our website…’
And when you do get through all they do is raise a case with OpenReach, as do most other ISPs
PF
rk
If that was the only way of initiating a phone call, then yes, sure…. (and of course ditto data for broadband)
BnW
“And when you do get through all they do is raise a case with OpenReach”
Whatever the ISP does next, if it’s a broadband issue (rather than something like noise on the copper line), one has to make that first contact with the ISP, that’s where the contract commitment lies. Hence, still need a reliable/robust way to contact them..:)
johnnybonk
@BlokeInBrum i bought some jewellery from USA, duty to pay, they delivered then DHL billed me for the import tax, I delayed and they set an agency on me. I tried to pay DHL directly, they had three reference numbers on the letter they sent me, NONE of them worked on their website so I paid the debt agency instead ( presumably they had to give a proportion to the debt agency).
bobby b
If I owned my own telephone company, my number would be 1.
That’s it. Just 1. My people would find a way to make it work.
Ottokring
BT have just droped me a mail to tel me tat soon I will be “converted” to have only VoIP and run my phone on broadband.
The downside is that it is impossible to make a call of any kind if the router dies or there is a power cut.
I have to admit that the most basic function of calling 999 or the operator being denied me is extremely irritating. What if I decied that I don’t want to pay for broadband anymore ?
This also has the effect of me no longer wanting to use BT, because they no longer provide a basic service.
BlokeInBrum
It’s not just BT being irritating, it’s Openreach deciding that the old copper network is reaching end of life.
The downside is that it is impossible to make a call of any kind if the router dies or there is a power cut.
Bought two Universal Power Supplies recently after a power cut, one for each side of the apartment and including the router. When I turned the mains power off to test how long they last, I still had Internet albeit only for about 20 minutes while the UPS drained.
Not sure if this would still work if the local substation went out though.
BlokeInBrum
If I recall correctly, most cell towers have a backup in case the power goes out, however I think it’s only for a very limited duration.
Bloke in Moldova (Temporarily)
@John Galt
Be careful with UPSs.
It’s possible for faults to occur that will give you a mains level belt of electricity that the usual safety systems on house wiring won’t be able to do anything to stop.
What are the top things to do in Sintra, other than the obvious?
20 years since I was there so difficult.
1) Slightly up the hill from the main square used to be a Welsh sweetie shop. Which made double dipped (white and dark chocco) strawberries. Worth looking out for.
2) The bus/taxi to Cabo de Rocha. Westernmost point of mainland Europe. Pretty view, get a signed card (for €) saying you’ve been to westernmost point etc.
Similarly, my ISP doesn’t have an email address. How do they expect people to contact them?
Just been on the blower to Parcelfarce. Have a delivery from outside Uk so it’s been stopped because I need to pay customs charges.
Great – go on the website, only to find that I need a17 digit number, which isn’t accessible with my tracking details because it’s only included with the package itself, which they can’t deliver yet until the charges have been paid.
jgh
What? Not even [email protected]? 🙂
How on earth can one report any sort of issue or problem?!
I bet they have [email protected] …
No good having the phone company’s number if your phone doesn’t work. Totally logical.
‘No good having the phone company’s number if your phone doesn’t work. Totally logical.’
Indeed…. a couple of days ago I tried to ring Shell (yes, that Shell) to report a problem with my broadband. Managed to find a number, which when connected a message told me that the ‘answers to many broadband problems can be found on our website…’
And when you do get through all they do is raise a case with OpenReach, as do most other ISPs
rk
If that was the only way of initiating a phone call, then yes, sure…. (and of course ditto data for broadband)
BnW
“And when you do get through all they do is raise a case with OpenReach”
Whatever the ISP does next, if it’s a broadband issue (rather than something like noise on the copper line), one has to make that first contact with the ISP, that’s where the contract commitment lies. Hence, still need a reliable/robust way to contact them..:)
@BlokeInBrum i bought some jewellery from USA, duty to pay, they delivered then DHL billed me for the import tax, I delayed and they set an agency on me. I tried to pay DHL directly, they had three reference numbers on the letter they sent me, NONE of them worked on their website so I paid the debt agency instead ( presumably they had to give a proportion to the debt agency).
If I owned my own telephone company, my number would be 1.
That’s it. Just 1. My people would find a way to make it work.
BT have just droped me a mail to tel me tat soon I will be “converted” to have only VoIP and run my phone on broadband.
The downside is that it is impossible to make a call of any kind if the router dies or there is a power cut.
I have to admit that the most basic function of calling 999 or the operator being denied me is extremely irritating. What if I decied that I don’t want to pay for broadband anymore ?
This also has the effect of me no longer wanting to use BT, because they no longer provide a basic service.
It’s not just BT being irritating, it’s Openreach deciding that the old copper network is reaching end of life.
https://www.openreach.com/fibre-broadband/retiring-the-copper-network
OpenReach and BT are the both cheeks of the same arse.
It is just BT’s excuse to say “not me guv”.
What on Earth makes you think these companies, once they have your money, want to be contacted?
Bought two Universal Power Supplies recently after a power cut, one for each side of the apartment and including the router. When I turned the mains power off to test how long they last, I still had Internet albeit only for about 20 minutes while the UPS drained.
Not sure if this would still work if the local substation went out though.
If I recall correctly, most cell towers have a backup in case the power goes out, however I think it’s only for a very limited duration.
@John Galt
Be careful with UPSs.
It’s possible for faults to occur that will give you a mains level belt of electricity that the usual safety systems on house wiring won’t be able to do anything to stop.
Just a PSA.