Sometimes pays to be a hoarder

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Sandyn

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I got an email from Which? saying they were about to take the yearly payment for Which? legal service. I had cancelled it years ago, because the one time I called on it, I got useless advice. I called Which? explained how I had cancelled the legal service years ago. The assistant checked my account and said there was no record of it had ever been cancelled. I was a bit frustrated, because I was sure I had, but possibly meant to and forgot? A few weeks later, I was rummaging through some old documents and came across a letter from Which? (2015) about the legal service, with my notes on it, when I cancelled. It also had the name of the lady I spoke to. Sent copy off to which and about a couple week later, got a cheque for about £360!!
 
I have a similar process, but I scan the documents and save them as PDFs. Years ago, I had a comprehensive insurance policy on my photography equipment that covered all types of loss, such as theft, damage, or my own negligence. It was expensive, but worth it considering the amount and replacement value of the equipment I owned. In late 2016 I decided I was leaving the hobby and notified the insurance company within the 90-day automatic renewal period and followed up with their cancellation form. A few days later, I received written confirmation through the mail that the policy would terminate at the end of the period.

In March of this year, I noticed a new withdrawal from my bank for the annual premium. I spoke to the same lady at the company and she told me there was no record that I had terminated the policy and they were going to bill me for the previous missing years as well. While we were talking, I emailed her the confirmation of my policy termination I received from her in 2016, complete with her signature on the page. Her reaction as she read the email was "Oh...never mind." Two days later, the money was back in my account and I haven't received anything from them since.
 
That's a bit much them going to backdate all the payments!

I'm not organised enough to scan things, If I did, I wouldn't be organised enough to be able to find it on my PC, so I have a box for the documents just another type of random access storage :)
 
That's a bit much them going to backdate all the payments!

In their process, an error detected must be corrected immediately. If I did not have proof of the cancellation, I would have been required to pay for the missing years. At €475 a year, this would be expensive. :mad:

I'm not organised enough to scan things, If I did, I wouldn't be organised enough to be able to find it on my PC, so I have a box for the documents just another type of random access storage :)

This is one thing I am very good at, and it has come in handy many times.
 
We have an "important" drawer. All paperwork goes in it, important or not and every couple of years we go through it and chuck out the stuff that's no longer relevant.
I have an old briefcase under the bed for that purpose. Actually, I have two; the older one has payslips and other sundry stuff I can't bring myself to throw away, going back to the mid 70s.

My Mum was a hoarder, (a very tidy one...), always kept bits of string, wrapping paper, rubber bands, carrier bags, etc., etc. I think that stemmed from rationing in WWII and afterwards. Runs in the family now.
 
In their process, an error detected must be corrected immediately. If I did not have proof of the cancellation, I would have been required to pay for the missing years. At €475 a year, this would be expensive. :mad:



This is one thing I am very good at, and it has come in handy many times.
If you had made a claim in those years, they would have argued that you were uninsured because you hadn't paid the premium.
 
That's a bit much them going to backdate all the payments!

I'm not organised enough to scan things, If I did, I wouldn't be organised enough to be able to find it on my PC, so I have a box for the documents just another type of random access storage :)

The Cardboard box, A.K.A. Fuzzy Chronological Storage System.

Where things are sort of in Chronological order but may be out of strict chronological sequence due to later retrievals and re-storage operations, the metadata properties of the specific document dictating where in the storage system it is likely to be found.

e.g. an annual insurance document from 2016 is probably located in 2016 but is probably not located prior to 2016, so if not found in 2016, search each subsequent year (2017, 2018, etc.) starting around the same month/quarter as the original document +/- 90 days and then expanding the search window.

Extremely complex and expensive to implement in a computer system.

Normally it's cheaper to keep on some old-timer to sit in your archive and just remember where everything is...
 
I have an old briefcase under the bed for that purpose. Actually, I have two; the older one has payslips and other sundry stuff I can't bring myself to throw away, going back to the mid 70s.
Just very recently. I switched off hoarder mode for a few days and burnt all my 1970's payslips from my first proper job. Also dumped all my work books dating from the 70's , to when I retired. Full of rubbish that wouldn't mean anything to anyone, but when I looked at any page. I immediately knew what is was and could remember working on the particular design. Just goes to show what is locked inside my head, never to be retrieved again because the index is gone now. Unfortunately the memory isn't freed up. I think it's a bit of a design design fault. I also dumped old receipts from the 70's onwards, years of company accounts. So far, I haven't needed any of them!! :ROFLMAO:
 
who keeps receipts fron 40 years ago? i wish i had. with brexit i now have to provide documenrs showing vat was paid on my musical instruments when i want to bring them back to france from the uk. without the paperwork i may have to pay vat on what customs determine is the current market value to import them!
 
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