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Excuses #2 - "Increased popularity"

Do any banks provide a service to manage your money saving matters anymore? Or are they all only interested in fleecing you?

(I moved my account of 15 years from this particular culprit, in disgust at the list of new charges they were adding)

Culprit:

Lloyd's TSB Bank

They say:

"Due to the increased popularity of foreign travel [and foreign internet purchases], card transactions are becoming more common. The new overseas fees have been introduced to help cover the cost of foreign exchange conversion. "

What they meant to say:

"More people are traveling abroad. We saw a new revenue stream we could exploit. Forget providing a banking service to customers, think of the shareholders instead."

Excuses #1 - "Unprecedented demand"

First in a series of grumpy old man complaints, inspired in part by Signals Vs Noise : Bad Faucet Design

This particular message has appeared every time I've ordered a new system in the last 2 years. You'd think I learn

Culprit:

Webfusion Hosting

They say:

".. due to unprecedented demand for WebFusion VPS we are currently experiencing extended set-up times for these systems."

What they meant to say:

"We have more sales staff than technical staff and as a result can't keep up with demand.

We'll continue to sell our products, without alerting the customer to potential delays before they make a purchase.

It's very doubtful we will redirect the money we make into more technical staff, as sales are what drives the company, not customer service."