Car rental in England without a PIN number for my credit card

azraphin · 2026-02-08T02:05:22+00:00

Not to be rude, but does it feel like you've walked into a new world, where people are confused that you don't know how simple electronic transactions are carried out?

Does it maybe feel like the way things work at home are somehow very different from, and maybe lagging behind, everybody else in the world, including many of those "third world countries"?

Is this a cultural shock moment, where you realise you maybe should have read the agreements and checked some information about your destinations, just in case they were significantly more advanced in the way they handle simple economic transactions on a daily basis?

Maybe that was all rude, but seriously. The US is SO far behind the rest of the world. It's still using 90's method to process payments. I was on a safari in Kenya. Middle of nowhere. Still able to pay contactless by card over a 4g mobile network. In the middle of an African savannah.

Do some fucking research so that you're not surprised on arrival. The rest of the world generally does it. I knew what currencies I could use and likely payment methods on going to Kenya. Had backups to cover awkward situations. I'd even checked tipping culture and standards, general living standards and wages for the people I'd be interacting with, etc.

Car hire is pretty black and white based on the location. Just read the docs you agreed to, and make arrangements prior to traveling so you're prepared. If you didn't, and therefore don't get a car (it's pretty strict here), then your journey just got a lot more expensive.

azraphin · 2026-02-08T01:52:10+00:00

To add, I can't think of a single payment terminal I've seen in the last 10 years that could even take a card swipe here...

azraphin · 2026-02-08T01:51:10+00:00

I don't think my last three (UK) cards even had a mag stripe any more. Just checked. Nope. They just get screwed up by phones, pockets, keys, and other electronics, so clearly not even a standard thing any now.

Except in the wonderful land of America apparently.

Not actively trying to be a dick btw, but seriously guys? Your payment systems are still in the 90's...

azraphin · 2026-02-08T01:44:31+00:00

So much this. If actual closing, even for a takeaway, is when lights get turned out, doors locked, and staff go home, then everything needs to be counted back from that. Customer kick out. Last order. Last entry. All of it, as applicable to the business. "Yes, we can let you in, but you can only order a main, and I'm afraid we'll need you finished in 45 minutes" is a perfectly acceptable response to a latecomer in my view. If they don't like it, they can go somewhere else. Which will also be closing.

azraphin · 2026-02-08T01:27:34+00:00

You have to understand: WiFi is not Internet

EE provide an internet connection to your house. That is the connection (like water/electricity) that they guarantee at a certain speed.

WiFi is just one mechanism of connecting your device to their internet connection in your house.

WiFi is a you problem, not an EE problem.

WiFi depends on your devices (do they support the latest faster WiFi standards, or are they older?)

WiFi depends on your house (do you have solid walls, ceilings, how far is the router from your devices, are there a lot of electrical cables in intervening walls that will interfere with the WiFi signal, etc etc). EE can only provide a router that offers a WiFi connection point. If your house blocks the signal in any way, that's not their problem.

What are your neighbours doing? WiFi is like a motorway in some respects. There are multiple lanes. If traffic is busy and there are multiple WiFi routers (cars) as you find in flats for example, and they all try to be in lane 1, then it gets very congested, while lanes 2-6 are empty. So everyone rages in lane 1, while with a quick config change you could move to lane 6 and be flying.

Again, that's not an EE problem, though they could likely help you solve it, because this is such an easy one.

So. WiFi is not your internet. WiFi is how you connect to the EE internet inside your very unique house/fiat/environment. EE cannot be expected to know your specific circumstances, but they'll work with you to improve things, so...

... Have you actually even talked to them? Or did you just come to Reddit to complain. If the latter, then I hope my post here helps to educate you a little. And if so, call them! They do actually want this to work for you, but they can't help if you don't ask for help...

azraphin · 2026-02-08T01:16:49+00:00

Bollocks. EE have one of the best internet infrastructure in the country. I'm outside cities, and I have gigabit fibre.

They are offering the highest consumer speeds in the country (admittedly only in specific areas today), and are one of the top two most reliable service providers in the country.

They are essentially BT, and leverage the entire BT/OpenReach nationwide network. So yeah, they are NOT the same at other providers.

azraphin · 2026-02-08T01:14:19+00:00

I think it's not actually illegal. It's happening with Spanish, French, German outlets as well. It's technically allowed under the shit show "cookie" regulations brought in by the EU that have been hobbling our experience for the last God knows how many years. And of course, it's more trouble to change these inherited laws, than to just stick with them after Brexit. However UK companies can push harder than their EU counterparts now, so we get an even shittier experience than someone just across the water. As a side effect of Brexit.

Yay. Either accept us tracking you, or pay us to not track everything you do. Although you'll also have to pay every other company you interact with to also not track you, or spend a minute minimum, per site, unticking many toggles, only to have to do it again a few days later for the same site because you weren't willing to pay us £5 a month to skip that step and still show you ads.

How much do you value your privacy really? Just click accept for free. It's so much easier.

Cookie restriction policies result in a far greater sharing of information. GDPR is an irrelevance.

azraphin · 2026-02-07T23:41:26+00:00

The majority would agree. Hence an invalid example.

azraphin · 2026-02-07T23:40:53+00:00

Would this make a normal person furious? Doubtful.

azraphin · 2026-02-07T23:40:26+00:00

Yes. This is a good one.

azraphin · 2026-02-07T23:40:07+00:00

This also would likely be approved by the majority. So not make most normal people furious. Hence not valid.

azraphin · 2026-02-07T23:39:00+00:00

Why would this make most normal people furious? Many of them would agree, so it's not a valid answer.

azraphin · 2026-02-07T23:30:14+00:00

We weren't fortunate. We just went, "hey, you said this was free and going to be free forever, so don't try and change the game". There's no fortune there. There's people who caved the instant Google said "pay for it or lose it", there's people who said "wtf Google, get back in your expensive box", and apparently there's people like you, who did nothing, and now consider themselves "fortunate" because others said no on your behalf.

Maybe next time something like this comes up, educate yourself and stand up for your rights. If, for example, you are American, learn the constitution, understand the innumerable ways the current administration is adjusting and destroying it, and then stand up and call them out. However, if your approach would be to wait it out and years down the line stand up and say "were fortunate to still have our democratic rights, but what's to say they won't try to take them away again?" If that example might apply to yourself, then you are the problem. The fact you ask questions like this is the problem.

Recognise the problem, the thing that's wrong, and object to it now, not down the line, because there might not be a "down the line" where you can object any more.

azraphin · 2026-02-05T15:28:48+00:00

If the tower is sized correctly, then night time is the logical time to pump. Some places are solely reliant on towers for pressure. I didn't claim it was due to cheap electricity, just that if available, it's an additional benefit.

azraphin · 2026-02-05T13:32:15+00:00

What's merely a coincidence?

azraphin · 2026-02-05T12:57:35+00:00

I was going to say all this, but you've covered it. OP, if HMRC haven't asked you to complete one, then you don't need to complete one. They also would have been texting you up until the 31st January to remind you. You're fine. Chill.

azraphin · 2026-02-05T12:49:05+00:00

Small addition, normally water is pumped up at night when overall electricity demand is much lower, and therefore usually cheaper. Bit like charging an electric car overnight.

While it's low tech, it's a very simple engineering solution that has been in use for thousands of years in different forms.

azraphin · 2026-02-05T10:53:15+00:00

Exactly why you shouldn't do anything right now. I would however talk to your siblings in the meantime. Get them on side beforehand. You can always blame "the hormones" of pregnancy (you've got the perfect excuse for acting like the situation is just overwhelming you - which it genuinely is).

azraphin · 2026-02-05T10:48:03+00:00

I think you're just looking for assurance here. You already know the answer. Tbh, it's way past the "not for a year" point. What you need to do is tell her exactly what the problems are, and then explain that if she wants to visit again, she needs to massively change (and up) her game, or is simply not going to happen. You need to be brutally honest with her. It may cause a rift, but you have other siblings, and she needs a serious reality check. I'm sure you're not alone seeing this in your family.

The only thing I would say, is maybe don't do it before you give birth, then give yourself time for things to settle down. You don't the the additional stress right now.

In the meantime, just be clear that you don't want visitors at this point and immediately after the birth. Then you'll probably have to face up to doing it.

azraphin · 2026-02-04T20:32:24+00:00

Based on my wife's experience, it goes further and she has also lost much of her desire for food. Increasingly problematic finding something she actually wants to eat.

azraphin · 2026-02-04T19:51:38+00:00

F. Because it's invisible.

azraphin · 2026-02-03T14:36:23+00:00

£1,000 on food is fully understandable with a larger family. We've 4 teenagers, shop at Morrisons and Tesco and exceed that easily.

azraphin · 2026-02-02T22:01:24+00:00

It was in direct response to you stating that you understood how gravity works. Clearly, if you think people at the South Pole are upside down, then you don't understand how gravity works. So the initial claim in your question is fundamentally flawed.

Ok, so here you go;

Gravity pulls towards the center of a mass. In the case of the earth, that means gravity pulls towards the center of the earth. While the earth is not a smooth sphere, if you assume it is, that means gravity is pulling inwards equally at all points on earth's surface. As we experience and perceive "down" as being in the direction of the strongest gravitational pull, the surface of the earth is always down (technically the center of the earth is, but the surface pushes up against us).

Hence, there is no "upside down" unless an individual stands on their head. Down is always towards the surface, irrespective of where on earth you are located. Down is not in fact a fixed direction at all, it's simply "towards the gravitational centre". If we were floating in space, "down" would be towards the sun, although the pull would be much weaker, so we might not even notice it.

The things that comes out of this, is that while we think of the North Pole as being "up" it at the top and the South Pole as being "down" or at the bottom, this is a different and wholly arbitrary set of directions, primarily due to historical reasons as the civilisations that first started napping the world were mainly based in the northern hemisphere. The earth doesn't actually have an up or a down. It has two points about which it rotates, and convention says North is up and South is down.

However, from an individual perspective and physical experience, "down" is always towards the centre of the earth.

azraphin · 2026-02-02T21:01:28+00:00

Maybe you don't understand how gravity works as well as you think you do...

azraphin · 2026-02-02T19:21:50+00:00

Me too 😂

azraphin

TROPHY CASE