Posts by d3vy

Re: Banks == IT Companies

I think I read that same thing.

Wasn't it based on one company who sold financial products and were floundering but realised that their primary focus should be IT and switched internal focus so that they were an it company who sold financial products and did really well?

I'd be interested to read it again now if anyone has a link.

Re: Last Known No Good

The only way that I can think that a rollback could possibly work would be if every transaction in and out has been logged and can be re-run back into the old system, the problem being that as soon as they migrated into the new environment and transactions started to go through a rollback to lloyds was off the cards.

I would hope that they have some clever process to be able to unwind everything but having been involved in big migration projects in the past I very much doubt it.

On one occasion we told the business that once the process finishes and users hit the system rollbacks are impossible... 7 days after go live some muppet manager scheduled a final go/no go meeting to decide whether to keep the migrated system or not... I have no idea what his plan was if they decided "no go" because with a weeks worth of new data and updates to the old data there was *no* going back...

Re: Tab account mixed up

How much did you transfer out?

Or did you go for a sneaky small (so hopefully unnoticed) regular standing order with "Home Insurance" in the ref field... :)

Re: 18:00 on Monday, still not working

"t would probably help if they removed their test internal domain from their Angular javascript"

But it works for them!

Re: 18:00 on Monday, still not working

@clanger9

oh my god, I didnt even think to bother to check the dev console or fiddler...

That makes for quite comical reading.

We have websockets trying to establish connections back to 127.0.0.1 with a n array of port numbers, but of course thats all firewalled off so the only port its managed a connection on is 3389 which is already in use (Strange that).

Aaaaaannnnd look at that running synchronous code on the main thread.. that will be why the page stops working when I try to login...

And the fact that its trying to load resources from test1.int.uk.tsb is a bit of a worry... Ill bet it works for them though!

I half expect the images to all be pointing at "file:///c:\Development\Banks\TSB\Resources\Images\"

----

On a seperate note the few times I have been able to get on I have confirmed that there is money in my account... but my card is still being declined - anyone else experiencing that?

Re: 18:00 on Monday, still not working

Try viewing your direct debits.

On the one occasion it loaded for me they seem to have changed the paid date column so that every cell has the word "PAID : " before the date. Completely superfluous change and makes it harder for me to import the data into a spread sheet like I normally do...

Re: TSB, it's the 404 me.

Ive been in.. its very slow and it told me twice that my user ID/Password was wrong (It wasnt)

Edit. Sorry everyone. I jinxed it.

Just getting "Error loading data" now and for some reason my mortgage balance looks like its quite a bit higher than last time I went in... Though I might be imagining that, its not something I monitor daily!

Re: Simple fix - change your bank

I did..

I had a halifax (Building Soc) account a bank of scotland account and a TSB (Back before the lloyds merge) account.

All of them were gobbled up into one big mess by lloyds banking group over the last 10-15 years.

Halifax and BOS merged what... 15 years ago. I still cant use my BOS card to pay cash in at the automated machines in branch... and my nearest BOS branch is over the border.

Re: Did nobody get basic PR training on this one?

The cat has disappeared.

They are watching us.

*puts on tinfoil hat.

Re: Just as worrying...

@Anon

"Exactly the same problem with business banking."

I have installed the business banking app on a shitty old mobile that I leave on my desk (only recruiters get that number) so its got access to nothing more interesting than a bunch of texts offering me work that I dont want!

That said, the old card reader was fine, Im sure the app saves them money but putting the key gen on an internet connected device seems like a step backwards in terms of security to me.

Re: Bullshirt

@polymor

" as well to reminding us that the upgrade was happening and to plan ahead if needed"

Well I planned ahead as far as Sunday evening which is when they said it would be up... What now?

Re: Bullshirt

"Bullshirt. I got an email about 2 weeks ago about the transfer, and a text message last Wednesday about the downtime."

Well I got my text 45 minutes after the down time started.

They dont send me emails because they constantly sent me crap, but they are meant to send important messages...

Regardless of when people were notified the notice clearly said that access would be restored at 6pm on sunday. Unless Im very much mistaken its now 1pm on Monday and I still dont have access to my personal or business accounts.

Im willing to bet they managed to take their mortgage payment though....

Re: Probably...

"IIRC there are some states which oral sex is legally referred to as sodomy."

They're doing it wrong

Re: I will be getting the shoulder holster

I was incredibly surprised on a recent trip to the US to see quite a few people still clipping their phones to their belts like its the 90s again... A shoulder holster would certainly not get a second look!

Re: Don't get it

"Love spicy food, in moderation, but really don't see the point in deliberately inducing pain, not even in competition. It's like a competition to see who has the most stupid"

This just about describes every visit I have ever made to an Indian restaurant with "the lads from sales" (in previous employment I was subjected to such horrors - now that I am a contractor I have a solid fool proof excuse *

What is it in the human psyche that has some of us think that eating a hotter curry than someone else somehow makes you better? Especially when you are visibly NOT enjoying it.

I like spicy food, but wouldn't partake on a night out... Its bad enough being hungover the next day without excreting molten lava too.

* Participating in employee get togethers increases my exposure in the event of an IR35 investigation - This may or may not actually be true - but I'm not risking it!

Re: "Lappie"?!

@rmason

I'm in complete agreement - I bought myself a lenovo ultra book a few years ago because I often travel for work and didnt want to carty more weigh than was really needed. I had a bit of a panic and bought a USB -> RJ45 dongle because I was convinced that I would need it.

Its not been used, Ive opened it but couldnt locate it now if I tried - it might have made its way up to the spares box in the sky (the loft).

There are some occasions when Im transferring a big file and the wifi is congested where I think it would be useful but then I think about the hastle of moving to a desk with a spare cable.., Crossing my fingers that its actually patched in and not just a dead socket... then I leave the transfer going via wifi and grab some tea and a biscuit.

@Paul.

A hands on article normally focuses on what its like to use the machine rather than how many parts you can make it into with the right tools :)

Re: It is not just lost VAT ...

Oh Dear, Lets take it one at a time shall we?

"@Natalie - agreed, toilet paper is definitely at the bottom of the list of useful 'dodges' but one of the earlier contributors, moaning about how soon it would come up, is probably able to buy the latest tech under his "company boss" hat for use under his "home with the family" hat, and then says "The fact that I own the company that employs me has no bearing whatsoever on this." which I consider a steaming heap of BS."

The point I was making is that anything I buy while wearing my "Company Boss Hat" has to be justifiable as a business expense. So I can buy a shiny new laptop for 3k as long as its primary function is for work (same as you taking an employers laptop home and being allowed to use it to browse the net in your own time).

I *could* if I wanted go out and buy myself a 55" curved AMOLED TV for "Video conferencing" but If I get investigated I'd fully expect to end up with a ridiculous fine if they found it in the front room with an x box plugged in.

"He's clearly annoyed at the suggestion,"

Clarification : Im annoyed at the constant suggestion that contractors are somehow diddling HMRC and that everything we do should be taxed at the same or higher rate as permanent staff. This comes from a distinct lack of understanding of how limited companies operate and the fact that for liability reasons we NEED to work under a limited company - Try to get a contract role as a sole trader.. I can guarantee that you wont at least not for any decent rate or for a decent length of time.

"and by sinking into the sewer to use the f-word"

C'mon, we're all adults, its just a word, say it.. you'll feel much better.

"If some of the equipment happens to have useful access to, say, Netflix, iPlayer, Sky Go, he'd no doubt claim it was purely to keep up with legislation :)"

Actually there is a bit of a grey area there, all of my previous employers before I started contracting allowed me to use my IT equipment for personal use (within reason) - I dont see why having netflix on my work laptop would be an issue now that I am running my own company?

Its not to keep up with legislation, its so I can watch movies when Im in a hotel 4 nights a week for months on end. In fact - if you go and have a look at HMRCs web site you would find that it would actually be permissible for the company to pay for the subscription as long as it was declared as a BIK and I (personally) paid the tax on it.

But then that would require you to have some knowledge of the subject rather than just spouting some crap you made up based on something someone once told you.

--

Kisses.

Re: You don't have to pay VAT for business expenses?

John, You said "Probably" too many times for me to take your argument seriously.

"As for those two words they have the same meaning as far as normal people are concerned."

Doesn't matter what 'normal' people think evasion and avoidance mean as long as HMRC and the people engaged in the activity know the difference.

Personally I avoid shed loads of tax but I have never knowingly evaded it.

Re: It is not just lost VAT ...

@anon

Thats only a day rate of 380 assuming you have a month out of work.

Also you can sign up to be vat registered before earning that much.

Most contractors are VAT registered.

Re: El Reg couldn't possibly comment????

@roj

You're confusing avoidance and evasion.

Re: It is not just lost VAT ...

"maybe they should just abolish VAT, which is just an additional tax. At least then those of us on PAYE will pay the same as contractors and others that can claim their VAT back."

I wondered how fucking long this would take to come up.

Contractors can only claim VAT back on business expenses, that is expenses incurred by their business - your employer does the same.

As a contractor I am an EMPLOYEE of my company I personally pay the same VAT on everything that you do. If my EMPLOYER buys something then they get to claim the VAT back as long as the thing that they bought is for business use. The fact that I own the company that employs me has no bearing whatsoever on this.

Re: It is not just lost VAT ...

Its not even just VAT- I know a few people who make a decent side income from eBay and declare none of it. Years ago I had a thing going where a friend working in the local recycling plant would fill his car with any half decent looking computers that were taken to the tip, he'd drop them at mine and I'd clean them, wipe the disks* and stick them on eBay.

We didn't get anything AMAZING but it was a constant stream of mostly working PCs all a few years old.

By the time we got properly into a routine we were getting a couple K a month split between us (and the manager at the recycling centre who needed his palms greased) - unfortunately that stopped when my friend on the inside finished uni and got a better job and the council realised there was money to be made and started selling the electrical off to their own buyers.

Being a good citizen I of course declared my additional income - but I can guarantee that the majority in a similar situation wont be paying TAX on their income.

* I've been privy to more home made porn than I care to remember

"It seems odd that all ISP's don't offer email services. They surely cost practically bugger all and are a method of locking in customers."

Hmm, Locking in customers - probably not so much judging by how often my non technical friends change phone numbers I doubt that they would care about an email address!

Re: "Apple's 'education' iPad is still a case of won't – not can't – so we graded it accordingly"

"I would imagine it's more a case that if it were not possible to build a repairable tablet, then they would score higher. Since it IS possible, Apple get a lower grade."

It certainly is possible because apple did it with some of the other iPads.