Wednesday, May 16, 2007

To whom it may concern ...


I am a great believer in complaining. If people did not complain about injustices, nothing would ever change. Just look at the Suffragettes. I like to think I would have been a Suffragette.

I am not known for ‘buttoning my lip’. I could complain for England and am the Queen of the letter of complaint. I endeavour to make people quiver with fear from afar by my use of English.

In the past couple of days, I have had reason to complain three times. The first was when I was overcharged for an item in Asda. I am generally not a fan of supermarkets and the way they conduct their business but Asda acquitted itself with aplomb. Not only did I receive an immediate refund but also a £2 gift card for my trouble. Of course, I told everyone about this and am now writing about it. Someone at Asda knows the secret of good PR.

Ten days ago, I bought an item on eBay for the grey mare. It finally arrived yesterday. The wait had me hopping up and down with displeasure (I had paid immediately via PayPal). Far from the advertised ‘excellent condition’, the leatherwork was cracked and smelt as if it had been stored in a damp, mouldy shed. I fired off an obstreperous email and the item is winging its way back from whence it came.

The final issue is the one that concerns me the most. I have contacted the ILPH to report a cob tethered with no water beside a busy dual carriageway near an A1 underpass. I believe tethering horses should be banned full stop. The Government had its chance to do so in the new Animal Welfare Act but didn’t. I have seen a black horse with white hair covering the scar tissue on its face, where its skin had grown over the too-tight headcollar it had been tethered in.


My mum used to tell me my mouth would get me into trouble. I hope on this occasion, it gets that horse out of trouble.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmm..What I am not quite clear from your post is whether relying on this [no doubt excellent] charity is your only option. You mention a 'missed opportunity' by the Government, but don't the Local Authority have some responsibility in this area ?

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

The IlPH have regional field officers who go to check out reports/complaints etc. they are generally thought to be more proactive than the RSPCA.

However, I don't expect anything will happen until something happens to the horse or some loon sets it free among the traffic ...

Anonymous said...

That is so frustrating !! I know that this used to be a particular problem in Ireland at one time. I think there was a film 'Once upon a time in the west' which showed a horse being kept in a house, reflecting a culture where some back gardens were used for keeping horses.

I guess the RSPCA hands may be tied somewhat by what they can achieve via litigation / statutory authority.

I am not overly sentimental when it comes to animals, but I get into a rage if animals as intelligent and gentle as horses are mistreated.

Grrr!!

mountainear said...

Well done you for speaking out - especially where the horse was concerned.

Anonymous said...

eminem - forgive my ignorance here again, but years ago one used to need a licence to keep a dog [this may no longer be the case] - are there any such arrangements for those buying or keeping horses ?

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

Anon, one no longer needs a licence to keep a dog.

In the last couple of years, it has been a legal requirement to have a passport for your horse. The main reason for this is that the evil horse eaters know whether they will be poisoned if they eat a particular horse because any prescribed drugs must be recorded on the passport. The passport also has section for the owner to tick yes or no to the question 'is this horse intended for human consumpution?' I wonder they don't have that on babies' birth certificates now ...

Thank you for your support Mountainear...

Mopsa said...

Complaining is a skill, I believe, that one learns at Mother's knee. It can hold me in good stead, and sometimes it can make me overly obstreperous; and it's my fault that I can't always tell which one will out.

Pig in the Kitchen said...

remind me never to get on the wrong side of M&m. Hope you get somewhere with the horse, and left negative feedback on ebay...the ebayers I know quake at the thought of negative feedback.
Pigx

muddyboots said...

standing up for your rights / principles is VERY important. we have free speech here so we need to make the most of it. agree about tethered horses 100%. re: blog comment l have done a few interviews, to make contact details on business web page[links on blog]

david santos said...

Thanks for Madeleine!

Stay at home dad said...

Complaining is great. The trouble is my wife starts to shrink away from me if I do it anywhere near her...

@themill said...

I had to buy cigars, along with tons of other pre Christmas shopping, several years ago in Safeways. The girl at the tobacco kiosk told me I couldn't have them until I got to the check out, where I had to ask for them. When I got there, complete with four children and two VERY full trolleys, they told me I was too late and the kiosk was closed. I flipped, demanded to see the manager and told them in no uncertain terms where they could stick their shopping, stormed out and left them to unload both unpaid for trolleys. The children were mortified!

debio said...

How I agree with muddyboots about rights and free speech being important BUT, if we British think that there is free speech and rights for everyone in UK then we are sorely labouring under a misapprehension.
10 years of pc TB has just given power to those who want rights without responsibility - a dumbing down to the lowest common denominator.
I truly have more freedom here - perhaps not as a woman but truly as a resident.
So, you who are left, please keep complaining but vote against brainwashing.

Big Chip Dale said...

Dear M&M,

I'm writing to complain about your latest post about complaining. Not once is your post do you provide evidence of your complaining, despite promises to do so.

Dealing with Asda, I suggest that you didn't complain but merely 'raised a concern'. To Paypal, you sent strongly worded feedback which in no way could be construed as 'a complaint', and in regard to the ILPH, it sounds like a grouse, a groan, or even a mumble.

As you know, I'm not one to complain about such things but I do have my limits.

Yrs.

C. Dale.

The Secretary said...

Bravo M&M. If you turn a blind eye then people get away with things and that shouldn't be the case. We all have a duty to the society in which we live to make sure than wrongs are corrected. As for the comment that your mouth will get you in to trouble one of these days, my mum used to say that to me too.

lady macleod said...

Well done! You are also complaining for the poor chap who follows you, hopefully you have saved them a bad turn.

You would think more businesses would get that about the good PR wouldn't you? For I am the same, when treated well I tell everyone.

You are entitled to feel quite righteous!

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

Update on the horse:

I have spoken to the ILPH, who say that it is possible the horse can be removed if there is the 'potential' that it will come to harm. However, the ILPH inspector is away until after the Bank Holiday, so I was advised to call the RSPCA.

I did. An inspector is going to see the horse and someone will ring me back. The horse was having difficulty getting to its feet when I drove passed tonight.

I have also emailed the local council.

I am please I am not the only one with a complaining gene.

But, I hasten to add, I am reasonable and only vicious if provoked. I do not write with green ink ...

Anonymous said...

Well done eminem ! I have never quite understood why complaints letters are in 'green ink'. I suspect it is to do with the fact that to use green ink one generally needs a fountain pen with one of those special 'syringes' to hoover up ink from a bottle.

I would think that these are used only be people who also have chintz curtains and wear tweed, and are therefore sufficiently old to be both wise and cantankerous enough to write a vicious complaint letter.

Zig said...

I hate seeing tethered horses too and have had most luck from the police who usually have an equine officer who can be wound up into action!

Kelly Innes said...

i could use some hints on the complaining front. I complained in writing to a local spa and have heard nothing since...five weeks ago!

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

Will let you know what happens next with the cob.

Kelly, welcome. If I were you, I'd write directly to head office with your compliant. Spars are 'symbol' stores and run on a franchise basis. I'd go straight to the head honcho if you've had no luck.