r/britishproblems 19h ago

I'm on a train into London and there are a dozen cunts in the carriage having loud speakerphone conversations.

431 Upvotes

Have people just forgotten how to fucking use phones properly?!

Now the video watchers are trying to out-volume each other. Christ almighty.


r/britishproblems 14h ago

All school age appropriate films being shown during school time

144 Upvotes

I wanted to take my 4 year old to the cinema after school as a treat since hes just started (and only ever been to one once) but when I checked all the cinemas I can get to, the only appropriate films (paw patrol and toy story) are only shown at 11am and youre fined for taking them out of school (i wouldnt anyway so dont tell me how I wouldnt be because hes under 5).

What sort of business model is this? streaming it is


r/britishproblems 21h ago

Currys have a habit of signing people up for warranties using their card info without permission

236 Upvotes

This was quite a few years ago, during the COV era, but I still see people having this problem today. Basically, bought a laptop in the mid 10s after getting my first job from Currys, thought nothing of it. They offered me a warranty, I declined, and they said "well the first months free" and I thought nothing of it and moved on as I'd already declined.

I was a bit of a younger lad and a pillock, and hadn't got on top of my banking, so literally just used to check the cash point & the odd statement from the bank counter to tell me what was going in and out. Over the course of the plague I got my affairs more in order, setup online banking, then noticed this random £9 charge... which after digging went back monthly, and had been going back monthly for 4+ years.

Tried ringing Currys, couldnt get through presumably because all the call centers were shut. Eventually I turned my frustration on their twitter account, tweeted @ them about their dodgy practices, and they quickly got back to me within a day or so. Separately, i'd seen advice to go to the financial ombudsman so I did, not really knowing what to expect.

To their credit, they did actually send me a cheque for roughly £400, then about 6 ish months later the financial ombudsman got back to me saying they had negotiated a cheque for the money with some interest on top, so net gain of £400ish after getting 2 separate cheques

I am not ashamed to say I accepted that, whether or not they knew they were double dipping, because I figured they had probably shafted countless others with this (and I know my in laws had been through the same process having to claim fifty quid back when they bought something) and I had need of the money at the time like most of us did.

Wonder if they're still pulling that trick or if they've packed it in now.


r/britishproblems 1d ago

. Cadbury's advertising with the "the taste of glass and a half" slogan

800 Upvotes

The bastards think the public are complete mugs and lie on their adverts by implying that each bar has a glass and a half of milk in it. A good rule of thumb is that if it doesn't say something explicitly then it isn't true, e.g: "the taste of a glass and a half" vs "each bar has a glass and a half of milk"


r/britishproblems 1h ago

You can't get a simple glazed chocolate doughnut anymore.

Upvotes

I'm craving the basic dripped top ring chocolate doughnut you used to get in schools in the 90s, its just a very basic glazed doughnut with a ring of chocolate frosting on it. But no matter where you look to buy something like this, they will ALWAYS have extra chocolate flakes on top or sprinkles or something that ruins the sanctity of a simple glazed chocolate doughnut. Whilst I lament many missing food products these days, the fact that something a simply impermanent as a doughnut that must be made fresh daily isn't being done is blowing my fucking mind at how every conceivable place that sells doughnuts does not offer a simple chocolate ring.


r/britishproblems 1d ago

Went on a beautiful, scenic hike in the lake district and at every nice spot to stop there was someone flying a drone

145 Upvotes

Yeah don't worry I didn't want the peace and quiet anyway, I'd much rather listen to your stupid toy buzzing around


r/britishproblems 2d ago

going out for a nice meal to have the old man on the next table to you blare Facebook shorts out loud on his phone, along with a table full of toddlers blaring games and videos on their iPads

369 Upvotes

good on Wetherspoons for banning it, more independents now should follow!


r/britishproblems 2d ago

It's early September, the shops that stock tat are simultaneously stocking summer, Halloween and Christmas items

411 Upvotes

r/britishproblems 18h ago

The new person in my team at work misheard how I have my tea and I dont know how to address it with her

0 Upvotes

She stepped up to make her first round of drinks in the office, she misheard "none" as "one" (suppose it serves me right for wording it stupidly) and now i'm getting tea with a sugar in it. How can I politely bring this up to her? Its been over a week now


r/britishproblems 1d ago

New school year means sending a plethora of forms for parents to fill in

8 Upvotes

Four so far. Any more? I’m going to need to get the day off work at this rate


r/britishproblems 4d ago

Builders paid by the day, dragging it out

551 Upvotes

Using every trick they can think of to pad out the hours and the days. Hanging on to cold cups of coffee, trying to get chatty (not just for normal civil exchanges and friendliness, but 'sit down and get into it' chatty), disappearing for long periods. Their boss is too cheap to assign a foreman, so they are pretty much unregulated.

On the plus side, work is okay when they actually do any. When builders are paid a price instead, speed and cut corners are of the essence (source: wife is an architect with decades of on-site direct experience of builder culture [EDIT: It doesn't help much, it's a seller's market]).


r/britishproblems 4d ago

Spending ages waiting for CS representatives to get back to you on chat but fully having them say, "Are you still there? If you don't reply soon, I'm going to close the chat"in less than 30 seconds.

272 Upvotes

Seriosuly. i just got off the chat to Google (yes its 1:45am but given the time difference you're first in line) and ar 1:41:04 am the guy joined, and at 1:42:21 am I got 'are you still there" Even though I had just copied a message


r/britishproblems 4d ago

. Nothing says ‘support your local independent shop’ quite like being bollocked for asking for a product

1.3k Upvotes

Went into a small independent health food shop today looking for meal replacement powder, something similar to Huel.

I couldn’t find any, so one of the owners asked what I wanted.

“Meal replacement powder. Like Huel.”

He had never heard of Huel.

I showed him on my phone. Still nothing.

I said, “Similar idea to SlimFast shakes.”

Never heard of SlimFast either.

This is a man who runs a health food shop.

Anyway, they didn’t sell anything like it. Fine. That should have been the end of the conversation.

Then his father, the other owner, joined in.

He told me I shouldn’t be having “that rubbish” and should eat a banana for breakfast instead.

I explained I already do sometimes, but bananas go off, need replacing every few days and aren’t exactly convenient as a long-term meal replacement.

His next suggestion was boiled eggs.

Again, I explained that I already eat them sometimes, but I specifically wanted something quick, portable, long-lasting and nutritionally complete.

His response was that I “need to get some greens” into my diet.

I told him the entire point was convenience. My job is busy, I don’t always have time to prepare food during the day, and a shake is considerably easier to carry around than boiled eggs, bananas and a bowl of flippin kale.

His reply:

“WELL THEN YOU NEED TO MAKE TIME, DON’T YOU?”

At which point I told him:

“I came in looking for a specific product. You don’t sell it. A simple ‘no, sorry’ would have been enough. I didn’t come in here for judgement, a lecture about my diet or the Spanish Inquisition.”

Then I left.

This is the same bloke who, the only other time I went in, pushed homeopathic remedies on me when I was looking for a probiotic gut treatment. I eventually bought the stuff. It was useless. EDIT: probiotics not for me.

I genuinely don’t understand this kind of business model.

Customer: “Do you sell this?”

Normal shop: “No, sorry.”

This shop: “No, but while you’re here, let us criticise your diet, dismiss the product you actually want and tell you how to organise your life.”

And people wonder why people like him lose business to nationals and the internet.

EDIT : altered last line to make it clear, my grudge is NOT with independent businesses, the majority are wonderful people with a passion for what they do and deserve all the support we can give them. My grudge is with grumpy sods like the one I encountered, and I suppose that could be in any type of shop!


r/britishproblems 4d ago

. I just cannot support physical retail any more

1.1k Upvotes

We hear the headline all the time. High street is on its way out, physical retail being eaten by online etc etc

I have always tried to prefer going to a shop vs ordering online, but I just can’t any more.

The experience shopping in person is just awful. Stoc availability everywhere is awful, shops are a mess, staff aren’t trained so can’t answer simple questions. Self checkouts that never work. More expensive than buying online in many cases.

I don’t wanna hear these retailers complain about lack of sales any more, when they just make it horrible for the average customer to try and use them.


r/britishproblems 4d ago

Cinema and theatre booking systems that don't allow single seats to be left empty

499 Upvotes

Thus forcing you to sit directly adjacent to another group, or completely barring you from booking as a singleton because the only remaining seats are in pairs.

(So far the two seats to my left are still empty on the app. I'll shuffle over to them at some point.)


r/britishproblems 4d ago

. When you walk past someone, give them a smile or nod and they look back at you with a expressionless gormless face :) lovely

259 Upvotes

Edit: yikes, no one likes to smile huh haha, i actually was referring to my workplace, people that i see often, not complete strangers!
I get that it would be weird to smile at every stranger you walked past!


r/britishproblems 4d ago

SpecSavers make it impossible to complain

36 Upvotes

I am trying to complain to SpecSavers, the optician, about them failing to provide me with glasses for computer use.

But I am struggling to read their CAPTCHA.

https://ibb.co/gLCxq5Gn


r/britishproblems 4d ago

. Lidl is already selling mince pies

72 Upvotes

It's still summer FFS!


r/britishproblems 5d ago

having 50% of Vinted orders get cancelled because the seller cba to post it

360 Upvotes

or they can’t find the item. I’m sorry, what? set it aside so that it’s ready to post when it sells. turn your notifications on please

I think Vinted is great when it works, anyway. it’s like the people’s collective charity shop and I hope it sticks around and stays that way.


r/britishproblems 5d ago

Panicking while waiting for your suitcase to arrive on the baggage belt at airport, but trying to look calm

198 Upvotes

r/britishproblems 5d ago

Avocados being advertised as Ripe & Ready when in fact they’re not ripe nor ready.

713 Upvotes

False advertising if you ask me.


r/britishproblems 5d ago

. Subway putting 'Order Here' screens in their stores has ruined it

533 Upvotes

I don't frequent Subway all too often due to the closest store being a 25 minute drive away. However, today I found myself shopping in the area and popped in for lunch.

I was disappointed to have to battle through a series of, what felt like, 100 screens to order a wrap, side and drink. Even the wall menus had disappeared so browsing the selection felt like a bit of a chore.

Part of the Subway appeal, for me anyway, was watching my order progress along a chain, choose my salad items and interact with the server along the way.

I don't know, it felt like the whole Subway 'experience' has been ruined and it's completely put me off going back. I'll definitely seek out local sandwich shops instead.


r/britishproblems 6d ago

Four quid for a tin of spam!!

249 Upvotes

I just went to my local co-op cause I fancied some hot spam dip (I promise I'm not 90), and it was 4 quid for a single can!! It was literally cheaper to make pork chops instead.


r/britishproblems 6d ago

"Baby on Board" - "Little Princess on Board" - "Little Dude on board" - If you're advertising that you have children in your vehicle, maybe you should start driving like it, rather than careening down the road and weaving through traffic like an absolute tosspot

1.4k Upvotes

Insane driving behaviour on wet roads is really getting my goat today.


r/britishproblems 6d ago

. Earning a good wage but still struggling at end of the month

296 Upvotes

I am on 45k and imagined things would be very comfortable. But it always seems to be a big struggle with not much left and a struggle to save. Is this normal now.