Contactless payments, unsubscribing to emails and dodgy suncream labelling are on Grumpy Group Organiser’s agenda this month.
Cashing out
I have a problem with cash. It’s not that I spend too much of it, I just cannot get hold of it. Well, not the small kind; the change you use for lots of things like parking, supermarket trolleys and tipping. I was recently at an airport car park looking for a trolley for our luggage and needed a pound coin to release one for use. Could I find one? I searched every single pocket and my entire car. After turning the air blue I finally unearthed one from a tiny compartment I forgot existed. (I think I decided to use it for coins for moments like this, from memory).
Why do you need a pound coin in exchange for convenience, particularly in this day and age? I mainly use my debit and credit cards when paying for things and my wallet just doesn’t have the change in it any more. Can the world catch up and ensure that such services can use contactless card payments, as well as coins? If black cabs in London can make the switch (albeit rather begrudgingly) then surely everyone can.
You’re human? Prove it!
Emails are a double-edged sword. I like emails, don’t get me wrong, and use my inbox to great effect to research, stay informed and communicate. But let’s face it, we all get a lot of rubbish landing in them, much of it we either didn’t sign up for, or did so without realising. So I have been on a mission of late to unsubscribe from emails I no longer value or have no idea why they are being sent to me in the first place.
It’s usually pretty easy; you go to the unsubscribe link, normally found at the bottom. But quite often, it isn’t that easy. I get unsolicited emails and then they have the audacity to ask if I’m a human when I try to unsubscribe! Click this, click that and prove you’re made of flesh and bone. Or the best yet, send an email with ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line and we will remove you from our list. I have two words for that, and the second one is ‘off’.
Sun protection? Perhaps not
As I write this month’s column, the sun is shining and the skies are blue. Now that’s not something we’ve said much this summer. Historically, I’ve not been great when it comes to sun protection, but in recent years I have recognised and appreciated its importance (my family moan at me a lot but some of it does go in). A niece told me not to use products with less than five stars for UVA protection, so now I make sure I study the bottle before purchase. And I believe what bottles in shops say, don’t you?
Maybe we shouldn’t, because recently there have been three major sunscreen brands that have failed an annual safety test. Products sold by ASDA, Calypso (isn’t that an ice lolly?), and Bondi Sands didn’t match the protection that was specified on the label, according to the Which? consumer group.
Indeed, Natalie Hitchins, the head of Which? home products and services said: “It is incredibly concerning that some big brands failed our tests and did not offer the level of sun protection claimed on the packaging.” So choose your products carefully, go with five stars, slap it on liberally and drink plenty of water alongside anything more potent. Who said I don’t look out for you?
