Archive for Consumer

BT blues

23 April, 2008 at 6:18 pm · Filed under Consumer ·Tagged , ,

Disaster struck at 2.20pm today when my broadband connection dropped out. This happens a couple of times a week, and it normally comes back straight away. But today after 15 minutes, and having rebooted the home hub, still no broadband. The wireless signal was fine; but the internet connection was down, on both laptops. So not a machine-specific problem, not a router problem. I ran BT’s diagnostics program; it confirmed it was time to call the BT Helpdesk, and gave me a code to quote to save time diagnosing the problem. So far, so good.

I phoned BT, identified my home number, name, address etc. Then offered to give them the problem code from the diagnostics program. No, they didn’t want the code. I explained the problem. We then went through all the diagnostics again; reboot the home hub, reboot the laptop, try with and without the ethernet cable, try a different website, etc. Had I installed any new firewall or virus-checking software? No; I explained that the problem was not PC specific since both machines affected. Given the wireless signal was strong, could it be a broadband service problem, I suggested? No, probably a browser problem. Or new hardware. Could I run my laptop in safe mode instead? It could be the weather? Me: Have you had other calls from my area? BT: No. So unlikely to be the weather then…. Had I installed halogen lights recently? I kid you not. And so on… After about 90 minutes of this, the Helpdesk admitted defeat. They had no idea what the problem was but suggested I call the BT engineers: did I want the number?

OK, I said. Armed myself with a fresh cuppa, then phoned the new number. Did I have an account? Yes, gave my BT account details. No, did I have a BT home IT support account? This is a chargeable service, starting at £9.99 a month for a minimum of 3 months. Now, bear in mind that I’ve been offline for nearly 2 hours and I’m already paying for my Broadband, I thought this was pretty outrageous. “Look”, I said, “could you just check that my broadband service is working OK from your end. Without charging me £30.” Yes, they can do a line test free. The phone went dead. I went to get another cuppa. And lo, the broadband was back.

Yes I’m delighted it’s working, and yes I’m grateful that they did the line test. Although it could of course have been the weather….

But some questions for BT before I forget all about this and get on with life:

- why give a diagnostics code then have the Helpdesk ignore it?
- why insist on going through irrelevant basic tests without at least first listening to the customer’s description of the problem?
- why not include a line test among the Helpdesk options?
- why refer me to a chargeable service without warning that it’s chargeable?
- in fact, why attempt to charge at all for fixing the service that the customer is already paying for?

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Suck it and see

21 April, 2008 at 8:59 pm · Filed under Consumer, Family & friends ·Tagged


Working from home suits me, but one of the things you miss are the goodies people bring in – especially as I still get the circular emails announcing them.

Today’s treat was ‘gourmet lollipops’ from See’s Candies, courtesy of Judith, one of our US colleagues. And for once I was in the office to try one.

My butterscotch toffee lollipop had a wonderful caramel scent and burnt sugar taste. Only one problem. The toffee is a generous-sized cube and rock hard.

What is the office etiquette for these things? Hold it in your left hand while doing one finger typing? Stick it in your mouth and hope the phone doesn’t ring? Find a toffee-proof surface to put it down?

Anyway they are delicious sweets, and if you want to test your own toffee eating technique, you can get hold of them here.

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Italian spring

8 April, 2008 at 9:11 pm · Filed under Consumer, Family & friends ·Tagged , , , , ,

On Sunday night we came back from a short break in Pisa, recharging our batteries before the final surge of campaigning for the London elections on 1st May. It wasn’t exactly getting away from elections because Italians go to the polls on 13 April. Sipping a coffee in a cafe, we were handed election leaflets. Our hotel was the temporary base of a ‘Pisa First’ candidate. Strolling the streets we passed other campaign HQs, while official posters showed the parties that had made it to the final round; it’s a 16-horse race.

The Piazza del Duomo with the leaning tower, the Cathedral and the round Baptistery does take your breath away despite being such a familiar image. Even the crowds of street vendors and tourist stalls can’t spoil it, they just give a suitably medieval buzz. Every other tourist wants their photo taken ‘propping up’ the tower, so they are leaning, stretching and lunging away, making the grass in front of the Tower look like the warm-up venue for a bizarre sporting event.

The last time I visited Pisa, a decade ago, the Tower was supported by steel cables and had weights hanging on one side. Now it’s been stabilised, free of ugly cabling, and open to visitors again. The Tower started to lean even before it was completed, so the builders partly corrected the lean as they went, meaning the Tower is slightly banana-shaped. While you really feel the lean on the way up, the Tower is close to level when you reach the top.

As well as climbing the Tower we enjoyed some more obscure sites, including a visit to Pisa Calcio’s Serie B football ground, the Arena Garibaldi. Pisa’s ground is very close to the city centre, just outside the old walls, and surrounded by flats and villas. The residential streets around the grounds have 12 foot spiked gates at either end, ready to close for crowd control. It’s striking that we manage a Premiership stadium in Highbury without any such gates needed. The international language of football meant Richard ended up discussing the previous night’s Arsenal match with a Yorkshire Gooner met on top of the Leaning Tower, before in-depth analysis of Pisa & Fiorentina’s form with our hotel barman.

We also had a day out in Lucca, the birthplace of Pucchini, also the home (cheers Richard) of Sportiva Lucchese, and just 15 minutes from Pisa by train. Lucca is surrounded by 4km of walls which have been laid out as a park in the sky, with trees, benches, cafes and view points; we did a gentle circuit before lunch, along with dog walkers, cyclists, roller bladers all enjoying the spring sunshine and views over the town. We ate in the Piazza Napoleon. When Napoleon conquered Italy, he gave Lucca to his sister Elisa. She had a villa outside the walls, and according to one story, ended up being winched over them to safety when the plain flooded. Maybe the shared experience of floods is why Lucca’s British twin town is Abingdon.

Back in Pisa, we enjoyed some great meals out, especially at the Osteria dei Cavalieri and our favourite Osteria dei Santi, washed down with glasses of Montepulciano and Moretti. If we ate Italian all year round, we’d never have made it up the Tower….

The trip was supposed to be a stress-buster, so we were a bit alarmed when the cashpoint rejected Richard’s card on our first day there. He eventually got through to Lloyds TSB on the phone; just a fraud check, because of unusual activity. Unusual activity equals being in Italy? Yes, but don’t worry sir, now you’ve called, your card is cleared. Which is fine... except it’s not really fine to have to phone your bank from abroad when on holiday. And given how often Richard travels for work it wasn’t unusual activity either. Especially when I travel much less, and my card worked fine throughout.

The only other downside of the trip was the journey home. Just hours after we’d been sunning ourselves on our hotel’s roof terrace, our (carbon-offset) flight home was delayed six hours by snow at Gatwick. Yet another argument for holidaying by train in future!

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Cold comfort as British Gas rakes in the profits

28 March, 2008 at 6:33 pm · Filed under Consumer, Going green ·Tagged , , , ,

More news on British Gas today. The Chief Exec of British Gas’ parent company Centrica is now earning £5,100 a day. His £23k pay rise is itself a reward for the 40% increase in operating profits for the company. All this at a time when, as Nick Clegg has been highlighting in Parliament, 4.5 million households currently live in fuel poverty, spending at least 10 per cent of their income on meeting energy costs.

Last month, Richard & I upped the energy saving round the house. We’ve put foam strips round the back door and stuck film inside some of the windows. And in some excellent news from Homes for Islington, we’ve recently heard that they are going to insulate our cavity walls - and get the utility companies to pay; so no extra cost to leaseholders. Until then, working from home, with the weather so cold, I’ve had the heating on most of the day. Luckily I can afford it. But what is the Government doing about those who can’t?

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British Gas: don’t call us….

21 March, 2008 at 8:43 am · Filed under Consumer ·Tagged ,

I’m working from home most of the time these days, and so my office number is diverted here too. My extension is diverted to my mobile, but colleagues often call on my landline too. So if the phone goes, I rush downstairs to answer it.

A couple of weeks ago, mid-afternoon, I had a call. I always answer with my name – “Good afternoon, Bridget Fox speaking” – so was mildly irritated when the first question was, “May I speak to Ms Fox?” Anyway, it turned out to be British Gas. Did I have Homecare? Yes. Was I happy with it? Yes. Did I want some upgrade or other? Not now, thank you. End of call. So far, so good. Back to work….

The next day, mid-afternoon, the phone goes, I answer, British Gas again, about my Homecare. I assure them that my requirements for Homecare have not changed in the last 24 hours. Back to work.

Day 3, the phone goes. It’s British Gas, asking for the man who lived here before me. I explain he’s not lived here for years. “It’s about his British Gas Homecare”. Of course it is. “Is that… [some address in Essex]?” No, I explain, this is Morton Road in Islington. You’ve got the right address for Mr T but the wrong number. Chap from British Gas apologises, they will update their records. By the way, would I like British Gas Homecare? Grrr. Back to work.

Day 4, the phone goes, I answer it, give my name – and the caller hangs up. I do a 1471, and then ringback: it might be important. “You were called today on a non-urgent matter by British Gas….”

Day 5 and each day since, the same. The phone rings, I answer, they hang up, I check, it’s British Gas.

Did you know that the letters in ‘British Gas’ can be rearranged into short but expressive words for use on such occasions?

There is a number to call to stop this nonsense. It’s 0845 0700828.
The bad news is it may take up to 28 days before the calls stop….

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Will the budget tackle fuel poverty?

12 March, 2008 at 8:31 am · Filed under Campaigns, Consumer ·Tagged , ,

What will Darling’s budget headline be? Perhaps veni, vidi, vici (translated as ‘I stole my best ideas from Vince’). People seem to like Lib Dem policies when they get them. The legacy of the LibDem/Labour partnership government in Scotland, with well-funded education and social care, is now tempting English communities north of the Border. Or perhaps that’s just the rugby.

If the pre-budget rumours are true, then Lib Dems are already shaping Government policy. In January, Nick Clegg used his first Question Time to highlight the impact of rising energy prices on the poorest families and pensioners across Britain. It struck a chord with me.

On Christmas Eve, I met Amina [not her real name] and her daughter in the local corner shop; their electricity prepay card had been topped up but had stopped working, and she had no money to buy another one. So she was back in the shop, surrounded by people getting their crackers and mince pies, desperately negotiating a fresh card so that her family could heat and eat over Christmas.

Meanwhile the Prime Minister has done nothing more than tut tut at the energy companies who levy higher bills on pre-paid meters, so the poorest families pay the most for their energy needs. So if the Government do announce action today that’s welcome, if overdue, news.

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Agents of change

26 February, 2008 at 7:41 pm · Filed under Consumer, Neighbourhood ·Tagged , , , , ,

More direct mail on the doormat, including another letter from an estate agent wanting to sell my flat for me. Thanks but no thanks. At least the letter, from Chestertons, was polite and friendly, apologising for the direct approach and setting out their stall in a pleasant, low-pressure way.

Much better than those dodgy geezers at Foxtons. A while ago I had a breezy voicemail on my mobile. “Hello Bridget, It’s Simon at Foxtons. Just to let you know we’ve got a couple of buyers very interested in your flat, so give us a call on 0207 …”. Clearly some ghastly mistake. Or identity theft? A prank? And how did they get my number? Help!

I was off work that day, so went into Foxtons to ask for ‘Simon’ and explain that we’d both been victims of a cock-up or worse. I even played back the voicemail to the chap on duty. No mistake; it seems I’d been the recipient of a “proactive sales call”. And they’d kept my number from when I’d been viewing properties years before. Lovely people.

Foxtons have also twice fastened ‘to let’ signs to my railings when they were acting for the owners of another flat upstairs, meaning I had to make lots of reassuring noises to friends and my team. No, I’m not moving. And if I was, I wouldn’t use Foxtons.

I’m not the only one. Class War are now proposing to picket Foxtons on Upper Street for their role in “driving up house prices in our part of town”. [Hat-tip: Johnny Void]
Ah yes, house prices, ever the hot topic at left caucus meetings.

Time to update the old slogans methinks.

What do we want? A maisonette with a bit of garden!
When do we want it? Before the stamp duty threshold changes!

TUC, off your knees, loft conversion now!

1234 – want to get your own front door?
2468 – time to buy some real estate!

Meanwhile it’s the Lib Dems in Islington who are defying the Labour government and building new council housing. Funny old world…

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More Post Office closures for Islington

21 February, 2008 at 7:35 pm · Filed under Campaigns, Consumer, Neighbourhood ·Tagged , , , ,

It’s been another week of bad news for Islington’s post offices. On Tuesday, the Post Office unveiled their latest plans for closures in London. Islington is set to lose two branches on Caledonian Road to the west of the borough, plus three just over the Hackney border - Murray Grove, Blackstock Road and Wilton Way - serving the east side.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that there are two post offices on Caledonian Road. It’s a very long road; one of the branches is at Kings Cross, in the N1 postcode, the other is in Holloway N7. But both are set to close.

The Post Office’s big idea seems to be that everyone can use the main post office on Upper Street. I went over there before work, and at 8.30am on Tuesday there were already pensioners lining up in the cold, queuing for the 9.30am opening. Queuing for at least half an hour once you are inside is routine. Upper Street can barely cope at present; what will it be like when other branches close?

On Tuesday lunchtime Meral and I went over to the two branches on Caledonian Road to see for ourselves and meet some of the people affected. Old women, younger men, mums with babies, at both branches there were queues of people who rely on their local post office every day. We’d arranged to meet up with the local papers too: this is a major issue for our community.

People I spoke to find it hard to understand why the Government is backing these closures. Both these branches are surrounded by large estates and serve deprived communities, so traditional Labour voters in particular feel very angry and let down. Meanwhile Emily Thornberry, the local Labour MP who voted FOR Post Office closures a year ago says “these sub post-offices tend to be just a counter in a shop because they are likely to be located somewhere where there are other post offices nearby, so it is less of an issue than crown post offices.”
I doubt many of her constituents agree.

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Water water everywhere

21 February, 2008 at 6:32 pm · Filed under Consumer, Neighbourhood ·Tagged , ,

The Home Secretary braved the mean streets of Islington the other week, well Upper Street at least, with a mere half dozen police in attendance. She was here to launch the latest strategy on alcohol abuse. Today the BMA is suggesting a crackdown on cheap alcohol pricing. If the Government’s serious about tackling the booze culture, they might start with the excessive markup on soft drinks in pubs. Alcohol drinkers drink more, and more quickly; soft drinks quench your thirst. So even without tax, venues charge much more for lemonade than they do for lager. It might be less newsworthy than attacking teenagers, again. But it could make a real difference.

Asking for tap water may become the right-on choice after this week’s debates on bottled water. Islington Council recently announced an end to bottled water for meetings. In my firm’s office, the water cooler has quietly vanished. It is absurd to buy water because of its image of natural purity, while discarded plastic bottles litter the world’s coasts. How ironic that we fund charities to provide tap water around the world and then disdain it ourselves. £72 to Oxfam will buy safe tap water for 100 people; £72 at Claridges gets you 1.5 litres of the fanciest bottled water. Now that is a mark-up.

Perhaps we’ve had mains water for so long we take it for granted. London’s Victorian pipes under Islington were so old they were held together with pegs. Before Thames Water replaced all the pipes, Islington’s water mains burst on what seemed like a weekly basis. I remember the scenes when one estate was cut off; Thames provided a stopcock - at the bottom of the hill. Cue Jack and Jill scenes as people struggled back up with their water. After some angry phone calls we got bottled water delivered to the flats; but nothing beats having the taps back on.

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Tale of two plumbers

9 February, 2008 at 8:22 pm · Filed under Consumer ·Tagged , ,

We have a ‘one thing a month’ approach to doing up the flat, partly for our sanity, partly for the bank manager’s. The problem is deciding which thing to do.

Last year we ordered a new sofa and had the living room redecorated. The carpet was going to be the next thing, so the books are still not back in the bookcases. But then on Christmas day, the oven door came off its hinges (great timing) so that went to the top of the list. Until the washing machine packed up. Laundry trumps oven, especially as the hob still works. So Thursday was delivery day for the new washing machine.

Maurice from Angel Plumbers arrived bright and early to disconnect the old machine. He also fitted a new kitchen tap and stopcock valve which needed upgrading. The new washing machine was delivered by lunchtime and everything seemed fine.

Roll foward to 6pm and I go into the bedroom to get ready for the HACAN meeting. Water is dripping on my head, coming from a crack across the whole ceiling. How can that happen from a new kitchen tap? It can’t. Forget getting changed, I rush to get buckets and towels, then rouse my upstairs neighbour to turn off his water. Luckily he was in. It turns out he too had a plumber out today, to fix his central heating. What are the odds? A valve under the boiler hadn’t been fixed properly, hence the leak.

After two nights on the sofabed, the bedroom has dried out. Now we just have to sort out the insurance so we can get the ceiling redecorated.

Looks like that carpet will have to wait a bit longer.

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