Verging on the Mediocre

THANKS FOR YOUR HARD-EARNED CASH BOB!

Well I finally had enough today and booted my telephone and broadband provider into touch. I'm quite a patient bloke, can spend hours watching the tip of a fishing rod waiting for a bite, knowing full well there's no worm on the hook, but it's the thought that counts... there's mind over matter for you. Anyway, mind over matter, that brings me back to my ISP and 'phone, they don't mind charging me for two telephone lines for over a year even though I only have one. They don't mind charging me for receiving a TV package which I cancelled in March because I couldn't get the channels I was promised. They didn't mind disconnecting me immediately and picking up their set top box. It didn't matter that they kept on charging me for a service I can't receive anymore.

Back to the telephone... so, two lines for over a year, Customer Support worked out a refund of £200 or so was due, had my July bill today, had a refund of £10.37p hmm.

Ok deep breath, let's make a cuppa and start dialling... got through to CS after about 30mins and explained for the nth time the problem, was put on hold. Fast forward nearly an hour and I'm told I need to get transferred. I phone BT and arrange to get my old BT line re-activated, it's due to go live 6th August, my number will stay the same. Then I'm going to go with the Sky package (already have TV) now for phone and broadband. Get through to my original ISP again, wait in cue, write a 100,000 word novel, get through to an Asian lady, she asks me all that I've explained previously, I do so. Get put on hold, this time for over an hour, finally it dawns on me that no-one is going to come back on the line, I put down the receiver.

Need to make a call to my Mum, pick up the phone, it's dead. Can't ring out or receive calls. Just finished writing my letter of complaint and my copy to Ofcom, now waiting for my ISP to boot me out too.

The thing that compounds the insult is that I was a beta-tester for the first cable modems and broadband connection for this particular ISP and have been with them since the start... didn't I say I was patient? Well I don't mind, they can be as mediocre as they want from now on, doesn't matter to me anymore...

Oh, by the way, they did say:

An engineer is going to call to disconnect you and take away the set top box on 25th August...

I replied:

Ahem.. this was done back in March...

Doesn't matter sir, we'll send an engineer out on 25th August to disconnect you and collect the box...

The non-existent box? The one you disconnected and removed in March?

An engineer will collect it on 25th of March...

Sheeshh... just as well I don't have any hair to tear out isn't it?

And mediocre is probably too kind a word to use:

mediocre =
1.
of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.
2.
rather poor or inferior.

One of my shorts on Whispers of Wickedness

Whispers have published one of my shorts on their site, it's a knee-length pair that I wear during the winter when it gets a bit nippy... oops, sorry that's the wrong submission, was thinking of another site...

Here's the link to the Whispers one: Story

Here's an updated page from Screaming Dreams with a couple of reviews and a shopping cart thingy for anyone who'd like to order a copy of 'Flames' (signed by Steve and me) you'll have to click on paperback books and navigate to the correct page, couldn't link directly, Steve's been tweaking his site.

The cat's away Part 3

Well, I haven't been able to update the blog for over a week because utter chaos ensued after my last entry. My daughter ended up in hospital with pancreas problems and had to have surgery (she's on the mend now) thank goodness. My grandson went down with a virus, it's called 'Slapped Face Syndrome' and it truly looks as if someone has been belting him around the cheeks, they are red and rash-covered, it's contagious so I suppose my grand-daughter will come down with it too. And, the next invalid, Nia, my dog, has been really ill too. Remember I mentioned she was sick? Probably due to the Chinese meal left-overs? Well, I was wrong, believe it or not she had pancreas problems, yes, you've read it right, the same sort of thing as my daughter (who says lightning never strikes twice?) Last week-end the dog was really ill, took her to my vet on Sunday and they gave her some injections (one of which was a pain-killer). Got her home and tried to get her out of my car and she collapsed, saliva running from her mouth like a tap, my neighbour, a nurse, advised me to get her back to the vet ASAP. Got back there and it was closed. Had to go to an emergency vet where they thought she had a reaction to the pain-killer (which was opiate-based) they kept her over-night and gave her IV. She's been ill all week and Friday I had to drive her to a specialist in Bristol who did scans, she has Pancreatitis and a heart murmur, she's slowly recovering but has to go on a strict no-fat diet. I haven't got her insured and this week believe it or not I've spent over £1000 getting her sorted out.
What a bloody week, I just hope things have reached their peak now and normality looms large on the horizon!