Say no to 0870
July 23, 2008
In the States, phone companies offer 1-900 numbers which cost money for the caller to make. They are generally reserved for sex lines and scam artists. In the UK, they are used for customer service lines. For reasons I have yet to understand, almost every business’s customer service number and many professionals (including lawyers who charge upwards of £400/h) will only offer customers an 0845 number, which is euphemistically referred to as a non-geographical number. Aka “Special Services: Lower Rate”, “local call” and “Lo-call”. It can cost up to 25p a minute to make such a call. For example, I need to order a Letter of Introduction from my bank. They charge me £15 plus the fees to make the call. If I need to report an outage on my Virgin Broadband, they charge me to call that line (and will refund you should it be their fault, but that’s not always easy to prove). There’s a great website called Say No to 870 which will let you find the normal number to call some businesses. Here’s a good explanation of the mess: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0845, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0870 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_Geographical_Numbers.
Socialized Medicine
July 23, 2008
I went to the doctors today which was my first time dealing with the British medical system. I can’t say how impressed I was with how smoothly things went. To book the appointment I had to call my local NHS outpost a week in advance. When I showed up, the reception desk had touch screen to select my birthday and then notify the doctor that I was in. The doctor himself called my name on time. I went to his office, we had a chat, he checked me out, answered my questions, wrote a prescription and out the door I went in twenty minutes. I didn’t have to fill out any paperwork. My visit was free. I don’t have to file any forms. Amazing.
Heathrow row in T5
March 28, 2008
For those of you who don’t stay up on the hottest airport news, Terminal 5 opened yesterday at London’s Heathrow. The queen paid a visit two weeks ago to offer her blessing. T5 is one of the largest, most expensive infrastructure projects…ever.
It has been under planning for 20 years. But to the consternation of the Brits, there have been — gasp — some glitches. Some bags got lost, some flights got canceled. The public is outraged and wants those in charge to pay. And everybody is shocked that the big cheese didn’t say sorry soon enough.
The whole thing seems bizarre to me. Weddings are planned for months. Try asking brides about planning and outcomes. Or what about Rome? You think the Colosseum’s innovative seating worked on opening night? T5 opened yesterday. Chill.
…then again, if T5 loses my bag, I’m going to freak out.
