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19 February 2012

Posted by DMC on 20 February 2012 in Diary |

I’m sorry to say I had a really bad night last night. The pain in my shoulder and my hip were excruciating. Thank goodness I have an appointment with the pain clinic towards the end of the week and hopefully day will be able to ameliorate this situation.

The other medical condition which I have now determined. I’m going to follow through on is the troublesome wind that bloats me out and causes my tummy to rumble and grumble the whole time and feel very uncomfortable. Nobody seems to have taken this very seriously in the past so I’m going to insist on seeing a senior gastroenterologist by being referred from my MND team. If I have to pay, then I have to pay but ,I cannot believe that if Prince Charles had the same problem as I have he would have to put up with the misery that I do. So why should I?

When I opened my e-mail this morning I saw that I had my online account from Orange, who provide my broadband. I pay a flat rate of £32 .75 a month which i is advertised as including free telephone calls but there are always extras which amount to between £6 and £10 a month. Then I constantly see advertised what appeared to be incredibly cheap offers from other providers (Talk Talk £3.24 per month).

No doubt there are additional items to pay, on these cheap offers, but like line rental and possibly some limitation on calls, although they advertise no limit (no doubt qualified in the small print, which is just about impossible to read at the bottom of the screen) This being so, I cannot but feel that I’m being penalised for loyalty. This being said, I telephoned Orange this morning and asked them whether I really had the best deal.

They agreed. I did not in a good offer me a new deal saving five pounds per month. Their excuse was that we do not have a very fast broadband and that when (and if) a new exchange is fitted out it will be quicker (just how that’s going to affect my bill, he did not explain). However, in the politest way I asked the representative how I could be sure that I’ve got the best deal with this seemingly slow broadband.. He agreed I could switch to another one Orange program on offer which would reduce my monthly account by five pounds. I asked the representative what was the difference between this £27.75 per month and my present arrangement and he confirmed that there was no difference!. He openly admitted that new customers get a better deal. In effect, then you get nothing for loyalty in fact quite the opposite. You pay through the nose for being loyal. Most of us can’t be bothered to check ,on a regular basis (life’s too short) whether we’ve got the best deal or not. It is such a hassle to change providers , quite apart from the problem of retaining your e-mail address which in my case is absolutely imperative.. The same applies to gas and electricity. It is a disgrace. But then what can we do about it other than to pester these providers on a monthly basis to ensure we are getting a good deal. In this case, the representative said he would change the over contract immediately. The only stipulation was that I must agree to stay with it for at least 18 months. I told him that there was no guarantee I would even be here in 18 months so I’m quite happy with that proviso. Accordingly I ‘signed up’ and was told that I would find my monthly bill reduced from next month. The just shows you, it pays to ask.

‘Bill and Ben’, our good handymen, came this morning to go through a whole list of small jobs that we needed doing that neither Alice nor I could manage. They are usually very good and are prepared to turn their hand to anything. However, today they did not stay long (I expect, ma’am and laid on a good roast for Sunday lunch) and are coming back on Friday when I will be at the eye clinic so they can have a good crack at cleaning my study.

It’s about time we had another joke about golfers. So, here goes, click here... ‘

2 Comments

  • paul brook says:

    I have the same tummy problems as you Mark.Switched from Movicol to Lactulose but still the same.They say this is side effect of laxatives but its not good enough is it?I will be watching your blog for any advice.
    Best Wishes
    Paul

  • DMC says:

    Thanks Paul. Whether I will ever get to the bottom (!) Of this problem remains to be seen. The latest idea is that it may be something to do with my medication and the doctors going to change some of them. Watch this space.

    Regards,

    Mark

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