I can talk for England, but I don't so I couldn't understand where that enormous bill came from. After looking at my bill, I think it started a few weeks back...
I was clearing my minutes allowance such that it made more sense for me to move up a tariff so that I had a higher line rental but more minutes. I contacted 3 and they duly changed me to the new tariff. My next bill was for £175. I queried this and it appears that it's the result of me changing tariffs and the system will balance out next month.
The £175 left my account, Ok. I got this bill and it was re attributing the £175 plus my current spend! That wasn't on, so I contacted 3 and they're suggested that I clear the current spend (some £38), cancel the Direct Debit, wait for the date of the bill to pass and then re-set up the Direct Debit before September 1st.
So, I've cancelled the Direct Debit, settled the Current Spend and now I'm wondering what's going to happen on the bill date. I don't have the money to pay such a whopping bill as the one that slapped my chops this afternoon, so let's see what happens eh?
Why do all these systems need to get so complicated?
I was visiting a place, one day, where people receive residential care. They were able to look after themselves and do basic things, but there were carers there to help them if they needed it.
Into the office came someone who looked like he had the confidence of a burst balloon and the self assurance that was as absent as a British summer. He was upset and confused. I overheard him speaking with in worried tones about his subscription to Which? Magazine. He didn't know how he had received the subscription, but he wanted to cancel the Direct Debit but didn't know how.
It got me thinking about how many of the difficulties in life are brought about because we haven't learned the rules set up by other people (usually) in another place. People are made to feel inadequate and stupid because they don't know the rules that someone somewhere made up and these poor sods don't have a clue how to get to the website that explains it all.
Society looks down on people who don't know how to dress in vogue, how to speak with the latest politically correct lingo (when I was small, black people were called coloured because 'black' was offensive, now it's the complete opposite), who don't know what the benefits of fuel injection are and who think that you only need to iron clothes for special occasions. These people are treated as simple, but what haven't they done apart from learn the rules set up by a person or bunch of people who matter as much to the course of human suffering as the coffee stain on this table.
Who's rules are we obeying? I'm not talking about the law which stops us from killing, raping and stealing from each other, but the rules that govern the daily routines? Does the source of our rules mark us out as better than others who follow different rules?
Think about the things that vex you and I bet that a good number of them are man-made issues with man-made solutions.
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