Weeks of fun with British Gas

Don’t you love huge companies who offer inefficient service to their customers?
In February I entered into a HomeCare agreement with British Gas to maintain the boiler at my home in Wells.
March 12: Their engineer does the first service and says the vent in the kitchen does not meet current regulations because the metal grill on the garden side can be closed. I can’t open the grill because of its several coats of paint, and am quoted a steep £323, but I accept after the engineer gives me a safety warning.
April 15: A second British Gas engineer arrives to replace the vent. He says the charge should, in fact, be only £192, and the plastic vent costs £40.
April 28: The invoice has arrived and I ring British Gas to repeat what the second engineer said about the overcharging. They promise to check it out.
May 1: No-one has phoned, so I ring again. I try three times and hear “All our agents are busy” before being cut off.
May 6: I phone again and am told “Your query is being investigated and a stop has been put on the invoice”.
May 20: I receive a red letter threatening me with a debt recovery team because the invoice has not been paid.
May 21: I phone and speak to someone who says not to worry about the red letter, that the invoice should have been for £163 and that a new invoice will be arranged.
June 1: The replacement invoice has not arrived. I am thinking of replacing my gas cooker with an electric one.
June 2: Replacement invoice arrives and an envelope for my cheque. No apology is enclosed and the envelope needs a stamp.
Philip Welch

So you want a job...

Recession increases the volume of job applications and reduces the number of positions available.
Writing those disappointing letters to people eager for work is not a welcome task but can make you wonder about the quality of their education.
So often I receive job applications addressed to “Dear sir or madam” when a tiny effort would secure the name of the person you wish to impress.
Worse are those letters addressed to the editor who retired in 1996 or someone not known at this address.Misspelling the name is usually not as bad.
Displaying limited knowledge of grammar and spelling does not help when seeking a job requiring such qualities.
Forgetting to sign or date the letter is also best avoided.
Recently I have noticed a growing trend not to use capital letters. For example: “i am available for interview any day but sunday”, a development we can blame partly on the internet.
The heart then sinks when you discover during an interview that the applicant “keen to write for your quality publications which I have known since childhood” has never read them.
Good manners prevent the immediate termination of the interview but not the regret of time wasted.
Schools and colleges need to teach students more about the skills of job application, especially in these difficult times.
Philip Welch