Once upon a time not so long ago there was a simple process to let people
know you were moving house. You merely addressed a few postcards to
various service providers and the people you were still speaking to. Then
you stuck on a penny stamp and popped them into one of those circular red
boxes. Serenity would prevail and you would sleep soundly.
How times have changed!
The unrelenting advance of technology has now introduced a new system
that requires a continuous stream of passwords, usernames, one time codes
etc. etc.
The new process is so unwieldy and frustrating. Invariably
passwords are not recognised or don’t work and you have to invent another
one.
Fingerprinting and face recognition are scarcely better.
There were other unexpected problems, Our bank no longer recognised
us. A visit to the nearest branch proved to be a real shock. No cashiers ,a
very protracted conversation with an assistant who informed us it was her
lunch break.
The walls were covered with duplicated DIY machines to pay
cheques in, draw cash out. It required a further two visits to get things
sorted.
Our next problem was the NHS. Our doctor didn’t cover this area. This
became a really difficult project. My brain crashed, I threw in the towel and
let our daughter deal with it.
Another problem. We had a demand for twelve hundred pounds from some
electricity people we’d never heard of .They changed our name to The
Official Occupier and despite repeated phone calls and an alarming amount
of paperwork the problems continued for the better part of a year. We were
then told we were in credit to the tune of £1,200 and the money would be
paid into our account shortly plus an £80.00 good gesture fee for all the
hassle. Three days later we received a final demand with the threat of debt collectors. More confusion followed but I think the remainder of this experience will leave any reader gobsmacked with disbelief. So, I’ll give it a miss.
I was expecting an urgent delivery of an online parcel, But Royal Mail
informed us they had delivered it to my previous address. We dashed
around there to collect it and were told the parcel had been returned to the
sender. Grrrrr!.
There have been a continuous stream of things going wrong but worst of all
my pension wasn’t paid for five months. Many more phone calls with no
explanation as to why it had been stopped. The person we were dealing
with showed commendable surprise and confirmed there was nothing on
my file to justify or condone the action. They finally sorted the problem
including the backdated pension, alas, no goodwill gesture.
The BBC keeps sending us threatening letters even though our license is
up to date. I rarely watch it ,but my wife is addicted to strictly something or
other, yawn, more yawn!.
So, you might think I am getting frustrated with the complexities of modern
life, especially when it comes to moving house. You’re dead right. Moving
house is no joke.
Modern technology is so demanding for us oldies. You need a good
memory, loads of perseverance and the ability to remain calm when the
computer wanders off to some sponsored advert you have absolutely no
interest in.
Even so, when I do see the horrors happening on the other side of the
world I think maybe things aren’t too bad here, and I still sleep soundly. But
we are definitely STAYING PUT