UNHOLY HICCUPS

You would think that I signed up for paperless billing, because so far, I have had to chase my bill every month of this year. Why bother to send a customer a text message giving the choice to opt in or out, answer by a certain date in 2009, then the choice to stay opted in, is totally ignored? I have kept the text message and my reply. I also have the company's confirmation that they would adhere to my wishes.

The only benefit, so far, of keeping the company's text communications, is that it stops the operators in their menu tracks when they start to tell me I can't have what I have always had. Out of four operators, I had the misfortune to get one who could not keep her politics to herself and was very threatening. She did nothing to deal with my request. The other three have been lovely people, they've all done the same data form-filling online and got me one bill delivered. The system, as understood by the operators, should have set me up for monthly paper bills ad infinitum. I should have received two this month (March was missing) I received one bill. March is still missing. I swear the system is out to frustrate customers till they give up. Not this one!

The staff indicate they are weary of upset customers who, like me, wished to stay opted in for monthly standard billing by post. We aren't all going to die out in a hurry. It is no surprise that if I agreed to an itemised bill, which incurs an extra charge, I would get it; though with the unholy hiccups in the data instructions, there's no guarantee the customer would get what they might pay for.