Phone Rant

A few weeks ago, my usually lovely Sony K800i mobile phone attempted to do a software upgrade. Usually these updates seem to fix the odd bug or make small improvements to the menu system. No biggie.

This time however, it had the slightly less helpful effect of killing my phone.

Despite doing all the things Orange and Sony advised, all I could get on switching on was a constant white screen.

So, off it goes to Sony's agents to get looked and comes back all fixed and lovely. Freepost both ways, efficient service, only slight gripe being I asked them to return to my office not home address, but that was a customer service step too far obviously.

Good to have it back though, it's not until you take a step back to an old handset that you appreciate how much better your current phone is.

Sadly, the return of a fully functioning mobile was obviously the cue my landline needed to pack up completely.

BT promise to look into it by the 10th (as I feared nothing's going to happen this side of the Easter break) and in the meantime divert my calls to my mobile for me. In terms of recompense apparently if I apply in writing, with hard copy proof of expenditure (great so I'll have to wait a month for my (on-line only) mobile bill, print-out a copy, argue the case of inclusive vs extra minutes in a letter etc) I can claim money back for incurred costs (yeah right that's going to be worth the time and effort). As for standard compensation apparently after 24 hours I'll then be entitled to a days rental fee back for every 'working day' that the problem lasts.

So to summarise, I'll get no compensation for losing a residential phone line for the four-day weekend.

Sarcastically I suggest that by that logic perhaps I shouldn't pay my line rental for weekends and bank holidays, given they apparently don't count.

I mean where's the logic? In terms of loss of service I'm not interested in 'working days' (though I reasonably appreciate why there will be a delay in it getting it fixed), this is after all a residential line, not a business account.

Surely no service, should mean no associated payment. Or is that just too weird a concept?

I would argue this point, but I'm stuffed up with cold and the call is costing me who-knows-what via my mobile, so I think I'll just get incensed on my own time eh?

My mobile just peeped to ask if I want it to look for software upgrades. I'm thinking "no", what d'you reckon?