Check those utility bills!

Brilliant news, FC

Although my utilities, phone, broadband, banks etc. are all internet accounts I insist on paper bills. Even the ones that say you can't have paper bills (or have to pay for them if you do) I insist on having them. I use my 'animal theory' on them! I continually 'badger' them or 'talk the hind leg off a donkey' with them until they give in!

Even BT have given in! I pay their annual line rental up front and get 12 months for the price of 10 (I don't mind paying in advance as that's nearly 17% discount ). They say that their rules are it has to be paperless or they charge you £3 per bill (I have them monthly). They say that there is no mechanism for them to waive the charge because it's all controlled by the software . So I showed them how to get round it the old fashioned way .

All other bills are by Direct Debit but they have to notify me first and get me to agree it.

Admittedly, I do have the time to argue with them and I use diabologic on them (diabolical logic, used by Eric Frank Russell in his 1955 short story) .

I'm waiting to have some problems with my gas supplier. When I did my last reading I told them that appeared to be something wrong because it was only two units higher than the reading three months ago. They insisted that it's not unusual ( ) so I got them to put it on my records that I'd notified them. Can't wait to send them my next reading as the reading is still the same!