Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

This is a gas meter. It's my gas meter, it's in my meter cupboard, but National Grid think it belongs to J two floors down and that its serial number belongs to someone else, whose name they won't divulge (nudge, nudge, wink, wink - data protection don't you know.)

I've had a relationship with this meter for 7 years, almost to the day, and in that time switched suppliers at least 3 times, no probs. But the recent switch to British Gas couldn't go ahead because the National Grid told them the meter point reference (MPR) belonged to, J two floors down. So now I'm still with EDF for gas (which I'm hoping is a better deal given BG's recent price hike) and my electricity is temporarily with BG, awaiting return to EDF. I bet it feels bereft being split from the gas supply having been 'dual fuel' for so long.

EDF said they'd sort out the MPR problem, but didn't, so today I phoned National Grid having previously e-mailed them but you'll never guess, they didn't reply. Well, what else to do you on a soggy afternoon in Edinburgh?

15 minutes on the phone to National Grid, including talking to a machine who kept telling me 'she' didn't recognise my address and listening to irritating music interrupted every 10 seconds by a message telling me to phone an 0800 number if I could smell gas. Then 15 minutes to EDF, and their 'hold' music - a short, repetitive snippet of Eine Kleine etc . However, a very nice Geordie lass told me that 'yes' my details were wrong on the national database and she'd get it sorted. Result! (fingers crossed). Why is it SO difficult to deal with utilities' companies? I also have to phone HMRC about my tax return - oh look, the weather man says it's going to rain tomorrow too, so that can wait because they NEVER answer their phones. You know I often wonder how I had time to work full-time, look after a 4 bedroomed house, a cat (at times 2 cats), 2 cars, a garden, a husband, 3 sons, go to Tesco's, have a social life AND deal with all these kind of issues. A miracle!

And since I don't have a landline (one less thing to go wrong) thank goodness for 'Say no to 0870' and the new number I found that allows me to call (free on my contract) landline numbers instead of 0845 and 0800 ones and thereby avoid the exorbitant charges that mobile operators charge for calls to these numbers.

Did I mention I'm becoming a grumpy old woman?

So that's me, I'm off now to B&Q to look at paint samples - to see if I can find something better than 'magnolia'.

Bon mardi a tous!