And so it goes....

My move has gone surprisingly smoothly with one, predictable, exception.

How lucky was I to have recommended to me a company that not only decluttered, packed and removed my belongings but also arranged items for charity and disposal, unpacked at the new location and cleaned the departing locations in preparation for their new owners. Everything was unpacked neatly in appropriate areas of my new apartment, more neatly than I would have managed and there was a final delivery of a gift of flowers to celebrate the move. The company wasn't perfect as one item was misdirected but given that three apartments were in the mix (my new apartment, my old apartment and my late mother's last apartment) I think the outcome was more than satisfactory.

So what was the exception? My old nemesis, a telco I will no longer name - at least today - so as to starve it of publicity, even unfavourable publicity.

I had applied online to move my phone, internet and cable television service ahead of the move. I received an email acknowledgement containing an application number for my move. A staff member rang a couple of days later to confirm my application and take details. She told me I would be contacted again shortly before the move.

I wasn't.

I rang the telco the day before the move and was told there was no record of my application even with my application number. Then I was told the application had been found but no action had been taken. The dates of my move were incorrectly recorded. It took an hour over the phone to rearrange the details.

I was told the cable television change would take place on Monday despite my protestations that more planning was required. Even then the technician arrived four hours and one full day earlier than the notified appointment and as I feared could not proceed without the planning being completed.

I rang to make a fresh appointment and was told there were unexplained problems with my previous bookings. This resulted in another 45 minutes long telephone call whilst the latest call centre staff member sorted it out.

I have a new appointment for Friday.

Truly, I have no luck whatsoever in my dealings with the telco.