More Doom and Despondency

OK, so things did get worse yesterday, despite my hopes on Tuesday that things could only start improving after the damp disaster in my spare room caused by the council's ivy blocking my guttering.  In addition to it being another cold and miserable day, Wednesday also saw me reversing into someone's car, in an uncharacteristic lapse of concentration.  Luckily, I was able to locate the parked vehicle's owner and we exchanged insurance details.  The sad thing here though, was that the lady whose vehicle I'd dented (not badly, I'm glad to say) was surprised that I'd not just driven off and left it, as neither she nor anyone else had witnessed the incident.  Is this the kind of world we're living in these days?  A world where people's expectations of their fellow men are so low that failing to stop at an accident is considered the norm?  Believe me, she wasn't being cynical, it's just that her experience had left her thinking that everyone is a potential bastard who won't own up to their mistakes.  Trust me, I'm not happy at the effect this is likely to have on next year's insurance quote, but surely I can't be alone in thinking that my behaviour in exchanging details isn't just common decency?   

Right, things have just got worse.  The phone fault which BT supposedly fixed has reoccurred again. This is the third time it has been 'fixed' as a result of my complaining and the third time it has reoccurred within days.  Basically, instead of ringing normally, the phone gives one long continuous ring, simultaneously knocking out my broadband.  It also prevents my answerphone from working.  Which is probably why I've heard nothing from the council about the ivy or the insurance about the collision.  Despite the fact that I've carried out their checks which show the fault can't lie inside my property (it persists even when only the test socket is used), the only actual written responses I get from BT are to aske me whether I've done these tests and to keep trying to get me to agree to an entirely unnecessary engineer's appointment - as I keep telling them, according to their own guidelines, if the tests show the fault lies outside the property, this would be completely inappropriate.  According to non-BT telecoms people I've spoken to, the fault's symptoms mean that the fault lies at the exchange.  But trying to tell BT this is seemingly impossible, as they ignore everything I tell them. 

This week has turned very introspective and gloomy, I know.  I'll try and lighten the mood next time.