Saturday 31 May 2008

How many councillors does it take to use a phone box?

A PartridgeOne - just. According to councillor for Shortheath and Boundstone, John Ward. Here's what he emailed me this week about the red phone box in Boundstone that's under threat of removal by BT:

There is a big intimidatory sign on the door saying NO COINS and when one gets inside there is the notice saying that it is to be removed (after 42days "consultation"). Actually using it is more difficult.

There are reasonably obvious instructions. Firstly one is told to swipe ones credit card in the card swiper - after careful search I found that there isn't one. Then I discovered in small print very low down (so that I had to bend double) "what to do if there is no card reader".

This involved dialling an 0800 number which one had to bob up and down like a demented partridge to read the number and then key it in. One extra small problem - after dialling 0800 the line goes dead!!

There are also instructions in small print about using a BT card which I doubt many people have.

I lost patience and anyone at all infirm or with poor eyesight would never be able to make a call anyway. One might wonder of this is an "accidental" ploy by BT to reduce the takings!!

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