sandyman

Charges seem to be ramping up everywhere. I had a look at my Thames Water bill history back to 2018 recently. It used to go up £20 - £30 a year - in 2022 it up £50 and in 2023 it went up £80. I know we've had inflation but it still feels like they are taking the piss. i imagine even when inflation comes down it will still be going up by just as much or even more.

I previously used Netquest, but give them a ring as they aren't always open. 0207 183 5539 [email protected]. I also cracked a screen during lockdown and actually replaced it myself following an online fixit clip - the difficult bit was sourcing the right replacement screen – if it's a macbook let me know the type, I ended up with lots of spares and if I've got the right one I could do it.

yes, although if they get lots of readings that require further investigation how on earth are they going to cope if they are so snowed under already. Maybe they will nudge people in the direction of private treatment and some will take up the offer - I've noticed when using health apps recently - possibly evergreen but I can't be sure – there seem to be private options popping up for routine health checks which I'd never noticed before.

My partner and I both received unsolicited texts from Tessa Jowell recently asking us to go to a local chemist to have a blood pressure test and then submit the results. Anybody else had this? What was that all about? Weirdly we live at the same address but were told to go to different pharmacies in opposite directions!

If you are thinking of silk road it looked like it had gone last time I was going past, but I've just checked and it reopened this week. https://www.timeout.com/london/news/cult-south-london-restaurant-silk-road-has-finally-reopened-022224

Apart from what happened with your car this picture of it on wrong side of the road suggests it's surely a slam dunk dangerous driving offence?

My parents had a dog in the 1960s and I can't remember us ever taking it to the vet. It probably wasn't even vaccinated for anything. all I can remember is it once had fleas. I do think life expectancy for dogs has increased in recent years which may be down to increased healthcare. We now have a dog of our own for the first time and even the cost of standard vaccinations feels astronomical. We thought we were done after a year but last time we went to the vet we were told he needed more jabs. We've timed it badly with our first dog as by the time it is "middle aged" and more prone to illness we will be retired - I've no idea ho we will be able to afford it then.

is this the branch in lordship lane?

the lightbulb thread has reminded me to ask this - is there anywhere local to dispose of a lithium laptop battery or do i need to take it to the old kent road dump?

Exactly same thing happened to me previous year on Boxing Day. I talked to a councillor and asked why restrictions couldn't be lifted during school holidays when traffic was clearly lighter. He said too complicated as schools had different holidays. I mentioned that, as far as i knew, all schools were closed on Boxing Day so why issue fines on Boxing Day. No reply after that.

Martin Lewis did a bit about water meters on his TV show this week. He echoed the thought here that smaller households in bigger houses will benefit the most. One thing he did add though was that if you try a water meter and it turns out to be more expensive than the old rate, some companies will let you go back to the charge based on the rateable value. But other companies once you switch there's no going back whatever the cost, and i've got a niggling feeling Thames Water is one of those. If I can ever get through to them on the phone that's the first thing I'll ask before I ask to have my meter activated.

Are any of the people who are now better off on smart meters living with more than one other person? I get the impression they might be a good deal for one or two people living together but not for larger numbers.

The first house we bought was at the goose green end of Crystal Palace Road but if you looked in the old A-Zs at the time the P of 'Peckham' started on Crystal Palace Road, but I'd definitely say we lived in East Dulwich. Though these days I might claim it was in Peckham or at least Bellenden - much cooler.

yes, i looked at my online account and no comparison info - i presume because it hasn't been activated.

I can see that the meter is working by lifting the lid and looking at it, I presume it just isn't sending the readings that would be used for billing through. Can't be that difficult to activate.

Thanks - yes that's pretty much what their leaflet through the door said when they fitted the meters in the street, but it said it would be 12 months from activation and their chatbot tonight said they meters have not been activated yet. Chatbot did give me a phone number though so maybe i can get a clearer answer from a human tomorrow as to why the meters have not been activated.

did you request a meter and was it activated quickly? they were put in all the way up our street without us asking but over a year later they've not been activated. It's almost as if they know bills would be lower if the meters worked...

just wondering what peoples thoughts/experiences are of smart water meters? They were installed in our road in November 2022 and it was explained we would be told when they were activated so that we could compare metered charges with charges based on rateable value - with no obligation to change at this stage. I've just checked and 13 months later they've still not been activated. As there are only two of us in the house now with no kids having endless daily baths I'd imagine we'd save money if metered so would like to know what people think and what's going on any thoughts?

yes, i did find that the card i posted to myself arrived at the same time as the cards i sent to north london, but i'm not going to praise RM for delivering the service we pay for.

I think the problem is largely to do with deliveries to addresses in East Dulwich, not collections in East Dulwich of letters going elsewhere. In fact just to test this out I'm going to post my Christmas cards in the morning to friends all over UK and at the same time i'm going to pop a card in the same letterbox, which I can see from my lounge, to myself. It'll be interesting to see which arrives first...the one from SE22 to Edinburgh or the one from SE22 to SE22...

if you mean the one at Camberwell Green it sadly turned into flats a few years ago. Spent many a night there in my youth. There was one at south end of Rye Lane but i think that's also gone.

Caught the tail end of a news report on this over breakfast so it should also be on local BBC news at lunchtime and this evening.