If you're thinking of buying something from 3, don't.

Humph. You may recall me mentioning that, thanks to various shenanigans involving BT's inability to just change the name on a phone bill, without cancelling and reconnecting, that I'm currently without a phone or internet at home. However, I've just had customer 'service' that makes BT look helpful and responsive.

Well, thought I, it's probably worth getting a USB modem (or dongle, as they seem to be called). So I trotted along to the Carphone Warehouse yesterday, where the salesman advised me, on the basis of their coverage, to get one from 3 Mobile Broadband. Fine, thought I, and checked the system requirements on the back of the box, which read: Windows 2000/XP/Vista or Mac OS X 128 MB of RAM, 50 MB free hard disk space or above, USB slot.

All of which I have. However, when I tried last night the installer wouldn't launch. So I combed through the documentation, which again, merely specified OS X - which, to any reasonable person, implies 'all versions of OS X', right?

So off I went to CW this morning. They were very helpful, although not knowing much about Macs; the sales guy eventually found specifications buried on the website (in a place, I believe, not accessible to the customer), which said that you required 10.4 or higher. I have a steam-driven computer which uses 10.3.9, but that doesn't change the fact that this is not what the box and the documentation supplied said (and there wasn't even a weasel about 'most OS X systems'). CW bloke agreed that this was unacceptable, and agreed to refund the modem at once; however, he couldn't refund the top-up himself...

He got on the phone to 3, and spent nearly an hour going round in circles with various departments, all of whom insisted that they couldn't refund it, and that it was my fault for not doing my homework. CW bloke, bless him, kept reiterating that customers who had bought products or services in good faith - which I had - should not be penalised for their mis-selling, and that they were in a legally dubious position, and did they really want this pursued by the courts or the bad publicity they could be in for, over £15. 3 suggested that I could sell the voucher (which, incidentally, is time limited) on to another 3 customer. CW bloke pointed out that it was ridiculous to expect the customer to go through all this hassle because of their misrepresentation of their product, and that they couldn't expect me to inflict 3 on my friends when I had just had such a poor experience. They then said they couldn't make a refund, anyway. CW bloke said no-body cared if they put it back on my card or sent a cheque, but it was unacceptable for them to just keep the money. Eventually the woman at 3 - described as the manager for retail support - said she would try to work something out and would phone me back 'within 48 hours'. Well, we'll see.

So my entire morning has vanished in irritation, and I still don't have internet access at home (nothing seems to work with 10.3.9, grr.) I probably do need to get a new computer, but even if I do have a new one before BT get their act together, I certainly won't be giving a penny to 3, ever again.

Now to compose a letter of complaint to 3...

... on the upside, I was quite impressed by the Carphone Warehouse people.

(no subject)

On a happier note, today the Church of England commemorates John Keble (1792-1866), priest, fellow of Oriel College (where he and Newman more or less invented the Oxford tutorial system, revolutionising university teaching), Professor of Poetry of the University of Oxford, and one of the initiators of the Oxford Movement. Even outside Anglo-Catholic circles, though, the Anglican Communion would be very different without Keble, Newman, Pusey et al, both in essentials - it's largely down to the Tractarians that weekly communion has become normal - and in the externals (vestments and candles). The catholic revival gave new energy to the Church of England and beyond, particularly in its involvement in mission, outreach, and general social justice issues in deprived urban areas.* In later life he was friends with CM Yonge, and his influence is tangible in her novels.

I've always liked Keble - quite apart from his loyalty to the C of E, he seems to have been an attractive character. My icon shows him in age, but there's a nice pencil drawing of him as a younger man:

( which is below the cut, to spare your flist )