Job hunting is a thankless task. For every hundred jobs you apply for (and, if you are claiming benefits, you have to apply for anything 'they' deem appropriate - even if they don't actually understand what an Instructional Designer is or does or, that their system doesn't, actually, have a category for e-learning.

Personally, I feel that only applying for jobs that you stand a chance of getting is the most sensible approach. If I don't think I can do a job or, that I am not qualified to do it, what is the point of applying? Every job I have ever taken has been pretty easy to land. Let me explain.

I know when I apply, if I am suitable. If, after reading my CV, they want to see me, the chances are that, I will get the job. I'm not being big-headed, that's just the way it has gone. They want to see me because of what is in my CV.

So, looking for a job, the other day, I came across one that I thought: Oh, that sounds right up my street. And, it was. Head of Training for a company in Warrington. Fantastic. Pretty good salary too, about £70K. It would do me. Then, of course, I saw who it was for...

Given my relationship with Talk Talk, an application was never going to succeed. All they had to do was run my name through their computer system and all manner of shit and corruption would be going down. My last communication with them ended with: 'I'll see you in court.'

So, I thought that I would take a different route. Part of being successful with job applications is being noticed, usually, in a good way. You can say good things about me, you can say bad things about me, but, please, just say something about me, is my modus vivendi. So, I decided to go for an unusual approach. The sensible approach hasn't worked in the last couple of years! Below is the text of my covering letter...

Please find attached, my CV, in respect of this vacancy.

Why have I applied? Well, besides the fact that I am qualified, I was, for a short time, a customer of Talk Talk.

You need my experience and knowledge because your company is a nightmare to do business with. Your customer satisfaction rating is the worst of any telecoms company and your employees are poorly trained and do a bad job. Most of your call centre staff are woefully incompetent or, badly trained.

In short, your company is a shambles and your Training Manager should not be taken back after her maternity leave finishes.

You need me because I have suffered at the hands of your corporate incompetence and I know what the problems are. Moreover, with 25 years of experience, I know how to implement a solution.

However, I doubt that you will give me the time of day. Talk Talk thinks it is fantastic and can only be taken down by Kryptonite so, you will view this application with disdain and file it in the round cabinet. Nevertheless, I shall post this on my website, just because I can, and we shall see if you actually have any moral fibre in the company. Someone who genuinely wants Talk Talk to be a good company would, at least, phone me.

I look forward to hearing from you, at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Mark L. Potts

I'll let you know if I hear anything. I dare Talk Talk to invite me for an interview!

Here is the latest from BT, followed by my response... Make of it what you will.

csdirectorsteam@bt.com 5 Dec (2 days ago)
to me Dear Mr Potts

Thank you very much for your email and your feedback. I’m disappointed that you’re still unhappy with my suggestion on how to resolve this for you and I find it upsetting that you feel we have tried to bully or intimidate you. That is in no way my intention nor indeed Warren’s.

The broadband cease charge is an industry standard charge passed by the regulators and is a published price within our terms and conditions. You can see more detail at www.bt.com/terms

I fully understand that the implications of the new broadband discount may not have been clearly explained or outlined to Mr Potts and it was on that basis that I agreed to waive any cancellation charge. I recognise and really appreciate Mr Potts’ loyalty to us and we’d never intentionally upset him or do anything to jeopardise that.

If there’s something else you’d like me to do to resolve this for you, please let me know and I’ll be happy to consider it for you.

I’ve placed the order to cancel the broadband as detailed in my email yesterday; with effect from 4 January. After that, any  broadband rental charged in advance will be refunded on the next bill.

You mentioned that you may refer the complaint to the Ombudsman, which of course is your right. Here’s the details you need to do that

Taking your complaint further 

If you’d like to, you have the right to take your complaint outside BT. We’re a member of Ombudsman Services: Communications, who offer free, independent help to sort out disputes. 

You can find out more at: www.os-communications.org or you can call them on either 0330 440 1614 or 01925 430049. You need to do it within six months of the date on this letter. They’ll tell you whether or not they can help, and if not they’ll tell you about any other options you’ve got.

I’m sorry we couldn’t agree on things and I wish you all the best with whatever you decide to do next

Best wishes

Sarah

Sarah McCormick
Executive Level Complaints
Direct line: 01977 596877
Email address: csdirectorsteam@bt.com 
Office hours I’m usually in the office between 8am and 4pm or 10am and 6pm

This email contains BT information, which may be privileged or confidential.
It's meant only for the individual(s) or entity named above. If you're not the intended recipient, note that disclosing, copying, distributing or using this information is prohibited. If you've received this email in error, please let me know immediately on the email address above. Thank you.
We monitor our email system, and may record your emails.

British Telecommunications plc
Registered office: 81 Newgate Street London EC1A 7AJ
Registered in England no: 1800000

Think before you print. Please consider the environment before printing this email

Hmmm. Now, I pulled this little snippet out of her email.

I don't think that all these modern terms and conditions are legally enforcible, you see. They are presented as a fait accompli. No choice is offered; I can agree or, not. That is not a reasonable choice.

The significant word here is 'reasonable'. Can you find the part of the BT T&Cs that tells me about the Industry Standard disconnection charge? I had a look and, whilst I don't doubt that it is in there somewhere, I don't think it is reasonable for BT to expect anyone to read them. They are deliberately complex, long-winded, and quite unreadable for even someone used to this legalese. That's a rant for another day.

www.bt.com/terms

One last thing. the link I was given didn't actually take me to the part of the T&Cs that mentioned the charge. I doubt that even BT employees could find it with ease. Oh, in case you were wondering, the T&Cs in JUST the Home section is a little over 5,000 words...

Mark L. Potts <marklpotts@gmail.com> 16:24 (2 minutes ago)
to csdirectorsteam

Dear Ms McCormick,

Firstly, I do appreciate that you have done your best to deal with the situation and I thank you for that. I am not suggesting that you have done anything but your best. However, I am sad and upset that it had to come to that. I never back away from a fight but, in this instance, I did not expect one. I have wasted almost an entire day of my time arguing about something that should have taken ten minutes and no stress.

I still think your CEO is an arrogant individual who could do with some training in how to deal with customers. He does not put a very approachable face on BT. When his email address is so easily available on the internet, he should have been more circumspect; had no idea who I was and he seriously underestimated me. I do not think that is a particularly impressive quality in a 21st century CEO.

What else could you do?

My time, advice, and experience is not free, Ms McCormick.

As a training consultant and developer of e-Learning over the last 25 years (yes, including BT, Ms McCormick) I would advise that you seriously look at your best practice procedures, at all levels of staff. I know that in your industry, particularly at call centre level, your staff turnover is high and your operatives work from scripts so, they are restricted in what they can do. However, given that your people contacted my father AFTER being informed that they should NOT, you need to look at how that could have happened. I could have made a lot more of this than I chose to. If I was Warren, I'd be offering me a job because I have skills that BT is, obviously, currently lacking.

I will still refer my concerns over the Industry Standard charge to Ofcom and, if necessary, The Ombudsman.

Yours,

Mark L. Potts

After a bit of a hiatus, shouting at BT, and a few others, I finally got back on the TV Licensing trail. I emailed them...

Mark L. Potts 13:25 (21 hours ago)
to foi

Dear Sir,

TV Licensing informs me that they cannot answer my query and recommended that I email this address. Whilst I doubt that you will be able to - or willing to - answer my question.

I would like to know what percentage of the TV Licences that I have been forced to buy in the last 30 years have been spent on programming and what percentage was spent on providing premises and opportunity for activities and behaviour that I do not approve of. Given recent revelations, I no longer have faith in the BBC and fail to see why I should be FORCED to support such a disreputable organisation.

Before you lecture me about NOT having a license, check your records.

However, what would you do if I refused to pay? Just out of curiosity. Would you take me to court and be prepared to answer this question in court?

Yours,

Mark L. Potts

FOI Enquiries <FOIEnquiries@bbc.co.uk> 10:54 (1 hour ago)
to me

Dear Mr Potts,

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as detailed in your email below. Your request was received on 4th December 2012.  We will deal with your request as promptly as possible, and at the latest within 20 working days. If you have any queries about your request, please contact us at the address below.

The reference number for your request is RFI20121442.

Kind regards

The Information Policy & Compliance Team

BBC Freedom of Information
BC2 B6, Broadcast Centre
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TP

www.bbc.co.uk/foi
Email: foi@bbc.co.uk

Tel: 020 8008 2882
Fax: 020 8008 2398

I have included the contact details so, if you fancy dropping them an email...

I can't wait for their reply!

After a morning of Warren Buckley telling me he wasn't going to waive the charge for cancelling my Father's broadband account, I received the email below, after I had requested a deadlock letter. Bizarrely, a few minutes ago, I also had a tweet from @BTCare asking me to fill in something I can't even be bothered to look at. I guess they weren't keen on my tweets.

You may wonder why I even bothered taking on BT, one of the country's largest companies, over £30. Simple. I will not be screwed over by these large utilities who think they can do whatever they want. £30 TO STOP SUPPLYING A SERVICE? @Ofcom, are you happy with that? I want to know how it costs £30 to not supply broadband. Bullshit! It is a punishment, plain and simple. I will not put up with this crap.

What is more, Warren Buckley's arrogance annoyed me. So, he's CEO of BT. Big woop! That don't impress Marky one little bit. He'd do well to offer me a job after today.

That said, this isn't about gloating. It is about injustice and how big companies use these tactics to intimidate their customers. How many people would have NOT done what I did? How many would have paid £77.50 because they don't want to fight/don't know how to fight or, think there is no way they can win against a company like BT?

I'm under no illusion as to why I have been successful in my battle. I knew what the outcome would be when I started. BT were never going to win because they were wrong and I would never have given up. There is no way that they could win against my argument of them ripping off a 79 year old man, who has been a customer for 45 years. They never stood a chance. But, I knew that.

So, TV Licensing, how you liking your chances now?

csdirectorsteam@bt.com 14:20 (22 minutes ago)
to me

Hello Mark,

Thank you very much for your email to Warren, I’m sorry you and your Father feel so let down by us and I can completely understand your shock at being told about cancellation charges for the broadband service, especially if you weren’t aware of a new contract.

I’ve checked the account and on receipt of your father’s letter in June this year; he was given a discount of £10.85 per month; giving him broadband Option 3 and Evening and Weekend calls for £13.25 per month plus line rental on the basis of a new 12 month contract which started 20 June this year.

My colleague has noted on 20 June that he spoke to you or your father and agreed the new price while at the same time agreed to reduce the monthly direct debit amount. We also sent emails to your father about the changes but I’ve had a look at them and I’m concerned that they don’t clearly indicate a new price or new contract.

What I’ve done

On this basis, I’m happy to arrange cancellation of the broadband without enforcing any penalty.

Normally there is a separate £30 broadband cease charge. This is an industry standard charge and it applies when broadband is cancelled, whether or not it is in contract. This is a portion of the charge raised to us by our suppliers for the engineering work needed to remove broadband from a line. The only time this doesn’t apply is if broadband is transferred to another supplier on the same line using a MAC code.

To say sorry for the upset caused, I’ve arranged to waive this £30 fee as well.

What happens next

Broadband will be cancelled in 30 days; that’s the notice period required to cancel. On the next bill, due 25 February, your father will see a refund of the charges in advance for the broadband and calls package at £13.25 from 4 January- 25 February and he’ll be charged for line rental only from that date. I’ve been able to get Unlimited Evening and Weekend calls at no extra cost for him so from 4 January he’ll pay £14.60 per month (changing to £15.45 5 January) and this covers line rental and Unlimited Evening and Weekend calls, the same calling plan he has now.

Thank you very much for getting in touch and for giving me the chance to put this right for you. If there’s anything else I can do for you please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll be delighted to help.

Getting in touch with me

You can reach me by email or on my direct number 01977 596 877. If I’m not around when you call please leave me a voicemail and I’ll call you back as soon as I’m free. If I don’t hear from you by Friday 7 December I’ll take it that everything’s ok and close your complaint.

Have I been helpful?

When your complaint is closed you might  get a survey emailed you a few days later. I'd really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to fill it out for me. The feedback you provide will be passed to my manager as all the questions are about me personally and what I've done for you. There's also a section at the end which allows you to I’ve feedback on BT in general.

Best wishes

Sarah

    

Sarah McCormick
Executive Level Complaints
Direct line: 01977 596877
Email address: csdirectorsteam@bt.com 
Office hours I’m usually in the office between 8am and 4pm or 10am and 6pm

This email contains BT information, which may be privileged or confidential.
It's meant only for the individual(s) or entity named above. If you're not the intended recipient, note that disclosing, copying, distributing or using this information is prohibited. If you've received this email in error, please let me know immediately on the email address above. Thank you.
We monitor our email system, and may record your emails.

British Telecommunications plc
Registered office: 81 Newgate Street London EC1A 7AJ
Registered in England no: 1800000

It would appear that Mr Buckley needs to have the last word.

warren.buckley@bt.com 11:28 (9 minutes ago)

to me Mr Potts

That is of course your choice.

Regards


Warren

We'll see about that...

Mr Buckley,

I know.

Good luck.

Mark L. Potts

Apparently, according to Warren Buckley (or his secretary) it costs £30 to stop supplying Broadband to a customer. We'll see...

warren.buckley@bt.com 10:33 (28 minutes ago)
to me Mr Potts

The £30 has nothing to do with a contract and I have waived any charges related to that as you requested.

The £30 is always charged if broadband is disconnected without is being transferred and reflects the work that has to be done to terminate the equipment.

It remains chargeable

Warren
Warren Buckley
Managing Director, Customer Service and Operations
BT Retail
 
Secretary – Norah Hayes
norah.hayes@bt.com
+44 20 7356 5431

My response:

Mr Buckley,

Unacceptable.

I shall take the matter further.

Yours,

Mark L. Potts

warren.buckley@bt.com 17:04 (16 hours ago)
to elc, me Mr Potts

Thanks for your email.

There will be a standard industry wide £30 disconnection fee but I will ask my team to waive any further charges

Regards

Warren

My response, this morning is:

Mr Buckley,

No, that is not acceptable.

£30 to stop supplying a service?

Your employees contacted my father and got him to agree to something that he didn't understand, after specifically being informed that he didn't understand these matters, 7 days earlier, in writing.

Try again. You might be the CEO of BT but that does not give you the right to rip of senior citizens and you do not intimidate me.

This morning, I contacted BT, to cancel my Dad's broadband...

On May 4th 2009, I set up a broadband and phone account for him, so that he could stay in touch with me (when I was living in Munich) and his family around the UK.

Back then, his laptop was fairly new and his eyesight was much better. As of 2012, his laptop is dead and he doesn't want another one; it is too much for him to deal with. He will be 80 next year.

Long story short: after waiting over 20 minutes on the BT website for online chat with a BT drone, 'Stevie' finally came online. It turns out that they are wanting to charge him £75.77 for REMOVING the broadband from his account, leaving only the telephone.

Sounds simple.

No. This is BT.

Apparently, in June 2012 he agreed to a new contract which runs until June 2013.

News to me.

Thing is, all he remembers is complaining to me that they were trying to increase his direct debit from £30 a month, to £70 a month. He remembers nothing about agreeing to a new contract.

What is more, we contacted BT over that matter. I have included the content of the letter dated 13th June 2012. It is pretty self-explanatory.

Derek Potts
[Address Removed]

Wed 13th June 2012

BT Correspondence Centre
Providence Row
Durham
DH98 1BT

Re : Account - LC XXXX XXXX

Dear sir,

Since I signed up with BT, I have been neither happy nor, especially unhappy with your service. It has been adequate, no more, for a rather expensive monthly amount.

I signed up to pay around a third of that amount per month, by direct debit, how can I possibly be in arrears by the amount you state? If I am then, it is your fault, not mine!

Now, you send me a bill, telling me that you are now going to increase my MONTHLY DIRECT DEBIT TO 70.50 PER MONTH? I don't think so. I am 79 years old and I do not need to spend that much money on a service I barely use. Even you can't argue that this is a ridiculously excessive amount and if you insist that this is correct, you will be losing my custom.

As I don't really understand the bill, my son, Mark L. Potts will deal with you on my behalf. To confirm this you may contact him as below:

[details removed]

You may phone me to obtain confirmation but I DO NOT want to discuss this with you. Contact my son and he will give you the account password and he has full authority to deal with you on my behalf, indeed, if he wishes to cancel the account, he has my agreement to do so.

You have until the close of business on 22/6/2012 to respond to my son, otherwise the account will be cancelled as of 30th June 2012.

Yours,

Derek Potts

He remembers them phoning HIM and agreeing to leave his bill as it was. Did I mention that he is 79 years old?

Even though the letter of 13th June is quite specific, I wasn't contacted by them, at all. However, at the time, I did not take the matter further, as it was settled, in his favour.

They are going to dig out that phone call and listen to it. I have requested a copy of it. I should like to hear how they got a 79 year old, who had written and told them:

'You may phone me to obtain confirmation but I DO NOT want to discuss this with you. Contact my son and he will give you the account password and he has full authority to deal with you on my behalf, indeed, if he wishes to cancel the account, he has my agreement to do so.'

I think I am justified in being angry with BT.

Their move.

Mark  L. Potts
The God of Thunder

3rd December 2012

So, a lot of people are saying that the government's ludicrous 'Work Programme' is a piece of crap. I am one of them. It has been created by the clueless (at best), is operated by the incompetent, and does little for anyone. Bear in mind, also, that the companies running this are paid on results. As they are not even achieving the low standards that were set, they will receive less funding next year. Yeah, you see the problem, don't you? If they can't make the grade now, how will they do it next year with less money and fewer resources? They will be adding to the jobless figures, surely.

Trying to PROVE the point is difficult but, below is a prime example of why the scheme is not working.

This is a screenshot from the new Jobseekers' registration at the Direct Gov website. What we have here is the account registration page. Jobseekers have to register an account before they can look for a job. You have to fill in the usual blurb then, click the 'I agree' gubbins. Pretty standard stuff.

The thing is, you have to click the box to agree to complete the MANDATORY Equality questionnaire.

Yeah. You see where I'm going with this...

If it is mandatory, agreement is irrelevant. You have to do it, whether you agree or, not. If you don't, you cannot move on. However, when you click on the '?' next to the statement a box pops up (the one shown in the screenshot).

This pop-up box informs you that you can choose 'Prefer not to say' as your selection.

So, let me get this straight. To register an account, you have to complete the mandatory form but, on that form, you can choose not to answer?

This may sound like a trivial point but, as an Instructional Designer, I know a little bit about this stuff. This is the registration page; the first page you come to on this site. A mixed message is being given. That is unacceptable. I would not have let that out of the building. As for the rest of the site, if you're already registered with Monster, Job Site, Job Search et al, for alerts, this just duplicates everything.

I suspect someone will argue that it is useful information to know that someone chose not to answer the Equality questions.

No, it isn't. Knowing that someone chose not to answer is about as much use as asking me if they like badgers. You need to know, at least, WHY they chose to not answer. Besides, I was under the impression that my ethnicity was of no relevance so, why do you want to know? Let's face it, you should already know pretty much everything about me, as you have my NI number!

And, that is why the government's scheme is not working. Like everything else this government is doing, either no one has thought it through or, like the review of disability payments, this isn't about about helping people back to work, if it is about keeping track of people, trying to catch them out, so that their benefits can be stopped. Either way, it's not good; our government is either lying or, incompetent.

Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder

30th November 2012

So, following my email below, TV Licensing passes the hot potato, not wanting any part of the BBC's current issues...(Scroll down for the original communications)

TV Licensing 10:59 (4 hours ago)
to me

TV LICENSING
BRISTOL
BS98 1TL

Tel:      0300 790 6087
Fax:      0300 790 6012
Email:    enquiries@tvlicensing.co.uk
Our Ref:  TVL29226---

23 November 2012

Dear Mr Potts

Thank you for your email of 22 November, which has been recorded under your complaint reference 551564. Please use this number if you wish to contact us again.

I'm sorry that you're unhappy with my response to your previous email.

We at TV Licensing are only able to provide information relating to how the TV Licence fee is distributed.

Any further information in relation to BBC spending should be requested directly from the BBC in the form of a Freedom of Information request.

You can do this by emailing foi@bbc.co.uk, or by writing to the following address:

BBC Freedom of Information
PO Box 48339
London
W12 7XH

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Scott Martin
Customer Relations

Need further help? Try our online help service, click here to access it: http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/info.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark L. Potts" <marklpotts@gmail.com>
Date: 22 November 2012
Subject: Re: TVL29132525, Contact Us , General Enquiry - All

FAO Scott Martin.

Really? That is your patronising response to my question?

You should check your records.

I HAVE A TV LICENSE! Keep your insulting form letter responses for someone
who may be swayed by your scripted garbage.

Now, answer the question I asked.

You may think that I will let this drop but, you are incorrect. The BBC has
many issues to deal with and, believe me, you do not want me to report that
you are incapable of responding to a simple question.

More BBC cover ups?

Go on, keep ignoring me, because I will NOT let this drop. You think I'm
joking? The power of Social Media is immense. Try me. Now, answer my
question.

Mark L. Potts