Welcome home - to an avalanche of junk mail!

[TrueBlueTerrier]

We returned from holiday recently to the usual pile of mail. It’s only when you’ve been away for a couple of weeks that you realise how much garbage gets shoved through your front door every day.

Apart from birthday party and wedding invitations and copies of utility bills which we pay by standing order, the rest of it was junk.

There were exhortations to install double glazing, solar panels and walk-in baths; loans and credit card offers aplenty; even a glossy brochure wondering whether I would be interested in acquiring part-ownership of a private jet.

Actually, I would, if only to loop-the-loop over the next global warming summit, but I can’t afford it.

So it went straight into the bin, along with begging letters from charities I have never heard of and weekend break deals from hotels I have no intention of patronising.

Of course, this stuff comes over the internet every second of the day. Deleting it electronically is irritating but only takes a click or two of the mouse. An efficient spam filter does the job for you.

When it flops through your letter box, however, it feels like an intrusion. You’re obliged to check it, just in case.

I especially object to those official-looking envelopes which come with a prominent: ‘Do Not Discard: This Is NOT A Circular’ warning printed on the front.

You know it’s almost certainly from a time-share scamster, but you open it on the off-chance that it might, just might, be from the Inland Revenue and failure to respond could involve a visit from an inspector and a hefty fine.

Then there are those letters which contain an unsolicited free gift, such as a pen with your name on. I’ve got half a dozen, but I’ve no idea what inducement they were offering because I couldn’t be bothered to read the bumf which came with them.
Junk mail

Junk mail: What enrages me is those 'consultation' documents sent out by local authorities

If someone is daft enough to send me a free pen, that’s their lookout. A bit of me quite admires their persistence. If they are prepared to send complete strangers personalised Biros, there must be a drink in it for them somewhere along the line.
As a marketing strategy, it’s rather like throwing spaghetti at a wall to see if it sticks. But, hey, it’s their money.

What enrages me is those ‘consultation’ documents sent out by local authorities. They are a complete waste of time and money, since councils have no intention whatsoever of taking a blind bit of notice of public opinion.

A few years ago, residents in our neighbourhood were asked our opinion on plans to build a block of flats on the site of an attractive detached house at the top of the road. We all objected strongly. They built it anyway.

When we got back from holiday this time, there were two letters from the NHS addressed to my wife.

Both were from someone called Richard Armstrong, Head of Primary Medical Care at the Department of Health, asking her to fill in a survey about GP services. The second wanted to know why she hadn’t filled in the first.

Now, even though my wife is pretty public-spirited, we have a policy in our house of telling the authorities as little as possible. You never know when your confidential records will wind up abandoned in the back of a taxi or left on a commuter train by a careless civil servant.

In any event, you can be certain that even if you do complete the questionnaire, it won’t make the slightest difference. You don’t need an expensive opinion survey to know that what most people want from their GP is an appointment on the day they are taken ill, the restoration of home visits and a proper service at evenings and weekends.

Oh, and it might be nice if someone at the surgery could be bothered to answer the phone once in a blue moon.


This particular form was typical of everything you get from government these days, available in an exciting assortment of languages and demanding to know your ethnic origin and sexual orientation.

Naturally, describing yourself as ‘English’ is not an option. Under sexuality - hetero/gay/bisexual, etc - there’s even a box marked: ‘Other’. Presumably that covers everything from a little light spanking to romancing sheep.

The impertinence of this official intrusion is reinforced by the despatch of a second letter when you don’t respond to the first.

Unlike junk mail from private companies, this is our money they’re wasting. In the context of the billions spent on the NHS, it might be a drop in the ocean but it is indicative of the bureaucratic mindset and utter disregard for taxpayers’ money at a time when spending is being cut across the board elsewhere.

Quite apart from that, consider the stupidity of sending out a survey in July and August, when there is every chance that the intended recipient will be away on holiday.

And the government still pretends there is no room for savings in the NHS budget.

So perhaps someone can explain where NICE, the NHS ‘death panel’, which is refusing to pay for the life-extending Avastin cancer drug, has managed to find the funds to spend £500,000 on tarting up its offices and embarked on a recruitment spree, hiring 160 more staff on salaries running into six figures.

You can bet your life they won’t be sending out a survey asking what you think about that.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/artic ... z0yChHdpru" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[plainpat]

"Under sexuality - hetero/gay/bisexual, etc - there’s even a box marked: ‘Other’."


DGP gets a box of his own?

[baldrick]

I guessed before I got to the end that this was from the Daily Mail - all the usual prejudices and moans.
Instead of writing stupid articles like this, perhaps his time would be better spent registering with Mail Preference Services: http://www.mpsonline.org.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
But he wouldn't get paid for that.