If you want pictures, skip this entry - I left the Camera in Hampstead by accident.
Today I was very excited because my bank statement arrived with the correct address. With it and passports we can now register with NHS, get library cards, and get a pair of cell phones for free with a monthly plan.
NOT!
No, you need a credit history. So, no cell phones for us. If we get separated at the zoo we need to use the force to find each other. I am so pissed I can’t see straight, and I am not sure if I am pissed more because of the fact that this is an inconvenience for us, or because I have been waiting a whole week for the bank statement so I can get some new toys to play with. Either way, I am pissed off. To make matters worse I have to wait three months before I even try because they automatically refuse another credit check for three months after a failure, no matter what the reason for the failure is. I am considering FAXing them my US credit report which I got copies of before I left the US just in case that will help.
Last night I finally went to the bar next door which keeps us awake with the sound of crashing bottles at 2am, as they throw the bottles away after a fun filled evening. To be honest I was too intimidated to go into this bar, which is really surprising because this bar serves - are you ready for it? - Thai Food. Yes, this rocking bar was the first bar in London to serve exclusively Thai food (upstairs I found out later), started 11 years ago or so.
I sat at the bar, a lonely man, and asked the bar tender for a nice beer. He gave me a Discovery I think he said, although the accent is just killing me around here. It was so good I had to ask him if it had any alcohol in it, and he told me it was only about 3 to 3.5% to which I replied, “Why are ya wastin’ my time, mate?!” I watched a tennis match as I downed the beer, and then I needed something else. I said, “I need something else to drink.” “What would ya like, mate?” “I don’t know, how about some whiskey?” So he made a couple suggestions and ended up giving me some whiskey on ice and a little bottle of ginger ale. I said, “What’s that called?” He said, “Whiskey and Ginger Ale.” I was in awe.
By this time I was pretty buzzed and I spotted some Scotch, which I have previously decided is a very manly drink, so I told the bartender that I wanted some Scotch. He said, “Why? Terrible stuff.” He said, “Try a Guiness!” I told him I have had many a Guiness in my time but left out the part about how proud I was of my Black and Tans:
(clearly I lied about pictures)
So I insisted on the Scotch, straight up?? no ice. I felt very manly, got very drunk. I asked him why nobody was leaving him any tips, and he said that only Americans do that. I decided to prove him wrong and walked 50 feet to my apartment, and that was that.
Dear JP. I had no trouble getting a phone for my trip to AU/NZ. I had a single phone and a SIM card for each country:
- buy a phone off of ebay (or get it somewhere else)
- buy a prepaid SIM card
- activate the card
- deposit gobs of cash every time you run out of minutes
Adam
Hi Adam,
The problem is, Those minutes are expensive, the phones suck (like the one I already bought off EBay) and there’s no voicemail.
I better I am wrong about all those things aren’t I?
Hey JP. The minutes are expensive, but there are constant deals going. For example, just for topping up 20 pounds, I now have free evening calls through DECEMBER. I’ve been here six weeks and topped up once and that wasn’t because I really needed to… it was just because I wanted to see if I could do it. Baby steps. :)
My other advice (sorry for the incessant rambling) is to get a top up phone and then when your credit details are sorted out–upgrade to a monthly plan. There are deals for turning in old phones as well.
I am having trouble with the accent too. I nod an awful lot. :)
Good luck!
You can get any kind of phone you want - a fancy, expensive model or a hand-me-down from a teenager. The minutes are certainly pricey but it doesn’t sound like you have much of a choice.
Are you sure you can’t use voicemail? Top ups are incredibly popular and I’m surprised they don’t turn on voicemail. We didn’t bother trying while we were traveling.
I have a suggestion on the credit history thing. Andrew and I had a similar problem when we moved to California. You need to find a manager-type who has some authority. Minions quote policy. Managers set policy. If you can work yourself one or two notches up the chain - politely (this is important!) - until you find a rational person with the authority to make decisions, your credit history issues are likely to evaporate.
Maybe you could work your recent rent check into the conversation. I just wrote an umpteen-gazillion dollar check for rent yet I’m not able to buy a phone…