Is it me?

My mobile phone contract is coming to an end in December.  This is a contract I took out two years ago because a) I needed a phone and b) it conveniently came with a free Xbox.  And I use the term 'free' very loosely there.

The Xbox is ace, and has usefully become our DVD player too, but the phone I have is from a bygone era.  It has no camera or internet access and just does what a phone was originally invented for. (plus texting obvs).  Up until now, that has been enough for me, happy in my little world of the snarky text.  But now I have a sneaking suspicion I am getting left behind.  Apps and these things # (don't really know what they are) are the buzz words and I am feeling old. 

Soooooo, I went onto that unhelpful website of the Orange people to see what could be done.  It is a maze of whizzy phones and snappily-named contracts and joining the two together in some cohesive value for money way is an elusive skill.  I even (and I never do this) went onto live 'chat' with an adviser to ask if I could upgrade now, and if so, what happened re the contract which ends in December.  Is that a weird question?  My helper Dale seemed to think so.  After a couple of cracks at trying to find the right answer, he (because in my mind he had morped into a short, young trendy jobsworth from Leeds) gave me a duplicate answer, but IN CAPITALS.  I found this both annoying and insulting.  Did he not realise to whom he was chatting?  I wrote back:

Yes, I realise that, BUT WRITING IN CAPITALS DOES NOT MAKE YOUR REPLY ANY CLEARER TO ME.

and ended the conversation.  On the feedback form which popped up I wrote that writing an answer in capitals for extra clarity was an insult to their literate customers.  I guess it may have had more impact if I had started off with 'fyi' and ended with 'iykwim'.  I fear for our future.

And I still have no upgrade.  AND (for emphasis, not clarity) I have just realised after nearly two years that they have been charging me to receive texts!! Cheeky beggers.  (That word is not beggers in my mind). No wonder my bill steadily creeps over the 'fixed' (fixed my arse) £25 per month.

And breeeeathhhe.