A Roman Bath

Remember me? I started a blog about moving to England and then when I finally moved into permanent housing I didn't have internet for nearly two months due to stupid rules and so the posts were few and far between and without pictures. Ring a bell? Guess who has internet now? Ding - ding - ding. Now I can finally catch you up on the past month, which was quite busy. We had two birthdays, an anniversary trip to Bath, a trip to Boston and a day trip to London.  Don't even get me started on the first week of October. I'll give you a hint: Guinness, spooky castles and canines. 

BATH

When we got married, Rory and I decided it would be fun if we took turns planning our anniversary. This year was our fourth wedding anniversary and Rory's turn to plan. I didn't care where we went, I just wanted to be surprised. Have I not mentioned that it is nearly impossible to surprise me? Seriously. I've figured out nearly every birthday/Christmas present for the past umpteen years. Rory used to look at me with shock when I guessed things but now he knows to expect it so he won't even give me a clue. Needless to say I was still happy when I figured out we were going to Bath. 

View of the Bath Abbey from the Roman Spa

I'd been to Bath once before but I literally couldn't see it. It was that fuzzy trip to England where I'd lost my only contact (the other was already lost before the trip). So of course I didn't remember the clean wide boulevard or the cute little shops and restaurants. I also didn't remember that Bath was simply stunning.

On the morning of our anniversary we arrived early in Bath and found a cafe that served pancakes. A rarity in England. 

View from breakfast cafe

After breakfast we toured the ancient Roman baths. Bath was the spa town for the Romans. Don't tell but I (and a group of Japanese tourists) verified the water is still h-o-t. 

Entry way to the Roman Baths

Roman Baths. Can't you just picture the Romans taking a nice long soak? I know I was tempted. 

Overlooking the gardens in Bath

The Gardens

Avon Canal

After walking around Bath for most of the day we worked up an appetite for our anniversary dinner. Rory made reservations at a family run French restaurant called Tilley's Bistro. It was delicious.  We dined on escargot (snails), Pork a la Dijonnaise and Gressingham Duck Breast.  Yummmmm. 

On the way to our anniversary dinner

So where should I plan on taking Rory next year???? 

A Rant (Part One)

I was all prepared to write a nice post about our trip to Boston last week. I was going to tell you about lobster (again), a big fancy party, and Lionel Richie. Unfortunately, the computer battery I ordered from the US nearly a month ago has not arrived and I still do not have internet access (a very very very long story).  So now all I have for you is a rant about senseless bureaucracy.  If you don't want to read a rant you can turn back now. Go ahead, I'll wait. 

Red red wine tape

When I started this blog I wanted to document our move, travels, and the reality of living in a foreign country. Today's blog focuses on the "reality" of the very senseless red tape that has weaved itself into the fabric of UK society. People here are generally loathsome of the layers of bureaucracy which needlessly complicate simple tasks (like getting internet). Now I can say we've experienced this first hand. For weeks Rory and I have been fighting our auto insurance company. We went with a particular company because it promised a substantial "no claims" discount because we had been accident free for over 9 years (the max). We rushed to obtain proof from our last two insurance carriers in the US. Due to the short time frame we had to furnish the evidence of no claims we used the magic of technology and had the letters faxed from the US. The letters were sent to our UK auto insurance carrier. 

The excuses begin

After submitting the documents to the UK insurance company we received a letter saying we did not provide any proof to support the no claims discount.  The letter explained that we had to pay additional premium or face having our policy cancelled.  Only after calling the insurance company I learned that photocopies of the letters weren't sufficient. I was told the content of the letters was adequate (this is important) but the original letters were required. Understandable. My parents graciously FedExed (is that a word?) from California the original documents and we promptly forwarded them to the insurance carrier. A few days later we received another letter stating we only provided evidence of 3 years of no claims so  we must pay additional premium or the policy would be cancelled. WTH? Our letters showed no claims were made during the entire span of both policies, which dated back to 2001. Grrrrr.  

I called the insurance company (calls are not free here) to find out why. Forty expensive minutes later my nice and cooperative demeanor melted into anger and frustration. No one could explain why only 3 of the 9 years were accepted. The first "excuse" was that we only submitted one original letter which covered 2008-2011. I quickly advised that both original letters happened to be in the SAME envelope which were sent by certified mail and signed for.  So if one letter was received, both letters were received. After more ranting I was placed on hold for 10 minutes. The carrier then offered to call our US insurance carriers to "verify" our policies. I was *promised* a call back. 

Nearly two days later no one had called back. At this point I was beyond frustrated so Rory decided to see if he could get anywhere with the insurance company. He was first told that only copies of the letters were received (wrong). Then he was told only one original was received (wrong again). Then he was told there was a gap in the coverage (wrong). The insurance company was reading dates the English way (day-month-year) and not the American way (month-day year). 

After the dates were cleared up another excuse emerged. We could not get the discount because our two insurance policies overlapped for a seven day period in 2008 when we changed carriers. As a result of the seven day overlap, we would not get credit for the policy which showed there was no claims between 2001-2008. Huh? Ponder that for a moment. It makes NO SENSE. This is not an English regulation but one established by some underwriter for the insurance carrier. Our letters clearly established there were no claims from 2001-2011 so why would a seven day policy overlap matter?   

Since no one could explain the made-up overlap rule we asked to speak with a manager. The manager refused to get on the phone with us because "there was nothing she could do." Instead we were *promised* a call from a team leader within 48 hours. You guessed it...no one called us back. When we called (again) it was learned that our complaint was transferred to "customer service" and we should receive a call. When we asked for the phone number of customer service we were told "they don't have one."  So far no one has attempted to contact us. Surprise, surprise. 

In the meantime, we've familiarized ourselves with the financial services laws. As Rory so aptly put it, "you don't wake a sleeping giant." 

So do you think we will have to cancel our policy?

Or do you think the insurance company will give in and give us the no claims discount?