All day sitting around fidgeting and waiting, then all of a sudden the mail arrives at half past two and everything happens at once. The documents we gathered last night aren’t quite what are wanted now, so more mad rummaging about ensues. A phone call to the 1300 number to find out whether to post them or visit a branch — fax them in is the answer, an option not mentioned anywhere! Another call to Jo, cross my fingers and leap on the bike, a cover sheet, a frenzy of photocopying, then the nail-biting delay as the fax machine chews through the fourteen pages. Finally its all on its way, time is short, but they’ll do their best.

Four thirty comes around and there’s another phone call, a different part of St George wants the details on my flat — details that I’ve already provided, but not to her. No point pointing that out, I give the details again and we politely bid each other good afternoon. One step closer…

So why couldn’t they have asked in the original email for the copies of the payslips to be faxed to them last Wednesday? No idea, it seems that they’ll happily use email to tell you that a letter is on its way, but that use of the Internet is an after-thought to their normal business operation.