Tuesday 17th - Problems with sorting a phone

The big mission today was to sort a phone out in some way. We started with a visit to the electrician to pay him, but they don’t accept cards, only cheques which we don’t have, so we need cash instead. Next to the post office to see if they maybe had kept the letter containing our SIM card (which must have been delivered before we arrived) but no luck. We got told off for having our name on a cardboard box above the real boxes instead of having our name on a real letterbox, which is a legal requirement! Next to Samir at the bank to see if he could ring FreeMobile for us, but his work phone was blocked for such numbers.

So yet another reason to try to get a phone SIM card. Off to InterMarche (30 minutes walk to the Zone Artisanale) to see if they had them, and found one place which did, but they were all on monthly plans, which are no use to us. Did manage to get a new lock for our letter box though. Back to Carrefour to see what they had – and struck a very helpful man at the wee shop there who finally found the right sort of card – one that doesn’t have a monthly plan but is a simple pay-as-you-go. Yippee! We have a phone card.

Back home to find that you have to call up to register it to get it started. What a daft system. The whole point of a card is so you can call, and if you can already call you perhaps don’t need a card. Maddening. So I went off to a phone box to call. I’ve been coping really well with French conversations, but to having to follow the “If you want xxxx, press y” conversation is rather more tricky on a phone. I worked out the right number on the 3^rd try, but on getting the operator got totally lost and had to give up. Back to Samir so he could give them our details, but though he works until 5:30, the bank shuts its doors at 5pm. Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrgghhhh!

So we now have a SIM card, but we can’t use it, and we still haven’t ordered our whiteware (the cheapest deals are available online only), and we have a particular slim washer we are desperate to get that we know is in runout and difficult to obtain. Perhaps tomorrow? Anyway, the postbox lock is now fitted, so there’s a small win to make up for the frustrations.