Public Service Announcements
Unsolicited mail
I think most people are now aware of the Mailing, Telephone and Fax Preference Services. What I wasn't aware of until the weekend is that you can opt out of the Royal Mail's Door to Door Service (this is a service they offer to businesses, where they deliver unaddressed, unsolicited mail directly to people's homes).
To opt out contact:
Royal Mail Door to Door Opt Out,
Room 130
Wheatstone House
Faraday Rd
Swindon, SN3 5JW
Tel: 0845 7905 950
Email: optout@royalmail.co.uk or mediacentre.customer.service@royalmail.co.uk
I've done this and I've now been emailed a form to sign and return. I'm slightly worried about doing it because by opting out of the service one also opts out from any central or local government information that might be delivered in this way along with the spam, but I'm feeling relatively confident that anything I'd really want to see from local or central government will be available online.
Prescriptions
I seem to say this on a fairly regular basis, but it always seems to bear repeating because I'm aware there are a lot of people who don't know about it.
There are two parts you might be interested in - if you are on a low income, the Low income scheme may entitle you to free prescriptions, eye tests, NHS dental treatment and other exemptions from NHS costs.
If you aren't entitled to free prescriptions but need more than five prescription items within four months, then have a look at the Pre-payment scheme. I have one of these over the summer because I use three different hayfever medications.
Once you've got either entitlement to free prescriptions or a pre-payment certificate, make use of it! You can legitimately ask your GP to prescribe paracetamol and other medication you might not immediately think of (I know of somone who has had evening primrose oil prescribed for her).
Passports
The fees are going up in October from £51 to £66 according to the BBC. That's from £0.425/month to £0.55/month. It clearly makes sense to renew your passport before October if it expires before June 2007 (the nine months will be added on to your new passport for 'free'). But my mind is failing me at working out the maths for when the cut off is between renewing and losing time you've already paid for but gaining in terms of getting the cheaper passport.
Voting
I don't imagine we're going to have another election soon, but you never know what might happen if the Labour leadership contest gets interesting (when they finally get on with starting it!). The registration process is a rolling system - you fill in the form and you're then registered from the month after the one in which they received the form. See http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/ for info on how to go about registering yourself.
Taxes/Benefits
Try http://www.entitledto.co.uk/ to see if you're entitled to benefits/tax credits that you're not claiming.
I think most people are now aware of the Mailing, Telephone and Fax Preference Services. What I wasn't aware of until the weekend is that you can opt out of the Royal Mail's Door to Door Service (this is a service they offer to businesses, where they deliver unaddressed, unsolicited mail directly to people's homes).
To opt out contact:
Royal Mail Door to Door Opt Out,
Room 130
Wheatstone House
Faraday Rd
Swindon, SN3 5JW
Tel: 0845 7905 950
Email: optout@royalmail.co.uk or mediacentre.customer.service@royalmail.co.uk
I've done this and I've now been emailed a form to sign and return. I'm slightly worried about doing it because by opting out of the service one also opts out from any central or local government information that might be delivered in this way along with the spam, but I'm feeling relatively confident that anything I'd really want to see from local or central government will be available online.
Prescriptions
I seem to say this on a fairly regular basis, but it always seems to bear repeating because I'm aware there are a lot of people who don't know about it.
There are two parts you might be interested in - if you are on a low income, the Low income scheme may entitle you to free prescriptions, eye tests, NHS dental treatment and other exemptions from NHS costs.
If you aren't entitled to free prescriptions but need more than five prescription items within four months, then have a look at the Pre-payment scheme. I have one of these over the summer because I use three different hayfever medications.
Once you've got either entitlement to free prescriptions or a pre-payment certificate, make use of it! You can legitimately ask your GP to prescribe paracetamol and other medication you might not immediately think of (I know of somone who has had evening primrose oil prescribed for her).
Passports
The fees are going up in October from £51 to £66 according to the BBC. That's from £0.425/month to £0.55/month. It clearly makes sense to renew your passport before October if it expires before June 2007 (the nine months will be added on to your new passport for 'free'). But my mind is failing me at working out the maths for when the cut off is between renewing and losing time you've already paid for but gaining in terms of getting the cheaper passport.
Voting
I don't imagine we're going to have another election soon, but you never know what might happen if the Labour leadership contest gets interesting (when they finally get on with starting it!). The registration process is a rolling system - you fill in the form and you're then registered from the month after the one in which they received the form. See http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/ for info on how to go about registering yourself.
Taxes/Benefits
Try http://www.entitledto.co.uk/ to see if you're entitled to benefits/tax credits that you're not claiming.