the Family History book is finally… not quite here

Well, after long months of hard work, the Family History book is finally… not quite here! But it’s now going off to the printers – all my work is done apart from checking the “proofs” and telling them how many to print. It’ll be out at the end of the month. But there’s a special webpage for newsletter readers only, where you can read more about it and, if you like, pre-order it. Getting birth, death and marriage records online, finding photos of your ancestors and tracking down all sorts of surprising details – read all about it here: /familyhistorya.htm

Only newsletter readers can pre-order, and you get a discount for doing so as it helps me know how many books to print! Have a read: /familyhistorya.htm

Right, next I’ve got a tip from a reader:

Another important tip on keeping your wrists happy when you use a keyboard
After I wrote last time about setting up your PC so you can use it comfortably, a reader wrote in with another tip, back from when she was learning typewriting with a real typewriter: Make sure you don’t rest your wrists on the desk (or a wrist rest) while you type. Your wrists end up bent slightly upwards and that’s really bad for them. Instead you want your hands to be ever so slightly angled downwards from your arms.

It’s very true – and one reason I don’t like those foam wrist rests you can get for the keyboard and mouse. In theory they’re fine – you’re only suppose to use them in between typing/using the mouse. But people use them while they actually type or move the mouse and that’s not good for you.

A good tip – thanks, Jean.

Ofcom’s report card for broadband companies – who’s bottom of the class
Ofcom have just announced their report on the “most complained about” broadband companies. At the bottom is TalkTalk – nearly one in every thousand customers is driven to actually complain to Ofcom. That sounds pretty terrible to me – most people who are annoyed just won’t bother or will inly complain to TalkTalk themselves (or just switch to another company).

Anyway, Ofcom do say TalkTalk are getting better – the full report is here (but it makes for frustrating reading if you’ve ever battled with a broadband company!). http://media.ofcom.org.uk/2011/09/22/ofcom-publishes-latest-telecoms-complaints-data-most-complained-about-providers-revealed/

New “tax” scam to watch out for
I heard about this new scam just the other day and it’s a little different from the ones I’ve come across before.

You get a phone call telling you you’re due a tax refund. They say someone from the Revenue and Customs will come to give you the refund cheque in person but for security reasons you need to buy a bond from a local newsagent in advance in order to prove “legitimacy”. They say it’s a way of speeding up refunds by sending someone to your door but they can’t hand over the money without proof you bought the bond. The bond, of course, goes straight into their bank accounts (it’s a kind of money transfer) and you’ll never hear from them again.

It’s different because instead of asking for bank details “to do the refund” they say they need some money upfront from you.

Don’t fall for it – it’s just a scam.

By the way, if you do get taken by a scam and they get your credit card details, contact your credit card company. Ask them to do a “chargeback” on the payment – they may well be able to get the money back if you act quickly.

That’s all for this time. Don’t forget to have a read of the information about the Family History book: /familyhistorya.htm

Yours
Tim Wakeling

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