I can't think of the brand name for British Gas and Electricity at the turn of the century when I lived in London. (BT is difficult to forget.) What I do recall, when I let our townhouse, is that the utility offered me the option of monthly billing -OR- 'top up' card payment for utilities. I wondered if 'top up' was still an billing option.

Never heard of such a thing as 'top up' card payment in the USA. I called the estate agent. I was looking for a card reader on the furnace. Scared the crap out of me, because I'd let in Swiss Cottage hoping to evade universal po' people discrimination. (I graciously accepted monthly billing by electronic debit.)

The laugh is, here I am near two decades later in Bal'more, po' people's murder capitol of Maryland, where city government brow beats utilities into accepting non-payment from customers as a fact of life. Schweet.

< wipes tears >


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.