Urban Rant was a section we used last year at the end of each Urban Life survey, where panellists got to groan about things that wound them up. It worked so well that we've decided to repeat it this year.

The topic we kicked 2005 off with was 'household suppliers and utility companies'.

It seems we've really hit a raw nerve with this one because we've received back about 1,500 essay-length responses. Here's just one to give you a flavour... thanks to every single one of you who shared your bitter experiences with us on the Rant!

"Ooo, don't get me started...they are all shit. Customer service. What's that? Customer dis-service more like!

Why, why, why do service engineers only work Monday to Friday nine to five (and refuse to allow at timed booking?) I can get my groceries delivered within a one hour slot, I can go out and buy a book at 9:30 in the evening. I can do my banking 24 hours a day! But if I want something fixed I have to take a day off work! Only to wait for hours and hours for them to arrive, and then tell you they can't do it that day. Or (as in the case of NTL) "we rang on the bell at 10:30 and you weren't there!" No, I said...I wasn't in at 10:30, I was WEEDING THE FLOWER BED IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE around that time. The engineer would have had to walk past me to get to the door! I couldn't have missed him, it's not a big front garden! But we definitely came (they said)...you have a white door! Not a bad guess... almost everyone in the street has a white door. Bloody shits. And then there is Panasonic... and the Gas board... GRRRRR"