I’M going to have to give up work. There are no longer enough hours in the day to be a parent, to work and to live.

It’s living that’s proving to be the problem. Simple tasks that took but a few minutes now take hours, if not days to perform.

My electricity supplier has just emailed me to tell me that my current tariff is coming to an end and unless I sign up to a special new deal with them they will automatically put me on their standard tariff. I have to go online or phone them to find out which deal is best for me; if I don’t, I will pay more.

On the very same day, through the letterbox came a letter from another electricity company telling me that I could save hundreds of pounds signing up to a deal with them… Which would be quicker – two phone calls or an online price-comparison website? Although I read recently that some price-comparison websites are being investigated for giving unfair prominence to suppliers that pay them commission. Is there a website where I can compare price-comparison websites?

The same thing happened when I tried to book a couple of flights recently. I clicked on the best deal only to be told that it was no longer available but they could offer me another deal. Different sites had the same flight with the same airline at different prices, while the airline itself was guaranteeing the best price if I booked direct!

Oh for those far off halcyon days when all you had to do was to wander into a high street travel agent, tell them what you wanted and they found the best deal for you… Then my house insurance renewal arrived. They quoted a price for insurance that resembled what I’d bought the house for 15 years ago! More phone calls and websites. No, I don’t want free cinema tickets for my pet meerkats, I just want to be able to renew my insurance with my current provider knowing that they are giving me a good deal and not ripping me off.

There was a time when loyalty was rewarded. Not any more – to get the best deal on your phone, internet, TV, insurance, gas, electricity, water, flights, you have to be fickle and change companies every time you renew. The best prices are only available to new customers.

For me it’s a pain in the posterior. For my 91-year old mother who lives alone, it’s an impossibility. She doesn’t use the internet; doesn’t do phone calls to strangers; can’t shop around. The ‘switch suppliers’ mantra of rampant consumerism is a charter for her to be cheated, along with every other vulnerable person struggling to live independently.

Something has to give – surely….