This may be the dumbest negative PR thing I've seen yet: A UK senior citizen was told that she was too old for internet service:

After walking the Great Wall of China and making plans for a trip to Russia, Shirley Greening-Jackson thought signing up for a new internet service would be a doddle.

But the young man behind the counter had other ideas. He said she was barred - because she was too old.

The 75-year-old would only be allowed to sign the forms for the Carphone Warehouse's TalkTalk phone and broadband package if she was accompanied by a younger member of her family who could explain the small print to her.

Can you imagine being in the meeting at corporate where they came up with that policy? They weren't even smart enough to start backpedaling once they started getting media inquiries:

When her case came to light on Radio 4's You And Yours last week, Carphone Warehouse admitted it had adopted an over-70 rule.

But the firm insisted it was not a blanket policy and claimed the guidance was to protect the elderly. A spokeswoman said: "It is not our policy to refuse business from adult customers of any age group. However, we do ask our agents to use their discretion when dealing with older customers."

She added that the discretionary rule had been introduced in response to complaints that staff had mis-sold products last year.

I hope they're looking for a new set of PR people, because the ones they have are too stupid to live.

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