Our NHS hearing services, which used to be excellent, are now provided by Scrivens. My mother (in her 90s) had to wait many weeks for an appointment, which eventually took place at the end of July. She was assured that she would have her hearing aids within 4 weeks. We heard nothing more. After 5 weeks, I called to find out why this promise had failed. I was told the aids hadn't yet been made, but would be available by 8th October. This was nearly 10 weeks after the test, not 4. Today, 2 hours before her appointment, I was called by Scrivens. They have no idea where her hearing aids are, have no idea when they will be ready, but feel sure they will be available by 5th November. They only have one appointment available that day, at the least convenient time imaginable, and if we don't want it, then we will have to wait another 5 weeks. Frankly, this has to be about the worst service ever delivered by any company, anywhere. I selected one star only because I wasn't able to select zero stars, and anyway, I guess we should be grateful that they called before we actually set off for the appointment. In my view, the public money spent on these private companies would be better spent investing in the NHS.