Letter: Fax, don't phone

Sir: I should like to offer the following suggestion as to how to induce telephonophobia (Letters, 28 August). We have a fax machine and on numerous occasions end up exchanging up to four faxes in the amount of time a phone call would take with friends, colleagues and each other. Even if this involves having to speak to someone in the course of sending a fax we say 'No, I won't tell you what I need to, I'm about to send a fax]' Faxes are less intrusive than the telephone, and for business purposes you have what you wanted to say in black and white for future reference. Your messages can include pictures and cartoons. One of the biggest advantages, as well as the fun aspect, is that in our experience the fax proves much cheaper than the phone. Certainly this method has worked for us - my husband loathes the phone and only uses it in extreme cases.

Yours faithfully,

SUSANNA WYATT

London, W4