Whinge of the day thread...

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I was with Origin (Singapore based I've been told). A good few years back they bought out North Power which had been my provider for very many years and I didn't investigate any benefit in changing until I found out all my friends were paying far less than I was.

I too as a single person was paying more than a 3 person household in my area.

A friend put me onto Red Energy (Aussie owned) and my bills reduced by well over $100 a quarter.

While I was in the process of moving the account over to the new provider Origin wrote to me warning about misleading pricing information from "some" providers and offered me a better rate if I stayed with them. I decided they could have and should have offered me that better rate years before they were caught out ripping me for all they could and continued the move.

I recommend not hesitating, check out your local providers and move to the one that offers the best price.
 
Sandta said:
Just got my quarterly electricity bill ...
50% increase from last bill :8
Yes its winter, yes i have used my a/c , but i live alone
According to the convenient comparison guide on my bill , i use more than a 3 person household in my area
I rang the provider (origin energy) and was told i have a smart meter ... there can be no error !
The bill does not show the meter reading (even though there is a previous/current read field),so at this point there is no way for me to confirm/challenge
The bloke on the phone(english not his first language) says we cant tell you the actual reading , thats not how the system works ... WTF !!
? Smart meter ?
He asks me if i would like to be on CHEAPER rate
ARE YOU FN KIDDING ME !!
Different rates ?
Why is any valued customer on a higher rate ?
A work mate says they get a $100ish discount (different provider) for paying on time ....WHAT !?!?!?
Im not a miser , im not gonna count every cent worth of power i use , but there must be a way for non-tech people like me to monitor whats going on , so i can challenge the smart arse system

their full of **** Sandta, they do this BS in vic too, usually give you an average. few years back i had a mate go to QLD to look after his dad after he had a stroke, he was there for a year and i would collect the mail for him and do a few things at his house, well when the electricity bills came in they were no different to the same time the year before, they are FN turds of the highest order!

when they say you get a discount for paying on time... thats BS too, they try and make it look like they are doing you a favor when in fact you don't really owe them that much anyway.

Absolute disgraceful pack of turds.
 
I too am an old single bloke and this may be an answer to help you.
Get a PowerPal device that reads your power use and records it into your smartphone (if you have one).

https://www.powerpal.net/

I got mine for free and it helps to understand what is using the power around the home, when, etc, so you can try and avoid peak charge rate time, usually 3-9 pm.

Of course, if you are flush with cash get a Tesla Powerwall as it records and graphs the actual use, and provides a backup if/when the power fails. Very costly, but would help to understand and it will do the peak rate avoidance for you by using battery or solar during that 6 hours.

I have 3 different charge rates during the week, Peak (3-9 pm), Shoulder (7 am-3 pm), Off-peak (9 pm-7 am) with off-peak being the cheapest rate. So clearly avoid peak rate time and try and use off-peak.

I came into a little $$ recently and splashed it on the Tesla to add to my existing solar panels and it has been "fun" watching it play with the different power use.

Rob P.
 
Over the last couple of weeks my computer is shutting down randomly and I thought I would be up for a new computer. What I have found is that any facebook based site is causing the problem but if I avoid any facebook site I can spend hours on the computer but as soon as I log into any facebook site it shuts down within a couple of minutes. What is going on?
 
Black-Pete said:
Over the last couple of weeks my computer is shutting down randomly and I thought I would be up for a new computer. What I have found is that any facebook based site is causing the problem but if I avoid any facebook site I can spend hours on the computer but as soon as I log into any facebook site it shuts down within a couple of minutes. What is going on?
I think its trying to tell you something. :playful:
 
Black-Pete said:
Over the last couple of weeks my computer is shutting down randomly and I thought I would be up for a new computer. What I have found is that any facebook based site is causing the problem but if I avoid any facebook site I can spend hours on the computer but as soon as I log into any facebook site it shuts down within a couple of minutes. What is going on?

Same happens to me and a few other people I know, only happens with facebook.
 
How many problems would be solved if the facef#@k magically disappeared! There will always be rumours, innuendo and gossip but do we really need it on a global scale?????
 
aussiefarmer said:
Ask Tathra he is the guru

Some firewalls and anti virus are picking up The sites tracking software and such.
The crap in behind Facebook is how it knows more about you than you know yourself.
At times the only action software takes is to panic and shut down.

Cortana or Alexia is freaking lethal.

Mate of mine was talking about an item he was looking at buying.
For the next few weeks, He was flattened with add's and buy me now
"Offers" that he was talking about. He was not browsing either.

Computer was sitting on Facebook with a microphone running.

It is a lot worse than you think.

Stuff I have installed directs the prick of intrusive crap into a volatile swap file.
That deletes when you log out of the site.

Don't set your password to auto-save.
Notice how it some times asks for your permission to do so. ?
That is an open invitation to more pain than it is worth.
 
Yep, try telling blatant lies about stuff you want to buy while near your phone/computer to see who's listening ;)
 
Google/Facebook have really got it to a new kevel, we were talking about a certain TV program that I do not watch one day then within a couple hours its all through my feed, no key strokes reqyired.

I often talk to it now mentioning all sorts of things that let me test what it can recognise, probably end up on a watch list, but if Im honest I would be surprised if I wasnt already.
 
Ok I'll try logging on everytime I use a face book site and see what difference it makes. I know for sure that computers and mobile phones do listen in as my wife have been talking about something that we had not mentioned for years and within half an hour an add appearred on my computer in (Facebook) no less advertising what we were talking about.
I just wish that everybody wasn't moving there sites to facebook as being set in my ways I prefer the old type sites.
 
Mackka said:
Just returned from shopping at Coles and one of the Butchers there tells me his last day is in October. Why, as reported a few weeks ago, Coles is getting rid of their butchers in-store, he and the rest of them are being made redundant. I will now support a local butcher shop where the prices are more and the quality, well i will have to wait and see.
Reading the rag only to see that the Gold Medal Olympians receive $20,000 and the Paralympian Gold Medalists get SWEET FA.
No wonder this country is marked for discrimination. Whinge over, for now.
Mackka

Wonder how Coles is gonna work it exactly. A main hub where there butchers still work maybe, or outsourcing? Still a shame and yes finding a good independant butcher is definitely worth it mate.
 
Cortana or Alexia is freaking lethal.

Look what she did to Master Chief.... Cortana is never to be trusted...

As for Alexia = CIA.... :argh:

LW....
 
house phone bill is usually around $40, got the NBN put on and the first bill is over $90. :N: i hardly use the ******* of a thing.

gunna complain and if they wont lower the charges they can come and pick their **** up and shove it you know where!

finger up to Telstra.
 
numpty said:
house phone bill is usually around $40, got the NBN put on and the first bill is over $90. :N: i hardly use the ******* of a thing.

gunna complain and if they wont lower the charges they can come and pick their ***** up and shove it you know where!

finger up to Telstra.

This reminds me of the infrastructure charge we got recently from the water authorities, yet we hadnt even had a standpipe or connection installed.

Telcos have made it an artform to charge for services not recieved or underutilised.
 
Jaros said:
Do you still use a house phone, do you run your mobile wirelessly thru the NBN.

yes house landline, just normal phone calls no internet or mobile though it.

We use our mobiles via the wifi-no home phone- talk for hrs -using Aussie Broadband-they are great.
 

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