Here we go Rant and Rave in May

Rant in May, Rave in May.

Here we go Ranting and Raving in May,

On a warm and sunny morning!

Yes! This bit is the rant!

Ref - I changed over my Internet and phone services into one package,

against my better judgment and gut feeling.

I get annoyed, (as we all do), when I am conned into doing something I don't want to do, against my better judgment, and then it turns out that I was right the first time!

The reason why I write my rants, (by the way), is that it is good therapy to get stuff out of your system. And, as it happens, it is also good to look back on my blog, (My Log- on the web, hence Web-log or Blog for short if you didn't already know). Looking back, reminds me and strengthens, (hopefully), my future resolve to.-

STICK TO MY GUNS AND DO WHAT I WANT TO DO!!

Yes, I'm shouting, sorry about that! (I'm shouting at myself here, not you)!

I must remember to go with my own decisions! What has made me kick-off, is two things really.
First my own lack of resolve and determination and second, people or companies who lie to you. I'm talking about utility companies. I've just had two bad experiences in this first quarter of 2011, perhaps by writing here, I could help others avoid my mistakes!

Being a creature of habit, I, (like most people as I understand it), don't like change. My Internet provider of many years, told me that I really should change to a newer tariff and in-fact, the tariff that I was on was actually no longer available. I was just one of their hangers-on.

They have been going on at me for years. Really, every month or so I get a call telling me that I need to up-grade, the savings I'll make and the speed benefits etc. Now, previously I had no limits on my downloading or uploading, a totally unlimited service separate of my telephone bill.

That's how I like things, un-integrated, uncomplicated, separate and simple. Even my mobile is a pay-as-you-go old brick of a Nok - and I love it. Especially when I can always get a signal when other more modern phones cannot. It has no camera, no-web surfing, no apps. Its just a phone!

Anyway, I digress. ..

I was assured that I could take-a-trial, then if the new service didn't work out for me, go back to how it used to be. Well, you can probably guess, that the service I found, was slower and more expensive, due to the fact that they added £10 onto the first months payment, because I went over the download limits! That's £39.99 + £15 for services that I already had for free on the old tariff and + £10 for exceeding my GB usage! Not amused!

I used to pay £20 a month for an unlimited service and although my phone bill was separate, it came to about £30 to £50 a month on average for my land-line. I used to save in a budget fashion, in a separate bank account for house-hold bills. With the quarterly phone bill being between £90 and £150 for the three month period.

I hate direct debits, I find that I cannot trust the companies to do as they say! Nor, trust the postal service that the companies blame when they are trying to shake responsibility for destroying your bank account!

Remember this- AndyGold. -

Always go with your own judgment and gut feeling. OK mate!

(You've probably guessed that I am my own best friend and adviser. (Except in this case)).

I should say at this point, that I believe that you are be in control of your own destiny and make your own luck. Controlling your own thoughts is the key to self-mastery, self-control and self responsibility. There's the crooks of it, RESPONSIBILITY!

So I am having to take full responsibility for my own actions, and I am having to pay the price of making those decisions. But, there are cases like this, when you shouldn't have to. I mean, like when people and companies lie to you!

I told the Internet company, that I wanted to go back to my old package!

True to form, I recorded the call, since I was uneasy with changing my Internet service. Here's the meat in the sandwich!

Internet Co. - That old package you were on doesn't exist anymore sir, surely you were told that when you changed?

AndyGold. - Yes, but 'she' also said that I could have a trial of the new combined service for up-to three months and change back at any-time!

Internet Co. - Yes, but that old package you were on doesn't exist anymore sir, surely you realised that you cannot go back to something that does not exist?

AndyGold. - But my friend and neighbour is still on the old package I was on.

Internet Co. - He can't be, because it doesn't exist anymore!

AndyGold. - But, that's what you've been telling me for the last few years too, although I was still on the old package till up to December!

Internet Co. - You are currently on the best package for your usage and pricing, there is no-better option.

AndyGold. - So, that's it then, you lied to me when you said I could go back to my old service if this new package didn't work out?

Internet Co. - We haven't lied to you, we would not tell you you could go back to a service that doesn't exist would we?

AndyGold. - Well you did, that's the only reason that I decided reluctantly to give it a try!

Internet Co. - Have you got the name of the person you spoke to?

AndyGold. - Not to hand, but I did make some notes, plus I recorded the call.

Internet Co. - We don't allow you to record our conversations, we should be made aware if we are being recorded and it is our company policy to not enter into call-conversations at this employee level. Are you recording this call now?

AndyGold. - Yes!

AndyGold. - But it's my call too! And I have a right to record my conversation for my own protection! I was actually just recording the call, because there were so many options that the sales person was going through, that I wanted to be able to clarify the services offered. I didn't start the recording till the person started going through all the details and I couldn't hardly get a word in edge-ways anyway.

Internet Co. - But did you tell them you were recording them!

AndyGold. - No!

Internet Co. - (The line went dead, not just hung up, cut off)!

I called on my mobile, finally getting my line back on an hour later. There was no explanation why my line was cut off except that it was an unusual fault, that can't be traced!

Later that day I got back to the company on the land-line. After I had to go through a similar conversation to that above all over again. They had no record or knowledge of that earlier conversation nor the person who I named from my own original recording when I was sold the service.

AndyGold. - Sandy Marshall.

Internet Co. - Who? We have no Sandy Marshall. (Would you have guessed it)? We don't give out last names here at XYZ Comms Company.

This is me, middle aged, switched on and in control of all my faculties fighting with these A-holes on the phone. I wonder; - What is it like for the older or more vulnerable, ill, person who cannot take all their crap!

I'm left fuming mad. To top that off, in December and January 2011, the company took £65 each time from my account, instead of the £39.99 that the combined service is supposed to cost. (i.e. no quarterly phone bill to save and pay for, and all inclusive of my monthly Internet cost)!

I did not know about the £65 amounts till two weeks into Feb 2011, when I received a statement from my bank as usual, and noticed the unusual amounts. I inquired, they said my previous phone service included caller-ID, a Ring-Back service, Paperless billing, a special call barring mode for mobiles and national and international calls and free evening national calls. However;-

All these services were also in the new package, but were charged for as extras! That's not what I was told. But I found out, the £65 was £39.99 for the package, plus £15 for those services I mentioned above, (and extra GB usage), although they are only one-off set-up fees, that they told me, that I was told about them in my welcome package. I never got a welcome package!

It was just a coincidence, that £65 was the amount including the one-off fees and extra GB usage, then £65 was also the amount in subsequent months, due to my exceeding the GB usage.

This just complicated the issue since the company did not spot this, and was the main reason I was confused about what I was paying for! I've worked out they still owe me £15 for one-off fees paid twice, but they won't return it! Its not about the cash amount for me, its the principle of the deceit!

ON THE PHONE.

AndyGold. - What welcome package, I have received nothing! - Besides which, we did the whole thing over the phone, and I was told that my new package would have all the same features! It did, but they neglected to say that I would have to pay for something I previously got for free!

Internet Co. - We will send out a new welcome package! End of Call.

I'd been signed up since 1st Dec 2010 for the new service to start on Dec 15th, when I paid up my last old-style account phone bill and it matched the Internet charging period of the 15th of the month! That first £65 came at the end of Dec 2010 and it was mid Feb 2011 when I realised that I had £65 bills instead of the expected £39.99, due to not receiving a bank statement in Jan.

Within seven days of my mid Feb call. I received a welcome package, AND ANOTHER BILL! But this was only the 22nd of Feb, they are not supposed to charge till the end of the month! I rang the company. They asked for a code on the front of the welcome pack.

Internet Co. - Ah, we welcome you as a new customer!

AndyGold. - But, I've been with you for years! What's this £65 for again?

Internet Co. - That is the set-up fees, for the services you requested.

AndyGold. - Yes but I understood that they were one off fees.

Internet Co. - Yes they are!

AndyGold. - So, why have you charged me £65 again this month?

Internet Co. - We haven't, this is your first bill.

AndyGold. - Arrrrrrrg! I've paid £65 twice in February one week apart!

Dec was my first month - I paid £65 but did not pay any attention to the bill, being busy over Xmas and the new year. The DD is set for the 30th but went out on the 2nd Jan. I did not get a bank statement on Jan 15th. On the phone I mentioned this; the phone Co said that that is what had probably happened to the original welcome pack. Lost in the Xmas post!

After about another 30 minutes of trying to get sense out of the person on the phone, it turns out that the last person I talked with previously had to re-start my account with a new application, in order for me to get a welcome pack, but did not tell me this!

Apparently, the first account I opened on Dec 1st was closed, and a new account opened in order to generate my welcome pack, (this came from another location elsewhere in the country).

That person did not realise that I had paid one-off fees and I would lose my one-off fees I already paid, (I didn't know about the one-off fees at that point, so I couldn't tell them about them either).

Now, I'm in a catch 22 situation, they cannot give me the money back for the one off fees that were charged, because I've had the services activated. Twice! I don't know how that works.

They did give me a credit of £39.99, for the first account and was going to hold onto the money I had already paid to cover that. - But immediately told me that I had again gone over my GiggerByte limit, and owed them another £65 anyway for the month and extra GB useage!

If I could swear on this blog, I'd fill the rest of the page with four letter words about this company! But, do you know what? ITS MY OWN FAULT!

I should have listened to my own advice and gone with my own gut feeling. That's why I blame myself! I have a few other 'sayings', that I believe in. Like:-

I AM ON MY OWN!

(No-one is coming to the rescue)! (and),

IF IT IS TO BE IT IS UP TO ME!

(I call this my TEN TWO LETTER WORDS to remember).

My message to you, (and my-self this month), Trust your own judgment!

You know that no-one is coming to your rescue, there is only you. Nothing will change in your life, (except that things will just get worse for you without your attention. You have to actively take part in things). The only one who will really come to your rescue is yourself.

You will realise that you should always depend upon your first choice and instinct, for that is how we work as humans. It is something to do with the power of the universe, (if you like). You must believe that there is some greater power than yourself at work, be it nature or God or whatever you do believe in. Know this, your gut feeling is part of that mysterious thing!

I never did get the Internet and phone issues sorted, we are now in May 2011. I upgraded the Internet and phone package again to allow to the extra BG usage, but the bill is now a regular £65 (plus) a month. That's about what I was paying if you consider the monthly £19.97 a month I used to be charged for unlimited Internet access; And a maximum quarterly bill of about £130 for the phone. 3 x £20 + £130 = £190 a quarter, Div by 3 months = £63 a month approx.

But, I could have done without all of that hassle! My own fault!

~~~~~~~~~~

Now, that second thing - and I don't even want to get started on it!

I am a winner, not a whiner! So, I sorted this and you can see the result in the post called:-

How_to_Work_Out_Your_Electric_Bill

http://andy-golds.blogspot.com/2011/05/howtoworkoutyourelectricbill.html

So, you can probably guess from that, what I went through, when yes... (I must have been going through a mid life crisis or something), I decided to 'CHANGE MY ELECTRICITY SUPPLIER'.

What a load of messing about and crap that was! - In brief; My old meter was actually faulty, confirmed by the technician who changed it out for a new digital meter. The day side times had become stuck - What I have been saying for the last year. But each time a tech guy visits, he trips the time to night and day OK.

The problem is, it trips OK manually, but won't go back to the night-time, low-tariff on its own!

The tech guy who changed it, seemed more expert than the usual types of tech guys the company had been sending. He even drew me a little diagram to show why the meter clock was not tripping back on its own. Manually, it was OK. He understood exactly what I said and agreed.

The Electricity Co. should have just swapped the meter out when I first reported it, since the type of meter I have was renowned for this issue past a certain life-span. I got into an argument with the company after the meter had been changed because they refused to acknowledge the engineers report that the meter is actually faulty.

All I have is a card from the engineer with the reading from the old and new meters and a note to say the old meter was changed due to the fault he discovered! What more can I do?

He actually said, you'd be lucky to even get one successful switch-over out of the meter after it had been manually tripped. I've been reporting this problem for over a year; where, when I'm up and about in the night, I check the meter is on the correct tariff. It never was!

It takes the tech guys about three weeks to come, if they don't cancel, or even just shove a note through your door like one did one time. I was sat on the stairs in the hall reading an Internet Marketing book, and someone walked up and pushed what I thought was a leaflet for Pizzas through the door. He did not knock! I had been in all day waiting for him, the wife had to walk the children to school, since they said they would call between 8 and 12 lunch. This was 1pm!

The note said - 'We called today, as arranged, YOU WERE OUT!" Its a very rude note in its-self, whoever thought that that is how to treat your customers needs a lesson or two. But, not to mention the guy did not knock. That was Autumn of 2010. A complaint I made went no-where.

I changed company, not for the lower price, but for a better service! I've got all the 'sorry you're leaving us' literature from the old company and even calls asking why I'd left and if I'd consider returning!

My claim is that for over a year I've been getting charged at the Economy7's day rate, which is more expensive than a standard tariff during the day due to the exceptionally low night-time electricity that only costs 4.580 pence per unit. The day rate is 21.960 for the first so many units (it changes from bill to bill), then 16.450 for the remaining units!

The only resolve I can think of, is to re-work out all the past years bills, at the standard rate. Although that is probably going to be unfair on me, since the night time electric is going to have cost me the same amount throughout the year!

The only logical and most fair resolution, is to keep the issue open for a whole year from when the meter was changed and to then keep a regular check on the readings and then apply them to the past bills. Then recalculate and reimburse me!

But, you know what will happen? I'll have spent money in time and hours on the phone at the 0845 rate, about 2 hours logged up to now! Then I will still find out that their bill is not going to be changed! All I can really do is, keep a check weekly on my meter readings. Then, I can avoid this happening again!

To this end, I searched for a spread sheet to show exactly what my bills were at any point, or so that I could even estimate the bill accurately. I was so surprised to not find any templates for this subject. There are plenty of people asking where they can find such a template, or asking for help in designing one for themselves.

I have the skill, (I think), -and I really believe that it only matters what I think! That's the real message behind this article anyway. To stick to my guns and have belief in myself. I should have been more assertive when I first notice the erratic behavior of the electricity meter!

I should have kicked-off big style and demanded that the meter be changed! Now I have all this trouble to thank myself for! Again, - at the end of the day, ITS MY OWN FAULT!

AndyGold.

© AndyGold 2011