That's one reason I've kept my Australian cellphone account active (although the phone stays turned off) while I've been living in Canada. As soon as I land in Australia, my Australian phone goes back into service.

I've learned the hard way about international voice roaming charges (and international data roaming charges are even worse).

Hiya JamesB, welcome to the cellar. :waves:

Talking bout talking down bills (sorry for the hijack, Ali.)
My Mum had a call from AA car insurance because they tried to take money for the monthly car insurance payment and the bank declined it.

Mum sent a letter to the bank, the AA, the DVLA (driving licence people) and the garage all on the same day - the day after Dad's diagnosis of epilepsy, when he was told in no uncertain terms that he would not be able to drive.

Somehow, the letter didn't reach the AA. At least not before the bank.

So Mum was on the phone to them for the best part of 40 minutes.
She was told my Dad had a contract with them and he had breached the contract.
I could hear her getting more and more stressed and therefore more aggressive and less helpful, but it obviosuly wasn't a very sensitive approach to the problem from the get-go.

They're one of these companies with offices in different parts of the country. Like when Grandad went into care and TalkTalk refused to accept he was cancelling his contract. The man had about 3 months to live at that point, but he was supposed to call and cancel it himself. In the end a real rottweiler of a nurse at his care home took it on - how she could have been more forceful than Mum I don't know, but it was finally sorted. No refund of the payments made after the first letter requesting cancellation though.

Anyway. Mum was so upset about this AA business that in the end she made a Barclaycard payment. £172 or thereabouts, to cover the rest of the contract. RIDICULOUS sez I. No way. What if he was blind instead of having epilepsy? Or had had his legs blown off? It's wrong, wrong, wrong.

So I drafted a letter for her.
Posted this morning.
I gave them ten days to respond, as they gave Mum ten days to respond to their request for payment.
I'm happy to take this to Citizens Advice, to Age Concern, to the local papers and anyone who will listen.

Mum and Dad want to go to Cardiff to see the John Wilson Orchestra. They did before. Megabus tickets are under £5 return. E-tap hotel is £18 per room per night. Who knows how long they'll be able to do this sort of thing?

I'll fight and scratch and bite to get this money back for them.

Thanks for the welcome.

G'day James. What part of Oz do you come from?

Spoke to the phone company today. Negotiated the bill down to $600 which I thought was not a bad outcome.

Next time they'll just buy a local pre paid sim card for the phone when they get to NZ. No more hassles. :)

eta: It's amazing the pitfalls you can fall into just because you don't know about them, and assume you're doing the right thing.

If they have smart phones and there is plenty of free wifi then Skype is your friend ..

Sent by thought transference

We're gonna have to look into this stuff for lil' Pete's Big Adventure.

Actually originally from Brisbane ... raised in Nundah, then moved to North Chermside/Geebung while I was in high school, and finally bought a house in Brendale (between Albany Creek and Strathpine).

I sold up and immigrated to Newfoundland in 2008, and then relocated to Nova Scotia six months ago.

That's a better outcome than the original bill, but still not good.

When I bought a multi-band phone in 2000, specifically for use in Australia and North America, the Telstra sales rep assured me that the call allowance that was part of the high-dollar plan I took out would also be applied to cover international roaming charges. After 3 months in the US and Europe, I was not impressed to see that I had to pay for every single international roaming charge separately and was told that whatever I'd been told when I bought my phone was wrong.

Hi James!

I lived in Brisbane in ... thinks ... 2005, and worked in a place in Brendale.

You're probably tired of this question, but whyTF did you leave Brisbane for Newfoundland?

I married a Canadian that I kept encountering in the same online forums. She's also just joined The Cellar.

Got to admit I miss the weather back there ... Nothing in my life in Australia prepared me for the situation of needing a snow shovel to find the garbage can so you can put out the trash.

You and Ocean's Edge, huh? I guess we know which Ocean's Edge she's talking about.

I knew it was a woman! :lol:

Well, that makes it her job to keep you warm. :) If she had moved here, it'd be your job to keep her appropriately coated with sunscreen. :D

Griff, over here we have mobile phone packages that can be tied to a single number (ie free calls home) and/ or set with a strict budget every month.

I was also interested to note a type of gift card available in my local supermarket. Two cards; one the kiddo takes away with her, one the parents retain to load up with money. Can only be used at said chain of supermarkets. A way of making sure the precious one gets to eat and use toilet paper and feminine hygeine products. They also sell booze too, but I get that's not a problem with the age of consent laws in the US. And probably not a problem for anyone not like me.

Yep, he's let the cat out of the bag now .... probably no stuffing it back in

http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ocean...419940_600.jpg

I'm standing at ground level - garage is just to my left....

Wasn't even like he got to eaaaaaaaaase into it, he arrived in Canada on Feb 24th, on the 26th we had the biggest snowfall of that year, got my car hung up on a berm in the driveway and he was trying to push me out wearing his Australian winter coat and... I had to go make him put oven mitts on.

Welcome to Canada love!

Next few days we had another big blow - I introduced him to the Snow Goose I'd bought for him.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n..._3367446_n.jpg

There's no bad weather - only the wrong clothing. He's since learned to more or less trust my suggestions regarding personal protection from the elements (although I still can't convince him to wear one of those flappy eared caps - do those have a name???)

It did seem odd to obtain two erudite new Dwellars in such a short space of time.
Flappy eared caps, maybe?

Reminds me of a League of Gentlemen line, "My wife has a fanny like a bear-trapper's hat." Meaning I presume that she had big hairy flaps. That was in their live show and I laughed so hard I really, nearly fell off my chair. Poor Nick, next to me, must have missed at least the next few minutes I was so overcome with the giggles.

Oh, well done at snagging such a spunk, Ocean.