Getting Old

chrisk

chrisk

Hero member
Location
Brisbane, Australia
Today I played mobile phones.

I’ve tried forever to have the bill paid automatically monthly, without success 🙄

Had to pay my mobile phone bill, called the provider outside their agents store.

Once the stupid wait music stopped I put my phone on speaker and walked into the store. I’m explaining to the clot on the other end, who seemingly spoke only pidgion English, that I wanted to pay the bill over the phone because the agents app didn’t work, nor theirs.

Staff looking at me, and the customers in store that were listening to my raised voice, I was quickly ushered off to a bloke at a computer.

He overheard the conversation which was to the point that the provider could process the payment because the card I wanted to use wasn’t on their system. “For fucks sake, update your system with this card then!”

The guy at the computer asked me to hang up. Took my card, entered the details into his computer, paid my bill and set up the automatic payment from the new card. He then fixed up their app on my phone, the providers app on my phone.

😡 Considering this has taken months to arrange, it seems the loudest squeaky wheel gets oiled first.
 
chrisk said:
Today I played mobile phones.

I’ve tried forever to have the bill paid automatically monthly, without success 🙄

Had to pay my mobile phone bill, called the provider outside their agents store.

Once the stupid wait music stopped I put my phone on speaker and walked into the store. I’m explaining to the clot on the other end, who seemingly spoke only pidgion English, that I wanted to pay the bill over the phone because the agents app didn’t work, nor theirs.

Staff looking at me, and the customers in store that were listening to my raised voice, I was quickly ushered off to a bloke at a computer.

He overheard the conversation which was to the point that the provider could process the payment because the card I wanted to use wasn’t on their system. “For fucks sake, update your system with this card then!”

The guy at the computer asked me to hang up. Took my card, entered the details into his computer, paid my bill and set up the automatic payment from the new card. He then fixed up their app on my phone, the providers app on my phone.

😡 Considering this has taken months to arrange, it seems the loudest squeaky wheel gets oiled first.
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Incredible isn’t it, why make it hard to pay the bill? When I was in business for myself I’d walk water to get paid.
“Can I pay by cheque?”
“Of course”
“Can I use your pen?”
“Absolutely, you can keep it. Would you like me to write it out for you? Don’t bother putting your address on the back, I know where you live and if this bounces all over town I’ll be back to rip your switchboard out”
“Actually I might have enough cash if you prefer”
“Sure”
 
My Dad passed away in 2005 at the age of 88, he never had a credit card or cheque account; he always paid his bills with cash. After he became increasingly frustrated with people who refused to take cash, my older brother arranged auto-pay from Dad's only bank account.
Who remembers paydays when you lined up to get paid, and it was always cash, or travelling the world with no credit card, only cash?
Life would be very difficult these days without a credit card or a mobile.
 
I tried to pay for some stuff last week with a “newer” design $50 note. It’s a design that was brought out in 2018. Shopkeeper wouldn’t accept it as he didn’t recognise the seven year old note. Happily took one of the older designed notes from me.
 
I rarely use cash these days. Nobody wanted to handle cash during the Covid pandemic, and I got used to paying for everything by contact-free methods, either with my phone or credit card. It now seems to have become the normal way to do things.

I remember the days when I used to write cheques to pay bills by snail mail. Seems a lifetime ago.


Thinking of writing cheques reminds me of a time when I rode into Canberra my Honda 750 many years ago (early 70's before there were such things as credit cards in Australia). I was heading back home to Tasmania after a road trip to North Queensland. I hadn't planned on stopping in Canberra. I just wanted to fill up with fuel and keep going. I had almost no cash on me but I had a cheque book so I wasn't anticipating any problems. I rolled into a service station, but the bloke wouldn't accept payment by personal cheque. I tried another servo but it was the same story.

By that time the fuel level in the tank was well into reserve so I didn't have enough fuel to go looking for other service stations or a shop that would cash a cheque. I needed what little fuel I had left to get to a bank to get some cash. But was a Saturday so banks were closed, and the following Monday was a public holiday. I didn't know anybody in Canberra who could help, so I'd have to hang around for 3 nights until the bloody banks opened on the Tuesday.

Luckily I found a concrete bridge across a creek only a few km along the road. I could get off the road and park my bike under the bridge. The river bank was wide enough under the bridge to set up camp. I didn't bother pitching the tent because the bridge offered pretty good shelter, and I was out of sight so wouldn't be bothered by anybody objecting to me camping there. There was a pile of nice dry branches that had washed down the creek during a previous flood and got caught up on the bridge abutments, so I had a handy supply of firewood (it was in the middle of a drought so I wasn't worried about another flood coming through). I only lit a small cooking fire at night so the smoke wouldn't attract attention. The creek water was clean and fresh, but the only food I had among my camping supplies was a bit of rice, some instant coffee and a tin of sardines. So I lived on rice with sardines and black coffee for 3 days.
 
Been caught by either a power outage or internet down, so I always carry some cash. We are all just one power outage from returning to the Stone Age, so better keep checking out those bridge abutments for future use.
 
Dellortoman said:
... but the only food I had among my camping supplies was a bit of rice, some instant coffee and a tin of sardines. So I lived on rice with sardines and black coffee for 3 days.
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Lookshery! When my mate and I got stuck on the coast near Proserpine with no dough on an easter weekend, he sold his 5 pound note (no idea why he had it! This was 1973 and we went decimal in 1966 ...) for $5 - we bought fishing line, tackle and a paddle pop each - thought we could feed ourselves on fresh fish! Caught nothing - only ate the coconuts he scaled these huge 10-15m palms to harvest! By Tuesday we were fukn starving.
 
As for phones ........ I use a pay as you go through Vodafone ......... As long as you have enough credit in your phone , they take £10 every month , which gives you unlimited calls , data , and texts for the next 28 days ....... they will message to remind you to check your balance a couple of days before it`s due ....... then take the amount automatically ....... which works well ........ phones are your lifeline nowadays .

As for cash only ...... I often wonder how Big Issue sellers get on nowadays ......... The Big Issue is a registered publication sold by homeless / migrant / down on their luck types ......... they usually stand outside stores or supermarkets , relying on a quid or two in return for a copy of the paper ........ but with most people being cashless these days , it must be a pretty disheartening business ......... unless they actually accept card payment now , but I haven`t seen any sign of that so far ...........
 
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cash is still king where tradesmen labour are concerned, I have just completed some work on the house and paid cash for all labour, materials were bought for cash as well or on my card, sometimes by me or my son but more often the tradesmen. But it didnt work when I bought my new caravan three years ago, the retailer would only accept cash for £2,500 (the deposit) and not the remaining £21,500. the reason being given was "money laundering" the same when I bought my Merc decades ago for £14,000. so I paid the deposit and the caravan was ready to collect 10 days later, I had the invoice with the dealers bank details, so went into the bank and asked to pay the bill, with the cash I was holding, "sorry we cant accept that due to money laundering rules" but this is a bank I said, a money shop, where money is traded in and out, I am not asking you for 2 kilos of spuds, its money, no dice, I can justify the money if I have to, £8000 of it was my project Corsa sold a month earlier and another £8000 was a painting sold, still no dice, so OK..... how do I solve this, she told me that I can pay the money into my account and then pay the bill from it, all very acceptable, but why do I have to reveal what I am doing with my legitimate gains? when I prefer to deal with cash in and cash out, no one knows, know one asks, it didnt use to be illegal, and its not now? just "not allowed"
CLEM
 
The rule here is that $10,000 and under is okay in cash; any more requires forms declaring who, what, and where. It's to trace large cash movements usually associated with crime. Or at least that's what's supposed to happen. Up intill the shit hit the fan and a Royal Comision, I forget what one it was optional. BTW after one or 2 cash experiences in the building game, its a giant pain in the arse. The only thing the corupt Cops discovered in various Royal Comisions could do with there Cash was expensive Chinese meals and Pissing it up against the wall. Cash is what ended up catching them out.
 
After a recent cyclone we were without power for days but the internet went down for almost a week. Cash was absolutely essential that week. I live out the back of BFN and we are used to outages but this event in Spain shows me it can happen anywhere. We as a society are so dependent on electronic transactions now.
 
A while back, I was in Port Stevens, north of Newcastle, when there was an earthquake. They shut the only Bridge access till they were sure it was ok. Power was out, mobiles were out and couldn't be charged, and this was before the internet; the only way I could get any info was local ABC radio in my car. The same happens with Bushfires. It doesn't take much to knock the modern world right on its arse.
 
CLEMTOG said:
cash is still king where tradesmen labour are concerned, I have just completed some work on the house and paid cash for all labour, materials were bought for cash as well or on my card, sometimes by me or my son but more often the tradesmen. But it didnt work when I bought my new caravan three years ago, the retailer would only accept cash for £2,500 (the deposit) and not the remaining £21,500. the reason being given was "money laundering" the same when I bought my Merc decades ago for £14,000. so I paid the deposit and the caravan was ready to collect 10 days later, I had the invoice with the dealers bank details, so went into the bank and asked to pay the bill, with the cash I was holding, "sorry we cant accept that due to money laundering rules" but this is a bank I said, a money shop, where money is traded in and out, I am not asking you for 2 kilos of spuds, its money, no dice, I can justify the money if I have to, £8000 of it was my project Corsa sold a month earlier and another £8000 was a painting sold, still no dice, so OK..... how do I solve this, she told me that I can pay the money into my account and then pay the bill from it, all very acceptable, but why do I have to reveal what I am doing with my legitimate gains? when I prefer to deal with cash in and cash out, no one knows, know one asks, it didnt use to be illegal, and its not now? just "not allowed"
CLEM
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Absolutely Clem, Cash is the best, it's all about control , when the bank only gives you less than 1% to keep your money there, it's not even worth it,
 
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