Once again Telstra left us without phones 30th May 2013 - Ongoing

I get a barely audible call from my husband last night at 7.30pm, advising me that the landlines aren't working (He was calling from his mobile)

I asked him to pull all the phones (3) from the phone jacks, he said it could wait until I got home. I got home at 10.30[m and was too tired by then. Phones weren';t working at midnight - I know that for a fact.

Phones still weren't working at 6.30am in the morning. Didn't have time to pull the phones, so thought I would wait until I get home.

Halfway through the day, I realise I can check to see if a there a fault, via a Telstra automated service without having to pull the phones from the walls.

I do the check and sure enough 'There is a problem at the exchange and we should have it fixed by 7pm'

I hang up, as my mobile was ringing and I figured it's only a machine

I call back and was pushed through to the automated service again, this time the message said 'There is an unidentified fault and it will be fixed as soon as we can'

(These two calls were only 5 minutes apart)

I hang on the line and speak to an operator (overseas of course) I explain the problem, asking for a diversion to my OTHER landline (THAT I PAY FOR BECAUSE OF THESE PROBLEMS) and she refused, would ONLY divert to a mobile! HUH? I've been diverting from one line to the other every time there is a fault and they have never refused to do it previously. She also advised that service would be rectified by the 3th June 2013

She was reading from some scripted lines and refusing to divert. I asked for the call identification number, advising the person on the other end of the phone that I would be informing the TIO. She didn't seem to care.

I placed an immediate fault report and non-assistance complaint with the TIO - It's not good enough that people can't call me and I can only call out once I am 10km away from home (mobile reception up here requires aerobics of the sort I can't do)

This all happened at about 12pm. I had been inc contact with the social media team on Twitter, who just told me to call the number I called, but as soon as I mentioned the unwillingness to help went to ground, even when I called them out on that - they refused to show their heads (probably for fear of having it knocked off)

I get home at 6pm and find that the phone is working - I recall the TIO complaint, they can't do anything now and I won't hear anything from Telstra - so here is the proof of what went on.

Telstra if you are reading this - the TIO complaint number 2013/05/18123 I noted the Telstra complaint number at work and it didn't carry across through on the TIO paperwork.

You know where to find me - you have all read this blog before. so call me - I have nothing to hide.

**PS - I never did disconnect the phones from the sockets, so the problem wasn't at my end (again)

Read previous history, over the last 15years :(  Telstra - History

No Telephones again Telstra, 22nd March 2013

Once again Telstra have excelled at the (non) excellence of providing a service I pay them to do………….

Thankfully I PAY (from my own pocket) for a secondary line into my premises, but no compensation for me to do that is there? Yet it's their cruddy service that forces me to do so.

My husband is currently using a chainsaw, ALONE…… Imagine if he had an accident? We don’t have very good mobile phone coverage up - so who do I call? (IF I can call)

See my problem?

 Telstra - enough is enough - the TIO will be hearing from me on Monday…….

 Your lose, your problem, you had better just hope no-one I know and care about suffers any sort of accident/illness/injury and I can't get help - because GOD HELP YOU - I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR IT THEN

 

Tonights text message

A reminder from Telstra: Our commitment to repair 0397** **** is by 26/03/2013 19:00.

Reckon it will happen OR will I get ANOTHER text message, advising of a further delay like last time?

See other incidents here

Telstra - the most recent incident was 27th February 2013

Phone services restored on the 26th March 2013.................. Until Next Time

No Telephones again Telstra, 21st Feburary 2013

(And my neighbour had his Gall bladder removed on Thursday)

Some might say this is irrelevant - Sorry it is - original diagnosis was a heart attack - he's 74 years old. A phone was needed that night………… see where this is going.

 I have checked some of the houses on the street, there are 11 houses on this street, 1 doesn’t possess a landline, 2 don't have working landlines, 1 I can’t check as they are not home and the other 2 I checked do have working lands. - so of the 5 houses I've checked, 2 don’t have working landlines, since AT LEAST the 21st February 2013.

The Telstra technicians have been crawling up and down the street (I know the name of technician BTW) Pits have pulled out and re-assembled, still no solution.

When I initially phoned in the non-working line (from my OTHER landline) that IS WORKING (that I pay for) I was told the problem is in the exchange, when the technician calls, he tells me it's MY fault and I will owe Telstra $120.00 for a call out fee.

Soon after I received a message (dated the 21.02.13) advising that services will be re-instated on the 25th February before 7pm……….. at 5pm on the 25th February, I receive a message, advising that my landline service will now NOT be restored until the 8th March 2013.

THAT'S 15 days WITHOUT A phone……….. (Lucky I pay for a separate line) so I haven’t lost phones completely. Mobiles don’t work very well up here. You certainly can't have a conversation.

My biggest concern at this time of year, besides health issues (as per opening paragraph) is bushfires, on the Monday the 18th February 2013, we were under DIRECT THREAT and 5km away from me was under a possible evacuation order, for fire to impact at 4am in the morning.

Besides that we have an arsonist in the area, who has lit numerous fires, and then there were lightning strikes last week, just over the other side of the hill.

I pay for a service that has not been functioning properly for a LONG time. Here is some memorable outages on the last 15 years http://itaintalwaysmylife.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/telstra-you-had-better-hope-no-one-dies.html

 So once again - god help Telstra if anything happens to the people I know and love because they have not been able to call out or I have not been able to call them in case of emergency.

 Services restored as at 27th Feburary, no notification from Telstra as at 5.11pm that service has been restored.

My Favourite Photos of the Week in 2013

Taken by me for your enjoyment!

Sheep as seen through a burnt tree, Photo taken near Giffard in Victoria. Photo taken on the 4th July 2012

 

 

A hard headed duck in the local lake, taken early in the morning. Look at the reflections! Photo taken on the 5th July 2012

Panorama - Sunset at Loch sport, Victoria. Photo taken on the 3rd July 2012

Willy Wag Tail being cheeky! Photo taken on the 20th July 2012.

Please do NOT copy any of the photos on this blog - if you would like to use any photos, please leave a comment with contact details, Photos will be supplied without watermark and at full size. All comments are moderated and photo requests won't be shown to the public. Thank-you

Please note that no photo has been photo-shopped or altered in anyway on this blog, cropped yes, photo-shopped/altered NO!

Enjoy all of natures beauty!

Flying Fezzes, ……………… I’ve fried my HD

I’ve always been a supporter of back-ups, I’ve always been a supporter of duplicate data, I've always been a supporter of back-up of a back-up. Hell anything to keep data and data integrity.

November 27th 2009, I finally moved away from CD’s for storage of my precious photos, so not only did I have a copy on my HD, I also used to have a copy on CD. November saw me take a step up in to world, with an external HD, which was meant to store my photos, my back-ups for my PC. All the stuff I didn’t want to lose.

I’d also merged all the data and then copied this and sent the data off site for safe-keeping.

I’m patting myself on the back as we speak. My external HD failed last night and it isn’t even 12 months old. It’s gone, won’t register on my PC, The PC says it’s disabled the hardware, because it’s faulty. That’s all very bad news.

Thankfully I had the copies, My heart didn’t even reach my mouth, simply because I know I was prepared and that saved me the heart-ache of racing to find a computer technician who could save this data for me.

I followed my own advice for once (come on, admit it, you don’t always!)

I’ve previously posted about the backing up data, about having this data stored off-site, about making sure you don’t lose those precious family photos. I;m so glad I followed my own advice, this once!

Here are some prior posts about what you should do:-
Duplicated Files
Back Up, Did I say Back-Up?
How safe is the data in your safe?

So get off your butt and do it now, no heart-ache, no worries, be completely at ease.

If this seems like too much trouble, there are online back-up services available also, that require little effort on your behalf – so that is something else to consider.

Here is one that comes recommended by friends - Carbonite AU

So choose your poison and do it NOW – don’t delay – don’t think tomorrow, tomorrow maybe the day your computer decides to shit itself!

Marge the rains are ‘ere

November 2009

(A delayed posting - but what the heck? - Still Funny - even now!)

Cup Weekend in Melbourne saw the ritual mowing of the firebreaks begin – well we hoped! We have had more rain than previous years and thus the grass actually grew, thus enabling us to mow it.

It was a comedy of errors/problems.

The push-me-pull me mower, wouldn’t start. Pulled the spark plugs, cleaned them, re-spaced them and it worked.

The ride-on mower – had to jump start it, as it wouldn’t crank over. Should have been easy, alas was not meant to be. The smell of petrol was over-riding, a quick check under the bonnet revealed a split fuel hose. Shouldn’t be a problem, except services stations no longer service anything, they only supply fuel, nothing else. A 60km round trip and we have acquired a new fuel hose. Fuel hose fitted, jumper leads fitted, mower started, but intermittently stalling. Persistence pays off, the carbon is blown out – the mower works. Until, half-way round the front yard and the magnets that hold the deck up failed, due to the low power in the battery, thus causing the mower deck to cut out. No amount of persuading would make it work. Of course it is Sunday and a new battery is not so easily acquired! Ride-on left in front yard as dead as a dodo!

We move onto the tractor, so we can slash the paddocks, once again the battery is flat, tow it out of the shed, hook up the jumper leads. So should be an easy fix, or so we thought. It’s been that long we forgot which levers need to be in which positions to get the bloody thing to turn over!

Finally after 10 minutes the engine is turning over. Yippee. The front fire break is cut, now the property boundaries to be done. The heavy clover clogs up the deck and the tractor is stalled. Car bought over to the tractor, tractor jump started again, and the merry-go-round starts!

Stall, jump leads, start, Stall, jump leads, start, in the end we leave the bloody thing in the paddock like some monolithic giant!

The ride-on and tractor remain in the paddocks until Monday morning. New batteries acquired, only ½ the job done.

BUGGER – now the other 10 acres needs to be cut. Could be fun next weekend (Not!)