PoppetUK

Hi there,

I have done some searches already but haven't quite got all the information and thought this would be the best place to start asking questions.

We will hopefully move into rental over the next few days and have a bit of a shopping list / to do list. Please could you help answers these questions for us.

1) We are going to buy a large fridge / freezer. We understand that you need to plumb them in if you have a ice maker / water filter. If you've got one do your really use it? If you haven't got one built in do you wish you did have?

2) Phone companies / Broadband. How does home phone work here? Do you choose your company and work out the best deal? If so, who are the big players? I know about Optus and Telstra but guess there are more out there. On the back of that has anyone got Foxtel through telstra. Is there anything to watch out for with this like locking you into long contracts. Broadband. Who are the main players and again is it generally better to go with the same company as your phone?

3) Foxtel. Whats the best deal you got. Did you manage to avoid signing up for 24 months or is that just standard? Contracts here seem so long.

4) Mobiles. Mine field with all the different plans but again would you try and do a deal with your home phone etc.

5) Can you choose your suppliers for utilities if so who are the big ones?

Any helps with theses questions would be appreciated.

Regards

Julie

Mrs Jackaroo

Hi Julie

Welcome to Australia

1 - cant help you with that one sorry!

2 - when you get into your house there will probably already be a phone there and the phone will be active........although it wont have a number yet! You just need to decide which company you want to go with and phone them up to register your account......they'll then give you a number. The most obvious one is Telstra but like you say there are plenty of others out there. We just went with them because there are so many other things to think about that it was the last thing on my mind to be honest.

3 - we signed up for 24 months contract unfortunately. we went for the platinum initially because that gave us the first month free plus we could downgrade after the first month (which is what we did!)

4 - i wouldnt bother with the deal with the home phone to be honest - that would mean you'd be tied into both and a couple of months down the line you might want to change. there are some great payg deals out there - much better than in the UK. I went with vodafone initally and with the $49 per month which is made up to $230 - this was ideal for me because i text a lot and was able to keep in touch with all my uk friends and family that way without being charged a fortune. You can pick up the sim cards in any shopping mall and usually theres free credit on it when you buy it

5 - yes you can choose your suppliers - works the same as with the phone. It'll all be on already when you arrive in the house - you just need to phone up to register an account. With most of the companies (phone, gas & elec) they will charge a set up fee which is then usually repaid if you pay via Direct Debit). We're with Integral - like the UK though there are loads of em about

Hope I've been of some help!

Take care and good luck

Rach xxxx

ridds

try the whirlpool broadband site to help choose the right package / supplier for broadband. i used it and found it very helpful and wouldn't do a package with the phone line provider until you have checked it out.

Vanessa

[QUOTE=PoppetUK;4665446]Hi there,

1) We are going to buy a large fridge / freezer. We understand that you need to plumb them in if you have a ice maker / water filter. If you've got one do your really use it? If you haven't got one built in do you wish you did have?


I don't have one here at the moment but I did in the UK. Most of them need plumbing in but not all. Mine did and yes I used it a lot of the time for water and ice.

hoofie2002

Yes, you need to plumb them in. It will probably come with a tap adapter but you may need to run a pipe and tap for it anyway. We got someone in to do it for 200 dollars [homeplumbing is not encouraged in Oz !]

And yes we REALLY use it - its great having cold water and ice whenever you want it, especially in summer needless to say.

steve_m

We have plumbed our fridge/freezer in and yes, we do use it a lot. I don't know if all are the same but ours had the option of connecting it to a water container that is placed on top of the fridge and just gravity feeds to the dispenser. Not particularly attractive but, if you're in a rental and can't get it plumbed in, it may be an option.