chiefster1976

This is an thread making people aware and help against rip offs and not just a rant at the Australian way of life, .its a forum and i dont want other people getting ripped off...
I have been here in Brisbane australia no for 6 months and loving the weather and general lifestyle so far.
But All the hype about Oz being cheaper to live than England is b*****ks.
True , fuel is cheaper and houses are relative in comparison in price but you get a WHOLE lot more space in a house than you would back home( unless you live close to a CBD of course.)

the two biggest moans i have here is the vehicles and the mobile phone costs..

1. Vehicle...

A. Fuel is cheaper and great news for migrants moving here.. But im sure alot of you know that the price of second hand cars is alot higher than the u.k..
Some may say its because the weather is better and they last longer..partly true yes, but we DO actually get alot of rain here in queensland in the tropical climate(storms etc) and the cars are STILL running alot more mileage as it is a larger country..

B. REGO/ (uk Road tax) $500 a year approx for a 4 cyl 2.2 subaru liberty 1992.. Pretty much as expensive if not more than the road tax back home...

C. Transfer of vehicle to new owner... Cost in the u,k when i left was free transfer using the DVLA...
In Australia... 2% of the sold vehicle cost gets charged to the new owner..
so on $10k car $200 is alot of money..
You CAN write on there car was only worth $5K but if you have a smash and the insurance find out you valued it at $5k , your going to loose out..

MOBILE PHONE CONTRACTS.. COST OF CONTRACTS VS GOOD SERVICE..MMM..

I was using a liberty vodaphone sim in the u.k. 30 day contract, 300 mins 300 texts anytime... £20 A MONTH....
mmm. im fuming with this one...
After having a vodafone prepay/pay as you go 30 day sim i was spending average $60 a month which was steep i thought here in OZ...So i thought i would be better off with a contract phone..
Most contracts here are for 2 years which is the first rip off..
I managed to find a 12 months contract with Crazy johns
.
$29 cap gets around $150 worth of credit for texts or minutes..PLUS another $150 free calls and texts to other crazy johns customers( who most of my calls are to a crazy johns user.)

My first bill!!!! FOR 180 mins and 189 texts = $131
As i was shocked and mad i rang the company to complain and was told that you pay $80c a minute plus a $30c connection charge and thats in your first minute. texts are $30c and $35c to the u.k...
Although i do text to the u.k its not that much..
After getting this bill , i UPGRADED to the $49 cap a month which is supposed to give me double the call credit amount around $300 worth and another $150-200 to crazy johns customers..:

I have just received my second bill..
$125.. which i cannot affors to pay every month.. with 200mins and 200 texts compared to 300 of each back home for £20 a month is CRAZY!!
I am the type of person who doesnt mind paying that bit extra for a good service but i HATE BEING RIPPED OFF.

The system is one designed not to be clear for customers , give credit time in dollers instead of charging by minutes and texts..

As i am in a contract of 12 months im not sure wether to give the phone back and tell em to stick it!! but then will i get a BAD credit rating here??

IS THERE AN OMBUDSMAN OR CONSUMER COMPLAINTS HERE IN OZ?ANY IDEAS??????????????

I feel its my duty to take this further to others at the rip off mobile phone deals in oz because its EFFECTS US ALL WHO LIVE HERE!!..:curse::curse:

PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN CHOOSING YOUR CONTRACT.

RCoight

I believe Rego over here includes third party insurance which is not included in the UK equivalent so you are not really comparing like with like.

Your point about mobile phone bills implies that you did not properly read the terms, conditions and prices of your contract. If you story encourages just one other person to make sure they do then it will have been worthwhile.

Personally I'm staggered that you'd sign up to a 24 month contract without having read the small print but maybe that's just me!

I don't think you are being ripped off necessarily. I just think you need to acknowledge that Australia is not the UK.

Safin

Totally agree with most of your points but would add,

rego includes 3rd party insurance not just road tax. Extra ins I have found cheaper than the uk though

Phones/mobiles/internet are all very expensive (especially out of main cities where there are fewer choices too, with lots of people unable to get adsl so having to resort to even more expensive wireless). BUT an ombudsman won't help because if you had read the small print and worked out what it means you'd know what it will cost you. They dont lie - just muddy the waters so you don't realise unless you look carefully. There is one though and any telecommunications company should give you the details.

slipshot

When we arrived we went with Virgin Mobile, which uses the Optus network (my experience has shown to be one of the best over here) but at cheaper prices. The other good thing is that on Virgin mobile you can text and call each other for free, and this is on PAYG. Given Mrs Slip and I will be the ones calling each other the most, it makes perfect sense...

It is expensive as we found out when we saw that you are paying another 35c to sent a text to the UK if you go over the single text limit by one character (so we are far more careful now) but you can help make it cheaper by using your own handsets and getting a double deal.

In regards internet it is more expensive, but I'm also using a Voice over IP router that allows calls to the UK at normal quality for about 3 cents a minute. Some packages allow this for free... so use the net to your advantage....

chiefster1976

Rego includes third party yes. but isnt that just a cover for a third party person being injured and NOT the car?? maybe im wrong.
IMHO i think people should be MADE to pay basic insurance cover to insure the CAR and not just a person.. there are plenty of idiots out there with no insurance and driving around on just basic rego CTP..crazy, IMHO of course..but maybe thats just me..

I signed up to a 12 month not 24 month.. i am aware you dont have choice but to pay and i compared contracts. its just a rip off im making people aware of..
I am well aware WE are in Australia yes and not the u.k as i said im my post in the beginning its not a jibe at oz its a valid case of being ripped off by mobile phone companies in general. NO ONE likes getting ripped off..
If mobile phones companies are still making profits in the u,k for what i was getting on my last deal in the u.k then the companies are certainly cashing in here..

ozzieeagle

Your right about mobile costs, they are extraordinarily high.

AFAIK, this is the best value provider at present..

TPG no contract, uses the Optus network, so not as good as telstra in the bush... but still cheap.

39 bucks for 550 bucks worth of calls @

http://www.tpg.com.au/mobile/plans.html

Or you can go high tech, and use voip, on a mobile connected to the Internet such as 3's 6 gig plan @ 39 dollars per month, then the Voip providers charge, typically around 10 bucks extra per month....for all the calls you want anywhere you want..... including mobile... you shouldnt pay any more than 18 bucks per month for a fully comprehensive voip service...

I'd be finding out about a fully owned, internet connected phone, with a cheap virgin sim in it for receiving calls... plus the voip as above....Got to admit this second option is pretty complicated. Plus to get the best value you do need to own the phone.

Voip on mobiles is coming through pretty fast now, so phone charges will plummet eventually.

johnnyx0

Best value mobile phone company I've found is "JUST" which used to be called AAPT. They do pay as you go sim cards and charge 37 cents per minute to any number - even overseas - and no flagfall.
The sim cards can be hard to find, but can be bought over the net.

kporte

don't know about phones as I have a work mobile but as to 2nd hand cars, yes they are exxy to buy but we bought a car for 7k ran it for 14 months and then sold it for $6700. not really too bad