Think Outside The Piggy Bank

another reason to hate Bell Canada

Has it really been ten days since I last posted? Hmmm, whom or what can I blame? The heat? Nope. Myself? Probably. Bell Canada? Yes, why not!

And what is my latest reason for hating Bell Canada you may be asking? Well, they're making me pay for long-distance phone calls I didn't make. Yep, indeed. Here's the story. It's a longish one, so get yourself a drink.

Got my phone bill and noticed 15 long-distance phone calls that were made in the space of three days. Problem is that I didn't make any of the fifteen. In fact, I didn't make any long-distance calls for the entire billing period. So I get on my Bell Canada operated phone to enquire/complain, and of course encounter Emily. Now Emily and I don't get along too well in part because Emily isn't a person, but an automated voice recognition system. In other words, a computer and an annoying computer at that. Call me weird, but I don't really like the phone to begin with, and while I don't mind pressing numbers to indicate what I want, I resent having to speak out loud to someone who doesn't exist. Plus, when "she" keeps telling me, I'm sorry, I missed that, or I'm sorry, but I still didn't catch that, and You're trying to ____________. Is that right? I get testy real quick. When IT finally says, Let's try again. Tell me what I can help you with. You can say things like..., well, I end up saying things I'm sure she wasn't programmed to hear. Snort. 

This time I yelled CUSTOMER SERVICE REP! right away, and was put through to a real person. Who said, brpt brpt brpt brpt brpt brpt brpt brpt Angela brpt brpt brpt, to which I replied in my best Emily-like voice, I'm sorry, I can't understand your accent, could you please transfer me to someone else? Because you see, Big Corporation Bell Canada is so damn greedy, that in an effort to make itself more money, it has outsourced most of its call centre workforce to India. And while I actually feel bad for any employee Bell Canada is exploiting, when I'm agitated I don't want to have to struggle to make out what someone else is trying to say. Her response? Brpt brpt brpt not authorized to do so brpt brpt brpt. Well, I said, I guess the only thing I'm authorized to do is hang up. Which I did. 

So I called back and talked to someone I could understand a bit better, but not with better results. They tried to convince me I had somehow forgotten I'd made those calls. Kept telling me who some of the numbers belonged to as if that would prompt my memory. And parrot-like I kept repeating, I didn't make those calls, I didn't make those calls, I didn't make those calls. I finally told them to check my previous phone number and record (I had moved in June) to see how infrequently I called outside my local area. They then had the gall to tell me they already had. In other words, they could see this wasn't my usual calling pattern, but wanted me to pay anyway. Well, that pissed me off, and when I told them so, they finally agreed to give me a credit on my next bill.

The problem though is that they didn't try to figure out and fix what was going on. How can my phone line be registering calls that I don't make? And what about the next bill? What if this happens again? Their response? Oh, just call again and we'll send out a technician to troubleshoot because we can't have you calling every month. Um, no. And now that they know the situation, I certainly won't be paying for any more calls I don't make, credit or not. I have a pre-authorized payment system set up with them, but if I see any non-authorized calls, I'll cancel that so quick Emily won't know what hit her!

I'll keep you posted. Pass this on to other Bell Canada-hating Canucks! :)

hot, hot, hot!

   

Although I'm not really complaining because it's only THIS week that the heat and humidity has begun. The summer has been far harsher in other places, and given that September is only two weeks away (what a scary thought!), I'm certainly not going to bother installing the air conditioner now. I don't have to pay for hydro myself, but I imagine that people here in Ontario have saved themselves oodles of dollars the past couple of months by not having to run the air most of the time.

Now excuse me if you will while I soak my feet in cold water and um, take off a few things. :)

Twitter, tweet, and retweet, no thanks!

Just as I had no interest in joining Facebook, I do not intend to become a Twitterite (if that's even a term). I don't see the appeal, which I guess, is no surprise given that I don't text, instant message, YouTube, use a smart phone (maybe I'm too stupid?), or even have a simple cell phone. Yep, no cell phone. Call me an old fart (come on, you know you want to), but I hate the damn things. Sure, they're good for at home, emergencies and the odd occasional relay of important information when you're out in public, but do we have to be connected ALL the time? Can people not shop for groceries without being in consultation with a significant (or insignificant) other? Can one not use a bus without informing some faceless being at the other end the exact location two minutes before stepping off? Bah! I'm sick of it all. And when will social networking fatigue set in? I know, I know, I blog and Flickr, so in a way I'm being hypocritical here, but still.

As for the Twitter question "What are you doing?" I say, who cares? I don’t particularly want to "follow" or be "followed" (I'm not doing anything THAT interesting most of the time), and I bet I'm not the only one who feels "Enough already!"

And what, you may be asking, did that have to do with personal finance? Probably nothing, but it's my blog, so I can whine write about what I want, snort.

speaking of light...

Ha ha. Actually, I really AM in the dark most of the time. I abhor artificial light during the day, and even though I'll have a lamp on in the evening for certain tasks (like reading), I find that the cozy glow of the screen is all I need when I'm on the computer. Strange as I crave natural light most of the time (one can never have enough windows!) and get cranky without it, but seem to have little need to illuminate my place once the sun sets.

I almost bought a new lamp...

...but then I saw the light. Snort. 

Wait; let me back up. As you know, I have spent the last couple of months packing, moving, and unpacking again. A somewhat tedious process whereby you can't really eliminate any of those steps, but thankfully it IS kind of fun to arrange a new space. So I got my art on the walls and my bookcases filled, and all I really needed to add that I didn't already have was a floor lamp. After diligently looking online at various retail stores and at both Kijiji and Craigslist, I finally settled for this Canadian Tire baby, figuring that the reading light would be nice for behind my futon.

Called my brother to help me pick it up and we were on the way there, when fate intervened. I had helped him with an errand that had us on a different route than planned, when I suddenly remembered we would be passing a thrift store before hitting Canadian Tire. So we stopped in, and lo and behold a lamp presented itself that I thought had real possibility. Now the bulb in the reading light part of it didn't work, so we asked for a discount and I ended up paying the princely sum of $5. Not bad eh? I'll have to spend about another $5 for the special halogen bulb that I'll need, but that's still way lower than the $70 I was prepared to shell out.

Plus it's way cooler to pick up an old second-hand lamp (but with the faded original price sticker of $149.99 it wasn't exactly cheap when new) to fit in with all my other inherited, hand-me-down or thrift store/garage sale finds. I figured a brand new lamp might actually stick out like a sore thumb, or worse, be made fun of by my pre-existing (and probably bad-mannered) furniture. The only new things I do have in my cozy home is some of my art, and some of my books, so why not continue with the shabby-chic decor I have perfected for so so long? :)

p.s. will add pic of new/old lamp when I get the bulb!