iDiet

[a weight loss story]

kathrynoh at nemesis dot com dot au

::29.3.07::

Blahs

I'm feeling pretty down and sorry for myself today. My leg and hip are feeling worse to the point where I'm starting to wonder if I'll be able to run on Sunday. At the moment, I'm resting it lots. I'm not sure if ice will help or if it's too late for that but I've been using Norofen gel. The trouble with Nurofen gel is that you feel a bit better when you use it but then about 12-18 hours later you feel A LOT better so you start to think the problem is getting fixed, but it's just the gel.

The shittiest thing is that I can't go to the doctor because I have no money. Well I could go to the doctor but they'd just refer me to the physio or whoever and that costs $$$. And, after all that, they'd probably just tell me to rest it anyway.

On top of that, I've got this huge bill I have to pay. Last year my mobile stopped working - it just wouldn't charge. Around that time, my sister got a new phone even though her old one still had about 12 months of it's contract to go. Since her old phone was in Mum's name I thought I'd do the right thing and just use that to save Mum having to pay off the contract.

I swear at the time they said it was on a capped plan. But instead it is on the world's most expensive mobile phone plan ever. I had a few huge bills last year - I'm talking over $100 for the month - even though I rarely use the phone. I'd probably made about one short (5 minutes tops) call every couple of days.

I told Mum to ring Telstra and find out what was going on. I tried ringing them and they wouldn't discuss it with me because the phone isn't in my name. Meanwhile Mum did nothing about it. She seemed to think the bills were quite normal!!!

After that, I stopped using the phone except in emergencies. The bills were still high but a bit better. Now the contract is run out and I've been meaning to get it changed over to prepaid. I'd really like to get rid of it altogether but we don't have a landline here because the phone has never been connected so I need to have a mobile while I'm looking for work.

So this month's bill came in and it's $170. Yep, for one measly month. The only call I remember making was to Mum to return a call she'd made to me and she wouldn't stop talking and get off the bloody phone.

I have no idea where I'm going to get $170 from. A couple of weeks ago, I felt positive I'd have a job by the end of the month but now everything seems to have fizzled off and there is nothing promising at all. I'm so angry about this phone bill and really don't want to pay it. I wish I'd just gone out and got a new phone in the first place. I used to have a prepaid phone with Three and I'd get $50 of credit every 3-4 months and that worked fine. Every time I think about this bill I just want to punch something. What a waste of money. If I wanted to spend $170 on something nonessential I could have bought clothes or running shoes or something good!

# 9 comments * Post a Comment

Well that sucks. The phone bill does sound high - I am on a plan (not capped) and I hardly spend more than about $40 per month, but then I hardly ever use my phone

By Ruune, at 4:18 pm

Yes that does certainly suck big time!! Mobile phones are just a thorn in our side :(

I really hope you will be ok to run on Sunday. Can you try a ice bath for the hip and see if that works, I am grasping at straws here trying to figure out what you can do.

Believe me when I say, we have been severely broke at times and it is not easy trying to live when the pennies are sparse. I really hope you get the job of your dreams soon or any damn job for that matter. Chin up Kathryn, I am sure things will get better :)

By Anonymous, at 5:41 pm

Get your Mum's password and ring Telstra and pretend to be her- then negotiate with them because they charged me another $15 every time my bill was overdue. I hope you find $50 in the pocket of a coat you haven't worn since winter- no make it $100.
Rest up and I hope you are okay for Sunday. Have you tried www.runnersrescue.com (I think that is it)

By MorseyRuns, at 5:45 pm

Oh No! Three seriously rotten things at once!!! Try and ring Telstra, when I had a mental phone bill they were quite nice about helping me with it (& even gave me a bit off).
No advice on the running as i am NO GURU but rest and stretch and keep up with the nurofen.
Boo to those jerks who didn't hire you! Fingers crossed for something else really soon.
I really enjoyed lunch yesterday BTW.
Take care

By LBTEPA, at 6:37 pm

Kathryn, we have had some huge mobile phone bills in recent years too, not from ours but from the kids. One of the kids went really stupid with SMSs a couple of months and we had bills $500+ - the Telco's have got a lot to answer for with some of their plans. I really hope the injuries get better - hopefully a couple of days rest will see them right for Sunday.

By Andrew(ajh), at 7:41 pm

That sounds like you are being ripped off, how can the bill be so friggin high when you havn't used the thing? I'd be asking questions mate.

By Chris H, at 8:05 pm

Kathryn
You need to find out if you have other parties somehow tapping into the phone account. Telstra should be able to tell if your number is being used by other people. This DOES happen, it has just happened to my mum. She had 2 other parties using all her pre-paid credit every month. She too wondered what the hell was going on as she rarely used the phone . She was given a phone number to call to de-activate the access these people had to her number.
Claire :)

By Anonymous, at 10:49 pm

I would agree with morseyruns - get your Mum's details or go over to her house (if she lives closeby that is) and get her to give you permission for 3rd party access - then negotiate. Get a copy of the bill and ask how they can justify the charges - and actually make sure they haven't made an error. Then walk into Virgin and get a cap - if you take your own phone like me, the cap is $240 for $40 a month I think.

I know it seems like a lot of faffing about but you might as well do something with the fire in ya belly!

I came back from the Uk years ago and left a boyfriend there. Telstra USED TO charge the same whether you called a mobile or a landline in the UK, and my mother was on one of those plans, $5 for an hour or something. So my mother has a 3 month billing cycle, and at the end of the three months I had $300 put away for the bill - $5 a night, 5 nights a week, 12 weeks.

We got the bill.

It was...$1,980.

Telstra - completely within their rights, completely stated in the T&C's - had decided to change the rate on their calls to mobiles. They didn't have to even notify their cust. It was all in the contract.

I rang them and pleaded my case. I spoke to the Team Leader. I begged. I threatened. I got them to reduce the bill to $500. So it is WORTH chasing this!!!!!

Now I'll shut up and go back to uni work!

By cranky, at 12:00 am

Big {{{HUGS}}} babe. Bills suck full stop and most services are a complete rort. Man, what about Cranky's experience!

By Mary, at 11:47 am