Saturday, March 07, 2009

TELSTRA UPDATE

Telstra's been already and the technician thinks it's the handheld phone with a misfiring battery.
Doesn't anything last these days? I've only had that since 1993 and it's had 3 batteries in it but this last one is dying much faster than the others. I haven't used the answering machine part of it since 101 messages came in which is a shame since I recorded when I had a bad cold and I sound smokey and all Nina Simone-like.

Fortunately I've kept the old phone so that's plugged in but I'm getting an extension cord. If I have to get up and down 5 times a night for calls from the Peter Sellers Memorial Call Centre, my language is going to get a bit ripe.

11 comments:

River said...

Batteries?? Don't talk to me about batteries!! I bought the same type of battery that I always did to use as a backup in my clock radio/cd player, expecting it to last a couple of years, just like the previous two. Didn't happen. after just six months I moved the device so I could polish the bedside cabinet, only to find the battery had corroded and leaked out of its compartment, eating away two circles of my beautiful paintwork down to the bare wood. Luckily I had a little of the paint left over so I was able to touch up the surface. Now the marks are only visible if you know where they are and look closely. I bought a new bedside clock too, but just a clock, no radio, no cd player and I won't be putting any backup battery in it either.

Brian Hughes said...

I still reckon if I can afford broadband then anyone can. It's well worth it in the long run, if only to be able to watch all those black and white videos of Sedgwick in his youth.

WV=SKINGS (Sounds like a new Dr Who monster to me)

River said...

Brian, the thing with Broadband is the package they offer, homeline, mobile, internet, is a contracted deal, payment required every month. Whether one can afford it or not. For me, with a variable, very low income, the pre-paid deals I have now are a better option. If my pre-paid time expires and I can afford to recharge, then I will. If I can't afford to recharge, maybe because some other expense has arisen, then I'll go without my mobile or the internet until I have enough money again. I refuse to live on credit, with payments and interest rates hanging over my head. My working future is too uncertain.

JahTeh said...

River, I'm sure they do that just so you have to replace them in everything, like the remote controls, smoke alarm, flashlights.

Fleetwood, what River said. They offer you all kinds of flash deals but there are strings attached.
I have a pre-paid mobile which lasts for about 4 to 5 months and pre-paid dial-up $34.95 for 45 days and the once a month landline bill but they don't all come at once. I like to eat as well as pay bills.

Brian Hughes said...

Sounds to me like you're getting ripped off somewhere down the line. In Blighty, regardless of which phone company you use, BT own all the landlines, so you have to pay for them separately anyway. It made sense to me to bung on the extra couple of quid a month for broadband. Mind you, I don't own a mobile. There's enough weird stuff in my head as it is without adding radiation to it.

Jayne said...

Telstra might own all the landlines here in Oz, Brian, but the Oz Govt sold it off and the money hungry vultures charge like wounded bulls.
I've got a plan with my home line and broadband bundled where I get the 3rd month internet for free - had it for some years now and the offer disappeared quite a while ago!
Got no mobile here, either.

Ozfemme said...

The Peter Sellers Memorial Call Centre... LOL.

LOL.



LOL.


Copperwitch, we purchased new cordless phones recently and still have the old one (which was new in 2000). The aerial on the base station is a bit bent but it still works fine and you're very welcome to it.

email me at gmval at bigpond dot com to let me know where best to send it if you want it.

Ozfemme said...

or is it just the battery you need?

god I'm dumb sometimes.

JahTeh said...

Probably am Fleetwood but the ripping doesn't come all at once and I've got Telstra main phone and the other is Optusnet. I only have the mobile for emergency calls for mother. I'm still carrying the instruction book for it.

Jayne, I have a feeling I might be up for that call out fee to check the points after today's pathetic effort. I'm also wondering if somebody's wifi is upsetting the system.

Thanks Bella, but they don't cost much and an extra long extension cord costs less for the other phone I've got. It's the intermittent interference that's got me beat.

River said...

It may help to buy a new digital phone/answering machine combo. I bought one last year for only $49.95, it's a Uniden brand and came with an extra handset. The old phone set made a lot of interference noises and the salesman said they were getting interference from all the digital waves now around from tv's computers, microwaves and mobile phones. The newer digital models are designed to cope with this. my new phones are blessedly silent, unless someone is ringing. Worth a try? It was really simple to set up, I managed it on my own, didn't have to phone my daughter for help at all.

JahTeh said...

River, I've been looking but if the point isn't working it's no good.