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 Hubby paid the water bill. For whatever reason they applied it to our sewer/trash.  Got a past due bill on our water (with fees - of course - he felt it wasn't worth his time) hubby paid it all w/o questioning.  A few days later I get a disconnect call.  I remember hubby discussing those highly gifted people so I went online to see that he had paid.  He calls and they are all like "oh yep, we have been having all kinds of problems like that" -- yet they were going to shut off our water because of their mistakes.  Grrrrrr!

2ndGenGranola:

He calls and they are all like "oh yep, we have been having all kinds of problems like that" -- yet they were going to shut off our water because of their mistakes.  Grrrrrr!

My son gave me some insight into something that really irked me. He used to work at a "call center" for a medical insurance company. When I told him about how my bundle contract was voided because the Promotion bundles had changed and the billing program didn't recognize my old bundle. He basically said that the biggest problem big companies have is that they FAIL TO UPGRADE THIER OWN SOFTWARE so they can manage their own billing correctly. So in other words, we customers are expect to upgrade with the latest stuff while the company fails to upgrade themselves. So the employees spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with inadequate programs and irate customers.

As much as I enjoy the internet (especially the Dollar Stretcher site), I feel overwhelmed by all the technology, also.  It has definitely made life more complicated.  A cell phone is good for emergencies but I had to purchase one with a contract because I want to have communication with my college aged kids so we're all on one plan.  Then those package plans make it unreasonable to drop the land line (and hubby loves his cable so we stick with the cable package).  Before you know it, you have all these bills for services that didn;t exist (or didn't exist for me) 10 years ago.  It seems many of these companies prey on consumers who don't review their bills and just pay them. 

Okay, I know a lot of the stuff is a GIANT pain in the butt.  However, there are some things I do like:  the internet, for one.  I love being able to chat with people from all over the country.  I couldn't do that before.  And I can check out online a store to see if their prices are good before driving all the way over there.  And I love getting digital pictures of the ones I love or of scenic places, etc. and all within minutes of it happening.  Also, my ipod.  I have a really large music collection (stupid youthful spending) but I can put the entire collection on my ipod and no matter where I go, I have the music I love with me - even in the car!  And I have a love/hate relationship with cellphones.  I hate them for the most part but I love it when I was in a car accident and was stuffed in the back of an ambulance that I could call my friends to talk and that calmed me down.  And I like knowing my mom has her cell with her in case of an emergency.  Computers have simplified my life - I hated using typewriters!  Email can be a pain but I've had some lively group exchanges.  I'm glad I can pay my bills online in a few clicks at any time without fretting that the postal service will deliver my check which seemed such a drag to have to write out.  I LOVE having the capability to scan documents - we made back up copies of a bunch of original documents from the 1700's that have been in the family so everyone could share.  I like DVDs that I can rent for $1 and not have to listen to someone talk throughout the movie and spoil my experience.  I enjoy the big box stores that seem to have everything and no need to special order and wait for weeks to get a delivery and have to make a second trip to pick it up.  I enjoy pumping only 10 gallons of gas to fill the tank of my thrifty car (30 mpg) when gas is $4 a gallon, instead of my older truck which took 20 gallons and got 14 mpg.  I guess that is just my perspective.

Dear All, Please read carefully the magazine subscription "bills" that you get.   Often, when I get tehm & read them carefully, they are just offers, you pay this & we'll send you the magazine.  They are NOT demands for payments, in my experience.  Evenrenewal offers are just that, offers.  The only time you have to pay a bill is when you order a new magazine & say bill me later instead of using your credit/debit card or check initially.  Yours in Him, Deb

 I think I would be happier if what I have, worked well.  Like phone reception; we don't have a land line, so we have cell phones. Except I don't get reception IN my house.  So I got a Skype line.  Great, willing to pay for it, not an issue--but the settings keep reverting to some weird privacy mode so people can't call me, and since that's what I got it FOR, not happy. 

 

This is in part why I get used appliances in my kitchen.  EVERY time I get a new coffeemaker or whatever, it blows up within six months.  My thrift-shop ones last years. 

It IS getting to be a bit complicated. I have a work email and a private email account, which I think are plenty. I shouldn't use my work account for personal email so I have a private account. Now, the fancy cell phone that DH got me (a "great" package so he says) comes with the option of checking email via my cell phone (as if I have that need--I'm either at work or at home). So I thought, ok, I'll have that option and it may prove handy when I am visiting my dad (who has no cable, internet and still has a rotary dial phone). But it didn't work b/c my email service provider does not contract (and is a competitor) with my cell phone provider and so I can't get my email on my phone...unless I just get ANOTHER email account (a gmail or yahoo or hotmail account). yes, I know I can have my email forwarded to any email account but I really don't want to have to check 3 accounts. And some people have multiple accounts for multiple reasons but I find it hard enough to have 2 work phone numbers, 3 voice mail options, a home number, a cell number, 2 email accounts plus regular US mail that comes to my home. Plus I think I have somewhere between 20 and 30 passwords for every single thing that needs a PIN or password.

I'm 33 so probably strange to hear this from someone my age, LOL. I don't want to be "so available." That's why I hardly give out my cell phone number and don't spend much time online in the evening and on weekends. I want face time with my people so I forego the electronic methods. Except for texting which I strangely have become a fan of lately. Maybe it allows me to be an introvert and still contact people with 26 character sentences and bad punctuation.

My dad steadfastly refuses most technology. He finally has internet at his office but no one who works there really knows how to properly utilize the internet (his secretaries are ages 55 and 65 and my dad is 74 and his law partner is 85--and he is the most up-to-date on technology). And my dad doesn't check email so his secretary prints off all his emails on paper and he hand-writes his response on the paper and gives back to her to type out the email! Yikes. The same secretary who still takes shorthand (quote my dad "you can't find that out there anymore!") and has an actual typewriter at her desk because "some things are easier on a typewriter!" And he HATES answering machines and voice mail and refuses to have either at home or the office. No cable at home. He does have a cell phone for emergencies and calling me long distance but when I called his cell phone, he couldn't figure out how to answer it so he turned it off so it would quit ringing, LOL. It's sometimes frustrating to not be able to leave a quick message for my dad "hey, we're on the road, see you in an hour" but I can't do anything about but love him as he is.

But like another poster, I love paying bills online and not wasting checks, stamps, envelopes, paper. I love being able to get an aswer on Google at any time to any question. I love being able to quickly send or answer a question via electronic means rather than chit-chat that sometimes happens with a phone call. I love being able to bank at home rather than waste gas and drive to a bank. I love being able to type an email letter and attach pictures of my kids, hit a button and my best friend across the country gets my news and photos in minutes, even if it is 11 p.m. at night where I am and 1 a.m. where she is!

It's a double-edged sword that we carefully have to understand how to use.

I have to say that DH and I both are very computer savvy - to the point that we built his last computer from parts that he picked out. However, there are still days I would like to take my computer and throw it out my window just to watch it crash on the ground. (I'd never actually do that - can you imagine how much of a money waster that would be!! ) Technology is wonderful when it works and one of my biggest annoyances when it doesn't work.

We have digital cable which is great when the receiver is working properly. When it goes out we have to wait up to 1/2 an hour before it resets. I don't watch much T.V. but I miss the days when I could turn just the T.V. on and not 3 other components just to watch a movie. We have so many remotes I don't even know which one is for which system. We tried a universal remote but it only worked on the T.V. and the VCR (which is hardly ever used now).

We had digital phone service for our landline but we kept losing connection so we had to switch back to a regular line. The other company still calls and sends letters asking us to switch back. They can't seem to understand why I don't want to pay for a service that doesn't work in my area!

Here's a shock to everyone we ever meet: neither DH nor I own a cell phone!! We don't really see the need for one: I work at home, DH works within walking distance of our home and we almost never leave the city we live in. I know we should have one "just in case" but we haven't needed one yet and I just don't want to pay for a plan and have something else to carry around with me when I go out. Plus I just know it would be another thing to deal with when it didn't work properly.

Having said all that, I do love being able to carry around a good portion of my music collection on my IPod (which DH won for free at work). I do love that I scanned my family photo albums and fit them on flash drives so that my parents and my brother have their own copies. This is great in case anyone ever has a fire - someone else will still have your photos. I love the Internet for online banking, online shopping, research and entertainment. I use chat programs to keep in touch with family members who live in other places. And, of course, without technology I wouldn't be on this forum. So I guess it's not all bad. Just remember to watch out for falling computers. 

I'm the other one without a cell phone! It's so funny when they ask for my cell # & I say I don't have one. It really throws people. I've considered the prepaid ones, but what if it doesn't work for whatever reason. Then I've thrown my money away on something totally useless. Being "unreachable" has its advantages. I know they're great in an emergency & will probably get one soon, I'm just holding out a little longer. 

Honestly, I avoid technology, gadgets & such as much as possible. I'm sure I'm missing out on a lot, but have no idea how great my life would be with that stuff . So, I'm not too upset. I still prefer writing actual letters to send in the mail... now you can call me crazy! I do enjoy the internet, but its a time zapper. I'll plan to spend 10 minutes look up something or whatever & 2 hours later I'm checking 4 other things out.

I've also had issues signing up for "offers" that want way too much information. I thought it was me being silly, not wanting to give my information out to just anyone. Since "they" can get it anyway, right? And those magazine renewals that look like bills are just annoying & they send them so far ahead of time. You recieve 2 or 3 magazines out of 12 & they're hounding you to renew. And the "great" offer isn't even close to the offer in the current magazine. Shouldn't they give me a better deal since I've bought before? 

My dad use to say having more stuff meant more aggravation. Yet another thing he is right about!

 

Toni B.:

By Friday I wanted to disconnect everything and head for the hills. Maybe I'm getting old and cranky but simple just ain't what it used to be.

Toni B.

I soooo understand your feelings.   We just got our electric bill last week and found a new type bill in it.  Our electric bill showed our amount due at $286.00.  That parts not new, its always high.  The new part was they now show you more of the break down of the bill.  There was something on their called a usage fee, something else called a delivery fee, and some new tax, all of which ended up adding nearly $100 to our already high bill.  My dd who lives one town over and has a house 2X larger than ours pays less than $100 a month.  A friend in the same town with a house 2X ours and does not run her AC and hangs out her laundry pays about $120 and my dmom who lives in a 2 bedroom apt. all elect. pays @ $68.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason to their billing and we all have the same elect. company.  It is so aggrivating.  I would like to run to the hills too, but not without AC.  I would probably die from an extended hot flash.  If I could bottle all the energy from the flashes I should be able to cool my own house at least.