DON'T BUY A TOYOTA RAV4
After several years of trying to save money in our family by not running a car, KXOL's own Peter Hogan gave up (because the money was leaking out to the usual family bloodsuckers to pay for their car trips). One fateful Saturday went out looking for a car - didn't have much time due constant health problems of various family members - ended up at Stewart Toyota in Rockdale Sydney - getting talked into buying more than we could afford - a top of the range Toyota RAV4 Crusier L. You finally take delivery and think at least this car has got everything on it, spoil the family for a while. Right? I mean it is a Toyota - No. 1 carmaker in the world. Wrong! Soon found that it doesn't have even the basic extras of ALL the quality competitor top of the range 4WD / SUVs. Not to waste too much of your time with the long list - no reverse parking sensor (especially since the RAV4s has particularly poor visibility to the rear) no side steps... and expose on just one which immediately slaps you in the face: soon after we got our RAV4 the spare gets stolen off the back door - when you go through the insurance / claim / excess / dealer / quotes circus you find you have to get a separate quote for the tyre from "Service", some said $511 another $321, then you are sent over to "Parts" where you have to deal with non-customer friendly 'Gary' for the quote on the rim - $924, etc, etc.
Now after decades of designing cars Toyota has a really stupid design for the location and security of the spare, it's ridiculously easy to jimmy the cover latch (the alarm system which turns out to be "post-market" was useless) and simply undo the nuts. Yes not even keylock nuts. The Toyota service people said "Yep, all of 'em are like that, the RAV4s, the Prados - no locknuts".And the locknuts are $6 which I then had to order to be added on the 6 months first service.
It's all great business for gangs and insurance companies (note we group these Australians together like a team), Toyota Australia, Toyota Dealers - replacement wheels are so expensive that other Australians are forced to buy on the black market - a vicious circle indeed. But not great for the Sydney new car buyer, especially anybody ignorant enough to buy a RAV4.
The only positive of the experience was the pleasant surprise to see the NSW Police - with obviously not enough funding in a losing battle - are putting in a fair dinkum effort in going after these gangs (even though know our wonderful court / justice system will let them straight out again). At the Police Station they were very understanding and efficient in taking the details and giving out the Event number for the insurance claim, and then even sent out an officer to the house to have look it, who was very helpful and mentioned that the gangs really target Toyota RAV4s and Prados because they are so easy to steal, they'll even do it in carparks!
The neighbour 3 doors down had the same done to his Prado that same night - they even took the wheel cover. Then over the next few days driving around the neighbourhood we saw lots of new RAV4s and Prados with ugly wrecked and violated backdoors of their family cars. They're probably like us - they can't even afford the insurance excess.
We should all get together and bring a class action against Toyota! But alas the little people can't find a fair dinkum law firm in Sydney that will go up against fellow big business firms unless it's an open and shut case which has been picked up by Rupert Murdoch media monopoly.
Pete lived in Japan for many years where 'loss of face' is extremely important if you want to stay in business - in Japan Toyota would not even think of trying to get away with this fiasco. The consumer protection laws in Australia are a bloody joke and really doing something fair dinkum about it should be a major issue in the policies of Kevin Rudd and John Howard in the November Federal Election.
Toyota is another example of big business not being fair dinkum, of being un-Australian, click here
for more.
Hope this saves your family from wasting a lot of time and money. But you better copy it quick and pass it round cuz it won't belong before Toyota uses so-called 'fellow Australian' law firms to bully us off the Internet again.
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WARNING TO TOURISTS
AVOID SYDNEY TRAINS
Avoid catching Sydney trains, even in the middle of the day. Sydney trains are dangerous. Just the other day - mid afternoon - Pete with pram and daughter got severely intimidated by a guy demanding money (more or less robbery). He was hitting on every passenger, then on to the next carriage. The same guy was doing the same thing at least 2 years ago. Then if you're lucky and reach your destination station you come against a bunch of intimidating City Rail officers dressed in cool SWAT gear at the ticket exits. But why are they standing around on stations? Why aren't they on the trains where the hooligans operate?
So inspite of lots of show about security and the use of surveillance cameras - the Government has effectively done nothing.
Sydney Trains Feedback:
Myself and many other teenagers get hassled by gangs all the time... especially on the western lines... I know a girl who had a needle held to her throat for her wallet, and another girl who was sitting minding her own business when some old bloke came up to her and decided to show her his johnson
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I'm from Melbourne, been here 5 weeks and travel by train everyday, you are spot on about the rail police...i've never seen them on a train and think the way they are dressed is a joke. they look stupid (cargo pants are for losers)
Mark.
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The whole sydney rail system sucks, with the exception of the very small area between Wynyard and Chatswood. This is perhaps the ONLY safe part of the network. There are few transit officers and no gangs along here. The people along this section of the network are very different to say the western lines. Some people travelling along here on the way to work/school actually correct the grammar and spelling on graffiti.
OTHER ISSUES
Beware Optus / Foxtel Digital TV False Representations
My near 80 year old parents got taken for a ride by the Optus / Foxtel Digital TV campaign. They initially had the analogue Optus Cable and that was satisfying all their current needs.
The Optus campaign to push what is really Foxtel Digital got my father all worked up, he was hard of hearing so I made the initial phone call. The Optus Sales Rep confirmed free installation of the Foxtel Digital, that there would be no increase in the current monthly billing cost ($56) and no loss of existing channels, in fact they would pick up channels including the Biography and History channels.
So they went ahead with it. They came out and installed it, and there was an immediate sound static problem, the technician said it was the old TV, they were clearly in hurry to maintain their quota of daily installations. Asked about how to use it - the remote control and functions - he said "That's not our job". Just great for elderly consumers. After they left, my mother was horrified to learn she had no French Open Tennis, contrary to the original sales pitch they lost the sports channels they had before, and there was no new Biography and History channel. My mother then began the proverbial long Optus / Foxtel phone call 'press this number' merry-go-round - she finally had to sign up for a whole new package to get her tennis back, but still never got back her favourite movie channels when it was all done. And the monthly cost went up.
The original sales pitch was a straight out lie.
After a few days it got stuck on the Sky News channel - the Foxtel digital box was not responding to new commands.
So I had a go at the Optus / Foxtel phone call 'press this number' merry-go-round - one person tells you one thing another something else. Eventually found out how to reset (suspected as much but couldn't find that in the manual, probably because it's not there) - seems this must happen often. Then I raised the issue about the sound static. Courtney at "Faults" reaffirmed what the technician said on installation day, it was their old TV set - she explained further - it can only take the old RF cable instead of the new AV ones. The elderly should know that, and of course we all know our RFs and AVs, don't we.
Clearly this highlighted "the key issue":
Optus / Foxtel should warn consumers, before signing up for their fancy digital TV service, that if they have an old TV with only an RF connection they may have sound problems.
Courtney said she only did 'faults'. So I was passed to Maria in "Customer Service". First thing she wanted to do was pass me to "Faults". Kept trying to explain that I had already been down that path. By now we just wanted to go back to what we had before. Then told that was impossible.
Eventually got passed to a supervisor. This was interesting. He knew he couldn't go anywhere near "the key issue" i.e. the liablility to warn if you have an old TV - and quickly and completely backed away from what we had been told by the installing technician and Courtney in Faults - he said it was not the RF cable or the old TV. And it was not the responsibility of Optus / Foxtel at the time of installation for the technician to at least try to see if he could see what else might be causing the sound static.
Throughout all that no hint of an apology and 'we will try to fix it free of charge', but rather, 'you the customer, you are being unreasonable', and you cop a continuous condescending tone, like you're some kind of moron that hasn't noticed the blatant.
Now I know why James Murdoch highlighted to me the "churn rate" (that's industry jargon for the high "stick your cable TV" / cancellation rate by discerning consumers) as a problem - it didn't make sense at the time, if you have all these channels, so much choice, what was the problem, why stop paying $56. Answer: poor after sales / installation service - especially since a lot of low income consumers have older TV sets.
It's really just for high income - young people demographic who have new TV's - LCDs, Plasmas, etc. and have been brought up in the age of computers.
My elderly parents still don't know how to use the basic functions of the remote control, including the infamous red active button. To change channels they keep trying to punch in 3 digit numbers taken from the hardcopy documentation, even though they really only watch 4 or 5 (of the gazillion) channels, which they could toggle through on the orange favourites button, if only they could be shown by a professional educator for the elderly on how to set them up.
I had a closer look at it the functions - apart from the signal problems - not very impressive. The functions are really cumbersome even for the savvy. With say sports, like Tennis, a lot of information is old, and if you want detailed scores you are better off using the Internet...
What a farce, a competitor (Optus) advertising another competitor's (Foxtel Digital, and of course the 'new' IQ - which is really the old American TiVo) product. Where is the competition? Why does the ACCC allow Optus (Telstra and Packer) and Foxtel (Murdoch) to get into bed together, and allow the birth of the "Foxtus" monopoly?
My advice: join and support and develop your local library - it's never too late for self-development and setting a positive example to the younger generation, and use the Internet for free. Check out Kogarah Library as a fine example of a community investing in the development of it's most important resource, viz. the intelligence of the council's constituents, where trained library staff will expertly and patiently show you how to use it.
There's no point in trying to get the mistreatment of low income Australians and the elderly by Foxtus exposed in the media - A Current Affair, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier Mail, The Herald Sun, etc., because it's all owned by the same clique.
But us little people do have a voice on the Internet, and already we are getting very interesting feedback on what goes on at Foxtus, particularly from ex-employees, this whole saga is gathering enough material to become an extra chapter in Chenoweth's next edition.
... Feedback ==>
FOXTEL the bully
Read with great interest your article about your unfortunate experiences with FOXTEL. I unfortunately work there and have been seeing increasing bully boy tactics and false information to customers.
Customer service at FOXTEL will never be any good when run by bullies.
There is a 50% turnover of staff per year and approximately 10% of staff are sick each day due to stress from harrassment and discrimination of Managers.
When staff lodge a claim for stress it is denied and FOXTEL is currently trying to defend one Manager with 7 separate bullying complaints. Sound familiar eh?
Keep up your good work and I hope your parents get the respect they deserve.
[Another concerned fair dinkum Australian]
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Crappiest Council in Sydney Award -
Goes to Hurstville City Council - for lack of accessibility - tiny elevators / lifts on their train station from platform to concourse, and no elvators just escalators that are always breaking down to the main street.
Save yourself the hassle, go to Miranda Fair instead.
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Starr Partners Real Estate Auburn - shoddy service
Really bad experience - ended up selling apartment (1/65 Harrow Road Auburn) way below what they said they could do. They did a lousy job of selling and advertising, blank fields or property details on their own website - nothing in SMH Sydney Morning Herald Saturday newpaper or domain.com.au - they wouldn't spend the money.
You hear things and get really suspicious that some of these shady realestate agents tell you the market has suddenly gone down after their high estimate, etc, sell to a buddy / insider, then re-sell shortly after and take a tidy profit...
Currently imvestigating, gathering details to submit report to ACCC
Next time we will definitely do what more and more consumers are now doing i.e. buying and selling property direct on the Web and leaving out real estate agents completely. Hopefully one day these parasite middlemen will go the same way as dinosaurs.
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Retravision Forest Road Hurstville - ripped off severely
Never go back there. My partner was 8 months pregnant - heavy - hot summer - Retravision Hurstville sold me one of those portable / movable air conditioners $1100 - turned out to be old stock - plenty of noise, but low horsepower - useless. Could have got a much more powerful unit at a much lower cost at an honest store.
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Parramatta Hyundai - never ever buy a car from these people.
They will tell you anything to sell you a car and then lie their arse off when you complain that you didnt get what you paid for. If and when you complain they will threaten you. Do not buy a car from them under any circumstances, especially the workers named Billy and Ahmad.
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Optometrists
Beware of Winnie from Macleay Optical - went in after she said previously I could get glasses for as little as $100 - she sucked me into $600 bi-focals, which have given me constant headaches - later went to another optometrist - whose tests showed she had given me lenses to strong for my eyes...
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Mobile Missed Call Charges Rip-off
If you are trying your best to reign in your total family mobile phone charges, especially if you are using "prepaids", attempt to minimize silly calls, but still wonder where the charges are coming from -- you probably didn't know that you agreed to the missed call 'so-called' service - the unAustralian bloodsucker mobile corporations don't make it easy to get it turned off but with Optus try registering online for Optuszoo then SMSing "OFF" to 159 (a 3 digit phone number)...
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