Cheaper Phone & Internet... but at what cost???

So I had a Telus guy come to the door a week ago, and offer me full internet, TV, and Phone for $10 each, plus a $5 cable box rental.  This would be offered for each month up to 12 months.  After double and triple checking that there were NO contracts that would hold me from going back to Shaw, I agreed!

Well, I've been warned a million times that Telus has horrible customer service, but I want to save money!  I agreed, and set up the installation date.

I got a phone call from Telus asking me for details around our installation date, and it was at that time that I realized that everyone is right about Telus.  Don't believe me?  Here's how the conversation went:

Telus:  We will be disconnecting your Shaw phone a few hours before we come and install your Telus phone.  Can I have an alternate phone number that I can reach you at on that day please?

Me:  I don't have an alternate number.  Why would you need one?

Telus:  We need to call you and make sure you are home prior to sending our installation technician to your house.

Me:  You are going to cut off my Shaw phone, then you want to call me to see if I'm home??  Can you please call me first, then cut off the Shaw line?

Telus: No, we have to do it this way.  It's our policy.

Me:  What happens if you cut off my line, then can't guarantee that I'm home?  Then your technician doesn't come, and then how do I get ahold of you to re-book??

Telus:  I just need an alternate number.

Me.  I don't have one.

Telus:  If we can't guarantee you are home, we won't send the technician.

Me:  So then guarantee that I'm home BEFORE you cut off the phone line.

Telus:  I can't.  It's policy.  Do you have a family member who can verify that you are home?

Me:  You can call my mom...

Telus:  Perfect, we'll call her.

Me:  So let me get this straight.  You are going to cut off my phone line before you call.  Then you will call my mom, who lives across town, to ask if I'm home.  She'll say yes, because that's what I now have to tell her to say, whether I'm actually at the house or not, and then you'll send your tech. 

Telus:  Correct.

Me:  And what if he doesn't show up, or if he can't find the place?  Then I'm left as a stay at home mom with three little ones with no contact to the outside world?  Then how do I get ahold of you to figure out what happened?

Telus:  You'll have to use your alternate number.

Me:  Have you seriously never had anyone with no alternate number before??

Telus:  Oh we do all the time, it's just policy, so they need to find one.



I was left baffled at the stupidity of this so-called policy!!!  Are you serious?  You disconnect my phone, then you want to phone me and see if I'm home??  Seriously????  Did no one with a working brain go to that policy-creating meeting??  No one said, "hmmmm... we should probably call them and confirm the appointment BEFORE we cut off their phone service."

Anyways.  Yes, I see what everyone means, it's ridiculous.  But still... it's cheap, so I'm staying so far.

It doesn't stop there though.  Nope, it got worse.  I received a letter in the mail from Telus stating that I had entered into a 3 year contract and it outlined the fees of cancelling that contract.  I opened the letter, picked up the phone again, and called Telus. 

After demanding that the contract be voided or I wouldn't switch from Shaw, I was told that I had already signed and wouldn't be able to go back without paying fees.  I got transferred up through a couple levels of managers, and finally, a person with a fully functional brain!!!  I stated that I had confirmed and re-confirmed several times with the sales person that this was NOT to be on a contract, and he had even called his supervisor to confirm for me.  I would never had agreed to any sort of a contract. 

The Telus representative said to me, "Well, I will make sure your account does not have a contract on it, as that's what you were told." 

Wow... so at this point in time, we are still heading towards our Telus service, but with each passing day I wonder if the saved money is worth the frustration of all their policies and customer unservice. 

If this keeps up, I'll be switching back to Shaw. 

The proof is in the pudding... or at least in the bill.

So awhile ago I mentioned that I may switch from Epcor to Enmax for our electricity.  I did that in December and eagerly awaited seeing our electricity bill!  Our normal bills through Epcor have been between $120 and $150 for the last year, and it went up to $170 in October.  When I saw the bill for $170, I nearly choked and decided to take the plunge! 

Enmax offers a NO CONTRACT plan, and at the time, I was able to lock in at a great rate!  I can switch from locked in prices to floating rates at any given time, and back to Epcor if I want to. There are no fees to switch around.  I figured it was worth a try! 

My December bill was kind of screwed up because there were charges from Epcor and Enmax, and it was all too confusing to tell if I had actually saved any money. 

I just got my bill for January... $80 for electricity!!!  YAY!!  We haven't had a bill that low for a couple of years! 

For the record, we also switched our natural gas to Enmax, but didn't take their locked in rate.  We are paying the same with Enmax as we would have with Direct Energy.  I watch the rates closely though, and will lock in at any time if it will save us money. 

Nope, I'm not being paid by Enmax to write this... (wouldn't that be lovely!!) I just wanted to share our newest savings. 

Bread prices

For a long time, I've gone to the Bread Basket for their 10 loaves for $10 special on day-old bread.  That's a real deal, seeing as you could often find good healthy bread and other specialty breads such as bagels and wraps, all for $1 each, as long as you bought 10 of them.  Unfortunately, they have raised their price to $12 for 10 loaves, so it does cost a wee bit more now.  It's still a fantastic deal though, if you can find the good bread.

In the past three weeks, I've been heading to Superstore for my bread!  Superstore sells 4 loaves of unsliced white or whole wheat bread for $3.89.  That's a pretty good deal for bread!  So I have to slice it... I can slice it if it means that I can save money!  Granted... when my husband slices the bread, we use a lot more because those slices are pretty big... but still!  :) 

When I was in Superstore the other day, I found the bag of 4 loaves on the 50% off shelf!  That's now 4 loaves for less than $2!  I always check their 50% off shelf, you never know what you might find!