New Zealand - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[patches]

Has anyone here had any experience with Trustpower?

I see they currently have a deal where one can get a free Samsung appliance when signing up for power or power + broadband.

https://www.trustpower.co.nz/promotion/ww-details#fmaxww

 

Their reviews aren't great. Their kWh rate is about the same as my current (Electric Kiwi), and the Fibre (Gigabit) is $10pm more than my current (Bigpipe).

So I'm wondering what the trade-off is?!

[Wayne Potgieter]

Has anyone here had any experience with Trustpower?

 

I see they currently have a deal where one can get a free Samsung appliance when signing up for power or power + broadband.

 

https://www.trustpower.co.nz/promotion/ww-details#fmaxww

 

Their reviews aren't great. Their kWh rate is about the same as my current (Electric Kiwi), and the Fibre (Gigabit) is $10pm more than my current (Bigpipe).

 

So I'm wondering what the trade-off is?!

Yep. I have had multiple types of exposure.

 

1. I was a Trust Power client and used them for power, gas and broadband. Pricing was "middle of the road" and the broadband was slow and I was not able to use a higher specced modem to improve things. 

2. At the time of this all happening, they launched their Samsung freeby deals, and I asked whether I was eligible and they said no. They said it only applied to new clients which I thought was icky and I really wanted a new washing machine.

3. I left and went to Mercury (power/gas) and Stuff Fibre for...well...fibre. Mercury offered good incentives for EV owners and at the time we owned the Nissan Leaf, so this made sense. Stuff has been pretty good with the Fibre and it runs really well.

4. At the time of Trustpower starting the samsung deal,  I worked for Fliway Transport (they handled all the warehousing and deliveries for Samsung) and that was a shiiit show. Hopefully they got their act together.

 

None of the above is a reason to NOT sign up with them, and the information may be a little dated, but I am bored and trying to avoid work and that is why I am responding to you.

[patches]

Yep. I have had multiple types of exposure.

 

1. I was a Trust Power client and used them for power, gas and broadband. Pricing was "middle of the road" and the broadband was slow and I was not able to use a higher specced modem to improve things. 

2. At the time of this all happening, they launched their Samsung freeby deals, and I asked whether I was eligible and they said no. They said it only applied to new clients which I thought was icky and I really wanted a new washing machine.

3. I left and went to Mercury (power/gas) and Stuff Fibre for...well...fibre. Mercury offered good incentives for EV owners and at the time we owned the Nissan Leaf, so this made sense. Stuff has been pretty good with the Fibre and it runs really well.

4. At the time of Trustpower starting the samsung deal,  I worked for Fliway Transport (they handled all the warehousing and deliveries for Samsung) and that was a shiiit show. Hopefully they got their act together.

 

None of the above is a reason to NOT sign up with them, and the information may be a little dated, but I am bored and trying to avoid work and that is why I am responding to you.

 

hahaha!

 

Yeah I hate it when providers have deals and are more concerned with attracting new customers and do nothing for the ones they already have. (Insurance and mobile providers are notorious for this).

 

My Bigpipe fibre has been pretty good. No issues. went with them as they offered 3 months free on a 12 month contract. I'm way past that contract now, so no reason not to switch.

 

Electric Kiwi is also decent and our bills are low (gas cooking and water heating). They could be lower if we used the free hour of power better, but I'm too unplanned and lazy to try time my laundry etc with that hour so it's wasted on me.

 

Trustpower's customer reviews aren't great, but both the fibre and the power rely on existing networks (Chorus and Vector) so how bad a middle man can they be?!

 

I don't need a new TV/other appliance, but hey, it's *free stuff, right?!

 

Ps. my increased activity on here is also stemming from 1st week work boredom.

 

*Not really free, but the benefit seems to outweigh the cost

[davetapson]

A question for the hive mind as they say, even if the hive is somewhat small...

There's a sign on a light post as you come up Beach Road out of Mairangi Bay heading north that says "50km Scenic Cycle Route" or something similar.  I'll take a pic if I remember.  It's quite faded, and somewhat bent, so it's not new.

I've had a quick google it try and find it, but without much luck. 

I've also cycled along Beach road looking for the next sign to see where the route goes but have not found another one.

Any idea of how I might track this down - it might have been a nice route?

I haven't paid attention for signs while cycling the reverse direction, will try and remember for next time I go that way.
 

Edited January 13, 2021 by davetapson

[davetapson]

As for power, we use Powershop where you can buy power in the future for discounted rates, also 'Power packs' as they appear randomly.  It's like Discovery, they tell you it's cheap, but it's too complicated to figure out if it really is.  I think it is.  It might even be so.  Last bill worked out at 360kwh for $100.52 = 0.279c/kwh

Have just changed from Vodafone BB to 2Degrees BB because I get 1000mbps for the same price as 100mbps from Voda (except of course Voda will offer me a discount when I cancel) due to having 2Degrees mobile contract for family.  Seems good so far, only been a couple of days.  Also will get $150 to spend on fuel at Z in a couple of days.  And free Amazon Prime, only I have that already.

The touted 'Kiwi' customer care sounds as if Pune has been incorporated into NZ, but was pretty good.

Edited January 13, 2021 by davetapson

[arabsandals]

As for power, we use Powershop where you can buy power in the future for discounted rates, also 'Power packs' as they appear randomly.  It's like Discovery, they tell you it's cheap, but it's too complicated to figure out if it really is.  I think it is.  It might even be so.  Last bill worked out at 360kwh for $100.52 = 0.279c/kwh

 

Have just changed from Vodafone BB to 2Degrees BB because I get 1000mbps for the same price as 100mbps from Voda (except of course Voda will offer me a discount when I cancel) due to having 2Degrees mobile contract for family.  Seems good so far, only been a couple of days.  Also will get $150 to spend on fuel at Z in a couple of days.  And free Amazon Prime, only I have that already.

 

The touted 'Kiwi' customer care sounds as if Pune has been incorporated into NZ, but was pretty good.

someone should build an analytics engine you can just plug your values in and which would calculate what the cheapest deal was. That person is not me; I'm an ideas man...

 

Edit: Having thought about it for a minute, I actually think this offering complexity is a strategy in markets with good competition and ease of changing suppliers. You don't really want people to easily be able to compare and you also want to be able to engage your marketing and selling capacities. Hence bewilderingly complex offerings bundled up with whizzy and sexy marketing campaigns. If you could compare like for like with perfect information, as should be possible using the internet, you shouldn't even need to market your product if it's cheaper/better...

Edited January 13, 2021 by arabsandals

[patches]

someone should build an analytics engine you can just plug your values in and which would calculate what the cheapest deal was. That person is not me; I'm an ideas man...

 

Edit: Having thought about it for a minute, I actually think this offering complexity is a strategy in markets with good competition and ease of changing suppliers. You don't really want people to easily be able to compare and you also want to be able to engage your marketing and selling capacities. Hence bewilderingly complex offerings bundled up with whizzy and sexy marketing campaigns. If you could compare like for like with perfect information, as should be possible using the internet, you shouldn't even need to market your product if it's cheaper/better...

 

hahaha!

 

There's already something along the lines of what you describe:

 

https://www.powerswitch.org.nz/whatsmynumber

 

It's what I originally used to select my current gas and power providers.

 

I was just lured in at the prospects of a "Free TV" (which I don't actually need    )

 

But yeah, hard to compare apples with apples when some providers offer sign on bonuses, some offer 1hr free power/day, and so on and so on.

 

Bring back Eskom! Take away the tough choices!

[Wayne Potgieter]

 

Bring back Eskom! 

[patches]

As for power, we use Powershop where you can buy power in the future for discounted rates, also 'Power packs' as they appear randomly.  It's like Discovery, they tell you it's cheap, but it's too complicated to figure out if it really is.  I think it is.  It might even be so.  Last bill worked out at 360kwh for $100.52 = 0.279c/kwh

 

Have just changed from Vodafone BB to 2Degrees BB because I get 1000mbps for the same price as 100mbps from Voda (except of course Voda will offer me a discount when I cancel) due to having 2Degrees mobile contract for family.  Seems good so far, only been a couple of days.  Also will get $150 to spend on fuel at Z in a couple of days.  And free Amazon Prime, only I have that already.

 

The touted 'Kiwi' customer care sounds as if Pune has been incorporated into NZ, but was pretty good.

 

That's pretty good. I looked at my "closest bill" in terms of kWH or Cost and I paid $99.64 for 334 kWH (so $0.298/kWH incl daily charge and GST)

 

As for broadband, I forgot about 2degrees. Not a bad plan as it's $96pm for gigabit (currently I pay $109), plus they throw in 1yr of Amazon Prime Video (which I already pay for, so can scrap that) and $100 credit.

 

Changes may be on the horizon!

[patches]

Bring back Eskom! Take away the tough choices!

 

 

 

Sorry, I forgot to use the sarcasm font

 

To date I have only had 1 power cut in NZ (planned or unplanned). It was unplanned and was fixed within 2hrs

[intern]

Has anyone here had any experience with Trustpower?

 

I see they currently have a deal where one can get a free Samsung appliance when signing up for power or power + broadband.

 

https://www.trustpower.co.nz/promotion/ww-details#fmaxww

 

Their reviews aren't great. Their kWh rate is about the same as my current (Electric Kiwi), and the Fibre (Gigabit) is $10pm more than my current (Bigpipe).

 

So I'm wondering what the trade-off is?!

 

 

Personal motto: I do not do business with companies offering bribes to attract customers. Have had bad experiences with Trustpower (long story). Same with Tower, which I initially engaged with on the promise of a free tablet or something. Both long stories ended up with me telling those companies to get stuffed and going elsewhere.

Any free stuff, of course, is built into the price...

[intern]

2degrees is pretty good (because they bought Snap) and if you have a 2d phone you get an extra 10 bucks off. 2d also offers wifi calling which means your phone will work like a regular cell anywhere in the world so long as it has wifi, and you won't pay roaming to make or receive calls as if you are right here in NZ.

Bloody technology aye.

[patham]

 

Bring back Eskom! Take away the tough choices!

 

Trying to work out the best power provider here in Aus is also a nightmare. So many tariffs, network charges, scheme choices, rebates and discounts, so there is no easy way to assess it. Think medical aid complexity !

 

But a while back when a new power retailer upstart had a big marketing blitz, promising to save everyone $$$, I took the time to go through my line item bills, converted to the rates offered by the new outfit, and realised I was still about 5% better off staying where I was. That research was great ammunition when the outfit cold called me to see if I wanted to change - could shut them down pretty quickly.

 

And in terms of power cuts, longest one I have experienced was about 6 hours after a tree came down on the incoming line to the suburb.

[Hairy]

Personal motto: I do not do business with companies offering bribes to attract customers. Have had bad experiences with Trustpower (long story). Same with Tower, which I initially engaged with on the promise of a free tablet or something. Both long stories ended up with me telling those companies to get stuffed and going elsewhere.

Any free stuff, of course, is built into the price...

nothing is for nothing!

[davetapson]

2degrees is pretty good (because they bought Snap) and if you have a 2d phone you get an extra 10 bucks off. 2d also offers wifi calling which means your phone will work like a regular cell anywhere in the world so long as it has wifi, and you won't pay roaming to make or receive calls as if you are right here in NZ.

Bloody technology aye.

We have a family deal where we have four phones with unlimited data and free calling to NZ and Aus for $160 - it's $85 for the first phone, then $25 per extra phone up to a total of four - so four phones with unlimited data and calling for $40 ea. 

 

And then the discounts on BB.

 

Edit:

In theory we don't need the BB because could use phones for everything, but that's fiddly.

Edited January 13, 2021 by davetapson

[davetapson]

Ah - in going through my emails for this, I found another one:

"If you have Amazon Prime, cancel your subscription, when the billing period is over, come back to this email, click the button, have free AP for a year, then restart your subscription."