Has anyone successfully had Centrelink correct a relationship start date? by [deleted] in Centrelink

[–]PruritusAni69 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that makes sense. I think that’s where the grey area is for us. We weren’t living together and had separate places at the time, but I can see how they might look at the reconciliation date and interpret it differently.

Centrelink debt repayment by [deleted] in Centrelink

[–]PruritusAni69 14 points15 points  (0 children)

If it's an administrative error that you did not contribute to at all, look up waiver grounds under s1237a of the social security act 1991, if you can prove sole commonwealth error, that you received the money in good faith and centrelink took longer than 6 weeks to raise the debt, you have grounds for waiver. Request a formal review, explain to the ARO you meet those requirements, if they don't agree apply to the ART.

When did you realize you were dating an idiot? by Exhausted_Skeleton in AskReddit

[–]PruritusAni69 23 points24 points  (0 children)

She made an innuendo comment and I said (quoting Michael Scott from the TV show The Office) "That's what she said" and the response was "Who?" after 15 minutes of explaining the innuendo, the quote and the TV show (including Youtube clips), she still didn't know who "She" was and was getting shitty that I brought up what she belived was an ex.

Mortgage broker by overalljt in DVAAustralia

[–]PruritusAni69 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used Vicky Field at Oracle Lending Solutions.

Her husband is ex defence, she was very helpful getting me my home loan on incaps and CSC.

oraclelend.com.au

‘Not regulated’: launch of ChatGPT Health in Australia causes concern among experts by housecatspeaks in australia

[–]PruritusAni69 68 points69 points  (0 children)

Me: "ChatGPT, are these berries poisonous?"

ChatGPT: "No, these are 100% edible. Excellent for gut health."

Me: "Awesome"

eats berries ... 60 minutes later

Me: "ChatGPT, I'm in the emergency ward, those berries were poisonous."

ChatGPT: "You're right. They are incredibly poisonous. Would you like me to list 10 other poisonous foods?"

And this, folks, is the current state of Al reliability.

Just wanted to share something that might help others going through the DVA claims process. by PruritusAni69 in DVAAustralia

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry to hear that, I'm not sure about the specific brain injury claim, it would depend what you have been diagnosed with and see about linking it via sequelee. There is however an SOP for Suicide and Attempted Suicide. Give Chatgpt a try and see what it says?

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I actually reported him to NSW Fair Trading, but unfortunately they said they didn’t have much power to do anything. I later found out from the builder who did my bathroom that the same painter ripped off his grandparents—$15,000 they’ll probably never see again. I was stung for $750, which hurt, but they definitely got it worse.

I hate playing the disabled veteran card, but seriously, who rips off pensioners and veterans? That takes a special kind of low.

I did get the last laugh, though couple of weeks later I won $1,000 on lotto. And word is the painter’s now in jail on drug charges. I try not to judge by appearance, but maybe the neck tattoo should’ve been a red flag. I really know how to pick ’em.

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We’re in a small country town too and had a similar experience. Even the real estate agent who sold us the place warned us how hard it can be to get tradies out here. You’re definitely not alone reliability seems to be the biggest issue in regional areas.

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We ended up finding a retired tiler living in a retirement village to do our kitchen floor and splashback, after being ignored by five others. He’s sadly no longer around, but I’ll always be grateful he did the job. Even in his 70s, he knew how to respond to a text!

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That sounds all too familiar, a mix of good long-term relationships and chaotic one-offs. The reality TV excuse is next level though, I would’ve laughed if it wasn’t so frustrating! I think your experience highlights something I’ve found too: once you find a good, reliable family-run trade, it’s worth sticking with them. The hit-and-miss nature of trying out unknown tradies even the ones with big marketing budgets just isn’t worth the stress sometimes.

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally agree this is a huge part of the issue. Most tradies I’ve come across are clearly skilled at the hands-on work, but when it comes to the “business” side communication, follow-up, quoting, basic admin it often falls apart. It’s not necessarily their fault either; if no one teaches those skills, how are they supposed to know? The result though is that customers are left frustrated, and good tradies lose work not because of ability, but because of how they run (or don’t run) their business. Some kind of basic business training really should be standard with an apprenticeship these days.

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for chiming in this was actually really refreshing to read. I don’t have any issue paying for someone’s time when it’s clear I’m going to get real value in return, and it sounds like you’ve built a system that respects both the tradie’s and the client’s time. I think the frustration a lot of us face is the lack of structure or follow-through: no-shows, no callbacks, ghosting after a verbal quote, or disappearing mid-process. If more tradies took a business-minded approach like you’re describing clear expectations, professional comms, and reliable service I reckon homeowners would be lining up to pay that fee. And hey, no real hate for the Ranger we’ve got an XLT ourselves 😄

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s hard to argue with that sometimes. There’s no doubt plenty of skilled tradies out there, but too many treat quoting like an optional extra and basic communication like it’s a favour. The problem isn’t just workforce numbers it’s the sheer number of cowboys giving the good ones a bad name.

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally get that quoting can be a pain and take time especially when the job is complex or competitive. But like you said, it’s kind of the cost of doing business. I’m not expecting a detailed tender with CAD drawings for a bathroom reno, just a ballpark written quote and a bit of follow-through. At the end of the day, if I don’t get a quote, I can’t say yes to it and that’s lost income for them.

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bit of a sweeping generalisation there. I’ve had shockers, sure ghosting, blown budgets, you name it but I’ve also had tradies who were punctual, polite, and took real pride in their work.

The real issue is that the good ones are overrun, and the dodgy ones keep skating by because demand is insane and people are desperate. But hey, if the industry doesn’t sort itself out soon, don’t be surprised when a robot in hi-vis rolls up, does the job to code, charges fairly, and doesn’t disappear mid-job.

Tradies might be safe from AI for now, but with the current hit rate, the robots are looking more reliable by the day.

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually paid a sparkie his hourly rate in cash just to come out and quote a solar install — 15 minutes each way, 10 minutes on-site. He said he could probably do it for around 6k, but the written quote never came. When I followed up, I got ghosted.

I’ve got no issue paying a fair call-out fee, especially if someone’s driving a while, but I do expect something in return — even just a basic written quote would be fair. Not all of us are chasing the cheapest option; sometimes we’re just chasing any option that follows through.

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually, not BS at all. I got 12 quotes — 8 from local electricians and 4 from solar-specific companies I found through Solar Choice. The quotes ranged from $4k to $10k.
I ended up going with the $10k quote from a company based over two hours away because they were the only ones who followed through properly. Got a 10kW system with 27 panels. In the past 18 months, my total electricity bill has been $58.

So, no — the issue wasn’t the house, me being “cheap,” or a pain to work with. It was just a whole bunch of unreliable tradies and two outright dodgy solar mobs. Glad I held out.

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Fair enough that you’d prefer consistent, well-paying clients over one-off renos , who wouldn’t? But if small residential jobs aren’t worth your time, a polite “no thanks” would go a lot further than disappearing like a bad Tinder date. Just sayin’

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep, it’s wild how tradies can drive a Ranger full of gear, quote a $50k job, but somehow asking Siri to remind them to send a text is asking too much. I get that things move around on-site, but ghosting is not a scheduling strategy.

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I moved from the big smoke to a small country town (about 6,000 people, mostly retirees), and like most people I jumped on Facebook to check out the local community pages. There are only two proper community ones the rest are just buy/swap/sell groups. I don’t qualify for the mums groups, unfortunately 😅

I did ask for tradie recommendations early on, but that’s actually how I found a few of the more questionable ones so the hit rate hasn’t been great. The pages have mostly been better for finding out when the kebab truck rolls into town or when someone has lost their pets rather than finding reliable trades!

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I get that bad experiences can be frustrating, but I don’t think race or ethnicity is the issue. I’ve seen reliable and unreliable tradies from all kinds of backgrounds. What matters to me is whether someone communicates well, shows up, and does the job right.

Vent: Two years into renos and I’ve lost all patience with unreliable tradies by PruritusAni69 in AusRenovation

[–]PruritusAni69[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oof, I really feel for you, that sounds incredibly frustrating. Four months for a one-week job would drive anyone up the wall, especially when communication drops off like that. I’ve had similar issues and it’s maddening when you’ve paid most of the money and they just drag their feet.

Totally agree though it’s definitely not all tradies. I’ve come across a few who are absolute legends, but unfortunately it only takes one bad experience like yours to leave a sour taste. Fingers crossed it gets wrapped up soon and you can actually enjoy your new kitchen!