Well... I know it's been a long time since I wrote in my blog... And I also know that I've owed you this post on how to get a mobile since a very long time.
Well, after three attempts of getting a smart phone, well I did, I bought myself an iPhone.
Just for you to know, in my case I wanted an iPhone, since in Venezuela I limited myself a lot due to insecurity, and as simple as I didn't want to pay SUCH an amount of money just to won't be able to use my mobile freely. And of course there was this issue called: saving to come to Australia. Well, the thing is I wanted to get an iPhone just as a present to myself for all the accomplishments I made by "just" coming here with a PR.
How did I do it? Well, as I told you in some previous posts, it's not as easy as we imagine to get a mobile plan when you just arrive (if you don't have a lot of luck like Cari and Arturo -2 friends of mine- that got theirs within a week)... Why is that? Because you don't have a job!!!
How does mobiles work here?:
Ok... As in the rest of the world, here you have prepaid and postpaid plans you can enrol to. If you get a prepaid, no matter the operator, you can bring your own phone or buy a new one. If you want this last option you can get pretty decent phones like the Samsung Nexus f.e.
You can get decent prepaid (plans) for A$ 30-40 including credit to talk, SMS and data.
If you want to get some other mobiles as the Samsung Galaxy II or the so mentioned iPhone, you have two options: buy it (the latter of 16 GB costs about A$ 799) or enrol with a (postpaid) plan.
Plans here work that you pay a monthly fee for 12 or 24 months with a specific operator and within the cost you pay, you are buying the mobile.
Just to give you an idea, f.e. an iPhone 4S of 16Gb plan can cost aprox. A$ 65-70 (getting almost the same credit and data than the prepaid one wrote about).
First attempt:
The day after I got here I went with really high hopes to the Telstra store in Parramatta to get my mobile plan. I brought all the documentation some friends had told me I needed:
- Passport
- Bank statement with current address
- Medicare receipt (because I didn't have the card yet)
I got to the store, and the clerk said that I needed another Aussie ID document because the Medicare receipt wasn't enough. So he couldn't do anything about it, and advised me to get a Photo ID from the RTA... And that that was going to be the only thing I needed to get the phone. He even saved it for me in the counter!!!
The next day I went to the RTA, got my Photo ID, and went back to the Telstra store.
Talked to another clerk that was in charge of my application, gave her all the documentation, and... It was all perfect, I passed the identification test!!!
We went down to the computer started filling out all the application fields, I even selected my mobile number... It was all going PERFECT until we hit the financial section.
It doesn't matter if you have a loaded bank account; if you don't have a job, you don't have financial reliability. So went she wrote "self employed"... And she clicked the "next" button, a buzzer came off and what? "application denied". She called the financial area of Telstra and they told her to recommend me a prepaid plan.
So, no iPhone for me.
I picked up at Libertad's my old SIM, I borrowed from Kathy and Rod a Nokia mobile an that was it.
Second attempt:
Ok, now I got a job, I work as a Tutor at UNSW. There shouldn't be any problem with the application at this point.
This time I went to Vodafone, just because of 2 reasons:
1.- I got a Vodafone SIM
2.- I was a bit resentful with Telstra (I'm aware it's not a nice thing to say)
So... Once again: I gave the girl m documentation, I passed the identification test, we went to the computer, got to the financial section, pointed out my new job at the UNSW... anddddddd... Buzzer once again...
Why??? Well again "financial reliability"... But why? Well you have to work AT LEAST 15 hours a week for the system to allow you getting a plan.
So I kept my prepaid plan with my friends' phone.
Third and final attempt:
Well, my employment situation hasn't changed so far. So what do you think I did?
I friend posted on Facebook that Vodafone gave her a brand new iPhone just for her to renew her postpaid plan with them and she didn't want it because she has a Blackberry that she uses to talk to her family in Venezuela. Oh, and the phone was unlocked!!!
So I contacted her, found out she was selling it at a really good price and that she could let me pay her in three parts... As you can imagine that was a deal I couldn't say no to.
In the end we met at the Vodafone shop, she gave me the phone, the guy in the store put in my prepaid SIM (after cutting it). And that was it.
I got my iPhone, I still pay 30$ a month (instead of 69$), I could change to any other company if I wanted to, and when doing some maths, I'm saving like 300$... So I'm a happy girl jajajaja
With the iPhone: a month after
Yes, it's been a month since I got the phone. But I can tell you it's amazing. Not only because of all the apps that you can install and use, such as the Knowledge Practice Test of the RTA (to practice for the exam), Trip View and Transit Info (to know what transport and connections you have to make within Sydney), Urbanspoon (to find restaurants nearby you with a price or speciality criteria) and so on and on... But also because you can chat and talk with family and friends anywhere.
In fact, I'm writing this post in my mobile... Just to see how this app works (Blogger) and what does this look like after publishing because you can't edit text and stuff here.
I know you can do it with any smartphone, but I really love this one.
