I have used the same energy provider since moving to Sydney close to 5 years ago and this week I decided to shop around for another electricity re-seller.
Like most people today, Google was the first port of call, and after a few seconds, it got me an independent intermediary for energy who is reputed to be independent in providing price and costs comparison for consumers.
A phone call later and with my electricity bill in front of me, I was able to provide them with my current energy account details. They gave me a few option out of around 20 re-sellers in terms of the lowest costs (how else do you buy electricity as they're identical). My current provider was ranked around number 12 in terms of price from the lowest costs.
I chose one from the option provided and they informed that I was able to enjoy upto 10% discount on my existing bill with a two years contract with this new supplier in my next billing cycle. A confirmation was provided on the spot for them to switch supplier on the phone. As usual I had to go through the series of questions and answers to make sure I said "yes" to every question posed. After this so call interrogation, they confirmed that my account was ready to be moved to this new provider and with a final yes, the move started.
The next day, I decided to browse the website of this new provider and I was surprise to see that the best discount provided on line was 15% as compared to the 10% provided to me by the intermediary just yesterday. I then called the intermediary and asked why was I only provided with a 10% discount from this re-seller when the highest discount was 15%. They then rechecked their system and told me that there was no such discount rate in their system. I then told them that I'll call the energy re-seller to confirm why was this the case.
A phone call to the new energy re-seller confirmed that the new higher discount rate was only published yesterday and therefore the intermediary did not have it on their system yet. They did confirm to me that my account application has been received and they would provide me with the new higher discount rates of 15% as oppose to the 10% applied previously.
Moral of the story, check, check and re-check for the best deal and feel free to insist on the highest rates. My existing energy provider has taken me for a ride for 5 years, without offering me any discounts. Loyalty again does not pay.
The ACCC ensures that moving across service providers is easy and each and every consumer should endeavour to move where possible.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Friday, May 2, 2014
Property Prices Up?
Property prices have been on the upside in recent times after a slowdown only a few years ago. Cities in developed economies such as London which saw prices down or stagnant only a few years back have also recently bounced back and even the chairman of Lippo of Indonesia is now looking to the US to invest in properties.
In Sydney, prices have moved up rather significantly due to various factors including limited supply in selective location, influx of more foreign investments, the rush or fear of missing out factor etc.
Home owners feel good whenever prices move higher. Potential buyers however are unhappy as prices seem to be out of reach and keeps escalating upwards.
Home owners talk about how much they have "gained" since they joined the owners club and are urging non owners to join the club. However is this gain for real?
Let use an example to illustrate this gain:
A buys a property says at $500K for cash (i.e. no loan) which is the average price within the suburb. A then keeps this property for 5 years and voila...the average price in the area has now jumped to $700K, hence a perceived $200K capital gain. The question then arises, did A make the "gain" (leaving interest, transaction and holding cost aside and assume there is no cost)?
A then decides to sell the property and pocket the "gain" and now have $700K. However is this gain real if A wishes to buy another home? He'll still need to spend $700K if he wants to be a house owner again, hence the perceived gain is only real, if A downgrades i.e. buys a lower price home or moves to an area where the average price is lower for a similar property e.g. country or bush land.
Not forgetting in my example above, I've assumed no interest, holding nor transaction costs were included and if one includes all of it, the $200K perceived gain will probably be close to nil.
Just on a similar subject, a colleague of mine recently saw a house for sale which appears to be at a 10-15% discount compared to its average within the suburb. The reason why there was a discount was due to the fact that the house is very close to large power lines which we hanging over very close. Those of you who have some basic knowledge of Chinese "Feng Shui" would want to avoid this and those with some basic understanding of modern science may also wish to reconsider the house (although scientific research about the negative impacts of power lines on human health is still inconclusive, I guess its better safe than sorry).
Although the discount looks tempting, I reminded him the fact that the house will forever be at a discount (unless the power lines are removed) when he resells it in the future, hence the "discount" will never materialise for him.
I guess many of us would like to believe that we are rather smart in buying and/ or investing in property, but the reality is, the market place is also equally if not more intelligent. There is actually not much to be made out there although exceptional circumstances do happen. I guess in life you'll only hear that 1 winning lottery ticket story, but not the other thousands who missed the winning ticket and remained silent.
In Sydney, prices have moved up rather significantly due to various factors including limited supply in selective location, influx of more foreign investments, the rush or fear of missing out factor etc.
Home owners feel good whenever prices move higher. Potential buyers however are unhappy as prices seem to be out of reach and keeps escalating upwards.
Home owners talk about how much they have "gained" since they joined the owners club and are urging non owners to join the club. However is this gain for real?
Let use an example to illustrate this gain:
A buys a property says at $500K for cash (i.e. no loan) which is the average price within the suburb. A then keeps this property for 5 years and voila...the average price in the area has now jumped to $700K, hence a perceived $200K capital gain. The question then arises, did A make the "gain" (leaving interest, transaction and holding cost aside and assume there is no cost)?
A then decides to sell the property and pocket the "gain" and now have $700K. However is this gain real if A wishes to buy another home? He'll still need to spend $700K if he wants to be a house owner again, hence the perceived gain is only real, if A downgrades i.e. buys a lower price home or moves to an area where the average price is lower for a similar property e.g. country or bush land.
Not forgetting in my example above, I've assumed no interest, holding nor transaction costs were included and if one includes all of it, the $200K perceived gain will probably be close to nil.
Just on a similar subject, a colleague of mine recently saw a house for sale which appears to be at a 10-15% discount compared to its average within the suburb. The reason why there was a discount was due to the fact that the house is very close to large power lines which we hanging over very close. Those of you who have some basic knowledge of Chinese "Feng Shui" would want to avoid this and those with some basic understanding of modern science may also wish to reconsider the house (although scientific research about the negative impacts of power lines on human health is still inconclusive, I guess its better safe than sorry).
Although the discount looks tempting, I reminded him the fact that the house will forever be at a discount (unless the power lines are removed) when he resells it in the future, hence the "discount" will never materialise for him.
I guess many of us would like to believe that we are rather smart in buying and/ or investing in property, but the reality is, the market place is also equally if not more intelligent. There is actually not much to be made out there although exceptional circumstances do happen. I guess in life you'll only hear that 1 winning lottery ticket story, but not the other thousands who missed the winning ticket and remained silent.
ACCC, competition and costs
The first thing a Malaysian usually notices when he/she settles here is how expensive everything is except for cars, compared to Malaysia. One also tends to forget that the salary one earns here is also very "expensive" by International standards.
The two main reasons which I speculate for the high costs are:
i) Real estate prices
ii) Low volume due to small population size
Real estate prices determine a lot of costs in our lives. It determines our of our main cost to our household income; either in the form of rents or home mortgage repayments.
For businesses, it determines one of the main elements of its cost structure especially if the business is in retailing e.g. a shop lot in a shopping mall. This is probably a key reason why many top brands are only deciding to set foot in Australia after setting up shop in other parts of the world e.g. H&M only set up shop recently with UniQlo following very soon.
The low volume due to the size of Australia's population is also a major cause for how expensive things are here. Contrast this to the price of goods in USA which has nearly 15 times of Australia's population. Due to this, it is not uncommon for many international brands to price their goods much higher to compensate for the lower economies of scale. Just walk into Ikea and see the difference in prices for identical products in Malaysia.
However despite the high prices here, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) enforces a law designed to ensure fair competition within the marketplace. Several examples of how the ACCC function can be seen as follows:
i) Car brands cannot compel or force new car buyers to service their cars with the authorised reseller; i.e. one can service their car anywhere without voiding their new car warranty (with certain conditions)
ii) One can cancel an insurance policy at anytime and obtain partial refund for unexpired period without significant or no penalties (there is also a cooling off period of 30 days when buying a new policy)
iii) All phone numbers including land lines are portable i.e. subscribers can move phone carriers and keep their existing phone number
Which brings me to my recent experience with the world of switching.
I joined a free online campaign called "One Big Switch" who were looking for members to bring down prices of home and contents insurance policy. They attempt to bring collective buying power back to consumers by negotiating on behalf of its online members with major insurance underwriters.
The campaign eventually managed to secure the service of one insurance company, and then within a certain period of time, allows member subscribers the option to seek a quote and secure the new insurance policy if they feel that the savings is substantial and the insurance coverage is comparable. I was shocked to find out that I saved about 1/3 of my insurance premium by switching under this campaign.
The moral of the story, there is no longer customer nor brand loyalty...shop and swap around. It is the way how businesses are conducted and, the ACCC is here to ensure we are able to continuously seek and shop for the best deal.
The two main reasons which I speculate for the high costs are:
i) Real estate prices
ii) Low volume due to small population size
Real estate prices determine a lot of costs in our lives. It determines our of our main cost to our household income; either in the form of rents or home mortgage repayments.
For businesses, it determines one of the main elements of its cost structure especially if the business is in retailing e.g. a shop lot in a shopping mall. This is probably a key reason why many top brands are only deciding to set foot in Australia after setting up shop in other parts of the world e.g. H&M only set up shop recently with UniQlo following very soon.
The low volume due to the size of Australia's population is also a major cause for how expensive things are here. Contrast this to the price of goods in USA which has nearly 15 times of Australia's population. Due to this, it is not uncommon for many international brands to price their goods much higher to compensate for the lower economies of scale. Just walk into Ikea and see the difference in prices for identical products in Malaysia.
However despite the high prices here, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) enforces a law designed to ensure fair competition within the marketplace. Several examples of how the ACCC function can be seen as follows:
i) Car brands cannot compel or force new car buyers to service their cars with the authorised reseller; i.e. one can service their car anywhere without voiding their new car warranty (with certain conditions)
ii) One can cancel an insurance policy at anytime and obtain partial refund for unexpired period without significant or no penalties (there is also a cooling off period of 30 days when buying a new policy)
iii) All phone numbers including land lines are portable i.e. subscribers can move phone carriers and keep their existing phone number
Which brings me to my recent experience with the world of switching.
I joined a free online campaign called "One Big Switch" who were looking for members to bring down prices of home and contents insurance policy. They attempt to bring collective buying power back to consumers by negotiating on behalf of its online members with major insurance underwriters.
The campaign eventually managed to secure the service of one insurance company, and then within a certain period of time, allows member subscribers the option to seek a quote and secure the new insurance policy if they feel that the savings is substantial and the insurance coverage is comparable. I was shocked to find out that I saved about 1/3 of my insurance premium by switching under this campaign.
The moral of the story, there is no longer customer nor brand loyalty...shop and swap around. It is the way how businesses are conducted and, the ACCC is here to ensure we are able to continuously seek and shop for the best deal.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Tyres, safety and compliance
As many of you would have known, Australia is fully of compliance. There is compliance against bullying or discrimination at the workplace and there is also the famous Work, Health & Safety (WHS) regulations which is much more onerous that the version in Malaysia.
The WHS here covers many areas and may even include whether one can change the light bulb at your workplace or whether one needs to buy insurance whenever a tradie comes to your home to repair or fix your house.
Last weekend, I happened to be at a reputable tyre shop to change tyres to my car. As I was in the waiting lounge, waiting for my tyres to be replaced, in came a man with some enquiry which I happen to overhear.
It goes something to the effect that he had a tyre which was either bald or nearly bald i.e. not legally allowed to be on the road, which had a nail embedded in it. He wanted the nail removed and the tyre patched to be either reused or as a spare.
The staff manning the counter at this shop told him that they (the shop) cannot comply with his request due to safety and duty of care, as the tyre itself was no longer road worthy. Hence they are legally not allowed to repair nor allow this tyre to be on the road ever again (even as a spare).
He either had to discard this tyre or get a new one as a replacement, NO repair is allowed.
I cannot imagine this scenario ever happening in Malaysia, but it goes to show the level of compliance and trust built into the system here in Australia.
One can imagine the scenario in Malaysia, where the shop would comply to the customers' request and collect a fee for the work done.
The WHS here covers many areas and may even include whether one can change the light bulb at your workplace or whether one needs to buy insurance whenever a tradie comes to your home to repair or fix your house.
Last weekend, I happened to be at a reputable tyre shop to change tyres to my car. As I was in the waiting lounge, waiting for my tyres to be replaced, in came a man with some enquiry which I happen to overhear.
It goes something to the effect that he had a tyre which was either bald or nearly bald i.e. not legally allowed to be on the road, which had a nail embedded in it. He wanted the nail removed and the tyre patched to be either reused or as a spare.
The staff manning the counter at this shop told him that they (the shop) cannot comply with his request due to safety and duty of care, as the tyre itself was no longer road worthy. Hence they are legally not allowed to repair nor allow this tyre to be on the road ever again (even as a spare).
He either had to discard this tyre or get a new one as a replacement, NO repair is allowed.
I cannot imagine this scenario ever happening in Malaysia, but it goes to show the level of compliance and trust built into the system here in Australia.
One can imagine the scenario in Malaysia, where the shop would comply to the customers' request and collect a fee for the work done.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
What has happened?
It has been close to five years since we arrived in Sydney. This blog has been dormant for quite some time and I've decided to revive it again, time permitting.
So what has happened so far? Some of the milestones achieved so far include:
a) Changed two employers
b) Completed a Certificate IV Course in Carbon Management when carbon taxes were in the daily news
c) Completed a Graduate Diploma leading to membership with the Governance Institute of Australia
d) Joined millions of Aussies in home ownership with a bank mortgage
e) Bought my first new car with an added mortgage
f) Kids are settled down well and coping reasonable well is school with the elder one in high school
What has so far been the lessons learnt since we moved here:
i) Getting a job is VERY difficult, I know of people who are continuously in temporary positions without reasonable level of certainty in their role
ii) Home ownership is expensive, much more compared to other parts of the world
iii) You need to obtain council approval to cut down trees in your back yard
iv) Sydney is a very expensive city to live, I guess you can't have it both ways as it has one of the highest wage rates in the world (hence also why getting a job is difficult)
v) The Authorities here are generally more forgiving as they give you the benefit of the doubt and are more trusting (I guess its part of the system here as people are more honest generally)
vi) Many Asian families continue to put pressure on their children similar to the way back in Asia and competition for good schools is keen although less compared to Asia
vii) We still eat Asian cuisine most of the time
viii) People generally change cars and homes frequently
ix) Setting up your own business is easy and selling/ buying businesses are common
So what has happened so far? Some of the milestones achieved so far include:
a) Changed two employers
b) Completed a Certificate IV Course in Carbon Management when carbon taxes were in the daily news
c) Completed a Graduate Diploma leading to membership with the Governance Institute of Australia
d) Joined millions of Aussies in home ownership with a bank mortgage
e) Bought my first new car with an added mortgage
f) Kids are settled down well and coping reasonable well is school with the elder one in high school
What has so far been the lessons learnt since we moved here:
i) Getting a job is VERY difficult, I know of people who are continuously in temporary positions without reasonable level of certainty in their role
ii) Home ownership is expensive, much more compared to other parts of the world
iii) You need to obtain council approval to cut down trees in your back yard
iv) Sydney is a very expensive city to live, I guess you can't have it both ways as it has one of the highest wage rates in the world (hence also why getting a job is difficult)
v) The Authorities here are generally more forgiving as they give you the benefit of the doubt and are more trusting (I guess its part of the system here as people are more honest generally)
vi) Many Asian families continue to put pressure on their children similar to the way back in Asia and competition for good schools is keen although less compared to Asia
vii) We still eat Asian cuisine most of the time
viii) People generally change cars and homes frequently
ix) Setting up your own business is easy and selling/ buying businesses are common
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Trust v2
Is the reason for red-tapes and bureaucracy due to lack of trust? Or also due to poor enforcement? And does red-tape and bureaucracy the reason why law abiding citizens get penalised and crooks get away with murder?
How can Malaysia break away from the above?
Let's compare a few examples:
i) If you get stopped by a cop for running a red light what does one do? Pay legally the fine or pay illegaly a bribe?
ii) If getting a permanent residency easier if one pays their way through or go through all the eligibility rules and regulations in Malaysia?
iii) Why do traffic offenders with multiple fines always get discounts after waiting for enforcement for years and a law abiding citizen who pays fine early pays the full rate?
How can Malaysia break away from the above?
Let's compare a few examples:
i) If you get stopped by a cop for running a red light what does one do? Pay legally the fine or pay illegaly a bribe?
ii) If getting a permanent residency easier if one pays their way through or go through all the eligibility rules and regulations in Malaysia?
iii) Why do traffic offenders with multiple fines always get discounts after waiting for enforcement for years and a law abiding citizen who pays fine early pays the full rate?
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Trust
Due to the fact that the system in Australia acts on the presumption of trust, many things can be done on the phone or online via www. However as many Australians have got this built into their personal system, there is a higher tendency for them to give others the benefit of the doubt and trust the other person more.
This is directly opposite to those of us in Asia, where trust must be earned over a longer duration of time. A simple example is getting documents or identity certified for Government or other applications. In Malaysia for example the identity card is of utmost important, without one, one is nobody. Getting things done means carting along loads of documents, forms and getting it certified etc. before even submitting the application and then there is the vetting process.
Today I just found out my company got cheated over a credit card scam from Nigeria. I would have thought that these Nigerian would have attempted to scam those in Asia or so, but I guess choosing someone from a more trustworthy society may be easier given that people here are more trusting that those from Asia.
Please don't get me wrong, there are good and bad in every society. We just have to exercise caution everywhere regardless of our presumption!
This is directly opposite to those of us in Asia, where trust must be earned over a longer duration of time. A simple example is getting documents or identity certified for Government or other applications. In Malaysia for example the identity card is of utmost important, without one, one is nobody. Getting things done means carting along loads of documents, forms and getting it certified etc. before even submitting the application and then there is the vetting process.
Today I just found out my company got cheated over a credit card scam from Nigeria. I would have thought that these Nigerian would have attempted to scam those in Asia or so, but I guess choosing someone from a more trustworthy society may be easier given that people here are more trusting that those from Asia.
Please don't get me wrong, there are good and bad in every society. We just have to exercise caution everywhere regardless of our presumption!
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