Elderly mum requires plan rethink

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Elderly mum requires plan rethink

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meow
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#2046872 1-Jul-2018 15:45

@RunningMan It isn't on the site but is an offering. You may need to phone them else @hio77 may know.

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johny99

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#2046965 1-Jul-2018 18:13

The Spark 5gb with landline had been grandfathered, can get 20gb and landline for $59.99 tho.

johny99

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#2046967 1-Jul-2018 18:20

Will clarify that the landline is a “wireless” landline, I know this is GZ but you know just in case.

yitz

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#2047008 1-Jul-2018 19:40

Would need to be careful not to give the Wi-Fi password out to the grandkids with a data cap like that, what is the overage charge rate on those plans?

loceff13

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#2047030 1-Jul-2018 20:44

Have you considered doing the easy thing and ringing Spark and asking for a better deal? They will price match all the other ISP's(unless the deal is say specific to gigatown customers in Dunedin and you are in Auckland), dropped my parents plan down from $115 a month to $85 for 12 months and just said to ring back every 12 months for the same offer to be applied.

Check out Orcons site or some other providers as they are pretty competitve on phone extras and use that quote when you call Spark.

DamageInc

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#2047043 1-Jul-2018 21:03

loceff13:
Have you considered doing the easy thing and ringing Spark and asking for a better deal? They will price match all the other ISP's(unless the deal is say specific to gigatown customers in Dunedin and you are in Auckland), dropped my parents plan down from $115 a month to $85 for 12 months and just said to ring back every 12 months for the same offer to be applied.

Check out Orcons site or some other providers as they are pretty competitve on phone extras and use that quote when you call Spark.

We have to ring them to remove a couple things from Mum’s monthly bill so will inquire at the same time.

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hio77

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#2047049 1-Jul-2018 21:16

johny99: The Spark 5gb with landline had been grandfathered, can get 20gb and landline for $59.99 tho.

as above.

someone here knows plans far better than i.. they could see if there is something better.

spark isn't the cheapest provider out there, nor do i feel like low cost (which often comes with a lack of support) is quite suited to elderly folk.

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1eStar

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#2047073 1-Jul-2018 22:08

Skinny Broadband and Skinny Cellphone. Ditch the landline. Depending on usage you could potentially halve your monthly spend. Set up a credit card to auto top up at a minimum level. If you know her account login details (from when you set it up) you'll be able to check in occasionally to ensure all is still on track.

UHD

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#2047075 1-Jul-2018 22:22

hio77:

johny99: The Spark 5gb with landline had been grandfathered, can get 20gb and landline for $59.99 tho.

as above.

someone here knows plans far better than i.. they could see if there is something better.

spark isn't the cheapest provider out there, nor do i feel like low cost (which often comes with a lack of support) is quite suited to elderly folk.

Where is the 20GB and wireless landline plan on Spark's site?

Spark are actually pretty cheap, tbh. With the $300 account credit and the $50 online sign up bonus the unlimited fibre 100 plan works out to be $65.83/month over the 12 month term. I think that is the cheapest in NZ.

DarkShadow

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#2047087 1-Jul-2018 23:24

UHD:

Where is the 20GB and wireless landline plan on Spark's site?

It's not. ;)

You'll need to call up and ask for it.

jonathan18

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#2047313 2-Jul-2018 11:06

I’m always interested to see that, for many people replying, the first answer in these scenarios is to “ditch the landline”. I can’t say what the details are in this particular case, but it’s far from clear that this is actually a good option for many elderly people. What works for younger, tech-savvy people does not necessarily work for all other groups...

Of any age group that’s wedded to the concept of a land line it’s the elderly. Many are reluctant to call mobiles (even if they could do so for “free” via their own mobile). Equally, this may affect others - if an elderly person switches to only mobile, will it impact on the willingness of friends to call them? May sound weird to those who haven’t dealt with this kind of thing, but it happens....

Others find mobiles tricky to use - and even if they don’t now, this may become more of an issue as they get older, so retaining a means by which they have used to communicate for decades is potentially valuable, rather than having to deal with reintroducing it later when the mobile gets too tricky to navigate. Those who develop dementia may be more likely to know how to use a device they’ve been comfortable with their whole life than something introduced more recently.

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michaelmurfy

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#2047325 2-Jul-2018 11:20

@jonathan18 It is the same for my parents for example - they hardly use the landline and "should" ditch it but they still want it because the number they've got has been theirs for almost 30 years. I've just got it running off VoIP which works fine for them. Ditching the landline is not an option for some people - my Nana would kill me if I switched off her landline in favor for a mobile phone.

jonathan18

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#2047329 2-Jul-2018 11:31

michaelmurfy:
@jonathan18 It is the same for my parents for example - they hardly use the landline and "should" ditch it but they still want it because the number they've got has been theirs for almost 30 years. I've just got it running off VoIP which works fine for them. Ditching the landline is not an option for some people - my Nana would kill me if I switched off her landline in favor for a mobile phone.

Totally! It’s a matter of being mindful of the individuals’ needs, rather than assuming everyone acts rationally, has the same needs, and the same abilities.

My mother is no longer able to even answer a call on her mobile, let alone call out on it. She doesn’t always remember to charge it, doesn’t usually take it with her or even know where it is. A landline is critical if we want to be able to ensure she can contact people (and us contact her).

kryptonjohn

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#2047358 2-Jul-2018 11:48

freitasm:

$65 80GB/month on 2degrees. $10 discount if mobile with them.

Ditch the landline.

We wouid, but Mum's got a St John medic alert pendant so needs to keep the landline.

sbiddle

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#2047370 2-Jul-2018 12:02

kryptonjohn:

freitasm:

$65 80GB/month on 2degrees. $10 discount if mobile with them.

Ditch the landline.

We wouid, but Mum's got a St John medic alert pendant so needs to keep the landline.

Aren't most of these pendant models all 3G based now? Even elderly people are getting rod of landlines so they're becoming increasingly popular.

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