Power cut off, woman dies

[Grahameeboy]

"The Muliaga family say they want the police investigation into the death of Folole to be stopped immediately."

Taken from: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10443867

Of course they do. What pisses me off about this latest development is that they say:

"Family spokesman Brenden Sheehan told the Herald yesterday the family did not want the contractor to be investigated or charged.

He said the family had only love for the contractor and had forgiven him for disconnecting the power."

They're making it seem as if they're absolutely and completely in the right! Forgiveness seems to come easy when there's money involved. I personally believe they don't want the investigation to continue for fear of being charged themselves.

I thought it was ridiculous before, but surely someone else can see the madness here?

Yep madness indeed..................

[Hitcher]

One wonders if they want the coroner's investigation to cease as well.

This sorry saga will provide valuable case study resources for years to come. Particularly what happens when multiple self-interests collide:

The immigrant family
The social welfare system
The health system
Commercial imperitives
The Prime Minister of New Zealand
The trade union activist
The government appointed chairperson
The media...

Unfortunately it is unlikely that there will be any significant learnings to arise from this train wreck, particularly from the last party on my list, which really should know better.

[insane1]

will we ever hear the end of this one i doubt that .would be nice to find out all the facts not rumors as the case may be why pay $10,000 when your not at fault.

[Patrick]

I personally believe they don't want the investigation to continue for fear of being charged themselves.

Sums it up... would laugh my tits off if (when???) it happens, but then there would be another thread saying poor family being picked on by the cops...:shutup:

[davereid]

I think the G'mint nust act now..

It should be illegal to disconnect anyones power just because they don't pay for it.

It should be illegal to disconnect anyones water just because they don't pay for it.

It should be illegal to disconnect anyones phone just be cause they don't pay for it.

It should be illegal to evict someone just because they don't pay the rent.

It should be illegal to stop anyone leaving the supermarket with a trolley full of food just because they didn't pay for it.

It should be illegal to make people pay for petrol.
.................................................. .................................................
Sadly, the reality here is that it is the job of social agencies to look after people who can't manage on their own. Its not the job of the power company, supermarket or butcher. The power company were entirely correct in disconnecting the power when the account was unpaid, the failure here was with the social agencies, and the family who may have been too proud to call them.
.................................................. .................................................

[Patrick]

And pay taxes....

[devnull]

Who this be then??

Gordon Smith. Was also at Matai Rd when Scott Hollingshead was SSO there :yes:

[Beemer]

Forgive me for seeming cynical, but do I detect a pattern emerging here? One of "not my fault"?

From Stuff today:

Ford sued by family over Tongan royals' deaths
Stuff.co.nz | Wednesday, 6 June 2007

The family of the Tongan royals killed in a crash in the United States last year are suing car manufacturer Ford over their deaths.

Tongan Prince Tu'ipelehake, 55, his wife, Princess Kaimana Aleamotu'a Tuku'aho, 46 and their driver, Vinisia Hefa, 36, died on a California highway in July last year when their SUV collided with another vehicle, causing it to flip and roll over several times.

Tu'ipelehake's sons - Vakafuhu Tu'ifua, 12, who lives in New Zealand and Osaiasi Tu'ipulotu, 34, claim the car manufacturer knew the vehicle in which the party were travelling was unsafe.

The trio were hit by a 19-year-old woman, Edith Delgado, who last week pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter.

US authorities claim the teenager was racing another driver prior to colliding with the Tongan royals.

In a lawsuit filed by the prince's sons in the US, it is claimed that Ford knew the 1998 Ford Explorer had a "tendency to trip, roll over or flip in turning manoeuvres."

The lawsuit claims Ford marketed the Explorer as a "forgiving, safe and stable passenger carrying vehicle," misleading drivers and passengers including Tu'ipelehake into believing the SUV was safe for highway travel and would not roll over during normal turning manoeuvres, news agency Associated Press reported.

Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley told AP said the company had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it. But she defended the Explorer, saying tests have shown the SUV is "as good or better than other SUVs in handling and stability."

The prince and his wife had been in the US to discuss political reforms in the tiny South Pacific nation with members of the region's Tongan community.

[u4ea]

Only cause labour want the political points , this whole thing is bullshit and a good way to sidetrack the public from any real issues going on, bottom line her death was her fault and no one elses


yup those few words sum it up for me too..If her health was so bad then why arent the health providers who put her on oxygen at fault??She new she was ill and had a mind (regardless of culture) to know how to seek help.She obviously was able to obtain a passport so she wasnt that stupid!!!!!!

[scumdog]

Forgive me for seeming cynical, but do I detect a pattern emerging here? One of "not my fault"?

From Stuff today:

Ford sued by family over Tongan royals' deaths
Stuff.co.nz | Wednesday, 6 June 2007

The family of the Tongan royals killed in a crash in the United States last year are suing car manufacturer Ford over their deaths.

Tu'ipelehake's sons - Vakafuhu Tu'ifua, 12, who lives in New Zealand and Osaiasi Tu'ipulotu, 34, claim the car manufacturer knew the vehicle in which the party were travelling was unsafe.


In a lawsuit filed by the prince's sons in the US, it is claimed that Ford knew the 1998 Ford Explorer had a "tendency to trip, roll over or flip in turning manoeuvres."

The buggers bought the thing cos it looked trndy and was big enough for them, I bet they would have still bought it if it was on its side in flames.

Dicks that buy a car like that and them moan when it won't handle like a sports car should be banned from owning ANY car (or bike.)

[James Deuce]

yup those few words sum it up for me too..If her health was so bad then why arent the health providers who put her on oxygen at fault??S

Because they're not at fault. The compressor was purely for supplementary O2 when she was asleep. She will have had access to O2 cylinders as a matter of course. She was on a truck load of medication to prevent incipient organ failure.

Her health status was her issue, not the people treating her.

[Grahameeboy]

Because they're not at fault. The compressor was purely for supplementary O2 when she was asleep. She will have had access to O2 cylinders as a matter of course. She was on a truck load of medication to prevent incipient organ failure.

Her health status was her issue, not the people treating her.

I agree:sunny:

[Skyryder]

Look we know we are all perfect and if we do have an accident/crash then it has got to be someones fault. Now the Blue bloods of this world have for so long seen themselves as blameless and it has now got to the stage of crass stupidity. The Tongan Royal Family have been the laughing stock for some time now and this latest episode just adds to that fact.

Waht that country needs is a good revolution.


Skyryder

[Milky]

couldn't agree more scumdog - as a side, how many ferrari owners sue the company because their car rolled and they got injured when trying to descend a 40 degree slope covered in mud and rocks?

On another note - any shred of respect I might have had for helen is now completely destroyed. FFS she bad mouthed the contractor before any information had come out, and proceeded to jump on the media bandwagon to milk all publicity and airtime she could manage from the story. Fucking pathetic.

[Milky]

Because they're not at fault. The compressor was purely for supplementary O2 when she was asleep. She will have had access to O2 cylinders as a matter of course. She was on a truck load of medication to prevent incipient organ failure.

Her health status was her issue, not the people treating her.

Correct me if I am wrong, but hadn't the family decided to ditch the mainstream medicine and return to traditional samoan healing methods?

[oldrider]

Hark back a while to John Tamahere's interview in the "Investigate" magazine, when he said Clark panics and loses it completely under pressure!

Current political poll results have panicked her into the most outrageous irrational outbursts concerning this affair, it seems he was correct.

Helen's political panic attack has made New Zealand a world wide laughing stock, is that the sort of person we need to be our Prime Minister?

The socialists claim that she has 80% public support for stand on this, how do they propose to substantiate such claims, where do they get such statistics? (Chris Trotter, political commentator and unbiased lefty, on the radio today)

Time for a change?

Or has she done enough to persuade the gullible again! :scratch: John.

[Dave Lobster]

Correct me if I am wrong, but hadn't the family decided to ditch the mainstream medicine and return to traditional samoan healing methods?

What's that? Living without electrickery?

[peasea]

YAAAWN!!!!!

[Beemer]

Look we know we are all perfect and if we do have an accident/crash then it has got to be someones fault. Now the Blue bloods of this world have for so long seen themselves as blameless and it has now got to the stage of crass stupidity. The Tongan Royal Family have been the laughing stock for some time now and this latest episode just adds to that fact.

What's the bet the two fattest members of the family were both on the same side of the vehicle?

[MSTRS]

What's that? Living without electrickery?

I'm surprised they allowed themselves to be filmed. Don't those camera thingies take your soul??

[Grahameeboy]

I'm surprised they allowed themselves to be filmed. Don't those camera thingies take your soul??

No pictures silly billy..............you been watching National Geographic too much............but wait, News Flash - Tongan wedding party sue Kodak for stealing their souls..............

[Delerium]

Polls from other forums show only 25% beleive the power company is to blame. Admittedly it was from only one forum with the same demographic, young people typically male.. but I would be curious to see the result from a broader poll.

[Indiana_Jones]

I still can't get over how fucking fat her son is :p

-Indy

[Beemer]

Polls from other forums show only 25% beleive the power company is to blame. Admittedly it was from only one forum with the same demographic, young people typically male.. but I would be curious to see the result from a broader poll.

I'm not male and I'm in my forties so it depends on what you classify as 'young' but I think the power company should not be blamed. I think they should be kicked up the arse for giving this family money, but not for their initial actions in disconnecting the power.

All of my husband's workmates agree - one is male, aged in his 50s, and all the others are female, a mix of kiwis, British-born Europeans and Maoris. Virtually everyone I have spoken to feels the same way, but I think some people are scared to voice their true feelings for fear of being labelled racist, heartless or unsympathetic to the poor.

[SpeedyGirl]

Blaming the power company for a death that occurred THREE hours after the power was switched off, during which time NO attempts were made to help this woman, is morally wrong. If my family couldn't afford to pay the power bill, I'd get a part-time job to help out. At least two of the kids were old enough to do this. And her doctors have publictly stated the oxygen was NOT a life support system so I do not accept that turning the power off in any way resulted in her death.

I just hope the autopsy results show she died from cardiac arrest or pneumonia, brought on by gross obesity. Which can happen if you are black, white or yellow, and is not your power company's fault.

Thank you, i was beginning to think that no-one else thought like this!!!

[Delerium]

It was a poll on the nzhondas website.

[LilSel]

Polls from other forums show only 25% beleive the power company is to blame. Admittedly it was from only one forum with the same demographic, young people typically male.. but I would be curious to see the result from a broader poll.

There was another petition thing goin around on another site... cant remember it now tho, got it at work... funny that lol:innocent:

[Grahameeboy]

I'm not male and I'm in my forties so it depends on what you classify as 'young' but I think the power company should not be blamed. I think they should be kicked up the arse for giving this family money, but not for their initial actions in disconnecting the power.

All of my husband's workmates agree - one is male, aged in his 50s, and all the others are female, a mix of kiwis, British-born Europeans and Maoris. Virtually everyone I have spoken to feels the same way, but I think some people are scared to voice their true feelings for fear of being labelled racist, heartless or unsympathetic to the poor.

Agreed although I think they need to tweek their proceedure a wee bit in the light of this sad incident.

Certainly the Power Company were not responsible for the lady's death given the intervention (or lack of it) by the family to seek medical help when she was deteriorating.

But what is wrong is that in some ways, not all, this has turned into a bit of a culture bash............Eminen once sang, "there are poor white people' and in the same vein, obesity is not just limited to Samoans etc...white people are overweight and given that most if the All Blacks are of either Maori or Pacific Island origin...well you know what I mean.

It would have been interesting to see what the reaction would have been if these guys were white...........yes I know 'flack' talking stuff but I wonder

[candor]

Shit happens. If you don't take responsibility for yourself more shit can happen. I don't believe that family did think Mum was at serious risk - the evidence is no 111 call. Clearcut. Case closed.

Helens brownnosing should get her the sack. Its got to be the last straw, she has shown she is not a genuine person now - she can't possibly be stupid enough to believe it was the power companies fault.

I think it started (the lack of genuineness) when she hogged the Maori Queens body. Having little consideration clealy for those who were closest.

I think she best go and rule in Pitcairn or somewhere.

[LilSel]

Helens brownnosing should get her the sack. Its got to be the last straw, she has shown she is not a genuine person now - she can't possibly be stupid enough to believe it was the power companies fault.
.

:laugh:.... :Punk:

[Flatcap]

Helens brownnosing should get her the sack. Its got to be the last straw, she has shown she is not a genuine person now

Of course she isn't a genuine person - she's a boot-faced communist.

Mr Key will rid us of this "woman"

[Patrick]

Of course she isn't a genuine person - she's a boot-faced communist.

Mr Key will rid us of this "woman"

Helens a woman???:gob:

[Beemer]

Helens a woman???:gob:

Sort of "it's life, Jim, but not as we know it"

[oldrider]

Of course she isn't a genuine person - she's a boot-faced communist.

Mr Key will rid us of this "woman"

You mean "Tit for Tat"!

Middle of the road politicians are more about themselves than those they pretend to represent.

You can't steal second base without taking your foot off first and that requires "commitment".

Is John Key really any different to Helen Clark at the end of the day? :scratch: John.

[Flatcap]

Is John Key really any different to Helen Clark at the end of the day? :scratch: John.

Well, he is very definitely a bloke, while the jury is out on Helen.

[peasea]

Well, he is very definitely a bloke, while the jury is out on Helen.

"eating out Helen" did I hear you say? Oh no, typo, sorry.

[ynot slow]

this morning,had the father on programme explaining why ambulance not called,phone disconnected,had to use elderly neighbours phone,the contractor sounds like he was given the don't accept sob story from customer,as he was taken to see the women in her dining room,they were to pay bill on the thursday.best part was when through interpretor who is to blame here,he replied power company.excuse me the power co wasn't overdue with payment.end of story there.mind you they had no idea they could use govt agencies,samoan pride,samoan stubborness was problem,he has no probs explaining the predicament on nationwide tv,so pride doesn't appear to be issue.sad but true plight on society,the way the govt pretended to care,bullshit extreme.

[MisterD]

this morning,had the father on programme explaining why ambulance not called,phone disconnected,had to use elderly neighbours phone,the contractor sounds like he was given the don't accept sob story from customer,as he was taken to see the women in her dining room,they were to pay bill on the thursday.best part was when through interpretor who is to blame here,he replied power company.excuse me the power co wasn't overdue with payment.end of story there.mind you they had no idea they could use govt agencies,samoan pride,samoan stubborness was problem,he has no probs explaining the predicament on nationwide tv,so pride doesn't appear to be issue.sad but true plight on society,the way the govt pretended to care,bullshit extreme.

Interpretor? Can someone get him to come back? I understand the individual words, but together they don't seem to mean anything....

[Beemer]

Interpretor? Can someone get him to come back? I understand the individual words, but together they don't seem to mean anything....

Oh, so deserving of bling! I wonder if who we can blame for this? :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[scumdog]

Oh, so deserving of bling! I wonder if who we can blame for this? :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

The person who chose to ignore the English teacher at his school I'd say....spelling not too bad - but oh my, the punctuation, the lack of caps., the grammar......

[Hitcher]

this morning,had the father on programme explaining why ambulance not called,phone disconnected,had to use elderly neighbours phone,the contractor sounds like he was given the don't accept sob story from customer,as he was taken to see the women in her dining room,they were to pay bill on the thursday.best part was when through interpretor who is to blame here,he replied power company.excuse me the power co wasn't overdue with payment.end of story there.mind you they had no idea they could use govt agencies,samoan pride,samoan stubborness was problem,he has no probs explaining the predicament on nationwide tv,so pride doesn't appear to be issue.sad but true plight on society,the way the govt pretended to care,bullshit extreme.

Gahhh! Thud.

[peasea]

The person who chose to ignore the English teacher at his school I'd say....spelling not too bad - but oh my, the punctuation, the lack of caps., the grammar......

Quite right, it takes only a few seconds of extra effort to at least make a post understood with ease and this was such an important topic.:whocares:

[avgas]

this morning,had the father on programme explaining why ambulance not called,phone disconnected,had to use elderly neighbours phone,the contractor sounds like he was given the don't accept sob story from customer,as he was taken to see the women in her dining room,they were to pay bill on the thursday.best part was when through interpretor who is to blame here,he replied power company.excuse me the power co wasn't overdue with payment.end of story there.mind you they had no idea they could use govt agencies,samoan pride,samoan stubborness was problem,he has no probs explaining the predicament on nationwide tv,so pride doesn't appear to be issue.sad but true plight on society,the way the govt pretended to care,bullshit extreme.
Then explain the 2 cars in the drive and the 3 cellphones in the household.
Power co. ONLY cut off power when the bill is 90 days overdue......and they tell you at least 4 times that they are going to do so.
The only sad part here is the fact that it made the news

[scumdog]

Then explain the 2 cars in the drive and the 3 cellphones in the household.
Power co. ONLY cut off power when the bill is 90 days overdue......and they tell you at least 4 times that they are going to do so.
The only sad part here is the fact that it made the news


Hey, quit crowding the issue with so many facts - it's ruining the whole media pumped story...i

[Beemer]

This has just been posted on a journalism forum I belong to and I think it pretty much says it all:

"Now the police have decided not to press charges against anyone concerning the Muliaga power case, more of the truth has come out. And weren't we all taken for a ride! Not just Helen Clark, but to some extent, me as well.

Tucked away in the inside pages of the Weekend Herald, was this little story, far away from the screaming front-page headlines of the earlier narrative. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10446059 So the family had had their power cut off several times before without any fatal consequences. So obviously that oxygen machine wasn't as vital as we were originally led to believe. And the son did nothing to help, like call an ambulance for hours, when he was able to. I recall a blog reported that the Muliagas were actually claiming $277 a week in government benefits, so it seems Working for Families was not too complicated, as I had wondered.

Thus, the Muliagas were not ignorant peasants with poor English, but rather a reasonably educated family who could cope with the rigours of our welfare system, queries from WINZ and the IRD. In receipt of all this taxpayer upport, I would say they were somewhat negligent in not paying their bills. I would also say that since they were educated enough to claim so much welfare, they were also educated enough to converse to the police in English too. After all, they had been in New Zealand six years, long enough to learn English, unless the government's edcuation system had failed them too.

Now the dust is settling for the Coroner's Inquest, I feel that the media needs to look at how it covered the story. Was it too easy to take the Sheehan-fed line of evil corporate v poor and innocent family? Was the media too slow in noting the government's role in this, particulalrly when Helen Clark became involved. It did eventually, noting that Mercury is an SOE where the government appoints the board and sets the financial targets. You might not have known Mercury was state-owned judging by some tv coverage. Was the media being too PC and culturally sensitive in its coverage, not wishing to pry much into the Muliaga's role in this. Or the support they gave their church or what they might have got in return. Michael Laws last week commented as much in the SST.

And bearing all this in mind, don't we now need to examine how the PM dealt with this drama now the truth is known. Now, we see a case of a woman whose overeating led her to die. And at such a fortuitous time that a state-funded, thus taxpayer-owned power company felt so guilt-ridden they stumped up $10,000.

As those sweet old dears sitting for a bus say in the 4 Square advert :"How very convenient.""

[MSTRS]

The constant bleating about the 'facts' in this case is such a crock....there was only one important fact - the woman was going to die because she damaged her heart by being too fat. But will any newspaper actually publish that as being the pertinent fact? Doubt it. Not PC eh...

[deanohit]

Your dead friggan right there Beemer.I think this whole story stunk from the beginning and I cant beleive how much the media pumped this story up.

[terbang]

Then explain the 2 cars in the drive and the 3 cellphones in the household.


Dumb arguement, working people have cars and cellphones.

So you would, if you lost all or part of your income due illness, sell your car or other family members cars and cellphones to pay the power bill? Or are you trying to imply that these people were bludgers that had cars and cellphones in lieu of paying their power bill?

[Patrick]

Your dead friggan right there Beemer.I think this whole story stunk from the beginning and I cant beleive how much the media pumped this story up.

Kinda funny how so many of us on here saw right through it all, yet the PM couldn't??? Her Political football just got kicked to touch, finally... perhaps???? (I live in hope...)

[Beemer]

Kinda funny how so many of us on here saw right through it all, yet the PM couldn't??? Her Political football just got kicked to touch, finally... perhaps???? (I live in hope...)

I'm not into politics and unfortunately don't think much changes no matter who is in power, but I bloody hope this has harmed Helen Clark in the eyes of decent NZers who do pay their bills. I got paid about $300 on Saturday for some work I did last June - yes, 12 months ago! Because I accept payment on publication, there was nothing I could do about the fact they held the story over for 12 months. However all the bills I had to pay in the past 12 months got paid, it's not like I used that as an excuse to avoid paying!

[Dave Lobster]

I think this whole story stunk from the beginning and I can't believe how much the media pumped this story up.

Why does the media do this? Aren't they afraid of ethnic minorities suing them for making them look thick?

[caesius]

Why does the media do this? Aren't they afraid of ethnic minorities suing them for making them look thick?

Ignorant masses of Aotearoa prefer an evil company being evil and their victims being non-white rather than the other way around. No story in the latter.

I doubt this would have been covered for more than a day in Australia.

[Hitcher]

Hopefully an enlightened case study writer will give this saga its due so that its learnings can be captured for others to benefit from.

[MSTRS]

Hopefully an enlightened case study writer will give this saga its due so that its learnings can be captured for others to benefit from.

What's with all the hoity-toity stuff?
Just print the truth...

[Beemer]

Hopefully an enlightened case study writer will give this saga its due so that its learnings can be captured for others to benefit from.

Bags not me! I'll still to writing for NZ Trucking thanks!

[Hitcher]

I'll still to writing for NZ Trucking thanks!

Stick, perhaps? Now pay suitable homage to Araldite, the goddess of adhesion.

[avgas]

fuck it im not paying my power bill anymore. i need my fridge/tv/computer to live

[Sanx]

I've only just found this thread. The whole situation makes me f'ing mad. No-one in the family took any form of responsibility or showed any intelligence. Somehow, it's an evil faceless corporation that's to blame for the woman eating far too many pies, for the woman stopping taking her medication and relying on 'traditional Samoan healing practices' and prayer, for the family not calling an ambulance, for the family not paying the bills, for the family not responding to warnings they were going to be cut off, for the family not getting off their fat arses and doing something about getting power for the oxygen machine and - lastly - for the extended family not being aware of the situation and helping out.

No - it's always someone else's fault.

For reference, the pic that LilSel posted up of some terminally fat protester trying to kick a motorbike features my (slim and well-toned, even if I do say it myself) arse and the back end of my Blade. The protestors didn't appreciate hearing 11,000 rpm from a 'race use only' Scorpion when they were blocking the car-park exit. During the whole incident, I got a lecture from some bearded hippy with a megaphone about how some protestor had been killed on a picket line by a company representative.

Considering this was meant to be a protest about some woman's death and not a strike, I failed to see how that was relevant, but considering the number of 'Socialist Worker' and 'Solidarity Union' banners about, it was fairly obvious that half of the bunch were slightly to the left of Mao Tse Tung, politically-speaking.

Amusingly, they obviously thought I worked for Mighty River Power. The car park they were protesting outside belongs to an office park containing not only Mercury Energy, but Genesis Energy, Toyota Financial Services, TNS, a cafe, a software company, and a risk management company. As the car-park has two exits, it's also used as a rat run between Ellerslie Highway and Gt South Road, especially by parents of small children who attend the pre-school and play-school in the area.

I'm looking forward to the inquest findings, and live in hope that one of the media outlets has the balls to ask Komrade Helen to retract her statements about Mercury Energy in line wit the inquest findings that absolved the company completely. Fat chance that's going to happen though - the media in this country is as gutless as a Ginny.

[Patrick]

Good post Sanx. The family spokesman is a Trade Union man from way back apparently, which is why the "rent a mob" descended" onto that site. he makes a few calls to his comrades and "game on..."

He has pushed it along the whole way, feeding the media further crap to further thier cause (and subsequent settlements, no doubt...) and got the family going with it. But by the looks of them, they needed something to get them moving...

The new PC version of Teletubbies, me thinks...

Tinkywinky is the spokesman and handbag carrier...
Dipsy and Lala are the dopey kids...
Po is the..... mum?

[Delerium]

I thought that family rep got to the point of pushing wet shit up a hill with a pointed stick. He really appeared to be grasping at straws towards the end in an attempt to strengthen his position and weaken the power company. But I was sick of hearing it by that stage so pretty much anything he did would annoy me by then.

[Beemer]

Stick, perhaps? Now pay suitable homage to Araldite, the goddess of adhesion.

I'd give you rep for noticing my error but I've given you too much lately! Don't worry, I DO proofread my articles before sending them in and in fact I was praised for my accuracy in a technical article yesterday! I must have been in a hurry ... or you went in and changed my post ... I wouldn't put it past you! :dodge:

[kro]

Dumb arguement, working people have cars and cellphones.

So you would, if you lost all or part of your income due illness, sell your car or other family members cars and cellphones to pay the power bill? Or are you trying to imply that these people were bludgers that had cars and cellphones in lieu of paying their power bill?

His argument was sound imo. It has nothing to do with selling anything, it has to do with wise distribution of funds. You see these "poor" families on TV, who are "hard up", and in need of "welfare", but the TV segment catches the edge of the Sky TV aerial/dish on the house, or the 18 inch chromes on the mitsi in the drive, or the project V8 car in the back yard.

I don't know if this is what has occurred here, but hells bells, the power company don't just cut you off 2 days after the first late payment, you get warnings, you get calls, you get opportunities to come clean on the deal, and this can drag out over months if you need it to. This family had opportunities to fix the issue.

[Delerium]

Financial planning played a significant part in this outcome... but if you look at the figures this applies to many more households in NZ. We spend more than we earn.

[Sanx]

This isn't public knowledge, but I have it on very good authority that the family also had two large finance accounts on two different cars; and the finance companies involved were going through the process of legally enforcing the default clauses in the contract.

As I said, this never hit the media, but according to the debt collection manager of the finance company involved, the family owed them a fair bit of money.

[Indiana_Jones]

Now Helen is using the smoke screen of Bain and sue bradford to stop her making look like a knob-sack from this case.

-Indy

[shcabbeh]

Now Helen is using the smoke screen of Bain and sue bradford to stop her making look like a knob-sack from this case.

-Indy

Too late, man.

[KoroJ]

Anyone have a different perspective on this after the TV and newspaper updates of the events.

Sounds more a case of "Shame on you, Mercury Energy" now than before, especialy when it turns out they had made a couple of arrears payments and only owed about $35 when the power was cut off.

[scumdog]

Anyone have a different perspective on this after the TV and newspaper updates of the events.

Sounds more a case of "Shame on you, Mercury Energy" now than before, especialy when it turns out they had made a couple of arrears payments and only owed about $35 when the power was cut off.

What was it that actually killed the woman? The thought of still owing Mercury Energy $35????

Or the thought that this was the third time they risked getting the power cut off - and it actually happened??

[Patrick]

What was it that actually killed the woman? The thought of still owing Mercury Energy $35????

Or the thought that this was the third time they risked getting the power cut off - and it actually happened??

Why hasn't KFC donated??????? They were big shareholders.... for the cost of a family pack the debt would have been settled... Down with KFC!!!!

As for the race card... his English isn't too bad, but lately only speaks in Samoan with an interpreter...???

But hey, multiple warning notices and multiple phone calls weren't enough... it must be Mercurys fault...

[KoroJ]

What was it that actually killed the woman? The thought of still owing Mercury Energy $35????

Or the thought that this was the third time they risked getting the power cut off - and it actually happened??

Disregarding what actually killed her....we can thank our wonderful 'Privacy Act' for being an arse.

Mercury weren't too interested in talking to him as the bill was in her name, even after being asvised she was in hospital. They were just following the rules.

Also, I can't believe that anyones power (or any other service or product) would be cut/reposessed when the client is making payments or some effort to catch-up.

[oldrider]

Disregarding what actually killed her....we can thank our wonderful 'Privacy Act' for being an arse.

Mercury weren't too interested in talking to him as the bill was in her name, even after being asvised she was in hospital. They were just following the rules.

Also, I can't believe that anyones power (or any other service or product) would be cut/reposessed when the client is making payments or some effort to catch-up.

Mercury were constantly being told that she was in "hospital" not at home!

They were dribbling the money in to Mercury but Mercury were still providing them with "full" power!

They (Mercury) only have one recourse open to them, ON or OFF!

You give us a little bit of money, we will give you a little bit of power, just doesn't work yet, unless you have smart metering but that costs "more money"!

Obviously that wasn't an option in this case! :mellow: John.

[scumdog]

Disregarding what actually killed her....we can thank our wonderful 'Privacy Act' for being an arse.

Mercury weren't too interested in talking to him as the bill was in her name, even after being asvised she was in hospital. They were just following the rules.

Also, I can't believe that anyones power (or any other service or product) would be cut/reposessed when the client is making payments or some effort to catch-up.

That's why a different family members name gets used each time one of them comes up as "Bad bill payer, undesirable customer"

With the size of some low-income families it's quite a while before all the names have been used up..


And maybe the company had already been down that road too often "We pays you soon.." and stopped believing them?

[u4ea]

This isn't public knowledge, but I have it on very good authority that the family also had two large finance accounts on two different cars; and the finance companies involved were going through the process of legally enforcing the default clauses in the contract.

As I said, this never hit the media, but according to the debt collection manager of the finance company involved, the family owed them a fair bit of money.


Why hasn't KFC donated??????? They were big shareholders.... for the cost of a family pack the debt would have been settled... Down with KFC!!!!

As for the race card... his English isn't too bad, but lately only speaks in Samoan with an interpreter...???

But hey, multiple warning notices and multiple phone calls weren't enough... it must be Mercurys fault...

yer I noticed these things too.Will be interesting when the coroners report is out.Power failure caused death as obesity and KFC addiction(they all looked a bit podgy)played no part :shutup:

[Skyryder]

The bit that got me was that even after Mercury had been told of the death, that was 'irrelevent.'

I listened very carefully to this and what I heard was an uncaring female that was on automation. A nuclear bomb could have fallen and her attitude would have been the same. She sumed it up very nicely how this nation now cares about those that are less fortnunate than themselves.


Skyryder

[Swoop]

Hmm.
I had a visit today by a nice man who replaced my electricity meter with a really fancy one.
Digital readout display AND it is somehow linked to the "local big brother computer".
Result #1 is that electricity meter readers are out of a job.
Result #2 is all accounts will be "actual reading" instead of "bi-monthly guesstimate".

I wonder if the buggers can send a txt to switch my power off now.
Will nip down to the tip and get an old dive-bottle and paint it up to look like a fancy new lifesaving apparatus (just in case).

[Patrick]

The bit that got me was that even after Mercury had been told of the death, that was 'irrelevent.'

I listened very carefully to this and what I heard was an uncaring female that was on automation. A nuclear bomb could have fallen and her attitude would have been the same. She sumed it up very nicely how this nation now cares about those that are less fortnunate than themselves.


Skyryder

A poor choice of a single word... who hasn't done that?