Speaking the language OR Utilities suck. And the previous tenant wasn't so great, either.
One of the reasons we rented the apartment we did was because the previous tenant was American and spoke English... Jen has increased her Spanish vocabulary immensely (and I suppose I have too, but she is FAR more competent. I say things like, "Hablar más lindo, por favor" which means, "Speak more beautifully, please" instead of "Hablar más lento, por favor" which means "Speak more slowly, please"), but speaking on the phone is still very stressful and difficult. When we have the chance, we go to talk to whomever face-to-face. So an English speaker to deal with was very helpful. An additional benefit (and one that, as it turns out, was much more important) was that the realtor (corredor?) is an American expat. He has lived here in Santiago for 25 years, so not only does he speak English, but he also knows his way around the Chilean bureaucracy quite well.
Anyway, before she left, the previous tenant told us that she would not cancel her internet service -- it would be up and running for me to work the day we moved in. She didn't cancel the service, but she did that the cable modem with her... and left an unpaid bill behind. It took much work from the realtor to get the ISP to set us up, since they seem to associate the service with the address.
On Friday, Chilectra, the power company, stopped by about 1:30. They told us that the bill had not been paid for the last two months, and that the power would be turned off in 5 minutes. Great... The realtor tried to get us a reprieve, but wasn't successful this time. He did go and pay the outstanding bill out of his own pocket right away (I hope he can recoup it from the previous tenant's security deposit), but Chilectra didn't turn the power back on until around 8:00 that night.
And, to top it off, our internet connection went out last night. We went to the ISP this morning, so hopefully, we will be back up and running soon.
...
I wrote that part yesterday, and we were back up and running yesterday. The ISP sent two guys out, who came and poked at the cable modem for about two hours before hitting on the right solution. Which, unfortunately, they weren't able to share with me. One guy spoke about as much English as I speak Spanish. Which is to say, not enough. So, my connection is back. But it isn't right. Before, it was actually very fast. Now... not so much. Back to the ISP!
Jason
PS -We're going to Viña del Mar, a beach town, this weekend with Jordan and Matt. We should have more exciting things to share when we get back.
Anyway, before she left, the previous tenant told us that she would not cancel her internet service -- it would be up and running for me to work the day we moved in. She didn't cancel the service, but she did that the cable modem with her... and left an unpaid bill behind. It took much work from the realtor to get the ISP to set us up, since they seem to associate the service with the address.
On Friday, Chilectra, the power company, stopped by about 1:30. They told us that the bill had not been paid for the last two months, and that the power would be turned off in 5 minutes. Great... The realtor tried to get us a reprieve, but wasn't successful this time. He did go and pay the outstanding bill out of his own pocket right away (I hope he can recoup it from the previous tenant's security deposit), but Chilectra didn't turn the power back on until around 8:00 that night.
And, to top it off, our internet connection went out last night. We went to the ISP this morning, so hopefully, we will be back up and running soon.
...
I wrote that part yesterday, and we were back up and running yesterday. The ISP sent two guys out, who came and poked at the cable modem for about two hours before hitting on the right solution. Which, unfortunately, they weren't able to share with me. One guy spoke about as much English as I speak Spanish. Which is to say, not enough. So, my connection is back. But it isn't right. Before, it was actually very fast. Now... not so much. Back to the ISP!
Jason
PS -We're going to Viña del Mar, a beach town, this weekend with Jordan and Matt. We should have more exciting things to share when we get back.
1 Comments:
Sorry you're having so much trouble with the Internet and electricity. But I am glad to hear from you - no matter how boring you consider your post. Have fun at the beach.
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