Andrew Brooks

I’d booked in an exam with them for the 10th October at 11:10am. Only to get a message from my uni to say I haven’t been booked in for my exam two days before. I’m now $8 US out of pocket for their stuff up.

I use to be a big fan of Swinburne Online. After the experience in my last unit, I’m left with a very sour taste in my mouth. I have been studying a Bachelor of Business online, as they tend to recommend 10-15 hours study per week per unit. I have found myself studying 20+ in my last unit and still failed it at the end. The eLa’s seem to be marking harder than previous years, I would say I have a basic understanding of what I studied. Units are becoming too heavily exam focused which is not good for students who may do better with written assignments and group work. In my last unit which weighted 50% of the overall mark. The mean was 52, that’s pretty concerning when the majority of students are just scraping a pass.

Online unit material appears to be just a few YouTube videos and a couple of lecture slide material thrown in. If you are doing a unit which requires calculations. The textbook will most likely not have an answer section to know if you are on the right track.

I have now failed a second unit which means I’ll be issued with a show cause notice. For reference the mean for this unit’s end of semester exam was 34.4. Yet eLa’s spent this past semester marking high that a majority of people were getting distinctions to high distinctions.

Upon asking about an exit award for study already completed. I was told in the email I received it would take 15 days for them to respond.

I purchased a Water TechniX PRO - Pool Flexible Vacuum Head as my previous vacuum head broke and I liked the idea that this one used metal pins instead of plastic ones. The product fitted my hose and arrived in a timely manner. Mr Pool Man was very easy to order from.

This organisation is not independent of the company that hires them to handle complaints. In some cases they only pass on information to the company you have complained about. Don’t be fooled by the flashy website, at the end of the day they get paid by the company that engages them and are just another arm of the HR department

I ordered an Ovenware Large Tray and 3-ply Stainless Steel Rectangular Roaster while on sale as my previous tray and roaster had started to become damage. I am extremely happy with the quality of the items. My previous trays which were more basic had quite a bit of use and lasted a reasonable time. I anticipate these should last longer.

I ordered a tv, sound bar and tv mount on the 16th July. Harvey Norman notified me on the 21st July that the sound bar and tv mount was on back order. Since then there has been no update and I have had to follow up today on the progress of the order. Since this was meant to be a birthday present. I hope that the items will be delivered soon, but aren’t too optimistic given some of the reviews I have read. The customer service is ridiculous. Gerry should probably spend less time complaining about others and more time fixing his business.

It is now 3 months now and still none of the items have arrived. I was told the wall mount should have arrived by the 9th October.

I purchased a Power Diverter on the 5th December 2022. When speaking to the seller before purchasing I was told it could be installed before Christmas. As it is a busy time, it was understandable that the seller was probably busy with orders and Christmas preparations. After Christmas and New Years passed I contacted the seller on the 6th January who told me he would contact me ASAP.

After allowing two months to pass in early March and not hearing back from the seller, I made contact with the seller again who told me he had been busy opening a new factory etc. The seller arranged a local installer who I didn’t hear from and then had to contact them again to follow up and get the contact information for. After about 2 weeks from when the seller contacted the installer. I discover from the installer that they have 2 months work ahead of them and are reluctant to do the job as the work involves a solar panel system. They had contacted the seller who failed to pass this on.

After tracking down an installer myself, I did not hear back from the seller for a few days which by was the straw that broke the camels back. I lodged a dispute process through PayPal and was able to get a refund. Despite failing to provide PayPal with a legitimate tracking number as part of the dispute process. The seller is trying to claim I have the device. If I had the device it would have avoided the need for intervention by PayPal.

I would suggest that this business not take full payment, until they are ready to ship the item. Having a parent who was a sole trader, they were always upfront with clients with how long they had to wait before they could do a job.

I would also be wary of reviews on other sites from this business that are 5 stars and rarely verified. The seller is very active in responding to negative comments. If only as much time and energy went into completing sales.

I reported multiple people committing a dangerous behaviour using their phone while driving which is illegal under my states laws. Every time Snapchat says that it has not violated its community standards.

The app has been overrun by scammers trying to steal money off you or girls trying to sign you up to adult websites. As a parent I would be deeply concerned if my child was using this app unmonitored.

I purchased a 8.5kg AddWash washing machine towards the end of last year. Having previously used top loaders. I was extremely impressed at how well this machine washes clothes. Having a young child it gets a majority of the stains out of his clothes. Plus washes sneakers better than any top loader has. The machine is easy to use. The only downside is that the machine doesn’t hold 8.5kg loads exactly and some wash functions have a weight limit.

I have a 4G KR-63 unit that I purchased in February 2022 with a lifetime subscription. It developed a communication issue on the 25th February 2025. I have tried all the steps listed on the website but can’t restore communication. I contacted Solar Analytics on the 1st March and emailed photos on the 3rd March and are still waiting upon a response. Previously Solar Analytics was always prompt with their replies. It is now the 26th April with no reply, if I do get one I will update the review

The unit did not even last 5 years which is now the downgraded warranty period. Fair Trading have been contacted.

I placed an online order just before Christmas and did not receive a snack fries and large fries. The bags had not been tampered with as they had been stapled so the items had been left out by the store. Having been the second time this happened, I had let the first time slide. After the corporate office forwarded my email onto the the local store. I received a phone call from the manager saying they couldn’t provide a refund but would email a voucher instead. Which I never received.

Trustpilot provides a platform for people to give reviews without interference of the company being reviewed or service. Too often reviews are manipulated without getting people’s honest experiences.

Expect any company that uses this platform will get the investigation result they want. Independence is questionable. They handled a fairly serious matter that I reported and ensured it was covered up for the company. I even suggested where they would find the information that I did not have direct access to. This was a matter that people could have got seriously sick from.

I do like the free water testing that Poolwerx offers though you kind of feel obligated to buy something from them in return. I’d much rather prefer to pay a small fee. I’m curious as to how their testing works as my pool’s salt level suddenly jumped compared to the previous season when I had done nothing different and was following the recommended salt level for my pump. One negative is that their online service request form doesn’t work. I had previously made an attempt to book a service and never received a response.

I purchased a case for my son on recommendation of a family member. The case arrived quickly and looks to be pretty sturdy. The real test will be on our next trip. I did hear/read somewhere that they are no longer selling cases in Australia so the choices left were limited.

O’Connor Marsden and Associates reviewed a complaint I had made to an organisation. I believe the response I had received was condescending and not to the standards a law firm should adhere to. It is a conflict of interest to conduct an internal review of an organisation when they are being paid by that business. I did not like the attempt to gag me with code of conduct confidentiality when I don’t work for the organisation and the complaint was rejected.

I received two quotes at the start of the year with Macquarie Energy Pty Ltd and SPS Solar and Water. Both conducted a site inspection and SPS were very thorough in getting on the roof and taking measurements. I live in a small house so not all panels were going to fit on the Northern side. Macquarie Energy wanted to decrease the size of the system in order to get everything on the Northern side and SPS were going to put panels on the Southern side as well. Prices quoted were on par with each other. However one installer, mentioned that my switchboard was missing a switch to shutdown the power to the board as I have underground power. Which would affect the installation of a smart meter. That I would require a level 2 electrician to install a switch and that they could recommend someone or I could go with my own. My chosen installer made no mention of the need to upgrade my board. When the time came, my power company was able to install the smart meter without the need for the switch. Which made me wonder the legitimacy of the claim.

I was referred to this company through Bid My Solar as they were the only one that tended for my contract. While I have no complaints about the quality of the work. In trouble shooting an after sales issue with my system. I believe the issue could have been better avoided with a clear set of written instructions after the installation. I was left feeling by the owner that it was my fault that I had overlooked a step. I can’t speak highly enough of the inverter company who had the patience to help me resolve the issue.

Bid my solar designed my solar panel system using computer modeling which is what sold me on their concept. However, previous independent quotes had found an issue with the number of panels that could be installed on the north side which meant the installer that won the bid had to alter the system from the design that had been agreed to. This was something that a visual inspection by Bid My Solar would have picked up.

Depending on where you live in Australia, you may only have one person bidding for your system so competition can be lacking. Bid my Solar and installers should provide a post installation checklist so that any issues can be sorted earlier. Rather than have unnecessary downtime when something basic is overlooked. Rather than rely on conversations which can be forgotten as there is a lot of information for those who have just installed a system to take in.

As part of Bid My Solar selling point was a post installation inspection. I did not have anyone come onto to my property to conduct such a review. I can only assume it was just ticked off a list or done online. I received an email to say it had be done. Had it been conducted on the physical premises, I believe it may have helped to identify basic issues that may have been overlooked.

Update March 2025, the solar analytics unit I purchased as part of my system has stopped working. I had purchased it as it was sold as having a lifetime warranty and my unit is 4G so it still should work. I have contacted Bid My Solar as well as Solar Analytics and are yet to receive a response from both. It seems Bid My Solar is no different to the other companies that they claim not to be.

I was happy with the items I ordered and the delivery was reasonable quick for the Christmas period.