Dear Revenge Guy,
This might be a bit petty and not as severe as other case but I feel powerless as my life crumble before me and I would be grateful if you can give me some guidance. Sorry if there are unnecessary long context, I’m not very good at writing these kind of things. The event occurred last month but something pushes me over the edge today to do this.
About me, I’m living in Australia. I’m an IT guy, not one of those competent IT who can program or network but I was trained to be a system manager (basically an IT translator with a bit knowledge in all fields). Since uni graduation, I can’t seem to find a single IT or office job for the life of me so I usually do labour work with the salary of $14-16/hour even though Australian rule state that employer must pay $18/hour or above.
I keep taking short-term casual/contract job to pay for my expense (ramen diet) hoping I would land an IT job until I applied for this cursed station shop.
In the job application, the employee hires me to work 3 days a week to resupply items from the storage, making sandwiches, and cashier. When I get there, she added even more works and pay me only $12/hour. We’re forced to say the salary is $18.5 if someone asks. I was broke so I accept and tell her I can even work 5 days so that I can pay for my rent and expense.
During my working time there, she and her husband keep insulting me: calling me an untalented piece of crap, stupid, lazy, retarded for not working as well as the other experienced co-workers or telling the normal prize to rich, white people who may or may not be late for the train. The worst of them is calling me a loser for the rest of my life. It haunted me every single night to this day because, in a way, she is correct.
After complimenting their skill and experience, the insults from my co-worker and the owner husband stopped but not the female owner. I guess their egos just want a confirmation. In that one cursed week working there, I got into an accident (the event), I broke my phone, got a backache (first time in my life), charged multiple times to my opal card for going in and out the station to resupply the shop storage (added works). I lost 10 times the bloody amount of money I earned. She fired me later when I refused to work 7 days a week.
The event: While pushing an oversized trolley from Woolworths to the shop storage, I had an accident as I was pushing the cart across the road. This woman, seeing me pushing a cart 2 times bigger than me (I am very skinny) over the ramp and thought it’d be a bright idea to drive 3 meters forward and stop right behind me on the pedestrian crossing. It was as if she try to get insurance money. The cart tilted to the right, pushed me back and make a dent on her car. It was hardly noticeable, took her ages until I finished collecting all the fallen goods to see it and I can’t see it until she pointed it out. Any sane person could just just a bit hot water or hair drier to fix it but this greedy woman will not refuse a chance to squeeze money out of me. She rushed out worrying about her god damn precious Hyudai and ask for my information. Being a law-binding citizen I am, I gave her everything she needs like an idiot. I didn’t even take a picture. Her insurance company, NRMA, contact me later for detail, I replied via email.
After working there, to this day, I can’t find a single job. Maybe because a bachelor degree has no meaning if you aren’t an Australian citizen. Maybe because I can’t sleep every night due to the reminder that I’m just a loser my entire life.
I would pay of therapist just for this but I am broke af. My friend felt bad for all the shitty stuffs that keep happening to me so he paid for my rent for 2 weeks and I felt ashamed that I made someone lose money just because they are friendly to me.
For 1 month later (yesterday), NRMA sent me a letter force me to either pay $2017 to them. Not asking my horrible employer. Not even question why their client chose to stop on the pedestrian crossing line behind me. They have to hold the bloody unemployed guy who is under debt responsible. I called them just to realized they didn’t even read my email and explain them what happened. In their spark of generosity (which is rare for insurance company), they say I can personally ask for my boss to pay it. I bet with all my current budget (which is –$8k, thanks Australian uni debt) that they won’t even pay a single dime even if I go down and give happy endings to both of them. The event turned this life scarring job experience into a fucking nightmare and I just want it to end.
But I can’t take the easy way out and leave all this debt to my family. I can’t hire a lawyer to win them in court. I learned enough about public defender to know that their life is shitty enough without my help.
I am used to being the loser, the joke, the guy who got bullied by all grades in all my school life. The pain ended eventually and you just have to adapt to the new ones.
But for once in my life, I want to be the one that push back. The fact that there are 3 others guys, girls and maybe more like me still getting screwed over by these shop owners without consequence drive me nuts. And they don’t see the problem because “that’s how she pays the rest”. It’s like seeing a waiter living off tips. I want them to experience what they put other through.
I want that poetic justice that people put in their story. But life isn’t fair so I come to you. I am still a law abiding citizen so I will avoid illegal acts if possible but I will still take them in consideration. If you finish reading all of this, thanks for your empathy. If you believe this incident worth your time, you have my gratitude.
Best regards,
G
Hi G,
Bad bosses will always take advantage of someone like you. Based on your story you certainly have a labor law violation! Read this I found online “Australia: Labor Law for Immigrants“.
You say you don’t want to bother a public defender, but your inaction is letting these people underpay you, overwork you, and worse, do it to others right in front of you.
It’s time to man up and talk to a lawyer and the police.
Best Wishes,
The Revenge Guy
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