Telstra are incredible !!

[McGirr]

How can a business be so bad.

We purchased 2 phones in April on a plan and asked the sales person in Alice Springs that we will be in a remote area for a few months and wont have mobile service ( Mt Barnett) and could we drop the plan to the lowest plan and then go back to the normal plan once we are in an area with recetion.

No problem we were advised. Well long story short we spoke to the call centre and they said no problem and they will drop the plan from $95 a month to $70 a month.

This is when the issues started.  The person took us off the plan and put us on a byo plan. Since April we have been calling them and they keep promising to fix it but never do.

I keep explaining to them that they took us off our plan as we never asked them to. They then advise that they cannot put us back on as they would need to give us 2 more phones.

The last call to them was in July and they advised we will give you a credit of $425 and then my bill arrives with no credit and another charge. They keep saying they cant put us back on the plan yet they took us off the plan.

I will be calling them again tomorrow to abuse someone. Its just beyond a joke. They keep saying they will fix the problem but never do.

See attached bill with all the different range of bills.

Mark

[Bird]

Come on Mark.... your expecting a touch too much... expecting to get what you ask for....
Don't pass go, go to ombudsman... **** Telstra.

how can they be so  bad??? no competition.. 

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

Yep Totally agree with you McGirr.

Have tried for years to minimise expense with home mobile and Internet.
I am lucky to use one Gig a Month download.
The Cost has steadily risen over time, they have steadily increased the download limit every time.
I have approached them to get a plan that is more realistic for my needs more than once or twice.
Its like talking to a pre-recorded artificially intelligent person with a single item agenda and a limited set of responses.
They are only interested in how they will benefit from the situation, nothing else.
It's a long time since Telstra were renowned for their service and ability to follow things up.
Unless it affects them, then they're all over it.
Good luck with it any way, it's a bit hard when there's no alternative.

[Bird]

Its like talking to a pre-recorded artificially intelligent person with a single item agenda and a limited set of responses.

That's exactly how call centers overseas work.. 100% Nail on the head. They have a script.. a predefined set of questions with answers.
They aren't allowed to think, or listen.. its like when you call up for help.. you tell them everything you've already done, and it blows their mind.. and they start from the beginning again and your answers if they aren't what they are expecting ( A or B ) it totally ****s em! and they usually hang up

[paull]

Sounds familiar. I had to change to Telstra when we moved house about a year ago. I had been with Vodafone for years and was happy with them but they didn't have a reliable enough service in our new area. Yes, I grant you, Telstra have the best coverage, but that is the only thing they have going to for them. Their plans are more expensive than others, most of their extras are more expensive than others, and they then charge extra for some things that others include.

Like Mark, I also needed to change plans a few months ago. The guy I spoke to was great and organised everything, told me exactly what to expect with respect to payments I'd need make to do it and some rebates I could expect to get back afterwards, and the extra I'd need to pay to pay off my phone contract (as the plan I was chasing to was byo). I was actually fairly happy with them as it all seemed very easy.......until the next bill came in. It was nothing like the guy had told me. I rang and complained a few times, speaking to a different people every time and never got a satisfactory answer. Then the next bill came and as before I rang to complain and again got the run around and never got an answer. After that to be honest I gave up. I've paid them about $200 more than I was told I'd need to but I work for myself and can't afford the time to spend hours and hours trying to chase them up. As much as I hate to do it on principle, I've just given up as my time is worth more than that (along with my sanity).

We're only going to be in our current house for another 6 months and then we'll be moving again. As soon as that happens I'll be checking who else has good coverage in our new area and I'll then change carriers and drop Telstra. I can live with the more expensive plans given that they have the best coverage, but the fact that you get less included in your plan despite paying more bugs me and I won't put up with such lousy customer service and blatant over charging. In the end I'll talk with my feet (so to speak) and go somewhere else.

[Kangaron]

One word will fix that.
Ombudsmen.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[cruiser 91]

TELSTRA...............................
Get a go of this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had a monthly $59 out of contract with this mob 12 months ago.
I received a letter from them saying that due to being out out contract, they are raising the monthly contract to $69 per month.
I rang them and said like F*&K you are! I leaving.
I am now on unlimited calls for $46 per month.................go figure?
Our next door business and the local post office operates their till via Telstra...................they are going broke due to the amount of outages they have...............no internet...............no till operation!!!!!!!!!!!!
Australia is going down the tubes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DrewXT]

My folks have Telstra mobile broadband, as they can't get ADSL where they live, and satellite internet was unusable.

So, Telstra put them on a 3gb / month personal plan, which they use around 1gb of per month, max....  UNTIL...

Mum gets a call saying their 3g modem is playing up, and they are sending them a new model, and given they are or of contract, why not recontract for less money, on a business plan, with the same data... Sounds like a good deal, right?

Well, the new modem rocks up, fast as hell, but when there is no computer turned OK, the fuxing thing will use their entire bandwidth in a day...

It's a well documented issue on the Telstra Crowd Support site, but of course no bastard at Telstra has ever heard of the problem, and the old plan is no longer available...

Another awesome story....

My in-laws have just been away, come home, ADSL isn't working, phone seems OK, so the MIL calls in a fault... Telstra promise to call back... 2 days she calls them back, and they claim she's not been home...

Then their phone rings, someone asking to talk to Bill... (FIL isn't Bill)... This goes on for 3 days... MIL back the phone - madam, we try to call back but you don't answer...

Turns out, their line and old mate 3 blocks away have had their lines swapped over.  Old mate is 93, family are frantic because they can't talk to him on the phone, Telstra don't give a fux...

Problem was fixed when FIL saw a Telstra van down the street and made the guy look it...

They're a truly pathetic company when it comes to retail customer service.  And don't get me started on their enterprise support... It's worse again

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[dan.batto]

The only way I have found to get onto someone of any help ( ie; someone who's first language is English) from here is to write a very firm email to their complaints team who call and sort out any issues with you. I have had too many issues with these clowns and will be moving out once my contract is up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[prodigyrf]

We purchased 2 phones in April on a plan and asked the sales person in Alice Springs that we will be in a remote area for a few months and wont have mobile service ( Mt Barnett) and could we drop the plan to the lowest plan and then go back to the normal plan once we are in an area with recetion.

No problem we were advised. Well long story short we spoke to the call centre and they said no problem and they will drop the plan from $95 a month to $70 a month.

This is when the issues started.  The person took us off the plan and put us on a byo plan. Since April we have been calling them and they keep promising to fix it but never do.

I keep explaining to them that they took us off our plan as we never asked them to. They then advise that they cannot put us back on as they would need to give us 2 more phones.

Mark

I reckon it's like this. You contracted for 24 months for 2 phones and the associated calls and data allowance and you agreed to pay $95/month for each phone presumably (ie $190/month) Then you wanted to renege on the contract and only pay $140/month and that's what the CSR did for you but the catch was you had the 2 outstanding phones break contract to pay out and go on BYO with them. Now as they say if you want to go back to the 2x $95 plans again you get 2 new phones again and the 24 month contract. I think that's what you'll find when you read the original contract you signed on to.

[prodigyrf]

Like Mark, I also needed to change plans a few months ago. The guy I spoke to was great and organised everything, told me exactly what to expect with respect to payments I'd need make to do it and some rebates I could expect to get back afterwards, and the extra I'd need to pay to pay off my phone contract (as the plan I was chasing to was byo). I was actually fairly happy with them as it all seemed very easy.......until the next bill came in. It was nothing like the guy had told me. I rang and complained a few times, speaking to a different people every time and never got a satisfactory answer. Then the next bill came and as before I rang to complain and again got the run around and never got an answer. After that to be honest I gave up. I've paid them about $200 more than I was told I'd need to

Again we have another contracted customer who wants to ring up some counter jock to get a payout figure when what we all need to do under such circumstances, is pull out the contract we signed on to and it's all there in black and white. All I can say is if you're too busy/lazy/illiterate to do that, you can't really complain when the counter jock gets it wrong or misses something. In any case, even if you get some verbal advice over the phone, where money and contracts are concerned you should always get confirmation in writing and the best way to do that is via live chat facility where you keep a copy of the interaction. We're talking binding contractual obligations here and the last thing you want is he says, she says with no corroboration.

As for being out of contract and getting notified by letter that prices are going up, or data and calls are being reduced I can only say it's a lot more courtesy you're getting than when my Council rates hit the letterbox and unlike my Council if I don't like Telstra's service and charges there's always Voda or Optus and a host of MVNOs which is why we're with Boost and BYO phones.

[McGirr]

I reckon it's like this. You contracted for 24 months for 2 phones and the associated calls and data allowance and you agreed to pay $95/month for each phone presumably (ie $190/month) Then you wanted to renege on the contract and only pay $140/month and that's what the CSR did for you but the catch was you had the 2 outstanding phones break contract to pay out and go on BYO with them. Now as they say if you want to go back to the 2x $95 plans again you get 2 new phones again and the 24 month contract. I think that's what you'll find when you read the original contract you signed on to.

There were 4 plans that we could go on. Small, med, large and extra large. We could swap between these plans if needed as discussed at the time of signing new 24 month contract.

When we called telstra to move to the small plan (we originally joined the large plan) they advised no problem we could do that and had the phone on speaker when we discussed this so that both Penny and I could reiterate that we would not be penalised as we were not breaking the contract just changing the size of the plan. I have done this before with no issues.

Prodigyrf, I  dont know where you see that we wanted to renege on the deal. We discussed in length with the sales person at the Telstra in Alice Springs about moving from the large to small plan and was advised that this woukd be fine with no penalties as we were not breaking the contract just changing the size of the plan. This was reitetated to the person at the call centre more than 5 times and she assured us she understood and also said we could do this.

Mark

[Moggy]

My suggestion would be to try & get on a businees plan with a dedicated consultant. I was on a business plan a couple of years ago & had a direct number to a call centre/office on the gold coast (not that i rang them as they generally rang every 6-12 months) & yes it was an aussie. Never had any problems. 2 years ago swmbo wanted out of optus (service issues) so go down to teltra shop get 2 new phones, but airhead sales girl takes me off business & puts them on domestic type service. When i realize & & try to change back it was like i wanted to assasinate the pm. Business consultant couldn't even change it without penalties so advised to let it run its course &change back at end ( only 3 weeks to go ?)
Moral to story,  if it aint broke dont change it

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

[GeoffA]

A couple of years ago I went to Telstra with a byo phone for my business use. The account has always been in my company name, but when the new contract was taken they somehow put me on a consumer plan and changed my account number accordingly. I have a consumer account number, with a business name. That knocks them for 6. It's upgrade time again, and I'm in limbo...... 

[terravista]

Don't expect too much from the Ombudsmans Office either.
We are still undergoing a fight with Telstra with one Telstra manager admitting were were lied too, on record.
Reported to the Ombudsmans Office and some junior member did not even read the complaint properly and said they could not force Telecommunications companies to install  more equipment.
Nothing close to what we wanted.
Sent a response to that, received a message to expect a response within a handful of days.
Still waiting after 2 months.
Wouldnt be surprised if Telstra has taken over the Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman, they seem to have the same levels of care and skills.

[Burnsy]

Unfortunately they are an evil you have to put up with as many of us have no other option (most really as travelling anywhere pretty much knocks all the other providers out of contention). I have been with the 15 years, am out of contract and own my own phones. My accounts are however business plans and as Moggy said, they service compared to consumer plans is chalk and cheese. It use to be that I would expect to have to call back half a dozen times of months to make a change as they would screw everything up every time. Since moving to business I have found they actually make the requested change without screwing it up, their tech support is helpful and they give you call back details for the consultant. Also they do cold call to check how your going evey six months, if you want changes made, that is the best time to do it.  I have found over the last 2 years the cold call guys have fine tuned my account to save me around $100 a month.

[McGirr]

I will look at changing to a business plan once we have finished our contract.

Finally got someone last night that helped me after I went ballistic on the phone. They fixed the credit that I was supposed to get and I even requested another $200 pain in the ass credit which I got.

Mark

[cassgazz]

I've found that the best way to sort issues out with them, is to go onto that live chat thing they do (24x7 or whatever they call it).
Can make sure that the issue is resolved before they go, you get a direct line back to that person (on line contact), and you can take screen shots of the conversation.

[alnjan]

If you like I can give you a couple of phone numbers for people that keep ringing me offering a better service than what I already have, even though they have no idea of what I already have

[D4D]

I've found that the best way to sort issues out with them, is to go onto that live chat thing they do (24x7 or whatever they call it).
Can make sure that the issue is resolved before they go, you get a direct line back to that person (on line contact), and you can take screen shots of the conversation.

x2

[GeoffA]

I've found that the best way to sort issues out with them, is to go onto that live chat thing they do (24x7 or whatever they call it).
Can make sure that the issue is resolved before they go, you get a direct line back to that person (on line contact), and you can take screen shots of the conversation.

It didn't help me.....twice....

Also having an issue trying to change my Telstra web mail forwarding address.
Can't access it. It just loops me back to the home screen.

Everyone's very polite, but nothing happens.

[rockinj]

Yeah, Telstra . . .

Trying to get NBN on at home because Telstra keeps charging random amounts on our mobile broadband. Arranged a tech to come out as we are on a boarder zone that may not get NBN reception. Told the tech can arrive anytime between 1-5 pm and someone must be home. The tech will ring an hour before they come out. I get an SMS two days before to confirm the appointment and have to reply 'yes' to this.
Arranged time off (almost impossible) and wait, and wait, and wait. Surprise!!! No tech.

I call Telstra the next morning to say what's going on. I was told they sent me an SMS saying they can't come. Actually, no, you send an SMS to say you ARE coming, I still have it. The kicker, I now have to go back to the shop to rearrange a tech. (55 kms away) I said, no way, I will go through another provider, cancel the request.

That afternoon someone rings me to rearrange the tech (what happened to me having to drive to town?). Anyway, told them no way I can get another day off, the tech will have to come after I finish work. I was told they would put this in the notes.

Friday at work, I get a message at 11am stating the tech will be there in an hour. I rang the number back, of course no answer. Left a message stating that I will not be home as per the original phone call and will not be home until a certain time. Tried to ring the number 3 or 4 more times and the tech Michael, would never answer or return the call.

Telstra, how can they still be in business?

[Burnsy]

Telstra, how can they still be in business?

\

Because there is no other real alternative!

[paull]

All I can say is if you're too busy/lazy/illiterate to do that, you can't really complain when the counter jock gets it wrong or misses something.

I'm sorry, either I misread your response or you're somehow implying that this actually my fault. Do you work for Telstra?

I phoned to ask to upgrade my service. The guy I spoke to suggested what would be best and told me what should be expected when it was changed. Why shouldn't I believe him? That's the point of him being there! He should know what the options are a lot better than I do and should also know the implications of changing the contract and based on that he should advise the best option to take. That's his job!

What is in the contract is frankly immaterial to this conversation anyway. This thread is primarily aimed at bagging Telstra because of their abysmal service. That service includes the muppets they employ to answer their phones at the call centres. In my case either a) they didn't do what they said they would, or b) the advice their customer service team gave was BS, so in both cases their customer service is bad. I then tried to chase them up and spoke to multiple people, none of which could actually resolve the problem, so again demonstrating ineffective customer service. In addition, the advice they give on the phone should be as binding as what is in the contract. They should be bound to do what they said they would whether it is actually technically correct or not. They even record the damn calls but I guess they only use that against the customers if they do something contrary to what they have agreed. Funny how they don't seem to want to find the call recording of the guy the telling me what I should be paying.

Whichever way you look at it, their customer service is lousy.

[tk421]

They contacted my wife's to tell her plan was changing to one with more data but would cost her more. When she contacted them to say she didn't want to change (because she never got anywhere near the old data usage, let alone the new one), they told her the old plan was no longer available and she had to change.

She's no longer with them.

Irrespective of the contract allowing them to do this, its that kind of behaviour that loses customers.