After you have put in a complaint and don’t get anywhere, the next step is to go to TIO the Ombudsman for communications, they will help negotiate a good outcome.
After you have put in a complaint and don’t get anywhere, the next step is to go to TIO the Ombudsman for communications, they will help negotiate a good outcome. Find them online.
I feel your pain, quite a few years ago we went with a new plan after being offered one that seemed too good to be true (yes that old chestnut), I repeated all the offers that operator told us were included to make sure I had it all straight, I had to sign up for 12 months, when we got our first bill it was completely different to what we were promised, after calling and of course you never get the same person and explaining my problem I was told I was given the wrong information but of course too late to change. I was going through cancer treatment at the time and I can say without exaggeration that dealing with telstra was more stressful. So we waited out the 12 months before I had a nervous breakdown over the whole thing, then ditched telstra and have never been happier. We use heaps of internet, we are now with iinet, have a net phone and more internet than we could ever use, any issues we have had have been dealt with pretty well (no one is perfect), our bill is pretty much only $80 a month which is phone and internet, we are regional so might be different in the city but I would definitely check them out, have great start up specials also. Sorry for what you are going through, I get a nervous stomache just thinking about having to deal with telstra by phone. Good Luck with it all.
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We had exactly the same issue. We wanted a ‘naked’ plan (no home line) and couldn’t get one with Telstra. Unfortunately we are just outside the area that most telcos service (20m), and we don’t have NBN in our area yet, so we had no choice and had to go with Telstra. We didn’t get Foxtel as my husband doesn’t believe in paying for commercials, but we got unlimited internet as we watch a lot of Netflix. Long story short, next thing the new modem arrived along with a ‘Telstra TV’. We tried to connect our old TBox but it won’t work in conjunction with Telstra TV. In the end we were lucky that we could connect the TBox to our second TV and we now have the Telstra TV on the main TV. Teltra TV is pretty good in that you can stream Netflix directly from it, plus watch all the main stations catch up TV, but you can’t record like you can with the TBox; so we are definitely hanging on to the TBox! Our new plan also includes Foxtel free for a couple of months but we aren’t activating it. It is also annoying that Telstra bill you a month in advance when you change your package as this means you have to find double the amount of money for the first month.
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Interesting. Is Telstra TV what you get with this IQ2?
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Thank you ranjana_w…yes, I’ve already lodged that complaint.
Based on the Telstra website, Telstra TV is included with every 24-month L or XL Home Internet Bundle, or you can buy it outright.
Sorry you have had problems, my experience with Telstra has been the opposite. I am on their L bundle for cable and home phone, and no sign of NBN yet. I am on a 2 year contract. My experience with Telstra is - - couple of years ago internet access seemed a little slow {probably cable congestion as I am surrounded by schools} Telstra sent me the latest model modem at no cost. Then some months ago Telstra advertised a special on my L bundle, $20 less than my current cost. I called them and they allowed me to change over to the cheaper plan provided I signed up for 2 more years. The plan is now being advertised back at its original price but I am still receiving the discounted rate. They also sent me a free Telstra TV thus saving a one off cost of $100. Last year they offered me a three month free speedboost (normally $20 a month) which took my download speed over 100 (it is normally around 35 on the Ookla speed test) It was nice to have, but with my download speed at 35 I have no problems streaming TV so I didn’t continue. The Telstra TV is great and beats my THREE (LG, Samsung and Sony) SMART TV.s and FREEVIEW… I have it installed on my LG. It even has a media server to suck media from my other gizmos (laptop and PVR). It updated itself recently with the new FOXTEL ap.
I recently had a problem with my OUTLOOK email, receiving mail but not sending when I replied to incoming mail. I spent a couple of long sessions on the phone with Telstra trying to sort it out. Eventually problem was resolved with my upgrading my OUTLOOK software. My interpretation of this problem is Telstra changed something on their servers which conflicted with the use of a VPN and my old version of OUTLOOK. Support staff tried really hard to resolve it without my having to upgrade the OUTLOOK software. They also followed up with emails so I could contact the same support person if I had further issues.
I know Telstra is not the cheapest supplier but I am in an area with both Telstra and Optus cable and limited ADSL access. Life will get interesting when NBN finally arrives and takes over the Telstra cable network.
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After literally days on the phone and email and 9 MONTHS, we were finally put back on a bundle similar to our original plan, but yes, locked in for 24 months.
I can’t tell you how many “case officers” we had over that time (well, I actually can, but refuse to drag myself through and re-live the nightmare), where I specifically asked to speak with the customer service officer’s Supervisor. The replies always went like this “My Supervisor is busy, can they ring you back?” (they NEVER do), or “Can you hold the line, the Supervisor is busy”, I would answer “Yes, I’ll hold” and I would, for hours, until cut off. I am convinced there are no actual Supervisors.
Finally, having secured an email address for our latest case officer, we were able to eventually be put on a bundle we are happy with, but not without having paid much more than the $90 per month, into 3 different account numbers, with up to 3 bills per month still pouring in via the Post and email, for services we never signed up for, and “credits owing” credited into closed accounts.
I believe it is all deliberate, in an attempt to make you submit to them or have a nervous breakdown. Very similar to the tactics used by Origin, Energy Australia or AGL electricity billing companies, for whom I did eventually receive the refunds they owed me, when I threatened to contact the Ombudsman.
But no compensation for all the time and trauma that you will be subjected to.
I recommend this advice to anyone caught in the trauma of these Groundhog Day nightmares; say “sort this out NOW, on the phone, or I am going straight to the Ombudsman”. If they ask you to specify which plan, just say “the plan I was already on, before you did me over”.
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Unfortunately, anything that requires interaction with Telstra will be time consuming and, most likely, ineffective and certainly frustrating. Life is far too short to waste any of it with Telstra. This must surely be the most disjointed company in the world? I’m sure they have an entire department whose mission is to ensure nothing is easy for the customer? It’s easier just to dump them and go with another provider. I’ve moved most of my telecomms type services over to Vodafone and, thankfully, haven’t had any problems with them. However, I’m sure there are others who have :).
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Sorry Adrienne, I haven’t been online much over the last week. Unfortunately I’m not sure what IQ2 is. I checked the Telstra website and the bundle section and I can’t see any mention of it. However we are getting the $99 per month bundle which is home phone and internet and Telstra ‘include’ the Telstra TV. I hope this information helps.
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I’ve been living the nightmare with Telstra since NBN was connected in October 2016. I have 5 typewritten pages of records of phone calls, reference numbers, complaint numbers etc in an effort to receive the promises made by NBN…what a debacle. Finally lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman on 17th March which they acknowledged on the 27th March advising they had been in touch with Telstra…do date NOTHING from Telstra. Now to add insult to injury there’s this monstrous joke of an NBN commercial on TV telling us how wonderful it is!!! In the Blue Mountains we’re stuck in “co-existence” mode for at least the next 18 months - fibre to the node, but copper to the premises.
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I’ve had my share of problems with Telstra over the years. I don’t deal with them any more as I get better service and no problems with Optus (just luck?).
If you can’t fix a problem with Telstra’s call centres in one call, you might never fix it. Instead, write a logical, factual letter and post it to their complaints address on their website. Make it clear what the problem is, how they can fix it and what the alternative is. Don’t be afraid to ask for a full refund or to tell them how they’ve failed their obligations under the Australian Consumer Law. If they promised you the fastest internet, and some other provider or system is much faster, time some large known size downloads and make comparisons. Don’t be emotional.
I’ve found that posted letters reach people with an interest in solving problems and/or negotiating a settlement and it has worked every time I’ve had to resort to it.
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Hi timetaxi…I finally had a result due to the TIO submission but had to work VERY hard to gain any compensation. Telstra’s reasoning: I had phone/internet for part of a lot of days, so those days didn’t count as part of the “compensation” deal. Then, as I have a “medical priority” note on my phone supply (and with NBN the phone is now VOIP and therefore no phone if the internet goes down) they provided me with a simple mobile phone (after 3 months!) which they contend wipes out any compensation under the Australian Customer Service Guarantee for the period I had their phone (2 weeks). It’s a minefield!!!
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Wow, what a shemozzle @leonie.lyall. I’m surprised you received a mobile phone too - did you have much choice about that as a solution?
If anyone else has a similar experience, please post it here.
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The consumer guarantee has outs for the telco’s to avoid responsibility. All you need to do is accept their “support” for a mobile service for the CSG to become inoperative for you - just one example.
http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/customer-service-guarantee-for-phone-users-faqs
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Oh don’t get me wrong BrendanMays_😏…the mobile phone was the most basic of phones and only gave me access to a phone when the internet was down - no data on the phone. Now that I seem to have a more reliable internet/phone, the temporary one has to be returned to Telstra.
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I see, glad that was sorted then at least 
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Hi all, just thought I would update on my original post. After a number of wasted hours and phone calls and complications, we resorted to doing nothing. We were keeping on using our TBOX and paying the new cheap rate although we had cancelled the Foxtel part of our new bundle because we didn’t want the satellite.
Lacking any more energy or enthusiasm to pursue this further we continued this way until we eventually received a phone call from Telstra. My husband explained everything again and bizarrely we were told that actually, we could have our old bundle back despite what I was previously told.
Anyway, we have opted not to do that and are going ahead with the satellite for various reasons.
An interesting exercise in the end about how inefficient and hopeless the entire saga was despite having come across one or two really helpful customer service people. It seems that a lot depends on the randomness of who you talk to. Our first person should have done a better job when we were trying to change in the first place and all could have been avoided. Then perfectly reasonable customer service operators were stymied by their own organisation, wait times, difficulty in transferring to the right people etc. People didn’t phone us back when they said they definitely would and so on.
I think Telstra needs to have a long hard look at their processes. They have kept us as customers for the time being but only because we are too busy to continue looking into things. Next time we need to change services, we will have no qualms in changing service providers.
Thanks to all who contributed information here.
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Thanks for the update @uptightoutasight. I think you’re spot on when you mention the randomness of who you end up talking with. If something isn’t working, I’ll often call a few times until the right type of help comes along.
Glad you have sorted for the meanwhile 
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