I’ve always found that dealing with Telstra is its own punishment,
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Apologies, I commented at one stage whilst dealing with Telstra if they cut out the apologies and just did . . . it would half the time on the phone and give everyone a great result.
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I have had a similar experience with Telstra when i bought a mobile phone for my mother. I bought outright and found out that it was locked to the Telstra network and would incur a charge- no problems I expected that.
I called Telstra as per their website and was told I had to go back to the store and I could unlock it there (something that isn’t mentioned on their website), a bit annoyed I went back to the store only to be told that they cannot unlock it and I had to do it via phone.
I told them I called and was told to go to the store and they said that they couldn’t do it on their computer. I was mad but called Telstra again and they again said they cannot do it by phone and to go to the store, I let them know that I had already done that and what do I do if they say that they can’t do it and was told to call them and let the two talk it out with the store.
Back to the store again the staff say what I expected and actually show me their computer screen to prove they cannot do anything. So I call them and hand the phone to the staff member who within 5 minutes has managed to set in motion the process of unlocking my network. Thanks Telstra call centre but this will be the last time I purchase from you.
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Having NEVER been Telstra Customer for the Internet, I regularly hear tales of woe on forums like this, and from friends who continue to persist even when they’ve been through the ‘wringer’. It makes me continue to hope I NEVER ‘need’ to be one of the customers. You are all correct, nothing should ever be this hard.
I have been trying to report a problem with their cabling on the post outside my home; it’s a joint where the cover has fallen, it’s hanging on crooked by one nail and the wiring is exposed. I called 9 days ago, was transferred to NBN and after just over an hour a damage report was filed. 2 days ago, NBN called, said that a technician had a look and it is a Telstra problem and they filed a new report, can I please follow up. Another 45 minutes with Telstra, they could not find the new case number and refused to file a new case and instead transferred me back to NBN! After a further call, I was promised to have someone here within 24 hours. It’s been 30 hours and I am psyching myself up for another phone call - I don’t want to wait for another possum/rain to disconnect my line over the holidays. Wish me good luck
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Your Telstra experience is eerily familiar. In July I needed to buy a Nighthawk hotspot. I won’t bore you with the details but here’s the executive summary:
- 18 days from start to finish
- 9 phone calls
- many unhelpful emails containing wrong or misleading info (I lost count)
- 2 useless online chat sessions
- 3 trips to a Telstra store
- 2 trips to the post office
- 4 times had to supply ID, twice in person, including photocopies of the transfer of the title deed to our house from 1994 (!)
- twice had to listen on the phone for 10-15 minutes while the consultant read the entire terms and conditions document in an undecipherable monotone. I only avoided sitting through it for a third time by making third trip to the Telstra store.
Of the many times when a Telstra employee promised that something would happen within a certain time, not once did the promised thing arrive or happen when promised.
One sales guy was really helpful. Another sales person was cheerful and friendly, though not very efficient. Every other Telstra employee and automated process was really bad at their job.
The device itself works fine.
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I have been waiting for Telstra to connect Cable to our home now for about 15 years.
(As originally promised, among other things, when switching from Optus.)
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Isn’t that now up to the NBN Co to provide either cable or the service type selected for your premises?
What technology is the NBN providing?
Report the issue with ACMA and the TIO re the failure to service the fitting. You can advise you aren’t after compensation but just doing a civic duty reporting a fault with telco equipment.
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I completely sympathise with you.
Try calling Telstra via a mobile phone to get your landline changed back to them from another (O/S owned) company! Took six months to get O/S crew to reconnect said phone so it could be transferred to Telstra and I fear it will take as long to get through to the O/S call centre of Telstra to actually get the connection made! I am not prepared to give them (O/S), any personal details because of the slack way they seem to handle such info. Asked, very quietly and politely, to be transferred back to Aus. This took ages …as the cost roared up… and I was finally transferred back to the ‘no call’ section which had also been out sourced… and was (almost) promised, via recorded message, a call back within 72 hours…‘work load permitting’…
Two other attempts also failed, so what now? Calls were made during business hours here in Aus.
No immediately local Telstra shops.
If Telstra wants to make their fortune from Aus. customers, then they should employ Aus. workers!
Too much greed! Soon it will be 12 months without a landline… in a bush fire zone!
Well done Telstra! Hope their ‘execs’ are enjoying their luxury holidays…
If you have been without the landline for this long do you really need it? A fire could take it out if that is your impetus, as easily as it could take out a mobile tower if their wires are overhead cross country.
Suggest you check Boost Mobile for your circumstance. $150 p.a. for unlimited calling and 80GB of data!. Coles often has it on sale for $135. Boost has the whole Telstra network, not just the wholesale version.
I don’t use Boost because my needs are minimal and more than satisfied from the Aldi $99 Value Pack on the Telstra wholesale network.
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Yes, the staff at the Apple Store were great!
Which is why I’m looking at new call+data plans, and not only with the “usual suspects”.
Thank you! This sounds brilliant! Have not heard of it at all…(luddite!). Wonder if Woollies have a similar thing. Been a speck warm down here so have delayed making any unnecessary car journeys into ovens and possible fire zones to visit Coles.
Had another bill today from iinet (O/S owned)…It had already been waived but is back on the books again for some reason to which I am not privy. This account now includes $79 for simply reconnecting the phone (not to be used) so that Telstra can connect it…if I can ever get past the Asian call centre workers. Cannot understand why these companies cannot simply telephone each other and sort it out. Did not realise they follow the pollies line of thinking…
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I have yet to see Woolies have a similar sale on Boost.
You will find that from a legal point of view most of them are Australian owned, iiNet being a TPG brand these days. Regardless, off shore call centres are unfortunately the norm.
They would be waiting on hold just like we do. I discovered they are usually limited to dealing by emails. Even RSPs/ISPs who have their own multi-level support contracts often have their ‘level 1’ prohibited from calling their ‘level 2’, and ‘level 2’ cannot call ‘level 3’… all done by email for ‘efficiency’.
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Obviously not the most efficient service at all.
Iinet was based in Perth WA and was brilliant until it was purchased by China several years ago. Has gone badly downhill since then as any former user will surely attest.
I am hoping that Telstra is still Aus. owned but do resent the fact that they have seemingly out sourced almost everything to others. Soap box warning : If companies ant and do make their money from Aussies, then they should employ Aussies! The way we are going, nothing will be owned by Aus. soon! ’ Ah, ain’t greed grand!’
Checked Telstra website last night … not good for the brain! Could not find anything about Boost as such.
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Ooops, Please read ‘can and do’.
iiNet is owned by TPG, an Australian company. Continuing to claim it is Chinese now or then will not make it so.
Boost is not Telstra. See Boost’s web site.
From a Canstar page: Boost now operates on the Telstra network. In fact, Boost is unique among MVNOs in that it’s the only one to use the full Telstra network . Others use only parts of it and may not offer the same level of coverage, especially in rural regions … where Boost differs is that it does not use Telstra’s full ‘4GX’ speed capacity, and has a speed cap on the 4G network – 100Mbps. So although you’ll still receive the same level of coverage on Boost as you would on a Telstra plan, your speeds won’t be quite as fast.
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I am having a great experience with the NBN. Here’s what I did.
A couple of months prior to NBN availability I ha a cable technician attend my house and upgrade my old telephone cable to cat5 which he ran directly from the house entry point to my study.
Then I contracted with Aussie Broadband to deliver my internet services.
Finally I installed a Unifi network with two ceiling mounted access points and a weatherproof access point in an under-cover outside area.
I have no Telstra and a very good service provider in Aussie Broadband. My service is rock solid and my WiFi can deliver 2.4Mhz and 5Mhz.
I think if you simply bolt on a bog standard router as supplied by the ISP onto an ancient multiple joins, spider infested cable (mine was) designed to run a plain old telephone service over 100 years ago you may experience a dodgy outcome, hence “dreaded NBN”.
Aussie Broadband permits BYO modem, as do other ISPs, and given the choices out there for mesh networks from Google, Netgear Orbi, Linksys, EERO, Unifi and the like, then you are in control and will have a happier experience
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Oh yes it is Telstra.
Not only do our monthly Boost recharge debits appear on our credit card as Telstra Prepaid Plus but after I called Boost when my mobile went belly-up and ended up PUKed, the follow up email with the unlock code started with “Hello from Telstra”
And all the SMS messages we get regarding network upgrades in our area are from Telstra.
Whilst on the subject of Boost, my call on Xmas Eve was answered in no time by someone with a foriegn accent but who spoke and understood English very well, and solved my problem in a matter of minutes, so that is an apparent major difference to Telstra “help” lines.
