Imagine how much money Telstra could save by addressing customer problems the FIRST TIME! And how much stress we all would be saved!

It has been one thing after the other for our Telstra accounts recently, resulting in far too much of my time spent on calls or 'Live Chats' to Telstra.  
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The problem described by the email shown in this image relates to the Usage Meter for our home internet, which has shown zero internet usage for our home internet for about the last 3-4 months.  

This is miraculous, when we fly close to our 1TB limit most months.  We had an email a few days ago advising the issue had been fixed.  Then, yesterday, came this new email advising that the issue has not, in fact, been fixed.

This brings us to 4 Telstra issues in the very the recent past    I had not got around to calling Telstra about this 'usage meter problem', as I was dealing with 3 other issues during the May-July period.

Each of the other 3 issues (described below) has required at least 3 calls (or online Live Chats) to Telstra.  In each case, I was promised that the request or issue had been resolved/actioned, and in each case it wasn't.

This got me thinking ...

Imagine if Telstra resolved our queries and problems on the first contact.  I speak to so many people who suffer the same sort of problems that I have suffered nearly every time I have dealt with Telstra.

​How much money would they save in staff costs!  And how much stress would they save for all of us!  

Here is the list of our own Telstra recent issues (ie other than the Usage Meter issue), for anyone brave enough to read on!  For anyone on a Pinnacle Bundle, you may be interested in the first one.  I would be interested to know if anyone else has had this extra charge appear on their bill.
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1. Unexplained additional charges on bill:  
   
   In September 2015, Telstra suddenly started charging us for a component of our home internet service for which we had never previously been charged, with no explanation about why the additional charge appeared.  
   
   This charge was a $10 monthly fee for our 'Ultimate Speed Boost'.  The 'Ultimate Speed Boost' had been a feature of our Pinnacle Entertainer Bundle that we have had since about May 2013.  It gives us download speeds of up to 110Mbps, and is included in the Pinnacle bundle for no extra charge.
   
   During the first call on the issue of the extra charge, the agent advised that the charge had been incorrectly levied due to a system error - that our account would be credited, and the charge would never appear again.  I have emails that confirm this.  I must say that, at that time, I was very satisfied to have my issue resolved very easily (or so I thought).
   
   ​The charge then continued to appear from the next month onwards - something I failed to notice until several months down the track.  I then needed time to work up the energy to call Telstra again on the matter!
   
   So, once again I called Telstra last week.  The agent this time told me that the charge was valid and that there was nothing he could do to have it removed.  He told me (in very broken English that was extremely difficult to understand) that it was part of my contract that this charge automatically kicks in after 24 months on the contract. I told him that was not the case, that our bundle had the feature included at not extra cost and did not include any '24 month' clause.  I asked him to send me the wording that he was reading in relation that proved me wrong.  He did not.
   
   So I tried a third call a few days later, knowing full well that the answer you get depends on the person you talk to!  
   
   The third agent re-iterated that the charge was valid.  I again re-iterated that I had previously been told it wasn't and that our bundle does provides this feature for free.  The agent stood firm until I insisted that I had emails on the matter and gave her the Employee ID of the person I had dealt with.  Only then did she look up the records of that call, and put me on hold while she consulted someone.  
   
   She then agreed that the charge could be removed.  However, she told me that the charge for the 'Ultimate Speed Boost' (called something different now) is now actually $20 per month.  She argued that, given that she was saving me this amount per month, then I should agree to waive the $90 credit I was owed for the previous incorrect charges!
   
   I refused to accept that, and so she asked me to 'meet her half-way' and agree to a credit of 50% of that amount!  In the end, she agreed to pay me the full credit.  I have to give her credit for doing her best to save Telstra some money.
   
   Here's hoping this problem is now resolved on my next bill, which is due today or tomorrow.
   
   ​Number of calls/contacts required to resolve: 3 (so far).
   
   
2. Direct Debit fails:  
   
   Due to the bank cancelling our credit card because of some undisclosed fraud, I updated our Telstra online account to reflect the new credit card for the direct debit of our monthly Telstra account.  While we were overseas a few weeks ago, I got a phone message, an SMS and an email message that our Telstra bill had not been paid and was overdue.  
   
   An online Live Chat to Telstra from our hotel in Vietnam revealed (on the second attempt after being cut off on the first) that there was a problem with Telstra's system and the online changing of credit card details does not work.  I was told I would have to instead call Telstra with the new details - and that this could wait until I returned to Australia.  When I got home from Vietnam, I called.  My first call failed because, when I used the word 'Direct Debit' in response the the recorded message (as I had been told to do), I was informed by a recorded message that I could only change my direct debit details online - and was immediately cut off and prevented from talking to anyone!
   
   I then called again (and did not say 'Direct Debit'), and spoke to an agent who changed the credit card on the direct debit, and advised that all past due and currently due amounts would be debited together in a few days - that there was no need to pay the 'overdue' amount separately. I double-checkd with him about whether I should pay the overdue amount immediately, and he advised there was definietly no need.
   
   THIS WAS WRONG.  Because there was an overdue amount, the newly set up direct debit was cancelled - which meant the next payment did not go through either, and we owed even more money, and got further emails and texts about this.
   
   Yet another call to Telstra was required to resolve this - and this agent advised that we should have paid the overdue amount BEFORE setting up a new direct debit.   She assured me that the direct debit will work next month.  We'll see ...
   
   ​Number of calls/contacts required to resolve: 5 (so far)  (Plus another 2 below, and it is STILL not solved!)
   
   Update 21/7/16:  Well, the bill has arrived and it still shows that Direct Debit is not activated, and, that we have only been credited some of the money owing from Issue 1 above - due to being charge late fee and other charges for late payment.  So far, I have tried the 'Get back in touch' button two days in a row, and received no response.  Here we go again!
   
   Another update 21/7/16:  I have received my callback and been told, after being put on hold several times and being transferred between teams (around 30 mins, mainly waiting while they investigated the issue), I have been told that my Direct Debit is - YET AGAIN - not set up, and that I would need to be speak to someone in the Direct Debit team to sort this out.  I GAVE UP and hung up.  I don't have time for another round of trying to sort this out.  I am just going to pay manually..  I don't have the energy to call Telstra again on this one - I think I will call the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman instead (once again). 
   
   
3. Change to Internet Data Limit not actioned:
   
   A couple of months ago, I contacted Telstra to upgrade the internet plan at the iTandCoffee Shop (an extra cost per month, of course).  However, that night when I returned home, I found a letter from Telstra offering to double my 100Gb limit for no extra cost!  It would have been nice if the agent had advised me of this offer at the time of the call, as this was sufficient for my needs.
   
   So, a couple of days later, I called back and asked if I could change back to my original plan, and take advantage of the 200Gb offer on that plan.  The agent was very helpful, and said that this would be fine and that the applicable changes would be made.
   
   The next time I received a bill, I discovered that I was still on the upgraded plan and paying the extra monthly amount.  Another call to Telstra uncovered that, not only had the previous agent not reverted the plan, but that no record of the call was even recorded.
   
   Fortunuately, the agent I spoke to the third time said that she would 'take my word for it' and has (I think) credited the extra charges and put the business back on the original plan.
   
   Once again, I am waiting on the next bill to see if this is true.
   
   Number of calls/contacts required to resolve: 3 (so far)

The other thing that has caused no end of frustration is trying to use the 'Get back in touch' button in the emails that they send. I don't think that these have ever worked for me, and I have ended up having to call the standard number and wait, once again, to speak to someone - and also have to re-explain the same problem yet again.

I know that my experieinces are not unusual. Please feel free to share your own experiences - it might make me feel better (or worse).