Call 1300 885 420
iTandCoffee | Patient help with your personal and business technology
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Classes
  • Appointments
  • Guides | Videos | Tips
    • Guides
    • Videos
    • Newsletter
    • Tips Library
  • Gift Vouchers
  • iTandCoffee Club
    • About the Club
    • Membership Options
    • Members Area
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Classes
  • Appointments
  • Guides | Videos | Tips
    • Guides
    • Videos
    • Newsletter
    • Tips Library
  • Gift Vouchers
  • iTandCoffee Club
    • About the Club
    • Membership Options
    • Members Area
  • Blog
  • Contact
Search by typing & pressing enter

YOUR CART

Tips, Tricks and Articles about your Technology

iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows, Android, Office 365, Google services, iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox, Apps, Social Media, Zoom, and more.

Join the iTandCoffee Club to read members-only tips on this page

18/7/2016 2 Comments

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.  
​
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.
Picture
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.
​
  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).
2 Comments
Warwick
24/11/2016 12:11:53 pm

Ha - I'n my frustration I just googled testra direct debit fail and got your page.

I've had similar frustrations this year

I had a direct debit (to a bank account) working fine for ages .... I came back from 4 weeks overseas to find my mobile disconnected - apparently my direct debit failed but they couldn't say why (funds were not the issue).
So I set up a new direct debit on a credit card
Last month I got back from 3 weeks away and again my mobile had a bar on it ...... direct debit fail .... couldn't tell me why .... ok the card expires in a month so MAYBE thats it even though the card works fine for everyone else ..... so I give them a new card.
They tell me the new card will pay the outstanding amount and be the new direct debit ..... I even have to wait on the phone while they check it goes through ... everything is OK
2 days later I get an SMS saying my account is overdue - I ignore it as I figure its a system error
The next day testra calls and says my account is about to be barred as it's overdue !!!!!!
Arrrrghhhh !!!!! lift your game telstra - Noone else has these issues ! I thought we pay you more to get better service ?!?!?
rant over

Reply
Lynette Coulston link
25/11/2016 09:48:37 am

I am soooo feeling your pain Warwick. How can it be so hard. I would report them to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman - seems to be the only way to get them to fix a problem once and for all.

https://www.tio.com.au/making-a-complaint

Lynette

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Receive great articles like this 
    fortnightly to your Inbox

    Picture

    Follow us on Facebook

    iTandCoffee

    Picture

    Join the iTandCoffee Club

    ​for free content, tutorials, videos, classes, offers, discounts and more

    Join our growing community of local and online members who love learning about their technology - through FREE club sessions, remote/phone support, online tips, tricks and tutorials, special members-only offers and discounts, and more. Membership starts at only $49/year.
    Find out more about The iTandCoffee Club

    What's on at iTandCoffee ?

    Join us for a short, fun 'topic of the day' classes known as PTT sessions (Personal Training for your Technology fitness!) - these are run on a regular basis. Or join any of our other classes shown below to learn so much about your technology.
    If you have questions, why not join our The iTandCoffee Club to attend fun and informative 'user group' meetings.
    All classes are run as online classes (using Zoom) which means you can attend from anywhere.

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012

    Categories

    All 1800-number Accessibility Accessories Activity Monitor Adware Airdrop Airplay Airpods Alarms Alerts Android Apple-id Apple-id Apple Music Apple News Apple-pencil Apple Tv Apple Watch Apps App Store App-windows Apss Audio Autolock Automatic-downloadsupdates Backup Backups Battery Be-connected Be-connected Bigpond Big Sur Bitcoin Blockchain Bluetooth Books Boot Camp Business Buying Guide Calendar Camera Catalina Cellular Data Centrelink Channel 9 Charging Christmas Chrome Classes Client Stories Cloud Cloud-storage Club Club News Colours Contacts Continuity Control-center Control Centre Convert Cookies COVID 19 COVID-19 Cybersafety Datad777f385d3 Data Usage Delete Desktop Dictation Dock Do Not Disturb Downloads Dropbox Education El-capitan Email Emergency Emojii Entertainment Ethernet Evernote Excel Facebook Family Files Finance Finder Find My Car Find-my-iDevice Fingerprint Sensor Fonts Force Reboot Forgetting Curve Fraud Free Friday Gift Ideas Google Google Flights Guides Handoff Handy Hints Hard-drive-crash Health High Sierra Home Button Homepod Home Screen Hotmail Humour ICloud ICloud Backup ICloud Drive ICloud Family ICloud Photo Library Identity Theft IMAP IMessage Imovie Instagram Internet Internet Issues Internet-options Ios Ios-11 Ios-11 Ios-12 IOS 13 IOS 14 Ios Photos Ipad Iphone IPhone 12 Iphone8 Iphone-8 Iphone Basics Iphone-calendar Iphone-settings Iphonex Iphone-x Ipod Itandcoffee Itandcoffee Club Itandcoffee News Itandcoffee Services Itandcoffee-swap-shop Itandwine Itunes Junk Keyboard Keychain Kidsandtechnology Kids And Technology Lifestyle Mac Mac-basics Mackeeper Mac-mail Mac-mail Mac-monday Macos Mac Photos Mac-photos Mac Tutorials Mac-videos Magsafe Mail Malware Maps Measure Media Medical-id Messages Microphone Microsoft Mobile Data Mobile-data Mobile Porting Mojave Multitasking My-health-record NBN Netflix Notes Notifications Number Porting Office 365 Onedrive Onenote Online-safety Online-safety Optusnet Os-x Outlook Pages Parental Controls Passwords Paypal Pdf Personal-hotspot Phishing Phone Photo Book Photo-books Photos Photos-on-mac Podcasts Popups Powerpoint Preview Printing Privacy Productivity Product Launch Publicity Publicityads57a389ac69 Purchasing-an-idevice Qa Quicktime Raise-to-wake Ransomware Reachability Reboot Recommendations Recovery Relay Reminders Remotewipe Repairs Restore Restrictions Rings Rotation-lock Router Safari Safari-favourites Samsung Santa Scam Scam Email Scams Scan Scannable Scanning School-ipad Scoopit Screen Screen-brightness Screensaver Screenshots Screen Time Scrolling Secondhand-devices Security Sell Seniors Seo Services Sessions Settings Share Shared-calendar Shop Shopping Shortcuts Sierra Signature Silent-auction Sim Siri Skype Slideover Slides Slideshow Slideshows Slow-device Slow-mac Smart-tv Sms Snapfish Socialmedia Social Media Softwareupdate Software Update Software Updates Sounds Spam Spinning-beachball Split Screen Split-view Spotlightsearch Startup Storage Storage Space Subscriptions Sunrise Switch Symbols System Preferences Task Manager Tasks Taskswitcher Task-switcher Technology Technologyarticles Technologydependency Technology-lifestyle Technology-solutions Technologytips Techsupport Telco Telcos Telstra Telstracomplaint Text Text Replacements Theft The-katering-show Thermomix Thesenior Timemachine Time-to-leave Tio Toys Trackpad Transcribe Translate Travel Travel-sim Tripadvisor Troubleshooting Tutorial Tutorials Two Factor Authentication Twofactor-authentication Two-step-verification Typing Typing Shortcuts Undo Unlock Update Updates Upgrade Uppercase Usage User Group Video Video-blog Videos Virus Voice-and-data Voicemail Voice-memos Volume Vpn Wallpaper Warnings Weather Web Browser Website Weebly Whatsapp Widgets Wifi Wi Fi Wi-Fi Wifi084d04ddac Wifi-calling Windows Windows10 Windows 10 Word Wordpress World-clock Yosemite YouTube Zoom

27 Sycamore St, Camberwell, Victoria Australia

​​Call 1300 885 420

​to book an appointment or class, or to enquire about our services and products


Seniors Card Welcome
SENIORS CARD WELCOME HERE:
Seniors Card holders qualify for a 10% discount on all classes booked and paid for online (excludes PTT sessions and classes already discounted during COVID-19 crisis). 
To activate the discount at the time of booking, select Redeem Coupon or Gift Certificate and enter 10OFFSEN before selecting Pay Now.

Services
Classes
Event Calendar
Private Appointments
Gift Vouchers
Phone/Email support
​Business Services
​Help for families
​Be Connected

Helping Hand
Online Content
​Newsletter
User Guides
Video tutorials/classes
Tips and Hints
​Blog
iTandCoffee Club
About the Club
Free Club Sessions
Sign In/View Account
Members Area
Prices/Policies
Prices
Privacy
Cancellations, Refunds, Returns
About iTandCoffee
Home
About

​Contact us
Testimonials
In the press

Picture
​© 2012-2021 iTandCoffee Pty Ltd. All rights reserved  ACN: 606 340 434