# Forum Home Renovation Television, Computers & Phones  Complaint to telco

## StrataStruggler

Has anyone had to make a complaint to the largest telco in the company?  Was hoping that someone has another way to contact than the few option afforded to the general consumer.  I have taken to taping (advising first that I am doing so) the conversations due to the lies and delay tactics that I have been subjected to.  This company made changes to the home phone of my mother without notice, without permission.  We just want it changed back to how it was.  No matter what ref number I use, they have no record.  No matter who I speak to I am not allowed to have a surname or number to advise whether it has worked or not.  I just have to raise another ref number. 
If anyone has another contact method I would be extremely grateful.  I have a little old lady who doesn't understand why her phone doesn't work.  And I am at the end of my patience in having something that was not asked for reversed. 
Thanks

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## Bedford

Get onto this mob, https://www.tio.com.au/consumers/typ...ints-we-handle

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## Bros

Raise the matter with them again and allow a reasonable time to have it fixed then call back if it is not done all the while noting down these calls in a diary and if no success on the last call tell them you will be taking it up with the Telecommunications Ombudsman and then they will sit up and take notice. 
When you get in touch with someone ask for their ID number as well. 
Good luck

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## r3nov8or

If you personally know anyone who works for 'the biggest telco in the country, they can lodge your complaint internally and in my experience it will fix things. The process is called 'T.... Emloyee Referral' and the employee can do it on their intranet or on the spot via their smartphone app (if they have it installed).  
The referral will only work if you have tried all standard processes, which it sounds like you have. It is a big place and processes sometimes fail, but they are trying hard to improve and this, in my experience, is one great way of ironing out the process bugs.

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## StrataStruggler

Thanks for all the advice.  Good ideas and tips. 
Have orchestrated what I believe may be a master plan.  It will definitely get attention.  But getting someone to do something, may take longer. 
I thought there must have been an internal communications portal.  My company has its own social media page and intranet.  You can post anything and everything (within reason).  If you want to find who is in what department or what department you need to contact you just have to post it.  If the appropriate person doesn't get back to you, then someone who knows what department to contact because they had to do same will contact you. 
Strange that a telecommunications company has no communications with not only its customers, but with themselves.  I have names and reference numbers but no one knows how to find them.  But it seems perhaps they do - as I have believed all along. 
Cheers

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## hilux_bondy

I am having massive problems getting my internet set up atm and have had several phone calls to them and complaints. All went no where. So I googles the CEO email address and emailed him the problem and all reference numbers. He called the next day and have me a direct line. Now I have a guy coming out Friday and all sorted.   
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Bros

> I am having massive problems getting my internet set up atm and have had several phone calls to them and complaints. All went no where. So I googles the CEO email address and emailed him the problem and all reference numbers. He called the next day and have me a direct line. Now I have a guy coming out Friday and all sorted.

  You may not get what you want as if you are with an ISP which relies on another telco for backhaul, it can take a long time to sort out. 
I had very low speeds and my neighbor had speeds 6 times mine and they were with the provider who provided the backhaul.
I complained to my ISP and they sent in a request for repairs which went no where then I got on to the Ombudsman and also go no where as I could only take action with my ISP not the company providing the backhaul. So it went around in circles then I got back to my ISP and they had another go and surprise surprise my speed jumped up a month later. 
The Whirlpool forum is littered with telco complaints

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## Uncle Bob

I once used to have an answer to these type of problems https://secure2.internode.on.net/nod...verage-checker 
But since iiNet took over and the founder moved on it's pretty much just become another run of the mill ISP unfortunately  :Annoyed:  (That said, I never have any problems with them, but others now have). They still do, at least, have a help desk with Aussie ascents, just understaffed at the moment.

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## justonething

My telco provider overcharged me and refused to refund despite our many attempts to reason with them. Eventually we lodged our complaints with the ombudsman through their web portal. There is a bit of work to provide the evidence to support your complaint. But I think the resolution process is excellent. Firstly, the obudsman will forward all complaints to the telco in question and allow a certain amount of time for them to resolve the problems with the customers. If there is no resolution, then the obudsman will start to work the cases. All telecos have dedicated reps that interface directly with the obudsman to deal with these complaints and most companies are keen to resolve the issues directly with their customers. Within a few days/weeks of my complaint, the provider contacted me and after brief discussions, refunded their overcharge and apologized.
I would encourage you to gather your information, and go on the web site and put your case to the obudsman right away. Because in doing so, you will get in touch with the person in your provider whose job is to resolve the problems that you have, instead of stuffing around with others in the company who aren't interested in helping you.

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## David.Elliott

Wife had a run in with Telstra over change to T from Optus. The big "T" assured us that there would be no penalties, as Optus could no longer deliver the service.
the the Gov.. they decided that OPTUS could not withdraw the service, (anyone remember CDMA mobiles? Weren't they great. Mine worked everywhere!)
Needless to say they were wrong (whoda thunk it?) 
Had an Optus bill that kept growing...
We received a letter from T with a ref no and a promise of a response in 2 weeks..
3 weeks on no news, rang the number, no such reference number, new one issued that had no commonality with the earlier one?...Ahhh Ha!
Meanwhile Optus bill gets bigger and bigger...
Many moons later the bill was nearly double
T FINALLY sent us a cheque for the outstandings which we forwarded to T...It came with a non-disclosure agreement my wife had to sign...but I didn't!

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## FrodoOne

> Has anyone had to make a complaint to the largest telco in the company?  Was hoping that someone has another way to contact than the few option afforded to the general consumer.  I have taken to taping (advising first that I am doing so) the conversations due to the lies and delay tactics that I have been subjected to.  This company made changes to the home phone of my mother without notice, without permission.  We just want it changed back to how it was.  No matter what ref number I use, they have no record.  No matter who I speak to I am not allowed to have a surname or number to advise whether it has worked or not.  I just have to raise another ref number. 
> If anyone has another contact method I would be extremely grateful.  I have a little old lady who doesn't understand why her phone doesn't work.  And I am at the end of my patience in having something that was not asked for reversed. 
> Thanks

  
I know this a few weeks "late in the day" for my response but I have heard this type of story many times. 
 If you do not get satisfaction (in 24 hours or less) with one 'phone call -  always WRITE, or (at least) start with an an email.  
However, you may be surprised to know that the organization to which you refer encourages this.  
If you look up "Telstra CEO" you will locate  About Telstra - Contact Us - Contact the CEO 
where you will find the following : - 
"Contact the Office of the CEO
Need help? 
You'll find customer service contacts and tips in our Help section. 
You can contact the Office of our CEO, David Thodey, by writing to: 
Office of the CEO
 Locked Bag 5639
 Melbourne VIC 3001 
You can also contact us online. 
We want to deal with your issue in the most efficient and effective manner. To do this, it's important that your message reaches the right people in our company. Please help us out by selecting a contact type from the options below:
etc." 
   While I have been happily retrenched/retired from the organization concerned for about 12 years (after almost 50 years employed therein, in a non customer facing capacity), I do know that responsible management appreciate having communication problems brought to their attention as soon as possible.     Any such problems reflect badly on the organization (as in this discussion) and require correcting by senior management before more and more customers are annoyed in a similar fashion by the lack of knowledge or skill of (let's face it) lower echelon employees. 
   While I was employed in an "engineering" position (and not supposed to be dealing directly with customers), a part of my "job description" was to note details of any customer complaint that reached me (by accident!) and to then ensure that the appropriate area concerned was notified at the appropriate level to deal with it for that customer - to ensure "Customer Satisfaction."     (In fact, the "buzzword" at the time was "Customer Delight".) 
It is now an annoying fact that this organization (and others) has as a first "point of contact" a 'phone system which expects one to use (imperfect) voice recognition techniques to communicate. (This is a whole other subject!)   It is just as bad, or even worse, that the "point of contact" may be an off shore "English" speaker - with a lack of geographic knowledge.  
A better first "point of contact" is (probably) an email, since YOU can express yourself EXACTLY and you can determine from the response whether or not you have been understood correctly. 
 Please consider that, while a 'phone communication may be "lost", it is less likely that a physical letter will be lost.   Even at $0.70, stamps are relatively inexpensive.  (While an email may be "lost", at least, YOU will have a written record.) 
 When a written communication is received by any organization a file must be commenced or added to.   If you pay them money they will have a file relating to you and your written communications will impinge on it.    Also, your copies of your written records can later be sent to any appropriate ombudsman, regulator or court - as necessary.   Organizations are well aware of this.

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## nww1969

You have to blackmail them. 
Below is an email I sent out to all area managers of Telstra some time ago. (8 managers if I recall)
I sent it to my local area manager and got no response so found the other area managers in the phone book. 
It got a response within minutes direct to my mobile number. 
This related to graffiti on our local exchange which went on for months 
until this email ruffled feathers , graffiti gone the following day. 
May not help you but just shows you can get some action. 
"Hello Telstra area managers.  Since I am getting no response from what I thought was my local area manager I am now forwarding to all area managers in NSW  to see if someone is interested in doing  something about this graffiti problem in my email below.  Since I sent the below email I have also made two complaints to two of your other departments and been given incident numbers of the following SR 1-96590273632 and 20120614  I can only think the best course for action now is to organise my local community  members and trespass onto your land and clean this graffiti ourselves, I will also organise to have the Newcastle Herald and local Central Coast express advocate present to report on the lack of help from Telstra who is only to happy to take money out of the community and not give back.      Awaiting your instructions."

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## tricky4000

Twitter is also an excellent way of getting their attention, and its in the public arena.  You get a response to a concern raised on Twitter almost immediately.  :Smilie:

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## StrataStruggler

Hi All 
Thanks to everyone for their imput in this matter.  Just wanted to give everyone an update and more information. 
The matter is ongoing.  The promised change to home phone/internet/TV was for a discount to bundle.  What was connected was an updated system with associated costs. Cancelled within the cooling off period after numerous calls to help centre lead to nothing.  
Contacted CEO office.  Have manager handling.  But latest development.  This telco transferred over, as part of discount bundle spectacular, the pay TV.  They moved it from the pay TV provider, though this account was in another name, then opened an account in someone elses name who had no idea.  Despite cancelling bundle package been advised that pay TV cannot be transferred back.  That is apparently our problem.  In the interim, despite promised savings/discounts, pay TV is with this telco with a higher price. 
Not to mention mobile phone was put on a higher plan because, despite cancelling during cooling off, the old plan doesn't exist anymore.  Great way to get people onto a higher plan one way or another?  Infact, instead of a cheaper deal, the bundle would have cost and after cancelling have higher plans.  And would like to point out that this has not been done to myself but rather an elderly relative who has no idea what is going on.  Considering this telco uses birthdates as identification then the rep for this company would have know they were dealing with someone of age who would not need an upgraded system, but does need to save money. 
Am going to ombudsman, media and using the internet.  Tell everyone.  Unless you are contacted in writing, read all the details, ask questions then ask some more, get someone else to read over it, then sign, take photocopies, details names dates etc.  It is 5 months now and looks like going to 6 months.  Have only had one person who has been helpful.  Despite this help, this is still ongoing.   
I left this particular telco myself due to appalling customer service where I was told if I wanted something done to just shut my account!  So I did.  Never looked back.

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## David.Elliott

My daughter is having a run in with the big T and its collection agency..
Some time ago she got burnt by them, at least part of which, she admits responsibility for. So she paid the whole $1600.00
Vowed from that day forward to never have a contract with a mobile ever again...
Did however need a landline/internet at a house she rented. Can't do that on prepaid so went with T for that.
Kept up with all the bills and paid them on time. Recently had a call from Baycorp chasing $1300.00. Apparently for that property, they think, possibly.
Top marks to her she went on the offensive and asked for proof of debt, and has rung Baycorp twice, or more, per week chasing it. She even has a new bestie at Baycorp, with a direct line!
It's now been 5 weeks. The default is lodged on her Veda. Baycorp in 5 weeks have not been able to get proof of debt from T, and have admitted this is not unusual.
They are also frustrated by the apparent inability to see proof of debt. 
How many people get the frighteners and just pay thinking that they must owe it?
Inside I'm laughing as I just imagine my girl, on the phone to Baycorp, hounding them rather than the other way around...
I suspect that the debts are sold by T to Baycorp for (lots of) cents in the dollar with Baycorp apparently getting a value, name and address, only.
As her default in on her Veda a new (small) car loan is at a stupid rate, so she's not progressing. 
And as we're on debt collectors, we got a bill last week from the Family Payments section at the ATO for the entire amount we received in FP for the preceding year. Hmmm we thought, wonder why that is?
Long story short, 8am the_ following_ morning my wife received a call from the debt collector *demanding* payment, not asking or requesting.
A quick call (32 minutes on hold, for a 5 min conversation) to John (an idiot) at the FP section who tells her, new rule, you were late lodging tax return so have to pay it all back. At which time I cop an earful about late lodgement. After confirming that it was indeed lodged in plenty of time the wife rang back suitably armed. A further 56 minutes on hold gets her a woman who , puts her back on hold for a further 10 minutes to then say it's a shame John told you that as it's not actually a rule at all, and it was that you earned too much, jointly, to be eligible. 
And we wonder where our day goes...?

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## toooldforthis

if you use on-line chat with T you can save the recorded 'conversation'

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## Marc

> Has anyone had to make a complaint to the largest telco in the company?  Was hoping that someone has another way to contact than the few option afforded to the general consumer.  I have taken to taping (advising first that I am doing so) the conversations due to the lies and delay tactics that I have been subjected to.  This company made changes to the home phone of my mother without notice, without permission.  We just want it changed back to how it was.  No matter what ref number I use, they have no record.  No matter who I speak to I am not allowed to have a surname or number to advise whether it has worked or not.  I just have to raise another ref number. 
> If anyone has another contact method I would be extremely grateful.  I have a little old lady who doesn't understand why her phone doesn't work.  And I am at the end of my patience in having something that was not asked for reversed. 
> Thanks

  All suggestions have merit, some more than others. Understand that telstra is a large corporation and that you can only have some result from getting through to a person. Telstra is certainly not scared of any of the above. 
So in your shoes, I would forget any further attempts and call 2gb talk back radio in the morning and ask for help. They have direct contacts with telstra and get results in a matter of hours. 
Alternatively, port the land line to Optus.

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## Bros

> Alternatively, port the land line to Optus.

  Out of the frying pan in to the fire

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## Marc

> Out of the frying pan in to the fire

  What does that mean? There are millions of satisfied customer with telstra and the same with optus. If I get half of the (to me indescifrable) problems the poster has with a supplier I leave, I don't "fight", I don't beg, I don't ask, I don't concede. No service, no customer. 
Start afresh. The logical alternative is optus. If not optus then someone else that re-sells either telstra or optus services.
I had internet and phone on cable with optus for over a decade. Their customer service is equally appalling but I never needed them. Just luck, so yes, if you want to find justice or make a point or have a victory or even feel good with a large monopoly supplier, you are deluded and wasting your time in my opinion. 
Cut your losses drop them and find an alternative supplier. Unless of course one find some form of satisfaction or hobby in this sort of activity, then, by all means, keep on complaining about telstra.

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## lazydays

I go with "toololdforthis".
After a long running dispute with Telstra it was solved with the chat line.
Email complaints got now where, phone calls eneded up with the usual call centres and hard to understand accents.
It was finally resolved through the chat option.
Tips:
Do it one night when you are comfortably sitting at the PC and have other work to do and be prepared to stay on for over an hour and DON"T let them sign off.
Keep going with short answers whilst they are trying to finalize the problem as you get cut off after a certain period of inactivity.
You can even tell when the language tone changes as a supervisor eventually takes over but keep the chat going and don't let them sign off. After it's all over a text transcript is available for your records and downloading.
Good luck
The happiest day in my life was when I closed my Westpac account, the next happiest day will be when I close my Telstra account.

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## Bros

> What does that mean?

  You asked the question and then   

> Their customer service is equally appalling but I never needed them.

    You answered your own question.

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## r3nov8or

> ...After it's all over a text transcript is available for your records and downloading...

  ... and as long as you provide a valid email address at the start of the session you will also be emailed a link to connect back to the same person if they are online, and it lasts for 48 hours so you can keep trying if you really want to.

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## Marc

I politely disagree.
From the pan to the fire implies that there is no difference, both situations are equally bad.
I don't see how a suspended or non existing service with Telstra is the same as having a service with Optus yet knowing that their customer service is just as bad?
You pay for having a phone. The fringe benefit of "customer services" (yea right) is discretionary, written with a stick in water. 
Telephone and TV are a service purchased for a price. If the supplier stops supplying, the choice is clear, change supplier in order to get what you want.  
It is as pointless as swearing to the sky because it rains or it does not rain, to complain about poor customer service to an entity that has enjoyed a monopoly market for 50-60-70 years? Who are we kidding here? Just look for an alternative! 
The fact remains, you don't pay for "customer service" (no such thing in OZ anyway) you pay for a phone or tv product. You can make it into a sport and find convoluted ways to grab their attention like calling a talk back radio show as I suggested, or you can do the sensible thing and find someone that provides a service as you need. Life is too short to waste in quests plinking at windmills. In my personal view that is. others may get enjoyment out of this activities, others still do train spotting, learn Esperanto or start a button collection, who am I to knock them right? 
I thought the problem was that someone's mother had no telephone. Port the number to another carrier is my suggestion. So you have a telephone service for your mother.

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## toooldforthis

> ... and as long as you provide a valid email address at the start of the session you will also be emailed a link to connect back to the same person if they are online, and it lasts for 48 hours so you can keep trying if you really want to.

  link only works once. 
then you start all over again.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic): 
how's that for service.  :Mad:

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## toooldforthis

> I thought the problem was that someone's mother had no telephone. Port the number to another carrier is my suggestion.

  the trouble is they all seem to be as bad as each other.
and in my case T is the only service provider with reasonable coverage in my area - and that is not so great.
unless of course you find a T reseller.
eventually you get somewhere with T and history can help a bit.

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## Bros

> I politely disagree.
> From the pan to the fire implies that there is no difference, both situations are equally bad.
> I don't see how a suspended or non existing service with Telstra is the same as having a service with Optus yet knowing that their customer service is just as bad?
> You pay for having a phone. The fringe benefit of "customer services" (yea right) is discretionary, written with a stick in water. 
> Telephone and TV are a service purchased for a price. If the supplier stops supplying, the choice is clear, change supplier in order to get what you want.

    I've never had a problem with Telstra but I know others who have. I don't have Optus but I have had friends who have had trouble.
It is just a case of do you want to deal with the Philippines or India as that is where the calls go to. If you can get to an Australian call centre which happens some times your problems get solved quick.

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## Bros

> The happiest day in my life was when I closed my Westpac account, the next happiest day will be when I close my Telstra account.

  I have had problems with Westpac but I found out a way to get around it and that is to ring at 7 to 8 pm of a night and you get people who are a lot easier to deal with, during the day it is well nigh impossible.

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## r3nov8or

> link only works once. 
> then you start all over again.

  Not in my experience   

> how's that for service.

  actually pretty good compared to any other live chat service by a major company I've used. At least you get a link.

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## r3nov8or

> and in my case T is the only service provider with reasonable coverage in my area - and that is not so great.

  err, that would actually be a good thing, compared to all other providers

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## toooldforthis

> err, that would actually be a good thing, compared to all other providers

  yes, you are right.
but that just means T have even more of an a monopoly.
their service levels have improved but are still short of what is reasonable imho. 
for some reason, 30 mins from Perth CBD, reception here for mobile is woeful (drops out within 30"-60"), so a smartphone is of no use for anything internet.
and therefore restricted to landline for home internet (the costs of which are ramping up continually).
but T reluctant to do any maintenance on landline - everytime it rains connections go down due to moisture in the pits. 3 times in the last few months. and one of those times it took 3 weeks to get my landline connection restored! in the meantime they say  they will redirect my landline calls to my mobile... which drops out in 30 secs  :Frown:

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## r3nov8or

hey toooldforthis, I agree that isn't great, but there is no deliberate monopoly in your situation - every other telco is free to service your area but chooses not to. That's not T's fault. NBN will fix it  :Rolleyes:

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## David.Elliott

Hey TOFT,
here in Jarrahdale we feel your pain...
Over the last several months our mobile coverage has been degrading to the point now where we have 1 point, and 1 mean point, in the house where coverage is available on mobile. Outside I have a couple, interestingly best is inside my steel shed.
made the call to mobile coverage support, got an email with stupid questions like EXACTLY WHEN did you last lose a call; when did you first notice a problem, day/date/time, and about ten others.
I shared the questionnaire with the neighbours to have them complete too. We all agreed the Qs are unanswerable, they ask for specifics knowing you cannot supply so are going through the motions, no more.
 In this day and age you would have to believe that a drive around town with a meter of some sort would give them an idea of the state of the coverage? 
Story goes there is a tower on a property that has changed hands and the new owner has no agreement for access with T so will not let them on. There was no assignment of lease in the original agreement . Not sure of it's veracity...the same tower also does the Optus coverage...no joy there then... 
We do have a landline that used to be quite dodgy. Recently we were having a challenge with our iPrimus ADSL internet, and agreed to a T visit to investigate. Fellow turned up on a Sat morn, had a look, nothing wrong here, rang T (and I had to laugh) spent 40 odd mins on hold with T support, not sure why. He then rang IPrimus support, they checked their end and said the line was still too noisy, keep trying. 
Another half hour doing some stuff and Voila! Landline and internet never been better. Getting 15 down and 1.5ish up!

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## phild01

You have me thinking how we live in an age of token accountability.  Seems to me the telcos exaggerate their coverage for marketing purposes.  For quite a while now Telstra claim there is 4G in my area.  I spoke to many people there and told them they are fudging the maps but oh no, their mapping algorithm does the estimate.

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## Marc

Mm ... communication is a business. They sell you performance and if they don't have it they make it up. I have a house in an area that is a black spot, so we have satellite coverage for TV and internet. Had it for over 10 years. We get the weirdest programs on TV and slow internet but hei ... better than nothing. The exchange on the copper line is too far for ADSL.
And along came the NBN ... wow ... drum roll ... we had 4 MBPS and now we have 6. 
Problem is that the NBN satellite is very limited and once they reached the limit, the new subscribers are told that now we have ADSL2. Of course we all know that is not true, yet that does not stop them from signing up new customers to ADSL on a line that is not suitable for it and that does not provide any internet at all. 
Do you really think that there is any point to complain to Telstra?

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## lazydays

> I have had problems with Westpac but I found out a way to get around it and that is to ring at 7 to 8 pm of a night and you get people who are a lot easier to deal with, during the day it is well nigh impossible.

  I'm a shift worker and I find most call centres if they are in Australia are best at around 3 or 4 in the morning. The problem I had with Westpac though was just blatant lying. The next step then is the Bankers Ombudsman but it is funded and controlled by the banks themselves. In my case they had 30 days to respond and then on the 29th day they got another 30 day extension approved by the Ombudsman. This went on for about 12 mths until it became a court case that added more time. A day before the court case they rang me and asked me "what was the problem and how can we fix it". I went through the whole explaining process again and they resolved in my favour a day before the court case and returned my $30k they had kept all that time. 
Telstra.
Nice to say walk with your feet but it's a bit hard when you are trying to resolve a $3,000 bill and also when you can't get ADSL and are reliant on cable.

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## Bros

> Story goes there is a tower on a property that has changed hands and the new owner has no agreement for access with T so will not let them on. There was no assignment of lease in the original agreement . Not sure of it's veracity...the same tower also does the Optus coverage...no joy there then...

  I would be pretty sure is is just a story as telecommunications are like power assetts and the owners cannot be excluded from their equipment.   

> We do have a landline that used to be quite dodgy. Recently we were having a challenge with our iPrimus ADSL internet, and agreed to a T visit to investigate. Fellow turned up on a Sat morn, had a look, nothing wrong here, rang T (and I had to laugh) spent 40 odd mins on hold with T support, not sure why. He then rang IPrimus support, they checked their end and said the line was still too noisy, keep trying. 
> Another half hour doing some stuff and Voila! Landline and internet never been better. Getting 15 down and 1.5ish up!

  While I did say that I never had a problem with Telstra that was not entirely correct. I use Internode as my ISP and the DSLAM and the backhaul is with Telstra like most ISP's. 
A while back my internet degraded to be less that 20% of its original speed so I complained to Internode who put in a fault to Telstra. I complained every two weeks and Internode kept complaining to Telstra. After two months I when to the Ombudsman and said the fault was with Telstra and they could not take the complaint as it wasn't me who was using Telstra. Anyhow two months later the speed suddenly jumped up better than ever.
So while you may say to Telstra to stick it in actual fact you will be still using the Telstra infrastructure.

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