Telstra, A Broken Deal And A Disrupted Life
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday November 23, 2006
I can only give a broad overview of the adventures of being a Telstra customer - based on the sheer number of errors it has made on my account this year - but I think even an overview will prove interesting to readers.
Six months and many calls and emails after opening a new account with Telstra in March, it was still sending all correspondence to me at the forwarding address, some 600 kilometres away, on my previous account.Throughout this period, Telstra refused to connect an in-line service, claiming that there was a fault in the line. The "fault" turned out to be that the Telstra technician had not switched through the line from one main distribution frame to the other closest to my flat.As a single mother with no income, I spent six months without even a phone to contact the very agencies which could advocate on my behalf, much less provide internet access for my son, a university student.When, after five months, I finally managed to convince Telstra to check again, it connected the phone in a matter of minutes. It then put me on the wrong plan and, you guessed it, sent the bill 600 kilometres away. With no further reminders it then sent me a "you have broken your agreement" notice and charged a late fee.I phoned Telstra in March to request connection. It connected the phone on August 28. I lodged a complaint with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman in the following days (Telstra originally refused to even investigate). I am still waiting for the compensation which the ombudsman has the power to seek. My car is unregistered for want of ready cash, my Telstra bill is due and I am left waiting while Telstra tries to avoid paying its own bill to me.What kind of company can be not only so incompetent, but so immorally unco-operative in taking responsibility for hurting those who are most vulnerable? One that is mighty and unfettered enough to expect that it can get away with breaking its own rules, or one too unwieldy to manage its own operations?I have five words for Telstra: it has broken its agreement.Rosie Williams Monterey
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald