Does anyone here have experience with a Telstra dealer changing phone plan without consent? I'm especially interested in whether Telstra can in fact revert to an old contract if a customer did not authorise changes, or whether it is true that they can't do that. I'm also interested in whether the end date of a contract can be varied on their system.
I bought an LG G4 last November on a Telstra $70 phone plan. Because I complained to Telstra about their new customer offers they agreed to provide me with a $20 discount so I was paying $50 for the plan. As the local Telstra stores had run out of stock they sent me in to JB Hi Fi in Rouse Hill. Bluetooth and WIFI died in January and the phone was replaced as it was under 90 days by JB. But then it happened again in July. So I took it in to JB.
I went in yesterday to sort it after waiting over 5 weeks for my phone to be repaired under warranty and being given different stories by the repairer about parts availability (2 weeks ago they said they had parts the phone was in the queue. This week they said they didn't have the motherboard and LG couldn't give them an ETA). I had called Fair Trading that morning. At first they just told me that was how it was and that I'd just have to wait and again offered me a loan phone. (Their loan phones are no better than my old Samsung Galaxy S4, so I'm just using that).
After I threatened to put in a complaint with Fair Trading and after a phone call with the regional manager and some other checking, the manager agreed to give me a new phone. He asked for 40 minutes or so to organise it. I told him I'd be back in an hour. When I got back they had, without my permission moved me from my $70 phone plan to a $35 casual go plan. They insisted that this was the only way it could be done and that everything – included calls and data etc. would be the same from my point of view once they were done and that JB would pay the costs. I told them I was nervous about changes to my plan, needed to keep my number which i have had since 1998, and wasn't sure that was a good idea given that i had some ongoing discounts bringing what I paid for the plan down to $50. Bear in mind that at this point they had made the changes without my authorisation while I was out of the store. They said they needed more time. So I then went across to the Telstra store and got a copy of my bill with the discounts highlighted. To make matters worse they were unable to register the IMEI of the phone they had in store so they won't be giving me a phone till Saturday.
Meanwhile I checked and sure enough they'd moved me to a $35 plan with just 500MB data etc. I verified with Telstra chat and had a note put on that I did not agree to contract changes. I called JB back and was again assured it would all be the same when it was all complete. Then the manager called me back and asked what my concerns were. I told him I hadn't walked in to change plans – I just wanted the phone replaced under warranty. So what they appear to have now done is move me back to my original plan, but they have recontracted me.
On my next Telstra 24x7 chat that evening the original operator said that the dealer could not change contract without my consent and that I must have agreed. She basically called me a liar. I asked to talk to her supervisor who reapplied the discounts, agreed Telstra would honor my original contract end date (Nov 2017), and verified that all inclusions etc were the same. She provided a reference number.
When I noticed that my contract end date hadn't changed I got back on to 24x7 chat and spoke to the supervisior again. She said that they couldn't change the automated system, and that I should keep the reference number instead.
So last night I put in a complaint with Telstra over the whole mess. I also posted on both JB and Telstra 24x7's Facebook pages. It's unbelievable that if a dealer changes your contract without your consent they can't reverse it. And I don't want to have to keep a reference number and a chat transcript as proof of a conversation that may make it difficult or impossible to take up offers later on.
It looks like I'll be following up with complaints to TIO and Fair Trading. I'll wait to see if JB supply the phone tomorrow. I won't be signing anything to do with contracts so we'll see if that's a sticking point.
I have no idea if this is as a result of incompetence where they were actually trying to help (because there were some signs that they were) or malice because I threatened to go to Fair Trading. Either way it doesn't matter. They shouldn't have changed contract without even asking beforehand, and they've created an absolute mess for me for the next 15 months or so instead of just being without a phone.
I had the exact same problem with my cable broadband plan. They removed my bundle (without my consent, when I complained they claimed the system auto-corrected because it was not possible I have a cable bundle at my address), changed me from bundle to a separate broadband plan and cancelled my phone line. I cheated and had to sign up for a separate phone plan and have the separate broadband plan aswell and then contacted the billing department to say that I was on a bundle and should be charged as a bundle. They tried to recharge activation fee.
Anyways nightmare to deal with. This company has shit loads of problems. Sad they're the biggest telco in Australia.