TPG. Extremely Upset. What Are My Rights?

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TPG

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  MATTDAMON on 24/12/2016 - 20:28

  To my knowledge you cannot port your number onto nbn unless its to a uni-v port (which you have if its fiber)

  • 

    Cheeper on 24/12/2016 - 23:40

    We kept our old # when we converted to FTTN with Exetel. No problem.

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  apple2016 on 24/12/2016 - 20:42

  +3

  You could contact Australian consumer affairs but this is not going to bring back your number. TPG is inexpensive for a reason.

  • 

    Diji1 on 24/12/2016 - 22:40

    +4

    Cost doesn't have much to do with it in my experience, sales will just say anything to get you connected.

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  girlshaped on 24/12/2016 - 21:02

  +4

  Going off what you've said I think they can do something, but with porting it's important they do something soon. I don't think you're being unreasonable, as long as what you're saying is accurate.

  Try calling TPG one more time. Explain yourself again. Ask if they have a recording of the original call. Stay calm but be firm. Ask to speak to a manager if you're getting nowhere. As a last resort, advise them that you will go to the TIO (https://www.tio.com.au/) if they can't come to a satisfactory conclusion with you.

  The TIO is there to solve a problem between you and your telco, but only once you've made a reasonable attempt to resolve the problem yourself. I think you have, but one last attempt to do the above won't hurt you. Document everything you've done and who you spoke to and when (if possible) and include this in your notes for the TIO. The TIO will contact TPG and encourage them to work it out with you. They may not side with you, but I've had positive results with them myself.

  Good luck. :)

  • 

    Diji1 on 24/12/2016 - 22:41

    +1

    one last attempt to do the above won't hurt you.

    Yes it hurt him because it's a waste of time. He's done more than the minimum, now is time to do the TIO.

    • 

      try2bhelpful on 25/12/2016 - 06:38

      +1

      I disagree, it is better to go back to TPG and tell them you are going to the the TIO, than just go to the TIO. The threat of the TIO might be enough to get something done immediately, if you go to the TIO directly the OP will need to wait whilst this is resolved through that avenue; that might be a bigger waste of elapsed time than the phone call.

      Rant begins - Online companies are such a PITA to deal with, once you lose face to face contact with whoever is the sales person/claims person is it is incredibly difficult to sort out issues. You get swapped between people who get measured on how many people they deal with, rather than what they have resolved. - Rant over.

  • 

    HardQuiz on 25/12/2016 - 06:19

    +2

    As a last resort, advise them that you will go to the TIO (https://www.tio.com.au/) if they can't come to a satisfactory conclusion with you.

    This is important, mention it to TPG's manager/supervisor and ask for a complaint/case number to provide TIO.

• 

  Cheeper on 24/12/2016 - 23:42

  +1

  Suggestion to save a lot of heartache if grandma does not have a massive list of contacts.. just advise people of the new number and move on?

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  Geewhizz on 25/12/2016 - 07:03

  Talk to the telecommunications ombudsman.

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  [Deactivated] on 25/12/2016 - 07:10

  +1

  I don't think TPG do number porting, when they transferred me to Wondercom for fttb, they had to give me a new number, there was no second solution (10 x internet speed was a good tradeoff). Also the Telephone Ombudsman requires you lodge a formal written complaint with the company first and will negotiate with the phone company if they have broken the contract or the law, you have a 10 day cooling off period with contracts made by phone, so your only real course of action here is to cancel the deal.

  Edit - over the last 20 years I have used every major ISP in Australia and bang for buck, speed and continuity of service TPG wins out, even though they make zero promises on service (hence the low rates, you can pay a higher monthly rate for guaranteed service response times).

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  Garltok on 25/12/2016 - 09:30

  If you want to find out your rights I'd call the ombudsmen (TIO) and ask them, as it's their job to know. I had an issue with tpg previously and as soon as TIO is involved they're very quick to try and resolve your issue.

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  Sestrooper on 25/12/2016 - 09:31

  Thanks all for the great advice. I admit that I should just move on and accept the new number but it was just the principle and poor customer service that wanted me to fight it. I understand it's the hard road. Merry Christmas all!

  • 

    sky blu on 26/12/2016 - 00:24

    True. Principles matter. But sometimes think of the feasibility of your desired outcome. If it isn't technically possible to get your old phone number back, perhaps you can gather the evidence, escalate the case and try to explain (nicely) to a rep that can provide some credit as a compensation for the hassles as a new TPG customer/ new connection sign up. I'm sure telcos are better at doing customer service than to pick up the phone for someone to have a go at them resulted from a f***up involving multiple departments/ technicalities.

    -Compact the issue, use keywords, give hints to escalate until you get to a supervisor/rep who can actually make a monetary decision. You don't want to explain in clear terms to level 1 reps who then will quickly brief his/her supervisor before transferring the call.

    -Prepare persuasive language.

    -Work out a (reasonable) amount of compensation in advance. When it sounds firm and reasonable to the other end, it will likely be considered (e.g. order wasn't properly put through, resulted in 2 months delay = grounds to ask for an equivalent credit for the inactive period of time). Whatever you do, sound FIRM, don't be hesitant and go back and forth too much. The key is explain your situation, get him/her to agree with you, then pass the ball ("what can you do for me?")

    I have had great experience with them in the past.

    If you managed to get some credit, good. If not, put it down to experience and remove TPG from future preference.

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  garetz on 25/12/2016 - 10:08

  -6

  You made a mistake, you did not specify this when you should have, so the fault is entirely yours. I dunno why you are complaining about tpg, they got nothing to do with you making the mistake to begin with. Even if they noted it in the original call, you need to request it when actually applying for the service.

  Blaming tpg for your own lack of awareness is crazy, your rights in this case is to cancel the service and never contact tpg again.

  • 

    Sestrooper on 25/12/2016 - 15:06

    I requested it in the original application (e.g the first call when they took all the details, including the current number to be ported). The second call was just to pay for it.

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  Yola on 25/12/2016 - 10:24

  +3

  I changed to TPG from iPrimus 3 years ago and they promised I could keep my phone number. Then a technician rang me and said they were unable to actually do it. I insisted and insisted and they did do it. For some reason maybe cost or difficulty they prefer not to do it. Since you originally requested the porting you should be able to insist on it but you are lacking proof. If you really want the old number you have to jump up and down and take all available action. Also post on Whirlpool - they actually have a forum called - ask a TPG rep - https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=2530292 sometimes they resolve issues. Better hurry as the number could maybe be reassigned?
  I have been with TPG for 3 years and no issues, certainly cannot be beat on the price.

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  bjdchwr on 25/12/2016 - 14:51

  I think you have done reasonable times of contact with TPG so it's the time to go to TIO for a complainant.

  TIO would work most of the time and I found then extremely useful for some hard-to-fix issues. It also costs ISP money to deal with each of the TIO issues.

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  shangoz on 25/12/2016 - 15:05

  Sorry to hear that, but that's not trully TPG's fault, it's NBN or Telstra make simple thing difficult, used TPG for long time, when porting number, TPG engineer extremely suggest not doing it when deal with Telstra or NBN, they are big boss compare with small TPG.
  Merry Christmas and try to accept and enjoy new year, new number.

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  lepenseur on 27/12/2016 - 23:40

  +1

  If the number is really important to you, there may be some steps you can take other than those suggested above if those do not succeed.
  The following is not about your rights, which are quite hard to actually claim in the modern world of unaccountable call centre salespeople, but about a potential technical solution to get the number back.

  Phone numbers are important because - particularly if it is not your own number - you really don't know how many important institutions or individuals have that number of record for your grandmother and the facile suggestion of "inform everyone of the new number and move on" will probably have unpredictable consequences for your grandmother well into the future.

  Depending on the technicalities of your telephone connection, the following may or may not be doable.

  I don't think you mentioned this but, since it is your grandmother, there is a good chance that the lost phone number was with Telstra. The following works better with Telstra as the legacy supplier than with more modern telcos who tend not to have the systems in place and who tend to take a "scorched earth" approach based on nothing but selling new stuff.

  If you get nothing via TPG and the line was with Telstra and it is physically still possible to get the connection (i.e. physical copper line still there), you can try approaching Telstra to get the number reinstated. (Even if the copper line is not there, Telstra might be able to reinstate the number as an "exchange-based diversion" and divert it to another number.)

  This will not be free; it is not Telstra's fault. This will cost you money as a new connection, most likely - it depends on how valuable it is to you. It is my understanding that, when a telephone number is "dropped" - disconnected - Telstra lock the number and don't reallocate it to anyone else for some period of time, possibly a year, in case the original subscriber needs it back. I have witnessed Telstra themselves drop a number in error as happened to you, and then get it back after a week without problems. You may be able to lean on a medical need for an older person.

  Once you get the number back in your grandmother's name in some form, the issue is how to keep that number cheaply and without copper connection.
  The next step is to open a VoIP account with MyNetFone (I have done this exercise several times and am a client of MNF; I receive no benefit from suggesting this - I know it works, that's all), and open that account as a Whirlpool forum user (search it) as you will get a ongoing discount that is worth having. Then (sorry Telstra) submit a porting request to MNF to port that number into their system as a VoIP number. You neeed to be careful that account owner name and the phone lessee name and addresses all need to match for this to work; you can't grab someone else's number. Your grandmother will have to be involved, but you can make the phone calls with her present for ID.

  If this works, then, after about a week you will have the original number as a VoIP number hosted by MNF and for very little money, $5 per year "line rental" if you do it properly.
  You can then either divert the VoIP number to a real line or a mobile, if there aren't many incoming calls, or get an "ATA device" a VoIP adaptor which plugs into your modem on one side and a telephone handset on the other side and you have your telephone service back on a normal handset for both incoming and outgoing calls, and quite cheaply too. (You can buy that from MNF or elsewhere once you know whether you have the line back.)

  In any case you can keep the VoIP number for as long as you want, and it is independent of physical location. If your grandmother moves, she can keep the VoIP number provided there is a modem around or the number can be diverted to your grandmother's or a family member's mobile, so potentially important calls for your grandmother get received by someone. Diversion using MNF is inexpensive.

  All the above is ideally done and works well before you risk losing a land line number, but your situation is not the ideal, and you are clearly upset enough to indicate that the number is important to you. I have assisted older people and a land line number they have had for a long time is usually really important to them. You don't know who might have that number - governement agencies, medical practitioners, important relatives. It is worth preserving.