Frustrations Continue with Optus
Regular readers of this column will remember the challenges that I faced last year with changing my home phone and Internet services across to Optus. I thought that I could save money and have extra services by going to a ‘Big Business Plan’ that Optus offered to encapsulate all of my phone calls and Internet access at a total of $95 a month.
I took them up on this offer with the promise that my ADSL 2+ Internet speeds would remain the same as I had already experienced with my previous provider. However after a connecting with Optus it was quickly found that this would not be the case. In fact my Internet speeds especially during the 5pm to 10pm times went back to as little as one tenth of my previous speeds during those times!
I talked to Optus at the time which had them juggling me at length between service representatives who tried to blame everything from line quality to distance from the exchange to even my computer setup! Eventually I got to a senior level Optus tech who admitted that the Optus’ uplink from the Frenchville exchange was very ‘bandwidth limited’. In other words, Optus could not provide an Internet connection to me that was even close to the speed of my previous provider.
I immediately ‘opted’ out of the contract on the basis of inadequate Internet performance and not meeting the promised speeds and reverted back to my previous provider for both the home phone and the attached Internet service. I also had trouble getting back to my original speeds here too but all issues were eventually resolved by the implementation of a ‘stability profile’ on the line.
Keep in mind that my original contract with Optus was at $95/month. Just this week I open an email from Australian Debt Recoveries (a debt recovery agency) on behalf of Optus asking for $685.40 to settle my account! This is an interesting development especially considering that I cancelled the service within 3 days of it being connected!
I have since tried to call Optus however I keep getting the message “we are experiencing a greater than normal number of calls at present and there is a delay of greater than 30 minutes before we can answer your call”. What great phone service from a phone provider!
Anyway I will have to make a fresh coffee and sit by the phone as soon as I have spare time to kill to see why there is a charge of $540.41 for one months’ worth of service – which has grown with debt recovery charges, when I was on a $95/month plan?
While on am on the subject of phone and Internet service providers why is it that we have to put up with 3rd world service right here in Australia. So many of our largest companies now farm there phone cues out to overseas call centres. Does this help when we actually have a phone or Internet problem? Hardly.
Phone & Internet problems or required changes are always of a technical nature so why do we want to talk to someone in India or the Philippines that we can barely understand? Does this do anything to reduce unemployment or promote growth in our country? It should be mandatory that services such as these that are billed and delivered in Australia should also receive service that is based in Australia!
How has it come to be that in our country to get help with our phone or Internet we need to talk to someone that we can’t understand on the other side of the world?
Future Byte Me topics can be emailed to [email protected] and Bruce is contactable at Kerr Solutions, 205 Musgrave Street or on 49 222 400.
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