Time for a change - After a good few years of singing the praises of Telstra Cable Broadband a few things had happened.
Firstly - what used to be an 'Unlimited' account was not only severely limited by a 10GB usage limit or about 4 hours of high speed downloading A MONTH it turned out that Telstra had started offering 'full speed' plans (hey I thought I was already paying for full speed?), which cost significantly more (about 16%) and would actually give you less time per month at full speed downloads.
I noticed too that my existing broadband seemed to be about 30% slower than it used to be - coincidence? I doubt it. Seemed to me like I was being asked for another $10 a month to get what I used to get. So I started to have a look around at what else was on offer.
Broadband without a land line - There are quite a few broadband providers in Australia now. Unfortunately, when you look 'under the covers' you find they are basically re-selling Telstra services, using Telstra infrastructure and limited in their competitiveness by the fact that Telstra controls their wholesale pricing. In addition, almost all ISPs are providing ADSL (Optus Cable isn't available in my street) - which requires you to have a land line active in the house. This means you have to ALSO pay for a land line phone, even if you don't make a single call a month.
Naked DSL looked like the answer - allowing you to have ADSL2+ speeds and no land line. I compared the offers out there and ended up going with iiNet. The only disappointment was that uploads are included in your usage, but then I was used to this from Telstra. Plans to have a media streamer (Orb or similar) set up at home were henceforth put on hold. Nevertheless, I signed up to iiNet and got free VOIP to land lines as part of the deal - meaning I effectively got a land line and free calls without the monthly 'line rental' fee.
How fast is your broadband going to be for ME? - One of my concerns with moving to naked DSL was that I didn't want to have a slower data service than what I had with Telstra. ISPs proudly advertise their theoretical maximum speeds, but aren't very forthcoming when you ask what you can expect at YOUR address. They all seem to suggest that you'll find out once you've signed a contract, which is a less than ideal way to test a service.
Cautious, cautious - not being sure if naked DSL would deliver the goods, I held onto my Telstra Cable broadband until I had my iiNet connection installed. iiNet was not only a better deal, but was faster - almost 3x as fast, had more usage, free land line calls, on and off peak usage (so only get capped for 1/2 the day if you go over your limit) and a support number where people actually answered the phone and understood the difference between a modem, router and a switch - I was sold! Now all I had to do was...
Pull the plug on Telstra Broadband Cable - On the 16th of June I called up Telstra. I smugly described, in some detail, exactly why I had decided to leave Telstra and move my broadband money to greener pastures. The Telstra phone person patiently waited for my rant to end and then attempted to put through my disconnection request. Apparently there was a problem instigating the disconnection and it didn't sound like it would be done while I was on the phone. I requested they make a note of my request to disconnect and end my billing cycle as of the 16th as I no longer required the service.
Are you SURE? - A few days later, I received a call from what I believe was an Indian call center, asking if I REALLY understood what disconnecting from Telstra meant - I would lose my email account and a number of other wondrous services. I explained I was aware of this and expected to be disconnected as requested.
Six weeks and two bills later - That's right, I'm still getting bills from Telstra for Telstra Cable Broadband. Even though I have called more than 10 times and told them I am not using the service (backed up by their own usage statistics) and that I have a cancel request dated back to the 16th in their system. I normally get asked for my details, transferred, then asked again for my details, transferred and one more time asked for my details... by the time I get to the third person they either explain 'there is something wrong with the new system and we are getting an error' or I am put on hold until I am disconnected.
Last straw - I got another bill, to pay in advance for another month for a service that I have repeatedly asked Telstra to cancel. The bill also described the 'fine' that would be charged if I didn't pay for the last bill, which also should not have been raised.
Upon calling Telstra, again, being transferred three times, put on hold for a total of 30 mins and then hung up on without explanation (I didn't even raise my voice - which was difficult, believe me). I gave up and called the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman to report my failure to resolve my complaint with Telstra. I was provided with instructions on how to proceed and called the Telstra Senior Complaints number - got an answering service (?) where I left my details...
TO BE CONTINUED....
Disconnected, I think! - Telstra finally called back - I don't know if it was because of the accumulating fines from the Telecommunications Ombudsman who had finally assigned a case officer - or perhaps they finally fixed some of their IT problems. After a 45 minute phone conversation with my partner on the phone - the technician apparently needed to speak to me 'just to be sure' that I wanted to cancel my broadband (the 20+ phone calls and complaint to the ombudsman wasn't enough). I explained that YES I did want to get rid of Telstra. I can no longer log onto the Bigpond web site, so I can only hope that this is the end of my Telstra Bigpond debacle and I won't be getting any more bills from them!
HOORAY!
And finally... My iiNet Naked DSL service is faster, cheaper, has more data (60GB) and I can watch ABC TV from any PC with free data AND I get free land line calls nationwide via VOIP and no land line rental costs - I recommend doing the same if you are currently struggling with Telstra!
Just when you think it's safe to throw away your Telstra bills... (24/11/08)
Hard to believe.. but Telstra is still stuffing up this account. I can no longer log into the Bigpond account and we received a credit notice for around $40 - ie. Telstra owes us money.
The next month Telstra sends us a bill - charging $11 for late payment and taking this off the money they owe us. Tried to call, redirected, redirected - each time loosing account information.. and then finally put on hold until I was hung up on.. Telstra is a disgrace!
