Hi y'all,
I recently found out through a student website that Telstra has admitted to deceiving it's customers and is compensating them. The following link https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/telstra-offers-to-comp… explains the situation.
It was also reported here http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/telstra-to-offer-refund… and here http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/breaking-news/telstr…
"Telstra admits that by this conduct it was likely to have contravened the Australian Consumer Law by engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct and making false or misleading representations."
I like how they say "it was likely". Smooth…
"Telstra group executive, consumer and small business Vicki Brady said, it is not possible to accurately determine what speed the NBN can deliver to a customer prior to connection. She said remedial action will apply to less than five per cent of Telstra's NBN customers."
Does this second quote contradict Telstra's admission that they engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct? Also, did enough customers inform Telstra of the problem prior to their continuing advertisements?
So, 5% of customers will receive compensation of some sort yet the Tables in the ACCC article clearly show a vast majority are not getting their rightful internet speeds. This could indicate that many people are unaware of the problem.
In any event…
"'Telstra has undertaken that, where it advertises or otherwise represents to potential customers that they will receive a particular speed, it will, within four weeks of connecting a new service, check each customer’s attainable speed. If it is below the advertised speed, Telstra will notify the customer and offer remedies,' said Mr Sims."
What about existing customers, though?
Well, delving deeper, according to this next ACCC link (which is contained in the first) http://registers.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1204… they should.
"Telstra Corp will contact all previous and current affected consumers within four weeks via letter or email to explain the maximum speed they are able to receive, the types of remedies available and how to obtain a chosen remedy."
The main advice I would give is for people to be patient and courteous when dealing with Telstra whilst trying to receive compensation regardless of the facts. I won't be disclosing any details of whether I am a Telstra customer or not, since I am not obliged to do so, I just thought many of you would appreciate this news.
You can check your internet speed and compare it to what you were promised by going to www.speedtest.telstra.com
Check this multiple times over a week or two.
If you are with another telco, you may want to find out their system for checking your download and upload speeds.
It's a win for the little guy! Hope you have a lovely Christmas.
Cheers ;)
It seems like this type of conduct is now commonplace amongst many services.
In my view they will act dumb (and hope they don't get detected), admit their misconduct (it is cheaper) and then they will just pay the fine … apologise to their customers (like they really care!), give some rubbish compensation and move on.
The issue is that many people stay with dodgy companies and suck it up as if it is not worth spending time to be in a perpetual loop trying to resolve issues due to their failing customer service processes (i.e. Automation), time and effort consumed, logistics of the changeover .. etc … to discover the same practises are implemented when they leap over to another dodgy company. …
Have a look at the Banks? In my view they are all dodgy and … performing a leap-frog from one to another, is that going to make a difference?
Edit: Off topic: Another example is CityLink (if you live in Melbourne) … all of the Toll Points are working perfectly … but you are at a crawl @ 40Kph due to perpetual roadworks! … you are paying ~ $16 one way to get a bottleneck service. Will they compensate? No chance … and by the way … how does an original $300 fine turn into a $40000 fine by not paying after a certain time?? … hmmm the GST looks good!
That's my view :-)
Btw: I would recommend you to have a TDLR :-)
Cheers