I'm after some advice for my wife. She is in the handover period before she leaves her employer and may need to return the phone. She has had an iPhone 7 for about 15 months on a 24 month plan. Current plan $110 a month. She would like to keep her number when she leaves. There is 9 months left and Telstra said it would cost $500 to buy the plan out. This would mean she gets the phone. I don't know how it works with the number whether she can keep it and port it to another plan. Do you think it is worth it to buy the phone (which is in good nick) for $500, ..or should she just give it all back and get on a new plan + new phone, but somehow 'magically' get the number ported to that plan. Any advice would be appreciated.
Buy out Plan from Previous Employer or not
Zaxxon on 30/01/2018 - 13:55
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Belongs to the company, but she has been using it for personal use so wants to keep the number.
or should she just give it all back and get on a new plan + new phone, but somehow 'magically' get the number ported to that plan
That's not possible — you cannot port a number from a SIM that has been activated with another person's name and the account details still contains the other person's name or business info.
You'd need to take ownership of the number first, otherwise the port request is rejected and you'll simply end up with a non-working SIM or just a new number.
.. and she can only take ownership of the number if the plan is cancelled? Could the replacement person be given the phone and current plan but on a new number so my wife can keep the existing number?
She'll need to contact her Employer. If it's oned by te company, she will not have access to just cancel/port etc.
It's a very small company. The plan is in her name and she is still the manager having full authority over the account. So it's her decision. Sorry, I probably should have said that earlier.
You need to fill out this form. It's called the change / transfer of ownership form.
https://www.telstra.com.au/my-account/change-of-ownership
You can also get this from from any Telstra shop. Scroll down a bit and you can see the FAQ's. Read the FAQ's to answer most of your questions.
She can keep the number only if you want, just need to fill the change of ownership business to consumer transfer request form, the employer and your wife fills it and she gets the number to her name. On the phone is up to the employeer to let you keep the phone as they been paying for it.
She needs to talk to her employer. She’ll need to fill out quite a bit of paperwork to get the number transferred. I’d start by googling change of ownership form Telstra and fill out the business to consumer (all the bits she can).
She’ll need who ever is authorised to sign that form. They might not want to and if they are paying then they can refuse.
DO NOT I repeat DO NOT cancel the plan. That will make everything 1000 x harder
I concur with the others she will need to get the company to agree to the number being transfered into her name. By the look at the forms she may be able to just take over the plan which would mean she has no ETC, she just pays the plan cost for the next 9 months. Best idea is to go to a proper Telstra owned store and have a chat to the people there. They may make you dial up the call centres, in which case, heaven help you - it will be a lottery.
Having worked in a Telstra call center, you're right. It is a lottery. Don't get me wrong though, most Filipinos are very good at their job. When it comes to complex systems, they are often better than Australians. This is probably due to majority of them being highly educated, whereas here in Australia Telstra lets anyone work for them.
The thing that really lets Telstra's Filipino employees down is the lack of access and training. They can usually only do a very specific scripted function, whereas Australians are basically trained to do everything and are largely unscripted. This means that when you are put through to a Filipino they will often have to transfer you to someone else, as they simply cannot help you using the systems available to them.
In my experience it's actually the stores that are the most clueless. I lost count the number of times I had Telstra stores call me to sort their shit out. As such I personally recommend avoiding the stores and call Telstra disconnections (aka saves team) instead. The "saves team" are almost always Australian, have access to pretty much everything and generally know what they're doing.
It depends on the store. I used to go to the guys at 242 Lonsdale St in Melbourne and they were top notch. This is why I said a Telstra owned store, rather than just a Telstra branded store.
Good hint with the disconnections guys, I've heard this one in the past and it seems to be the best short cut you can have.
I think you are, also, correct with the scripting. Not sure if it is because the overseas guys are scared of losing their jobs but the average Australian call person is much more likely to have the attitude, "let's give this a go", rather than just trying to work their way through the prescribed text. I think this is why overseas manufacturing works well but call centres tend to fall short, manufacturing has a definite process with a definite outcome and the customers exposure to the day to day process is minimal. With call centres you really have no idea what the customer will say next and we all know about the "12:00 flasher" syndrome.
Yeah some stores are definitely better than others. As I really only heard from them when there was a problem it's likely to have tainted my opinion.
@Ryballs: yeah, though I've been to stores where the first thing they do is direct you to the phone - which is why I was so happy with people at 242.
Who does that number / plan belong to? The company or your wife?