Getting out of Ill-Advised Optus Contract

mrtimn on 22/11/2021 - 17:54

Background: my parents-in-law run a plumbing business and have had Optus as their telco for about 20 years. The business fluctuates from about 7-12 staff depending on how the trade is going. They provide all staff with phones and have usually just had them on 24mth contracts (monthly bill around $1200), but I ran the math for them about 12mth ago and they've slowly started buying them outright and just putting them on cheap plans (monthly bill around $400 and just replace phones as needed).

The situation: An Optus rep had been pestering my mother-in-law to come and chat about their contract situation because soon there would be no more phones on plans, only SIM-only plans. Eventually, she let them come down about 2 months ago to chat and she told them what her business situation was and how they had 10 phones currently with the business. In the process of the sale, she signed a contract thinking it was what she was after (no-frills, just calls, text and some data) and was told it would be cheaper than their current bills, but they signed her up for the highest level in here: https://www.optus.com.au/yesbusiness/business-builder-plans.

The contract: They now have a 24-month contract of $85 per phone for 10 phones ($20,400 over two years) which comes with an $8000 account to buy phones with. The cancellation fee, as a result, is $1,224 per phone or $12,240 for all 10 phones, and if any staff leaves they have to pay the cancellation fee and will lose $800 out of the 'tech' account. She called up the day after and asked them about the contract she had signed and whether she could get out of it and they told her it was a very long and lengthy process and, being quite timid and intimidated, she just hung up.

I've just found out about this situation today, there was a 10-day cooling-off that has expired, what are options I should be exploring to try to either a) get out of the contract or b) just make the situation a little better?

Worst comes to worst we can use the $8000 up on phones, re-sell them and pay out the cancellation fee and be around $4,500 worse for wear but hopefully there are some better options.

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Comments

    • AndyC1 on 22/11/2021 - 18:31
      +2

      And on the page is:
      If you’ve already attempted to resolve your complaint directly with your provider and you believe we can help, start your complaint now.

    • mrtimn on 22/11/2021 - 18:51
      +1

      Thanks @holdenmg and @AndyC1!

  • JMosk on 22/11/2021 - 18:15
    +4

    I'd be making a complaint to Optus that what she was told that she was signing was not in fact what she did sign.
    When this fails and they play hard ball. Get the ombudsman involved.
    If she did indeed get pressured into signing something that wasn't explained properly and then 'bullied' into not cancelling the contract then hopefully they will make it right.

    • AndyC1 on 22/11/2021 - 18:30
      +1

      Make sure you make a formal complaint as Optus staff over the phone will in most cases just enter an issue and agree to anything to get you off the phone and therefore it may NOT be a formal complaint. Get the complaint number while you are on the phone so you can chase it up if they do not call you. Also get when someone from Optus's complaints area will call you back and do NOT accept soon as you want, you want a definitive date or number of days of number of hours.

      Make sure you document everything and keep records. If it goes pear shape make a formal complaint to the TIO.

  • Daabido on 22/11/2021 - 18:29
    +3

    Scum salesman.

  • AdamFury on 22/11/2021 - 18:34
    +2

    As someone who used to work in the telecommunication industry this practice is all too common.

    I would definitely be getting out of those contracts (which I believe you are well within your rights to do so) and I personally find it very frustrating when sales people take advantage of people who trust them to give the best advice when all they are thinking about is how much commission they can make.

    My plan of attack would be something like this:

    • Have your mother-in-law add you as an authority on the business account as a full authority to act on their behalf (if you aren't already) this will make things a lot easier as you will be able to deal with Optus directly and will avoid your mother-in-law having to deal with them any further.

    • Get in touch with Optus first. Specifically the complaints department. I'm not too sure if Optus is similar to Telstra however I know Telstra used to / still does have a call centre in Adelaide that you got routed to when saying 'complaints' when first calling. These guys usually had all the knowledge and power to do things that other consultants only had small pieces of (think disconnections, waiving of fees, special circumstances etc) you will often get a single consultant that you will deal with throughout the whole process.

    • If you are unable to get a resolution with Optus directly do as others have mentioned and [lodge a complaint with the TIO](https://www.tio.com.au/complaints] you will be surprised how quickly Optus contact you to get things resolved if you have reached this step. Optus will likely assign a case manager and have it resolved. If not TIO can step in but telcos usually do anything they can to get things resolved before it goes any further.

    Best of luck.

    • mrtimn on 22/11/2021 - 18:54
      +2

      Thanks very much @AdamFury, that’s really helpful, I hadn’t thought to put myself as an authority, that will make things a lot easier.

  • Aneurism on 22/11/2021 - 18:37

    The above advice seems quite practical. On a side note, I'm interested to know what would they have done if a customer signed a lucrative plumbing contract and then tried to cancel after the cooling off period.

  • Benoffie on 22/11/2021 - 18:50
    +1

    You want to ask for your complaint to be escalated to customer relations. They are an Adelaide based team. Make sure you get a reference number from them for the escalation.

    You'll get a case manager who has the power to resolve/cancel contracts etc.

    Or via this link https://www.optus.com.au/support/feedback-and-complaints/mak…

    https://www.optus.com.au/content/dam/optus/documents/for-you…

    • mrtimn on 22/11/2021 - 18:55

      Thanks Willowtea, I’ll definitely get onto that, thanks for the links, much appreciated.

  • elgrande on 22/11/2021 - 19:31
    +1

    my parents-in-law run a plumbing business 

    A couple of extra jet blasts a week should cover this.

  • bmerigan on 22/11/2021 - 22:38
    -3

    I feel like the ship has sailed. She signed it. Then she didn't cancel it when she had the chance.

  • weezlebub on 23/11/2021 - 10:00

    i believe the tio would call it 'predatory sales tactics' which is specifically mentioned in law (somewhere in there) …

    Optus, manager, escalate, then complaints …

    Let them know that you were promised that it would be cheaper and that there is no 'value' in the $8,000 phone credit … as it is meant to be cheaper than what you were on, you'd be happy to take the plan if they would make it cheaper than what you were paying (as promised) … so your $20,400 over two years should be $9,600.

    Give them the option:
    - leave the credit in there and drop your rate to $9,600 (so drop the rate on the plans to $40 per month per plan from $85) on a two year contract
    - rescind the contract as it doesn't align to what was promised (cheaper)
    - come up with a different contract that is CHEAPER than your $40 per month, non-contract rate, which provides the same data / voice / messaging

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