This Investigator reports how one man spent six weeks fighting "tooth and nail" with People Telecom over a contract he claimed was extended by 12 months without his permission.
From a company that stands or falls by the quality of communication it offers, silence is anything but golden.
Late last year, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), the industry mediator that handles complaints, published its annual report with some disturbing results.
The 2008 report found that internet service complaints had risen by 30 per cent over the previous year and customer service and billing and payments were the top two areas of complaint.
As a sidenote, to see which ISPs rated highly and poorly as voted by PC Authority readers, see PC Authority's Reliability & Service Awards 2008.
Brenton Minns knows only too well that problems with customer service can quickly sour your relationship with your ISP.
Brenton got in touch with Investigator [for PC Authority's January 2009 issue, republished here] because he was frustrated with his internet provider People Telecom over his on-going campaign to terminate his contract.
“I have spent the better part of six weeks fighting tooth and nail for People Telecom customer service – having sent several emails and making numerous calls – to sort out unwarranted extra fees and charges, and also to understand why my contract, which was to end in October 2008, has been extended an additional 12 months without my permission to end in October 2009. I have made absolutely no progress.”
At one point, Brenton was making between three and five phone calls to People Telecom a week. Brenton was told they couldn’t help and that the manager would return his call, which didn’t eventuate.
“Last week I spent 75 minutes on the phone on one call. I was transferred five times and cut off twice, forcing me to ring back and rejoin the end of the queue. Just this morning, while being transferred to the accounts department, I ended up speaking to Crown Casino.
Upon ringing back I was put through again, but the phone this time rang out.”
On the email trail, Brenton had little luck in getting in touch with anyone and having his problem resolved.
In early September, he sent an email trying to find out why his contract was automatically extended for another 12 months.
He included his customer number and also included the reference number that he was given during an earlier service call. He received an email notification in response to his email with another inquiry reference number.
Around three weeks later and still without a response, Brenton sent a further email to enquire why he had not received a response. A week later he received an email saying that the situation would be examined.
“I finally did receive a proper response on the 3rd October, to which I replied. I was pleased to hear from someone; however, since then I have heard nothing.
I gave them the chance to follow through; so I’ve made no further contact since then. However, with the passing of another 10 days with no word, I was intending to get back on the phone to try and speak with someone.”
At this point, Brenton got in touch with us looking for some help in getting through to someone in customer service who could actually have the account terminated.
Investigator contacted a People Telecom representative to look into the situation and try to get a resolution for Brenton. The rep was quick to pass on the details of the situation to a People Telecom customer care manager.
Shortly after this, Brenton had an email from a customer service representative to advise that the account termination date had been re-adjusted to the original October 2008. To his relief; Brenton was glad to have the matter resolved.
“It seems getting things sorted really wasn’t such a big deal after all. All it took was seven or eight emails, two months of my time, 15-20 phone calls, a $20 bill and involvement from a big computer magazine. And I don’t think its any coincidence that I only really got anywhere after you guys got involved.”
The TIO will handle complaints in relation to landline, mobile phones and internet services. For more information on your rights and responsibilities or to register a grievance, go to TIO or phone 1800 062 058.
Here to Help:
We welcome consumer complainst and questions, and we'll do our best to help find a solution for all parties involved. If you're the victim of poor sales, dodgy service or any other kind of dispute, we need to hear about it. if you'd like to help, email us at investigator@pcauthority.com.au
Please note that the companies or individuals mentioned here are meant to illustrate the typical problems that an ordianary customer could face. If a company is mentioned here, it should not be taken as an indication that incidents described are typical of that particular company.
Please don't use the PC Authority or The Investigator names as leverage to get more than you are entitled to.
Also see PC Authority's Reliability & Service Awards 2008