You’re mad not to switch

TENS of thousands of phone and internet customers have been left waiting more than two months to have their complaints resolved. I reckon that’s outrageous. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s latest 2018/19 report, released last week, found 47 per cent of consumers were left hanging more than 60 days for their complaints with their providers to be sorted.

And it’s become a lot worse from 2017/18 when 77 per cent of cases were finalised within this time frame.

I have one simple piece of advice for these consumers: ditch your provider.

Not having a functioning telco or internet service in this day and age impacts so much of what we do.

And while it’s not always as simple as switching providers immediately due to pesky contracts, those of you who could switch, should. Changing telcos has never been easier for mobile phone customers, particularly since the rollout of mobile phone number portability way back in 2001.

Nothing irritates me more than consumers whining about their telco but then they do diddly-squat. It’s all too hard. I switched telcos a few years ago now, from a big provider to a little no-frills brand to save myself a few bucks.

It wasn’t about service for me; it was the price that made me switch.

As for my home broadband. I chased price, got the best deal possible, bargained down my provider, and have had few issues with my internet.

Telstra, Optus and Vodafone are not the only providers out there – there are dozens more you probably haven’t even heard of.

I’ve resisted the NBN. I am going to leave it to the last moment to sign up because it’s going to cost me more if I make the leap.

Why would I change my service when it’s working fine, only to fork out more money?

On both the mobile and internet front I’m on no-lock in contracts, which gives me the ultimate power.

If I’m unhappy I can switch at any time.

The telco industry has become more competitive than ever before, which means they have to offer you a good service or you could easily ditch them and switch.

But you still have to keep a close eye on them.

My dad is a good example of this.

I helped him with his bills – he’s busy running a business and a farm – so sometimes paying the bills is more important than drilling down into the detail.

But his telco, Telstra, had left him paying excessive monthly charges of more than $100 per month for an iPhone 8 contract that he paid off in full.

Rather than dropping him down to data-only charges they left him still making payments equivalent to paying for the device. I cracked it, rang the telco and, after a bit of toing and froing, they reimbursed what they had ripped him off.

And, to cap it all off, I ditched and switched his provider.

The power is in your hands.

I cracked it ... After a bit of toing and froing, they reimbursed what they had ripped him off