Lazy Aussies cop fat bills
LAZY Australians are failing to bother querying expensive bills and it could be costing them big.
Bill apathy is becoming prevalent among consumers, with two in five admitting if they receive a hefty bill from their mobile phone or utility provider, they are reluctant to query it.
The new analysis by financial comparison website Finder.com.au revealed one in five would simply deal with an excessive bill by saving money and ensuring the next bill isn’t as high.
Bill shock has been a long-running issue among consumers and has prompted wide-ranging changes to be made in the telco industry.
Now telco providers are compelled to send customers usage notifications so they can better manage their mobile monthly spend.
Finder.com.au’s spokeswoman Bessie Hassan says customers need to keep providers on their toes by keeping a close eye on their bills.
“For too long people have thought they have no say when it comes to what they’re charged for household utilities, but it’s time Aussies speak up if they feel ripped off,” she says.
“If you get an expensive bill, you need to act quickly.
“Firstly, think about why you’ve been charged a premium. It may be related to your consumption, such as if you’ve exceeded your mobile phone data limit, or maybe it’s just a case of your provider jacking up product fees or rates without warning.”
The research found many Australian customers are prepared to just put up with high bills and only one in nine customers would jump straight online and compare providers after a cost blowout.
Glynn Doust, 25, who works in project management, chewed up too much data, which left him with oversized mobile bills, prompting him to switch providers.
“I needed to understand my usage and I was using too much data to and from work, because my work is an hour by train each way,’’ he says.
“I was paying about $60 a month for 2.5 gigabytes of data and I was going over this, then I switched and for $35 a month I get eight gigabytes and I haven’t gone over once.”
Money expert Heidi Armstrong says if customers do receive a big unexpected bill, they should contact their provider immediately and “be persistent”.
“If you don’t get a satisfactory response and you think there’s something incorrect with the way the billing has happened, don’t be reluctant to escalate the issue with the provider,’’ she says. “You can say you want to lodge a formal complaint, because sometimes the issue can just go round and round in the big behemoth of these organisations and they don’t get resolved and you end up wasting time.”
Consumers should also look back at their previous bills and compare them to see where the anomaly in their exorbitant bill has come from.
Mrs Armstrong says escalating the issue internally to the provider’s complaints department can often result in the matter being resolved much more efficiently. Picture: Tim Hunter.