You think buying a mobile phone would be easy. You do your research, pick a phone with a big reputation, and buy it from the franchised store of Australia’s largest communication company, Telstra.

You know that if you have a problem, there will be no problem. The manufacturer has a good reputation and the supplier is a local store. Never in my life have I been so wrong about anything.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Telstra is the most arrogant, bureaucratic, insensitive, unreasonable company I have ever had the misfortune to come across. And those are the good things I can say about the organisation.

Should you be as stupid as yours truly, and buy a phone from Telstra and have a problem in the first thirty days, based on my experience, here is what you can expect.

I purchased an HTC Touch Diamond smart phone from the Telstra Bowral store on 17^th October 2008. The phone had a list price of $999 so it was not inexpensive.

From the time I commissioned the phone I had problems with the Bluetooth connection. I returned to the store three days after purchase and advised the store staff of the problem.

I contacted HTC, and spent an inordinate amount of time trying to make my existing Plantronics Bluetooth headset work.

HTC informed me there was a high probability the headset was incompatible with this phone, and recommended I purchase one of four approved headsets. I was not impressed as the existing Plantronics was an expensive unit, and only a couple of months old. Nevertheless, to comply with HTC’s support department, I purchased a Jabra JX10 and spent $105 for the privilege.

The quality of connection on the Jabra headset was almost bad as the Plantronics. This was reported to HTC, and after much trial and error, and playing around with all sorts of third-party possible fixes, the support department recommended I install the latest Optus Rom. I was not impressed with the suggestion as I had spent a large amount of time customising the phone to my requirements. Nevertheless, I complied.

After installing the Optus Rom, the reception using the Jabra Bluetooth was better, however it was still a not up to the standard of my old iPAQ smart phone. I tried a number of setting changes over a period of time but was still unable to get it to a satisfactory/reasonable level.

Having finally got sick of this situation, on 10 November I contacted the HTC support department in writing and over the next two days had a lengthily exchange of e-mails. The printout ran to approximately 12 pages.

The support department advised that I may void my warranty by continuing to run the Optus Rom, and that I should reinstall the original Telstra Rom (back to factor specs), and retest the headset(s). This does not make much sense as the Optus Rom is an official version and on the HTC support website.

This was completed on 11 November and the Bluetooth reception was back to its original, completely unsatisfactory standard.

At approximately 10 a.m. on 12th November I took the phone back to the store and asked for a replacement, as the product was defective on purchase. I had the complete documentation from HTC but the store manager was not interested in looking at it. I also had a case number and the name of the person I was dealing with at HTC who would confirm the  issue was real. The manager was not interested in the paperwork or anything else I said. 

I was informed at Telstra's terms and conditions were such that the phone would have to be returned to Sydney for testing. That would take four days.

As the product was defective straight out of the box, under the Fair Trading Act it is my, (the purchasers) decision as whether to accept a refund, repair, or replacement. All I wanted was a replacement, but if they wanted to jerk me around, I thought damn Telstra, I would demand a refund instead.

A heated exchange took place between the store manager and me, and I subsequently left with the phone. I spoke to the franchisee that afternoon and he explained he was not able to vary the Telstra conditions.

Telstra insistence on having the phone returned to Sydney, before they decide what they wanted to do about it left me extremely dissatisfied. I was also told, and you are probably not going to believe this, if I had bought a phone and it was completely dead out of the box and I took it back two hours later, the same provisions would apply. So you can spend $1000+ get a dead product and then have to wait almost a week before you get a replacement. Can you believe that attitude?

After many more phone conversations with the store manager and the regional manager, I returned the phone for testing, on the understanding that when/if it came back as having a fault, I would get a refund.

The phone was dropped off on Thursday 13 November at around 12.30. When I had heard nothing by Thursday 20 November I rang the store to find out what was happening. They rang the service centre to get an update and then called me back. The phone had not been looked at, and will not be looked at, because when I returned it, I inadvertently did not include the second (spare stylus.) The repair centre would return it to the store. I would have to take the spare stylus to the store, and then the process would have to start again. I had actually purchased two spare stylus as I break them and lose them regularly. (That's why they provide two when you buy the unit.) Out of Hong Kong the stylus cost me less than $2.50 each – retail!

The phone was meant to be returned to the store on Friday 21 November but it did not arrive. Assuming it arrives on Monday it has been in Telstra’s possession for eleven days, and has not been looked at as yet. Even if it was sent back immediately, it will have taken Telstra over two weeks to examine the phone. That is atrocious and unacceptable customer service.

The complete lack of flexibility and pigheaded bureaucratic insensitivity by Telstra towards the mugs that pay their wages is unbelievable.

It is also a sad situation, and reflection, when a company like Telstra does not trust its Regional Managers enough to give them some discretionary powers in these situations.  

As soon as the multiple services I have come out of contract, if there is any halfway reasonable alternative, they will immediately be moved away from Telstra.
 

From Red Bigot: Friday 21 November

After I moved my mobile phone from Telstra a few months ago, my next bill was a $10 credit. As I don’t have any other Telstra Account they can’t nett it off against that. After getting the run-around I eventually spoke to someone who claimed they had organized a cheque to be sent. A month later I got another $10 credit account and repeated the process with someone who assured me the cheque request had been re-submitted. A month or so later, no cheque but an account for zero dollars saying I had paid $10. If that were really the case they should owe me $20.

TORB Comments: Friday 21 November

By coincidence, today the Telco's were put on notice by the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and the Federal Communications Minister. This article in the SMH tells all and explains that for the first time in history, the number of complaints over poor customer care and complaint handling have outnumbered unresolved gripes over billing and payments. According to the 2007-08 annual report, 149,742 complaints were handled by the ombudsman, and many of these involved multiple problems, raising the number of complaint issues to 268,645 - an increase of 61 per cent from the previous year.

TORB Comments: Tuesday 25 November

I picked up the still defective phone from the Telstra Shop yesterday and handed them a letter at the same time.  The last three paragraphs of the letter said...

"I have been jerked around by Telstra for long enough and I am sick of wasting my time. It is now time to waste Telstra’s time. As a result, I am collecting the phone and taking this matter to the Department of Fair Trading. After the filing fee has been paid to Fair Trading, even if Telstra offers a refund, it will not be accepted and the case will go all the way to a hearing. Telstra can waste its time defending the action.

In addition, I have started a campaign to let the public know about my experience. The first instalment can be seen on www.torbwine.com I invite you to get Telstra’s legal people involved. That will guarantee more widespread publicity. My address for any correspondence is listed above.

I am now having a dialogue with a TV program. I look forward to seeing you answering the reporter questions. Even if that fails to materialise, I will see either you or a Telstra’s representative at the Moss Vale Court House. If Telstra doesn’t show, I win. If Telstra does show, and even if I lost the case, Telstra will have to waste more time and resources defending its actions."

The letter had a positive outcome. Today I received a phone call advising that the powers to be at Telstra had agreed to an immediate refund. Its such a pity that their rules completely negate the possibility of a commonsense approach to business, even by management,  and that the threat of a tribunal hearing and the likelihood of widespread bad publicity is required before they will act.    

TORB Copyright © Ric Einstein 2008