You won't believe this.

If it hadn't just happened to me I wouldn't either.

Due to the fact that people have been using dead peoples pension numbers for telephone discounts (up to 15 years in one case), Telstra has this week started a verification form that has to be filled in, and it has already hit snags. Why am I not suprised!

Our phone bill comes through in both my wifes and my name, but when the verification form arrived it was in my wifes name only, and I'm the one on the pension.

Dreading having to do so, I phoned Telstra and explained the situation, to 3 different people, sound familiar?

Finally getting on to someone who could actually do something about it, I found that they were using my pension number against my wifes name. Aparently a telephone account can only be owned by one person, even though the billing is in both names, and some bright spark at Telstra years ago decided that my wife should be the account owner.

Now here's the incredible bit......... the only way they can change the ownership of the account to me is to physically disconnect the phone line, close the account in my wifes name, open a new account in my name and then physically re-connect the phone.

The person I was speaking to said that this was the sixth case like this that he had handled today!

It would seem that Telstra is living up to it's reputation.

I don't believe that :cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Termite

Now here's the incredible bit......... the only way they can change the ownership of the account to me is to physically disconnect the phone line, close the account in my wifes name, open a new account in my name and then physically re-connect the phone.

The person I was speaking to said that this was the sixth case like this that he had handled today!

It would seem that Telstra is living up to it's reputation.

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It would be easier, quicker and cheaper for you to die, and just leave the phone bill in the wifes name. :o

Al :U:U:U:U:U:U:U:U:U:U

I could believe it. "The computer wont let me do it any other way".

It's like when the liney came out to connect my parent's phone at the new house. I asked him if he was going to connect ours up while he was there (I'd made the call a day or two after Mum called about hers). Course not! That would be too logical. They'd rather waste time and money sending two guys to the same property two days apart to connect two phone lines. I asked him why he didn't just ring and get a verbal over the phone - you know, installation is booked, customer verified, do it while you are there. You know why he wouldn't do it? Because one of the other lineys might have the paperwork already!

Bureaucracy at it's finest. You'll be lucky if they connect it again.

Footnote: The same guy was back 3 days later to connect ours...

Termite,

We had a transfer similar to that some time back, with no end of trouble changing the name over but it did happen without cutting off the phone. The worst bit was the saga dragged on for a good two years off and on until it finally happened.

John.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by silentC

Footnote: The same guy was back 3 days later to connect ours...

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Probably get a callout fee for each site visit, or am I just getting cynical in my old age

Ahhh... red-tape. Don't you just love it?

It reminds of the old yarn about the power company that sent a bill for $0:00 to one of it's customers. Of course, he didn't pay it. A few weeks later, the power co's computer sent out an "Urgent: please pay now" slip, so he got in touch with the power co and was told "don't worry about it, we had a glitch in our accounting system." Of course, a few more weeks down the line, he came home to find the power disconnected and a letter in his mailbox explaining he'd been disconnected 'cos of an overdue bill and that until he paid up he'd stay disconnected.

So he personally stormed into the head office and had a ranting fit. "Sorry sir, it's our computers. We can't do anything about it." On the spot, he wrote a cheque for the full amount of $0:00 and handed it to their cashier... which promptly crashed the computer as it couldn't handle $0- amounts. :D

After a wait of several hours while they coaxed it back on-line, with the cashier manually repairing his account!! they added insult to injury by telling him he also had to pay the bloody reconnection fee!

Only Urban Myth AFAIK, but it certainly rings all the right bells. :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Termite

Now here's the incredible bit......... the only way they can change the ownership of the account to me is to physically disconnect the phone line, close the account in my wifes name, open a new account in my name and then physically re-connect the phone.

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Not incredible at all. They have been like that for decades. And they will probably charge you a disconnection/connection fee as well.


When my mother died I wanted to change the phone and telephone book entry to my name. No problem changing the phone and billing to my name but to change the phone book entry I would have had to pay the disconnection/reconnection fee, else it couldn't be done.


For 10 years the book entry was wrong and we were unlisted, then Optus came around and changing to them on a cheaper plan got the phone book entry fixed up as well.


Peter.

You just gotta love Telstra:2tsup:

I lived on a farm for a while and when we tried to get the phone connected.
Telstra -whats the address fo the new connection.
Me - "happy valley" 15km from St George on the Moonie Highway.
Telstra - What's the street number
Me - It doesnt have a street number its a farm
Telstra - It cant have a phone without a street number
Me - Why
Telstra - The technician will never find it
Me - Theres a phone in house
Telstra - It must be stolen:doh:
Me - So who put the line in
Telstra - A technician
Me - So how did he find it


Blah. Blah, Blah

In the defence of the lineys....

My parents (who live on a farm incidentally - although they have a street number so they didn't have to steal their phone!!!) had been waiting for 5 days for Telstra to come out and fix a line fault at their place.

Every time they called to check when a techie would be out they got the run around. On day 6 my dad was driving past the phone exchange box at the end of their street and there was a liney working on it.

He stopped to chat and to see if that was the guy who was sent to fix their problem. Turns out he was doing something completely unrelated but in a flash of brilliance, he asked the problem, traced the problem there and then, and reconnected the line (job took about 10 mins).

Can't believe it - someone from Telstra used their common sense.

Mal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ACT Mal

Can't believe it - someone from Telstra used their common sense.

Mal.

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I am almost willing to bet that another liney will come out to fix the original call and stuff it up again. They do it on purpose you know, it's a mind game of theirs :D.

Not quite a phone encounter but it did involve telstra, their copper and internet service. We were moving so we needed the internet disconnected and reconnected at the new house. Telstra in there infinite wisdom decided email would be the best way to communicate with me as to when they would re activate my internet. Of course they sent the email to me telling me this after they had disconnected my account. I gave them a mobile number but for some reason that wasn't considered the best way to communicate. :doh: In some ways working for such an organization where everyone is a complete idiot wouldn't be so bad... No one expects anything from you - could be very relaxing.

I agree with Al, death is the simplest fix.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Grunt

I agree with Al, death is the simplest fix.

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Of everyone in Telstra from middle management up to the board of directors? :o :U

Mick

Ahh, the tellingbone bods.

This wee yarn goes back to the seventies - they were still the PMG then.

Mum was home one day, when this bod knocks at the door. "Excuse me madam, but we've noticed that your telephone line comes onto the property from that pole by your neighbour's driveway. To get to your house, it crosses the corner of his properly and we can't allow this. To fix the problem, we will give you an underground connection and I just wanted to warn you that we'll be here tomorrow laying the cable." This was accompanied by many protestations about how urgent and important this was.

Sure enough, the next day, a trench was dug from the pole to the house, the cable was laid along the trench then up a pipe screwed to the outside wall. The wires were left hanging out of the top of the pipe. "We'll come back in the next few days to complete the connection."

Well, the wires hung out the top of that pipe for about five years before they finally got around to finishing the 'super urgent' job.

Guess the good things in life never change :D

Richard

I worked for the precursor to Verizon, a.k.a. GTE. I stopped at a small market in the company truck to purchase a soda to go with lunch. While I'm eating, someone from the petrol station next door comes over to me and asks if I can fix the pay (coin operated) phone on the petrol station property. He says that they have been trying to get the phone fixed for months.

I look at the phone booth and can see (from 15 M away) that the drop wire is broken where it enters the conduit to the phone. I mention that and ask what had happened. Well there was a tree near the phone booth and a limb had fallen on the booth during a wind storm.

So I grab the ladder, tool belt and with sandwich in my mouth I spliced the wire. The phone now worked. I made note of the number and reported it at the end of the shift.

The next day I was called in on the carpet. I was told to stop looking for trouble and just do my job. I explained what had happened and that I was on my lunch break. Then I was told that if I did something like that again I would be sacked after being kicked in the bum.
Corporate America at its best.

Well, you do have to maintain standards, even if they are mediocre. :wink:

I can see kicking Telstra whilst it's down is the order of the day, but I'm going to change the rules. This is a current dispute I'm having with Optus (just to balance the boards).
Early Feb a door to door salesman from Optus comes around, spinning a yard about the much better deals he can give me on broadband, phone and mobile. 'Count me in' I say. (Aware that I had a 10 day cooling off.
My previous ADSL connection had 500MB / mth limit, he offered me cable (faster) with 6 gig for slightly more. Plus the other deals were comparable.
After he had gone I checked the fine print (as you do), to find that I could only use it between mid night and lunch (as I don't). Useless to me. (I've left out the fine details, but that's the gist of it.)
He gave me a cancellation form, list all 3 services, to post in.
The next day I duly posted the cancellation form.
Low and behold , on day 11 a new sim card for my phone arrived....I thought I'd better ring to check they got the cancellation. I spoke to a bloke after about 30min wait. He said it should be OK, bin the sim and forget about it!
A couple days later I got a call form the landline dept saying they had got my cancellation and just to confirm I didn't want the cable connected. I said yes , that was correct, and mentioned the sim. They said that was a seperate dept, and they would transfer me just to be sure. Strangely, I spoke to the same guy as the other day, who basically assured me that all would be ok.
Naturally, couple days later, my mobile stopped working. I rang my provider (AAPT) who told my Optus had ported the number, and I would have to talk to them.
I can't be bothered telling the full story, but basically, I got a completely new number from AAPT, a verbal apology from Optus but little else...in short, I feel that Optus is no better than Telstra.
TM

Termite
The simple truth was that originally the telephone connection was probably made by your wife and therefore she became the legal owner of the service.
To change ownership of the service you only have to complete a "Change of Lessee" form, no cost and pretty painless. No physical disconnection of the line just paperwork.
My comments do not however excuse the ignorance of the "Customer Service Rep" who miss informed you.:no:
BobT