Optus has stolen my money
Ok, by way of background, I fairly regularly get insomnia, which is ironic as sleeping is one of my favourite things to do.
And so when I become insomniac I always get fairly tanty and the little things in life that usually just irritate me become things that I would gladly throw down over. So, after an evening of watching Troy on Sky (enough to make even the most placid person a little bit crazy) and about 4 hours sleep somewhere between 4 and 8 I am in a mood where I seem to be channeling Charles Manson.
However it is not only lack of sleep that has pushed me towards the homocidal maniac with prison tats end of the personality spectrum, but more my continuing battle with Australian telecomms company Optus.
As everything I am about to write is true, and can be verified through correspondence, my journalism law knowledge would suggest that I am in the clear to write without recourse.
Approximately 18 months ago, before another O/S trip to Cambodia, I purchased a pay-as-you-go mobile handset and SIM card from telecomms giant Optus. I had no real alliance with Optus, but they were the only provider selling the particular handset I wanted, and so began my nightmare.
Prior to purchase I asked the 12 year old serving me if I would be able to use said phone in Cambodia, as I was buying it specifically to take with me. The child assured me all was well. When I got home, I set up the phone, and rang Optus to put the phone on international roaming I was told that Optus doesn't have service in Cambodia, but it does in Singapore. USeful.
Anyway, I liked the handset so I let it go. I was additionally told by the "customer service people" that if I put more than $50 worth of credit on the phone that the phone would be unlocked from the Optus network, which at the time didn't really matter to me but none the less it was a fact that has remained permanently lodged in my brain, as opposed to my PIN.
So, after 12 weeks of travelling with said phone on international roaming when I landed in London the first thing I did was buy a local SIM so that I could be reached with the mountains of job offers coming my way.
However, I needed the unlock code from Optus to allow the local SIM to work. So, allowing for time zones, I rang (from London) the "help desk" using my mobile on international call rates. I spoke with a guy in Mumbai who seemed to be suffering from echolalia as he said everything 4 times, which meant my 3 minute call lasted 9 and a half minutes. Then he SMSd me all the same information, in four separate messages. All of which, as the international roamer, I had the priviledge of paying for. However, code in hand I didn't mind that I knew what the weather in Mumbai was like, or that he had genuinely spruiked the need to travel to India next to me. So, code punched in, error message, wrong code.
I then sent a message to the "contact us" section of Optus, which really should be called the "contact us so we can ignore you" section, as this message has not been replied to.
The next morning, again at some ungodly hour, I rang during business hours and spoke to someone in the customer service department who again gave me the wrong code and then effectively told me to bugger off. At this stage I asked to speak to the adult in the room, who similarly advised me that they had done all they could (which amounted to nothing) and that I would need to take the issue up with Samsung as they are the handset manufacturer.
I, in the haughtiest voice I could manage through gritted teeth, explained that I was an Optus customer and that as such, my contract and relationship was with Optus. Samsung were just an unwitting brand in this debacle. Quite apart from the contract via relationship I had with Optus, I explained to the boy that surely customer service would suggest that telling me to bugger off and fix it myself was not appropriate.
The boy agreed to look into things and email me the information, as he appreciated this was costing me a shirtload (more than the value of the handset in reality.) and so four days later I got an email from said boy with instructions to use the 15 digit number to unlock the handset. All well and good, except he gave me an 8 digit pin and you only get 10 attempts to unlock the phone before it shuts down completely.
So, reply to boy querying whether he's had a numeric moment or if the number is indeed correct, pointing out that so far I've been given the wrong number twice before and surely third time's a charm?
Get response from boy's boss 2 days later saying that number is correct but instructions wrong. So, just insert the 8 digit number and it will be all ticker tape parades and party clowns.
Number in, fingers crossed, and no. Wrong number. I put in number again, just in case there has been user error involved. No, definitely not the correct number. 4 times down. 6 to go before handset does swan song.
Keep in mind, this has taken around about 10 days so far, by the time you consider the time differences, and in that time I've been looking for work and giving out this number as I assume what is clearly a minor problem will be resolved without the need for the discussion about what shape the table should be.
At this point, getting fairly tanty with Optus, I sent a message to their complaints section advising that if I didn't get the unlock code to complete their end of their contractual obligation to me within 48 hours that I would submit a complaint to the Australian Telecommunciations Indsutry Ombudsman (TIO).
2 days ago (marking the 3 week anniversary of this never ending fark up and customer service nightmare) I got an email from customer service supremo advising that since I had escalated the problem to the TIO that they would have to mount an investigation into what has gone wrong, which would take up to 30 days.
I still don't have the unlock code and it's not looking like getting it any time soon. I have replied to customer service supremo that this is entirely unacceptable, and that I need the code immediately, but she's now blanking me.
The point to this tirade is, I have fulfilled my contract with Optus to qualify for the unlock code. However Optus, in what I can only presume to be substantial stall tactics, are quite simply refusing to hand it over. I'm not asking for anything I'm not entitled to, so this is just shitting me right off.
The moral to the story, I would rather burn money in a corner than give it to Optus, who clearly have as much attention to customer service as aussie baggage handlers do to discretion. Clearly my white noise has returned.
I hope to be able to provide an update with positive news in the near future, but am not promising anything.
And so when I become insomniac I always get fairly tanty and the little things in life that usually just irritate me become things that I would gladly throw down over. So, after an evening of watching Troy on Sky (enough to make even the most placid person a little bit crazy) and about 4 hours sleep somewhere between 4 and 8 I am in a mood where I seem to be channeling Charles Manson.
However it is not only lack of sleep that has pushed me towards the homocidal maniac with prison tats end of the personality spectrum, but more my continuing battle with Australian telecomms company Optus.
As everything I am about to write is true, and can be verified through correspondence, my journalism law knowledge would suggest that I am in the clear to write without recourse.
Approximately 18 months ago, before another O/S trip to Cambodia, I purchased a pay-as-you-go mobile handset and SIM card from telecomms giant Optus. I had no real alliance with Optus, but they were the only provider selling the particular handset I wanted, and so began my nightmare.
Prior to purchase I asked the 12 year old serving me if I would be able to use said phone in Cambodia, as I was buying it specifically to take with me. The child assured me all was well. When I got home, I set up the phone, and rang Optus to put the phone on international roaming I was told that Optus doesn't have service in Cambodia, but it does in Singapore. USeful.
Anyway, I liked the handset so I let it go. I was additionally told by the "customer service people" that if I put more than $50 worth of credit on the phone that the phone would be unlocked from the Optus network, which at the time didn't really matter to me but none the less it was a fact that has remained permanently lodged in my brain, as opposed to my PIN.
So, after 12 weeks of travelling with said phone on international roaming when I landed in London the first thing I did was buy a local SIM so that I could be reached with the mountains of job offers coming my way.
However, I needed the unlock code from Optus to allow the local SIM to work. So, allowing for time zones, I rang (from London) the "help desk" using my mobile on international call rates. I spoke with a guy in Mumbai who seemed to be suffering from echolalia as he said everything 4 times, which meant my 3 minute call lasted 9 and a half minutes. Then he SMSd me all the same information, in four separate messages. All of which, as the international roamer, I had the priviledge of paying for. However, code in hand I didn't mind that I knew what the weather in Mumbai was like, or that he had genuinely spruiked the need to travel to India next to me. So, code punched in, error message, wrong code.
I then sent a message to the "contact us" section of Optus, which really should be called the "contact us so we can ignore you" section, as this message has not been replied to.
The next morning, again at some ungodly hour, I rang during business hours and spoke to someone in the customer service department who again gave me the wrong code and then effectively told me to bugger off. At this stage I asked to speak to the adult in the room, who similarly advised me that they had done all they could (which amounted to nothing) and that I would need to take the issue up with Samsung as they are the handset manufacturer.
I, in the haughtiest voice I could manage through gritted teeth, explained that I was an Optus customer and that as such, my contract and relationship was with Optus. Samsung were just an unwitting brand in this debacle. Quite apart from the contract via relationship I had with Optus, I explained to the boy that surely customer service would suggest that telling me to bugger off and fix it myself was not appropriate.
The boy agreed to look into things and email me the information, as he appreciated this was costing me a shirtload (more than the value of the handset in reality.) and so four days later I got an email from said boy with instructions to use the 15 digit number to unlock the handset. All well and good, except he gave me an 8 digit pin and you only get 10 attempts to unlock the phone before it shuts down completely.
So, reply to boy querying whether he's had a numeric moment or if the number is indeed correct, pointing out that so far I've been given the wrong number twice before and surely third time's a charm?
Get response from boy's boss 2 days later saying that number is correct but instructions wrong. So, just insert the 8 digit number and it will be all ticker tape parades and party clowns.
Number in, fingers crossed, and no. Wrong number. I put in number again, just in case there has been user error involved. No, definitely not the correct number. 4 times down. 6 to go before handset does swan song.
Keep in mind, this has taken around about 10 days so far, by the time you consider the time differences, and in that time I've been looking for work and giving out this number as I assume what is clearly a minor problem will be resolved without the need for the discussion about what shape the table should be.
At this point, getting fairly tanty with Optus, I sent a message to their complaints section advising that if I didn't get the unlock code to complete their end of their contractual obligation to me within 48 hours that I would submit a complaint to the Australian Telecommunciations Indsutry Ombudsman (TIO).
2 days ago (marking the 3 week anniversary of this never ending fark up and customer service nightmare) I got an email from customer service supremo advising that since I had escalated the problem to the TIO that they would have to mount an investigation into what has gone wrong, which would take up to 30 days.
I still don't have the unlock code and it's not looking like getting it any time soon. I have replied to customer service supremo that this is entirely unacceptable, and that I need the code immediately, but she's now blanking me.
The point to this tirade is, I have fulfilled my contract with Optus to qualify for the unlock code. However Optus, in what I can only presume to be substantial stall tactics, are quite simply refusing to hand it over. I'm not asking for anything I'm not entitled to, so this is just shitting me right off.
The moral to the story, I would rather burn money in a corner than give it to Optus, who clearly have as much attention to customer service as aussie baggage handlers do to discretion. Clearly my white noise has returned.
I hope to be able to provide an update with positive news in the near future, but am not promising anything.
