I think most of us agree that Aussie telecommunications companies tend to screw their customers around quite a bit. I think it’s something that the general public now expects and has even grown to accept. How many people do you know who have complained about an incident with their mobile phone and/or contract? How about problems with their bill? Overcharging or undercharging? Experiencing bad customer service? Being told contradicting information?

Well, I hear you loud and clear, and here’s a little story I have to add to the growing list.

As most people now know (because I’ve hardly shut up about it), I signed up with Optus for a 24-month contract for the Apple iPhone last month. Whilst everything seemed pretty peachy, I did expect some issues to crop up at some stage. I’d heard it all before; people getting screwed around after signing a contract, bitten on the arse with hidden fees and charges, being quoted wrong amounts on their bills, the list goes on. So, I went into it fully armed with knowledge, doing as much research as possible about the plan I was signing up for, and making sure I wouldn’t be hit with a nasty surprise when my first bill showed up. This is, afterall, the first post-paid phone plan I’ve ever had. It’s been fully pre-paid up until now. I was hoping for a good experience, but realistically I didn’t expect one that was problem-free.

I’m definitely glad that my expectations weren’t set too high because I sure didn’t get an experience that was problem-free.

So the time comes when I should be receiving my first bill. I already know my billing cycle’s beginning and end dates, and I also know I’ll be getting an electronic bill online rather than by snail mail, something I had to sign up myself for since I was never given the option for this when I signed my contract.

A few more days go by. Still nothing. I figure I’d rather be safe than sorry, so I give Optus a call and get to talk to a rather interruptive American guy who tells me he’s having trouble hearing me and that my phone must be broken. I can hardly hear him either. He’s the one with the phone problem, but if he insists on it being me, then fine, I’ll go with it.

I talk a bit louder. He fiddles in the background a bit, and finally tells me he can hear me well enough. Good news. I proceed to tell him my problem, that I signed up for electronic billing and still have not received my first bill (though I can access it if I choose to ‘request a previous bill’ by finding it in the online system, so by this stage I know how much I need to pay, I just haven’t received the bill so that I can pay it).

Captain America pokes around on his computer for a bit, I hear him pressing buttons, playing a bit of solitaire, then he tells me to “hold one moment”. Yeah, sure, fine, whatever. He’s gone long enough to play a couple of rounds of Counter Strike, then comes back to tell me that he has no idea why I haven’t received a bill, but that he will send me a paper bill through the mail by the 18th of August (which is D-Day for my bill payment). He’s also nice enough the waive the usual fee for the paper bill. How thoughtful!

Good enough. At least I’ll get my bill, even though it’s paper and not online. So a few more days go by. Then the 18th comes around and guess what….. Still no bill! I’m a little angry at this point, but I don’t let it get to me. I calmly call Optus again, and this time I get to talk to a fellow Australian. I explain the situation once more, this time adding the fact that I’ve already phoned them once and was supposed to receive my bill in the mail, but never did. The Aussie guy pokes around on his computer, tapping here and there. Lo and behold! he comes up with the same response as Captain America; he has absolutely no idea why I haven’t received my bill.

At this point, I’m finding it very hard to think of anything other than how incompetant or just plain stupid the Optus people must be. But I don’t say anything like that, and just get him to explain the process from this point. He says there’s nothing more he can do other than send another bill to me by mail, this time it should take no more than three days. He also said there would be no late fees until my next bill is issued, even though I’ve gone past D-Day. Well, that was some relief at least, but here I am trying to give them my money, and they just don’t seem to be wanting it.

So I wait a few days until the Thursday when I should be receiving my bill for the third time. The postman shoves something in my letterbox; there’s a letter from Optus for me! I’m so close to celebrating… but, hang on a minute. It’s not a bill. No, it’s a leaflet telling me what Optus iPhone plan I’m on, all wrapped in pretty cardboard with pictures of iPhones on it.

I can’t hold it anymore…

YES, I KNOW WHAT PLAN I’M ON! I’M TRYING TO GIVE YOU MY MONEY! I JUST WANT MY FRIGGIN’ BILL!

I give up trying to call Optus again. They obviously don’t know how to print out a bill, address it to someone and send it in the mail. So I decide to go to my local Optus World store instead.

When I say local, I really mean it’s a 15 minute drive, so the convenience factor is still an issue (for something I shouldn’t have to be doing in the first place). I get into the store and calmly explain my situation to one of the staff who seems to be listening very intently (or perhaps she’s just putting it on beause she’s heard the same story before). It’s not a short story, either. I don’t want to leave anything out that may be important. So I finish explaining, and what answer do I get?

“Sorry, there’s not much we can do here at the store.”

SAY WHAT?!

Apparently, the staff don’t have access to most of the information in customers’ accounts. They can’t even find out how much I’m supposed to owe them, and said I’d get more help calling customer support like I had already done - twice. But if they were no help, and the store staff are no help, what the heck am I supposed to do?

After much talking and explaining and listening and acknowledging and understanding things, I simply paid the total amount that was written on the bill (the one that I was able to access online when clicking on ‘request a previous bill’). At least they could take my money, even if they couldn’t help me to get my actual bill. It still feels slightly wrong to pay the amount on a bill that I haven’t actually received. But I think I came to the realisation that if I were to fight this any longer, it would be a long, slow, ongoing battle and I’d probably be slapped with late fees on top of the issues I already had, and it would have cascaded into something more problematic and harder to deal with.

That’s not to say I’m going to back down from this. I think that a lot of people are too passive when it comes to this sort of thing, they just let things happen and deal with it as it comes, but don’t chase it up or stand up for themselves or fight battles that they know they can’t win. To me, it’s not really about winning, it’s just about big companies acknowledging their mistakes (it isn’t just me who has had this issue, there are many others), and raising awareness for others who may be in the same position either now or in the future.

Needless to say I’ll be filing a complaint and letting them know exactly what I think of their screw-ups, disorganisation and bad service. It probably won’t do a whole lot of good, but I feel it’s something I should do anyway because I am not a mindless consumer, because I want to stop this happening to others, because if it were my business I wouldn’t let it drop to such a low point. But mostly because big companies just shouldn’t get away with this sort of thing, even though they do every single day because we let them.

Have you had a negative Optus experience? Maybe you’ve had a positive Optus experience and would like to to help us put some faith in them again? Let us know!

Edit (22/08/2008): The day after writing this, my bill showed up in the mail. I now know Optus are actually capable of printing out a bill, addressing it to a customer and mailing it successfully. Still, I was quoted Thursday at the latest to receive it. It’s now Friday. I wasn’t going to wait around any longer and wait for the shit to hit the fan. So, thank you Optus, but you’re a bit late ;)