Thread: Waiting, waiting. waiting.

Hi Toggy,
I have for the last 8 Years delivered the optic fibre transmission to all of telstras mobile base stations in Victoria the transmission is how the radio signal gets back into the network and let's you connect with anyone anywhere in the world. As a staff member I can lodge a fault docket for friends and family that gets an Aussie based person take on your case. I am happy to do this if you PM me all the details.
When you say you can actually see the tower that may be half the problem as the antennas that push the signal out, both Tx an Rx are set to give maximum coverage so may well be passing over you and you are on the fringe, hence why it is dropping in and out. There is no fix that I can see but you may be able to get some compensation, reduced cost, only guessing but the squeaky wheel gets oiled.

Hope your recovery goes well,
Cheers
Bruce

You need an external antenna...

Does the modem you use have a port for an external antenna?

Hello gents,

I have had this 4g unit for over 2 years with mostly good service. Reception is good and I am within the reception zone. Since xmas the service has gone to crap with difficulties logging on etc and super slow service. Not only me; but the wife's laptop and dongle modem as well as other people within the region. Problem seems to lie solely with telstra. They don't seem to care as they are the only wireless system available. ADSL is unavailable and the copper wiring is so bad even the old dialup was marginal.

Try and ring a fault through and you get transferred to an operator in upper asia west somewhere who is softly spoken with an almost unintelligable ? accent. Quite frankly I can no longer hear or understand them. Wonder if I can have a discrimination case against them??

Most problems are before school, during lunchtime, after school and then about 7pm. I am guessing that they have oversold services without updating the exchange. I don't think that the ADSL in town is a problem; just the rural wireless system.

Ken
(I am not deaf; just have trouble hearing)

Originally Posted by Toggy

Try and ring a fault through and you get transferred to an operator in upper asia west somewhere who is softly spoken with an almost unintelligable ? accent. Quite frankly I can no longer hear or understand them. Wonder if I can have a discrimination case against them??

Most problems are before school, during lunchtime, after school and then about 7pm. I am guessing that they have oversold services without updating the exchange. I don't think that the ADSL in town is a problem; just the rural wireless system.

Ken
(I am not deaf; just have trouble hearing)

I have satellite internet because Telstra won't provide ADSL (though my neighbours have it) and 3G is to weak. 4G is easy, it's nonexistent. Optus is a nonevent here.

I utterly refuse to deal with Telstra by phone, it's a waste of time. There is a complaints URL on their Web page, make all your complaints in writing and insist that all replies have to be in writing. Escalate ASAP (you have to give them a chance to fix things but they rarely do) to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. It costs them money for every complaint plus it costs them time and money to respond to the TIO.

I recently 'won' a round WRT my mobile phone bill but there are some new and interesting charges on my latest phone bill so I see the next round about to commence. After which I'm transferring my land line to IINet, who are far better to deal with. Already swapped my mobile to Aldi who use the Telstra network anyway but charge me less.

If you have low to nonexistent expectations of Telstra performance, you won't be disappointed.

PDW

Originally Posted by PDW

Already swapped my mobile to Aldi who use the Telstra network anyway but charge me less.

Aldi here also. but one small thing "Aldi who use *most parts of* the Telstra network"
Oh and dont think Optus is much improvement, took me a week to get them to admit that my missing emails was due to there email filtering. Their stupidity in this matter still makes me laugh............ so thats a plus I guess

Stuart

Originally Posted by Stustoys

Aldi here also. but one small thing "Aldi who use *most parts of* the Telstra network"

Yeah, they don't have access to Telstra's 4G network. BFD, 4G doesn't exist most places I go anyway.

All of them are totally useless WRT customer service. It's a weird industry, the only one I can think of that actively discriminates against and screws over their existing customer base while pursuing new accounts. Most long term successful businesses recognise the value of repeat customers and look after them.

However, if that's how they want to play, no problem, change providors regularly to take advantage of deals while avoiding being locked in to long term contracts.

FWIW I doubt Aldi are going to be any better. When I first went to Aldi Mobile I got 'unlimited' talk time and 5Gb of data for $35/month flat rate. Didn't take long for them to change this via an Acceptable Use Policy to 2500 minutes of talk time and 2.5Gb of data. Their 'new and improved' offering to their existing clients as of April 1 (yes I did think that was apposite) was down to 1250 minutes of talk time and 1 Gb of data for the same amount of money.

Let's see, in 12 months I'm down to maybe 1/4 of the talk time and 1/5 of the data allowance, but no change in price, and this is all in the interests of a better customer experience?

The fact that I never use my talk minutes and rarely go over 1Gb of data is irrelevant - I signed up so I wouldn't *have* to worry about crap like that. However, it just reinforces my cynicism WRT telcos so - time to look and see who else is selling access to the Telstra network, and what offers they have....

PDW

I'm on cable and they err Telstra, cant fix the drop outs..been going on for 3 weeks.....they do something and say it fixed....yeah right so why am i still having dropouts 3-5 times a day

have been paying into their bank account via EFT since 2000 odd and they keep charging me this $2.00 fee for non EFT payment....

they just cant get the fact that you can pay them other than Bpay

oh well they keep crediting me $10.00 every time I complain...which reminds me..must check to see if I complained for the last bill charge of $2...lol...

G'Day all, Techno Nanna, my beloved, sent me this link yesterday as she wants to get a new smartphone before we head north in a couple of months to miss the worst of winter. It seems that it originated on the Whirlpool.net forum ( a forum for phone, computer, internet and generally anything I.T. or using digital techniques like todays cameras etc) as distinct from Whirlpool.com which is all about white goods like fridges etc.
Although the first posting is the most condensed info, keep reading the lot, because there are some very creative ways of greatly increasing the bang you get for your buck when it comes to telecommunications.
Reading it starts to make my head hurt, but most will find something they can use I would think, and if you have a 10y.o. grandson available, you'll probably save enough to go business class on your next big trip.http://www.austech.info/mobile-phone...a-prepaid.html
Rob

Originally Posted by Ropetangler

G'Day all, Techno Nanna, my beloved, sent me this link yesterday as she wants to get a new smartphone before we head north in a couple of months to miss the worst of winter. It seems that it originated on the Whirlpool.net forum ( a forum for phone, computer, internet and generally anything I.T. or using digital techniques like todays cameras etc) as distinct from Whirlpool.com which is all about white goods like fridges etc. Although the first posting is the most condensed info, keep reading the lot, because there are some very creative ways of greatly increasing the bang you get for your buck when it comes to telecommunications.
Reading it starts to make my head hurt, but most will find something they can use I would think, and if you have a 10y.o. grandson available, you'll probably save enough to go business class on your next big trip.http://www.austech.info/mobile-phone...a-prepaid.html
Rob

If you look closely you will find that Whirlpool.net also deals with fridges. It is an excellent source of information on anything to do with technology and household stuff.

I am stuck on a satellite connection, and am currently giving my SP a bit of a tickle because of info gleaned from Whirlpool regarding faster download speeds from Skymesh. I am very lucky to get 2Mbps in quiet periods. Just did a speedtest and got 1.94Mbps. That sort of speed is not normal. Usually more like 1.2Mbps.

Escalate ASAP (you have to give them a chance to fix things but they rarely do) to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.

Last time I checked, Telstra did not deal with the ombudsman, but with another organisation. That was quite a while ago tho.

I currently use Southern Phone for phone services, which uses the Telstra system, but does not require me to deal with them. Southern Phone does that for me. The best thing about Southern Phone is that if I ring them, I do not have to go thru a menu, I get to talk to an Australian person with a normal English name and a normal Australian accent, in Australia. Great service so far.

Dean

=Oldneweng;1764831]If you look closely you will find that Whirlpool.net also deals with fridges. It is an excellent source of information on anything to do with technology and household stuff.

While I was unaware that they did discuss fridges on Whirlpool.net, what I was really trying to say was that Whirlpool.com was about the Whirlpool brand of fridges, washing machines stoves and other whitegoods.

Last time I checked, Telstra did not deal with the ombudsman, but with another organisation. That was quite a while ago tho.

Now that does surprise me. I always imagined that they would have no choice but to deal with the T.I.O. As they are by far the largest shark in the pond, it doesn't make much sense to me that they could just ignore the TIO. I guess that powerful vested interests may be part of the reason.

I currently use Southern Phone for phone services, which uses the Telstra system, but does not require me to deal with them. Southern Phone does that for me. The best thing about Southern Phone is that if I ring them, I do not have to go thru a menu, I get to talk to an Australian person with a normal English name and a normal Australian accent, in Australia. Great service so far.

Dean

That would be a very good reason to put your business with them, but having said that, yesterday I eventually found a phone number to ring concerning problems topping up a mobile broadband service, which could be contacted from a landline. (Some numbers only work from mobiles, and we are not in range of mobile services at home.) I eventually ended up speaking with Chi, who sounded Chinese, but had excellent English speaking skills, was easy to understand and was most helpful and pleasant. Other than the time spent waiting on hold, between 5 and 10 minutes I estimate, it was one of the more pleasant interactions I have had with Tel$tra.
Rob

Originally Posted by Ropetangler

Now that does surprise me. I always imagined that they would have no choice but to deal with the T.I.O. As they are by far the largest shark in the pond, it doesn't make much sense to me that they could just ignore the TIO. I guess that powerful vested interests may be part of the reason.

Telstra has to deal with the TIO, I can assure you. I just escalated my complaint to the TIO who has acknowledged receipt and is dealing with Telstra. Telstra says I owe them for the remaining months of a mobile phone plan I say I was never on, as a result of my porting to Aldi. Now they've disconnected my land line for non-payment of a bill I dispute and despite repeated requests for a copy of the contract or voice recording, which they've ignored.

This should be entertaining - the amount of money is less than $300 so win or lose I plan on costing them more than that in the process. I don't really care about the land line anyway.

This is an excellent reason to *not* bundle all your telecomms with a single providor - my landline is with Telstra, my mobile with Aldi and my internet connection with IINet for NBN satellite. IINet is offering unlimited calls to landlines & mobiles in Australia for a total of $50/month if they're also your ISP so once the Telstra issue is resolved, I think I'll port across anyway. Telstra is terrible to deal with.

PDW

Originally Posted by Ropetangler

While I was unaware that they did discuss fridges on Whirlpool.net, what I was really trying to say was that Whirlpool.com was about the Whirlpool brand of fridges, washing machines stoves and other whitegoods.

Sorry bout that. It was tongue in cheek. Should have put in . I understood what you were saying, but it is true about the forum.

Originally Posted by Ropetangler

Now that does surprise me. I always imagined that they would have no choice but to deal with the T.I.O. As they are by far the largest shark in the pond, it doesn't make much sense to me that they could just ignore the TIO. I guess that powerful vested interests may be part of the reason..

I did not mean they could ignore the TIO, as such, but that another organisation had that responsibility instead. This was some years ago. I was considering action, but did not follow up. This was the information I found on the net at the time.

Originally Posted by Ropetangler

That would be a very good reason to put your business with them, but having said that, yesterday I eventually found a phone number to ring concerning problems topping up a mobile broadband service, which could be contacted from a landline. (Some numbers only work from mobiles, and we are not in range of mobile services at home.) I eventually ended up speaking with Chi, who sounded Chinese, but had excellent English speaking skills, was easy to understand and was most helpful and pleasant. Other than the time spent waiting on hold, between 5 and 10 minutes I estimate, it was one of the more pleasant interactions I have had with Tel$tra.
Rob

It is good that you are getting some action. Comments made on Whirlpool Forum about Southern Phone are very negative, but date back to 2009 so I am guessing they have picked up their game. The biggest plus for me with Southern is the ease of communications. When I ring I get answered by a person as mentioned. No waiting. If they are busy I get a message and the option of a callback.

As I said, Southern does the dealing with Telstra for me and they have proven that they can do that in relation to a rental phone that was returned, which Telstra keep charging me for. The problem was dealt with and all excess charges refunded.

Dean

Originally Posted by PDW

Telstra has to deal with the TIO, I can assure you. I just escalated my complaint to the TIO who has acknowledged receipt and is dealing with Telstra. Telstra says I owe them for the remaining months of a mobile phone plan I say I was never on, as a result of my porting to Aldi. Now they've disconnected my land line for non-payment of a bill I dispute and despite repeated requests for a copy of the contract or voice recording, which they've ignored.

This should be entertaining - the amount of money is less than $300 so win or lose I plan on costing them more than that in the process. I don't really care about the land line anyway.

This is an excellent reason to *not* bundle all your telecomms with a single providor - my landline is with Telstra, my mobile with Aldi and my internet connection with IINet for NBN satellite. IINet is offering unlimited calls to landlines & mobiles in Australia for a total of $50/month if they're also your ISP so once the Telstra issue is resolved, I think I'll port across anyway. Telstra is terrible to deal with.

PDW

It was a long time ago. May have been an interim measure, or I got the wrong info, but I think I originally got the info by ringing the TIO at the time.

What is your download speed like with IINet?

Dean