JoyDivision
Is Big In Japan
On Friday I decided I needed to go onto a phone plan, because im spending $30-$40 a week on my phone prepaid, and paying premium call rates. So After looking through all the plans available, I decided that Optus were the best. So begins my story of heartache......
I went into town and went to the Strathfield, where the guy had been helping me out. He was like 'Oh sorry, we dont stock the handset that you want' (I wanted a Nokia 7200). I was a bit put off, because he had told me on the phone on Thursday that he had it, and on Friday morning he didnt, but anyway, I crossed the street to go to the Optus world and ask for it there. They didnt have it either. So then I went across the other side of town to the other Optus world and asked for it, and they didnt have it. I was getting really mad by this, I'd been to three seperate Optus retailers and none of them were stocking the phone I wanted AND that they were advertising. I rang the Optus World like 30K away, and they didnt have it as well. I was pissed off, but I wanted a new phone so I went back to the Strathfield and picked out a different handset that was a bit newer. And also, a bit more expensive.
Anyway, we were filling out the application when the dude got told that Optus had rejected my application because I didnt have a credit rating and because of my age. I was so cranky, and then I got told that because this one was rejected I couldnt reapply for three months.....
I got home and rang up Optus Customer Service I think as mad as I have ever been. I spoke to four different operators for an hour until I got onto the floor manager. He said that I couldnt have the plan I was after because of my age and because I didnt have a credit rating. I said 'Well, its kinda hard to have a credit rating when youve never gone into debt before'. I told him that I worked in a bank and set up credit cards for a living, and that there should be another alternative to how we could do this when I didnt have a credit rating, like an assessable income test. His suggestion was that I put it in my parents name, but I refused to do this, why should i when I'm almost 19 and I have a full time job in a bank? Plus, they have to go through a credit test, which goes on your lifetime record, and there would be absolutley no need for that to happen.
He then said that he would put me under a lower usage plan and give me the service. I wanted $55 a month with $19.96 handset repayments. He said he would give me $35 a month with the handset repayments. The problem here was that I would be paying 16c more for every 30 seconds I talked, or 32c more every minute. In the long run, this would be a LOT more expensive.
He then said if I faxed him over some bank statements and filled out a form to authorize him to debit my account at the START of every month, before I had even used the service, then he would do it for me. I had a couple of problems with this. One was that I had to go into a store and fill out a form to authorise them to debit my account before I'd used a phone that they couldnt supply me with anyway, because they didnt stock the handset I wanted.... Also, I dont believe that because of my age I shouldnt get the benefit of being able to determine when I pay my bills, and only AFTER I have used the service.
I expressed my concern with how frusturated I was with Optus, and he said 'Well this would be a lot easier if you were switching from a Telstra Plan to an Optus one, rather than a pre paid service' I said 'I make no apologies from not wanting to rush into a heap of debt the minute I hit 18'.
I found the whole thing so incredibly frusturating and insidious, since there was a seperate criteria for 18-24 year olds but no alternate measure of how good they were for recourse. Has anyone else had any problems with hooking up to a plan? I still dont know what im going to do about getting a plan now......... any suggestions??
I went into town and went to the Strathfield, where the guy had been helping me out. He was like 'Oh sorry, we dont stock the handset that you want' (I wanted a Nokia 7200). I was a bit put off, because he had told me on the phone on Thursday that he had it, and on Friday morning he didnt, but anyway, I crossed the street to go to the Optus world and ask for it there. They didnt have it either. So then I went across the other side of town to the other Optus world and asked for it, and they didnt have it. I was getting really mad by this, I'd been to three seperate Optus retailers and none of them were stocking the phone I wanted AND that they were advertising. I rang the Optus World like 30K away, and they didnt have it as well. I was pissed off, but I wanted a new phone so I went back to the Strathfield and picked out a different handset that was a bit newer. And also, a bit more expensive.
Anyway, we were filling out the application when the dude got told that Optus had rejected my application because I didnt have a credit rating and because of my age. I was so cranky, and then I got told that because this one was rejected I couldnt reapply for three months.....
I got home and rang up Optus Customer Service I think as mad as I have ever been. I spoke to four different operators for an hour until I got onto the floor manager. He said that I couldnt have the plan I was after because of my age and because I didnt have a credit rating. I said 'Well, its kinda hard to have a credit rating when youve never gone into debt before'. I told him that I worked in a bank and set up credit cards for a living, and that there should be another alternative to how we could do this when I didnt have a credit rating, like an assessable income test. His suggestion was that I put it in my parents name, but I refused to do this, why should i when I'm almost 19 and I have a full time job in a bank? Plus, they have to go through a credit test, which goes on your lifetime record, and there would be absolutley no need for that to happen.
He then said that he would put me under a lower usage plan and give me the service. I wanted $55 a month with $19.96 handset repayments. He said he would give me $35 a month with the handset repayments. The problem here was that I would be paying 16c more for every 30 seconds I talked, or 32c more every minute. In the long run, this would be a LOT more expensive.
He then said if I faxed him over some bank statements and filled out a form to authorize him to debit my account at the START of every month, before I had even used the service, then he would do it for me. I had a couple of problems with this. One was that I had to go into a store and fill out a form to authorise them to debit my account before I'd used a phone that they couldnt supply me with anyway, because they didnt stock the handset I wanted.... Also, I dont believe that because of my age I shouldnt get the benefit of being able to determine when I pay my bills, and only AFTER I have used the service.
I expressed my concern with how frusturated I was with Optus, and he said 'Well this would be a lot easier if you were switching from a Telstra Plan to an Optus one, rather than a pre paid service' I said 'I make no apologies from not wanting to rush into a heap of debt the minute I hit 18'.
I found the whole thing so incredibly frusturating and insidious, since there was a seperate criteria for 18-24 year olds but no alternate measure of how good they were for recourse. Has anyone else had any problems with hooking up to a plan? I still dont know what im going to do about getting a plan now......... any suggestions??
