Telstra customers left overcharged and frustrated by call centre closures

Aussie internet users say they’re being charged for services that no longer exist, hounded to pay bills they haven’t seen, and can’t get help due to coronavirus call centre closures.

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Exclusive: Australian internet users are being overcharged, unable to reach help, and claim they’re being hounded for hundreds of dollars they don’t owe telecommunications firms as fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues.

And victims include the like of the NRL’s former top ref and now Queensland Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mander.

In some cases, Telstra customers say they are still being charged for internet services they disconnected months ago, while many report being unable to resolve problems with their bills due to the closure of overseas call centres.

And the problems are being compounded by more Australians working from home using their own internet connections, and overwhelming demand for the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, which has extended its response times.

But a Telstra spokesman said the company was reaching out to those who hadn’t paid their bills as required by law, and normal operations were still being hit by overseas staff shortages.

The problem impacted Mr Mander this month, who complained he had been overcharged but Telstra would not respond to repeated calls to fix the issue.

“They aren’t accepting calls because of COVID-19,” he said, pointing to an error message from Telstra’s app. “Six attempts over a week.”

Queensland Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mander is frustrated with Telstra. Picture: AAP

Angry Telstra customers have swamped the company’s social media pages and online forums to complain about ongoing billing problems and a lack of customer help.

Amit Saxena, from Melbourne, said he was being “chased” by a credit recovery team on Telstra’s behalf after being billed for a broadband service that was disconnected three months earlier.

Even seeking help in a Telstra store had not fixed the issue.

“I have tried multiple times,” he said.

“My credit history (is being) impacted. Where do I go?”

On Whirlpool forums, Telstra users reported being unable to stop bills for internet services they had disconnected months earlier, and Telstra’s Facebook page revealed a long list of complaints about lengthy installation times, long virtual queues for assistance online, and call waiting times of more than an hour.

One woman said she had called Telstra every day for a week and was denied help due to call centre closures, while another said she received several calls from Telstra’s credit recovery team for a bill she had never received.

Telstra customers are at a loss on what to do after being unable to access customer help over the phone due to the coronavirus pandemic. Picture: AAP

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Judi Jones said consumers and small businesses had reported problems accessing support since March, and the organisation was working “closely with phone and internet providers” to resolve ongoing issues.

“Some of the problems consumers are telling us about include not being able to contact their telco by phone for help,” she said.

“I acknowledge the frustration this challenge presents for consumers who simply want their phone and internet problems fixed.”

Ms Jones said consumers should always try to contact providers in the first instance but it could intervene if companies were “not responding and the problem remains unresolved”.

A Telstra spokesman said the company had been forced to prioritise calls due to reduced capacity in its overseas call centres, had seen a small increase in overdue bills during the pandemic, and would waive late fees on bills until the end of the month.

The company had also been phoning customers who had made no attempt to pay their bills to ensure they were not “accruing large debt,” the spokesman said, as required by the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code.

He said Telstra customers should continue to use “digital self-help options” and customers could pause services and subscriptions during this period.

Mr Mander’s bill query was resolved after his public complaint.

Originally published as Telstra customers left overcharged and frustrated by call centre closures