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Optus's impending prepaid cash grab
If you are with Optus prepaid and don't know about the upcoming plan changes AKA the cash grab (for those who have rollover credit) then check your texts or emails. All the telcos have new plans and most are not great for the customers value wise.
From the 11th March, Optus is rolling over their prepaid customers to new plans and deleting the old plans. But here's where it gets bad - If you have rollover credit they are offering plans to you - Okay fine - except if you have left over credit that is in between plans - this is where the cash grab is.
I WAS with Optus as a prepaid customer - i got out this week and went to another company with a better deal. Had i stayed with Optus i would have had a $h!t of a deal. they offered me $100 plan with 400 mins national talk 400 texts and 1GB data for 365 days - in other words every year i would have that $h!tty plan. Also to begin with i had a credit balance of $167 and change and their message read to me as if they were just going to keep the rest of my credit - AND THEY WERE GOING TOO!!! I contacted them and asked them about their message and one question was if i got the excess credit back if i chose to be on their $h!tty plan. their answer was NO. They would be keeping the credit over the plan amount and i was not entitled to it. So i contacted the TIO (telecommunications ombudsman) and complained. I was told i was entitled to a refund as it was my money.
After some back and fro with Optus and updating the TIO - i am sorted as far as i have a full refund coming as i chose to leave and go to another company who had a better deal. I got other family members to leave as well and we all have cheques on the way for full refunds of our rollover credits. (mom's- they were doubling my offer for her and going to keep $120!!!)
The cash grab seems to have been kept secret as it has not appeared in the news. Pensioners can not afford this kind of thing (well i would extend that to anyone these days with cost of living). Optus calls it a 'goodwill gesture' that they are forced to refund nay of the credit whether you leave or stay. They also say they are simplifying their plans and making things easier for customers but look at the details carefully enough and it is clear you are losing out. How much is just whether you want to be ripped off by them or find a better deal.
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