Break-up Breakdown

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday December 15, 2008

Nick Galvin

Telco can't seem to let go of the Baxters, writes Nick Galvin.

Not all partnerships are made in heaven. Many were just never meant to last. Think Madonna and Guy, Brad and Jennifer or Paris and just about everybody. To that list you can now add the Baxters and Optus.

It was Mark Baxter who brought to our attention the relationship between his two daughters, Holly and Gemma, and the telco, which followed that all-too-predictable pattern. First the two were very happy with their "yes" Everyday 5GB wireless modems that would allow them to get online while living and studying in Brisbane.

But the early promising signs this provider was to be "the one" soon degenerated when the connection proved unreliable and too slow for where they lived. Skipping the "It's not you, it's me" phase, the Baxters decided to call the whole thing off and cancel the contract within the cooling-off period.

They were told postbags would be sent to them to return the modems and in the meantime they hooked up with another provider. After several weeks no postbags arrived - but the monthly bills still did.

"With no sign of postbags they returned the modems to the Optus store where they were purchased," Baxter says.

"Staff took the modems without comment but still the monthly bills arrived as did the postbags, finally, which they threw in the bin because they had returned the modems to the point of purchase, naively thinking that was the thing to do."

Still Optus continued to play the part of the spurned lover, bombarding the pair not with billets-doux but bills and letters threatening to cut off their mobile phones if they didn't pay for the service they were no longer using.

"Finally in exasperation and on their behalf, I called the Optus shop where they had returned the modems to try and get an explanation," Baxter says. "The modems had been sitting out the back in a drawer waiting for postbags to send them back to the factory for processing!"

The solution was for Holy and Gemma to return to the store, retrieve the modems, then ask Optus for new postbags so they could send them back direct.

Still the bills and terse letters arrived from Optus. By the end of November, despite several follow-up calls, there was still no sign of the postbags, the pair still had the modems and they had completed the academic year.

In desperation, Holly cancelled her account and paid the cancellation fee, while Gemma's account was still listed as active eight months later, despite repeated calls.

Various amounts were credited to their accounts but as Baxter says "what we've paid, what they've credited us with and how we stand is anybody's guess . . . and of course the threatening letters continue to be a worry when mobile services can be disconnected."

We called the good folk at Optus and suggested it really was time to move on. They responded with creditable alacrity, sorting out the whole tangled mess and apologising.

"The delay . . . appears to be due to a misunderstanding between customer service, the associated store and the customers," spokesperson says.

And with that, the final case of 2008, Troubleshooter is hanging the "Gone Fishing" sign on the door, checking the oil and water in the office Kombi and heading off for the holidays.

Don't miss next week's Troubleshooter Awards where we name the most memorable cases of the year.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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