My home wireless broadband stopped working and I call the 133937 number on a Friday, got a call back on Saturday. We spoke to a length this bloke promised that I will receive the new modem on Monday and so got me signed up for a new deal. waited the whole Monday nothing turned up so called the number again, now this other bloke saying it takes 5 - 7 days to come over. I did explain him that I have a small business completely dependent on internet, so he promised, its definitely coming on Monday.
On Monday evening I started chat via Optus chat and chatted with Rex and his boss Devine. I have some chat screen shots saved. Devine promised to follow it up and lodge a complain against the person I spoke to, on Saturday, on my behalf.
My concern is that why Optus such a huge organization playing with us small family owned business, this Optus employee told me utter lie just to sign me up and not considering for a second what's happening to my internet dependent business. If he said it will take 5-7 days, I would have gone to other service providers, but now locking me in means if I change now I will have to pay all the break up fees plus hundreds of other fees. Is this how Optus makes money. I need this followed up to the highest authority so families are not ripped off unnecessarily, I have been well and truly screwed, by Optus.

Entered into a broadband contract with Optus in October 2017 and was reassured that when my impending house move took place I could transfer the connection to the new address.

I contacted the "relocation team' a few weeks ago, gave the date of my move (20/07/18) and was informed by phone and text that the relocation was in order and that my internet connection would be re-established on 27/07/2018. So I have already paid one week's fee for nothing. I accepted that, and waited for the reconnection on 27/07 ... nothing. Contacted the 'online chat helpline' spent 41 minutes messaging an operative who - after asking for countless details, despite my giving her the order number at the outset, then said the internet would be on by the end of the day / or within 24hours.

I received no confirmation text so tried to phone the helpline this morning, 28/07/2018. Kept waiting 36mins before they cut me off, citing technical difficulties.

For curiosity, I rang the sales line, and was connected to a real human operative in 90 seconds.

How can I legally cancel my contract with them, which has 13 months to run, if they continue to deny me the broadband service for which I am paying 80$ a month?

I wanted to change the ownership of my Optus pre-paid mobile number/sim. I contacted Optus online chat to do so (copy of the conversation provided).
I was told that the process will take 10 business days and that this is the only way to do it. Bonnie (the person I was chatting with) gave me a ref number and phone number to call. I called the number probably 5 times as there is a recording and none of the options seems to be about changing an ownership. Finally I spoke to an operator who connected me to the CHOWN team.
Here I was told that the information given to me was incorrect and the only way to do it is to go personally to an OPTUS store as I need to show them a driver licence, but that it will be done on the spot (so it appeared that the information given to me by Bonnie was incorrect). The lady from the CHOWN team didnt give me her name. She was polite and she apologized that I was given wrong information. I asked her to check the reference number I was given by Bonnie but she refused to do so as she said the advice was incorrect. Because I insisted on asking if the personal visit to the OPTUS store is the only way to change the ownership at the end she also told me it can be done online, but it will take 10 business days.
She did not tell me about any other conditions, only that I have to present a driving licence.
Next day I went with my husband to Optus Store at Woden. This was on 8th Feb 2018 at 10:30am. There were 2 Optus employees (man and a woman). The men has told me the following:
- they can not help us because Internet is down (strange as Telstra always has mobile Internet if the main line is down)
I asked if they cant take our driver licence details now and email or call us when the Internet is back
- he said that this is not possible as we have to sign a form
We were happy to sign the form, but this was also not possible.
The man said they cant do anything without an Internet. So I asked why they are still open
- in case Internet comes back was the answer
He was very rude and impolite and said this is Company procedure. I asked for a copy of the procedure, as if I am going to complain about something I assume I need to know the rules. The answer was that the procedure is internal and not available to customers. It is not good enough for me to refer to some procedure which I cannot see. At this point I got aggitated.
I said that I now dealt with 3 different Optus teams and received different advice so without something written I cant trust them.
I asked about man's name but he refused to give me his name saying that company policy is that he is not required to give his name to customers. Then he turned his back on me and went away. Extremely rude.
I cant say I witness such behaviour for many years - is this also Optus policy to turn his back on customers ?
The lady wasnt rude but not helpfull. She said that if I want to complete the process today I have to go to Tuggerenong office which is 5 minutes away (wrong it is 20 minutes drive) but she could not advise me if they are open.
At the end I left with nothing .. extremely disappointed

Optus must not have bought enough bandwidth to service west melbourne as our internet speed is consistently around 0.2-0.5 mbps. Its been incredibly frustrating, and Optus hasn't done anything to fix this.

I want to change to Telstra, but we've already sunk $200 into the installation of the modem, so having to pay another $200 for Telstra to do the same installation feels like such a waste.

Anyone in the CBD, West or North Melbourne should avoid Optus at all costs. Pay a bit more for Telstra as the cost is directly related to how much bandwidth the company purchases to service your area.. Optus is a joke.

This is an extract of a private email to my daughter. My Daughter has left home for the first time and is fending for herself in a new world with limited resources and very limited funding.
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Darling ...RE: Your Optus phone account to 27th Oct 2016.
Optus has a fiduciary responsibility to train you against the threat of excess and over charging against your plan.
You signed up for an $85 plan plus Insurance plus the new 6S IPhone on the understanding that all your social communication package would be covered within the 7GB allowance and the $85 monthly fee. .....
You were not trained with this new smart phone on how to manage your data downloads. Fees have been incurred accordingly

Your training should have concluded that you are at a proficient level whereas you are knowingly aware and that you can prevent an incurrence of excessive charges. Charges that are exampled and claimed by Optus in the OCTOBER statement and again potentially also in the NOVEMBER account. These charges are equally reflected also in the Aug. and Sept statements, co-incidentally, you started your new contract with the new IPhone in early August 2016. I have looked at the Sept and August statements also. ALL statements have an alarming set of data charges that are on average 3X PLUS PLUS your monthly subscription that you signed up for. I.E. you will never get ahead of your phone account when Optus fail to advise you that your monthly fee is always a minimum of $500 per month. I assume your monthly wage is only $1800 /month. How do you live?

Please note on this October statement:
That you have exceeded your data plan every day sometimes by two levels when your phone was switch on.
It is identified that additional data charges of 13GB or $130 in additional billing have been recorded for October ending on the 27th October 2016. In Aug and Sept the statement identifies 23GB of data charges for each month I gather that no one from OPTUS rang you until your account was blocked. Today I called Optus and determined that they did not inform you about the reasons and the where all associated with the blocking of your account.
Further, I have noticed that $1220 has been paid off your account and you still owe Optus over $800 by my calculations and before any claim for a breach of contract as you have another 21months left on the term of contract.

Today, you were instructed on how to switch off your phone from: Data pushing to Manual.
CHECK this configuration everyday until the phone is thrown away.

Today is the 7th of Nov 2016. I further, imply that you have already incurred a potential $140 additional data billing charges since the October 2016 account.
Also I imply that by the end of November your data charges will exceed $300 if the data switch is on at any time.
This is because when you switched on your phone you will be pushed all back log of data.

Optus have failed in all aspects of their fiduciary duty as a service provider who are pushing data to your phone to advise you of the continuous breach of your data contractual parameters.
You are an uninformed Optus client.
Optus is knowingly aware that they have pushed data to a client who does not have:
- The necessary skills and understanding of the smart phone abilities that they encouraged you to settle on.
Optus knowingly failed in their duty to qualify you for jacking up two contracts and on two phones sharing the same number.
Optus knowingly failed:
- To advise and train an uninformed client where the service provider was knowingly aware of the data download pitfalls and additional financial burdens that this brings to that ill-informed client of Optus who has a history.
o When it was also:
 painfully obvious to the Service Provider that their client will fail to meet their ordinary obligation to pay debts in a timely manner when downloading data by the “PUSH” method.

Darling .... Download all your contacts onto the computer.
SWITCH the off the phone and be prepared to throw it away.
I will buy you a new one tomorrow on a Telstra Plan.
Love Dad

I HAVE HAD AN ACCOUNT WITH OPTUS FOR QUITE SOME TIME COVERING HOME PHONE, MOBILE & INTERNET.

EVERY MONTH A SMALL FEE IS CHARGED BECAUSE I WILL NOT USE A DIRECT DEBIT TO MY ACCOUNT TO PAY THE BILL.

BECAUSE I RECEIVE A CARER'S PENSION FROM CENTRELINK, MONEY IS TIGHT, AND TO SUIT MY BUDGET I PAY AN AMOUNT EQUALLING HALF OF MY USUAL BILL EACH FORTNIGHT WHEN I AM PAID. WHEN I DO RECEIVE THE BILL THERE IS EITHER NOTHING TO PAY OR A VERY SMALL AMOUNT.

THE BILL IS ISSUED USUALLY WITH THE FIRST WEEK OF THE MOTH WITH A DUE BUY DATE OF THE 18TH OF THAT MONTH, THEREFORE I MAKE SURE MY ACCOUNT IS SETTLED AND PAID WELL BEFORE THE DUE DATE.

I HAVE COMPLAINED TO OPTUS WHO TELL ME IT'S THEIR POLICY, TO THE OMBUSMAN AND THE ACCC WHO ADVISED THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO AS THEY WERE NOT "BREAKING" ANY LAWS BY CHARGING THIS AMOUNT.

IT IRKS ME TO THINK THEY, OPTUS, CAN GET AWAY WITH THIS FEE, BY THE WAY IT'S $2.00 PER MONTH, JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN.

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THIS AS I CONSIDER THIS FEE TO BE A RORT THAT THEY SEEM TO BE ABLE TO GET AWAY WITH.

YOURS SINCERELY

ROBYN BROWN