Exetel customer help forum

Exetel – you URGENTLY need to change the way your stupid, inflexible and crazy excess usage fees notification works for mobile internet.

I was paying $70 a month for home phone and ADSL2+ before I moved in Christmas – plus excess of $3/GB.

I moved out at Christmas & went overseas for a month – so I got Exetel’s HSPA - $5 a month no included data plan (to save some money before I came back & had to deal with Telstra to get a new phoneline etc etc).

As far as I am concerned a plan that includes ZERO data and just charges a monthly access fee has NO EXCESS charges – because every bit of data from the start is a usage. The costs my account accrues with usage is just that – usage fees and are not in excess of any included data.

It is ludicrous for Exetel to a) cut off access to my mobile internet after such a small amount of $25 when I have signed up on a plan where I knowingly will be paying for every bit of data that I download from the start of the month.

Its exactly the same situation as Telstra providing me a home phone for a monthly access fee and then every phonecall I make I pay for. Only Telstra doesn’t cut off your phone every time your monthly phonebill reaches $25.

I had my access cut off on Monday 17th May – and despite previous times this had happened I could still access the Exetel member page to make the payment, this time I couldn’t access any website – even Exetel.

So I had to ring my brother (who incidentally left Exetel in December) for him to log into my member page and make the payment for me.

So he made this payment of $25 and instantly my internet is working again. Then this morning (only four days later) at 7am I am awoken by an sms from Exetel saying that I needed to make another $25 payment and that I was cut off again. I tried logging in but again couldn’t access the Exetel site.

Now at work I see that since I made the interim payment on Monday 17th May I have used more data of 235.87 MB = which is an additional $3.53 of usage charges!!!!!!

WHAT IS GOING ON?????? I make an interim payment of $25 on Monday, use an additional $3.53 worth of data and my internet gets cut off again for the second time in a week.

These disconnections of my internet has cost me literally hundreds of dollars as I have foreign exchange & equity security positions open in the stock market – at a time when markets are falling and I need to have constant access to the internet. If Exetel can’t let me access the net when I want to then I will have to go to another provider.

Why does a company drop the ball on customer service as it grows? I have been a customer of Exetel since 2004 and when it first started it was a delight to use – and customer service was great. I was always advising people at work & my friends to sign up to Exetel – and each time they had never heard of the company – so my word of mouth recommendation was gaining customers for Exetel for no advertising cost.

But like so many other companies – as it grows it increasingly obviously focuses on growth or revenue and thumb’s its nose up at customers and tells them, in effect, to go elsewhere.

Your messages say that you are complying with the federal Telecommunications Act – but I can’t find any mention of this in the act (I looked this morning) and I am sure it would just require in broad terms for the service provider to notify the customer of the excess charges – not arbitrarily disconnect the service.

Last year I was paying $70 a month to Exetel for the internet – now to get to that level of costs I need to be inconvienicend & disconnected TWICE when I reach $25 and $50 (in theory – and $25 and $28.53 in practice this week).

So Exetel – you need to urgently change the way you operate this stupid and badly thought out process.

Either:

1. Give people the option to set the threshold that they wish to be informed & have their access cut off – for instance after $100 or $200 or
2. Automatically deduct the $25 fee from a credit card so the customer doesn’t keep getting disconnected or
3. Change the process so you only send an sms notification and don’t automatically cut off access.

I am very angry that I am being treated like this.

I want someone from Exetel to investigate and contact me ASAP.

I will be visiting the TIO as my next course of action.

The Forum is not the appropriate vehicle for resolving your issue - I suggest that you detail your complaint to complaints@exetel.com.au.

I also suggest that you take some time out to calm down first and write appropriately. Leave any threats of approaching the TIO as your "next course of action" out - the TIO is an "office of last resort"; as I'm sure you know, you have to try and resolve your complaint with Exetel directly first and the TIO should only ever get involved if that fails. Making threats is never a sensible way to approach a complaint.

Gidget

I don't think this is a particular "issue" of his. It is an annoying policy that effects all of us users of the service. And I think it ought to be advertised that with this plan you will continually have your access blocked. So yes, perhaps this forum is not the appropriate vehicle - maybe Whirlpool would be better.

I am surprised that there are not more complaints about this. I too have had my access blocked a number of times (including yesterday, annoyingly). What other services out there have this kind of policy after using a certain amount - gas? electricity? water? telephone? NO. Why the "special" treatment of us PAYING customers???

TheMightyChewbacca wrote:These disconnections of my internet has cost me literally hundreds of dollars as I have foreign exchange & equity security positions open in the stock market – at a time when markets are falling and I need to have constant access to the internet.

Don't even bother making this sort of argument. Residential services have *no* service level agreements and the fact that you wish to use one for business or other money making purposes is your own prerogative. Exetel specifically states that it bears no liability for "losses" such as these (besides which "losses of opportunity" are not necessary "losses") and this scenario will not sway Exetel in any decision or fault resolution process whatsoever.

TheMightyChewbacca wrote:I want someone from Exetel to investigate and contact me ASAP.

So use an official channel instead of these *unofficial* forums. I would suggest billing@exetel.com.au or complaints@exetel.com.au.

TheMightyChewbacca wrote:I will be visiting the TIO as my next course of action.

Another useless threat. The TIO has no power to investigate an issue until you have exhausted reasonable endeavours with Exetel. Posting a rant on a forum is not a "reasonable endeavour"; send a formal email via the above channels.

I suggest you listen intently to Gidget's advise. Exetel have implemented many customer suggestions and the experience of users has benefitted immensely from these. But if you phrase "suggestions" as "threats" you are much less likely to make any meaningful inroads

I have found this to be very frustrating too and have already raised this with exetel over the phone without a satisfactory outcome, so I don't feel it inappropriate to discuss it here.

On Monday I was disconnected with no notice - I received an SMS saying I have excess usage charges (which is inherent in the plan, given that there is $0 of included credit - of course there will be excess usage!) and that I need to make payment immediately. But in the next sentence it says my service has been suspended - ridiculous. No warning and no internet access to make the required payment.

I don't understand the logic to it - if it is indeed due to a federal law, there is certainly no law requiring service to be suspended without notice. If it must be done, I would expect 3 days notice at the bare minimum. Furthermore, it might help if traffic to the exetel site was always allowed, so that payment could be made without having to go to an internet cafe.

To make matters worse, the necessary funds weren't in the account that I usually make payment from because I had no reason to expect an interim bill. So this meant changing my direct debit details to another account and changing it back again in time for the end of month bill, whereas everything would have gone smoothly if Exetel had simply direct debited me for the amount in full a week later, as authorized. The funny thing is, It really seems like a lottery - probably 2 out of 3 months I don't have to go through this annoying process, even though my monthly spend doesn't vary much, and is usually somewhere in the $50-$90 range.

gabe wrote:I have found this to be very frustrating too and have already raised this with exetel over the phone without a satisfactory outcome, so I don't feel it inappropriate to discuss it here.

On Monday I was disconnected with no notice - I received an SMS saying I have excess usage charges (which is inherent in the plan, given that there is $0 of included credit - of course there will be excess usage!) and that I need to make payment immediately. But in the next sentence it says my service has been suspended - ridiculous. No warning and no internet access to make the required payment.

I don't understand the logic to it - if it is indeed due to a federal law, there is certainly no law requiring service to be suspended without notice. If it must be done, I would expect 3 days notice at the bare minimum. Furthermore, it might help if traffic to the exetel site was always allowed, so that payment could be made without having to go to an internet cafe.

To make matters worse, the necessary funds weren't in the account that I usually make payment from because I had no reason to expect an interim bill. So this meant changing my direct debit details to another account and changing it back again in time for the end of month bill, whereas everything would have gone smoothly if Exetel had simply direct debited me for the amount in full a week later, as authorized. The funny thing is, It really seems like a lottery - probably 2 out of 3 months I don't have to go through this annoying process, even though my monthly spend doesn't vary much, and is usually somewhere in the $50-$90 range.

Unfortunately there are far too many crooks in this world, that accumulate charges then dispute them, you may wish to talk with billing about increasing the limit before an interim payment is required.

Or maybe move to a business plan, as these interim bills do not apply to businesses.

Thanks, good suggestion - I'd never even noticed the business HSPA plans! Do you know if there are any differences between the BUSMA plan and my current WM-B plan? For instance would I still get 5c webSMS and the same VOIP rates?

Hmmm it says "minimum of 10 services" on the business HSPA pricing page - does that mean I can't just order one plan?

I recently ordered one only BUSMA service from this page
http://www.exetel.com.au/business-hspa-pricing.php
without any dramas.

Gidget

I have discovered that there is one VERY important factor that needs to be pointed out in regards to those that receive no notification at all.
As soon as you can, sign in to your facilities & investigate VERY THOROUGHLY the section about Information from Exetel. You MUST fill out this section to receive notices.
I have suggested before that Exetel should make it mandatory that the sign up email address AUTOMATICALLY gets entered as the same one for notices.

I have to agree with the OP and other posters in this thread.

I'm currently moving interstate, and a in a new house, awaiting ADSL2+ (not with exetel, i left you clowns a long time ago when you decided to 'update' your plans for the 10th time in three months)

Anyhow, occasionally use the HSPA service because it works...

Until now.

Got the excess usage fee. Shit. Right. Ok. Had to move some money around, go to the bank, got that sorted.

6 HOURS LATER - I'M BLOCKED AGAIN! You guys want ANOTHER excess usage fee? WHAT THE F**K???

You guys at exetel, sorry, but the way you run this company is an absolute joke. Even your blocked page doesn't work. It just throws up a PHP error. You can't even get that right. Lucky i remembered that i can access via my members control panel and pay there.

I left you a long time ago because of general craziness and erratic business decisions. Now, i'm tempted to drop you for once and for all because of this. If you want to retail customers, and keep your business alive, this is NOT the way to do it.

anteck wrote:
6 HOURS LATER - I'M BLOCKED AGAIN! You guys want ANOTHER excess usage fee?

An interim bill for excess usage is always implemented as and when you reach excess usage worth a certain slab for we are obligated to ensure, per ACMA Registered Code (Consumer
Protection Code) we don't provide unlimited credit to a person where no credit check or credit assessment has been undertaken.

I have passed this over to the billing team leader who will investigate on to your issue who will then get back to you on it.

anteck wrote:6 HOURS LATER - I'M BLOCKED AGAIN! You guys want ANOTHER excess usage fee?

I have sent you an email to the nominated email address with ticket reference number 4234105 , explaining why you have been charged for interim bill . Please reply to same if you have further queries.