Our mobile phones are coming to the end of their contracts. So I saunter down to Crazy John’s, where we got them, to renew.
Hey, says the guy, Ben, who is helping me, did you know that 3G and Vodaphone now have really good coverage where you are?
I was intrigued. When we moved up to the hills some years ago, Telstra was the only possible choice, as they were the only carrier that covered non or outer metropolitan areas. So I work out which carrier is best and decide to get a couple of new phones and new contracts for both me and Brad. All papers were signed, sealed and delivered 28th May.
I bring our new phones home, same numbers, and eagerly await the 24-48hrs for the switch from Telstra to 3G. When it hadn’t happened by Saturday, I called to find out what is the problem. Apparently our account numbers were incorrect. Calling Telstra a second time to get the numbers, I am given two totally different ones from the ones I was given the first time. Great. Just like Telstra.
I give these numbers to our new network and after five or six calls between us straightening things out I wait. Monday rolls around, still waiting. Tuesday arrives and I get a call from the guy who sold me the phones. Oh dear, he says, on finding out I can’t use my new phone except to play backgammon, and goes off to find Stuff out. He calls back and tells me that I need to get the phones put on three separate accounts (the home phone also) as Telstra are not allowing 3G to pick up our numbers. oh…kay.
So I call Telstra and set up the separate accounts. And settle down to … wait. Thursday happens and some poor misguided fool from Telstra calls me to inform me that my contract with them is nearly over and do I want to renew? I said no. She asked why. I told her it was because, among other things, they were incompetent and cited my current circumstances. Strangely, she didn’t say much but ended the call as soon as she politely could.
On Thursday, a week after I bought the new contracts, I am again in contact with the new carrier. They decide this isn’t going to get resolved easily and set up a conference call between me, them and Telstra. This goes well. Not.
The Telstra people make a noise about the carrier involving me. Then they tell me I do have the correct numbers. When pushed they reveal they are not releasing our phone numbers to the new carrier because I am not the account holder. Bollocks, I tell her and cite that my husband gave me complete autonomy on the account and that they can see that both the numbers are to continue being held by the same people. And not only that they allowed me to set up new numbers and phones two years ago – without Brad having to so much as lift a finger even to sign anything. *I* signed the original contracts.
The lady from our new carrier closed the call as the Telstra person was getting defensive and annoyed with me pushing her. She said that the legal implications that the Telstra girl had cited were obviously incorrect but as things stood we obviously weren’t going to get anywhere. So she bumped it upstairs to the managers.
I am getting really good at Backgammon.
