The arrogance of Telstra and the phone companies is overwhelming. Not only have they relentlessly hiked the line rental - which they have now renamed " monthly subscription " - to an incredible $ 30.86 a month but they are demanding that this be paid in advance. In the past, this has always been billed in arrears.
In effect, they are now demanding that every person subscribing to a home line phone advance them a loan of $ 92.58 - which will attract no interest - and that this loan will remain in their coffers until such time as the phone service is cancelled.
Phone bills are on a three monthly basis - hence when the next bill arrives it will contain a demand for three $ 30.86 " monthly subscriptions " in advance, plus the three in arrears - making a total of a one off $ 185.16 for that bill.
Some families will not have that amount of money available for such an unexpected bill, and in due course their distress will cause a blip in appeals to such charities as the Salvo's and St Vinnies.
It seems to be a case of the phone people leading the charge in implementing a new way of extorting money. In the case of most business transactions the bill is presented when the service has been provided. Now there is a move to demand the money up front.
The one saving grace is that the people providing home line phone facilities are cutting their own throats. This latest impost will surely hasten the escape as people abandon fixed line services and embrace the freedom of cell phones.
As the fixed line people make their service more expensive the independent cell phone companies are reducing costs and with that - reducing prices.
And then there is the biggest threat to both providers - the Internet.
It seems that some management can not see the wood for the trees !
No comments:
Post a Comment