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i found this article at
iMobile.com.au. at the moment it's only a pilot program for the Australian carrier Telstra, but it would be good to see it spread. i don't know if similar programs operate in other countries.
i notice that they don't cite "we stuffed up" as a cause of abnormally high billing
Stay Connected with Telstra
19 December 2003
Written by Patrick Tsang (www.imobile.com.au)
Ever gotten home one day, open up your letterbox, finding your bills in it and receiving the shock of your life? Sound familiar to some of us doesn’t it. Telstra has decided to lead the way in the industry to address the issue of excessive unintended use of services by announcing the Courtesy Call initiative.
The Courtesy Call initiative will involve Telstra contacting customers before they receive their bills, where their account usage markedly exceeds their previous pattern of usage, enabling these customers to take control if the usage had been unintended. What Telstra propose to do is to contact the customer and advice of the marked increase so that the customer can alter usage, change to another plan that better suits their needs, or make a payment arrangement to make sure they don't fall behind.
In most cases, some customers experienced unintended use of their fixed, mobile or internet services and only became aware of it when they received their bills, getting the shock of their life. Unintended use occurs in many ways, such as customers using their services at a level that gets away from them or where friends or family members use their services either without their knowledge or more excessively than they thought.
This new service will start with a pilot this week and will be fully implemented across fixed, mobile and internet services by mid-2004. During the pilot Telstra will test the appropriate parameters to determine exactly how it will work.
The pilot will initially target a sample of bills that go over $1000, where usage is more than twice the average amount spent, to gauge customer reaction to this initiative. In 2004, the credit management system will be tailored to identify customers' usage patterns and detect any unusual aberration automatically.
The launch of the Courtesy Call initiative is one aspect of a new community awareness campaign, called Stay Connected, which aims to help all customers understand the range of payment and account management options Telstra offers.
The awareness campaign is an ongoing initiative that involves:
All new customers receiving a brochure commencing in January, highlighting the options that are available to help them manage their accounts with Telstra;
A targeted brochure being inserted into reminder notices commencing in February, and continuing in March and April next year, highlighting the account management options available to Telstra customers;
Launch of a Stay Connected website that provides customers with detailed information on how they can better manage their Telstra accounts; and,
Ongoing communications with key welfare and community organisations to ensure they are aware of the many payments and product options that are available to their members who are also Telstra customers.
A specialised team of customer service consultants will be trained in how to identify customer accounts with unusually high usage and charges and will be contacting customers.
Telstra respect their customers’ privacy, therefore, all privacy obligations will be adhered to as part of the Courtesy Call initiative and customers wishing to opt out will be able to do so after receiving an initial call.
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Posted: 2003-12-21 23:36:24
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sounds to me like a ploy to change their calling plan. "You seem to be using more minutes than are available, how about switching to our more expensive, more minutes plan, where you won't have to worry about going over too many minutes." Sounds like a good idea, waiting to be exploited.
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Posted: 2003-12-22 00:28:09
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now you can't expect them to be so public-spirited as to NOT try to turn it to their advantage can you?
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Posted: 2003-12-22 00:34:35
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I use Telstras online services and can see and pay my bill online. Great when I am always travelling, however I can also see my pre-billed usage online too so for me this service would be a complete waste of time.
The same is available online with vodafone UK which I also use.
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Posted: 2003-12-22 06:37:23
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i think this initiative is in part a response to recent publicity on debt levels in Australia. there was a survey by the Office of Fair Trading a few weeks ago that claimed the average debt level of 18-24 y.o. was AUD $6000, while for 16-18 y.o. it ws AUD $3000. mobile phone bills were considered the single largest contributing factor.
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Posted: 2003-12-22 06:48:42
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We're just a bunch of consumers...
This message was posted from a T310
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Posted: 2003-12-22 07:12:51
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they call it Stay Connected because unless they keep customers connected they'll lose more $ thatn if they disconnect them for an outstanding bill they cant afford to pay.
...even though their main objective is to earn $ from you there's no point in allowing free reign to run up a bill you cant afford to then lose the customer completely which happens very often.
T-Mobile in the UK are leading the way in my eyes with their MixIt times plans....you pay a standard monthly charge for whatever price plan your on with all the perks and free calls included as per monthly timeplans and if you try making a call thats not part of your allowance then you have to use a pay as you go top up card to pay for it thereby reducing any possibility of receiving a bill at the end of the month that surprises you.
definitely suitable for those who cant control their mobile usage.
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Posted: 2003-12-22 18:32:00
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