Telstra reinstates Darrell's silver membership and gives compensation
Darrell had been with his telco provider, Telstra for more than 5 years. He was paying for their mobile and internet services, which allowed him to have an exclusive membership, based on Telstra’s tiers membership program. Out of nowhere, Darrell's membership was downgraded, right before he was about to take up a members-only offer. Darrell used Ajust to create a complaint and the problem was fixed in under a week.
Enjoying loyal customer reward
Most businesses these days offer some kind of incentive for spending money with them. Whether it’s a tiered membership program, punch and stamp cards, or loyalty points system, customers are rewarded for their business. It’s a great way for businesses to thank loyal customers as well as ensure that there are returning customers. Perks could range from things like free shipping, small gifts or discounted prices. You’ve likely gotten a card that gives you a free coffee after a certain amount of stamps - who doesn’t love a free coffee?
Ajust user Darrell was enjoying the perks of being a loyal consumer at Telstra. At this point, Darrell had been with Telstra for more than 5 years. He had a mobile and broadland plan with Telstra, which qualified him as a silver tier member.
You might be asking, what is a silver tier member?
Well, a silver tier member is the second highest ranking member on Telstra’s membership tier. There are 3 levels to Telstra’s membership based on how much you spend. In this case, there’s a member tier, a silver tier and a gold tier. The higher the tier you belong in, the bigger your perks!
One of Telstra's benefits for their silver tier members was offering Kayo for a whole year at a discounted rate. If you’re unfamiliar with Kayo, it’s a streaming service that lets you watch all kinds of sports from around the world live. Wanting to fully rake in the benefits of his silver tier membership, Darrell had made the decision to get Kayo.
We can imagine how excited Darrell would have been at the thought of weekends watching sports on Kayo. We didn’t get a chance to ask who he was looking forward to cheering on but we can picture Darrell with a snack, maybe watching the latest wrestling match. Perhaps he just wanted to gather a few close friends and watch the footy on a Friday night.
Downgraded membership
When Darrell woke up the next day, he was excited to pick up his phone and let Telstra know he was ready for the Kayo plan. Before he could do that, Telstra delivered some strange news to him. He saw that his membership had been downgraded - meaning, he went from being a silver tier member to the lowest, member tier.
This confused Darrell. Nothing had changed with Darrell's plan so why did Telstra put him down a notch?
Understandably, Darrell must have felt a little betrayed and short sighted by Telstra’s sudden change of heart. Even more so, Darrell was looking forward to signing up for Kayo and now those plans had been disrupted.
As disappointed as he was, Darrell was aware he needed to act soon. Darrell’s plans of hanging out with his friends would have to wait until he managed to get this situation cleared up. Darrell decided to use the Ajust platform, which would ensure his complaint gets lodged quickly and easily.
He entered in all the details regarding his complaint. Then, a report was created for Darrell’s problem and was sent out to the right people at Telstra.
Telco providers like Telstra have millions of users. In fact, Telstra alone has more than 18 million consumers utilising their services. They are Australia's largest telco! With this many people, mix ups and errors are bound to happen. If you need to raise an issue with your telco provider, it’s useful to have some expert tips on dealing with the situation.
Having a clear idea about what the problem is, when it started and what your preferred outcome is can be beneficial when talking with a customer service representative. That way, the person on the other end can figure out the best way to help you.
Read our guide on how to deal with telco complaints, so you can be prepared the next time you’ve got an issue.
Telstra realises their mistake and provides compensation
Telstra took a look at the report and acted fast in correcting the mistake. When Telstra got back to Ajust, they were happy to let us know the problem had been resolved in under 1 week.
We think it’s safe to assume that Darrell is back to enjoying his silver tier membership. Along with Darrell's membership being reinstated, Darrell was also compensated $60 by Telstra.
Mistakes happen, whether it’s a small or a large telco provider. What matters most is how the mistake gets corrected. At Ajust, we are happy that Darrell decided to use the Ajust platform for his complaint. We were also glad to see Telstra listening, taking the problem seriously and acting quickly to find a solution.
Now, we bet Darrell finally got that Kayo subscription he was looking forward to. We’re visualising Darell with a few of his mates and maybe some pizzas, peacefully enjoying the Friday night footy.
Editor’s note: We’re always excited to share the experiences of consumers that have used Ajust. This Consumer Story is based on a real complaint made through our platform. But we’ve changed some details to protect the consumer's personal information and make the story more enjoyable for our readers.
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