Whirlpool

Finally got a 10% discount letter from Optus for my broadband account.

Since I'm on the "yes' Power 20/40 plan and don't intend to change I have decided to go onto the 12 month contract.

Hope they don't screw up and switch me to fusion.

are you getting any free months?

You didn't need a letter. it is available to customers out of contract.

I'm on that and never received a letter.

We had a thread a few weeks ago, and the conclusion was you DO need to receive the letter first or they'll ignore your request for 10% off (unless you harass them, or speak to a supervisor directly).

The new "contract" has no early termination fee, so change plans/ISPs whenever they finally decide to screw us you wish ;-)

I haven't received this letter but i will be ringing up tomorrow to ask for the 10% discount and re contracting as im out of contract and its the start if the month. I have been out of contract for 2 months and haven't received the letter. Is it possible for any of you champs to scan the letter so i know what it says :). If it doesn't work ill ask to talk to their supervisor anyway ;).
How long was anyone out of contract before they got the letter?
Edit: i will also be upgrading to the 20/40 power plan. Doing this over the phone they will not change me to fusion hopefully, do they record the phone conversation? so that if they do change me to fusion when i specifically ask to upgrade from 7/14 to 20/40 power plan i can ring them and get them to pull the phone conversation or something?

i have just received this letter and it seems to be fairly laughable. they seem to be trying to trick people?

they say im on the "24GB" unlimited plan (when in fact im in the 12/24), and comparing it to the "30GB" My Home Professional plan.

i guess they were hoping that i didnt know what plan i was on so i would quickly change to the new plans.
seems to me that they're trying to move as many people off the old plans if possible.

edit: i'll scan what i received tomorrow morning, if possible

and i've just read the Important Information at the back. "After 12 months a $7 Monthly fee may apply"
the 10% discount will only be for 12 months and after that you'll probly have to pay an extra $7, so it seems.

None of us in the old thread kept the letter, and I was out of contract for 3-4 months I think.

If you have an answering machine, a camera with video function, a mobile phone/MP3 player with sound recorder, PC webcam with mic, or a mic for your PC I'm sure you can hold the phone ear piece close enough to record it.

The important bit to record is the call's reference number (or whatever it's called).

If you can't be bothered, just tell them you're recording the convo as proof ;-)

nalla writes...

and i've just read the Important Information at the back. "After 12 months a $7 Monthly fee may apply"
the 10% discount will only be for 12 months and after that you'll probly have to pay an extra $7, so it seems.

if you're going to read "important information" read it correctly...the $7 per month is if you take up the "free" internet security suite, after the initial "free" 12 months if you neglect to cancel the subscription it "may" revert to a $7 monthly charge...

I received a letter from optus making me fell important. the joke was the information they used to compare my current plan 20/40 at 9.9Mbps to the 20Mbps 30gig for an extra $15 was a joke. I ended up ringing optus and basically laughing at them, and i even asked the customer service guy and he laughed with me....

Optus are a joke at the moment. 10+ years with them.

Current: 9.9Mbps 20/40 $94 a month with ever quarter free month.
They said i am on 9.9Mbps 40gig limit and pay $115 a month with no free months.
They offered 20Mbps 30gig limit for $109 a month, on contract.

Optus are totally Stupid ! Don't send me mail with P.S below making me feel important.

Who-ever is on 20/40 stick to it, they cannot boot you off it, unless you advise them you want too.

inthemixgotti writes...

after the initial "free" 12 months if you neglect to cancel the subscription it "may" revert to a $7 monthly charge...

The license keys for the security suite only last for 12 months. If you want to renew the licence then you would be charged the $7/month. So if you ditch the suite within the first 12 months and don't renew the key, you should not be charged IMO.

nalla writes...

i have just received this letter and it seems to be fairly laughable. they seem to be trying to trick people?

they say im on the "24GB" unlimited plan (when in fact im in the 12/24), and comparing it to the "30GB" My Home Professional plan.

This doesn't sound like the same letter... and it sounds like Verb got something similar to you. Others were offered 10% off their existing plans.

I called them without the letter and my guy said you dont need it as they were happy to sign you up for another 12 months

Well i didn't get the letter but i rang up 30 minutes ago and the guy just asked if i had received the letter and i said yes, simple a few details exchanged and it was done.
Also i upgraded to power plant, 20 minutes later and its upgraded in my usage page, gee that was fast.

Optus rang me Friday afternoon(4th April) and offered 10% off for 12 mths. Still the same 20/40 Cable Power'rewards' plan.
Only had to sign up for 12 mths again. About time Optus!!

Yep, got the 10% off letter as well, I'm on the old 12/24 unlimited plan.

Only they say I've got a 24gb data limit... looks a bit dodgy to me.

Does anyone know if (and how) we can get a new (free) modem from this?

bardiel writes...

Does anyone know if (and how) we can get a new (free) modem from this?

If you went with a 24 month contract on a currently available plan (ie. Fusion or MyHome) you'd probably be able to get one.

Signing up for 12 months on an old plan and getting 10% off in the process generally won't put you in a bargaining position to score a free modem.

i got one today - after being off contract for 2 yearss. The letter has 2 options, one is to stay on your plan AND get 10% off plus A FURTHER 12 month security suite extension (i checked before agreeeing) OR you can change to anothe r'better value plan' (like hell). well 65 bucks for 12/24 and one in 4 free plus 10% off beats 99 bucks for 30 gig uploads included so guess which i took lol.

Either way they confirmed free months stay

brit in oz writes...

well 65 bucks for 12/24 and one in 4 free plus 10% off beats 99 bucks for 30 gig uploads included so guess which i took lol.

i totally agree with you.

However, the speed of the 30GB one is 20Mbps whereas the one you are on right now is 9.9Mbps. I too think the 30GB is a rip off and i guess for that price, i'm prepared to stay at 9.9Mbps for a while.

Yeah I got one of them recently too, which is pretty cool because I was planning on calling up and saying I had anyway, but now it's legit.

I'm on the Unlimited Pro plan so... that plus 10% off = sweet.

Just a quick questions though, about this "renewing" of the plan - there's no termination charge? What is it then, a sort of "yeah I'll stick around probably" kinda deal?

they said it was 65 bucks for me if i cancelled in the 12 months - pretty much payback of the discount

Copy of the letter I got today (09/04/2008).

i279.photobucket.com/alb...042008_00000.jpg

Back of page (didn't scan too well) - minimum total cost over 12 months, free months determined by length of agreement, yada yada yada, 10% applies to broadband internet only, can't guarantee speeds - dependent on distance to exchange,line condition, internet traffic .... speed limiting once you use your data allowance.

No mention of on/ off peak data, if bundling with other Optus services AND no mention of counting uploads ......

EDIT: I can't figure how they see or compare my data limit as being 24GB, considering I'm on the 12/24 plan @ $64.95/month on cable (bundled). So for an extra $35.04 I can get an extra 6GB and maybe double line speed .....

AND....

Test Results from Oz Broadband Speed Test
----------------------------------­
Test run on 09/04/2008 @ 11:11 PM

Mirror: OptusNet
Data: 3 MB
Test Time: 3.81 secs

Your line speed is 6.42 Mbps (6424 kbps).
Your download speed is 803 KB/s (0.78 MB/s).

bardiel writes...

Only they say I've got a 24gb data limit... looks a bit dodgy to me.

There seems to be something seriously flawed in this letter and maybe it's purpose is to lock in out-of-contract customers to their existing plans for another twelve months. Makes perfect sense to secure clients who are virtually maintenance free for a guaranteed revenue.

Once I confirm that that the 24 gig stated in my letter is incorrect then I'd be crazy not to renew. I've been out-of-contract for over five years - just taking the increases and discounts as they come. But I too am on the 12/24 Unlimited so the letter worries me when I am currently getting 36 gigs plus uploads.

So doing the numbers over twelve months (assuming they honour my existing plan) it will cost me $1.62 per download gigs and free uploads. Match that up against $3.06 per gig (includes ups and downs) on the new plan and it picks itself.

I've ignored the download speeds quoted. I have never come close to 9.9 Mbps and it would take a lot of convincing for me to accept that I would get up to 20 Mbps on the new plan. I'm happy with what I have - After nearly ten years I'm used to it:

Test Results from Oz Broadband Speed Test
----------------------------------­
Test run on 09/04/2008 @ 10:07 PM

Mirror: OptusNet
Data: 15 MB
Test Time: 29.66 secs

Your line speed is 4.23 Mbps (4226 kbps).
Your download speed is 528 KB/s (0.52 MB/s).

So the only hiccup is that "24 gig" thingy. Once that's cleared I'm hooked on Optus.

Oh yeah, I was never good at maths and somebody hopefully will save my butt and tell me where I have stuffed up. Sounds too good to be true.

watchdogg writes...

EDIT: I can't figure how they see or compare my data limit as being 24GB, considering I'm on the 12/24 plan @ $64.95/month on cable (bundled). So for an extra $35.04 I can get an extra 6GB and maybe double line speed

It certainly appears to be unacceptably unclear. Describing Unlimited as 24GB without an explanation somewhere attempting to expand on how on earth they came up with that simplification isn't really up to scratch.

At least it does look like they are promoting a change to MyHome at the same time as offering the earlier offer as an alternative, a simple recontract for 12 months on your existing plan in return for 10% off.

That letter really could use a rethink.

merkinmix writes...

There seems to be something seriously flawed in this letter and maybe it's purpose is to lock in out-of-contract customers to their existing plans for another twelve months.

Not really... it's obviously pushing the MyHome plan.

The alternative option is pretty simple and pretty fair. Recontract on existing plan for 12 months, in return get 10% off for those 12 months. You don't have to take it and if you do, that's not an unfair trade... you give something, you get something.

Once I confirm that that the 24 gig stated in my letter is incorrect then I'd be crazy not to renew. I've been out-of-contract for over five years - just taking the increases and discounts as they come. But I too am on the 12/24 Unlimited so the letter worries me when I am currently getting 36 gigs plus uploads.

If you are on the old Unlimited* plan and are arranging yourself to clean out your off-peak first and then your peak, then yes, you're getting 36 GB/month of downloads.

MyHome Professional by contrast is 30GB of traffic, ie. uploads and downloads.

So doing the numbers over twelve months (assuming they honour my existing plan) it will cost me $1.62 per download gigs and free uploads. Match that up against $3.06 per gig (includes ups and downs) on the new plan and it picks itself.

That looks about right, but aren't you getting every third or fourth month free with your Unlimited* plan, for bundling it? That would bring the price per gig down further.

Verb writes...

Who-ever is on 20/40 stick to it, they cannot boot you off it, unless you advise them you want too.

I'm on 20/40 and pay $47/month that is 50% off.

i asked if 'all dat allowances were the same' and they said yes - i think those figures are a dodgy way of getting ppl to move to the 99 dollar plan making it look better

TicTacToe writes...

The alternative option is pretty simple and pretty fair. Recontract on existing plan for 12 months, in return get 10% off for those 12 months. You don't have to take it and if you do, that's not an unfair trade... you give something, you get something.

Totally agree and I hope I didn't infer something unfair with the offer. I've always been comfortable with my plan and the offer seemed to good to be true for me. It was just that 24 gig statement ...

That looks about right, but aren't you getting every third or fourth month free with your Unlimited* plan, for bundling it? That would bring the price per gig down further.

Come again!!! Third or Fourth Month Free??? I think I've been living under a rock. I've been an Optus customer since 1996 and although we have cable, vision, landline and mobiles, I get a $5 monthly discount on cable. I thought that was the bundling thing. I'm only contracted to vision and mobiles and the landline is a really old plan. I'm wondering if bundling is available on these legacy plans or do we have to hook up to the newer ones to get the benefit. But I won't be complaining when I take up the offer to renew as the included uploads with this old plan are a discount within themselves. If we add say 20 gig monthly uploads to the deal then this brings the gig rate down to $1.04 or around one-third of the new offer's price. I'd be happy with that.

TicTacToe writes...

Recontract on existing plan for 12 months, in return get 10% off for those 12 months.

I haven't received the letter but I have just had a phone call. The thing that threw me is that I was told there was no early cancellation fee. That makes it - sign up for 12 months and get 10% off my current plan but I can cancel whenever I like. That makes the 12 months pretty meaningless. I've asked to be sent the letter.

CMOTDibbler writes...

I haven't received the letter but I have just had a phone call. The thing that threw me is that I was told there was no early cancellation fee. That makes it - sign up for 12 months and get 10% off my current plan but I can cancel whenever I like. That makes the 12 months pretty meaningless. I've asked to be sent the letter.

Same. I got a call today as well. I asked "What's the point of a 12 month contract if there is no penalty for me breaking it?" and the answer was meaningless but the chick sounded cute so I crumbled and signed up :)

I asked the guy when i rang up if there were any termination fees.
He said there was, it was how many months were left in the year. so im on the 20/40 plant so thats $70 odd a month,
say i have 3 months left it will cost $210 i so pose.
Well i can't change ISP anyway because there is no telstra cable near me and since alot of other isp's go through telstra. go figure. :>

Noggin- writes...

it was how many months were left in the year.

It's how many months are left in your contract. And it's a $300 pro-rata fee for breaking your contract.

say i have 3 months left it will cost $210 i so pose.

$300/24 = $12.50 per month. So 3 months is $37.50

merkinmix writes...

Come again!!! Third or Fourth Month Free??? I think I've been living under a rock. I've been an Optus customer since 1996 and although we have cable, vision, landline and mobiles, I get a $5 monthly discount on cable. I thought that was the bundling thing.

Hmmm... that sounds like the old Choices thing. You don't get anything on your landline phone? Discount, 50 or 100 free local calls?

Sounds like you seriously pre-date the free months era. You could have switched over at that time... too late now.

the 10% discount is not the same prorata fee, its 65 bucks. its not the same as a new contract, your not getting the free modem, free installation etc

It's only 12 months re-contracting too champ. :)

Optus refused to give me the 10% discount when my half-price arrangements finished :(

TicTacToe writes...

Hmmm... that sounds like the old Choices thing. You don't get anything on your landline phone? Discount, 50 or 100 free local calls?

Yeah, it's the old One Touch Advantage plan with 50 free local calls.

Sounds like you seriously pre-date the free months era. You could have switched over at that time... too late now.

Spot on! The young bloke from Optus explained all that to me today and, although he tried, he was unable to offer me any free months, but he did throw in some handy discounts on my phone plan for the next twelve months. So with that and 58 bux for 36 gigs down plus uploads, I can't complain. I'll never achieve any where near the optimum line speed (especially on Riverwood 8) but I figure you get what you pay for. On the whole I think I got a fair deal so I'm happy.

Verb writes...

Who-ever is on 20/40 stick to it, they cannot boot you off it, unless you advise them you want too.

Under certain circumstances, Optus can cancel any service it delivers to you. In the case on non-fixed agreements (many people on Grandfathered plans would be on these by now!), Optus can do this with 30 days notice to the customer, and in some instances, immediately.

All this is in the fine print of many of the Optus SFOA available on the website.

Optus is unlikely to cancel the service of thousands of customers on Grandfathered plans. That would probably end up being a Marketing disaster for the company. But from a contractual point of view, Optus does have the legal ability to do so.

Cheers :)

There is NO prorata or early disconnection fees with this offer. Although as usual it depends on who you speak to at Optus.

I work directly with this campaign and can gaurentee there are no penalties for early disconnection.

Its basically saying if you CHOOSE to stay with us for another 12 months we'll give you 10% off.

Whirl writes...

Under certain circumstances, Optus can cancel any service it delivers to you. In the case on non-fixed agreements (many people on Grandfathered plans would be on these by now!), Optus can do this with 30 days notice to the customer, and in some instances, immediately.

The T&Cs on any telecommunication contract allow them to anything they want, they just don't exercise them because of backlash they will recieve from it.

datarocked writes...

I work directly with this campaign and can gaurentee there are no penalties for early disconnection.

hey can you WHIM me a contact number so I can take advatage of the offer, more than happy to stay another 12 months for the 10% discount, but can't get Optus to come to the party

macca writes...

hey can you WHIM me a contact number so I can take advatage of the offer, more than happy to stay another 12 months for the 10% discount

Me too, please!

Although I suspect that you probably can't ask for it, but rather you have to wait until it is offered?

Cheers

Guys I suspect you may be right, you probably have to wait to be offered.

But the 2 letters i was sent said call 1300 133625 and quote "speedy"

they also say the offer ends 31 May 2008.

Might as well give them a call and try!

Cheers

bytemrk writes...

Guys I suspect you may be right, you probably have to wait to be offered.

But the 2 letters i was sent said call 1300 133625 and quote "speedy"

If your letters are the same as what was posted back here, they'll say the offer is only for you.

they also say the offer ends 21 May 2008.

That depends on when you were offered it. People have been getting these letters for ages and again you'll notice the example that was scanned has a different end date to yours.

oops my bad... typo on the date.

Yep..my letters are exactly the same as that...

As i said.. most likely you will have to wait for a letter.... but nothing ventured nothing gained.

I would try if you want that deal... you've got nothing to loose.

CMOTDibbler writes...

I haven't received the letter but I have just had a phone call. The thing that threw me is that I was told there was no early cancellation fee

I just got the phone call too, from Optus. I agreed to the 1 year contract renewal, with the 10% discount, they were offering. They then went to the trouble, of officially recording me saying my details and agreeing to the contract.
I asked about 10 times, whether any conditions would change, on my old sprint plan. And they continually said no. Also they said there was no early termination fee.
But there has got to be a catch.
I just can not understand why Optus would be doing it.
What's in it for them ?

"We're delighted that you have chosen to stay with Optus for another 12 months.

As an Optus Broadband customer you will continue to enjoy benefits like:

- Super-fast speed - so you can download software, music and videos in a flash.
- Free 24/7 Technical Support.

Plus your BONUS 10% Discount for 12 Months just for staying with us!

Your new agreement began on 31/03/2008 and ends on 30/03/2009.

We're here to help. If you have any questions regarding your Optus service, simply give
us a call on 133 937."

Got the above confirmation email on the 30th March stating that I had obtained the 10% discount but no other confirmation since.

I thought that when a change happened to your billing amount a once off statement was sent confirming the changes and showing the new amount to be charged from then on.

I will wait with interest to see what amount they bill me around the 15th of the month.

Does anybody else here have issues with 10% contracting offer. I took it up last month and it was fine. This month there is no discount in my bill.
I called up and was told that lot of customers are having this issue it will be fixed in your next bill otherwise please call back again next month.

masterash writes...

otherwise please call back again next month

:)

Pfft... its legit... I've been working on it for over a month now...

Pretty tired of saying the ole' lines over and over, and people just suspecting good behaviour in a dwindling society, being cautious of any further tele scams or corporate screw jobs.

It's pretty shit pay too, don't get any commission to do this, and half the people have the nerve to waste 10 mins and hangup in the recording. Get it straight, its just a 10% discount... no catches..

hmm, anyone else had this issue? A friend of mine was on the optus plans where he got the 50% off or what not and after his contract ended they automatically moved him to the new 30g plan. Now my question is if I agree to this 12 month contract, can they bump me off my 20/40 plan at the end or will I stay on it after the contract?

EVERYTHING stays the same...

I tell ya what. Most people we're calling up can't be offered fusion anymore, due to them being on LAR forever (telstra network). They keep their existing service.

And the fusion plan doesn't need the little recording they do over the phone. The sales department (the division working the campaign) is unable to change plans for a customer, and is ONLY responsible to fixing a new connection.

The power plan is good, I wouldn't wanna be screwed off it either. If they call you regarding combining the two services, and they start talking about free local/national...blah blah calls, then its a fusion.

Got a call tonight as I was heading out to work offering me the 10% discount for being a loyal cable customer as long as I contract for another 12 months. ( I have been off contract for years)

No exit fees if I go early. "Right mate, what is the catch?"
I said I didn't have time to quiz him on the fine print so he offered to ring me back on Friday arvo.
This gave me the chance to check out WP to check the viability, scam or otherwise.

Looks like I'll be taking it up. I'll make sure I get my voice on the recording asking about no change to my 12/24.

Has anyone had anything to complain about in regard to this offer?

Oops. :)

I received a 10% discount letter of a different sort. 10% off my mobile bill as a thank-you for bundling all my services with Optus. I don't have a post-paid service yet, but it's coming on Monday.

I got the $49 cap for $44.10 with a free N95. The offer was for a 6110navi or SE850i from memory, but I negotiated with the sales rep. What I liked was it took about 5 minutes to do. Gave my licence, my credit card number and was given a delivery date.

No verbal recordings, no lengthy credit check procedures. So, I'm happy with them at the moment.

I'm a lil late to this thread, we did get a call prior (~4 weeks) to getting the actual letter. What I want to know is, do we lose the 3/4 month free if we take up the 10% offer? The guy on the phone said we'll get to keep it, and the letter makes no mention of it in the fine print.

The 3/4 month free deal is too good to accidentally lose, so I want to make sure.

I'm on 12/24 Unlimited*, get the 10% off, 3 free months and a subscription to Aus PC User. Sweet!

It could be a coincident, but I got one of those letters, took them up on the deal (the whole recording bit) and then my usage meter widgit in Firefox stopped working.

Logging in manually got 'You need to log in with your primary account'. I though it WAS my primary account.

Some how either my primary account name got changed in the process of taking up the offer, or some thing changed on the back end and the secondary account I'd been using for near 2 years as if it was the primary got demoted.

Had to call support who insisted I'd forgotten my password not that the backend had changed. Obtained 'correct' userid and got the password reset....

I'd really like to know what happened but the Indian sounding support guy wasn't about to tell me. Probably doesn't have the tools available to do so anyway. Not really important enough to argue about. I don't use my OptusNet email anyway so it doesn't matter that I now have ANOTHER optusnet email address.

I didn't get a letter but I called Optus and said I received a letter saying I can get 10% off if I re-contract.

The Optus person initially said that there are three options, and asked which one was offered to me. He asked me if I receive a letter and did it mention anything about a magazine.

I just replied "it's the 10% off 12 months thing. It says something about my current plan". And that was good enough for him. I was not told to record anything like other did though.

So yes, call them and get your discount if you were gonna stay with Optus anyway. Why wouldn't you get the 10% off if you were gonna stay on the same plan anyway.

Just spoke to Optus.

My letter said nothing about Aus PC user magazine, so I mentioned it and said I left my letter at home.

Operator checked my details and said I can re-sign for 12 months with 10% off OR 12 months subscription to Aus PC magazine (not both).

Hmmm - quick mental arithmetic, 12x $8 mags or or 10% off the 9 months when I do pay a monthly fee?

I'll take the mags thank you! They organised the "voice contract" and lined up subscription details.

As operator was effectively ending the conversation, he said "Oh and by the way I have also given you 10% off your monthly fees as a loyalty discount as well anyway".

Cool

Also asked several times that nothing would change (free uploads; every 4th month free, etc) and was assured it was OK.

Over and out.

Is this offer just for cable ?

No its not just cable. I'm an ADSL and I got an email asking if I'd like a free magazine deal for 12 months or a free modem. I didn't want either so I called them and asked for alternatives - they offered me 10% off. This was about 2 weeks ago, and nothing horrible has happened yet.

My cable contract ends this month.

Do I have to ring them up to get this deal?
Are they offering it to all or just a select few customers who receive the letter?

I'm on the 20/40 old plan.

So it's confirmed that you get to keep the free months even if you take up the 10% discount deal?

For some definition of "confirm"... Called them up, quoted the letter to get the discount, they confirmed we don't lose the free month, gave us discount on phone too, etc. etc., guess I'll know for sure within 3 bills. :)

Has anyone else got the magazine subscription AND the 10% discount all in the 1 go? How can I find out when my Optus contract finishes?

C0RE 2 DU0 writes...

Has anyone else got the magazine subscription AND the 10% discount all in the 1 go?

It's meant to be an either/or.

How can I find out when my Optus contract finishes?

You'd have to check your documentation or call them.