XRoads

The saga began more than a month ago, when the first erroneous Optus bill I received was issued on 14 February. The total amount due was $600+, and was auto-debited by Optus from my bank account.

The majority of that sum comprised erroneous handset payout charges and an unusually large GST fee of $56.32. As a result of Optus' auto-debiting, I was left with only $100 in my bank account at the time.

Despite repeatedly chasing Optus' bill enquiries over the phone for the past month (Optus' bill enquiries are, strangely, only sorted out over the phone), I have yet to receive the promised cheque refund of $600+ which should have arrived weeks ago.

Since then, I have received another erroneous bill (issued in March). The amount of $55 was supposedly for cancellation fees. I rang up Optus immediately after receiving the bill to dispute it, and was reassured that it was just another billing error. However, 2 weeks later, Optus auto-debited the $55 from my bank account without any notice.

I am also waiting for a refund for this amount.

It's really quite frustrating that whenever it comes to auto-debiting funds from my bank account, Optus is outstandingly efficient. Yet, when it comes to refunding my money, it's a completely different story!

Equally frustrating is the fact that I've had to repeatedly chase Optus' representatives myself, and over the phone, to sort out the matter, even though Optus is the one at fault in the first place. The problem with this is that not only do I get put on hold for anything between 10-20 minutes each time I call in, I also have to repeat my story all over again as it's usually a different representative I speak to each time.

All this leaves me wondering... had I not brought up the issue at all in the first place, would Optus have had the dignity or competence to come forward and take the initiative to refund my $600+ on their own?

I highly doubt so.