Cancel Optus service during COVID-19

[UserCancelling]

Hi,

I am currently on a 4G Wireless broadband month to month contract.

I am moving interstate and want to cancel my service but I cannot do so due to not being able to speak to a customer service representative due to the covid-19 impact.

I have gone to an Optus store with my account details and they cannot cancel it from there and asked me to do it over the Phone or chat. 

Chat is currently disabled and I have been trying to call the customer service line for the last week and keep being told to call the next day every single time.

I cannot cancel my account via my optus, there is no avenue left to cancel my account.

I have always been disappointed with my experiences with Optus because of the fact that the most mundane and simplest of tasks need me to call some one in the Phillipines as opposed to being able to walk into a store or do it online.

The only option left seems to be to cancel my direct debit and walk away.

At what point will you as an organization let your customers cancel their accounts in a simple manner.

In an Optus store in one wants a glass of water, do you call the Phillipines to get authorization??

[UserCancelling]

Also if an Optus representative is going to read the above.

I will be raising a complaint with the, Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, regarding how difficult and obtuse you are making it for me to cancel my account.

You have two options now:

1. Call me and help me cancel my account and I will pay my final bill

2. Get Stuffed

Below is the link for the, Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, in case anyone else wants to use it:

https://www.tio.com.au/making-a-complaint 

[Ray_YC]

Hey usercancelling,

Whilst it is trying times for our frontline teams at the moment it definitely shouldn't be made that hard to cancel your service.

As we don't have access to customer accounts here on our public forum if you don't mind I'm going to offer a third option:

If you have a social media account, please send a PM to Optus on Facebook or a DM on Twitter with the details.  

If not, please contact Optus directly by leaving a message for further assistance. 

[LdV]

I have to agree with this post. Optus deliberately makes changing your plan or cancellation difficult at the best of times. It is now impossible because the chat and phone lines are closed due to COVID. Optus should have provided a simple online cancel option a long time ago. How do we cancel???

[Dan_C]

I get it, but it's the situation that we've been dealt with. We're doing the best we can.

 I'm sure we'll be considering changes to our process after this all said and done. 

For now, we can only prioritise those of whom:

• Can’t make or receive calls,
• Don’t have a working internet connection or are concerned about being disconnected,
• Are experiencing financial hardship, ID theft or are reporting illegal activity related to your service, such as incorrect porting, or
• Need help due to a medical condition

[LdV]

So I am forced to continue to pay for  a service I wish to cancel? I can't cancel it online. I can't contact Optus in any way. This isn't a corona virus issue - this is a long standing Optus business practice to make it difficult and obscure for customers to cancel or make changes. How can I cancel my service?

[Ray_YC · Accepted solution]

Myself and a colleague just tried to cancel our service by contacting Optus over the phone by dialling 133 937.
You'll here the IVR advising the priority right now is dealing with critical enquiries and you can still reach us, press 1 to be sent a link for Messaging or My Optus app.
If you don't press 1 and hold the line, you'll either be on hold and get through to someone (my colleague got through within 2 minutes to someone who said they can do it) or get the standard IVR to enter your service number and follow the prompts and press 3 to cancel. My response was someone will answer my call in the next 10 minutes.

So 133 937 looks to be the way to go. We may have just got lucky with the hold times.

Mon - Fri: 8am - 7pm (AEDT)
Sat: 9am - 5pm (AEDT)

I'm going to do this process again in the morning to confirm.

[LdV]

Thank you Ray_YC,

This worked but it was a convoluted process to do a simple task. Thanks for taking this seriously, unlike the dismissive response of Dan_C earlier. Optus needs to get serious about providing a simple online method to cancel plans, until they do people should complain to the Telecommunications Ombudsman about it as suggested by the OP.

[Dan_C]

I apologise, I really didn't mean to come across that way. 

We spent a bit of time mapping out the processes that are currently in place and working out where best to refer customers such as yourself. 

I get how my initial response may have been perceived.

I'm glad Ray has managed to help out. 

[cslatts]

I've just tried this and was advised by the IVR that they are closed (it's Saturday), only open Monday to Friday and that I should contact them via the messaging service - which basically tells me they don't have time to deal with me and that I should self-service. But there's no option to cancel my service in the app or anywhere online.

This is pretty appalling service even given everything that's going on. I can't even send them an email asking them to cancel my service as of today.