Cancelling plan bought as gift

[Rach-33]

Hi, I asked my husband this year for an iPhone 12 for Christmas and he went to Harvey Norman, bought me a Huawei P30 and put me on a three year plan with Optus. This obviously is not the phone I wanted and I also wanted a phone bought outright, not on a plan. I have also discovered I can’t access Optus support as he is now the account holder. Somehow the Harvey Norman salesperson has persuaded my husband to lock me into something I didn’t want. The Huawei phone is still untouched in the box. Would I have any grounds to cancel this plan and get a refund?

[Kyri_YC · Accepted solution]

Hey there @Rach-33. In a situation like this, it would be best to return to the Harvey Norman store of purchase and explain to them the matter at hand. In saying this though, we cannot provide any guarantee of contract reversals or refund. Alternatively, you can have the account holder contact our Customer Care Team via 133 937 to discuss this in further detail. (Mon - Fri: 8am - 8pm and Sat: 9am - 5pm).

[Rach-33]

Thanks for that but unfortunately we did return to Harvey Norman the same day and they put in a form to Optus to exchange the Huawei P30 for an iphone12. They said it was unlikely Optus would make this change but they would try. They said the other option is to sell the P30 (at a lower price than we paid of course) to recoup some of the money we paid for the phone. We still haven’t heard whether Optus will change the phone.

[Kyri_YC]

Thank you for letting us know @Rach-33. As this is the case, I recommend waiting on a response from the store to see if they are able to get to an outcome. Or as you have mentioned, the suggestion of trying to sell the current Huawei device can work to recover some of the device costs to cancel the contract, if you do end up choosing this route.

[petergdownload]

@Rach-33 

"Would I have any grounds to cancel this plan and get a refund?"

No grounds unfortunately other than just politely asking. Unfortunately its very likely you will be turned down. The transaction involves, Apple, HN and Optus and a plan etc. and the general Optus approach is its yours.

You can end the Optus plan at any time with no penalty (its month to month). When you do that the full amount for the phone will come due. Your best bet then is to sell the phone as brand new on eBay or the like. You'll lose a few $100 but its not a disaster.

Note don't cancel the plan until you've ported your number to another plan if you want to keep it. You can 'park' your number in a $10 for a year Amaysim plan if needed.

What Optus plan did your (tech geek husband?) sign you up for? What sort of monthly data usage do you generally have in practice?

[Rach-33]

😂 My tech whiz husband signed me up for the 10GB plan, which is fine as I don't use more than that.

Thanks for the advice 🙂

[petergdownload]

@Rach-33 ,

We haven't got to the advice part yet 😀

Telco post paid plans are extremely bad value for low (I'd say normal but that's just me) data users. But if you get a payment plan for the phone then you're forced to chose one like the $40 a month 10Gb plan (or about $1000 over two years). In days gone past the phone plans actually subsidised the cost of the phone but these days the two costs are completely separate. You pay the same for the phone either way but on a plan you can pay it off over several years.

For the iPhone I'd suggest getting it direct from the Apple website. They have a interest free payment plan and the cost is the same. The delivery process also seems much better. There is a small monthly fee ($5?) but that goes away as soon as you pay off the phone. You said you're happy buying outright anyway so you could just do that or perhaps pay it off over a few months if you want.

For users needing 10-20Gb then your better bet is a 12 month prepaid plan. Neat as you can use 5Gb one month and 20Gb the next and it all averages out over the 12 months. Also a lot cheaper. Some options include:

Optus 120Gb for $150

Boost (Full Telstra) 110Gb for $180

Definitely better than paying $1000 for the same. 

Good Luck with the exchange

Peter 

[Rach-33]

Thanks a lot, that should help me navigate my way out of this mess :).