Changed my mobile internet plan and now netflix is suddenly metered

[Ronnie123]

I had a 200GB per month Optus mobile internet plan with a Netgear AC800s modem

I also had a discount for bundling my mobile phone and my bills were $85 per month for internet and phone combined.

Part of the deal was unmetered Netflix streaming.

The discount ended when my 2 year contract expired..I only realised this when my bill jumped to $105.

So I enquired as to what was happening and was told the discount ended when the contract ended ..so I asked to be put on a 150GB per month plan to lower the cost..not a problem I was told.

What I have ended up with is a sim for my AC800s modem with 100GB of data and 60GB on my phone ..shared data..ok fine so far.

I used Netflix after the new sim for the AC800s arrived and was horrified how much data was being metered in 1 hour..( why it needed a new sim is beyond me )

Back to Optus via chat..and I'm told Netflix terminated their agreement with Optus regarding unmetered streaming.

Bah humbug...I will look for another provider then...Optus "no don't go..we can make a deal for you..I will put you through to the retention team".

Optus retention team member "we can give you unmetered netflix on your mobile phone".

What !!..who watches a movie on a mobile phone ..apart from people away from home..why can't I watch Netflix unmetered on my smart tv like I have for the past 2 years ?.

Optus "You can only get netflix unmetered on your primary device as Netflix changed the agreement with Optus".

Ok..so if I dump the Optus phone then by default the primary device will be the AC800s modem.

Optus "No as soon as your smart TV streams from Netflix via the phone the data will be metered".

Hmm..ok so what if my primary device...my mobile phone is used as a hotspot and my TV connects to that?.

Optus " no it will be metered unless you watch Netflix on your phone".

So it can't be coincidence that my Netflix use has been metered from the moment the new sim for the AC800s was activated can it?.

Optus " I don't know about that".

Ok why was I not told that my netflix usage would be metered when I was speaking to the retention team member who set this new plan up?

Optus "I don't know"

Hang on..you just told me that they terminated the agreement..not changed it ...that is 2 different scenarios.

Optus "same thing...it is all down to Netflix...you should talk to them."

Good grief and I thought Trump was mad !.

Ok..I contact Netflix who say..."nope..we have not changed a thing..it must be down to Optus."

So my questions finally are:

1/ Has anyone else experienced anything like this ?

2/ Is it a case that if I had kept my original plan ( with the extra cost ) that I could still stream netflix unmetered? and if so why was I not informed of that.

3/ Who is right here..Optus or Netflix ( or neither ) ?

All I know is that either Optus or Netflix are trying their best to lose me as a paying customer.

Thanks for your patience in reading this.

[petergdownload]

1/ Has anyone else experienced anything like this ?

Many

2/ Is it a case that if ...

That boat has sailed. Best to just move on.

3/ Who is right here. Optus or Netflix ( or neither ) ?

Your contract is with Optus. 

4/ best to lose me as a paying customer.

Definitely suggest you look around. There's no need for free data streaming with todays options.

Optus just launched Gomo.  $25 a month for 18Gb a month Data banking and its 36Gb a month for the first 3 months. There's more data than you need to watch Netflix. 

https://www.gomo.com.au/preorder/

[Ronnie123]

Gomo at 36Gb a month??...ha ha...nice one...high def streaming uses 3GB per hour so that's about 12 hours of high def Netflix per month...3 hours a week with no other internet usage.
I will be going elsewhere...Spintel have 500gb plan for $70..that will be enough for me to watch a movie a night on Netflix or Primevideo on a large high def screen and have plenty of data left over.

[Tina_YC]

Hey @Ronnie123, thanks for getting in touch with us and bringing this to our attention. I'm afraid Optus data-free streaming is not available anymore. However, I will pass on your feedback to the relevant teams so we can improve our customer service experience.

To view our current deals and bundles, please check out this page here: https://www.optus.com.au/deals. Tina. 

[petergdownload]

Sounds like you're using the mobile phone for all your internet needs - most people switch to wifi while at home.

Funnily enough Optus have just launched a deal that sounds like you'd like. You only have 2 days to decide but its $5 cheaper than Spintel (and Spintel isn't on my top 10 list of mobile providers)

https://www.optus.com.au/mobile/plans/shop?SID=con:mcat:3up:2:nov19:postmob:futuremobile:planspage

[Ronnie123]

No..I do not use my mobile phone for internet at home or anywhere else ...I only use my netgear AC800s wireless mobile modem/device for internet..it is portable so i get my service anywhere there is a signal.

I had to go with mobile broadband as I live in a rural area and suffered from  constant dropouts with the wired internet caused by decades of neglect by Telstra...no good having NBN that has to run through a few Kms of degraded copper wire before it gets to me.

[Ronnie123]

I take it that you are an optus employee.

[Ronnie123]

I am not interested in placation from optus ... it is a bit late for that now.
I created this thread to ask if others have been treated the same way, which would indicate a systemic culture of deception or to see if it was a one off by a couple of optus employees who made a bad choice...I was not asking for optus employees to make excuses for what has happened.

My problem is with the apparent deceptive conduct of Optus...not telling me that by changing my plan that netflix would then be metered and then by lying to me that netflix demanded this change when in fact it was an Optus decision.
You can pass on the "feedback" to whoever you like but nothing positive will come from it as it appears to be a corporate culture issue of "keep the customer even if you have to lie to them".
So to assist you with improving your customer service I will take it to the telecommunications ombudsman as I have transcripts of chat conversations with both netflix and Optus... and hopefully that will initiate some worthwhile change.

I am not interested in streaming to a mobile phone...only sad people watch movies on a tiny screen.

My household requires 500GB to allow for netflix/stan/prime streaming during a month so the "deals" on that page are useless to me.

How about instead of promoting other optus plans, you actually do something to change the message optus has given to me through the deceptive conduct that you no longer want my business..you can only do that by undoing the changes you have made to my plan...I would have kept the old plan if I had not been misinformed by the retention team.

[George_YC · Accepted solution]

When you change plans @Ronnie123, you sign up to a new plan which changes any existing offers you may have had. Also, Mobile TV streaming was only eligible for the device the SIM was connected to. If you’re using the SIM as a hotspot for other devices, streaming was metered. It would be only if the SIM was in a tablet let’s say, that tablet would be able to stream Netflix Data free.

Please note that we’re unable to look into account details on Yes Crowd.

If you’re still needing a hand, we recommend messaging us via the My Optus App. The team is available 24/7 and are ready to assist customers as quickly as possible.

If for some reason you’re unable to, if you have a social media account, please then send a PM to Optus on Facebook or a DM on Twitter with the details for further assistance mentioning you’re unable to use the My Optus app.

If you also feel the need to raise a case with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), you can Make a Complaint directly to us online. Your complaint will then be handled by a Case Manager who are the same team that resolve TIO complaints.

[YetAnotherAcc]

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@Ronnie123 wrote:
My problem is with the apparent deceptive conduct of Optus

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Based on what you have described I see no apparent deception, or at the very least none that would have a material impact on your service/contract.

not telling me that by changing my plan that netflix would then be metered

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From the timeline of what you said, the discussion of the initial plan change decision/discussion revolved just around price. You apparently did not mention the importance of Netflix usage in your decision, so why would you expect them to bring it up? And I doubt that you asked them to confirm that the only difference between your old plan and the new plan was price, and how much data was included (not type of data).

and then by lying to me that netflix demanded this change when in fact it was an Optus decision.

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If there was any deception then it was this,  but it was more likely an error or assumption on the part of Optus staff. In any case, that is immaterial as your data usage contract is with Optus, and it does not matter who's decision it was to revoke unmetering.

I will take it to the telecommunications ombudsman as I have transcripts of chat conversations with both netflix and Optus... 

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Good luck with that.