Telstra makes major change impacting thousands of Australian customers

Telstra has been slammed for increasing its service prices and overhauling its billing system, which is causing issues for thousands of customers.

The telco is switching customers’ payment plans from backdated billing to upfront, which has caught Aussies by surprise during the cost of living crisis.

With the new upfront payment plan, customers are now required to pay for services before they are provided, rather than being billed after using the services, as was the case previously.

Telstra said the change is part of ‘simplifying our plans and processes so we can connect and resolve your inquiries faster’.

But 2GB host Ben Fordham was not buying the company’s excuse for the sneaky changes that customers didn’t see coming.

‘Isn’t this just a case of Telstra wanting more money earlier so they can earn the interest off our hard-earned dollars,’ he asked.

As part of the change, many customers have been switched to new plans, resulting in some seeing their bills rise by $20, prompting furious Aussies to unleash at the telco.

‘When you consider the cost of living crisis we’re in, surely this will throw the balance sheets out for many, many households,’ one said.

Frustration mounts as changes to Telstra’s billing are buried in fine print 

‘If it’s so amazing, won’t people just migrate to the new plan themselves rather than being forced,’ a second asked.

Others urged Telstra customers to switch networks because of the changes.

‘I use Aldi, yes they use the Telstra network, but $119 for 12 months paid up front unlimited with rollover data, been with them since the start, great service and no billing set and forget.’

Another complained about the changes being hidden in the ‘the fine print on the email communications that Telstra sent out’.  

Telstra’s latest update: Upfront payments and plan price hikes have angered Aussies

‘Not only did they advise us of changes to billing moving to upfront payments, they also made changes to costs of plans and put a disclosure at the base of the notification advising if we were not happy we can cancel but they would not be paying back any money paid in advance.

‘So basically they make a change, charge you in advance for it, and when you decide I’m done with this because you have been blindsided or can not afford to keep paying their increased prices that they say is to improve “services” they keep your money.’