Auto upgrades on discontinued plans - possible ~45% rise in pay monthly costs !!!

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Auto upgrades on discontinued plans - possible ~45% rise in pay monthly costs !!!

sampler

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#280745 7-Jan-2021 17:49

Hi GZ Family,

Just a heads up after getting an unexpected text message on one of my local families phones in the last few days....
After looking deeply into my spam folder I have found a notice from mid November about the $49.95 plan being retired and that I will be upgraded to a plan with "heaps more data".

The old plan at $49.95 had unlimited text/calling and 2.5 gig data that rolls over.
The new auto offered plan is $55 and as above but with 10gb of roll over data. (2D will discount this plan for 6 months by $5)

However interestingly enough there is a plan now available at $40 p/m with ... unlimited calls and txt and 4gb of roll over data. IE a saving of $9.95 per month over the old plan (~$15 over the new plan) with an additional 2gb of data (per phone).

Have no issue with plans being retired; The fact I missed the email in the first place etc or that 2D are a business and do in fact need to make money.... but I do think its a little on the nose to auto up sell to a plan that will end up costing ~5% more than the original plan when there is a more comparable plan directly available (that would save ~10%) seems downright unbearable ;-D

Another clanger from the email was a line about the loss of any discounts going forward when this plan change is introduced, will work through those with 2D soon as those do make a significant difference to my total bill. If 2D moved forward with the changes they have suggested and I don't do anything my final total monthly spend goes up ~45%

Keep an eye out - Fighting for fair

Lee

P.S - just to keep things simple and factual ...... current costs ~$170 per month, new cost due to changes $~245 per month on proposed changes.

morganbrowne

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#2631959 7-Jan-2021 18:01

Hi Lee,

Thanks for your post. At 2degrees in the past, we have proactively reached out to people who we believe are spending too much on plans for what they're using, and have recommended a lower cost plan. That's only fair, right?

It sounds like your recommendation on email from us may have fallen through the cracks here. Did the email have another clickthrough, or mention of "see our other Pay Monthly plans here"? We'd usually include this so you can review and compare plans for yourself based on your usage.

The reason 2degrees came to be is to give Kiwis more choice - when we hit the Kiwiverse, we halved the costs of calls overnight, instantly making things fairer for Kiwis. We were also the first telco in NZ to introduce Carryover Data - so you got to keep what you paid for (up to a year), because that's only fair.

Sing out if we can help with anything regarding this, but sounds like you're all sorted by choosing the $40 plan for your plans and packs. Not sure how many plans you have but our 4-person pool plan might be more suitable too: it's only $40 per person, but you get 40GB/m full speed data on each plan (capped speeds of 1mbps after - unlimited), plus unlimited calls and texts. This makes it $160/m for 4 plans. Not trying to upsell you - just trying to give more value and data for $40 per month if you have 4+ people you're paying for plans for :) - 40GB instead of 4GB each per month.

Cheers,

Morgan Browne - 2degrees Social & Digital Media Manager.
I'm in the comms team. If you would love some help from our 100% Kiwi-based customer care team, please call them on 0800 022 022.

sampler

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#2631992 7-Jan-2021 19:18

Hi Morgan,

I do appreciate the reply. Not really trying to use GZ as a "back end" to solve my particular issue, was more to just be a PSA re the auto plan selection.

Sorry I don’t think I have ever had a proactive communication relating to my plan(s) either up or down beyond the retirement of plans (and I have had a few) including some released directly to GZ members in the past.

Email wise, while not trying to sound like im splitting hairs ... Didn’t actually say "see our other pay monthly plans here". The wording used was "We’re saying goodbye to our $49.95 Plan. From 19 December 2020 this plan will be discontinued so we’ll be moving you onto one of our new Pay Monthly Plans packed with heaps more data." ie this is what 2D has selected as a replacement for "me" and "After 6 months, we’ll send you a reminder email to let you know that the trial is ending. At this stage it’s up to you whether you would like to remain on the $55 Pay Monthly Plan or move to any of our other great value Pay monthly Plans"

Again clearly spelt out, don’t have a problem with that.

Speaking with one of the Team members at 2D in the last hour or so it unfortunately would seem I am now not able to change plan on the phones effected until my monthly roll-over (17th of Jan) due to the automatic plan change as above. So on the 17/18th I will look to move to the $40 plans and all going well sort things out.

I believe due to my missing the original email my invoice my monthly cost will move from ~$170 to the about $235 for the next billing period (again my fault.. zero issue about that).

If you think your able to connect me to the correct team member to work through my account to try and see if there is a solution im not seeing please do so, im very grateful regardless.

Cheers

Lee

sampler

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#2632662 9-Jan-2021 09:01

Quick update - Morgan was very helpful and was able to arrange a call back from one of the team at 2D.

The customer service staff member arranged to make sure that my costs for the current billing period would end up being about the same (rather than the possible ~$230+ expected invoice) and have set an internal todo item to move to the more suited plans on/at my accounts normal monthly rollover.

With the change in plans and the return of various discounts, I should end up with a total monthly invoice being ~$12-$15 cheaper, while remaining on an open term which is a fantastic result for me.

Cheers

Lee

sampler

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#2643879 29-Jan-2021 00:29

Update time ... and unfortunately its not good (for me).

Things went along swimmingly on the 17th/18th with both automated an manual text messages from 2 Degrees team members and I think I even missed a call at one point from someone on their normal 0800 number. Had a quick look in the normal app and yes everyone was on their new plans as needed; Fantastic.

Then it got a little interesting .....

Youngest family member, Miss 14 decided to go to the movies as popcorn at home is not as nice as from the local Hoyts. After the movie tried to ring to ask to be picked up. No outbound calling allowed. Queue teen technology issues.
Fortunately she was with friends who had phones that worked, but would have been a little more upsetting to her if it happened to be a more urgent situation or she was alone etc.

Was told of this "drama / world ending issue" later that afternoon, so had another look in the app to discover that the share anything addon pack had disappeared between my phone and that phone. Tried a few times but via the app I was not able to add it back in. with some rather interesting error messages appearing in the app, So then I started on my ~50 min call to the call centre team (round 1).

Got a fantastic team member (really was) who did her best to work out what was going on. I managed to drive from one side of Auckland to the other (long ways) before she was finally able to add the share pack back in. This made Miss 14 happy again.
So I happened to ask what the total cost of my account on the new plans would be in my up coming end of the month bill. Little bit of maths later ~$220 was the sum the 2D Team member got with the best mental gymnastics available while the accounting system was driving her up the wall. She was actually genuinely upset and frustrated with the system she was dealing with, and so apologetic to me each time she needed to put me on hold etc. In the end she asked that I ring another day in the morning when the billing system usally works better than in the afternoon/evening (volume of calls and number of lookups maybe?!?!)

Round 2
Rang back 2 days later, did another ~40 mins on the CSR train was told that as the plans I had been on and I choose to move to had been retired this was the new costs and that was about it.

Round 3
Had another spare hour or so (again drive across Auckland) so decided to try my luck again. Rang in to ask again about the account the missing loyalty discounts and see if there is anything more suitable to try and bring the total cost of the account back down to the ~$170 level.

Quick answer, small discount given to make the invoice ~$200, but beyond that no way of getting back down to the same costs as before without reducing services below what I was being offered before the plans where retired.

Oh well .....

So .. more things I have learnt
1. When plans change, any associated packs fall off and might be broken in some way.
2. I have moved from ~$170 per month to ~$240 per month because 2 degrees is giving me a better deal after they retired my plans ... somehow!?!
3. After looking at the auto allocated plans, more cost effective plans are available, but still result in a $220 total cost.
4. This month I have has some discounts added to reduce the invoice now due to a fantastic $30 more than I was spending last month (account invoice ~$200).
5. $200 invoice is not the ~$155 I was promised .....

So after MANY years as a happy 2D customer and with a little over 400 phones connected to their system (business), Im in the position of having to look outside the foxhole. So im open to ideas from the GZ family :-D

clinty

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#2643922 29-Jan-2021 08:33

How many phones are you connecting to the plan?

What are your requirements? Dat, unlimited phone calls etc

Clint

morganbrowne

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#2643929 29-Jan-2021 08:53

Hi Lee

This is really disappointing to hear :( I was so happy we had managed to sort you out a few weeks ago so you were happy. If okay with you, I'd love to ask our first 2degrees team member who reached out to get back in touch to help again?

Cheers

Morgan Browne - 2degrees Social & Digital Media Manager.
I'm in the comms team. If you would love some help from our 100% Kiwi-based customer care team, please call them on 0800 022 022.

antoniosk

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#2643952 29-Jan-2021 09:34

That isn't great, and unfortunately it's not unique. I had similar experiences with data sharing for my kids, and while quickly resolved when discovered it was nonetheless frustrating. We have been lucky that we are in an abundance of wifi locations, so some internet was always available.

My main observation is that this sort of billing complexity is common, and gets worse with every passing year as more plans and combo's are added, while old ones cant be retired until every single plan is migrated. There are reasons this does'nt happen as a matter of course, mostly to do with costs of processing, but just accept all the telco's are in the same position.

I have found that the 2D billing system - for mobile - was pretty good compared to spark and voda, and their provisioning systems were fairly good as well. GKZ is full of comments from other users of horror stories where data sharing and bills have gone awry.

I don't know of any service provider in any sector that can recognise specific individuals who may be responsible for great deals of spend with them, and do something about it short of having a switched on and very proactive account manager to do that work.

I don't work for 2D and never have, I'm sure they will sort it out.

As for better deals, well it really depends on what you want and how you spend. 2D is the weakest of the 3 main providers for hot deals on new phones, imho, especially Apple stuff. Voda and sometimes Spark have better deals when they have overcommitted on orders and need to clear stock - but then, I have also found they all cost a lot more than 2D as well :-)

There is a little benefit in having your BB with your mobile provider - that $10/month makes a huge difference Im sure - otherwise... its down to the human management side, which is all that's left....

________

Antoniosk

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sampler

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#2643983 29-Jan-2021 10:44

clinty:

How many phones are you connecting to the plan?
What are your requirements? Dat, unlimited phone calls etc

Hey Clinty

Requirements might a little different to what they are (or have been) on. As we have reasonable volumes of roll over data etc
Family stuff is a total of five phones, currently 4 on plans and 5th on share (thats Miss 14)

Unlimited calls and normal txt to NZ based numbers only, data that rolls over/shared.

Looking over the plans etc, in theory I could get away with moving myself up a level to the $70 plan and move the other 4 devices to the share everything system ($100) to get back to the expected $170.

Only problem that that, is that the 4 phones would still need to be topped up each year ? and would get "locally" changed for MMS and similar premium services changes rather than all being on one bill to pay?? (could be very wrong about these points). Again as per the teenager thats "to much admin" ... and im getting on a little :-D

morganbrowne:

Hi Lee

This is really disappointing to hear :( I was so happy we had managed to sort you out a few weeks ago so you were happy. If okay with you, I'd love to ask our first 2degrees team member who reached out to get back in touch to help again?

Cheers

Hi Morgan,

Was a little bewildered too. Based on my initial discussion with the team member you had arranged and when they then rang me; I was given the impression I would be ending up with a reduction in my total monthly invoice from ~$170 down to the ~$150 mark.
Its a little concerning that the results differ so much from what the various team members expected to happen. Again no bodies died and this is really one of those "first world issues".

Very open to talk to someone again if you like? The plan layout based on what I have provided in my response to Clinty seems the only way back to the normal expected cost, but I cant see anyway to get down to the @D Teams suggestion of ~$150 without an effective reduction in services.

sampler

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#2644007 29-Jan-2021 10:47

Hi Antoniosk

I am totally in the dark to the inner workings of the 2D accounting system, but it does seem that it could be improved in various ways for their own sanity.
While I agree with your direction, this is my personal account, so while I could in the past I didn't want to leverage on any kind of associated volume (seems unfair). The original issue was based on retirement of plans (which is a mystery to me too) I was auto offered and moved to a plan costing more and resulting is a large increase in projected monthly cost. While its in any business' interest to maximize profit. I think they need a few automated QA tests and maybe an exception report to confirm what the impact on an account would be.

Morgan's fantastic and so are the CSR team, they are just working within the framework created. Lets see if anything can be improved I guess
All happy with our hardware so that's not part of the issue. 2D is not the "cheapest" but have generally found them to be the most cost effective for our requirements.

I am fortunate to have access to internet connections at about the same cost of the normal $10 reduction the telco provide, but yes always a consideration.

thanks for the replys

sampler

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#2645664 2-Feb-2021 09:27

Hi @morganbrowne

Are you able to confirm whats the best route to get a definitive answer about my query and concerns ?
As above I do now have an invoice that is due with a total cost at almost a 20% increase over previous months.

Cheers

Lee

morganbrowne

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#2646020 2-Feb-2021 16:39

Hey @sampler

I asked one of our team members to give you a call last week - did they not get in touch with you?

I can follow up with them again if not.

Cheers

Morgan Browne - 2degrees Social & Digital Media Manager.
I'm in the comms team. If you would love some help from our 100% Kiwi-based customer care team, please call them on 0800 022 022.

morganbrowne

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#2646358 3-Feb-2021 10:42

Hey again @sampler

I followed up with our care team yesterday - they said they spoke with you and agreed a solution.

Hopefully you're happy with the solution provided - wish you all the best :)

Cheers,

Morgan

Morgan Browne - 2degrees Social & Digital Media Manager.
I'm in the comms team. If you would love some help from our 100% Kiwi-based customer care team, please call them on 0800 022 022.

sampler

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#2648526 6-Feb-2021 08:10

morganbrowne:

Hey again @sampler

I followed up with our care team yesterday - they said they spoke with you and agreed a solution.

Hopefully you're happy with the solution provided - wish you all the best :)

Cheers,

Morgan

Hi Morgan,

thanks so much for twisting the care teams collective arms and getting them to ring me. All going well in the next billing period things should turn out along the lines of what was discussed resulting in a monthly invoice at the $165 level, which is the fantastic result I was hoping to have.
I assume the care team members have special powers as the young man I spoke with is able to access billing items/plans etc that others cant or don't exist publicly. Heck he can even create money (amazing skill! I need to learn that too!).

As per my post above, really was not trying to use GZ as some form of leverage however I can only acknowledge that its helped in my case. How would the "average punter" fair without this style of platform ? Does 2D have an escalation procedure/team for such issues that's advertised somewhere ?

Again Morgan, thanks so much for your help connecting my issue with a hopefully final resolution.

Cheers

Lee

EDITS: due to lack of coffee this morning!