The letter, which Whirlpool has posted on its Web site, advises customers that they are "eligible to take advantage of the reduced rate of 30c per hour per local data call". Customers need to call Telstra and register their ISP connection to receive the reduced rate.
"It looks like Telstra has backed down on the issue, but they're still making it difficult to get the reduced rate," Whirlpool spokesperson Dan Warne told ZDNet Australia , referring to the registration process. "I can't believe they can't automate [the process]."
Customers had originally signed onto the service under the impression they would be able to make calls to ISPs using the nationwide 01983 numbers at 30c per hour. However, many customers were charged at the rate for "local data calls to other numbers", which costs AU$1.10 per hour. According to Warne, Telstra then issued advertising material adding an extra zero to the eligible phone numbers, stating the reduced rate was only available to customers dialling into Bigpond's 019830 number.
Charging consumers almost four times to dial into a competing ISP than Bigpond would give Telstra a significant advantage over other ISDN service providers. "This would have had serious anti-competitive effects on other ISPs," said Warne.
After a complaint was lodged with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Telstra claimed they had always intended the lower rate to apply to any ISP, and the extra zero was due to a clerical error. Hence the letter to customers, which also offered a rebate for any amount they had been overcharged since January 1, 2002.
"In this case it was only the concerted pressure from consumers that made them cave into this," said Warne, adding that there has been a few recent discrepancies between what Telstra advertise and what they deliver. "I think that they need to be very careful about the ethics in their marketing department. More and more now they're trying to slip through hidden charges and fees. It means people are watching them a lot harder."
