Telstra’s sneaky trick costs you money
September 23, 2008 by Josie Kay
Q. A few weeks ago you gave a number to ring Telstra to extend the rings on your mobile phone before it goes to message bank. Mine goes to message bank so many times. I was driving at the time and didn’t get the number. I hear your show most Sundays while I’m traveling to my children’s sporting events. I love the show.
Josie’s answer: Thanks for listening to Money Matters and happy (and humbled) to hear you love the show. This was one of my Money Saving Tips without the BS (boring stuff) that I do at the end of the show.
I was doing one of my usual rants and raves and implied that the phone companies are very sneaky as they set the number of rings on our phone to about 3 or 4 and then it goes to message bank.
As a result, we have to pay to retrieve the message and then ring back. Furthermore, the person who has rung you has also paid for the call. Basically a blatant rip off. Most of the phone companies are doing this to boost their profits.
As you mentioned you are with Telstra, I searched their website for you to see who you should ring and came up with the following in the ’frequently asked questions’ section (gee it wasn’t that easy to find, which is not a surprise).
Telstra FAQ
Can I extend the ring time of my mobile phone (Next G™ or GSM) before it diverts to MessageBank?
Yes. The default ring time setting is 15 seconds. This time setting can be extended manually, up to a maximum of 30 seconds.
To adjust the ring time before calls are diverted to MessageBank, just dial the following code on your mobile:
** 61 * 101 ** (Enter No of seconds required) # SEND
Hope the above works. If not you will have to ring them on 12 5111. Remember you still have to find it in your hand bag!.
Cheers and wishing you happy money organisation. Josie Kay.
Josie’s Quick Money Saving Links:
Savvytel Call Credits NEVER Expire! Only 12.5c per 30 seconds 24/7!*
Thanks for posting your question on www.askjosiekay.com. As you know, this is a free service and if you found it useful, I would be chuffed if you told your friends, family, workmates, local media outlets to check out and subscribe to www.askjosiekay.com.au – free financial advice by a Certified Financial Planner. No strings attached!
.
Thanks Josie… just extended the ring tone on both mine and my husbands phone….much appreciated as we never answer it on time and it drives us crazy…
jane