27TH MAY 2020
By the 15th May I received three voice messages from Citi Bank asking me to Contact them immediately. I was concerned the Card might have been hacked. So I took out my last Citi Bank Statement to see if everything was in order. (I must confess I seldom look at the statement. Just pay the full balance on Time to avoid charges)
I checked my last Citi Bank Credit Card Statement. I assumed I had paid it in full end of last month as always "but had not & I blame Covid for it " so I decided to Check it for a change before making full payment.
There was something Odd.
News Ltd had Charged me:
$48 on 9th March and $40 on 10th March
$48 on 6th April and $40 on 7th April
$48 on 4th May and $40 on 5th May
I get the Daily Telegraph Home delivered since year 2000 when I stopped work Post Brain Stem Stroke. That is 20 long years. Initially It was done through the local news agent who took payment and organised delivery; but all this Changed as News Limited took full charge of all home deliveries and had a lot of teething problems like missing deliveries all the time especially week ends or delivering the Sydney Morning herald instead of Daily Telegraph and on Rainy days it was so poorly wrapped that the paper was soaking and straight into the yellow bin. My Neighbour often got my Telegraph too and would drop it at my door step.
On 17th February 2020, I received a letter Gary Ulli, General Manager News Customer Support to let me know that from 2nd March my Home delivery will be carried out by National Distributions Services and the good news was the new paper was placed in a sealed water proof sleeve in a flat ready to read format. Wow A Great and much needed Improvement as I have toyed often with the idea of unsubscribing.
When I realised I was being Charge $88 a Month for Home delivery of just the Daily Telegraph, I said that is it. I have to stop this. First of all since Covid 19 started there was Zero Sport being played and all the news printed in the Telegraph was stale as TV Stations were blasting all the Corona Related news 24/7. These days I just open the Telegraph and I am flipping from beginning to end not really reading anything..Flip Flip Flip and i was done. The Paper had no intrinsic value and that too at $88 a month
I pulled out all my Citi Banks statements and realised I was being billed $88 a Month since Dec 2019 and I did not even realise.
In Dec when the Bush Fires were raging in Australia I read an Article in the Australian that was excellent and I promptly received an offer of reading the Australian on line for $14 a month I think and I subscribed. The offer might have been for 3 months and I forgot all about it and I was being charged $40 every month for just on Line Reading of the Australian which I did not.
I telephoned the 1800 046 168 number Listed in Gary Ullis letter and after a loooong wait got in touch with an operator.
I gave him my Customer ID 3689 087 and he checked and promptly said there was no such ID but confirmed the ID 3177 9999 which was for the Telegraph
After a Lot of Umm..ing and aaa.. wing He checked using my Mob Ph Number instead of my Email Id and said OH Yes you are being Charged $40 for the Australian. I told him I had not received even one Australian delivered at my doorstep ever and he says no that is just for Online reading. I said that is a bloody rip off and instructed him to cancel the australian immediately. Which he did reluctantly .
I then told him even the Telegraph was not worth it as there was zero sports coverage because of Covid 19 and there was not much to read in the papers.
Concerned that I might ask to cancel the Telegraph too he said Sir I will make you a special offer to make up forwhat had transpired. He said I will give you the Daily Telegraph For just $30 a Month for the next Six Months saving me $ 18 a month x 6 = $108. I started toying with the idea when he said Sir after six months your subscription per month will go up. I assumed it would go up to $48 I was paying now. He says No sir because I am giving you the Telegraph for $30 for Six Months after six months you will be paying $66 a month..
$30x6 + $66x6 = $180 + $396 = $ 576/12 = $48
How Pathetic is that to give me a discount and jack the price up six months later. He must have assumed I was a dumb mullet
That was it. I said I don't want to waste anymore time and that he should cancel both the Australian and the Telegraph with immediate effect.
He said he did and that since I have already paid for my Daily Telegraph, I will receive delivery until end of May.
I was in such a Foul mood that I did not want to participate in the Online Survey.
The Customer is the Most important person in Our Organisation.
He is not dependent on us, We arec dependent on him
He is not an interruption to our Business. He is the Purpose of it.
He is not an outsider to our business. He is Part of it.
We are not doing him a Favour by Serving him. He is Doing us a Favour by giving us an opportunity to do so
- Mahatma Gandhi
By the 15th May I received three voice messages from Citi Bank asking me to Contact them immediately. I was concerned the Card might have been hacked. So I took out my last Citi Bank Statement to see if everything was in order. (I must confess I seldom look at the statement. Just pay the full balance on Time to avoid charges)
I checked my last Citi Bank Credit Card Statement. I assumed I had paid it in full end of last month as always "but had not & I blame Covid for it " so I decided to Check it for a change before making full payment.
There was something Odd.
News Ltd had Charged me:
$48 on 9th March and $40 on 10th March
$48 on 6th April and $40 on 7th April
$48 on 4th May and $40 on 5th May
I get the Daily Telegraph Home delivered since year 2000 when I stopped work Post Brain Stem Stroke. That is 20 long years. Initially It was done through the local news agent who took payment and organised delivery; but all this Changed as News Limited took full charge of all home deliveries and had a lot of teething problems like missing deliveries all the time especially week ends or delivering the Sydney Morning herald instead of Daily Telegraph and on Rainy days it was so poorly wrapped that the paper was soaking and straight into the yellow bin. My Neighbour often got my Telegraph too and would drop it at my door step.
On 17th February 2020, I received a letter Gary Ulli, General Manager News Customer Support to let me know that from 2nd March my Home delivery will be carried out by National Distributions Services and the good news was the new paper was placed in a sealed water proof sleeve in a flat ready to read format. Wow A Great and much needed Improvement as I have toyed often with the idea of unsubscribing.
When I realised I was being Charge $88 a Month for Home delivery of just the Daily Telegraph, I said that is it. I have to stop this. First of all since Covid 19 started there was Zero Sport being played and all the news printed in the Telegraph was stale as TV Stations were blasting all the Corona Related news 24/7. These days I just open the Telegraph and I am flipping from beginning to end not really reading anything..Flip Flip Flip and i was done. The Paper had no intrinsic value and that too at $88 a month
I pulled out all my Citi Banks statements and realised I was being billed $88 a Month since Dec 2019 and I did not even realise.
In Dec when the Bush Fires were raging in Australia I read an Article in the Australian that was excellent and I promptly received an offer of reading the Australian on line for $14 a month I think and I subscribed. The offer might have been for 3 months and I forgot all about it and I was being charged $40 every month for just on Line Reading of the Australian which I did not.
I telephoned the 1800 046 168 number Listed in Gary Ullis letter and after a loooong wait got in touch with an operator.
I gave him my Customer ID 3689 087 and he checked and promptly said there was no such ID but confirmed the ID 3177 9999 which was for the Telegraph
After a Lot of Umm..ing and aaa.. wing He checked using my Mob Ph Number instead of my Email Id and said OH Yes you are being Charged $40 for the Australian. I told him I had not received even one Australian delivered at my doorstep ever and he says no that is just for Online reading. I said that is a bloody rip off and instructed him to cancel the australian immediately. Which he did reluctantly .
I then told him even the Telegraph was not worth it as there was zero sports coverage because of Covid 19 and there was not much to read in the papers.
Concerned that I might ask to cancel the Telegraph too he said Sir I will make you a special offer to make up forwhat had transpired. He said I will give you the Daily Telegraph For just $30 a Month for the next Six Months saving me $ 18 a month x 6 = $108. I started toying with the idea when he said Sir after six months your subscription per month will go up. I assumed it would go up to $48 I was paying now. He says No sir because I am giving you the Telegraph for $30 for Six Months after six months you will be paying $66 a month..
$30x6 + $66x6 = $180 + $396 = $ 576/12 = $48
How Pathetic is that to give me a discount and jack the price up six months later. He must have assumed I was a dumb mullet
That was it. I said I don't want to waste anymore time and that he should cancel both the Australian and the Telegraph with immediate effect.
He said he did and that since I have already paid for my Daily Telegraph, I will receive delivery until end of May.
I was in such a Foul mood that I did not want to participate in the Online Survey.
The Customer is the Most important person in Our Organisation.
He is not dependent on us, We arec dependent on him
He is not an interruption to our Business. He is the Purpose of it.
He is not an outsider to our business. He is Part of it.
We are not doing him a Favour by Serving him. He is Doing us a Favour by giving us an opportunity to do so
- Mahatma Gandhi
