If you’re a Telstra customer on a postpaid plan, listen up. Big T is replacing all of its postpaid mobile plans really soon – here’s what you need to know.
What is happening to Telstra postpaid plans?
From next week Telstra will be removing all of its postpaid mobile plans. According to Whistleout, in their place will be a new upfront payment system.
This basically means that you make your first bill payment once a service is activated. It will then be charged on the same day every month.
This is quite different to postpaid plans where you get your bill whenever the end of the billing month is and then have a couple of weeks to pay it.
It’s currently unclear how this will exactly work for current postpaid customers. But we do know that the change won’t be happening for everyone right away if you fall into this category.
“We will be moving all services to our new Telstra Upfront Mobile Plans over the coming months as part of our commitment to simplifying options for our customers,” Telstra has said.
You still might be changed over sooner rather than later though. It’s worth checking your email as Telstra has already reportedly emailed its customers about the upcoming changes.
“If your plan change date has changed, it means we’ve not been able to move you over to your new Telstra Upfront Mobile Plan at this time. There are a number of reasons you may be ineligible for the automatic change. We will check your eligibility again next month and let you know if we’re ready to move you over then.”
It’s also worth noting that your current data inclusions and plan price will stay the same as they are now.
Does this mean my payment will automatically debit?
Yes, according to Telstra’s FAQ the only payment option for upfront plans will be some form of direct debit. You will no longer be able to receive a bill and then pay it manually.
“Your monthly payment date is aligned to the start date of your new upfront plan,” the website says.
“We’ll debit the monthly cost from your nominated payment method, credit card or bank direct debit, and give you a digital tax invoice once it’s been paid. You can view your payments and download your invoices using the My Telstra app.”
New plan additions
There are some added extras coming to the replacement upfront plans. For example, customers will be able to data share with up to ten plans on the same account.
They also come with unlimited SMS and MMS between Australia and anywhere in the world.
Thirty minutes of standard calls to overseas numbers are also included with extra minutes costing $10 more a month. That’s a step up from the postpaid plans which only have the $10 bolt-on international call option.
Removals
According to Telstra, the upfront plans will be no longer able to use:
- Voice to Text
- Caller Tones
- Mobile Protect
Short-term limitations
There are also some short-term limitations to the new plans.
At the present time the new upfront plans won’t have smartwatch support or international roaming inclusions. While the latter is largely superfluous for most customers right now, some may miss the smartwatch inclusion.
Fortunately, Telstra has said that both of these will be coming to the upfront plans in early 2o21.
The new plans also won’t be able to be purchased as an eSIM at the present time.
If you already have an eSIM plan on your postpaid account you don’t need to worry — this will be coming to the upfront plans in the future. Our guess is Telstra won’t move any current eSIM customers over until it’s in place.
I don’t want to move onto an upfront Telstra plan
Because Telstra postpaid plans are contract free, you can fortunately leave at any time. If you don’t want to move to its upfront plans, you don’t have to.
However, if you feel this way and are currently paying off a device from Telstra, you will need to pay out the remainder of the cost when you leave.
“Alternatively, you can cancel your service if you’re not happy with these changes. If you are paying off a device, any remaining payments will be charged as a lump sum when you cancel. You can find the cost of your device payout in the My Telstra app,” the website says.
I’m still confused, Can I talk to Telstra about this?
If you’re unsure about these changes or concerned about when your account might swap over, you should definitely contact Telstra.