The freebies from Telstra to give customers a helping hand throughout the coronavirus crisis have been extended.
With the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis still having an impact on our society and keeping us at home, our data needs have changed. We’re using the internet at home more than ever, and that means you might need more to work with.
Last month, telcos including Telstra added a little data to what people had on their plans to give them a little breathing room. Whether it was on mobile or broadband, select telcos gave customers a little room to work with given that the situation had changed.
And it appears that will continue, at least for the moment, at least with one telco. Telstra has this week announced that its extra measures during the coronavirus crisis will continue, at least for now.
The measures initially included unlimited data across all its broadband services, including ADSL, cable, and the NBN, while mobile data customers received an extra 25GB to use throughout the period, which was initially set to end in April.
This week, Telstra is extending these measures until the end of June, with Telstra also waiving late payment fees throughout this time, too.
Pensioners will also see an extension of some previously announced benefits, which provide unlimited local and national calls from a Telstra home phone plan, plus calls to Australian mobiles, as well.
However Telstra will also be reducing the cost of its $40 per month plan with 2GB data for eligible customers with a Health Care Pard or Pensioner Concession Card, switching to this month-to-month contract as it’s needed.
They’re just some of the examples Telstra is loading onto its bill assistance hub, a newly launched initiative where Telstra plans to throw its support measures throughout the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis.
“As things change we need to adapt and recognise we’re all in this for the long haul. We all have a continued responsibility to do what we can to help people through this period and our next step is to extend our customer support measures for another few months,” said Michael Ackland, Group Executive for Telstra’s Consumer and Small Business division.
“We understand that some of you will be struggling to pay your bills during this challenging time and want to
do everything we can to keep you connected,” he said. “This includes recognising you may need to change your plan, or may take more time to pay your bill.”
While not everyone will need Telstra’s bill assistance hub, some of the measures included include suspending services for up to 90 days and downsizing any plans if customers can’t afford to keep them. It means that if you’re presently on a high cost plan with Telstra and you’re worried about being able to pay it back given any current financial hardship, it might be time look up Telstra’s bill assistance hub and see if anything can be done.
We suspect this won’t be the end of the telco options, either, and expect other telcos will follow suit extending their coronavirus measures in the very near future.
