TAG | Telstra customer claims free unlock for outright iPhone 3G purchase |
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| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Tuesday, 22 July 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 5 After reading “mac user’s” story, I wrote a comment reply, stating that both Telstra and Optus had announced unlock charges, that buying Optus’ phone with the $80 unlock may well have been cheaper, that he might want to take it back for a refund, and that unlock fees for the iPhone were a horrible thing. “Main reason I'm annoyed is the fact that all other phones (apart from prepaid) do not have any restrictions or locks on them. The Optus $80 lock is fair enough as it is offered Prepaid with sim, call credits and data bundle. “It is more than clear that all of the telco's prepaid options are locked to their particular network, however the Telstra iPhone cannot be purchased on a Prepaid plan, just 'outright'. There are no conditions or advertisements that explain the so called 'outright' charge. “I am not going to return the iPhone - why should I? I’m happy with the product, and I own it 100% so why should I pay $150.00 to unlock my property? Apart from the fact that most people will because they want to play with their new toy. I will take this further, and with the information I have sourced from documents from The Australian Communications and Media Authority industry code for customer information on pricing, various parts of the Telecommunications Act, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Office of Fair Trading and Telstra’s own terms and conditions, I would be very surprised if they can get away with this. “My aim is to get MY iPhone unlocked for free. I think everyone who has paid the $150 unlocking fee, should have it have it refunded to them. Personally I would prefer to be hooked up to Telstra, but I refuse to carry 2 phones for that preference, and ultimately when I pay to own a product outright, I should have the choice as to who I choose to provide me with service.” Well, those are certainly fightin’ words, and I wished “mac user” the best of luck, fully agreed that an outright purchased iPhone should be just that, an “outright” purchased iPhone that is fully unlocked, and asked him to keep us all informed of his progress in getting his Telstra-source iPhone unlocked free of charge. So it was with some surprise that two days later, “mac user” writes back in the comments section to declare “VICTORY!” in his quest to get his iPhone unlocked – free! How he did it is amazing – and could really open up a can of worms for Telstra and any other telco that sells an iPhone on an “outright” basis. It could even see the Australian telcos refuse to sell iPhones outright in the future, or change their terms and conditions to avoid having to unlock “mac user’s” iPhone free of charge, as he describes on the next page. It could also set off a flurry of refund claims for anyone that has already paid the $150 unlock fee! Please read on to page 3 to see precisely what "mac user" did next! |
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