I have a new debit card, the second in 6 months. Why, because I had to used my car on line for the second time, acquiring medical supplies, denied to me by our government, from India. These companies do not accept PayPal. To say I will never forgive the current government, or the opposition in lockstep with them, in denying us our choice in medication, is putting it mildly.

I have a new A/C with debit card for internet payments which will always have nothing to take, & is only for grocery shopping.

However to my current frustration. I have a number of monthly & annual repeating expenses, which the companies claim payment having first offered me the chance to cancel. I have been contacting these companies to give them the new card number. All I ask is a human with an Australian accent on the other end of the phone line, but getting past the computer answering thing is almost impossible with many.

I have now changed the insurance provider of my shopping trolley, who's computer virtually demanded I use their web site. The wait time was between 32 & 52 minutes if I wanted a human. I am having this frustration because I put my card details on line, & most definitely will never do it again.

I am about to change my internet provider as their system is so opaque it is brick wall like, & if you wait the 23 minutes you get an Indian accent so thick that it is impossible to decipher through my tinnitus.

When they make it so hard to give them money, imagine how impossible it would be to get any service with a problem.

My new internet provider will be the company who recently advised their call center is in Australia, & I am looking for other companies who don't demand I do business with a computer, via the net.

I reckon there is a killing to be made by companies who go back to having a lady on their phone switch, & enough staff to take calls quickly.

What is the actual problem Hassy, you want to buy drugs from India, but someone won't let you, why not try to get your drugs direct from Columbia.

And you want a sweet little Aussie dolly bird to answer the phone when you ring. Good oh.

Hasbeen,
The Govt really should work on getting things back to these shores. The real problem however, are Australians so greedy that Govt is literally forced to out-source overseas. Unrealistic high wage & salary costs in return for insanity-laden bureaucracy & super greedy share holders are the cause.
A national Service scheme would reverse the greed trend a great deal as it would gradually introduce a society mentality based on less greed.

I have never had any problems with online shopping, cards - anything. Use only sites with the padlock symbol, and within Australia only.

My internet provider is moving its call centre offshore to gawd-knows-where, but I could not understand the locals any way: people with Australian accents do not seem to want to work in call centres.

If I want to contact them, I always do so by email, and request 'no phone calls please, I am deaf', which I am, but anyone could do same.

The worst offender with cards in my circle is Telstra. Telstra offer the most reliable technical service for remote areas, but the most abysmal administrative service.

Their administrative staff have a combined IQ of between ten and twenty; exacerbated with language difficulties.

When my payments disappear, as they too often do, I find it much easier to deal with the bank. The bank have a much more sophisticated administration.
Following the money trail of lost payments always stops at the bank, and I can usually convince them to stump up for the loss, which I consider to be a nice part of their service.

Dan

It must be internet/phone companies Dan. I had little problem with the tech side of Westnet, before they were bought by iiNet, but the admin of both of them has always been dreadful.