Many of my friends only choose to side with SingTel Optus, the company that loves to say ‘yes’, as a phone carrier where I’m from in Melbourne because they are known as the cheaper company that also offers the signal strength that is still to be considered of good quality compared to some of the smaller names like Vodafone. They may want to change the phrase from ‘yes’ to ‘no’ today, however, after a terrible mishap that left Australian’s out of pocket until recently.

Now the ACMA, or Australian Communications and Media Authority in full, has issued a warning to the nations second largest phone carriers for overcharging 237,500 customers. All up, there is an extra $9 million in expenses that were not meant to be there. For a country that has roughly 24 million people in it, that is a lot of money and also a big chunk of the carriers users. It is worth investigating out if you are one of them that was billed by accident in the last invoice. Optus is saying that each customer has already been reimbursed for their losses that took place during this time. If there is increased capital in your account, then that is why.

It is a worry that a mistake like this can happen, but it is also very reassuring that the ACMA has stood up and corrected it with good intentions openly and honestly.

The problem spawned from a faulty I.T. upgrade that resulted in extra billing charges associated with the SurePage and SpinVox services.

At the completion of the date, there was no harm done. All money was returned, and Optus got away with a slap on each wrist which was a warning from the telecommunications consumer protection for not getting the problem solved in a timely manner.

If consumers have not been put off from this carrier, they are currently selling the Galaxy S5 for $60 on a “my plan” deal along with the pre-order. People can take a look at the deal by visiting the web page here. By scrolling down the page further, you can also buy the iPhone 5S for as little as $62 a month. For just an extra $7, shoppers can more than double the minutes per month talk time and the monthly data allowance. There’s also the bonus of buying a mobile on a contract if you are a new customer and get a $159 gift voucher to use on mobile accessories.