Telecommunications giant Telstra spent nearly a decade harassing a widow over her husband’s bill after he died of cancer – and the company finally admitted it had made a mistake in handling her case.
Jenny Moncur contacted Telstra up to 40 times between 2014 and 2023 as they continuously contacted her about the now-defunct account of her husband of 37 years, Royce.
He had died in a small town in Gippsland in regional Victoria after being diagnosed with late-stage advanced kidney cancer in 2014.
As Telstra topped up Royce’s credit, Ms. Moncur repeatedly asked them to cancel his account, but the service provider told it to talk to the account holder.
After giving them a death certificate, filing complaints with headquarters and contacting the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, the company continued to email her about Royce.
Jenny Moncur contacted Telstra up to 40 times between 2014 and 2023 because they were constantly asking about the now-defunct account of her husband of 37 years
While Telstra topped up her husband Royce’s credit, Ms Moncur repeatedly asked them to cancel his account, but the service provider said it was necessary to talk to the account holder
The agony of having to open repeated emails, some congratulations, about her late husband eventually became too much, Ms Moncur said.
“It was so sad. Every time I talked to someone, I had to keep repeating, ‘My husband died, he’s dead,'” she said told the ABC.
After opening an email with the headline “Good News” that said Royce’s account was eligible, she felt “terribly” sad.
“It was awful because it wasn’t good news,” Ms Moncur said.
“It was a reminder that he would never use that credit.”
When Telstra emailed Moncur in January asking her late husband to confirm the authority on an account, she said it felt like a dark comedy skit.
In particular, it reminded her of the Monty Python skit, The Dead Parrot, in which John Cleese’s character repeatedly tries to convince a stubborn pet store employee that his parrot is dead.
This latest email prompted Ms. Moncur to complain directly to Telstra CEO Vicki Brady, whose office responded to her personally.
Telstra apologized for the “sadness and anguish” it had caused the widow and blamed a breach of process for the irate emails.
An internal review of Telstra’s handling of the situation found that Ms Royce should have been immediately transferred to the company’s Compassionate Care team.
The crucial step was skipped and never rectified, Telstra wrote in a letter seen by ABC.
The company said it was looking into bereavement counseling procedures, which were to be reviewed in 2022 after it realized it had made a mistake with Ms Moncur.
Ms Moncur complained directly to Telstra CEO Vicki Brady, whose office replied to her personally, apologizing for the ‘sadness and anguish’ it had caused
Telstra’s treatment of Ms. Moncur was “not the standard the industry should live by,” said Cynthia Gebert, ombudsman for the telecommunications industry.
Nearly 100 spam complaints from service providers were reported to Ms. Gebert’s office in the past fiscal year, she told the ABC.
Four of these complaints were directly related to families contacted about deceased relatives.
The majority came from former customers who had left their provider but were still receiving marketing information after trying to opt-out, and erroneous notifications.
Telstra assured Ms Moncur, who found the situation an embarrassment, that the company “must and will do better” in the future.
A report from the ombudsman in June of this year found that the telecommunications industry lacked customer protection.
These companies must set predetermined time limits for handling complaints, the Australian Communications and Media Authority said in a statement.
Any failure to meet those deadlines could result in the regulator seeking up to $250,000 in fines if it takes a company to court.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Telstra for comment.