Yahoo Finance Telstra charges customer $30 to download COVIDSafe app
Telstra has been forced to apologise after a store in regional Victoria attempted to charge an elderly man a whopping $30 to install the COVIDSafe app on his phone.
79-year-old Gary Allen had attempted to download the virus tracking app after receiving a text to do so, but sought assistance from staff at the Telstra store where he originally purchased his phone after he became overwhelmed by the installation process.
“I had a go at it myself and I got about three quarters of the way through and I was going around and around in circles so I gave that up,” Allen told 3AW Breakfast radio on Wednesday.
“I went into the Telstra shop, they met me at the door and said how can I help you? I said I'd like to install the COVID-19 app and he said sure I can do that for you but there is a cost.”
Allen said he was up for a small fee, but didn’t realise he’d be asked to fork out $30.
“Knowing these young blokes I thought he'll do it in two minutes so it'll probably be five bucks so I said that's alright. Then I said, how much is it? He said '30 bucks' - 30 bucks!
“I said 'Forget about it, seeya later!'”
Telstra regional general manager Loretta Willaton said the store had “missed the mark”, and apologised to the customer’s experience.
“The store shouldn’t have asked for payment to help the customer install the app on their phone,” Willaton said.
“While it’s the first time we’ve heard of this happening, we’ve made it clear to store managers they’re there to help customers who may come in seeking help with downloading the app.”
Willaton said she visited Allen personally to help him install the app.
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