Frustration, time wasting a business phone standard

It's fascinating the way telephones have evolved over time to match changing needs.

When I was a kid we picked up the phone and asked for the number - then we got dial phones - finally they were replaced with touch pad numbers.

Next came the speaker.

And if you think about the way the world is now, you can see why the number and the speaker have become the most vital components.

In the "good old days" you could ring any organisation and talk to a real person.

Today, you get a recording telling you the call is being recorded for training purposes, after which you are offered the opportunity to go to their website and listen to their privacy policy.

Once that time-wasting rigmarole is out of the way you select a numbered option from a verbal menu - and at last get a recorded message saying, "We are receiving an unusually high volume of calls today".

At this point you put your phone on speaker mode, knowing that you will be subjected to a non-stop monologue about how they strive to give good service.

You continue working, hoping the wait time won't be more than 30 minutes.

These thoughts came to mind recently when I went for a haircut.

It's a small operation run by two charming women, and when I got there they were in a severe state of frustration.

Judy had the phone to her ear and told me their system had gone down and she had been waiting on hold for Telstra for over 90 minutes.

It's not just a waste of productivity - a hairdresser can't cut hair and hang onto the phone at the same time.

But the problems didn't stop there - no Telstra meant no cash register.

Nobody could pay for their haircuts unless they had cash.

When the phone was eventually answered, the Telstra employee's accent was so strong that none of us could understand what they were saying.

I suggested they move to Aussie Broadband - I've never had to wait more than seven minutes, and you get answered by a person you can understand, and who can happily talk about the football.

Now it just so happened that we were having dinner with some friends on Saturday night, and the topic of problems with Telstra was instigated by the hostess.

This really captured my attention when she told me she had "solved the Telstra problem".

She said that, while waiting on hold for companies like Telstra is a horrible business, customers are now encouraged to talk with a chat bot.

That surprised me!

Every time I have tried to use a chat bot it's been a disaster.

It never seems to know what I'm talking about, and asks stupid questions like, "What is your account number?" when you have already typed it in.

But then she revealed the secret ingredient.

She said, "All you have do is tell the chat bot that you want to speak to the ombudsman."

Apparently big organisations are terrified of the regulators.

The mention of the word ombudsman throws the chat bot into a panic.

The response was instantaneous, and she got a message that somebody would call within two business days.

I told her I'd believe that when I saw it, but she assured me that a Telstra person duly called within two days and she could finally could discuss the matter which had been the purpose of her original call - years of overcharges.

She then gave me a second nugget of gold - understand that Telstra will try to beat you down and start with a low offer.

After some robust negotiations she got four times what the company first offered her.

Question

Recently, there have been articles about possibly changing the taxation of trusts in relation to capital gains. What does this mean? Our family's main asset is in a trust due to Dad dying in 1983 with underage children. How can Australians plan for their future and retirement if the government keeps changing the goal posts?

Answer

There have been rumours about changes to family trusts for as long as I can remember. Given they will be an election next year. I don't think we're going to see too many onerous tax changes in the next 15 months. Given your trust would appear to be a testamentary trust from the information provided, I suggest they would be the last ones to be attacked.

Question

I want to leave my super to my adult kids - will they have to pay tax on this ?

Answer

The laws are clear - there is a tax of 15 per cent plus Medicare levy on the taxable component of your superannuation that is left to a non-dependent. Obviously, most adult children would be non-dependents. The solution is withdraw your superannuation before you die tax-free and either put it in your bank account, where it will be part of your estate or give it to the kids while you're still alive.

Question

Despite having a reasonable knowledge of superannuation, one question that I have not been able to find an answer for follows. If or when, my wife and I sell and downsize, I know that the amount that we can contribute to our super is limited by law, however are we further limited to our original transfer balance, in our case $1.6 million, or will we be able to top up to the transfer limit applying at that time?

Answer

No contributions to superannuation are allowed once you reach 75, or if your total superannuation balance exceeds $1.9 million. The down-sizer contribution is a one off exception. You can contribute up to $300,000 each from the sale of your residence provided certain conditions are met.

The contribution can be made irrespective of your age or total superannuation balance. Having used up your transfer balance cap of $1.6 million, no more transfers to pension mode are allowed - however your pension account can grow without limit provided you take the mandatory pension each year.