Pennytel

Bought a Pennytel plan for travelling Australia based on them using the Telstra network. What a MAJOR disappointment! VERY poor coverage away from the east coast of Australia. They claim to cover most Telstra service locations but we found very, very little coverage, and they are not transparent about it! My partner has a plan direct with Telstra and she gets coverage when my Pennytel plan most ties doesn't. DO NOT rely on a Pennytel plan for travel around Australia. Based on experience, they only service the east coast. Am searching for an alternate provider.

Low signal everywhere! struggling play a video! Awful around CBD and really slow when you go further! I switched to another provider they charged me for another month for nothing!! I complained they said it’s our policy! Don’t recommend this rubbish at all

At all times the signal strength was at least one bar less than my previous provider. Moved on to iiNet (Vodaphone). Immediate improvement in signal strength. For this reason, I cannot recommend Pennytel.

After being sent a sim card I couldn't use (I wanted to transfer my existing phone number, and they sent me a sim with a new number) I called to advise. They sent me a new sim card, which then couldn't be activated due to a technical glitch on their end. I gave up and went with a different provider. I was unpleasantly surprised to be charged for activating the first sim card (the one that I couldn't use). After THREE phone calls I finally got a refund.
Can't think of a worse customer experience to be honest.

Don't expect any service whatsoever. The don't reply to emails, or "contact us' forms in their website. And these days thier deals are not outsanding. As well as that, they throttle the connection.

Network has been down for 5 days and despite multiple calls and emails there has been no resolution. Not our handsets as they work at the next town. Why can’t Pennytel do some decent troubleshooting with Telstra to fix the issue? There appears to be no tech savvy staff on the help line. Stressful when trying to stay in touch with family in hospital.! Service has been faultless for 18 months, but 5 days off air is unacceptable, now transitioning to another provider.

I changed provider because I struggled with Optus signal ... ..now signal is worse!! And just to add insult to injury after submitting a query regarding this I am now left with out a phone service god knows why!
My payment details are recorded on my account. ...yet they have not used it..instead barred me. I can't even call to fix it!
I'm a single mum, have a chronic illness I'm and injured. I cannot be without a phone!
When I get time I will be changing providers.

My network is not working so therefore I can not really comment until I get the replacemnt sim card.
Paolo who helped me organise he new sim was great and went up and beyond to help but if this is how long it takes to get a replacement then I don't know if I will still be a customer.

UPDATE T0 PREVIOUS REVIEW. 19/5/21
Because phone number had been used by business l kept an account for last 2 years. I was so frustrated l paid 5 months in advance so l didn't have to deal with their totally hopeless online system and Even worse call centre. Tonight l got told surname they have on record is not my name & therefore would not allow me to pay my account. When l mentioned l paid 5 months last time guy acknowledged l had, but still wouldn't let me pay today because l am not person on their account. They employ the most stupid peopl...

Had good network coverage to begin with, but after about a month, its dropped to zero bars on my phone at home, which is a real pain. Coverage is better in other places, but terrible at home. I queried this about 6 weeks ago and am still waiting for a reply. They are very slow replying to simple queries.

I don't use my phone that often, and generally in the South-East QLD area the connection seems fine, but when I visit Gympie area, the connection is unreliable. That worries me, because the more remote you are, the more a phone becomes a lifeline. (Oh wow, they make you jump through so many hoops to post a review here.)

Service is ok until you go west of the dividing range then you get nothing! Telstra or Boost is the only way to go if you want to explore the country. Back up service from Pennytel non existent.

Unlike the excellent connectivity experience with Telstra prior to switching to Pennytel, the mobile connection is now unreliable anywhere on the property, including in the living room and non-existent in the bedroom and elsewhere. Dropouts are the norm such that I cannot use the mobile without, in frustration, switching to the landline to continue or complete conversations. The phone I am using is a Samsung Galaxy A30 and have no reason to suspect it is the phone causing the problem

The cost is ok and transfer was easy. However it seems like the reception is worse on Pennytel than regular telstra. It seems like the bandwidth for data and the signal strength are both limited on the telstra re sellers networks such as Pennytel I can easily compare this as I have a regular telstra sim card in my phone for work. I understand that the bandwidth should be limited but having the calls drop out due to what appears to be a lesser signal strength is very annoying but I guess you get what you pay for.

I changed from Vodafone hoping to get better coverage on the Telstra network. I live only 150 metres from a tower and reception is poor, like about 2 bars.(I got 5 on Vodafone) All around Perth reception is poor. Be changing out in under a month. Was a waste of time.