Dispute over enhanced listing charges

The TIO regularly receives complaints about unauthorised billing of enhanced directory listings, where complainants argue that they only agreed to an enhanced listing for a certain amount of time.

Telstra's White Pages entry policy states that an enhanced listing must be cancelled in writing. Failure to cancel the listing in this way will usually result in the listing being printed in subsequent directories and continuing to incur a fee. Accordingly, the TIO will only investigate where there is a dispute over whether or not appropriate notification was provided.

In investigating complaints about the provision of notification, the TIO examines all available evidence to attempt to determine whether such notification was provided, or at least the probability that such notification was provided. TIO will consider such evidence as:

• copies of correspondence between the provider and the complainant; and
• customer care notes for the customer's provider and/or Sensis, which produces the White Pages directory.

Where there is evidence to suggest that the complainant did supply appropriate notification to cancel an enhanced listing, the TIO will expect the provider to waive the disputed charges.

Next: Omission from White Pages