TIO Annual Report 2003/04

Case Studies

Unlimited Credit

The Complaint:

A community legal adviser contacted the TIO on behalf of a complainant who had incurred a debt of over $10,000 for calls to 190 services. The debt had been incurred over an 11-day period. The complainant suffered from several medical conditions including depression and obsessive behaviour and it was claimed that the calls had been made during a manic episode. The TIO was contacted after the provider rejected the attempts by the complainant's representative to have the debt withdrawn.

TIO Response:

The TIO asked the provider for its view on the complaint, and in particular to inform the TIO of the steps it had taken to protect the complainant from becoming financially overcommitted. The TIO drew attention to the TIO's Position Statement on Unlimited Credit - Overcommitment (Premium Rate Services). The provider advised the TIO that it had put a bar on the complainant's service when it detected the unusually high usage four days after the calls to the 190 services began. However, the complainant then contacted the provider and requested removal of the bar. The bar was removed and the complainant made further calls to 190 services until a second bar was put on the service six days later.

The Outcome:

The TIO decided that it was not reasonable for the provider to have lifted the bar when it had identified that an unusually high amount of charges had been accrued and when there had been no change of circumstances, such as the outstanding charges being paid, to justify removal

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