TIO Annual Report 2004/05

Case Studies

The complaint:

The complainant’s telephone service was suspended after she was unable to meet her $200-a-fortnight payment arrangement. Although the complainant advised the member that she needed to access national calls to contact a victims-of-domestic-violence support group, the member was unwilling to alter the payment arrangement and suspended the service.

TIO response:

The TIO asked the member to respond to the claim that it was not willing to enter into a reasonable payment arrangement. The TIO also asked the member to comment on whether it considered that it had adhered to ACIF’s Credit Management Code, by providing assistance to customers who are unable to pay their accounts.

The outcome:

The member did not consider it had acted contrary to its credit management policies but acknowledged that a $200-a-fortnight payment arrangement may have caused the complainant unnecessary hardship and agreed to enter into a more reasonable arrangement. The TIO considered that it was not satisfactory that the complainant had to contact the TIO to obtain a reasonable payment arrangement, but was satisfied that the complaint had been resolved.

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