TIO Annual Report 2005/06

Case Studies

Unauthorised transfer

The complaint

The complainant’s husband received an unsolicited call from the provider of their mobile and landline phone services. The provider said that as a “special offer” it would also provide an ADSL broadband service. The husband invited the provider to send him some marketing material and said he would consider the offer. A few days after the phone call, the complainant discovered that her internet service no longer worked. She claimed that it was distressing as the family used it frequently for banking and communicating with overseas relatives. The complainant was eventually told by her ISP that she was now with the provider who had made the unsolicited marketing call.

TIO response

The complainant said that she approached the second ISP seeking an explanation. She said that the ISP offered compensation for inconvenience. The complainant asked for this in writing but received nothing. She then contacted the TIO, which wrote to the provider seeking its side of the story. The provider said that it believed that the complainant’s husband had authorised the transfer on behalf of his wife, in whose name the ADSL account was listed. It said it had system notes to back this up.

The outcome

The second ISP cancelled the new ADSL account at no cost and credited $100 to the complainant’s phone account. This would offset any reconnection fees the complainant might incur in reconnecting their old ADSL account. The TIO told the complainant that she could accept this offer or provide the TIO with documentation detailing the expenses she had incurred re-establishing her account with her original provider. The TIO received no response to its letter and closed the case.

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