Financial hardship
Financial hardship can last a short or long time, and it can happen to anyone. If you’re struggling to pay your bills and your provider isn’t helping, we may be able to help.
What we can help with
Select your situation for specific advice and steps.
- Learn more about Assessing capacity to pay
Assessing capacity to pay
Your provider put you on a payment plan without checking what you could actually afford.
- Learn more about Offering help
Offering help
You asked your provider for help with financial hardship, and it didn’t offer you help or tell you about your options.
- Learn more about Preventing more harm
Preventing more harm
Since you asked your provider for help, their actions have made your money trouble worse.
- Learn more about Tailoring plans to suit you
Tailoring plans to suit you
Your provider’s payment plan doesn’t help your situation, or it only offers one option.
Ready to make a complaint?
10-20 minutes
What we can't do
Tell providers how to run their business
We can’t tell a provider how to run its business or set its policies, but we can look at whether it treated you fairly.
Lower or freeze providers’ prices
We can’t set or control a provider’s prices, but we can look at if a plan suits your situation.
Tips for working with your provider
Try saying/asking
- I’m having trouble paying my bill. Can you tell me about your hardship policy and my options?
- This option is more than I can afford. Can we find an amount that I can actually pay?
- Can you please pause any debt collection or disconnection while we sort out a payment plan?
- Can you offer me a way to pay other than by direct debit?
- Tips for phone and internet consumers experiencing financial hardship
- How to ask for payment flexibility
- How to prevent and act on credit management issues
Not making progress? Get us involved
10-20 minutes
How we've helped others
Read more about Martin’s provider wouldn’t provide options on how he could pay- Financial hardship
- Billing or debt
Martin’s provider wouldn’t provide options on how he could pay
When Martin could no longer afford multiple phone contracts, we helped him and his telco find a fair way forward. The outcome reduced his costs and supported him through financial hardship.
Read more about Consumer in financial hardship receives debt waiver and credit file correction- Customer service and sales
- Domestic and family violence
Consumer in financial hardship receives debt waiver and credit file correction
After a telco failed to provide hardship support and listed a default on Charissa's credit file, we helped with removal of the default, debt from collections and excess charges.
Read more about Carlo was placed into further hardship after falling victim to a scam- Scams, spam and fraud
- Billing or debt
Carlo was placed into further hardship after falling victim to a scam
Carlo, a full-time student with limited income, was scammed into buying three mobile phones, leaving him with a $3,200 debt. He contacted BranchTel for help as he couldn’t afford to pay off the debt,…
-
Read more about Charlotte lost her job during the pandemic and asked SmileTel for help- Financial hardship
- Billing or debt
Charlotte lost her job during the pandemic and asked SmileTel for help
A consumer lost her job and could not pay her phone bill. We found the telco did not clearly explain its financial hardship options and unfairly disconnected her service.
-
Read more about Martin’s provider wouldn’t provide options on how he could pay
- Financial hardship
- Billing or debt
Martin’s provider wouldn’t provide options on how he could pay
When Martin could no longer afford multiple phone contracts, we helped him and his telco find a fair way forward. The outcome reduced his costs and supported him through financial hardship.
-
Read more about Consumer in financial hardship receives debt waiver and credit file correction
- Customer service and sales
- Domestic and family violence
Consumer in financial hardship receives debt waiver and credit file correction
After a telco failed to provide hardship support and listed a default on Charissa's credit file, we helped with removal of the default, debt from collections and excess charges.
-
Read more about Carlo was placed into further hardship after falling victim to a scam
- Scams, spam and fraud
- Billing or debt
Carlo was placed into further hardship after falling victim to a scam
Carlo, a full-time student with limited income, was scammed into buying three mobile phones, leaving him with a $3,200 debt. He contacted BranchTel for help as he couldn’t afford to pay off the debt,…