Offering help
Your provider didn’t tell you about its hardship policy, took too long or made it difficult. Your provider should make it easy to ask for help and offer you support when you need it.
TIPS
How you can work with your provider to get the help you need
Tell your provider you’re in financial hardship and ask for help
Tell them what you can afford
Ask them to tell you about your options in their financial hardship policy
Keep a record of when you asked and what your provider said
EXPECTATIONS
What we expect your provider to do
If you ask for financial help, your provider should:
Make the process easy
If you need help, your provider should tell you about their financial hardship policy and your options.
Keep it relevant
Your provider should ask only for the information it really needs. You don’t need to prove your financial situation.
Treat you fairly
Your provider should take your situation seriously and treat you fairly.
Ready to make a complaint?
10-20 minutes
OUR CONSIDERATIONS
We look at what you asked for, how your provider responded and if they did enough.
If your provider told you about their financial hardship policy
How long your provider took to respond
What your provider asked you to do
If your provider treated you fairly
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
Depending on your issue, we may ask your provider to...
Reassess your situation
Reconsider your situation and whether there are any other options that haven't been considered which could provide you with financial relief.
Apologise
Apologise for unhelpful or slow responses.
Put you on a suitable plan
Agree on a payment plan that you can afford.
How we've helped others
- 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.