Carlo was placed into further hardship after falling victim to a scam

The issue

Carlo is a full-time university student and has a mobile service with BranchTel.

Carlo’s only source of income is government youth allowance payments, and after his weekly rent and utility bills, Carlo only has $35 left to spend on food and transport costs each week.

Carlo met Iris online, and over time they developed an online friendship.

After a few months, Iris asked Carlo to purchase three mobile phones for her, telling him that she was having trouble setting up her own telecommunications account, but she would pay him back.

Carlo purchased the phones, then sent them to the address Iris gave him, thinking he would eventually be reimbursed.

After Carlo sent the phones to Iris, she stopped responding to his messages and he soon realised he was the victim of a scam.

Carlo was left with the debt of $3,200 for the phones, which caused him great distress.

He contacted BranchTel for help as he could not afford to pay off the debt, which had placed him in further hardship.

After BranchTel did not respond to his complaint, Carlo contacted our office for help.

The investigation

During conciliation, BranchTel agreed to waive some of the debt and offered Carlo a payment plan for $180 per month, but this amount was far in excess of what Carlo could afford.

The outcome

After we raised our concerns with BranchTel about this unreasonable payment plan, BranchTel eventually agreed to waive all of the debt owing on Carlo’s account due to the severe financial hardship Carlo was experiencing.

*Names of all parties have been changed.