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Financial hardship

Person in a red hoodie using a smartphone outdoors at night with earphones and street lights in the background

The Issue

Since leaving a family violence situation, Charissa* has experienced financial hardship for many years.

Charissa’s financial hardship situation was made worse by the flow on effects of family violence and health complications. Her only source of income is government support payments. She had previously told her telco, AnchorTel*, that she is experiencing financial hardship.

During a visit to an AnchorTel store to purchase a device, Charissa was offered additional products but was not informed about the associated costs or total ongoing expenses.

Charissa was unable to pay for all these extra services. When she contacted AnchorTel for help, it did not offer her any hardship assistance and instead sold her debt to a debt collection agency and listed a default on her credit file.

The Investigation

Charissa contacted the TIO after being unable to resolve her complaint.

The Outcome

After Charissa contacted the TIO, AnchorTel agreed to remove the default listing from her credit file, buy back her debt from the debt collection agency, and waive all charges on her account, which amounted to nearly $7,000.

*Names of all parties have been changed