Payments - in detail

Complaints we receive about payments include claims that:

a provider is charging a consumer for the way they pay or receive their bills
a payment is missing or has been incorrectly applied
a provider has taken a direct debit without notice or authorisation
a provider has either direct debited an incorrect amount or processed the direct debit on a date other than what was agreed.

Laws and codes of practice

The following laws and codes of practice are relevant to complaints about payments.

Our approach

When we deal with complaints about payments we consider the law, good industry practice, and fairness in all the circumstances.

Good industry practice

Chapter 5 of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code includes the following rules for payments.

A provider must offer at least one free method of payment.

Payments made on or before the due date should be visible in the provider’s systems 48 hours from the start of the next working day after being formally notified of the payment.

Payments made on or before the due date should be applied to the consumer’s account within five business days, or before the next bill is generated, whichever comes first. Payments received after the due date should be applied within five business days.

Consumers must be able to easily verify that payments have been made.

For direct debits, consumers must be able to:

access their billing information before a direct debit is taken
verify the direct debit arrangements are in accordance with their authorisation
easily cancel the direct debit, for example by emailing or faxing a request.

Providers must:

give the consumer at least 10 business days to verify the applicable charges before taking a direct debit except where otherwise agreed with the consumer
make sure the direct debit is taken as close as possible to the due date for payment
cancel a direct debit within three business days of receiving the consumer’s request
if the amount of a direct debit is incorrect, either ensure the consumer receives a full and timely refund of any excess amount paid or undertake other appropriate action agreed with the consumer.

TIO view

Available payment methods

Before a consumer agrees to a service, the provider should give the consumer clear information about:

the available ways they can pay for their service
if there are any fees for paying in certain ways, for example, a BPAY processing fee or a credit card fee.

Making payments

Before making a payment a consumer is responsible for checking their bill and account information to confirm they are making the payment correctly.

We recommend consumers keep records of payments they make to their provider, especially if they pay with cash. If a payment has not been applied to their account, they should contact their provider as soon as possible. They may need to give the provider proof of the payment, for example, a copy of a receipt or their credit card statement.

If a consumer pays their account on or before the due date the provider is not entitled to charge any late payment fees. It does not matter if the payment is then delayed in being applied to the consumer’s account by either the payment method, for example using BPay or paying with cash at the post office, or the provider’s systems.

Dealing with a dispute

To assess a complaint about payments we ask for information from the consumer and provider.

Payment methods

Did the provider make information available to the consumer about available ways to pay, and the costs of these payment methods, before the consumer agreed to the service?

Has the provider offered one payment method that is free?
What does the contract or associated information say about the available ways to pay?

Missing payments

Does the consumer have proof of the payment?
What are the consequences of the missed or delayed payments? For example, has the consumer been charged a late payment fee, or had their service disconnected?

Outcomes

Payment methods

If, in our view, a consumer was not told about the cost of a particular payment method we expect the provider to waive or reimburse the payment fee for that particular transaction and give the consumer enough information for them to decide on the best payment method for their needs.

When a provider demonstrates that it has told the consumer about the available ways to pay and any particular charges we will generally not take any further action on the consumer’s complaint.

Missing payments

If, in our view, a consumer has made a payment on or before the due date which has not been applied to an account correctly, we expect the provider to apply the payment correctly and waive or refund any late payment fees incurred because of the missing payment. When a service has been suspended or disconnected because of a missing payment we expect the service to be restored. The consumer may also be entitled to compensation for wrongly suspended or disconnected services, including under the Customer Service Guarantee Standard.

When we cannot be sure the consumer made a payment because, despite their best efforts, they cannot give us proof of payment, common resolutions include:

for cash payments, referring the consumer to the place of payment to see if a search is possible
for other payments, referring the consumer to the consumer’s bank to see if it can trace the payment and resolve the issue
the provider giving the consumer a full reconciliation of their account
the consumer paying the charges.

Effective date: 11 March 2016

This page provides broad guidance on the law, good industry practice, and what the TIO may consider to be fair and reasonable in general circumstances. It is not a full statement of the law or good industry practice. The TIO considers each matter brought to it on its own particular merits.