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Payment problems and errors

We can help with your complaint about direct debit payments, payment fees, and payments that are missing or applied incorrectly. To resolve your complaint, we consider the law, good industry practice and fairness.

Types of complaints about payments

We deal with complaints about payments such as:

  • direct debits taken without notice or authorisation, on the wrong date, or for the wrong amount
  • providers trying repeatedly to take a direct debit after the first attempt fails
  • payments that are missing or applied incorrectly
  • providers charging a fee for certain ways of paying bills.

What you should expect from your provider: the law and industry practice

You have a right to check and cancel direct debits

Usually, providers must give you a bill listing your charges at least 10 business days before taking a direct debit from your account. They must make sure you can check that your direct debit arrangements match what you agreed to, and that you can easily cancel a direct debit.

There should be at least one free way to pay

Before you agree to a service, providers must give you clear information about how you can pay, and whether there are any fees for paying in certain ways. They must offer at least one free payment method. 

You can’t be charged a late payment fee if you pay on time 

If you pay on or before the due date, the payment must be visible in your provider’s system within two business days and applied to your account within five business days. Providers can’t charge you a late payment fee if you made the payment on or before the due date.

More information

For more detailed information read our guidance on Payments - in detail.

How we've helped other customers

Complaint
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, causing him significant distress and hardship.
Outcome
During conciliation, BranchTel initially offered Carlo a payment plan of $180 per month, which he couldn’t afford. After raising concerns about this, BranchTel agreed to waive all of Carlo’s debt due to his severe financial hardship.
Complaint
Tamin Tutoring signed up for an NBN service and equipment bundle with BlockTel but experienced frequent faults with slow and dropped video calls and inconsistent phone calls. When they tried to cancel due to these issues, BlockTel demanded over $7,000 for early termination.
Outcome
Tamin Tutoring didn’t want to pay this cancellation fee because the service never worked properly. After complaining to our office, the parties agreed that Tamin Tutoring could exit its contract and only pay 40 per cent of the cost of the cancellation fees.
This page was last updated on
23rd Nov 2023