Quick exit

Default listing on post-paid plans

The complaint
New post-paid plans sold to customer who was already default listed.
The outcome
Waive the $4,500 debt and remove the default listing.

The issue

Retired woman

Betty* visited a PinkTel* store and was sold two post-paid phone plans with handsets. At the time, Betty had been retired for around five years and her sole source of income was a disability pension. Betty spoke minimal English and she was living in an indigenous hostel that provided care for her health condition.

Betty’s account fell into arrears almost immediately after the first bill was issued. This resulted in her services being disconnected for non-payment. PinkTel then sent Betty a final invoice for $4,500 and started debt collection action.

The investigation

Betty’s financial counsellor complained to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman on her behalf. The counsellor told our office Betty did not understand what she was agreeing to and felt pressured by the PinkTel salesperson. At the time of the sale, Betty also had an outstanding balance on a different PinkTel account of $3,500.

During conciliation, it emerged Betty had also been default listed by PinkTel.

The outcome

 As part of the resolution to Betty’s complaint, PinkTel agreed to waive the $4,500 debt and remove the default listing from Betty’s credit file.

*Name of individuals, organisations and companies have been changed

Billing and payments
Customer service
Mobile phone

How we've helped other customers

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

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.
Mobile phone

Tamin Tutoring was charged an unfairly high early cancellation fee

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.
Home phone
Internet
Mobile phone

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The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, culture and community.
We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples from all nations of this land.