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Telco D’s advertising does not include possible costs of ‘free’ trial

The complaint
Telco D’s advertising does not include possible costs of ‘free’ trial
The outcome
Some customers were entitled to a remedy such as ending the contract or receiving a refund

The issue

Telco D advertised a ‘risk-free’ trial period on its website. Customers could trial Telco D’s service and cancel within a specified period if they did not wish to continue with it.

Customers signing up to the offer could either use their own equipment or equipment supplied by Telco D. We received several complaints from customers who cancelled during the trial period and were left out of pocket for the cost of the device. The customers told us Telco D would not allow them to return the equipment.

Although only a small number of customers complained to us, we realised the problem could affect any customer who signed up for the offer with Telco D’s equipment and cancelled during the trial period.

The investigation

Telco D readily engaged with our Systemic Investigations team and actively worked to address each of our concerns and improve its practices. During our investigation, Telco D:

  • renamed the offer, removing the reference to it being without risk
  • added a symbol to the offer name in its advertising, with a hover box containing information about costs if the customer did not continue with the service
  • ran extra training for its employees
  • sent us details of how it had resolved each complaint

The outcome

Some customers were entitled to a remedy such as ending the contract or receiving a refund.

How we've helped other customers

Complaint
Neil was not offered a reasonable payment arrangement when he was unable to work
Outcome
After we referred Neil’s complaint to Pebble Telco’s escalated complaints team, Pebble Telco agreed Neil could pay off his debt over several months, at a monthly rate he could afford.
Complaint
Conall was sold more than $15,000 worth of mobiles and accessories while on a government pension by CurbTel.
Outcome
CurbTel agreed to waive the cancellation fees out of goodwill to Conall. It let him keep his mobile handsets.