A breach of the industry’s consumer protection code was committed by Telstra when it improperly took action against 70 customers who had financial hardship arrangements as a result of legacy IT system faults.
Telstra has been ordered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to abide by the Telecommunications Consumer Protections code.
While a financial hardship plan is in effect or being considered, carriers are prohibited by the TCP code from suspending or disconnecting services or starting debt collection procedures.
Between August 2019 and April 2022, 70 customers were affected; of those, 22 had their services restricted, 4 had their services suspended, 5 had their services removed, and 2 had their accounts forwarded to outside collection agencies.
An essential status update regarding the customers’ services was blocked or delayed, according to the ACMA, because of “problems” between two outdated IT systems.
The agency stated in a statement that “for 61 of the clients, the issue was remedied within 24 hours.”
Despite its T22 and T25 transformation initiatives, Telstra is still plagued by issues with outdated systems that result in ACMA enforcement actions.
The regulator ordered Telstra to pay $11 million in delayed customer compensation in May after system outages caused a delay.
Telstra might face serious repercussions if it continues to violate the TCP code, including fines of up to $250,000 for disobeying the ACMA’s directive.
“Our financial hardship policy is designed to support our customers and keep them connected during difficult times,” Telstra customer service executive Kate Cotter told iTnews. 70 clients who had a financial hardship agreement with Telstra over a three-year period were subject to credit management action.
“We apologise that our processes let some consumers down, but the vast majority of these issues were swiftly detected and corrected.
