Bill shock leading cause of unpaid telco bills

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This was published 11 years ago

Bill shock leading cause of unpaid telco bills

Updated

Around one in seven Australian phone and internet users has difficulty paying their telco bills with unexpectedly high costs a key cause.

Research carried out for the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found 14 per cent of telco users had difficulty paying a bill in the year to May 2012.

14% of telco users had difficulty paying a bill in the year to May 2012. Of those, 47% blamed bill shock.

14% of telco users had difficulty paying a bill in the year to May 2012. Of those, 47% blamed bill shock.

Of those, 47 per cent reported that so called bill shock - receiving an unexpectedly high bill - was one of the main reasons for their difficulty paying. Only 16 per cent nominated financial difficulties such as poor budgeting and low income as reasons.

ACMA chairman Chris Chapman says the findings, released on Wednesday, support his agency's insistence that telcos must provide effective management tools such as alerts when customers are reaching data limits.

The findings also supported ACMA's focus on financial hardship provisions of the new Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code, Mr Chapman said in a statement.

Under the code, which came into effect on Saturday, telcos must have a financial hardship policy that includes a bills reminder.

Most consumers (69 per cent) were not offered advice about avoiding bill shock or payment difficulties in the future.

The study found that only one quarter of respondents who experienced bill shock or had difficulty paying bills were aware of spend management tools available to them, such as online usage meters and SMS alerts.

The study of 2400 telco users by Roy Morgan Research found that around two thirds of customers who contacted their telco with complaints about their bills were happy with the outcome.

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ACMA given new powers to protect web users

Meanwhile, the federal government has given Australia's communications watchdog the power to quickly slap new rules on telcos if they fail to protect phone and internet users.

Broadband and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy on Wednesday said the new powers of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) were a clear signal to telcos that measurable improvements to customers were expected.

He told the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) conference in Sydney that the new measures were not a replacement for the new Telecommunications Consumer Protection (TCP) code.

But they would give the ACMA the flexibility to introduce consumer protection measures such as new rules on advertising, customer internet and phone usage alerts and complaint handling, the senator said.

"I still expect the industry to take primary responsibility for achieving the outcomes we all seek for consumers."

Senator Conroy said the aim was to achieve significantly better and measurable outcomes for consumers and a big reduction in complaints to telcos about their services.

He praised ACCAN for its successful consumer advocacy and announced a new five-year funding plan of more than $2 million a year to ensure consumers continued to have a strong voice in the telco sector.

AAP

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