Phone and internet customers reveal debt trouble with telco companies during pandemic

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There are calls for stronger regulation of telco companies after a new report details the distress and hardship customers are going through to manage their phone and internet debt.

Telstra admitted to unconscionable conduct during its sales of mobile phone plans to indigenous consumersAfter an 18-month investigation by the ACCC, Telstra admitted it breached Australian consumer law and could face a penalty of up to $50 million.

Despite Mr Penn saying the "unconscionable conduct" occurred between 2016 and 2018, some Telstra customers say they are still being failed by the telco. Her daughter-in-law has since been incarcerated and Katy is having to pay for the monthly bill, which she cannot afford on top of looking after her grandchildren.

Ulka* is a pregnant woman from Melbourne who says she's been hung up on multiple times by a telco company. When she told customer service representatives that she was out of work, pregnant, and needed to be able to call her doctor, she was told she would need to pay almost $1,000 in debt in full to remove the restrictions on her phone.Ulka asked if she could go on a fortnightly payment plan, but that was rejected.

The provider referred her to the National Debt Helpline but said her service would soon be cancelled.The National Debt Helpline referred her to a lawyer from the Consumer Action Law Centre who spoke to her provider and mentioned that she would be getting legal advice.Consumer Action Law Centre chief executive Gerard Brody said the pandemic showed how reliant people are on telecommunication services.

 

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. Telstra have been harrassing me for months as well. Their technical department in India have been trying to help me stop intruders accessing my Internet cinnection and computer. I'm not even with Telstra...

What ever happened to not using this sort of stuff when your not able to pay for it...A bit of commonsense goes a long way...

So partly government owned and one of the most profitable telcos... In the world.... Decides that destroying the current and future financial prospects, of an already marginalised, challenged, and exploited slice of a population, is good business. What country could this be in?

JamesMarriottYT this you?

Why on earth do people answer the phone to such calls? I never answer a call where the number is withheld

lol if they can't control their porn downloads stiff

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