Complaint Handling

Our principles:

You have a right to complain, and if you do we will deal with your complaint in a fair, efficient, objective manner and through a transparent process.

We strive to solve any problems you may have during your first contact with us.

Our complaint handling process complies with the requirements of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code C628:2012 (TCP Code) and responsibility for compliance with the process lies with our Chief Executive Officer.

Free of charge:

We will not charge you for dealing with your complaint in most instances, and we will never charge you without telling you first.

We may charge you to recover our costs in very specific circumstances only, i.e. we may charge you where you request information that was collected more than two years ago or where you request information that is not free of charge as per our Standard Form Customer Contract or our Critical Information Summary.

If cost recovery charges apply, we will tell you before charging you (and you may of course choose not to pay and discontinue your complaint) and we will inform you about your options for external dispute resolution, e.g. the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).

How to make a complaint?

If you wish to complain, please contact us:

Our hours of operation are from 8:30am-5:00pm (Monday-Friday).

If you are calling us from a landline, your call is BILLED AT A LOCAL RATE.

Note that calling us from a mobile may be more expensive.

We will help you formulating, lodging and progressing your complaint if you request this.

Of course you can appoint an authorised representative or advocate to make a complaint on your behalf. For help with how to appoint an authorised representative, please go to http://cdn.barweb.com.au/2015/Application_Forms/BarWeb_Authorisation_Form.pdf.  

What we will do:

Acknowledge…

We will acknowledge your complaint immediately if you complained or talked to us over the phone, and within 2 working days if you have lodged your complaint through any other channel including where you left a message on our answering machine (e.g. outside our office hours).

When we acknowledge your complaint we will give you a unique reference number or similar to enable you to easily follow up on your complaint. We will also give you an indicative timeframe for resolving your complaint. You can follow up on your complaint by calling (07) 3392 0219.

…And Solve

Our goal is to always fix your problem during your first contact with us.

Sometimes this is not possible and we need to investigate the matter. We will then agree with you on how to fix your problem (this may include waiving of fees or other commercial solutions) and advise you accordingly within 15 working days of receiving your complaint. We will advise you in writing if you request this.

Occasionally it may take longer than 15 working days to investigate your problem and in this case we will explain why and give you a new expected timeframe.

If the delay is more than 10 working days (and is not the result of a Mass Service Disruption) we will also inform you about your options for external dispute resolution such as the TIO.

Once we agreed on how to fix your problem, we will implement all actions required to fix the issue within 10 working days, unless you agreed otherwise or unless you have not done something that we needed you to do and we cannot proceed because of this.

Disputed amounts:

We will not collect or attempt to collect an amount from you where the specified amount is subject of an unresolved complaint that has been with us.

On resolution of the dispute. we will discuss with you when collection will recommence as per the terms of the complaint resolution.

We will advise of any collection of outstanding amounts on bills that are not in dispute on the same account.

We will not inadvertently (or deliberately) sell or assign a debt of a disputed amount (that includes a disputed amount) to a debt collection agency, and will ensure disputed amounts are not part of or reason for a listing with a credit reporting agency.

What if your complaint is urgent?

Your complaint will be treated as urgent

• if you have applied for being in financial hardship under our Financial Hardship Policy and the issue you are complaining about directly contributes to the Financial Hardship you are experiencing, or
• if your service has been disconnected or is about to be disconnected and due process has not been followed, or
• if you are receiving Priority Assistance (e.g. because of a severe medical condition) for the service you are complaining about.

In this case we will agree with you on how to address the issue and implement all required actions to fix the issue within 2 working days. If there is a delay, we will explain why, provide you with a new expected timeframe, and if it is a longer delay also inform you about your options for external dispute resolution such as the TIO.

If you are unhappy with our efforts:

If you tell us that you are not satisfied with the complaint timeframes, its progress or the outcome or if you tell us your complaint ought to be treated as urgent, we will escalate your complaint internally. If you are still dissatisfied, we will inform you about your options for external dispute resolution such as the TIO.

We will never cancel your service only because you have contacted an external dispute resolution scheme.

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO)

We encourage you to always contact us first if you experience any problem or are unhappy. We will do our best to solve your problem during our first contact.

You can contact the TIO as follows:

_{The services of the TIO are free of charge.}