Telstra has been ordered by the ACMA to comply with financial hardship rules.
The order follows an investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) that found Telstra took credit management action against 70 customers who were on a financial hardship arrangement.
As the ACMA explained, under the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code, telcos must suspend credit management action, which can include service suspensions, disconnections or debt collection, while a financial hardship arrangement is being discussed or is in place.
Of the 70 customers impacted between August 2019 and April 2022, the ACMA said 22 had their services restricted, four had services suspended, five were disconnected and two were referred to outside collection agencies. Other actions, the ACMA said, included letters or calls requesting payment.
These cases were boiled down to two of the telco’s legacy IT systems not talking to each other properly.
The ACMA explained that as a result of the two Telstra legacy IT systems, a status update of the customers involved was either blocked or the update was delayed.
While 70 customers were affected, for 61 of them, the issue was resolved within 24 hours.
“Over three years, 70 customers who were on a financial hardship arrangement with Telstra were subject to credit management action. We found and fixed the vast majority of these errors quickly, but we’re sorry that our processes let these customers down,” a Telstra spokesperson told Gizmodo Australia.
The spokesperson further elaborated on the IT issue.
“The issue was caused by legacy systems not synchronising properly and we are well on the way to ensuring this is a thing of the past, by replacing these old systems with seamless digital experiences,” they added.
“In the meantime, we have implemented IT fixes and regular manual checks to prevent further issues while we complete our systems overhaul.”
The ACMA brought up prior enforcement in its statement, saying there has been “multiple recent ACMA enforcement actions against Telstra for a range of issues due to problems with legacy IT systems”.
“Telstra must continue to address these longstanding issues as a matter of urgency so that its systems can deliver on customer safeguards,” Acting ACMA Chair Creina Chapman said.
No fine has been issued to Telstra, but Chapman took the opportunity to mention that any further non-compliance could lead to significant consequences for Telstra, with penalties of up to $250,000 for failing to comply with the ACMA direction.