Action on telco consumer protections: April to June 2021

Protecting telco customers

We commenced 2 investigations and 2 compliance assessments into telco compliance with the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code.

We also completed 5 compliance assessments into telco compliance with the TCP Code. All these related to:

• billing accuracy
• debt management
• direct debit
• responsible selling practices.

Following our investigation into Telstra’s suspension of LNP services in March 2020, Telstra paid an infringement notice of $1,512,000. We also directed them to comply with the LNP Code.

Lycamobile paid an infringement notice of $604,800 for breaching IPND requirements. We also accepted a 3-year court-enforceable undertaking from them.

A better move to the NBN

We commenced 3 compliance assessments and completed 4 into compliance with the NBN service continuity rules.

We also completed 4 investigations relating to:

• the NBN Consumer Information Standard (1)
• NBN service continuity rules (2)
• the NBN Service Migration Determination (1).

We issued Telstra a remedial direction where it must undertake an independent audit of how it notifies customers of their maximum internet speeds.

Our investigation found Telstra failed to suitably notify up to 49,092 affected customers of underperforming internet speeds and plan options. We expect around $25 million in refunds to be paid in connection with this issue. However, this is made up of extra cases not included in our findings. Telstra self-reported this compliance issue to us.

Mobile number pre-port verification

We formally warned Telstra, Optus and Medion Australia for breaching mobile number pre-port identity verification rules.

We undertook activities to look into and monitor mobile carriage service provider (CSP) implementation of – and compliance with – mobile number pre-port identity verification rules. This included assessing intelligence from:

• the Australia Competition and Consumer Commission
• the Customer Owned Banking Association
• the Commonwealth Bank
• the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange.

We also sought information from 8 CSPs with services impacted by mobile number fraud (e.g., ports or SIM swaps). This involved cases where consumers suffered large financial losses.

Identity theft via SIM swap and telco/customer contacts

We are aware scammers are targeting telco provider customer authentication processes to try identity theft. This information comes through compliance data and feedback from stakeholders, including financial institutions.

SIM swap fraud, for example, appears to be an ongoing issue. This occurs when a consumer’s mobile number is transferred to a new device in control of a scammer. It does not involve a change of provider. It is not covered under rules that require telcos to do enhanced porting identity checks.

We have been gathering evidence to find out the extent of any issues and what steps we may take. This includes whether enforceable regulatory obligations are needed to address consumer harm.

We completed one investigation into telco compliance with the Telecommunications (Consumer Protection & Service Standards) Act 1999 (TCPSS Act) rules on joining the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) scheme.

We commenced 7 compliance assessments into telco compliance with:

• Telecommunications (Consumer Complaints) Record-Keeping Rules (2)
• Emergency Call Service Determination rules (1)
• TCPSS Act rules on joining the TIO scheme (2)
• TCPSS Act rules on the Customer Service Guarantee (1)
• Telecommunications Act 1997 (Telco Act) rules on statutory infrastructure providers publishing their wholesale terms and conditions (1).

We completed 14 compliance assessments into telco compliance with:

• Emergency Call Service Determination rules (1)
• TCPSS Act rules on the Customer Service Guarantee (1)
• TCPSS Act rules on complying with the TIO scheme (1)
• TCPSS Act rules on joining the TIO scheme (1)
• Telco Act rules on statutory infrastructure providers publishing their wholesale terms and conditions (10).

View all our finalised investigations into telco providers.

The redesigned interactive report shows telco complaints-handling performance for the September 2018 to March 2021 quarters.

Quarterly or annual data trends can be viewed by:

• services
• complaint types
• time taken to resolve complaints
• escalated complaints (referred to telcos by the TIO).

We announced our compliance priorities following consultation with stakeholders and other interest parties. Our telco compliance priorities for 2021–22 are:

• Protecting vulnerable telco customers. We will continue to focus on how telcos deal with disadvantaged and vulnerable customers. In particular, this includes how they identify, sell to, and deal with vulnerable Australians.
• Telco complaints-handling for small business customers. We will focus on telco compliance with complaints-handling rules to reduce harm to small business customers.
• Phone scams. We will focus on compliance with rules that require telcos to:
  • identify, trace and block scam calls
  • use enhanced ID checks, such as multi-factor identification, when transferring mobile numbers from other providers.