Critical Information Summaries

Financial Hardship Procedure

Ecopost Pty Ltd Financial Hardship Policy

Financial Hardship

The Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code C628:2019 defines Financial Hardship as a situation where a customer is unable to discharge of the financial obligations in relation to our services due to a reasonable temporary or ongoing cause but where the customer expects to be able to do so over time if payment arrangements are changed

Statement of intention:

We are here to help. 

We will work with you to help you respond to financial difficulty, whether temporary or long-term. We are committed to helping customers facing financial hardship maintain telecommunications access and working with you to find a sustainable solution.  Any help we can give will depend on your individual circumstances, and we provide help on a case-by-case basis.

Contact us:

We encourage you to contact us if you experience any difficulties paying our services. Please contact us by calling 02 6584 0900 if you would like to discuss any Financial Hardship matters with us. You can do so between 8:30am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday.

The process:

When assessing your eligibility for Financial Hardship, we may request supporting documentation to conduct an assessment. However, a we would not ordinarily require it unless:

• It appears that the financial arrangement will need to be long term;

• The Supplier considers the amount to be repaid large or significant;

• The Customer has not been the Supplier’s Customer very long; or

• The Supplier reasonably believe there is a possibility of fraud.

If you satisfy one of the above criteria, we may ask you to provide certain documents such as:

• A statutory declaration or official written communication from a person or support group that is familiar with your circumstances;

• Evidence that you consulted a recognised financial counsellor; and

• A statement of your financial position.

We may not be able to make an assessment of your circumstances if you do not provide us with the requested information. We may use the information you provide as well as other information available to us. Once we received all required information, we will let you know within 5 working days whether you are eligible for assistance under our Financial Hardship Policy.

If you are eligible, will work with you to come to an arrangement that allows you to pay your outstanding charges in a way that does not worsen your financial position. Where appropriate we will discuss means with you how to limit your spend (this may include barring some service features) during the time of our arrangement and thereafter.

Once we come to an agreement we will put this in writing via letter or email to you. You have the right to request these details in writing. You must inform us if your circumstances change (for better or for worse) during our arrangement.

We will not charge you for assessing your Financial Hardship circumstances or for administering the matter.

Your options:

If you are experiencing Financial Hardship, there are a few options that may be available to you depending on your circumstances.

If you wish to stay connected with us, some options include:

• Spend controls;

• Restriction of service, in respect of overall or specific services; 

• Transferring you to a Pre-Paid Service;

• Transferring you to a contract which includes hard caps or Shaping; or

• Low cost interim options until you can continue with original payments.

Some other options for suitable financial arrangements include: 

• Temporarily postponing or deferring payments;

• Agreeing on an alternative arrangement, plan, or contract, including discussing Pre-Paid Services;

• Waiving late payment fees;

Finding a financial counsellor:

You can talk to a phone financial counsellor or a consumer advocate who deals with financial difficulty matters from anywhere in Australia by ringing 1800 007 007 (minimum opening hours are 9.30 am – 4.30 pm Monday to Friday). This number will automatically switch through to the service in the State or Territory closest to you. 

Alternatively, you can find the financial counselling service nearest to you by visiting http://www.financialcounsellingaustralia.org.au/Corporate/Find-a-Counsellor.

Information on the Complaints Handling Process:

You may wish to make a complaint and request a review if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your Financial Hardship application. Pursuant to the Australian Communications Media Authority (‘ACMA’) Complaints Standard, a complaint does not include an initial call to request information or support or to report a fault or service difficulty unless you advise us that you want that call treated as a complaint and does not include an issue that is the subject of legal action. You can also make a complaint in writing by email or post.

We are required to acknowledge all complaints within two working days, use our best efforts to resolve the complaint on first contact and otherwise resolve the complaint within 15 working days. As an additional safeguard to ensure that your complaint is properly handled, any complaints data that we receive will be provided to the ACMA to allow it to monitor our complaints-handling process in line with the ACMA Record-keeping Rules. 

Mobile Broadband Critical Information Summary

Mid North Coast Internet

Critical Information Summary

Mobile Broadband

Information About The Service

The service:

Wireless Broadband is a service offering internet access via Mobile Phone technologies with a monthly included data allowance. Speeds will vary with location and concentration of users on the mobile network. Any data in excess of the monthly allowance will incur an additional fee of $0.12 per MB.

Bundling:

There is no phone calls facility included with his service. This service only works within Australia.

Mandatory components:

You will require a modem/router for this service. The monthly fee does not include the cost for a modem/router but you may purchase one from us at an additional cost. Please contact us for further information. There is a one set up fee of $15 for the SIM card.

Minimum term:

The service is available with a minimum term of 24 months.

Important conditions:

This service may not be available at your location. Please call us to find out if you can be connected to this service at your location.

The data allowance includes BOTH DOWNALOADS AND UPLOADS used by the service.

This service provides you with a static IP address. Please contact us for further information.

The 1GB and 3GB plans will cease operating if the service uses 6GB of data within a month. The service will become active on the first day of the next month. Excess data fees will be incurred. The 6GB plans will cease operating if the service uses 7GB of data within a month. The service will become active on the first day of the next month. Excess data fees will be incurred. The 12GB plan will cease operating if the service uses 12GB of data within a month. The service will become active on the first day of the next month. Excess data fees will be incurred.

This service does not permit roaming and will not work overseas

Information About Pricing

Minimum monthly charge:

The minimum monthly charge is incurred if service is active within a calendar month. The first month is prorated to the number of days the service was active within the first month.

Early termination charges:

If you cancel your service prior to the end of your contract term you will incur early termination charges. These are calculated by multiplying the number of outstanding contract months times the minimum monthly contract charge. This fee will be partially waived if the SIM card is returned in working order to Mid North Coast Internet at 4/141 Gordon Street Port Macquarie 2444. Please call 1300 134 638 for additional information

Unit Pricing Information:

Maximum monthly charge:

The maximum monthly charge depends on whether you have chosen to consume additional data via our excess charges.

Other Information

Usage information

Web usage reports are available here.

please call 1300 134 638 for details

Enquires, feedback and complaints:

We are committed to providing you with excellent service. Please contact us by calling 1 300 134 638 or by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. if you have any questions, would like to give feedback or complain.

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman

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:

Phone: 1 800 062 058

Fax: 1 800 630 614

Online: http://www.tio.com.au/making-a-complaint

Complaint Procedure

Complaint Handling Process – Summary

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:

1. By telephone: call 1300 134 638 During Business hours 8.30am to 5pm ESDT

2. By Email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

3. In Person at 4/141 Gordon St Port Macquarie 2444

If you are calling us from a landline, your call is charged at your carriers standard 1300 call 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://www.midcoast.com.au/csp/Appointment_of_Authorised_Representative_Form.html

What we will do:

Acknowledge…

We will acknowledge your complaint immediately if you complained in person 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 phoning the accounts manager on 1300 134 638.

…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.

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:

Phone: 1 800 062 058

Fax: 1 800 630 614

Online: http://www.tio.com.au/making-a-complaint

The services of the TIO are free of charge.

Critical Information Summaries

As part of implementing the Telecommunication Consumer Protection (TCP) Code, we’re now making a Critical Information Summary (CIS) available for all our current active standard plans. The TCP Code is a step forward for the industry and is in line with our commitment to putting our customers first. Our CIS's will help you compare inclusions and choose the plan that's best for you. You can find essential details including:

• What's included and what's not
• Contract length
• Early termination fees
• Standard pricing information

Just choose the appropriate Critical Information Summary that applies to you.