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While the number of internet and mobile plan customers experiencing financial hardship has fallen in the past year, Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) stated that telcos must do more to alert people to available support by ensuring that disconnection is only used as a last resort.
A report made by the communications regulator found that 28,000 residential and more than 2000 small business customers took part in a financial hardship arrangement with their respective telcos during the 2020/21 financial year.
In that report, the data showed a 50 per cent decline in the number of people in financial hardship, with 3.57 per 10,000 customers in June 2021 compared to a peak of 7.64 in the previous year.
While the decline can be seen as a benefit for all parties involved, ACMA member Fiona Cameron states that the positive downward trend should push telcos to do more to support customers experiencing hardship.
Ms Cameron stated that this must mean that the providers need to understand their customer’s circumstances and that disconnection should be a last resort.
“Telcos must highlight the options available when contacting customers and reassure them their service will not be disconnected while they are paying off their debt,” she said.
“Being disconnected can make a tough time even worse, with access to phone and internet essential to everyday life. When customers are given the opportunity, they can pay off their debts and remain connected.”
In Australia, mobile services made up 97 per cent of the hardship arrangements. 75 per cent of this related to a mobile-only service, while 22 per cent related to both a mobile and a fixed service.
ACMA’s report on customers’ financial hardship arrangement also found that more customers started with lower levels of debt and 63 per cent of residential customers struggling financially were able to get out of their contracts, compared to 47 per cent in 2019/20.
This article was first published on Public Spectrum
Eliza Sayon is an experienced writer who specialises in corporate and government communications. She is the content producer for Public Spectrum, an online knowledge-based platform for and about the Australian public sector.
