Telcos continue to missell in remote NT
Taking national TV in her stride, our financial counsellor Belinda Walton was on The Project talking about the impact of misselling telecommunication contracts.
Working with the Money Support Hub in East Arnhem Land, Belinda has many examples of predatory misselling.
When asked to describe what she sees happening to people when missold telco products, she said.
“Its devastating, its sad, its shocking really. You wouldn’t think these tactics would be used. I have clients who go into stores for one phone and coming out with five different phones and accessories and have been signed up to plans. They have a commitment of hundreds of dollars a month to pay for all the services and products, and they are on Centrelink benefits.”
When asked how people are feeling when they find out they have been missold she said
“There is anger, but the majority of it is shame and embarrassment … they are getting phone calls and letters with bold typing in the post but not quite understanding where these bills are coming from. It’s not just the individual, it impacts their families and the whole community because they are paying these bills and going without necessities like food”.
When asked if this is a common practice by telcos she said
“It has been. I’ve been in this job for years, and we still have clients coming in today with the same issues, and this is four years on. Originally it was a couple of hundred clients that it happened to. That has grown to thousands, and in the last 12 months within our organisation alone, the remediation and compensation for clients for being missold products is in the millions”
