Witcom Complaints Process Policy

Complaints Process

January 2021

Witcom Telecommunications Pty Ltd (WITCOM, we, us, our), ABN 11 125 770 961

www.witcom.com.au (WITCOM, we, us, our)

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Introduction

WITCOM strives to please and maintain customers however if its customers have cause to be dissatisfied, we

acknowledge the right for our customers to make a complaint. We also acknowledge for the complaint to be

resolved in a clear, efficient, and fair manner. WITCOM’s overall complaint handling process meets the

following principles:

(a) accessible, transparent, and easily understood

(b) free of charge, other than in limited circumstances

Making a Complaint

You can contact WITCOM in the following ways:

- Phone: 1300 123 837

(8:30am – 5:30pm, Monday–Friday, excluding Public Holidays)

- Mail: Attention: Customer Complaints Officer

PO Box 475, IVANHOE VIC 3079

- Email: admin@witcom.com.au

Attention: Customer Complaints Officer

In difficult circumstances where WITCOM needs to access information which was collected more than TWO

years prior to the date of request of your complaint we may need to levy a charge to recover such information

to cover our costs, however we will notify you before proceeding.

Another Person acting on your behalf

You may allow someone else to deal with us on your behalf. If so, you need to let our Customer Service Team

know who that person is, so that we can add them to your account as an ‘authorised representative’. Contact

WITCOM using the details listed above.

Witcom Complaints Process Policy

Complaint Handling

Where possible we will endeavour to resolve your complaint at the first instance.

When making a complaint that involves the disputation of charges, you will need to specify the amount or the

nature of the charges that you are disputing. We will not take any further Credit Management action in

relation to a specified disputed amount whilst the complaint remains unresolved and continues to be

investigated by either WITCOM Telecom, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) or another

recognised external dispute body.

Credit Management action in this case refers to the process by which we manage credit risk and/or the

collection of outstanding debts from current and former customers.

Internal Escalation

In some cases, either upon your request or upon the discretion of our customer service staff, the complaint

may need to be referred to a Manager. The Manager may then need to call upon the authority or expertise of

staff in other departments or relevant third parties. In this instance a ‘first-contact’ resolution may not be

possible however you will receive a complaint reference and we will endeavour to resolve your complaint

within our resolution timeframes.

Resolution

If your complaint is not resolved at first contact, we will advise you of our proposed resolution of your

complaint as soon as possible following the completion of our investigation but in any event:

a. Within 15 Working Days from the date the complaint is received by us: or

b. if we do not believe the complaint can be resolved within 15 Working Days, we will advise you

before Working Day 15 of the:

i. Reasons for the delay

ii Specific timeframe for completion of the resolution; and

iii Anticipated delay is a further 10 Working Days or more we will advise you of your options for

external dispute resolution including the TIO

At all times we will advise you of any delays in the proposed timeframes. You can track your complaint by any

of the methods available to make an initial complaint using your unique reference number. Our proposed

resolution must be accepted by you before we are required to implement the solution, however we can

choose to implement a solution to your benefit without your prior approval.

Following your acceptance of the proposed resolution or earlier if we choose, we will complete all the

necessary actions to deliver the resolution offered within 10 Working Days of providing that resolution unless:

a) both parties agree otherwise; or

b) the actions are contingent on your actions that have not been completed

Provided we have either:

a) obtained your consent

b) responded to any dissatisfaction you have told us you are experiencing with the progress of your complaint

or the outcome/ resolution of your complaint by providing information regarding our internal escalation

process and the options for external dispute resolution including the TIO; or

c) first attempted to contact you to discuss your complaint or advise of the progress of the proposed

resolution and following this have written to you at your last known address, stating that we were unable to

Witcom Complaints Process Policy

contact you, providing details of the contact attempts and an invitation to contact us within a specific

timeframe of no less than 10 Working Days but we have not had a response from you; we can close your

complaint. Where a complaint is closed with your consent, you can request written confirmation of the

resolution which will be sent to you within 5 Working Days.

Urgent Complaints:

We understand that all customers would consider their complaint in some way ‘urgent’ and desire a speedy

resolution in all cases. However, some complaints by definition are more urgent than others as they may

involve the customer being in a vulnerable position until the complaint issue is resolved. For these complaints,

there needs to be a process of escalation that is respected by us and in turn all of our customers. These involve

complaints where;

(a) the complaint is made by a customer who has applied for or has been accepted as being in Financial

Hardship under our Financial Hardship policy and where the subject matter of the complaint can reasonably be

presumed to directly contribute to or aggravate the Financial Hardship of that customer.

(b) disconnection of a service is imminent or has occurred and where due process has not been followed; or

Assistance.

For urgent complaints, we will provide confirmation of the proposed resolution of the urgent aspects of the

complaint and, if accepted by the complaint, implement the urgent aspects of the resolution within 2 Working

Days after the date the complaint is received.

Vexatious or Frivolous Complaints:

In cases we sometimes may encounter complaints that are frivolous or vexatious or behaviour from

complainants that is in our reasonable opinion, fraudulent, racist, threatening, or abusive.

We will not conclude that a complaint is frivolous or vexatious unless we have given the matter careful

consideration and it has been appropriately escalated within our internal channels. After this, if we can do

nothing more to assist the complainant or, in view of the complainant’s behaviour, we choose not to deal with

the complainant any further, we will inform the complainant in writing of the reasons and tell them about the

options for external dispute resolution including the TIO. We are not then required to accept any further

complaints from that complainant on the same or similar issues other than in the course of an external dispute

resolution process.

Escalation:

If, after the internal escalation and complaint handling process has concluded, you are still not satisfied with

the outcome or resolution of your complaint you are entitled to refer your complaint to the TIO. The

Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is a free and independent alternative dispute resolution scheme for

small business and residential consumers in Australia with unresolved complaints about their telephone or

internet services. The TIO’s contact details can be found on www.tio.com.au, or call 1800 062 058.