Category Archives: Customer Contracts

Early Termination Fees: CIS statements sound legal alert

Posted on 30 November 2012 by Peter Moon

TCPCode.com.au has paid some attention this week to early instances of the ‘CIS’ or ‘Critical Information Summary’ statements that all telcos must publish for their offers by March 2013.  It turns out that CIS’s sound an alert when a telco … Continue reading →

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Unfair telco powers breach the TCP Code

Posted on 3 November 2012 by Peter Moon

Most telco standard agreements say that the service provider may vary the contract. Some even say they can do so 'at any time and without notice, as we see fit'. But clauses like that aren't always enforceable, and they can … Continue reading →

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The TCP Code and your SFOA

Posted on 22 October 2012 by Peter Moon

Almost certainly, a telco’s Standard Form of Agreement needs to be updated because of the TCP Code. Here’s a checklist of ten items you should review your customer terms for. 1. Clarity and plain language Under the Code, all your … Continue reading →

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The end of the $20 late payment fee?

Posted on 5 October 2012 by Peter Moon

The TCP Code prohibits arbitrary ‘credit management charges’. In other words, a telco can’t just slap a fixed late payment fee on an account ‘because we say so’. The ‘good old days’ of an arbitrary $10 or $20 or even … Continue reading →

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Small business loses unfair contract terms protection

Posted on 27 September 2012 by Peter Moon

Mostly, the 2012 TCP Code offers stronger customer protections than its 2007 predecessor. One notable exception is the rules against unfair terms in telco contracts.  In the old Code, they applied in favour of both personal/residential customers and small business … Continue reading →

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Cooper Mills releases TCP Code ‘Chapter by Chapter’ editions

Posted on 22 September 2012 by Peter Moon

For study and training purposes, it’s often much easier to break the TCP Code into its seven main chapters.  So Cooper Mills has prepared an unofficial version of the Code that separates the chapters, omits the non-essential introductory material and … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Billing, Code Enforcement, Complaint Handling, Credit & Debt Management, Customer Contracts, Customer Service, Customer Transfers, Sales, Selling a Telco Business, Staff Training | Leave a comment

SFOA Terms: What happened to the black & white lists?

Posted on 16 September 2012 by Peter Moon

One interesting change between the old and new TCP Codes is the virtual elimination of the 'black list' and 'white list' for 'unfair' and 'fair' SFOA contract terms. The lists were helpful when preparing an SFOA but the powers-that-be wanted … Continue reading →

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