Category Archives: Critical Information Summary

Critical Information Summary: Don’t rely on the copier

Posted on 26 February 2013 by Peter Moon

There’s  a time-honoured tradition in telco retailing:  if you need a legal document, copy one from somebody else’s website.  It’s never the right thing to do but, as a way to create a Critical Information Summary under the TCP Code, … Continue reading →

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Critical Information Summary Case Study: Australian Phone & Internet

Posted on 24 February 2013 by Peter Moon

The new Critical Information Summary can be trickier to get right than you imagine.  Randomly, we picked a CIS from Australian Phone & Internet as a case study.  There’s a lot to like, but overall the CIS isn’t compliant with … Continue reading →

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Critical Information Summary: Get the order right

Posted on 15 February 2013 by Peter Moon

The TCP Code specifies a strict order for the topics in a telco’s Critical Information Summary (CIS).  And it specifies the exact headings to appear in the document.  And it specifies one particular sentence that must appear verbatim.  Make sure … Continue reading →

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Critical Information Summary: ACCC slips up on start date

Posted on 31 January 2013 by Peter Moon

ACCC has released its bi-annual Small Business in Focus report, and the 2012 TCP Code gets a significant mention.  But … the report wrongly advises advised that the new Critical Information Summary regime is compulsory from September 2013. All telcos … Continue reading →

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When is a CIS not a CIS?

Posted on 27 January 2013 by Peter Moon

Answer:  When it doesn’t follow the rules in the TCP Code.  The Code sets out detailed rules about the form and contents of a Critical Information Summary, and you can’t just type ‘Critical Information Summary’ at the top of a … Continue reading →

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Critical Information Summary: Don’t forget to date it

Posted on 4 December 2012 by Peter Moon

It makes sense to include a date on every Critical Information Summary. The TCP Code rules don’t require it but common sense does. Why is it so? First, you need a way to distinguish different versions of your CIS where … Continue reading →

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Critical Information Summary: More guidance

Posted on 3 December 2012 by Peter Moon

Every day, it seems more telcos are releasing a Critical Information Summary or CIS. The early adopters are to be applauded for taking a lead, even though some are making mistakes along the way. The latest CIS we’ve come across … Continue reading →

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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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85% of Critical Information Summaries breach ACL

Posted on 28 November 2012 by Peter Moon

We posted earlier that we’d seen some early “Critical Information Summaries” that omitted any statement of the total minimum plan cost.  So we decided to survey via a Google search.  The results strongly indicate that telcos don’t understand that they … Continue reading →

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Critical Information Summary: Beware the trap

Posted on 28 November 2012 by Peter Moon

Critical Information Summaries are starting to appear in the wild, despite the fact that they are not mandatory until 1 March 2013.  But there’s a gotcha that is already catching out some telcos.  They are forgetting to include the ‘single … Continue reading →

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