Comments on: TIO: A level playing field ?

By: Erhan Karabardak

Erhan Karabardak — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:08:49 +0000

If you are referring to the appropriate notice required under the TCP Code, yes the proper notice was issued, and ISP X can suspend. This is not so much a case of the customer knowing their rights or evening having a legitimate basis to make these threats, but rather being opportunistic and abusing what the TIO is there for.

By: None

None — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:40:34 +0000

“which their contract allows them to do”

And was the suspension handled pursuant to all relevant codes?

Good on the customer for knowing and understanding his or her rights.

By: Erhan Karabardak

Erhan Karabardak — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:15:24 +0000

Wiley, you are right on the money!

But in fairness to the TIO, I have seen many instances where they have done a great job and actually carefully examined the matter at hand. I suspect it is an issue about volume of complaints, that is why I think that my idea about imposing fees would get rid of the frivolous and vexatious complaints.

I had one referred this morning from a client – a customer has failed to pay invoices, and the client threatened a suspension (which their contract allows them to do) – the customer has said that if they exercise their contractual right to suspend then they will just lodge a TIO complaint and my ISP client will “have to lift the suspension”. The attitude amazes me….

By: Erhan Karabardak

Erhan Karabardak — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:10:59 +0000

In response to Jim R – the TIO was not interested. It is quite common to have the TIO ask the same question on multiple occasions as they have not read a letter sent to them!

By: Wiley Avoider

Wiley Avoider — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:59:38 +0000

The TIO frequently use the tactic of escalation as a way of resolving complaints, the basic tenant of their argument being that if you as a CSP fail to resolve this (read “give the complainant what they want”) we will be “forced” (by whom?) to escalate this for further investigation and thus impose ever higher levels of revenue generating taxes – oops I mean investigation fees.

As no real investigation seems to happen at levels one or two, it seems to me that the system is designed to make matters go away or should the CSP in question have the temerity to hold its ground, impose punitive fees simply for performing very function that they (the TIO) were set up to facilitate in the first place. Has the faint whiff of extortion to me.

Still, they have to get the money to pay for their plush CBD accommodation and in office massages somehow!

By: Jim R

Jim R — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 07:44:56 +0000

And what did the TIO say when you brought to their attention that the complainant seemed to be a non-small business and therefore that the matter was outside their jurisdiction?

By: Appauled at Dan Warne

Appauled at Dan Warne — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 06:42:37 +0000

As a person with a long term association with the Whirlpool website, you are held to a marginally higher regard than others and frankly, you should know better.

For you to ‘applaud’ the TIO for engaging in unconscionable, misleading and unlawful conduct is appalling. You are advocating an irrational, emotional and unlawful view which will ultimately only drive up the price of Internet services in Australia. Every investigation by the TIO increases the monthly subscription cost of Internet services, valid, invalid or otherwise. Ten level one TIO complaints costs more than 1Mbit/s of Internet transit.

Turning to the case in point, the customer signed up to a service for which they were charged. If the customer wanted a capped service, they could have purchased one. Most corporate customers aren’t going to survive well shaped on 64kbit/s.

Perhaps the corporate customer might review what their staff were doing on the Internet before turning to the ISP for a hand-out. Maybe they might review what their IT manager or other senior staff member did with those notification emails?

When you’re thousands of kilometers away from the USA, bandwidth costs money, big money. Accept it, move on or move to the USA.

By: Erhan Karabardak

Erhan Karabardak — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 05:43:25 +0000

In the case of ISP X, we received information from another source to substantiate the turn over of this business.

By: None

None — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:01:28 +0000

Something doesn’t smell right about your example.

YOU SAY:
“Our client – ISP ‘X’ – had a contract for a single DSL service to a corporate customer with annual turnover in the tens of millions of dollars.”

THE TIO SAYS:
“The TIO investigates complaints by residential and small business users of telecommunications and Internet services” http://www.tio.com.au/policies/jurisdiction.htm

Care to elaborate?

By: Dan Warne

Dan Warne — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 06:05:17 +0000

You’re right on a legal/contractual front, no doubt. On the other hand, I applaud the TIO taking a stand generally against ridiculous, outlandish excess usage fees. They’re the bane of the Australian broadband customer.