Spot Check: Thinking of running a competition?

By on 28 July 2008 in Spot Check

Competitions can be an excellent marketing tool – a great way to promote your business, attract new customers or generate interest in a product.

But competitions, where they involve an element of chance, are often regulated as a type of ‘lottery’. In this spot check we’ll look at how a little forward planning can save some unwanted pain down the track.

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Company administrator knew his telco ropes

By on 19 July 2008 in General

We recently saw a case where a telco was outsmarted by a company administrator who knew what the Corporations Act has to say about telco services.

The telco — we’ll call them SuperTel — was owed substantial arrears by a company that was heading down the financial gurgler.

When the customer was placed under administration, SuperTel saw its chance to get paid.

To keep the business going, the administrator needed the phones and internet working, and it wasn’t practical to change providers in the time available. So SuperTel offered a tough deal: ‘Pay out the customer’s arrears or we turn off service at noon.

Pity SuperTel’s lawyer didn’t know about section 600F of the Corporations Act 2001.

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‘Indirect loss excluded’ doesn’t equal ‘no loss of income claims allowed’

By on 17 July 2008 in Making sense of contracts

Scenario: Your standard contract says you aren’t liable for ‘indirect or consequential loss’. Does that guarantee a business customer can’t sue you for loss of revenue if things go wrong?

No, it doesn’t. You might still be responsible for loss of income or profits.

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Spot check: Does your outbound telesales contract comply with section 12 of DNCR Act?

By on 16 July 2008 in DNCR Act, Spot Check

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is showing that the Do Not Call Register Act 2006 has teeth. $100k+ penalties have already been imposed.

In this Spot Check, we’ll see if your outsourced contract for outbound sales calls complies with section 12 of the DNCR Act.

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iiNet gets its CSG waiver wrong

By on 12 July 2008 in CSG, How not to do it

Even though a customer has pointed out a clear defect in iiNet’s form of CSG waiver, the company hasn’t realised its waiver is probably invalid.

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TIO goes overboard with sales records policy

By on 12 July 2008 in TIO

Next time you chat to a phone or internet salesperson about the merits of a new product, don’t be surprised if they jot down notes as they speak.

According to some bright spark in the office of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO), every sales staffer should be able to produce a written record of every discussion with a customer if there’s a complaint. It’s red tape on steroids.

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