Last December Optus incurred customer wrath, effectively torpedoing mobile access to cheap international VoIP services by charging them at international rates.
At the time, Optus insisted that:
International calls within the meaning of your Optus Mobile Standard Form of Agreement for all Timeless and Cap plans includes calls that re-route or divert to international numbers.
CSP Central asked Optus to tell us where the SFoA said that. We couldn’t be sure – because the document is a confused mish-mash – but as far as we could tell it said no such thing.
Apparently Optus didn’t feel too sure of its grounds, either. So it has bolted on a powerful, unbalanced new contract term that is sure to attract the interest of consumer regulators who have unfair contract terms legislation in their armory. Today, that’s only Victoria. On 1 January 2010, it will be every Australian State and Territory, and the ACCC.
Many CSPs are already using a ’Standard Form of Agreement’ but many others don’t … and don’t know what it’s all about.
To describe the Optus standard customer contract as a dog’s breakfast is unkind to dogs. We know many canines that can at least keep their food inside the bowl.
Regular readers will know that T&C clauses that (supposedly) limit CSP liability are very important. If you don’t get them right, you can be exposed to unnecessary legal risk.
It’s surprising how many service providers trip up on basic compliance requirements. We surveyed 36 Aussie CSPs against a simple benchmark. 21 of them failed.
Some CSPs do it well, and many fail to do it at all. A copy of your Standard Form of Agreement summary has to be given to customers at the start of the contract, and then a short reminder each two years.
A thread on Whirlpool about early termination fees under Vodafone mobile prepays led us into the maze of Voda’s complex contract terms. And guess what ? They don’t say what Voda thinks they say.
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