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back to article Telco industry slapped with new consumer rules

The long-awaited telecommunications consumer protection (TCP) code, designed to push Australian telcos to clean up their terrible track record, has been adopted by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. The regulatory authority’s recent inquiry into telcos' customer service found that annual recurring costs …

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  1. Robert Heffernan
    FAIL

    No Teeth

    A former Telstra executive heading up the organisation created to ensure compliance with the code. Well that's a smart idea! A major conflict of interest if you ask me

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: No Teeth

      I think the clue is in the word former. As in not currently employed by Telstra.

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      1. Robert Heffernan
        Reply Icon

        Re: No Teeth

        Being "former" doesn't mean a thing, there are always back-room handshakes between old friends. After all, it wouldn't be the first time there was some strategic job shuffling in order to take out a watchdog.

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  2. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

    I can't work out...

    ...why this wasn't done 15 years ago. It's not like misleading advertising and hilarious mobile phone bills are a new problem.

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  3. Big-nosed Pengie

    I'll believe it

    when I see it. The telcos own an awful lot of politicians.

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "upto" and "$x worth of value"

    Unless they have also outlawed the use of "upto" and "worth of value" then it's just more wasted paperwork.

    Sure, a particular medium might be capable of "upto" x mbps under ideal conditions, but if that's not what a customer can *expect to receive* then it's just misleading.

    And if I pay $10 for a bundle of services, then those services are (by definition) "worth" exactly $10, because that's what I paid for them. The value of any good or service is what somebody is willing to pay for it in an arms length transaction. Just because you offer a plan wwhere SMS cost $2.00 each, does not make SMS "worth" $2.00.

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  5. Veldan
    Thumb Up

    Unlimited

    I hope along with "cap" they also ditch the word "unlimited"... I know they always include that little * to denote that it's not actually unlimited but it is misleading and wouldn't be allowed in almost any other field of business...

    Admittedly to the credit of some of the Telcos unlimited does actually mean unlimited. With Optus I sent over 65K SMS in a month, it cost $0 just as promised which was nice.

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  6. Martin Budden Silver badge

    About bloody time.

    That is all.

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