Complaint Handling Process

This document outlines the Complaint Handling Policy for the corporate customers of TPG Network Pty Ltd (ABN 85 003 064 328) (TPG) who are classified by relevant regulations to be consumer customers. In summary, you are a TPG 'consumer' customer if you did not have a genuine and reasonable opportunity to negotiate the terms of your contract with us and you acquire less than $20,000 per annum in services from TPG. If you are not a consumer customer, please contact your account manager to discuss any complaints or issues you may have.

TPG aims to provide our customers with the best possible service. If you haven't received the service you expected, you have the right to make a complaint.

A complaint means an expression of dissatisfaction made to us in relation to our products or the complaints handling process itself, where you expect a resolution. Contacting us to request technical support or to report a service issue is not necessarily a complaint. Where it's not clear to us, we'll ask you to confirm that you wish to make a complaint.

In dealing with your complaint, we will treat you with fairness and courtesy. TPG believes that this Complaint Handling Process is the most effective and quickest way to resolve issues and we will use our best efforts to resolve your complaint efficiently in accordance with this process.

Making a Complaint

If you wish to make a complaint, you can contact our Complaints Handling Team using the following methods:

Mail: Corporate Complaints, GPO Box 406, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: 1300 313 386
Email:
Online: Complaints Form

Our operating hours are 9AM-5:30PM Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.

Please let us know if you need help

Please let us know if you need assistance with understanding this process or making a complaint.

You may nominate an authorised representative or advocate to deal with us on your behalf but to protect your privacy, we will first need you to provide your permission to do so, either over the phone or in writing. Please note that if you're appointing an authorised representative, you are giving that person authority to contact TPG on your behalf and authorise TPG to discuss account related information such as billing, contract and technical issues and to make account changes except for account cancellation. In contrast, if you appoint an advocate, that person can only act on your behalf and have access to your information while you are also present to agree to such actions.

If you have a hearing or speech impairment, you can contact us by using the National Relay Service.

If you're from a non-English speaking background, you can contact us via a language interpreter service or nominate someone to deal with us on your behalf. Please note you may incur fees from any third party services you engage to assist you.

If you have other special needs or a disability, please let us know and we will do our best to assist where we can.

What happens when we receive your complaint
We will acknowledge your complaint and provide you with a reference number:

• immediately, if you contacted us by phone, or
• if you contacted us by any other means, within 2 working days for general complaints or within 1 working day for Urgent Complaints.

If you believe your complaint is urgent, please see Urgent Complaints below.

We aim to investigate and propose a solution for all complaints within the following timeframes:

• for Urgent Complaints, within 2 working days;
• for all other complaints within 15 working days.

If we reasonably believe that a proposal may fall outside of the timeframes above, we will contact you directly to discuss the reasons for the delay and advise a new timeframe as well as your avenues for external resolution (if the delay is expected to exceed 10 working days).

Should we be unable to contact you via known methods we will write to you and advise you that you have 10 working days to respond before we close the complaint.

How your complaint will be escalated

If our Complaints Handling Team is not able to resolve your complaint, your complaint will be escalated to a supervisor in the team for further assistance.

The Complaints Handling Team will make an initial assessment, conduct an investigation and propose a resolution to your complaint within 15 working days of receiving it, depending on the complexity of your complaint. Should we require additional time or interaction with you we will contact you directly and advise of any revised time frame and the reason for it.

The Complaints Handling Team will contact you with a response and resolution and follow this up in writing confirming the date the resolution was or will be implemented.

If you tell us that you are not happy with the response times that apply to the handling of your complaint, we will, within 5 working days (or 2 working days for Urgent Complaints), advise you about our escalation processes and your options for external dispute resolution.

Urgent Complaints
Please advise us if your complaint is urgent.

Complaints will be considered as urgent if:

• you have applied for or have been accepted as being in Financial Hardship under TPG's Financial Hardship Policy and it's clear to us that the nature of your complaint will directly contribute to or worsen that hardship
• disconnection of a service is imminent or has already occurred and where due process has not been followed.

Please note TPG does not offer the Priority Assistance scheme.

Urgent Complaints will be given priority over other complaints. We will acknowledge your Urgent Complaint immediately if you contacted us via phone or otherwise within 1 working day of receiving your Urgent Complaint.

We aim to resolve Urgent Complaints within 2 working days. We will contact you directly to advise and discuss a new timeframe in the event that a resolution is likely to fall outside of this timeframe.

If your complaint has not been considered urgent based on the above criteria and you reasonably believe it should be, please let us know as soon as possible.

Ways you can monitor your complaint

We will keep you updated with the status of your complaint and you may contact us either by phone or by email with your complaint reference number to request a status update.

Where relevant, we will let you know any reasons for any delay as soon as practical and a specific timeframe for resolution.

When a complaint is resolved

We will advise you either verbally (via telephone) or in writing (via email) of the outcome of your complaint. If you prefer a specific method of contact, please advise us when making your complaint.

We are unable to implement any proposed resolution until you have accepted it. Once you have accepted the resolution, we will implement it within 10 working days (or within 2 working days for Urgent Complaints, unless you have agreed to another time frame, or where resolution required some action from you and you have not yet completed that action.

The Complaints Handling Team will follow up in writing confirming the date the resolution was or will be implemented.

We will not close your complaint without your consent, except where your complaint has already been appropriately escalated within TPG and where:

• you've told us that you're not happy with the progress or resolution of your complaint and in response we have advised you of your options for external dispute resolution, including the TIO; or
• we have not been able to contact you for more than 10 working days after an attempt to contact you in writing; or
• after careful consideration, we have advised you that we reasonably believe that your behaviour or complaint is frivolous or vexatious (and the reasons why) and explained your options for external dispute resolution. Within 5 working days of reaching this view, if requested by you, we will confirm these matters in writing.

We will never cancel your TPG services(s) for the sole reason that we have been unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction and you have elected to seek assistance via an external dispute resolution avenue.

Further options for external dispute resolution

It is our aim that the majority of complaints can be successfully handled under this Complaint Handling Process and we do ask that you first allow us the opportunity to exhaust all avenues in resolving your complaint. However, if you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint and you have escalated this within TPG, you may seek complaint mediation or further assistance from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (telephone 1800 062 058) or the fair trading department in your state or territory.