Telstra continues to be caught out by legacy systems, as problems bring ACMA enforcement actions

Telstra is blaming its legacy IT systems for incorrectly taking action taking against 70 customers on financial hardship arrangements, in breach of an industry consumer protection code.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has directed Telstra to comply with the Telecommunications Consumer Protections code (or TCP).

The TCP code prevents carriers from suspending or disconnecting services or launching debt collection actions while a financial hardship arrangement is in place or being discussed.

Of the 70 customers impacted between August 2019 and April 2022, 22 had their services restricted, four had services suspended, five were disconnected and two were referred to outside collection agencies 

Other actions included letters or calls requesting payment.

Telstra continues to be caught out by legacy systems problems that bring ACMA enforcement actions.

In May, the regulator directed Telstra to pay $11 million in customer compensation that had been delayed by system failures.

Other actions involving legacy systems impacted billing accuracy, download speed, and Integrated Public Number Database (IPND – the carrier failed to upload silent number requests to the database) updates.

- CyberBeat