Customers of Australia’s second-largest telecommunications company are being asked to sign waivers of some of their rights when they sign up to phone and internet bundle packages.Ìý

TPG Telecom Limited controls roughly 24% of the market as of 2021. Two of the groups’ brands, TPG and iiNet, require new customers to waive the Customer Service Guarantee.

In some cases, these waivers are obtained verbally, and customers may beÌý confused about what they’ve agreed to.

What is the Customer Service Guarantee?

The Customer Service Guarantee (CSG) was established in the ‘Telecommunications (Consumer Protection and Service Standards) Act 1999’ and only relates to landline telephone services.

“Under the CSG Standard, customers can waive their CSG rights in whole or in part. These rights include the right to compensation should the service provider not meet the performance standards under the CSG,” a spokesperson for the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) tells ÌÇÐÄVlog.

This means that if your landline telephone connection goes down, the service provider won’t be obliged to fix it in a certain timeframe or pay you compensation.Ìý

Signing the waiver has no bearing on your rights when it comes to your internet connection. But that distinction may not be made clear to customers.

And for TPG Telecom Limited customers who still depend on their landlines to make and receive phone calls and who live in places where mobile service is spotty or non-existent, losing phone service with no guaranteed remedy on offer can pose serious difficulties.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which oversees the Act, says that in 2019 more than 1.8 million Australians had signed these waivers. TPG accounted for just over 50% of the waivers signed and iiNet for almost 30%.

Guarantee is only for landline – but do customers know?

Sarah is a Sydney-based freelance writer who has been a customer with iiNet for around 11 years. She says when they transferred her internet and phone bundle to a new plan in August this year they asked her to sign a waiver of her CSG rights.

Consent for the waiver was obtained verbally over the phone, and a copy of the waiver was emailed to her after.

“That waiver that the person mentioned to me on the phone – it obviously sounds a bit suspect, but I didn’t have any problem agreeing to it initially because I had really good customer service from them in the past,” she says.

However, since signing up for the new plan in August, Sarah has had many issues with the company, saying she has exchanged around 50 emails and had 30 phone calls about her poor-quality internet service.

Even though the CSG waiver doesn’t relate to internet quality, Sarah didn’t know that and thought she’d signed away her rights to access remedy for problems with her internet connection.

“With the poor experience I have had, [I thought the waiver had] removed the right to redress and I never would have agreed to it if I would have known how poor the standard would have been,” she tells ÌÇÐÄVlog.

Customers like Sarah may have thought they’d lost their right to complain about their internet service, but they haven’t, and they should still seek redress when issues arise.

Australian Consumer Law still applies

Even when customers sign a CSG waiver they still maintain their rights to expect a reasonable service for both landline and internet under the Australian Consumer Law. Their rights when it comes to their internet service, in fact, don’t change at all.

But this was never properly explained to Sarah, and the copy of the CSG waiver she was emailed by iiNet doesn’t mention that she doesn’t lose any of her internet rights or that she maintains her protections under the Australian Consumer Law for both internet and landline services.

Melbourne University Professor of Law Jeannie Patterson, who specialises in consumer protection law, says many customers may not know they maintain their Australian Consumer Law rights even after signing a CSG waiver.

“I think there is a lot of confusion around what the CSG guarantee covers; it is a fairly narrow guarantee,” she says.

“Most people are no longer dependent on home phone lines, so in that sense they protect a minimal amount of people, but I am also concerned that people who are probably on home landlines are elderly people or people in remote areas so those people being asked to waive rights is problematic,” she adds.

“That’s a problem in the provision of the right itself, because the telco can refuse to give you a service if you don’t sign a waiver.”

TPG responds

TPG Telecom Limited says that customers on internet and phone bundles would need to agree to sign the waiver or else they wouldn’t be offered the service.

The company says their low prices offered on the phone plan would not be possible without a CSG waiver.

“TPG and iiNet voice services cost as little as $9.95 per month and in some cases are even offered as a free add-on as part of an internet bundle. It wouldn’t be possible to offer these low prices if compensation of up to $48.40 per day was payable under the Customer Service Guarantee,” a company spokesperson says.

“TPG and iiNet will always resolve any issues with voice services as quickly and efficiently as possible, and may still provide reasonable compensation, regardless of the waiver, depending on the individual circumstances,” they add.

Read the fine print

Australian Communications Consumer Action Network Deputy CEO Andrew Williams says the organisation doesn’t take a view on whether consumers should be signing the waiver or not, saying it is up to them to make a decision based on whether they think the service offered is worth the trade-off.

But he adds that customers needed to read the fine print and properly understand what they are getting into before agreeing to any waiver.

“They do need to make sure they understand what they are signing, and they do need to know that if they do sign the waiver of their customer service guarantee they are not signing away any of their rights under Australian consumer law,” he tells ÌÇÐÄVlog.

“Just because they are waiving that guarantee doesn’t mean they lose their other rights [such as protection against] misleading and deceptive conduct.”

He adds that it’s important telcos help customers be aware of what they’re signing and not put any time pressure on them to sign a waiver.

“There is a lot of legal terminology in there. [Customers] need to make sure the telco is giving them the time and space to read it and not pressuring them into signing.”

You can read more about the customer service guarantee on the ACMA website atÌý.

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On this page:

• How we choose what we test
• How we test
• Scoring what we test

Our testers find out which models work best for sound quality, ease of use and answering machines. Here’s how we get the results.

How we choose what we test

Models chosen for testing include the most popular landline phones based on past sales as well as new models as they hit the stores.Ìý

The most dominant brands in the Australian market are Panasonic and Uniden, with these two companies producing a wide variety of models with different features and functions. When we find a model that is widely available, we include it in our test.

How we test

Our testers assess all cordless phone models with an extra handset.Ìý

Models that are only available as a single handset are tested using an additional handset of the same model or brand.Ìý

Ease of use

Accounts for 40% of the ÌÇÐÄVlog Expert Rating.

Our testers consider factors such as quality of the instruction manual, feel and comfort of the handset, whether the screen is easy to read and any other special features.

Sound quality

Accounts for 40% of the ÌÇÐÄVlog Expert Rating – 20% for receiving sound quality and 20% for sending sound quality.

A panel of users receive calls in a quiet environment and assess speech clarity, volume, and line and background noise on each model. Sound quality is also assessed while making and receiving a call.

Battery life

Account for 20% of the ÌÇÐÄVlog Expert Rating.

We time how long each phone takes to run out of charge while in talking use, and also record the claimed standby time.Ìý

After fully charging each phone’s battery, our testers set the phones to talk and record how long each takes to go flat. A perfect score of 100% is awarded to a model still operating after 24 hours.

Maximum volume measurements

Volume levels are measured using a decibel meter, placed one metre horizontally away from the base of the phone. We measure the volume of the handset and base ringer, the speaker in the handset and the earpiece.

Answering machine score

Our testers looks at ease of use and set-up when creating a message and managing calls, as well as sound clarity and quality for the machine and caller message.

Scoring what we test

• Charging times are rounded to the nearest 30 minutes.
• While answering machine performance is scored, it doesn’t contribute to the ÌÇÐÄVlog Expert Rating. This allows direct comparisons to be made between landline phones with or without an answering machine.

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On this page:

• What's happening to your phone line?
• How does Myhomefone work?
• How much does it cost?
• Downsides

You can choose to either get the NBN or not, but if you don’t get the NBN you can’t keep using your old home phone for ever.

What’s happening to your phone line?

The existing telephone system of copper wires snaking throughout the country will either be retired from service or repurposed as part of the NBN for areas that will use a multi-technology mix. Multi-technology mix is code for “the government can’t or won’t go to the effort of getting the fastest possible connection to your home”. So you’ll need to find an alternative.

What are your home phone options after the NBN?

• If you get an NBN plan and want a local phone number, you’ll most likely be able to continue to use your existing corded or cordless handset. However, the connection probably won’t be as reliable as your existing one (possibly going dead in a blackout) and you may have unexpected operational issues.Ìý
• If you don’t want the NBN but want a home phone using your existing number, there is a solution.

How does Myhomefone work?

Myhomefone is a mobile device that looks like a cordless phone and operates using a local area phone number, but is connected to the Telstra 3G network.Ìý

The handset sits on a base station that contains a Telstra 3G mobile network SIM card. This is how you live without the NBN – all your calls will be made via Telstra mobile. While this sounds complicated, Myhomefone helps hide the technology by routing the calls to your Myhomefone local number. Your friends and family can keep using your existing landline number to call you and you simply dial out just like you would on your current home phone.

Use it with your existing cordless phones

If you already have a few cordless phones spread throughout the home, you should be able to use them with Myhomefone as long as they support the DECT protocol, a common feature on most cordless phones – except Uniden branded models.

How much does it cost?

You never own the phone; you rent it, much like in PMG or Telecom days of yore. You get a cordless phone handset, with large buttons, reasonably clear display and sound quality, and a configurable SOS button for emergencies.

Until recently, the Myhomefone would cost $99 for a one-off connection plus $55 monthly subscription that included unlimited calls to local, national, and mobile numbers. While this was cheaper than an NBN phone-only plan, it delivered a phone that was much like any other cordless phone, with a couple of bonus features for added peace of mind and security.Ìý

Some users felt this plan was too expensive and let us know in no uncertain terms, which was good feedback. Others said the whole system was useless as other solutions were available with some effort and technical expertise. This last criticism sort of missed the whole point of offering a solution for people who either couldn’t or wouldn’t jump through the various processes to get a solution for a simple cordless phone with a landline number.

Update:Ìý

The following is a response from DAKtel, the suppliers of the Myhomefone product: “We did take on board ÌÇÐÄVlog comments and some of the consumers’ comments, and have also been able to get a better plan from the supplier and we have also lowered the connection fee.”Ìý

As a matter of full disclosure, ÌÇÐÄVlog didn’t approach the company, this was a response to our review and the comments from ÌÇÐÄVlog members. We’ve left the previous pricing information above so you can make up your own mind. Those who see no point in having this sort of solution will continue to question its usefulness. But if the concept does appeal, the lower prices are significant and shown below.

Latest pricing

Basic plan ($29.95 per month)

This is a good option if you don’t make any calls out or overseas, but still want a landline for people to call you. After an initial connection cost of $49.95, it’s $29.95 per month with a straight 10 cents per call to landline numbers and mobiles including 1800, 1300 and 131 numbers. The total minimum cost is $139.80 for three months, which is the minimum commitment.

Unlimited Plan ($39.95 per month)

If you don’t want a mobile phone but do want to keep in touch with everyone, this is probably the best option as all calls to and from mobiles and landlines are included in the $39.95 monthly plan with the same one-off connection fee of $49.95 for the phone and a minimum commitment of three months, making the total minimum cost $169.80.Ìý

If you want to call overseas there’s also an option for 300 minutes a month (for $10 extra per month) to 22 countries including China, New Zealand, UK and the USA.

Downsides

We tested Myhomefone as we would any other cordless phone and it stacks up quite well. It’s easy to use, but does have a few downsides compared to regular cordless phones:

• The keypad isn’t backlit.
• The base station can’t be wall-mounted.
• It doesn’t support call waiting.

Although it is technically a mobile phone, you can’t send or receive SMS text messages and it only works within range of the base station, so you can’t leave home with the handset and use it as you would a regular mobile phone.

The documentation supplied is enough to get you up and running but doesn’t detail most of the settings that you may want to change, such as the ringtone.

Verdict

It’s still not cheap compared to a $50 mobile and a $30 unlimited talk and text plan, but it’s much better with the latest pricing changes. The most important point to make is you have a landline number and you’re using it on a handset that’s large enough to use comfortably with clearly marked and spaced numbers. So if you don’t want the NBN and do want to keep your old home phone number, Myhomefone still presents an interesting and pain-free way to keep things as they used to be.

• Price:Ìý$49.95 connection fee, $29.95, $39.95 or $49.95 usage charge per month.

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