Can someone point me in the right direction?

Is there some sort of rule that companies have to abide by to make a payment arrangement with a customer?

A company was trying to force us into a payment arrangement that we couldn't meet and refused our explanation on what we were financially able to do (ie, they wanted $100 a week for 3 weeks, we couldn't commit to that but could do $300 in the third week, resulting in exactly the same outcome in the same time frame).

Bill is paid, but just wondering if there is a rule that all companies must abide by, or whether each individual company can do whatever it wants.

I don't know of any rules the companies are to abide by, but sheesh they were really not very accommodating were they?

Nope, especially when they didn't send the bill to us to begin with and we had to chase it up.

I'm not sure if there is any governing legislation but you would think they'd be accomodating if the end result was the same!

Most companies will have their policy available on website o think? I know with us the initial consultant used to have a certain delegation that the manager can override


sent from the Hellmouth.

I am pretty sure if they haven't done their job correctly they cannot make you pay it all back suddenly. I would get in touch with the relevant ombudsman and see what they have to say.

No rules as such, but they would likely have internal processes/guidelines that the representative has to abide but, but everything is negotiable and escalating to a manager and threatening to go to the ombudsman are ways to seek more flexibility - remember the company will always seek the highest amount first. The likely reason they are seeking to get some money over three weeks instead of in three weeks is that it makes sense from a business perspective to get some of the debt in asap. A company isn't obliged to release its collection/payment guidelines for late bills, just advise in general what happens if a customer doesn't pay.

If the bill wasn't received due to their error with not issuing it - then their payment terms should start from when they issued it - so you would have had the same amount of time to pay as if you had been issued it properly. If however, they claim to have issued it and its just not been received at your end its a bit trickier as there is some onus on a customer to let a company know they haven't received a bill (eg if you know you are billed monthly but haven't received a bill for two months then you are responsible to still attend to your accounts).

The best advice if you aren't happy is to escalate the call to a manager or above - as often the ombudsman will recommend this as first course of action anyway

HTH babe x

We've paid the bill, I'm just really angry about how it's been handled.

It's a $290 electricity bill. They wanted us to commit to $100 per week, we said we would need three weeks and we could pay it in full. We get three weeks to pay our electricity bill from the date of issue, so this is all we asked for. Prior to this, I had made two b-pay payments as we had yet to receive the bill and were getting concerned, so we guesstimated the amount it would be in a quarter and broke it down to just randomly make a payment on the account.

Reading their T&C on their website (thanks Kazbah), they say they will enter into an arrangement that is flexible and they will work with the customer to come to an agreement. We got a flat out no to what we proposed, which was to pay the full amount by last Friday. They wanted that, but broken down over time. We explained why we couldn't do that and they refused to discuss it further, which I now know goes against their own T&C. Instead, they sent someone to disconnect us the day before we'd arranged to pay. When I rang at that point, the first phone operator could see that an arrangement had been made for payment to be made the next day. We then got transferred to another department to sort it out and were told that unless we paid on the spot, the guy who came to disconnect us would be sent back to do so immediately.

We're not in arrears with them, this is all over the current bill. We placed a complaint with them and their response hasn't been adequate as far as I'm concerned (basically got told bad luck, pay your bills on time - which we would have if they'd sent the bloody thing to us!!!!!!)

ETA - We requested the bill only three weeks after it had been issued, we were overdue by two days when it was reissued, so we're talking a really short amount of time here.

i had an issue with my elec bill once. they wanted a very similar amount. I said I can pay the full amount by the 3rd week (was 4th in my case)

They asked me to pay what I could which was 20 a week and then on a pay day I paid the rest. Its frustrating when they can't (or won't ) accomadate you

Sounds like they have handled it poorly - especially as you had made two Bpay pmts prior - as that shows that the customer is genuine and has intent to pay the bill, common sense should highlight to the company that you are not trying to shirk the bill or avoid pmt, sucky action by them. Sounds like you got some totally idiotic representatives :(

We got a high bill from our electricity provider over Summer 2011. I rang up (before the due date) and arranged to pay over 3 pays (so 3 fortnights), the person on the phone was happy to accept my payment arrangement, said it would be no problem and then halfway through our payment arrangement we got a call from a Melbourne debt collector trying to collect the debt - I went to town on them the next day and after a really poor experience with the first person I spoke to, asked to speak to a supervisor and it got sorted out quickly. They had accepted my arrangement (and noted it in their system), but hadn't done anything to stop their automatic collections process - totally disorganized. I am no longer with that supplier!

Do they have online billing? That way you can check the bills yourself (or have them emailed) rather than relying on snail mail (which can too easily go astray).

More than likely too, they'd have a complaints department - the details should be accessible online as companies need to have this info readily available - so that may be a more convenient way to escalate it (and you can take the time to articulate yourself via email or letter rather than talking to another idiot)

Everything you have put in your posts send to their complaints department via email. Then copy and paste their T&C and see what they have to say.
What they have done is harrassment and against their T&C.

If there is a paper trail they have to deal with it. Yes, you have paid it but been blackmailed as you didn't want it cut off.

My complaint did go in writing. They responded by phone. I have put in another complaint, again by writing, but I'm not holding my breath on any sort of positive outcome. The people who answer the phone don't put you through to a complaints department, it has to go in writing in the first place. I guess it's to figure out which are the genuine complaints. They take three days to contact you after an email is sent.

If you are not happy, tell them you will be putting in a complaint with the ombudsman. They have gone against their T&C so need to smarten up.
I always put myself in the shoes of my Mum when these things happen. She would be so upset and flustered and likely to agree to anything in that frame of mind. I also tell them that I hope they never treat people like that again

They rang back. Same baboon as yesterday. Said that yes, a note had been put on the file for the payment arrangement, but stood by their heavy handed approach. DH asked about their own terms and conditions, said that the way we were treated was against what their own policy was. Guy didn't care and asked what DH wanted him to do about it.

Basically going to go around in circles, especially if they keep getting the same person to call us back. We haven't had any luck with ombudsman's in the past, so I know we won't take that road. I give up. DH gives up. They got their money and all we can do is disconnect when we move out. Sucks to be them though, the house we're moving into is 57 squares. That's a lot of power.

Thanks for the replies, sorry it's been a waste of time.

Contact the ombudsman as it goes against them as a company. Put it all in writing to them, letting them know you have paid it but have not been able to speak to a supervisor to let them know one of their workers couldn't care about their customers.

We had to put in a complaint to them and found them really helpful

Contact the ombudsman with the whole story, and a very clear idea of what outcome you want from making the complaint.


Excuse my sucky spelling, I'm on my iPhone