Customers are being left in the dark about how to get financial help for their phone and internet bills, prompting a watchdog to formally warn four companies.
The formal warnings to Optus, Origin, Skymesh and Swoop issued on Wednesday are for failing to provide enough support to customers about how to seek assistance from their telco for financial problems.
Bills, overdue notices and financial hardship notifications must contain options for assistance and contact information for help with bill struggles under rules in effect from March 2024.
But the Australian Communications and Media Authority found the four companies failed to include some required information in at least one form of communication with customers.
Optus was found not to have included a contact email address in notices sent to customers to confirm they were being put on plans for financial hardship assistance.
An Optus spokeswoman said a routine check identified four customers who received communication without the required information.
Optus fixed its processes before the ACMA audit occurred, the spokeswoman said.
Origin acknowledged that while emails and invoices contained the necessary information, texts to Origin customers did not.
"We have since updated our text messages and we encourage any customers experiencing financial hardship to contact us so we can provide support," an Origin spokesman said.
Skymesh and Swoop were also found to have failed to train their staff in how to help customers in financial hardship.
No Swoop customers were financially impacted by the incomplete information or training and the issues were resolved earlier this year, a spokesman said in a statement.
Skymesh was contacted for comment.
All four telcos updated their processes to comply with the rules while the investigation was ongoing but face penalties of up to $250,000 per offence if found in breach of the rules again.
In June, Optus agreed to pay a $100 million penalty to the consumer watchdog for "unconscionable conduct" including selling goods and services to vulnerable customers who could not afford them.
Earlier in July, Optus finished 31st out of 36 companies in research from the regulator measuring the rate of customer complaints referred to the telco ombudsman.
