Terms and Conditions

Valid as of 16 February 2017

1.  Introduction
   This policy sets out the process for complaints handling at Lebara. It has been developed in accordance with the requirements of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code C628:2015 (Code).Lebara aims to provide you with the best possible service, but understands that there may be instances where you may feel dissatisfied with the service that is provided and you may wish to make a complaint.Lebara is committed to dealing with complaints fairly, courteously and efficiently.  Our customer service representatives have the training and authority to resolve most of the queries which customers may have in real time.Our Chief Executive Officer has approved this policy and is responsible for ensuring its implementation, operation and compliance with the Code. 
2.  Purpose of this policy
   This Lebara Complaints Handling Policy provides:

• information and assistance to Lebara customers and former Lebara customers on how to make a complaint and how to monitor the progress of a complaint; and
• information on how Lebara handles and investigates complaints.

• Handling of complaints
  3.1   Lodging a complaint

You can lodge your complaint about Lebara over the phone (which is a free call when made from a Lebara service), or by email, or letter. For contact details please refer to section 6 of this policy.

We aim to make the complaint handling process fair and accessible for everyone including customers and former customers with disabilities, those suffering financial hardship and those from non-English speaking backgrounds. If you require any special assistance to lodge a complaint or have any special requirements, please tell us what they are when you get in touch with us and we will provide specialised support as needed.

If you wish to allow an authorised representative or advocate to act upon your behalf in respect of your complaint, a Lebara customer service representative can help you to do so.

3.2   Acknowledgement of complaint

We will acknowledge your complaint instantly when receiving it over the phone, or if submitted by any other means (for contact details refer to section 5), you will receive a response and a reference number within 2 working days.

3.3  Handling of complaints

We aim to resolve a complaint at the time it is made, wherever possible.  We will tell you what our proposed resolution is as soon as we can after completing our investigations.  We will not implement the proposed resolution until you have accepted it.

If we cannot resolve your complaint in the first instance and the matter requires some further investigation e.g. the retrieval of records or obtaining of additional information through our Resolutions team, we will aim to have your complaint completely resolved at the latest within 15 working days after the complaint was made or within such other time frames as are agreed with you.

We will keep you informed of any delays to promised timeframes for resolving and implementing complaints. You may also monitor the progress of your complaint by contacting us and quoting the reference number for your complaint (see section 5 for contact details). If we believe that we can’t resolve your complaint before expiry of 15 working days (or 2 working days in the case of Urgent Complaints – see section 3.4 below), we will let you know of the reasons for the delay and the specific timeframe for resolution.  If that time frame for resolution is a further 10 working days or more and is not due to a declared mass service disruption, you may escalate the complaint for external dispute resolution (see section 6 below).

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your enquiry or complaint, or if you are dissatisfied with the timeframes that apply to management of your complaint, or the proposed resolution or outcome, or if you seek to have your complaint treated as urgent, you may ask to speak to a Lebara supervisor. If you remain dissatisfied by the subsequent handling of the complaint, you can request to have the complaint reviewed by a senior manager.  We will escalate and prioritise your complaint accordingly.

Your complaint will be regarded as resolved once you have agreed with our proposed resolution and the outcome is implemented.

3.4   Handling of Urgent Complaints

We will prioritise a complaint as urgent if your service has been or is about to be disconnected due to an error on our part. We will be in touch with a resolution within 2 working days of the making of an urgent complaint and, once agreed with you, will implement the resolution no later than 5 working days after reaching that agreement.

3.5   Resolution of complaints

Our aim is to resolve complaints by tailoring the remedy to address the cause of the problem and to address your individual circumstances, where you have notified us of those circumstances.  Where the complaint indicates a broader problem we will endeavour to resolve that broader problem.

We aim to complete all necessary action to deliver the resolution we have offered within 10 working days after you accept the resolution unless we have agreed otherwise with your or the resolution is dependent on actions to be taken by you which have not been completed.

We will delay taking any legal action in respect of a matter which is the subject of a complaint while it is being investigated internally and for 7 working days after we advise you of the outcome of the complaint.

If we decide, after investigating a complaint that it is frivolous or vexatious and that we can do nothing more to assist or, because of your behaviour we are unwilling to deal with you further, we will inform you in writing of the reasons for our decision and advise you of your options for external dispute resolution.

3.6   Complaints monitoring

All complaints will be recorded and analysed on an on-going basis to ensure continuous improvement in our processes.  We will also conduct quarterly and annual reviews on compliance with this policy and report on the same to senior management.

You may monitor the progress of your complaint by contacting us and quoting the reference number for your complaint (see section 5 for contact details).

3.7   Closing of complaints

Once we close a complaint with your consent or upon your request we will provide you with a written confirmation of the resolution within 5 working days.

1.  Record keeping
   We will assign each complaint a unique number so that it can be easily identified.

We will keep confidential records of each complaint, including:

• the issues raised;
• the resolution requested;
• the due date for a response;
• the results of any investigation;
• the proposed resolution and any associated commitments and the date we communicate that to you;
• our reasons for proposing the resolution;
• your response to the proposed resolution and any reasons you give for that response;
• the implementation of any required actions;
• the underlying cause of the complaint;  and
• copies of correspondence to, or by you.

• Contact
  By Phone:

126 122 free from your Lebara mobile
1300 126 122 (+61 2 8622 6500 from overseas) (standard call charges apply)

Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday 8.00 am – 8.00 pm AEST
Saturday, Sunday, Public Holidays 9.00 am – 6.00 pm AEST

By Email: care@lebara.com.au

By Mail:

Customer Care
Lebara Mobile
PO BOX 1113,
North Sydney
NSW 2060

If you wish to have a hard copy of the Lebara Complaints Handling Policy, please contact our customer service team and let us know your current postal address and we will be happy to send you a copy in the mail.

1. External resolution
   If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint or with the way in which we have handled the matter (including the timeframes for resolving your complaint), you can ask the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) to assist. You should note, however, that you need to give Lebara an opportunity to resolve your complaint before taking it to the TIO.

The TIO’s website can be found at:  https://www.tio.com.au