Terms And Conditions

All complaints will be resolved as effectively as possible. We will do our best to resolve your issue on the first call or we will forward the matter onto someone who can. When you make a complaint over the phone we will provide you with the following:

• A reference or case number so you can identify and track your complaint.
• An estimated time-frame for when we will action and resolve your complaint.
• Information about our complaint handling process.
• Where a complaint is made by email, via our website, or by post, we will ensure that we get this information to you within 5 working day of receiving your complaint.

While your complaint is being investigated, we always provide you with progress updates so you know what’s happening. You can also contact us to check the progress of your complaint. We always try to resolve your complaint at the time it’s raised, however, if we need to investigate the matter further, we’ll aim to resolve it, or tell you what we’re doing to resolve it, within 5 working days.

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Time taken to investigate a complaint is determined by its seriousness and complexity, but we are committed to resolving all complaints within 10 working days of receiving them. Once we resolve the matter with you, we will aim to finish all appropriate steps to deliver that resolution within 7 – 10 working days. We will only implement the resolution once it’s been accepted by you.

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In some cases where this may differ, you may agree to a different time-frame for complaint resolution, or we may need you to do something further in order to resolve the complaint. When it comes to urgent complaints, we aim to resolve them within 2 working days of being received. At times we might not be able to resolve a complaint within the time frames set out above. If that’s the case, we’ll contact you and explain the reason for the delay and give you a new time-frame for resolution.

If you’re not happy with how your complaint has been resolved, you have a number of options.
 We will escalate the complaint and review the resolution you were offered. This may involve an escalation to the next level of management, or the appointment of a case manager in our resolutions team.

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There are also some external dispute resolution options available to you. This includes making a complaint to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO). The TIO is a fast, free and fair dispute resolution service for small business and consumer customers who have a complaint about their telephone or internet service in Australia.

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For broader telecommunications issues that may be outside the jurisdiction of the TIO, you can also Contact the Australian Communication & Media Authority (ACMA) or, for trade practices issues, the Australian Consumers Competition Commission (ACCC).

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TIO Contact Details

Write
PO Box 276
Collins Street
West Vic
8007

This complaint handling process has been designed to comply with the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code (TCP). Implementation, operation and compliance of this process with the TCP code is the responsibility of Alpha Dot Nets’ Managing Director and team of IT and telecommunications staff.

The code covers many aspects to assist service providers and their customers in establishing and maintaining an understanding of what is required to provide and use a telecommunications service, and deliver the best service. On September 1, 2012, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the regulator for telecommunications services in Australia, registered a revised consumer protection code.

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Over the coming years it will be progressively phased in to assist customers and improve the way that Telecommunications are handled in Australia. As a Telecommunications Carriage Service Provider, Alpha Dot Net Australia Pty Ltd is required to comply with the code.

The Alpha service support team monitors and manages the delivery of all services for you &/or your business. Our team are dedicated to deliver a prompt and efficient service with an aim to meet or exceed all Service Level Agreements defined in your contract.

We support the following payment methods:

• Monthly credit or debit card billing by providing and allowing Alpha Dot Net Australia to retain your payment information. If you select monthly debit /credit card billing, we will charge your card the nominated amount each month on the 1st of each month until you notify us. Direct deposit to the below bank account, and listing the invoice number as the reference:
  
  Bank: ANZ
  Name: Alpha Dot Net Australia
  BSB: 012 071
  Account Number: 259 376 189

• Cheque addressed to Alpha Dot Net Australia, and delivered to Suite 205, 15 Belvoir Street Surry Hills NSW 2010.

• Payment made over the phone by providing debit or credit card details to out accounting department, contactable on +612 9211 7782.

For any invoicing inquiries, billing adjustments, payment advice or queries with regards to invoices, you may contact our accounts department directly at accounts@alpha.net.au or by phone on +612 9211 7782

An itemized invoice is available for billing and will be dated the first day of each month and issued on or near to the first day of each month. We invoice one month in advance. Each invoice will include a link to the Alpha Financial Hardship policy, for full information please refer to our terms and conditions.

We invoice clients in advance for the minimum monthly charge and in arrears for any additional services that you may have used prior to the first invoice.

As part of our commitment to providing great customer service and client management tools Alpha will provide advice and various useful tools which can help you see how you use your service(s) with us, and solutions so you can simply manage your spend. To access our advice on spend management tool, please click HERE.

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The customer portal has been designed to allow customers to manage spending easily. You can login and monitor service usage, manage and configure services and contact Alpha Dot Net customer support. Usage notifications are free of charge. This service allows you to view your data usage, change your passwords, add ‘away’ messages and email forwarding from anywhere on the web.

Financial Hardship

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The Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code C628:2012 defines financial hardship as a situation where a customer is unable to be discharged of the financial obligations in relation to our services but where the customer expects to be able to do so over time if payment arrangements are changed.

 

Statement of intention

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We are here to help.

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We will work with you to help you respond to financial difficulty, whether temporary or long-term. We are committed to helping customers facing financial hardship maintain telecommunications access and working with you to find a sustainable solution. 

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Any help we can give will depend on your individual circumstances, and we provide help on a case-by-case basis.

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We understand that financial hardship is about your inability to pay us rather than an unwillingness to do so. It can be either limited or long term in duration, and may come about due to a variety of factors or events, such as:

• Loss of your employment or that of a family member.
• Illness, including physical incapacity, hospitalization, mental illness.
• Family breakdown.
• Being a victim of domestic or family violence
• Other factors resulting in an unforeseen change in your capacity to meet their payment obligations, whether through a reduction in income or through an increase in non-discretionary expenditure.
• Natural disaster.

Assessing your eligibility

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When assessing your eligibility for Financial Hardship, we may request supporting documentation to conduct an assessment. However, we would not ordinarily require it unless:

• It appears that the financial arrangement will need to be long term;
• The Supplier considers the amount to be repaid large or significant;
• The Customer has not been the Supplier’s Customer very long; or
• The Supplier reasonably believes there is a possibility of fraud.

If you satisfy one of the above criteria, we may ask you to provide certain documents such as:

• A statutory declaration or official written communication from a person or support group that is familiar with your circumstances ( family doctor, clergy, bank officer, etc.);
• Evidence that you consulted a recognised financial counsellor; and
• A statement of your financial position.

We may not be able to assess your circumstances if you do not provide us with the requested information. We may use the information you provide as well as other information available to us. Once we receive all required information, we will let you know within 7 working days whether you are eligible for assistance under our Financial Hardship Policy.

If you are eligible, we will work with you to come to an arrangement that allows you to pay your outstanding charges in a way that does not worsen your financial position.

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Where appropriate we will discuss means with you how to limit your spend (this may include barring some service features) during the time of our arrangement and thereafter.

Once we come to an agreement, we will put this in writing via letter or email to you. You have the right to request these details in writing. You must inform us if your circumstances change (for better or for worse) during our arrangement.

We will not charge you for assessing your Financial Hardship circumstances or for administering the matter.

Your options:

If you are eligible, there are a few options that may be available to you depending on your circumstances. If you wish to stay connected with us, some options include:

• Spend controls
• Restriction of services to reduce financial overcommitment
• Long-term payment arrangements
• Transferring you to a Pre-Paid Service;

Some other options for suitable financial arrangements include:

• Temporarily postponing or deferring payments;
• Waiving late payment fees;
• Discounting of debt;

If you are having a problem paying for your service/s, or you wish to discuss options to minimize your bill, please call us between 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday on 02 9211 7782, send an email to accounts@alpha.net.au or lodge an inquiry on the Contact Us link on our website for a financial arrangement.

Negotiating a Financial Arrangement

A financial arrangement is generally structured around a payment plan to help you repay the amount owed for services provided at a rate you can manage. When we agree on a financial arrangement, we understand that repayments should be sufficient to cover expected future use of the service as well as providing continued reduction of debt at a reasonable level to ensure that you do not go further into arrears under the arrangement.

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Agreeing to a payment plan and complying with the conditions can help prevent disconnection or any restriction of your service. Suspension and disconnection of your service is used only as a final measure, and we will endeavour to work with you to ensure this does not happen. We understand the impact that this may have to your home and/or business.

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There are also a range of other financial support services available such as free financial counselling services offered in each state and territory in Australia. For more information on these & other options available please see the ACMA’s website:

https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/managing-your-money/managing-debts/financial-counselling

Alpha Dot Net is committed to providing you with flexibility when it comes to paying your bills because we recognize that sometimes unforeseen events may affect your ability to pay us for services you have used.

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You may wish to make a complaint and request a review if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your Financial Hardship application. Pursuant to the Australian Communications Media Authority (‘ACMA’) Complaints Standard, a complaint does not include an initial call to request information or support or to report a fault or service difficulty unless you advise us that you want that call treated as a complaint and does not include an issue that is the subject of legal action. You can also make a complaint in writing by email or post.

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We are required to acknowledge all complaints within two working days, use our best efforts to resolve the complaint on first contact and otherwise resolve the complaint within 15 working days. As an additional safeguard to ensure that your complaint is properly handled, any complaints data that we receive will be provided to the ACMA to allow it to monitor our complaints-handling process in line with the ACMA Record-keeping Rules.

Alpha Dot Net uses a number of third party providers to maintain a broad, comprehensive and competitive range of network products & services. We may use third party networks when delivering Alpha Dot Net services to you and may change the networks we use from time to time. Our third party providers may include AAPT, NBN Co, Telstra, BigAir.

As part of Government compliance, Alpha Dot Net is, as of October 2015, required to keep, record and maintain data as per our legal obligations under the new data retention policy, The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Act 2015 (Cth) (Data Retention Act). The data retention obligations apply to a service that is:

• For carrying communications or enables communications to be carried, by guided or unguided electromagnetic energy.
• Operated by a carrier, carriage service provider, or internet service provider.
• Operated by a person that owns or operates, in Australia, infrastructure that enables the provision of any relevant service.

The legislation sets out the types of data that we must retain to comply with the obligation. The data to be retained will be encrypted and protected from unauthorized interference or unauthorized access. The data to be retained is set out in six categories:

• The subscriber of, and accounts, services, telecommunications devices and other relevant services relating to, the relevant service.
• The source of a communication.
• The destination of a communication.
• The date, time and duration of a communication, or of its connection to a relevant service.
• The type of a communication or of a relevant service used in connection with a communication.
• The location of equipment, or a line, used in connection with a communication.

Access to telecommunications data by law enforcement and national security agencies is substantively unchanged by the data retention obligations.

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The legislation continues to enable a limited group of enforcement and security agencies to authorize the disclosure of telecommunications data in certain circumstances. Providers are required by the Telecommunications Act to give such help as is reasonably necessary in responding to those requests.

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Where access to data is required an authorized officer of an enforcement agency or an eligible person in a security agency will approach Alpha Dot Net and request the data that is subject to an authorization.

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If we are uncertain about the credentials of the authorized officer or eligible person, we can contact the requesting agency or the CAC to confirm whether the person has the authority to make the request. Alpha Dot Net must comply with the record-keeping requirements in Part 13, Division 5 of the Telecommunications Act.

Alpha Dot Net is here to help persons with a disability understand their options and select the telecommunications products which best suit their needs. We encourage persons wishing to gain a greater understanding to reach out to us via phone and email, and also to visit ACCAN’s Disability Portal – Accessible Telecoms at http://accan.org.au/disability.

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If you have a hearing/speech impairment, you may wish to use the National Relay Service and ask to be connected to

Alpha on 02 9211 7782.

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See https://www.accesshub.gov.au/about-the-nrs for details.

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Please note you will need to be online to use this service.

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If you have a vision impairment, please contact Alpha on 02 9211 7782 to discuss having your Bills, Contracts, Critical Information Summaries and other documents provided in larger font.

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Improve Customer Experience: We want to make sure that our premises¸ products, services and information are accessible and easy to use and meet the needs of a diverse customer base. This is about intimately understanding the needs of our customers.

For further information regarding communications alliance broadband education package please visit https://www.commsalliance.com.au/BEP