Telstra customers hit by outage can apply for compensation
Australians impacted by Telstra’s outage last week can apply for compensation from the telco.
The failure blocked hundreds of triple zero calls, impacted mobile calls and data services, caused major public transport delays and took down a payment system used by about 80,000 businesses last Wednesday.
Telstra CFO Michael Ackland during press conference regarding the outage. The Age
The company later identified a software defect as the source of the issue.
Telstra chief financial officer Michael Ackland apologised for the disruption to customers and the broader community.
“We know how much you rely on our network for work, for travel and to stay safe,” Ackland said.
“We take that responsibility very seriously.”
Business customers who have experienced a direct financial loss during the outage can request a compensation assessment on the telco’s website.
“Once your complaint has been lodged, you’ll receive an email from your case manager,” Ackland said.
“We require evidence to support your claim and will ask for you to provide this via a reply to that email.”
Business customers will need to provide point of sale records, EFTPOS transaction reports, booking records, invoice or order records, accounting reports or comparable sales records from previous Wednesdays.
“Providing a clear description of the impact, your estimated claim amount, and supporting documentation will help us assess your claim more efficiently,” Ackland said.
“We may contact you by phone to discuss further evidence required or to clarify your claim, if we need to.”
Ackland also urged customers to be vigilant about scams following the outage.
“We’ve seen reports of fraudsters calling customers, claiming to be from Telstra and trying to take advantage of the outage,” he said.
“If you get a call from someone claiming to be from Telstra asking for your details in light of the outage, hang up and call us directly.
“Our teams are working as quickly as possible to resolve any remaining issues.”
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