Sales: 1300 477 827 Support: 1300 464 778

Complaint Handling – IPSTAR

At IPSTAR we pride ourselves on offering our customers a high level of service. Our goal is to resolve any customer concerns in the first instance wherever possible. However, we do recognise that, on occasion we made not meet the expectations of our customers. In which case, our customers may wish to express their dissatisfaction with our products, staff or services.

Our goal is to deliver an efficient resolution to any complaint that our customers may receive. Depending on the nature of the complaint our goal is to resolve all complaints in a fair and reasonable manner within 10 business days. Typically you can expect resolution in less than 5 business days. In the case of urgent complaints, we aim to resolve these complaints in a fair and reasonable manner within 2 business days.

In order to assist you in tracking a complaint, you may request a reference number at any stage of the complaint handling process.

Logging a complaint

Our frontline staff are trained to resolve the overwhelming majority of complex issues that our customers may from time to time experience. In some instances it may not be possible to resolve an issue immediately, but you can expect our staff to keep you updated (within the timeframes set out above) as to the progress of your issue. This is especially the case where the issue is more complex or requires third party intervention. Our frontline employees are trained and skilled to typically resolve the vast majority of customer issues in the first instance, without further escalation. At this level you can typically expect a response to your issue within 2 business days.

Escalating a Complaint

In instances where our frontline staff are not able to resolve your complaint it can be escalated to a Team Leader. In many instances a team leader will be instantly available to intervene. However, on occasion this might not be possible immediately. In these cases we will request your account and preferred contact details.
An IPSTAR team leader will attempt to contact you to work towards resolution as soon as reasonably possible and within two business days.

Further Escalation

In rare instances it may not be possible for the frontline staff member or team leader to resolve your issue to your satisfaction in which case the team leader assigned to resolving your issues will advise you. They will then escalate the issue to the relevant manager internally (where the issue resides entirely within IPSTAR), or externally (where the issue may reside with a third party). You contact point within IPSTAR will remain the team leader assigned to your case.

Complaints at this level are typically complex and may require third party intervention. We aim to resolve these complaints within 5 business days. In rare instances, it may require 15 business days; typically most complaints are resolved in less than 5 business days, however some issues may involve third party negotiations and investigations. This may delay resolution. In these cases we will remain in contact with you and provide regular updates. Should we not be able to adhere to this timeframe, we will keep you updated as to the progress of the issue.

Contacting IPSTAR to Lodge a Complaint

IPSTAR offers a number of ways for you to lodge your complaint free of charge.

Telephone

We can be contacted on 1300 464 778 free of charge. We are open 08.00 to 19.00 Monday to Friday, and 09.00 to 17.30 on Saturdays. We are closed on NSW Public Holidays.

Calls from mobile phone services may not be free. You are advised to check with your provider.

Email

Where customers have access to the internet, we can be contacted at this email address [email protected]Your internet service provider may charge you for the cost of data. You are advised to check with your provider.

Post

We can be sent a letter postage free at the below address. IPSTAR will cover the cost of postage.

IPSTAR Australia
154 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, New South Wales 2065

Next Steps

Most customer issues are resolved by following the above steps. However should you remain dissatisfied with how your issue has been handled, as a last resort the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) can provide independent advice. The TIO is an office of last resort and deals with complaints that consumers have not been able to resolve with their telecommunications provider after exhausting all possible avenues within the company.

Should you wish to contact the TIO, there contact details are available here http://www.tio.com.au/about-us/contact-us

Should you wish to contact the TIO, we recommend that you exhaust all other escalation paths first. When an escalation is handled internally, without external intervention of a third party (in this instance the TIO), we are able to communicate directly with our customers. We genuinely want to resolve customer issues and in many instances mediation can slow down the resolution process.

IPSTAR also recognises your right to contact your local Office of Fair Trading (or equivalent).

Updates on your escalated issue

IPSTAR are happy to provide you with reasonable and regular updates on your escalated issue. We will notify you with regular updates on your unresolved issue. When speaking with your IPSTAR representative or team leader, please let us know your preferred communication method and we will be happy to negotiate how and when we keep you updated.

Defining Urgent Complaints

We recognise the need to respond to and resolve all complaints as quickly and efficiently as possible. However from time to time we acknowledge that some customers may experience an issue of a very urgent nature. We aim to resolve such complaints within 2 business days. Where we are unable to meet this timeframe, we will endeavour to keep you updated as to the progress of the issue. As a guide, the below examples are what would ordinarily be considered urgent complaints:

  • Your issue is life threatening or dangerous to yourself or others
  • Your have been deemed to be in need of IPSTAR Financial Hardship (refer to our financial hardship policy). The issue that you are experiencing further contributes to or worsens that hardship.
  • A disconnection has occurred in error, or is about to happen.

Business Customers

IPSTAR does not currently offer any business grade plans. We acknowledge that some customers may use their IPSTAR services to support their commercial operations from time to time. However we do not offer a class of service that differentiates between business and residential customers. As such all instances of escalated customer issues will receive the same level of support and assistance as our residential class of service plans. In the event that IPSTAR warrant a customer do be entitled to any form of compensation, we will generally not take into consideration that the customer may have been using the service for commercial activity.

IPSTAR Complaint Handling Policy in Different Formats

Should a customer (or former customer) require assistance with a copy of this policy in a format that meets their disability or language needs, please contact IPSTAR. We will endeavour to assist with providing a format of this policy that meets the needs of our customers (or former customers) within a reasonable period of time.

In some cases our customers may choose to nominate an authorised representative to assist with lodging a complaint. We are happy to accommodate these requests; however we will need to first gain satisfactory approval from our account holder, before we can appoint an authorised representative.

Resolution of your Complaint

Regardless of the escalation point of your complaint, we will ask for your acceptance of the resolution, before we apply the resolution.