Payment assistance policy

In short

If you're having trouble paying your Alpha IT Centre bill, you have the right to ask us for help, and asking is free. For phone and internet services, our goal is to keep you connected, and we only disconnect a service as a last resort.

Which services this covers. Help with paying, such as more time, a payment plan or pausing reminders, is available for any Alpha IT Centre bill. The promises about staying connected, changing plans, and restricting, suspending or disconnecting a service apply to the phone and internet services we supply.

What "financial hardship" means. You can't pay your bill right now because of something like illness, losing work or income, family or domestic violence, a death in the family, a natural disaster or another change in your circumstances, but you could pay if we agreed a different arrangement with you.

What we can offer. Depending on your situation:

• more time to pay a bill
• a payment plan you can afford
• a cheaper phone or internet plan, or removing extras you don't need
• a hold on reminders and automatic payments while we work it out
• a credit, discount or waiver of part of a bill, in some cases
• paying by bank transfer, which is free

How to ask. Call us on 1300 20 55 73, email[email protected], or write to us at 1/48 Lillian Ave, Salisbury QLD 4107. You don't need a form, and for short-term help you don't need to show us any evidence.

What happens next. We'll tell you how long it will take, decide within 5 business days of having what we need, and let you know within 2 business days after that. While we're working it out, and while you keep to an arrangement, we won't restrict, suspend or disconnect your phone or internet service.

If you're not happy. Ask us to review the decision, or make a complaint. If that doesn't fix it and it's about a phone or internet service, you can contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) on 1800 062 058 or attio.com.au. Complaining won't stop you agreeing an arrangement with us.

Free, independent help. The National Debt Helpline offers free financial counselling on 1800 007 007 or at ndh.org.au.

The full policy is below.

Who this policy is for

This policy is for customers of Alpha Solutions Group Pty Ltd (ABN 28 160 968 847), trading as Alpha IT Centre, including small businesses and not-for-profit organisations, and anyone acting for them. It also covers former customers who still owe us money.

Our commitment

Our priority is to keep customers who are experiencing financial hardship connected to their phone and internet services. Disconnection will only be used as a measure of last resort.

You have the right to apply for payment assistance, and it's free. We don't charge for applying, for assessing your application, or for setting up or running an arrangement.

How to ask for help

You can ask in any of these ways:

• Phone: 1300 20 55 73, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, Brisbane time, except public holidays.
• Email: [email protected]
• Post: Alpha IT Centre, 1/48 Lillian Ave, Salisbury QLD 4107

You don't need to fill in a form. Tell us you're having trouble paying and we'll take it from there. We'll explain the options and how long things take, and give you a copy of this policy in a format that suits you. If you'd like to check how your request is going, contact us the same way. We'll give you a name and contact details to use.

If you need help to apply:

• Interpreter: call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 and ask them to call us.
• Hearing or speech impairment: use the National Relay Service ataccesshub.gov.au.
• Someone acting for you: a friend, family member or financial counsellor can contact us for you, with your permission.

How we decide

You can get help if you're experiencing financial hardship (as described above) and want to use one of the options.

Evidence. We won't ask for evidence if:

• you need short-term help, meaning up to three billing cycles; or
• you're affected by domestic, family or sexual violence.

For longer-term help we only ask for information when we really need it to decide. That's when you would owe more than $1,000 under the arrangement, you've been with us for less than two months, or there's a reasonable concern about fraud. If we do ask, we'll:

• tell you exactly what we need and how to send it;
• accept a document we can sight rather than keep wherever we can;
• give you enough time to provide it.

Anything you provide is used only to assess your application, kept securely, and destroyed once we've decided.

Timeframes. When you apply, we'll tell you roughly how long it will take. We'll decide within 5 business days of having a complete application, and tell you the outcome within 2 business days after that. If it's clear straight away that this policy can't help, we'll tell you then.

The options we offer

We tailor help to your circumstances and what you can afford to pay. The options include:

1. more time to pay a bill, or putting a payment off;
2. a payment plan tailored to what you can afford, in one or more instalments;
3. moving you to a phone or internet plan that suits you better;
4. removing services or features you don't need, at no cost;
5. pausing automatic payments and payment reminders while we work things out;
6. a credit to your account, or a discount on a bill charge;
7. waiving some or all of what you owe;
8. paying by bank transfer, a payment method that is free and is never taken automatically.

We may also suggest ways to manage future bills, and we can put you in touch with a financial counsellor.

An arrangement starts as soon as you tell us you agree to it. Within 2 business days we'll confirm it in writing. The confirmation sets out what we've agreed, your rights and obligations, how long it lasts, when we could take credit management action, and that you can ask for a review.

While you're getting help

We won't restrict, suspend or disconnect your phone or internet service, or sell your debt, while:

• you're talking to us about options;
• your application is being considered; or
• you're keeping to an arrangement.

If things change for you, please tell us within 14 days. We'll review the arrangement within 5 business days of hearing from you. If an arrangement isn't working, we'll get in touch to review it with you before doing anything else.

We'd only consider restricting, suspending or disconnecting a phone or internet service as a last resort, if an arrangement isn't kept and we've tried to review it with you. Before we did, we would:

• try to contact you at least three times, on different days within 10 days, in at least two ways, one of them in writing; and
• give you at least 10 business days' written notice of what we intend to do, when and why, with contact details for us, the TIO and financial counselling services.

Reviews and complaints

If you disagree with a decision, ask us to review it using any of the contact details above, or make a complaint. Our complaints page explains how to complain and how we handle it.

If we can't resolve it and it's about a phone or internet service, you can contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. The TIO is free and independent.

• Phone: 1800 062 058
• Website: tio.com.au

Making a complaint doesn't stop you agreeing to a payment arrangement with us.

Free support services

• National Debt Helpline: free, confidential financial counselling on 1800 007 007, or atndh.org.au
• Domestic, family or sexual violence: see ourfamily violence support page

About this policy

This policy is approved by our most senior responsible executive, who is responsible for how it works in practice. We review it at least once a year.