Consumer advocate slams Slingshot move

David Russell has criticised the way Slingshot has attacked Telecom's XT mobile network. Photo / Kenny Rodger

A consumer advocate has labelled a marketing campaign aimed at disgruntled XT customers hypocritical.

Chairman of the Telecommunication Dispute Resolution Service (TDR) David Russell is critical of new mobile player Slingshot encouraging XT customers to lay a complaint against Telecom as a parting shot before moving to its mobile service, particularly given the company is no longer a member of the scheme.

Slingshot had been part of the voluntary scheme when it began just over two years ago, but left a year ago.

"What really got up my nose is they have backed out of our scheme last year and now as a marketing ploy are inviting people to have a crack at Telecom through it, which seems to be a bit duplicitous," Russell said.

Slingshot's website advises consumers they will be protected by the Consumer Guarantees Act which states that the service you have purchased must be fit for the purpose it was intended - to make and receive calls, texts and for mobile internet.

"If you're experiencing frequent outages that are limiting your access to these basic functions on your mobile phone, you could hardly say that the mobile was serving the purpose for which you purchased it," the Slingshot website states.

It then goes on to detail the dispute resolution process and provides a "complaint template" for aggrieved consumers to complain to the TDR.

The TDR was created by the industry in 2007 after the previous government threatened to create an ombudsman to hear complaints.

The scheme - run by a mediation company - is modelled on the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commission and the Banking Ombudsman, which are funded by industry players but operate independently from the companies and the Government.

Complaints can be taken to the service if a phone or internet company accepts it cannot resolve the dispute or a complaint is still unresolved after six weeks.

Newly appointed chief executive of CallPlus, Slingshot's parent company, and Slingshot's former head Mark Callander, said the company left the "ineffectual process" and had established its own internal complaints service.

Under its own scheme, Slingshot customer complaints will be dealt with by a "Slingshot Complaint Review Team" or passed to an independent arbitrator.

Callander said the lack of mediation and fair assessment of complaints meant customers could escalate the issue to the point where it cost the relevant telco more than $1000.

"I'm encouraging Telecom customers [to make a complaint] because it's a very effective process if you're a customer going through the TDR process ... it doesn't work for ISPs," Callander said.

He said he supports industry standards for complaints but that it has to work for both the customers and telcos.

Callander noted Slingshot was not the only company to pull out from the service - WorldxChange is another founding member no longer on the list.

Russell said he would welcome Slingshot back but advises it not to play a "double game".

"What they're doing is implying that perhaps they belong to the scheme when in fact they don't," Russell said.

Russell said since Slingshot had left the scheme complaints against the telco had risen.

The scheme's annual report only details whether a telco has had a complaint against it and does not keep a tally of complaints.

He said consumers looking to switch phone or internet suppliers should ask if the new provider belongs to an independent dispute resolution scheme.

The scheme is currently undergoing a review.

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