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Telcos to re-join dispute scheme
Mon, 18th Jul 2011
FYI, this story is more than a year old

A number of smaller telecommunications companies are to re-join a dispute resolution scheme when changes to its pricing structure and code of practice come into force next month.

The Telecommunications Carriers' Forum (TCF) has confirmed it has revised its customer complaints code, with the Telecommunications Dispute Resolution Scheme (TDRS) to ‘go live' with these changes on August 1.

TCF chief executive David Stone says several TCF members who are not currently part of the scheme have confirmed they will join.

One of these is thought to be CallPlus, parent company to Slingshot.

CallPlus CEO Mark Callander has been an outspoken critic of the TDRS in the past, telling TechDay last year his company left the scheme because it was too expensive and too easy for disputes to spiral out of control.

The cost to Telcos is now $500 per complaint, not including settlement costs, and complaints can no longer escalate automatically.

Other companies expected to re-join the scheme include 2degrees, Woosh and Compass.