Please see full details of our Telecommunications Payment Assistance (Bill Assist) Policy here.
Sumo Telecommunications Payment Assistance (Bill Assist) Policy Summary
At Sumo, we understand that access to telecommunications is important to all customers. We also understand that financial hardship can make it hard to pay bills.
Helping you through financial hardship with our Bill Assist program
Our Bill Assist program is for residential and eligible small business customers who are unable to pay their telecommunications bills due to short or long-term financial hardship.
Financial hardship means:
You are experiencing any of the following situations:
- personal or household illness
- unemployment
- low or insufficient income, including reduced access to income
- being a victim survivor of domestic or family violence
- a death in the family
- a change in personal or family circumstances
- a natural disaster
- unexpected events or unforeseen changes impacting your income or expenditure, or
- other reasonable causes, and
You can meet your payment obligations if payment assistance is provided.
Eligible customers have a right to apply for Bill Assist, and participating is free of charge.
How we can help
Our short and long term assistance options include:
- temporarily postponing, extending, or deferring the time for paying a bill
- applying a credit to your account
- waiving a debt
- a payment plan which is tailored to meet your ability to pay
- transferring you to a different telecommunications product that better suits you, or
- offering a free non-automatic payment method.
We will work together towards a solution that best suits your needs. When doing so, we’ll consider your individual circumstances how much you can afford.
How to apply
You can apply for Bill Assist, or check on progress of an application you have made for which we have not completed our assessment, by getting in touch in one of the below ways:
- Call us on 13 88 60 (Monday to Friday 8:30am – 6:00pm AET, except public holidays)
For language assistance or if you are hearing impaired, please call National Relay Service on 1300 366 356. For interpreter services please call 03 9102 8427.
- Send an email to telco@sumo.com.au, and we’ll contact you back.
With your permission, we’ll also work with your authorised person or advocate who can speak to us on your behalf. Remember, our Bill Assist program is to help you stay connected.
Other important information
If you have a complaint about our Bill Assist program or a decision about your application, contact us on 13 88 60 (Monday to Friday 8:30am – 6:00pm AET, except public holidays) or email us at telco@sumo.com.au. We’ll try to resolve your issue as quickly as possible in accordance with our Telecommunications Complaint Handling Process.
If you are not satisfied with our resolution of your complaint, you may contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman on 1800 062 058 or via tio.com.au.
Please note that making a complaint will not prevent you from accessing Bill Assist.