Check your phone bill

When you receive your bill, check to make sure:

• the rate your telco has charged is the rate you expected. This rate is on your contract or your plan's Critical Information Summary
• all the charges on the bill are yours

If you see numbers or charges you don’t recognise, contact your telco as soon as possible.

If you complain and they can't sort out the issue, you can contact the telecommunications ombudsman.

Sometimes there is a delay before your telco adds a call to your bill.

When you see a charge for a call you made during a previous bill period, this is ‘backbilling’. Your telco cannot charge you for a call more than 160 days after you made it.

To avoid large phone bills, make sure you know:

• how to use your mobile overseas with international roaming
• the cost of calls from mobiles or call charges from landlines
• the costs of using a mobile premium service and the consumer protections available

Your rights as a telco customer

The Telecommunications Consumer Protection Code gives you rights as a customer. These include:

• the right to a bill that is easy to understand
• the right to control any direct debits
• help if you can't pay your bill

Find out about your rights as a telecommunications customer.