Complaints

Effective 1 September 2026

If something's gone wrong, tell us. We'd rather hear it and fix it than have you put up with it. Making a complaint is free, it won't affect your service, and you'll be dealing with the same people who answer the phone every other day — not a queue in another country.

This is the complaints-handling process of Mertel Pty Ltd (ABN 88 644 567 019), trading as Better Broadband, published as required by the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code. It applies to residential and small business customers.

1. How to make a complaint

• Call 1300 100 103 or (02) 9533 3300 and say you'd like to make a complaint.
• In person at Riverwood Plaza, 257 Belmore Rd, Riverwood NSW 2210 — ask for the manager.
• In writing through our contact form. Put "complaint" in the message so it isn't handled as a general enquiry.

Tell us what happened, what you'd like done about it, and the best way and time to reach you. If you'd rather someone dealt with us on your behalf — a family member, a financial counsellor, an advocate — that's fine, as long as you've authorised them. If English isn't your first language or you need help being understood, say so and we'll arrange it, including a free interpreter, at no charge to you.

2. What it costs

Nothing. We don't charge to receive, investigate or resolve a complaint, and we won't charge you for escalating one. If you ask us for a written record of your complaint and how it was handled, that's free too.

3. What happens, and by when

• We acknowledge it. Immediately if you call or come in. If you complain in writing, within 2 working days.
• We investigate and tell you the outcome within 15 working days of you making the complaint — what we found, what we're doing about it, and by when.
• Urgent complaints — you have an unresolved connection or fault problem and you've been approved for financial hardship assistance, or you're facing imminent disconnection over a disputed bill — are resolved within 2 working days.
• If we can't meet those timeframes, we'll tell you before they run out, explain why, give you a new date, and tell you then and there that you can take it to the Ombudsman.
• If we agree to do something, we do it within 10 working days of you accepting the outcome, unless you've agreed to something longer.

While a complaint about a disputed amount is being worked through, we won't disconnect you over the amount in dispute, and we won't send it to a debt collector.

4. If you're not happy with the answer

Ask us to escalate it. Call 1300 100 103 or ask for the manager in store — the complaint goes to the business owner, who will review it and come back to you. We'll tell you the outcome of that review and, if it isn't what you wanted, why.

5. The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman

You can contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) at any time, but they'll usually ask you to give us a chance to fix it first. The TIO is free, independent and confidential:

• Phone 1800 062 058
• Online tio.com.au

You can also take a privacy complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (1300 363 992, oaic.gov.au) — see our privacy policy — or a consumer-law complaint to the ACCC or your state's fair trading office. Using any of them doesn't cost you anything and doesn't affect your service.

6. Records

We record every complaint, what we did about it and when. You can ask for a copy of your own record at any time and we'll provide it free of charge. Records are kept for at least two years, and handled under our privacy policy.

Need this in another format — large print, or read to you over the phone? Call 1300 100 103 and we'll sort it out at no charge. Struggling to pay rather than unhappy with the service? Start with our financial hardship policy.