Case studies

Cecilia’s story
Cecilia is from a non-English speaking background. She was visited at home by a door-to-door marketer who was promoting the benefits of signing a ‘dual fuel’ contract for both electricity and gas. She signed the contract, but she did not really understand what the salesperson was saying. Mandy, her niece, called EWON because she was upset that the marketer had asked Cecilia to sign a contract when she did not speak English well. Moreover, when Mandy contacted the retailer they told her that if the contract was cancelled they would charge a termination fee because the cooling-off period had passed. Through the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS), EWON was able to talk to Cecilia and confirm what happened. Based on the information provided by Cecilia through TIS, EWON was able to negotiate with the retailer for her to be released from the contract without penalty.

John’s story
John had recently been released from prison and he had $233 outstanding on his electricity account. He rang EWON because his electricity provider had given him a final extension but as he was finding it hard to pay his account, he was likely to be disconnected. EWON referred John to a local community agency for financial assistance. The agency was able to provide John with $60 worth of EAPA vouchers which he put towards his arrears. John established a Centrepay arrangement of $20 per fortnight and agreed to seek further financial assistance. In light of John’s efforts, EWON was also able to negotiate a long term payment arrangement with his electricity provider. John was satisfied that this payment arrangement would ensure he could manage his electricity account.

Tim’s story
Tim was receiving a series of estimated bills. He contacted EWON because he was concerned that his electricity retailer was not billing him correctly.Tim said he had always paid his electricity account on time and his quarterly bills had been consistently around $300. However, his most recent bill was $500. EWON reviewed the information provided by Tim and the electricity retailer and found that the bills appeared to be correct. We advised Tim that the meter reader had reported ongoing problems in accessing Tim’s meter, and that this had resulted in Tim receiving a number of estimated bills, then a ‘catch up’ bill. Tim agreed to do ‘self reads’ of his meter and provide the retailer with the readings if he receives any further estimated bills.