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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from ZDNet Australia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Late fines of $40 million doesn't cover Telstra's costs By James Pearce, ZDNet Australia June 19, 2002 URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Late-fines-of-40-million-doesn-t-cover-Telstra-s-costs/0,130061791,120266085,00.htm
Telstra reportedly collected AU$40 million in late fines from its customers last year, but the telco claims the money it pockets from late payments still doesn't cover costs. The AU$5.50 late fee was introduced in April 2000 in order to recoup costs incurred in recovering money owed. However, the collective fees only go part of the way in recouping these costs, according to the telecoms giant. -We incur an enormous amount of expense in chasing late payments," Telstra spokesperson Michael Herskope told ZDNet Australia. -There are costs in postage, phone calls, staff hours, letter printing, etc." -We'd prefer to have customers pay on time than collect a late fee from them," he said, adding that there are numerous ways to avoid paying the late fee, from pre-paid home service to direct debit. Optus, which recently doubled its late fine from AU$5.50 to AU$11.00, refused to disclose how much it had collected.
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