What You Need To Know

The useful things worth knowing before and after you join us — how to keep your spend under control, how much data things actually use, what affects the quality of your service, how billing works, and how to get hold of us if something is not right.

01 · Who you are dealing with

Your service is supplied by Pear Australia Pty Ltd (ABN 94 624 986 554) of 25 Gordonia Grove, Baulkham Hills NSW 2153. You can reach us on 1300 007 327, at hello@peartelco.com.au, or at peartelco.com.au. In this document, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Pear, and “you” and “your” mean the customer.

This is a plain-English guide, not the contract. The full terms are in our Standard Form of Agreement, and the specifics of your plan — inclusions, charges and any contract term — are in the Critical Information Summary for that plan. If anything here differs from those documents, they apply. Ask us for either at any time, free of charge.

02 · Managing your spend

If you are a residential customer, we will send you a notification by email or SMS when you reach 50%, 85% and 100% of the data allowance included in your mobile or broadband plan. Notifications are not in real time — there can be a delay of up to 24 hours — and they do not cover usage overseas, because overseas networks send us that data later.

Other ways to keep the bill predictable:

• Barring higher-cost call types — premium and special-rate numbers, international calls, or roaming.
• Choosing a plan without excess data charges, where your speed is shaped once the included allowance is used up.
• Watching your usage between bills in our my account portal, and asking us to review your plan if you pay excess charges most months.

If money is tight, tell us early rather than waiting for a reminder. Our Financial Hardship Policy explains the help available and how to ask — it is free, it is confidential, and it will not change how we treat you.

03 · Estimating your data usage

Knowing roughly what things cost in data makes it easier to pick the right plan. These are conservative averages and estimates only — actual usage depends on your device, the app, the quality setting you have selected, and how the network is performing.

As a rule of thumb, video is what uses data — everything else is rounding. Dropping the streaming quality from 4K or high definition to standard definition is the biggest saving available to most people.

04 · Coverage and what affects your service

Our VoIP and business services run on Pear’s own network. Our mobile services run over a mobile network we buy wholesale access to, so mobile coverage is the coverage of that network. Either way, we are responsible for the service we supply and we are the people to call if something is wrong. Before you order, ask us to check coverage at your address and we will do it for you, and tell you which mobile network your service runs on.

Coverage and speed are affected by things no provider controls:

• Local geography — hills, valleys, dense tree cover and distance from the nearest tower.
• Buildings — thick walls, basements, insulated roofing, lifts and underground car parks.
• Your device, its age and antenna, and the technology it supports (4G and 5G — 3G networks were shut down across Australia in 2024, so 3G-only handsets no longer work).
• How busy the network is, and weather, faults or maintenance.

Because coverage varies street by street, test it at the exact spot that matters to you if you can. If coverage is not what we told you to expect, contact us: we would rather fix it or release you than keep you on a service that does not work.

05 · Calling 000 on a VoIP service

This is the most important thing to know about a VoIP phone service, so we would rather say it plainly than bury it.

What this means for you:

• Always keep a charged mobile phone available as a backup for emergency calls. We recommend this to every customer, and it is the single most useful thing you can do.
• The address we hold for your service is what is passed to the emergency operator. If a handset is moved to another site — a home office, a second practice, a temporary location — the emergency operator may be given the wrong address. Tell us when a service moves so we can update it.
• A call to 000 from a VoIP service may not carry the same automatic location information as a call from a fixed line or a mobile. Be ready to state your address.
• Battery backup on your modem and handsets will extend how long the phones keep working in a blackout, but it is not a substitute for a mobile. We can advise on options.
• Priority Assistance is not available on our services. If anyone at your premises has a life-threatening medical condition that depends on a working phone line, you need a provider who offers Priority Assistance — tell us and we will say so plainly rather than sign you up.

These limitations are also set out in your Standard Form of Agreement. If any of this is a problem for how you work, talk to us before you order — it is much easier to solve at the start.

06 · Using your service overseas

Your mobile service will not roam overseas unless you ask us to switch roaming on, so you cannot run up a roaming bill by accident. If you want to use your service outside Australia, contact us before you travel.

07 · Paying us

We bill monthly. Fixed charges — your plan fee, equipment and any mobile access fee — are billed in advance, and usage charges in arrears, so the calls and data on a bill are from the month just gone. Your first bill may cover a part month, so it will look different from the ones that follow.

• Your bill is sent by email free of charge.
• Paper bills are free. If you would rather receive your invoice in the post than by email, just ask — we do not charge for it, and we do not charge for a paper copy of a current invoice.
• Our bills use a standard format, showing fixed charges, usage charges and any credits separately.
• If you think a charge is wrong, tell us. We will not pursue a disputed amount, or take credit management action over it, while it is genuinely in dispute.

08 · Hardware, warranties and dealing with us

Where we supply hardware — a modem, a router, a handset or a VoIP phone — you have rights under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded, including the guarantee that goods are of acceptable quality. If something we supplied is faulty, come to us: we deal with the manufacturer on your behalf.

You can appoint an authorised representative — a family member, a colleague, a financial counsellor or an advocate — to deal with us on your behalf. Add them on your customer application form, or contact us at any

time. We can also work with an interpreter through TIS National on 131 450, and with the National Relay Service if you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment. Both are free to you.

09 · Feedback and complaints

We would much rather hear about a problem than have you put up with it. Call 1300 007 327, email hello@peartelco.com.au, or write to us. You do not have to use the word “complaint” — telling us you are unhappy is enough, and our Complaint Handling Policy sets out the process in full.

• We acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and give you a reference number.
• We aim to resolve it at first contact, and in any event tell you our proposed resolution within 15 working days. If we cannot meet that, we will tell you before then — why, and when you will hear from us.
• Urgent complaints — no working service, or hardship with disconnection in prospect — get an answer within 2 working days.
• If you are unhappy with the person handling it, ask for it to be escalated to a manager. That costs nothing and you do not need a reason. We confirm decisions in writing on request.

If we cannot resolve it, or you are unhappy with the outcome, take it to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman — free, independent, and no permission needed from us: 1800 062 058 or tio.com.au. The Australian Communications and Media Authority at acma.gov.au oversees the industry rules generally.

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