Financial Difficulty Policy
elefa is a prepaid Voice-over-IP service. You only ever pay for credit you choose to buy in advance, so there is no bill, no debt, no late fee and no collections process to worry about. This page explains the help we can offer if you are still finding things tight.
Version 2.0 · Effective 27 May 2026
Our commitment
We will treat you with respect and confidentiality, take reasonable steps to keep you connected to family, and never pressure you into spending more than you can afford on calls.
1Who this policy is for
This policy applies to any elefa user who is having difficulty paying for the calls they want to make because of circumstances such as:
- •Loss of employment or reduced income
- •Illness, injury or disability (yours or a family member's)
- •Family or domestic violence
- •Natural disaster, displacement or refugee circumstances
- •Death of a close family member
- •Any other reasonable cause
2What we can do
Because the service is prepaid we cannot offer payment extensions or postpaid plans, but we can do the following:
Pause auto top-ups
We will switch off any scheduled or low-balance auto-recharge so you are never charged automatically.
Extend promotional credit
Where you hold expiring promotional or referral credit, we can extend the expiry while you work through your situation.
Refund unused purchased credit
Where it is lawful and the original payment method is still valid, we will refund unspent purchased credit on request.
Spend controls
Set a maximum monthly top-up cap on your account so you cannot accidentally spend more than your budget.
3How to ask for help
Email [email protected] from the address on your elefa account and tell us, in your own words, what you would like us to do. We do not require documentation up-front. We aim to respond within 5 business days (Melbourne time).
Conversations with our hardship contact are confidential and are handled separately from sales and marketing.
4What we will not do
- • We do not issue postpaid bills, so there is no debt to chase and nothing to refer to a collections agency.
- • We do not report missed payments to any credit reporting body, because there are no missed payments to report.
- • We do not charge late fees, account-keeping fees or reconnection fees.
- • We do not sell your contact details to lenders or to debt-relief services.
5Free external support (Australia)
National Debt Helpline
Free, independent financial counselling.
Phone: 1800 007 007 · Web: ndh.org.au
MoneySmart (ASIC)
Government resources for managing money.
Web: moneysmart.gov.au
Lifeline
24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention.
Phone: 13 11 14
If you are outside Australia, please look up the equivalent free financial counselling service in your country - most governments and major charities run one.
6If you are not satisfied
Escalation
First, write to [email protected]. If we cannot resolve it, the next step depends on what your complaint is about:
- • Payments and refunds: raise a dispute with the card issuer or payment provider used for the purchase. In Australia, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA, afca.org.au) handles disputes about payment services.
- • Privacy: the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC, oaic.gov.au · 1300 363 992).
- • Telecommunications service (Australia): elefa is not currently a member of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman scheme as our service profile does not require membership. We will join when required by law. Until then, please escalate by the above pathways or by contacting ACMA at acma.gov.au.