Straight answers to the questions Australian businesses ask most often about telecom auditing, billing disputes and getting started with Jensen IPA.
Most businesses don't - and that is exactly the problem. Telstra billing errors are common but almost impossible to identify without specialist knowledge of how Telstra's internal systems and billing processes work. The fastest way to find out is to send Jensen IPA a copy of your most recent itemised bill and have a free conversation about what it might be telling you. Most clients are surprised by what a fresh set of expert eyes can find.
Very little. All Jensen IPA needs to begin an initial assessment is a phone conversation and a fully itemised PDF copy of your most recent Telstra bill. If you have specific disputes, concerns or questions you want investigated, details of those are helpful too. There is no commitment required at this stage - Jensen IPA will assess your account and give you an honest picture of whether a full audit is likely to be worthwhile before you decide anything.
It depends on the complexity of your account and the nature of the issues involved. Getting formal access to Telstra's systems typically takes three to four weeks. The analysis phase usually takes a further two to three weeks. Disputes can take anywhere from a few days to several months depending on their complexity. Jensen IPA works every case through to completion - no matter how long it takes - and keeps you updated throughout the process.
No. Once Jensen IPA is formally engaged and has the necessary authority to act on your behalf, all communication with Telstra is handled directly. You do not need to make calls, sit on hold, or chase responses. Jensen IPA manages the entire process and reports back to you with clear updates at every stage.
Yes. All client engagements are covered by a signed legal contract that specifically addresses privacy and confidentiality. Jensen IPA will always inform you before sharing any of your information with a third party, and your billing data is handled with complete confidentiality throughout the engagement.
Your first consultation is completely free. From there, Jensen IPA's audit fee starts from $550 incl GST - based on approximately 10% of your monthly Telstra spend - which covers the time required to gain access to your account and complete the full analysis. On top of this, a recovery fee of 20% applies to any credits actually applied to your bill. If no credits are recovered, no recovery fee is charged.
Jensen IPA's recovery fee - 20% of credits applied to your bill - is only charged when money is actually recovered for your business. If Jensen IPA investigates your account and no credits are applied, you will not be charged a recovery fee. The upfront audit fee still applies, but this covers the specialist time required to properly review your account - regardless of the outcome.
No. All fees are explained upfront and in full before any work begins. Jensen IPA does not charge for future savings made by cancelling unnecessary services - only for credits actually applied to your bill by Telstra. If anything changes during an engagement that might affect the cost, you will be told immediately.
Ongoing monthly management contracts are priced individually based on the size and complexity of your account. Contracts are available over six, twelve or twenty-four months. All contracts include monthly bill reviews, summary reports, dispute lodgement and follow-up, and direct support on any account changes or service transitions during the contract period. Contact Jensen IPA for a quote specific to your business.
Yes. Jensen IPA assesses every client individually and will not recommend a full audit where the likely recovery does not justify the investment. For smaller accounts where a full audit may not be warranted, Jensen IPA offers alternative options - including standalone bill reviews and AI-generated monthly reporting - at lower price points. The goal is always to provide genuine value, whatever that looks like for your specific situation.
A full audit involves a thorough review of your entire Telstra account - bills, service records, contract documents, usage data and system reports. Jensen IPA goes through every line item, cross-references charges against your contract and active services, identifies errors and overcharges, and builds a documented case for every dispute. Findings are communicated to you throughout the process, and formal disputes are lodged with Telstra once you have reviewed and approved the findings.
Every case is different. Jensen IPA has successfully recovered credits going back several years in some cases - including charges that predated the formal dispute by three years or more. However there are practical and in some cases formal time limits on how far back a credit can be claimed, and these limits become more restrictive the longer a business waits. The best time to act is always now - every month of delay makes recovery harder.
Jensen IPA will not recommend a full audit if the initial assessment suggests the likely recovery would not justify the investment. If a full audit is undertaken and finds no significant errors, the upfront audit fee still applies but no recovery fee is charged. In most cases however, even accounts that appear straightforward on the surface contain errors that are only visible with specialist knowledge of Telstra's internal systems.
Yes. Once engaged, Jensen IPA handles everything - building the case, lodging the dispute, following up with Telstra, negotiating the outcome and confirming that credits have been correctly applied to your bill. Every dispute is followed through to final resolution. Jensen IPA does not consider a case closed until the credit has actually appeared on the account.
Jensen IPA resolves a wide range of billing issues including: - Services never cancelled after a premises move or contract change - Discounts promised in a contract but never applied to the account - Charges for services that were never delivered or never worked correctly - Legacy services still billing years after they should have been removed - NBN migration errors leaving old services active and charging simultaneously - Dealer or salesperson errors leaving customers paying for mistakes that weren't theirs - Incorrect plan configurations resulting in higher charges than contracted - Third party subscription charges that should have been cancelled
Yes - and this is one of the most common situations Jensen IPA encounters. Being told by Telstra's general support team that nothing can be done is not the end of the road. Jensen IPA knows how Telstra's internal dispute processes work, what evidence is needed to reopen a case, and which escalation pathways lead to genuine resolution. Many of Jensen IPA's most successful recoveries have been for clients who had already been told no.
Extremely common. In Jensen IPA's experience, the vast majority of Telstra business accounts contain at least one billing error - many contain several. The complexity of Telstra's billing systems, the age of the underlying technology, and the sheer volume of products and pricing codes that need to be manually maintained all create significant opportunities for errors to occur and go undetected. The question is rarely whether errors exist - it is how significant they are and how far back they go.
The most common cause is the failure to properly cancel services when a business moves premises, upgrades to new services, or transitions to a new contract. Sales teams focus on connecting new services - not cleaning up old ones. Cancellation orders are frequently incomplete, incorrectly processed, or never issued at all, leaving legacy services charging indefinitely in the background.
- Understanding and reading the bills - Reconciling the charged amounts against what was agreed - Understanding the jargon and terms used in Telstra invoices - Following up on orders issued for new services, cancellations or contract changes that were never completed
Jensen IPA has credited back over $2 million in refunds for clients over the last five years, with an average saving of $50,000 per client. While we cannot guarantee credits, we promise to provide the best possible outcome on any disputes raised. Clients consistently get better results working with Jensen IPA than going it alone - because we know the system, we know the evidence required, and we know how to make Telstra act.
- Peace of mind - knowing your account is correct and you are only paying for active services you use - Clarity and confidence - understanding your telecom costs clearly and making future telecommunications decisions with confidence - Less stress - our ongoing management means you know you are on budget every single month and payment approval becomes straightforward - Time savings - our support in the dispute management process saves your staff significant time and money on chasing the provider for resolutions. We get better results, faster, than going it alone
Telstra T Analyst™ is Telstra's business reporting platform - a system that gives business account holders visibility over their usage, charges and account activity. In theory it provides everything a business needs to monitor their telco spend. In practice it is complex, covers most but not all of Telstra's billing platforms, and typically requires two or three separate reports to be cross-referenced to get fully itemised information. Most businesses either don't use it at all or find it too difficult to interpret without specialist help.
T Analyst™ is a powerful tool in the right hands - but navigating it effectively requires experience with Telstra's internal systems that most finance teams simply don't have. Jensen IPA has over 33 years of experience working with T Analyst™ and knows exactly which reports your business needs, how to configure them correctly, and how to interpret what they are telling you. Correctly configured T Analyst™ reporting is one of the most effective ways to catch billing errors before they compound.
Yes. Jensen IPA can set up, configure and manage T Analyst™ on your behalf - including tagging and organising services by location, department or user so your monthly reports give you genuinely useful information. Once set up correctly, Jensen IPA uses T Analyst™ reports every month to monitor your account, identify new errors, and ensure past issues remain resolved.
No. Jensen IPA holds no affiliation with Telstra or any other telecommunications provider. Kevin Jensen spent 32 years working inside Telstra as a billing consultant - but Jensen IPA operates entirely independently. There are no referral arrangements, no commission structures and no commercial relationships with any carrier. Jensen IPA's sole focus on every engagement is your outcome.
Telstra is Jensen IPA's primary area of expertise, but Jensen IPA works with Australian businesses across all major telecommunications providers. If you have a billing issue with any business telco provider, get in touch and Jensen IPA will give you an honest assessment of whether it can help.
Jensen IPA services businesses nationally across Australia. Most client work is conducted remotely via phone and Zoom, making it straightforward to work with businesses in any location. In-person meetings are available for clients in Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Most telecom consultants either have commercial relationships with carriers that create conflicts of interest, or focus on selling software tools rather than actually fixing billing problems. Jensen IPA is different in three important ways - genuine independence from all carriers, 32 years of insider knowledge of Telstra's specific billing systems and processes, and a personal one-on-one service model where every client deals directly with Kevin Jensen throughout the entire engagement.
Jensen IPA's ongoing management service includes monthly review of every invoice, contract compliance checking, discount and credit monitoring, identification and lodgement of new disputes, service audits and cleanup, and monthly plain English summary reports. Clients on management contracts also receive direct support on any account changes, upgrades, cancellations or carrier transitions that occur during the contract period.
Each month Jensen IPA reviews your Telstra invoice, compares it against the previous month, verifies all charges against your contract, and produces a clear summary report covering any changes, new charges, identified issues and the status of any ongoing disputes. The report gives your finance team everything they need to review, understand and approve the monthly bill with confidence.
Yes. Jensen IPA is happy to assist previous clients on an ad hoc basis even after a formal engagement has concluded. If a new issue arises or you have a question about your account at any point, get in touch and Jensen IPA will assess the best way to help.
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