Rescued from bad apples

ISAAC Newton's third law of motion - "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" - is today applied to Public Defender.

Ngaire McAuley

ISAAC Newton's third law of motion - "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" - is today applied to Public Defender.

The bad action is a door-to-door salesman who flogged an expensive broadband service to an octogenarian who didn't even own a computer.

The counter-balancing good action is what her neighbour and the neighbour's daughter-in-law did in response.

In 2010, a spruiker for Optus signed up Canberra's Ngaire McAuley to a $59-a-month internet service, despite her not having a computer, tablet or smart phone.

Last Christmas Mrs McAuley's neighbour, Cleo Parsons and Mrs Parsons' visiting daughter-in-law Miriam Thatcher, discovered what had happened.

Aghast, Mrs Thatcher took Mrs McAuley to the local Optus store. This led to her accepting a relatively small settlement of $413.

Mrs Parsons and Mrs Thatcher did not leave it there. Mrs Thatcher, from Tanilba Bay north of Newcastle, wrote to me.

"Please help us get this person a reasonable refund," she asked.

On Monday Mrs McAuley, 88, received a cheque for $1600 - the rest of what she had paid for the useless broadband service. Mrs Thatcher said: "I can't say thank you enough for what you have done."

Mrs Parsons, 84, who mows Mrs McAuley's lawn, said: "I think it's great you chased this up and for Ngaire."

Mrs McAuley said: "Cleo's wonderful, she really is - and so is her daughter-in-law.

"They are looking after this little old lady."

She also thanked Public Defender. An Optus spokeswoman said it regretted what had happened and apologised.

It no longer employed the "door-to-door third-party sales partner", which she refused to name.

When a spruiker knocks, you don't have to agree to anything on the spot. Even if you do, you can cancel during the mandatory 10-day cooling-off period. A door knocker must leave when asked. A recent court case found merely displaying a "do not knock" sticker is a request to leave.

The ACCC has been on the warpath against dodgy door-to-door sellers.