ICG Construction has wanted to sort out the matter since February last year but to no avail. It was only after inquiries from The Daily Advertiser that the company reached out.

Office manager Emma Burkinshaw said she realised in February 2020 they had been overcharged on a Telstra contract.

"I contacted the local centre here, couldn't get anywhere," she said. "Then I lodged a complaint to try and get the overcharges credited in February.

"The case manager emailed me to let me know there was an overcharge and she would be on it and then nothing. It has been incredibly frustrating."

In June 2019, ICG Construction signed a 36-month contract for a 100 number range to total $209.85 per month. Mrs Burkinshaw said initially they were being charged twice that.

"Then they credited part of our double charge then started charging us $220 per line," she said. "That was $22,000 straight up on one bill. Then they cut it back to $40 a line, so it was $4400 a bill."

In the months following, Mrs Burkinshaw said they tried calls, emails, and even sought legal action to rectify the situation.

But even her lawyer did not hear back from the company. The legal letter outlined that Telstra's November 2020 invoice claimed $44,477.42 was overdue but had since issued a $14,088.17 credit for some of the incorrectly issued invoices.

However, it maintains that the balance of $30,389.25 is owing, $26,800 of which Mrs Burkinshaw said is incorrectly charged. "Our account is also on hold, so we can't get what we need such as a sim-card for a new staff member," Mrs Burkinshaw said.

"We thought that once we had a lawyer it would be solved and still nothing. I would love to be able to go to someone else, but because we have jobs all around regional NSW, we need the service and the connection.

"So, unfortunately, we are stuck with Telstra."

Then in December, Mrs Burkinshaw came into work only to discover their service had been cut off as they had not paid the bill.

The Daily Advertiser contacted Telstra on Monday raising questions over the delay. Within hours, the company called Mrs Burkinshaw to say $26,800 credit has been requested but could take a month to review.

"They are saying it has been requested, so it's still not approved," she said. "But it is frustrating that it appears we had to go to the local paper to get something done."

Telstra has not responded to The Daily Advertiser's request for comment.