Telstra are hijacking my email name and it's not fair

Anyone with a business that has a web site, would understand the importance of having your own business email address. It is an important part of marketing and brand recognition.

So why is it that businesses like mine (which is not a major corporate but a sole trader) that, in good faith, sign up to BigPond (because we need to have a carrier that is Australia wide and includes the regionals), only to find that your business email address is hijacked by Telstra?

So, instead of my clients receiving colin@mybusinessnameasanexapmple header on my emails, (the email address that appears on all my letterheads, business cards and web sites etc.), what they receive is my bigpond address details. This causes some confusion with clients.

What that means is that Telstra are, by their own policies, restricting trade of my brand because they are forcing their brand onto my clients.

Of course Telstra say it is to avoid spamming. Great, so I go buy a Telstra Business service and spam anyway! (Not that I do this but what's the difference? Could it be money?)

If I wanted to use the Bigpond email as my primary address I would have chosen to have it printed on my business cards etc.

I am wondering how other small business operators feel about this?

Am also wondering if some legal eagle could give advice as to the legalities of the situation - especially as no-one pointed this issues out at the point of sale - and isn't it incumbant on Telstra to give such details especially as the BigPond account was signed up in a business name?

One does wonder if this could this amount to a class action against Telstra?