Australia’s three largest internet service providers have been fined $33.5 million after being found making false or misleading statements to consumers about the speed of NBN plans.
Commissioner at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Liza Carver said that Telstra, Optus and TPG had been ordered to pay the Federal Court penalties following breaches of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).
Ms Carver said the breaches impacted nearly 120,000 consumers and were made for at least 12 months in 2019 and/or 2020.
She said the Federal Court ordered Telstra to pay $15 million, Optus to pay $13.5 million, and TPG to pay $5 million in penalties for breaching the ACL by making false or misleading statements in relation to their 50Mbps or 100Mbps fibre to the node plans.
“By making statements on their websites, in emails to consumers or in telesales, Telstra, Optus and TPG each promised to tell consumers within a reasonable timeframe if the speeds they were paying for could not be reached on their NBN connections,” Ms Carver said.
“They each also said they would offer these consumers options, including to move to a cheaper plan with a refund, if they could not achieve the maximum speed on their plans,” she said.
“Telstra, Optus, and TPG each admitted that their statements were false or misleading, in breach of the ACL, because they did not have adequate systems, processes and policies in place to ensure they would do what they said they would.”
Ms Carver said Telstra, Optus, and TPG had each implemented remediation programs and had contacted impacted customers to provide refunds.
