Telco Fined $10K Over Unauthorized Transfers
Local player Sprint Teclo has been paid up after being penalized by the ACCC over they transferred a customers from the Telstra network to their own without proper authorization.
The regulator alleges that Sprint Telco represented to a consumer during a phone call that Sprint Telco was acting as Telstra’s agent or with Telstra’s approval, when that was not the case. The ACCC contended that this constituted a false or misleading representation and issued an infringement notice to the company accordingly.
“Unauthorised transfers can result in unexpected costs to consumers such as early termination fees, cancellation fees, loss of discounts from bundling services and costs to reconnect with their original provider,” ACCC Acting Chair Delia Rickard said
Following the incident, the regulator issued a $10,800 fine to the telco. The ACCC says that the fine has now been paid in full.
According to Rickard, “consumers are entitled to make informed decisions about their choice of service provider. The ACCC will continue to act where consumers are switched, or attempted to be switched, from one telecommunications service provider to another without their express knowledge or informed consent.”