Telstra has announced it will be offering refunds to some AFL Live Pass app subscribers, following the ACCC’s concerns about the company’s disclosure of available screen sizes.
In late January of this year, Telstra introduced a screen size restriction (of seven inches) for live matches, meaning consumers were no longer able to watch games at full size on most tablets.
During the 2016 season, however, AFL matches displayed on tablets in full screen.
Telstra has since advertised AFL Live Pass on the AFL website, displaying full-screen display on tablets, accompanied with the phrase: “Watch every AFL match live…on mobile and tablet”.
ACCC Chairman Rod Sims states of the resolution:
“When businesses make changes to the subscription terms of goods or services, customers should be clearly notified of the change so people are able to make an informed decision about whether to continue their subscription”
“Some footy fans were locked into a Telstra subscription before the screen size restriction took effect”
“The ACCC was concerned that footy fans may have subscribed or renewed subscriptions to the AFL Live Pass thinking that they could continue watching live AFL matches in full-screen on a tablet, when this was not the case”.
The ACCC states Telstra is only offering refunds to annual subscribers who downloaded the AFL Live Pass before the 31st January 2017 and accessed the app on a tablet.
Individuals who paid for the AFL Live Pass app can obtain a refund by filling in an application form via Telstra’s Crowd Support website.
The form will be available until 22 March 2018 – though consumers can still contact Telstra to request a refund after that date.
