Telstra is in legal hot water yet again, this time for allegedly making false or misleading representations about upload speeds for its Belong NBN plan.
In late 2020, Telstra moved close to 9,000 customers who were on a Belong plan with a max upload speed of 40Mbps, to a service with a maximum upload speed of 20Mbps.
The ACCC alleges that Telstra failed to notify customers of this speed reduction, and didn’t lower the cost of the plan. Meanwhile, Telstra saved $7 per month, per user for this new, slower service.
“We allege 8,897 consumers who signed up to a Belong NBN plan between May 2017 and October 2020 were affected by this change and deprived of the opportunity to make an informed decision about their internet service,” ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said.
Telstra admitted the change to 2,500 customers, giving them a one-off $90 credit as ways of compensation. This leaves over 6,300 Belong customers who haven’t been informed of the change. “Telstra continues to represent to them that the Belong broadband service supplied to them has not been altered,” Carver said.
“In these circumstances, we are seeking a Court order requiring Telstra to pay compensation to consumers who, we allege, did not get the service they signed up for.
“We expect a company of Telstra’s size and experience to take their obligations under the Australian Consumer Law very seriously, including those prohibiting misleading or deceptive conduct and false or misleading representations.”
This is just the latest in a long string of foul balls by Telstra.
According to the ACCC, the following infringements have played out in court, resulting in fines:
- In November 2022, Telstra was ordered by the Federal Court to pay $15 million in penalties after they admitted making false or misleading representations to consumers when promoting certain NBN internet plans.
- In October 2022, the ACCC published revised Broadband Speed Claims Industry Guidance that promotes more transparent information about upload speeds in broadband services provided to consumers.
- In May 2022, the Federal Court ordered Telstra to pay $50 million in penalties for engaging in unconscionable conduct when it sold mobile contracts to more than 100 Indigenous consumers, in proceedings brought by the ACCC.
- In April 2018, Telstra was ordered to pay $10m in penalties for making false or misleading representations to customers in relation to its third-party billing service known as ‘Premium Direct Billing’.
- In November 2017, Telstra agreed to offer remedies to around 42,000 Telstra and Belong customers for promoting some of its NBN speed plans as being capable of delivering specified maximum speeds, when those maximum speeds could not be achieved in real-world conditions.
The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, consumer redress, costs and other orders for this latest breach.
