TPG has tasked its lawyers with investigating Optus’ customer retention tactics to ensure the telco isn’t breaking any laws in attempting to placate users disgruntled by the recent data breach.
TPG engaged its legal team, after noting the rate of customers defecting from Optus to TPG didn’t seem to match the level of customer outrage evident in complaints and media reports.
The AFR reports “frustrated customers finding it difficult to leave the embattled telco and/or getting slugged with hefty contract break fees”, leading to further suspicions.
Optus vice president of regulatory and public affairs Andrew Sheridan denied TPG’s suspicions.
“Optus has not engaged additional retention measures outside of offering Equifax support to customers impacted by the cyberattack. There are industry-wide two-factor authentication checks in place to prevent the fraudulent transfer of accounts,” Sheridan said.
“The majority of customers are not on contracts. Those who are on month-to-month plans that don’t include device repayments can simply exit the arrangement without any cancellation fees.”
Morgan Stanley analysts warn Optus may see a customer churn rate of 30 per cent, comparing this breach with a series of ongoing network outages Vodafone suffered a decade ago, leading to the nickname ‘Vodafail’.
“Back in 2010-2014, when Vodafone was the nation’s third-largest mobile network, it suffered a series of major and extended mobile network outages. The customer backlash was severe,” the analysts said.
“Over the four-year period, it lost about 30 per cent of its customers, from 7.4 million to 5.2 million, and market leader Telstra picked up the majority of these.”