Telstra has been accused of misleading nearly 9,000 customers about the broadband speeds provided through its budget brand, Belong. The Federal Court ruled that the telecommunications giant made false claims regarding NBN plans after a legal challenge by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in 2022. Customers on a plan advertised with a maximum download speed of 100 Mbps and an upload speed of 40 Mbps were instead switched to a plan with a maximum upload speed of 20 Mbps, without being informed or receiving a price reduction.
ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver stated that Telstra’s lack of communication deprived customers of the chance to determine if the altered service met their needs, noting that Telstra continued charging the same price despite the lower speed service costing $7 less from NBN Co. While Telstra acknowledged its oversight in 2021 and issued a $90 credit to some affected customers, it continued to mislead others after this point. The court found that 6,112 additional customers who signed up for the 40 Mbps plan between September 2018 and October 2020 were also misled about their actual upload speeds. The court is set to determine Telstra’s penalty and any potential compensation for the impacted customers at a later date.