Money

Telstra customers in line for compensation over dud NBN deals

Nov 08, 2017

Do you have issues with the speed of your internet connection?

If you’re not getting the speed you expect when it comes to your National Broadband Network, you are not alone.

It’s been a big complaint for many people who’ve signed up for the ‘super-fast’ NBN speeds that have been advertised, but found things didn’t quite add up.

Now Telstra has agreed to offer a remedy for the issue.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has revealed that 42,000 customers have been identified as being offered speed plans that were not achievable by the provider. If you signed up for a plan between September 2015 and now, to either a Telstra or Belong brand package, you could well be one of those customers.

Limitations on the affected customers’ NBN fibre to the node (FTTN) or fibre to the building (FTTB) internet connections have meant that many customers’ internet services were not actually capable of receiving the maximum advertised speeds that the plans advertised.

“Our investigation revealed many of Telstra’s FTTN and FTTB customers could not receive the maximum speed of their plan. Even worse, many of these customers could not receive the maximum speed of a lower-speed plan,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said. “In essence, people were paying more to get higher speeds that they just weren’t able to get.”

After admitting it might have contravened the Australian Consumer Law by engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct and making false or misleading representations, Telstra is now looking at options to compensate customers, which could include refunds, change to speed plans, and getting out of the contract without incurring exit fees.

The ACCC says Telstra has notified them of the issues for some customers, but the ACCC discovered more during its investigation. The watchdog said it’s not just a Telstra issue either, and it is now looking at other retail service providers selling broadband plans on the NBN.