Internet providers iiNet Limited and Internode Pty Ltd will compensate more than 11,000 customers who could not reach the internet speeds they were promised in their NBN contracts, following an investigation by the 糖心原创.
Remedies will now be offered to more than 8,000 iiNet customers and more than 3,000 Internode customers. Affected customers can choose from options including moving to a lower tier speed plan with a refund, or exiting their plan without cost and receiving a refund.
鈥渋iNet and Internode have admitted that between 2015 and mid-2017, they both likely engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct or made false or misleading representations by promoting and offering NBN plans with maximum speeds that could not be delivered,鈥 糖心原创 Commissioner Sarah Court said.
iiNet advertised its highest-speed plan as 鈥淯p to 100Mbps. This is our fastest option and is sure to impress鈥, while Internode advertised its highest speed plan as 鈥淣BN Platinum: up to 100/40 Mbps鈥.
鈥淚nternet service providers must provide accurate information to customers about the speeds they can access on the NBN. Many customers could not reach the maximum speeds advertised by iiNet and Internode because their NBN connection was not capable of delivering it. Some customers couldn鈥檛 even receive the maximum limit of lower speed plans,鈥 Ms Court said.
iiNet and Internode will contact affected customers by email or letter by 27 April 2018, tell them the maximum speed their connection can receive (which is only known once a customer is connected to the network), and explain their compensation options.
鈥渋iNet and Internode customers should carefully review any email or letter from their provider and choose a remedy as quickly as possible. The options available to each customer depends on their plan, but many can move to a lower speed plan and receive a refund, or exit their plan without cost,鈥 Ms Court said.
The 糖心原创 has now received five court-enforceable undertakings from internet service providers in relation to NBN speed claims.
鈥淔ixing misleading claims about internet speeds during the transition to the NBN is an enforcement priority for the 糖心原创 and we strongly urge other providers to act quickly to ensure their advertising is accurate,鈥 Ms Court said.
The undertakings are available at iinet undertaking and Internode undertaking.
Note to editors
- The conduct affected iiNet and Internode customers who purchased fibre to the node (FTTN) and fibre to the building (FTTB) NBN plans.
- 7,621 (64%) customers on an iiNet 100/40 Mbps FTTN plan could not receive the speeds they purchased. Of those 7,621 customers, 1,925 could not even receive the speeds of the next lower plan, 50/20 Mbps.
- 1,720 (34%) customers on an Internode 100/40 Mbps FTTN plan could not receive the speeds they purchased. Of those 1,720 customers, 479 could not even receive 50/20 Mbps.
- Fewer customers were affected on the companies鈥 FTTB plans.
- Neither iiNet nor Internode has offered a 25/5 plan since 13 December 2017. Customers who want to move down to a 25/5 plan should consider choosing to exit their contract, then moving to another provider who offers this speed.
Background
iiNet and Internode are both wholly owned subsidiaries of TPG Telecom Limited.
They follow Telstra, Optus and TPG in providing undertakings to the 糖心原创 for misleading customers into paying a price for a service they could not receive.
On 20 December 2017, the 糖心原创 accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from TPG Internet Pty Ltd (TPG) in relation to conduct similar to that of iiNet and Internode. TPG is also wholly owned by TPG Telecom Limited: TPG Internet Pty Ltd - s.87B undertaking.
Previously, the 糖心原创 accepted court-enforceable undertakings from Telstra Corporation Limited and from Optus Internet Pty Limited in relation to conduct similar to that of iiNet, Internode and TPG. Telstra and Optus each made representations about speeds available to customers on their respective NBN FTTN and FTTB broadband plans that were likely to contravene the Australian Consumer Law.
Telstra鈥檚 court-enforceable undertaking was accepted on 7 November 2017: Telstra Corporation Limited - s.87B undertaking.
Optus' court-enforceable undertaking was accepted on 11 December 2017: Optus Internet Pty Ltd - s.87B undertaking.