Good news for Optus customers! You could be set for a refund
Things keep going from bad to worse for the troubled National Broadband Network (NBN) rollout, with yet another telco announcing it will refund customers after failing to meet promised internet speeds.
Just over a month after Telstra announced it would issue compensation to 42,000 customers for slow NBN speeds, Optus has announced it will also be refunding almost 9,000 customers for failing to provide the service it promised.
Yesterday, the Aussie telco announced it would offer compensation to those who purchased its NBN services between September 1, 2015 and June 30, 2017 after an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
“Optus is the second major internet provider we have taken action against for selling broadband speeds they could not deliver to their customers,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said of the “concerning” trend in the industry.
As a result of the findings, Optus has provided a court-enforceable undertaking to the ACCC outlining how it plans to compensate its customers. The telco will also be made to check in with customers within a month of connecting new customers to the NBN to ensure they are getting the speeds they paid for.
“This undertaking is yet another step towards an industry standard of providing accurate information to consumers about the speeds they can achieve in real-world conditions, and ensuring that consumers get what they pay for," Sims explained.
“We are continuing to investigate other retail service providers selling NBN broadband plans, and will take enforcement action if we consider that they are not delivering on their promises to customers.”
Affected customers will be contacted by Optus on or before March 2, 2018.