The Federal Court today ordered that Telstra pay $50 million in penalties for engaging in unconscionable conduct when it sold mobile contracts to more.
Telstra has been ordered to pay $50 million, the second-highest penalty ever handed down under Australian Consumer Law, as its legal battle over unconsc.
iTWire Thursday, 13 May 2021 11:49 ACCC: Telstra to pay $50m penalty for unconscionable sales to Indigenous consumers Featured
The Federal Court today ordered that Telstra pay $50 million in penalties for engaging in unconscionable conduct when it sold mobile contracts to more than 100 Indigenous consumers across three states and territories, in proceedings brought by the ACCC.
Telstra admitted that between January 2016 and August 2018, it breached the Australian Consumer Law and acted unconscionably when sales staff at five licensed Telstra-branded stores signed up 108 Indigenous consumers to multiple post-paid mobile contracts which they did not understand and could not afford.
“Sales staff in these Telstra-branded stores used unconscionable practices to sell products to dozens of Indigenous customers who, in many cases, spoke English as a second or third language,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
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Say ‘no’ to extended warranties
Would you pay for something you’re entitled to get for free? Buying an extended warranty on new whitegoods, electronics or even a car could mean you’re doing exactly that.
This is because products are automatically guaranteed in a number of ways under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), which may apply even after the warranty period has lapsed.
In the past two years, Consumer Protection has received more than 1,300 enquiries and around 230 complaints about extended warranties, mostly to do with difficulties accessing a repair, refund or replacement when a product develops a fault within the warranty period.