Telstra Misleads 8,897 Customers on Broadband Speeds, Court Rules

The Federal Court of Australia has ruled that Telstra misled nearly 9,000 customers of its budget brand, Belong, regarding their broadband upload speeds. Following legal action from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), it was determined that Telstra migrated customers from a 100/40Mbps plan to a 100/20Mbps plan without notifying them or reducing their prices, despite the cost to Telstra being lower. ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver stated that this lack of transparency deprived customers of the opportunity to assess whether the new service met their needs. Telstra admitted to misleading 2,785 customers about their upload speeds and failed to inform an additional 6,112 customers of the downgrade. The ACCC is seeking penalties and consumer compensation, asserting that such practices from Australia's largest telecommunications provider are unacceptable. This incident follows Telstra's previous infractions, including a $15 million fine for misleading claims about NBN plans two years ago.