Optus to compensate short-changed prepaid customers

Optus has agreed to compensate customers after being found to have been providing fewer call, text and data allocations than advertised over three incidents in 2015 and 2016.

The company has provided the ACCC with a court-enforceable undertaking to credit affected customers with an amount equivalent to the allocation they missed out on, or to provide a refund where crediting accounts is not possible.

The agreement follows an investigation by the regulator into instances where Optus decided to reduce some of the data, call and text inclusions offered with certain prepaid plans without telling affected customers.

Customers who purchased prepaid products before the allocations were reduced but did not activate them until after the change were left with the reduced allocation.

ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said the case demonstrates the fact that mobile operators must provide customers with the value and benefits they advertise.

“Customers who chose an Optus Prepaid plan based on its advertised value, but who activated or recharged their SIM card after Optus changed allowances for calls, text and data, received less than they were promised at the time they purchased the plan,” she said.

“Businesses must act swiftly to offer consumer redress and meet their obligations under the Australian Consumer Law or face action from the ACCC.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/kantver

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