Latest news with #Optus
SBS Australia
14 hours ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Final call: Optus' exploitation of First Nations customers must be the last, say advocates
Optus has agreed to pay a $100 million penalty, subject to court approval, over conduct that saw many First Nations people from remote communities sold services they did not want or need. Credit: Mark Baker/AP Optus, the second-largest telecommunications company in Australia, admitted this week to engaging in unconscionable conduct when selling telecommunications goods and services to hundreds of consumers, many of whom were First Nations. Dunghutti man Mark Holden, a senior solicitor at Mob Strong Debt Help - a non-profit organisation that offers free finance-related legal advice to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – says he hopes this is a wake-up call. 'This should be the final call now for the telecommunications industry to be able to shape up here and try to be more proactive, taking more practical steps to be able to end the harm to First Nations peoples here when it comes to the sale of an essential service," he said. Optus sold many First Nations people from remote services they did not want or need and has agreed to pay a $100 million penalty, after an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). 'Oftentimes, we find that the conduct happens in areas where there's more likely to be vulnerable people living there," Mr Holden told NITV. "So remote communities, rural areas, but even as well, in some urban areas as well too, where First Nations peoples often are targeted. 'They might come in and just be looking for a typical charge cable, and they'll be then sold a couple of phones, a speaker, a console, iPads. "And they're just being charged all these fees, that just racks up quite fast.' Optus is not the first telco fined for wrongful conduct. Telstra was penalised $50 million in 2021 for unconscionable conduct when selling mobile contracts to Indigenous consumers. 'I think that if the sales model makes money, then other people will be doing it as well," Mr Holden said. 'Because Telstra was doing it, we just were not surprised when ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) first announced that Optus was also doing this too. 'These are just two cases that we're looking at here, I wouldn't be surprised as well to if there are other telco providers here who could be doing the same thing.' As well as debt, the impact of the conduct can also lead to a lot of shame amongst mob. 'Besides the financial loss, here we have a lot of mob who are faced with this crippling debt," Mr Holden said. "And when it comes to debt, there's a lot of shame as well too. 'Sometimes there's a very, very strong fear of further action being taken against them, there's a fear of them maybe going to jail.' It's even left some people trying to access their superannuation to pay their debts. 'That's a very bit of extra harm here as well, too, that when people don't pay their debts, the telco can issue a default on the credit report, and that default can last for about five years from listing, and that can severely impact their ability to be able to take a loan, to be able to be able to support themselves," Mr Holden said. Optus is compensating impacted consumers for the period between August 2019 and July 2023, during which it agreed the alleged conduct took place. But Mark says it should go further. 'You want to be able to have a remediation program that looks at the entirety of the sales practices, so that even though we're looking at people who are affected in the period, we're looking at people who were affected before that and after that as well, too, people who've been treated the same way," he said. 'So that they also could get not only just a refund of what they paid, but also compensation with interest for the harm they suffered.' He says it should be a wake-up call for other industries too, as the pattern of exploitation isn't unique to the telecommunications industry. 'This is really a practice of exploitation, taking advantage of someone's vulnerability to their advantage," Mr Holden said. "Unconscionable conduct is not something that just telcos do. "There is a industry of exploitation where First Nations peoples can be targeted by people who might exploit their vulnerability to their advantage. 'There has to be a call to action to be able to stop this exploitation, to be able to actually start working with communities, to be able to try and provide them the products that they need for the for their communities.' Interviews and feature reports from NITV. A mob-made podcast about all things Blak life. The Point: Referendum Road Trip Live weekly on Tuesday at 7.30pm Join Narelda Jacobs and John Paul Janke to get unique Indigenous perspectives and cutting-edge analysis on the road to the referendum. Watch now
Tom's Guide
15 hours ago
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Best EOFY telco deals: Optus, Vodafone and Telstra are slashing prices on phones, plans and more
With the end of financial year rapidly approaching, now is a great time to take advantage of the EOFY sales happening at Australia's major telcos. Carriers like Optus, Vodafone and Telstra are currently offering great deals on phone plans, along with discounts on handsets, smartwatches and more. We've taken the liberty of rounding up the best EOFY telco deals you can get right now by carrier, with big savings up for grabs — especially if you're willing to stay connected to an eligible plan for 24 or 36 months. Of course, these deals will end as soon as the new financial year begins on July 1, so don't wait too long to snag a bargain if you see one! Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Save AU$400 and get a free Galaxy Watch 7 Want to get your hands on the best phone in the world right now at a huge discount, and get a free smartwatch while you're at it? This deal from Optus offers just that, with a AU$400 discount on the phone and a free Galaxy Watch 7 for those willing to stay connected to an eligible Optus phone plan for 24 or 36 months. That's AU$1,098 in value! T&Cs apply. Get 20% off Small and Medium SIM plans for 12 months with code In this online-exclusive deal, Optus is offering a 20% discount on Small and Medium SIM only plans for 12 months when you apply the code YES20 at checkout. That gets you a saving of AU$11 p/m on the Small plan and AU$13p/m on the Medium plan, which is quite decent! T&Cs apply. Get 100GB for just AU$39p/m for first 12 months on Small SIM Only Plan Want stacks of data without breaking the bank? This EOFY deal from Vodafone gets you 100GB of data for just AU$39p/m on the telco's Small SIM Only Plan for the first 12 months. That's twice the data the plan normally offers, along with a AU$10 monthly discount, saving you AU$120 over the first year connected. T&Cs apply. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Save AU$300 + AU$500 bonus trade-in credit with eligible device on 36 months plan If you've got an eligible device to trade in, you can get a bonus AU$500 in trade-in credit towards the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which already has a AU$300 discount on it for EOFY. Of course, you'll need to stay connected to an eligible plan for 36 months months to take advantage. T&Cs apply. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: Save AU$500 when you buy on repayment Those willing to stick with Telstra on an eligible 12, 24 or 36 months plan can save AU$500 over the course of their contract when they buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra on repayment. T&Cs and eligibility criteria apply.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Optus agrees to pay $100 million penalty
ACC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe discusses the reasons behind Optus agreeing to pay a large penalty. Optus has agreed to pay a $100 million dollar penalty after admitting to unconscionable conduct. Optus sold services to people who it knew could not afford them and in some cases, pursued those people with debt collectors.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Why Optus is paying out customers and a court penalty
The consumer watchdog and Optus have agreed the telco should pay a $100 million penalty, after it admitted signing up vulnerable Australians to mobile phone plans that they didn't need and in some instances couldn't even use.
SBS Australia
3 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Optus faces $100 millon fine over unlawful sales to vulnerable First Nations customers
Optus has agreed to a $100 million penalty, subject to court approval, over conduct that saw many First Nations people from remote communities sold services they did not want or need. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said many of the affected consumers were vulnerable or experiencing disadvantage, such as living with a mental disability, or English not being a first language. Many of the consumers were First Nations Australians from regional, remote and very remote parts of Australia. The consumer watchdog sued the telco in October last year over the practices, which affected hundreds of vulnerable customers. In one instance outlined by the ACCC, a First Nations consumer who speaks English as a second language and lives in a remote community with no Optus coverage, was sold a phone. "The customer was approached by Optus staff outside an Optus store and pressured to enter," ACCC said in a statement. "They thought staff were offering them a free phone and other free products and felt pressured by staff to accept," the statement read. Optus has admitted that its sales staff acted unconscionably when selling products and services to more than 400 consumers at 16 different stores across Australia between August 2019 and July 2023. Optus CEO Stephen Rue said the misconduct was inexcusable and unacceptable. 'I would like to sincerely apologise to all customers affected by the misconduct in some of our stores,' Mr Rue said in a statement. 'Optus failed these customers, and the company should have acted more quickly when the misconduct was first reported. "I am leading the implementation of extensive changes across the company with active responses to the issues raised well underway," Mr Rue said. Optus has also signed an undertaking, accepted by the ACCC, that it will compensate impacted consumers and improve its internal systems, the commencement of which is subject to the Court making relevant orders. 'The conduct, which included selling inappropriate, unwanted or unaffordable mobiles and phone plans to people who are vulnerable or experiencing disadvantage is simply unacceptable,' ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said. 'During our investigation into this case, the ACCC heard many stories of the impact of this conduct on affected consumers.' 'Many of these consumers who were vulnerable or experiencing disadvantage also experienced significant financial harm. They accrued thousands of dollars of unexpected debt and some were pursued by debt collectors, in some instances for years,' Ms Lowe said.
