ACCC accepts resolution from Optus over Fusion advertising

SingTel Optus Pty Ltd (Optus) has agreed to clarify a representation regarding its Optus Fusion bundled home phone and broadband cap advertising campaign following intervention by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Between the period 15 July and 30 September 2007 Optus, via a nation-wide television advertising campaign, represented that Fusion customers could have access to 'unlimited' local, national and calls to Optus mobiles from their home phone service. In fact the offer only included 'standard' local calls and did not include 'unlimited' calls to mobiles on the CDMA and MobileSat networks.

The ACCC expressed concern that these limitations and exclusions were not adequately disclosed and had the potential to mislead consumers. Although Optus ceased making the representation prior to the ACCC raising its concerns with Optus, the ACCC sought to remedy any consumer detriment which may have been caused by the television advertising campaign.

In response to the ACCC's concerns Optus has agreed to notify its existing customers who connected to the Fusion plan during the period (15 July 2007 to 14 October 2007) that they may have been misled by the television advertisement. Fusion customers who believe they were misled by the television advertisement are being advised to contact Optus and receive an account credit for those calls that each customer made that were not 'standard' local calls.

Fusion customers not satisfied with an account credit will be able to terminate their Optus Fusion plan without paying a cancellation fee. Optus has also agreed to examine their trade practices law compliance program, including developing a training video, to ensure it clearly deals with words such as 'unlimited' and 'free' and the importance of clearly qualifying offers using these words.

ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel said national advertising in the telecommunications industry has a significant impact on consumers' purchases and thusly penetration rates of fixed telephony, broadband, and telecommunications products as a whole.

"The telecommunications industry is on notice that terms such as 'unlimited' and similar claims should be free of the potential to overstate what is being offered," he said.