‘Denied opportunity’: Telstra misleads customers on NBN upload speeds

Telstra downgraded the upload speeds for thousands of its Belong NBN customers without telling them or lowering the price.

Australia’s Federal Court has ruled Telstra misled customers by quietly reducing the upload speeds for nearly 9000 Belong broadband customers without telling them.

According to the court, Telstra made false or misleading representations about the upload speeds of its Belong NBN customers after the ACCC took legal action.

ACCC commissioner Liza Carver said Telstra did not notify customers of the reduction in the maximum upload speed in their service.

Telstra failed to inform customers their broadband speeds were slowing. Picture: NewsWire / Max Mason-Hubers

“Telstra’s failure to inform customers that their broadband service had been altered denied them the opportunity to decide whether the changed service was suitable for their needs,” she said.

In late 2020, Telstra downgraded 8897 Belong customers from a 100/40Mbps plan to a 100/20Mbps plan, slashing their upload speed in half without changing the prices customers were paying.

“There was no reduction to the price Telstra charged its customers even though the cost charged by NBN Co to Telstra was $7 a month less for the new, lower speed service,” Ms Carver said.

Telstra acknowledged its failure in 2021 and provided a one-off $90 credit to these customers.

Telstra said it was disappointed by the court’s findings. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

“It is simply unacceptable for a supplier of essential services to mislead consumers when reducing the quality of the services it is providing to its customers,” Ms Carver said.

“We expect better from the country’s largest retail broadband internet service provider and believe these customers, who ultimately received a service they did not agree to, should be compensated.”

A Telstra spokesperson said the company’s goal was to always do right by its customers.

“We’re disappointed by this outcome, but we respect the court’s findings and will review the decision in full before deciding on further action,” they said.

The ACCC is still considering penalties for Telstra following the ruling.

The consumer watchdog said it was “seeking declarations, penalties, consumer redress, costs and other orders” and would determine these penalties at a future point.

Originally published as ‘Denied opportunity’: Telstra misleads customers on NBN upload speeds