Are you owed a refund by the NBN?
Aussie NBN customers experiencing frustrating connection speeds are being urged to check if they’re entitled to a refund.
The announcement follows all major service providers admitting to making false representations about connection speeds.
The consumer watchdog, ACCC, encouraged customers this morning to contact their retail service provider (RSP) about slow connection speeds.
Throughout 2017 and 2018, Telstra, TPG, Optus, Internode, Dodo, iPrimus, Commander and iiNet admitted to having likely made false or misleading representations about their NBN connection speeds.
They said their plans had maximum theoretical speeds of 100 megabits per second download.
A speed of 100 megabits per second means you should be able to download a song in roughly 0.4 seconds, a film in 56 seconds and a film in HD within two minutes. It’s considered “family evening” speed.
But fibre-to-the-node and fibre-to-the-building technology limitations meant these speeds were never really available.
The companies have said they will contact their consumers to offer them refunds, contract terminations or alternative products, but many Australians haven’t responded to the offers, the ACCC said.
The ACCC gave the example of a company offering to sell an NBN speed plan at these prices:
100/40 (100 Mbps download speed and 40 Mbps upload speed): $100 a month
50/20: $90 a month
25/5: $70 a month.
For example, a customer purchases the 100/40 plan for $100 a month in December 2016. One year later, the customer receives a letter from the telco telling them the connection was actually only capable of a maximum speed of 37 Mbps download and 13 Mbps upload.
The customer is offered three options, to move to a lower plan and receive a refund for the difference in plan prices, exit the plan and receive a refund for the difference between the speeds advertised and received, or remain on the plan with no refund.
Not many consumers would consider the third option a good deal, but unfortunately many consumers haven’t taken advantage of any of their telcos’ offers.
“A large proportion, two in three affected consumers, have not responded to the letter or email from their RSP. They may be eligible for refunds, some in the hundreds of dollars,” ACCC acting chair Mick Keogh said.
“The ACCC is urging NBN customers to contact their NBN retailer if they have received a letter or email offer of a remedy, or think they might be entitled to a remedy.”
New NBN customers may also be eligible
Continuing, the ACCC said those who recently signed up for a plan could be entitled to a refund if the RSP has advertised a higher connection speed than is available.
The companies are required to monitor their connection speeds within four weeks of the sale and if the speeds are below those advertised, the RSP must offer a remedy.
“Our message to RSPs is that if you advertise a particular connection speed and customers cannot experience that speed, you risk breaching the Australian Consumer Law,” Keogh concluded.
“We expect RSPs to provide consumers with accurate information up front about the internet speeds they can expect to experience, and then deliver on those promises.”
Make your money work with Yahoo Finance’s daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news.
Now read: Farmers blast ‘attack map’ revealing abattoir, farm locations
Now read: 7 Aussie property market predictions for 2019
Now read: The two types of Aussie who will win big if the property market crashes
