Telstra to Refund 42,000 Customers Over Slow NBN Speeds

Get NBN, they said. It will be super fast, they said. 

Lies. All lies!

This week Telstra announced that they may have slightly over-exaggerated the awesomeness of NBN. They have offered to refund 42,000 customers after failing to deliver the promise of ultra-fast internet.

For two years, the National Broadband Network (NBN) has been the cool kid on the internet block. But as more and more customers sign up, more and more customers have been let down by the less-than-impressive Telstra NBN speeds and faulty service.

NBN crackdown good news for unhappy Telstra customers

We have the ACCC to thank for cracking down on Telstra’s NBN shortcomings. An ACCC investigation discovered that many of Telstra’s customers could not receive the maximum speed indicated in their plan, nor could they receive the maximum speed of a lower-speed plan.

Telstra has since admitted that it was likely to have breached the Australian Consumer Law by engaging in misleading conduct and making false representations. As a result, Telstra will offer refunds and free contract cancellations to 42,000 NBN customers across Australia.

The refund impacts:

• Those who have signed up to NBN with Telstra or Belong from September 2015 to November 2017
• Those who have signed up to the 100/40Mbps NBN plan, the 50/20Mbps plan or the 25/5 Mbps plan

More than half the Telstra customers affected belong to the top-tier (100/40Mbps) plan.  Another 45 per cent are on the 50/20Mbps plan and two per cent are on 25/5 Mbps connection.

Not just a Telstra problem

The ACCC has also warned all consumers that the NBN issues most likely include other NBN providers as well.

“It is an industry problem where consumers are often not getting the speeds they are paying for,” says ACCC chief Rob Sims.  “We will continue to investigate other retail service providers selling broadband plans over the NBN and take enforcement action where appropriate.”

The Australian-wide refund comes only one week after AirAsia issued a massive refund for 100,000 Aussie families who flew to Bali in the past seven years. 

Contact your Telstra provider to find out if you are eligible. You can also check out the ACCC for more information on the NBN crackdown.