NBN provider MyRepublic has paid a $25,200 penalty after the ACCC found the company guilty on two accounts for having false or misleading representations about its NBN service performance.
According to the consumer watchdog between December last year and April the provider marketed its NBN services using statements like “up to nbnTM100 Speed Tier” and “nbn™50 Speed Tier” on its website.
The MyRepublic website contained fine print disclaimers that the ACCC considered were ineffective as they were not prominent and did not provide clear information.
Sarah Court, ACCC commissioner says, “We were concerned that MyRepublic’s use of the NBN speed tiers misled consumers to believe they would get broadband speeds of, or close to, 100Mbps and 50Mbps during all or almost all of the time, when that wasn’t the case.
“NBN speed tiers indicate the maximum performance of a broadband service but a number of factors, including congestion during busy periods, affects the actual speeds consumers will experience.
“When choosing between broadband services, consumers need accurate information about the performance they should expect, particularly during busy periods. We’ve been very clear with broadband providers about this and reference to the NBN speed tiers alone is not sufficient.”
The ACCC has been recently cracking down on telcos and internet providers who are making false and misleading claims over NBN speeds. The consumer watchdog has also outed iiNet, Internode, iPrimus and Dodo for misleading customers over its NBN speeds.
