Telco in court over misleading claims

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken telecommunications provider Superfone to court for alleged false or misleading representations, and for alleged breaches of laws designed to protect consumers from issues arising from unsolicited telemarketing sales.

Superfone is a reseller to consumers of mobile, landline and internet services which use major telecommunication companies’ networks.

The ACCC claims that, between June 2017 and December 2018, telemarketers acting on behalf of Superfone cold-called consumers offering them discounted plans on their existing network if they signed up to a new contract via Superfone.

“In these proceedings we allege Superfone breached the Australian Consumer Law by making consumers think its offers and services were endorsed by or affiliated with their existing telco provider when this was not the case,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.

“We also allege Superfone breached the Australian Consumer Law’s unsolicited consumer agreement provisions, which were put in place to protect consumers from these sorts of high-pressure telemarketing calls, and from signing up to contracts they may not understand.”

Under the Australian Consumer Law, consumers who enter into unsolicited consumer agreements have cooling-off rights. This means they can change their minds and cancel the contract for any reason without penalty within 10 business days. Salespeople cannot take payment or commence supplying any services during the cooling-off period.

“We allege that Superfone’s telemarketers repeatedly told consumers they could not terminate the contract without penalty and failed to inform consumers about their cooling-off rights, when these rights are enshrined in the Australian Consumer Law,” Ms Rickard said.

The ACCC is seeking a consumer redress order, penalties, declarations, an order for corrective notices and costs.

Were you cold-called by representatives from Superphone promising cheaper phone and internet deals? Did you feel pressured into accepting the deal?

2 comments

I fail to understand why anyone would buy or agree to anything that comes from unsolicited phone calls. 

The telecommunications industry is a festering sore. The sooner there's a Royal commission into it, the better.

2 comments



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