The ACCC alleged the telco sold goods that the customers did not want or need, and in some cases pursued customers for debt for these sales, with staff incentivised to upsell via commissions.
Many of the consumers were experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage, such as living with a mental disability, diminished cognitive capacity or learning difficulties, being financially dependent or unemployed or having limited financial and legal literacy, the regulator said.
“We allege Optus’ conduct disproportionately impacted consumers experiencing vulnerability and/or disadvantage, and that these practices were incentivised by the commission-based remuneration for sales staff,” the ACCC’s chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said.
“In some cases, we allege Optus took steps to protect its own financial interests by clawing back commissions to sales staff but failed to remediate affected consumers.”
The ACCC alleges that Optus put undue pressure on some customers to purchase a large number of products, including expensive phones and accessories, while not undertaking coverage checks to see if they had Optus mobile network coverage where they lived. Debt collectors were then allegedly sent to chase payment from many of these consumers, the ACCC said.
In one case, a person living with an intellectual disability was allegedly sold an expensive phone, a business phone contract under a false ABN, a new NBN internet plan and accessories, despite the disability being evident to Optus staff.
“The person did not want or need the majority of these items, and was upset and embarrassed about the unwanted and expensive items they were sold. When the person’s representative went to the store to return the items, the Optus staff refused to cancel the contracts and it was only through the intervention of a financial counsellor that Optus cancelled the contracts,” the ACCC said.
The ACCC alleges that at two licensee-operated stores in Darwin, staff engaged in inappropriate sales conduct in a two-year period to June 2023, including not checking mobile coverage before making sales, despite some of the 363 customers being First Nations customers from remote parts of the Northern Territory where there was no mobile coverage.
In Mount Isa, the ACCC alleges that Optus acted unconscionably by pursuing debts for at least 42 consumers from Mount Isa and remote parts of the NT, despite some senior executives knowing that the debts related to contracts which were fraudulently created by a staff member at the licensee-operated store.
The remainder of the cases include claims that sales staff manipulated credit check results to sell goods and services the customers could not afford, without the customers’ knowledge, and failed to explain the terms and conditions of contracts in an understandable manner.
A spokesperson for Optus said the telco was “currently reviewing the claims made by the ACCC and will respond in more detail in due course”.
The ACCC is seeking declarations and orders for penalties, non-party consumer redress, publication orders, a compliance program and costs.
The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, said the allegations were “very serious”.
“Telcos must act in the best interest of their customers, particularly those experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage,” she said. “Whether it be grocery prices or telecommunications selling practices, the Albanese government will continue to work with the ACCC to ensure fair outcomes for Australian consumers.”
The chief executive for the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), Carol Bennett, said the behaviour, if proven, was “unconscionable and appalling”.
“What is alleged simply cannot be allowed to occur in this country and requires decisive action from government,” she said.
In May 2021, Telstra paid a $50m fine for signing up over 100 Indigenous customers on to plans they did not understand and could not afford, following court action from the ACCC.
