Credit: Optus
Optus is refunding nearly 1000 small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMB) a combined $788,609 for charging them landline services they did not receive over a 10-year period.
The telco reported the error to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) after finding it had charged 994 SMBs for landline services after they had transferred to another provider.
Optus claims the errors occurred because incorrect billing end-dates were entered into its system for transferring customers.
The errors took place from February 2011 to March 2021, after which point Optus notified ACMA and started to issue refunds.
This also partially infringed on the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code 2019, as an investigation by the ACMA found 256 of the 994 customers were charged from 1 August 2019, which was when the 2019 Code started and issued a direction for the telco to rectify the issue.
"Errors like these by Optus can have a big impact on small businesses. Fifteen of these customers were charged more than $10,000, which can be a huge amount for a small business to lose,” ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said.
“Optus is the second-largest telecommunications company in Australia and should have systems in place to ensure it complies with all relevant regulations. It is alarming and unacceptable that such a fundamental flaw went undetected in Optus’ systems for so long.
“We are closely monitoring Optus to ensure it refunds all affected customers and takes action to reduce the risk of future billing errors,” she added.
According to the ACMA, 98 per cent of the charges plus interest have already been repaid.
While Optus appears to be rectifying its infringement, if the telco continues to not comply with the 2019 Code it could face harsh penalties, as failing to comply with the ACMA direction can result in fines of up to $250,000.
Optus' strife with the ACMA comes months after rival telco Telstra was directed by the Authority in July to refund more than $25 million to customers on the National Broadband Network (NBN).
