Optus refunds SME businesses over $800k for billing error
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An Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) investigation has found that Optus breached telco billing rules by charging over 994 SME businesses for landline services they did not receive.
It was discovered that the telecommunication company’s customers were still being billed even after they had transferred their service to other providers.
As a result of this, Optus has been ordered by the ACMA to refund the 994 small-and-medium-sized businesses a total of $788,609.
The billing errors occurred between February 2011 and March 2021, which happened due to incorrect billing end-dates being entered into its system for customers transferring to other telcos.
The company then self-reported the matter to the ACMA and independently committed to issuing the refunds.
ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin said billing accuracy is a major concern for consumers, including small businesses.
“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,” she 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’s systems for so long.”
ACMA is currently closely monitoring Optus to ensure that it is able to refund all of its affected customers, as well as the actions the company takes to reduce the risk of future billing errors.
The Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code mandates that telecommunications companies should be able to demonstrate that the charges on their bills are valid.
However, the billing charges in this case were not valid since Optus was no longer providing these services to the affected customers. As such, the ACMA has formally directed Optus to comply with the TCP Code.
Optus has contacted all affected customers and has currently repaid 98 per cent of the charges plus interest. The company is also reporting back to the ACMA regularly on its refunding program.
Source: ACMA Media Release
Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.
