Telstra: Difference between revisions
Added two controversys referenced to ACCC investigations, and added detail to the background/description |
|||
| (6 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown) | |||
| Line 21: | Line 21: | ||
Whilst Telstra's primary market is Australia, it has also moved into the international markets in Europe, Asia and the United States. | Whilst Telstra's primary market is Australia, it has also moved into the international markets in Europe, Asia and the United States. | ||
== | ==Controversies== | ||
=== Reducing speeds on Belong NBN plans === | ===Putting customers under risk of being scammed/defrauded=== | ||
In 2024 Telstra was found by the ACMA to have not been authenticating customer IDs between August 2022 and April 2023 during 168,000 high-risk interactions such as password resets or SIM card swaps and has been fined $1.5 Million.<ref>ABC - ACMA found Telstra didn't have MFA for high-risk customer activities such as changing password after new rules were implemented in 2022 - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-17/telstra-fined-1-5m-for-leaving-customers-vulnerable-to-scams/104107146</ref> | |||
Under ACMA rules that were introduced in 2022 required that all telcos in Australia to have implemented Multi-Factor ID authentication such as OTP to email/current phone number on file for high-risk changes to accounts. | |||
The investigation found Telstra was not compliant with the new regulations and it identified about 7,000 instances involving customers in vulnerable circumstances. | |||
A Telstra spokesperson at the time says they were "very supportive" of regulations focused on customer security, but said the 2022 regulations were significant in scope, "We had to design and deploy multi-factor authentication processes across all our channels," they continued, arguing the company missed the start date for the new regulations because it was making sure the processes worked properly. | |||
ACMA did not find any direct evidence of losses from the breaches. | |||
Telstra had agreed to a two-year undertaking with ACMA to take action on the breaches for future transactions, which is court enforceable if not followed. | |||
===Locking purchased content behind new Fetch hardware=== | |||
In 2024 Telstra contacted a customer to advise that they would no longer have access to their library of content unless they upgraded their 'Telstra TV Box Office' to a new Fetch device. This change in policy requires customer to purchase new hardware in order to access the content and media they have paid for. In this instance the customer was provided a new Fetch device for free, however at no time has Telstra offered all affected customers a free device and likely many customers either paid for new hardware or lost access to the content they had purchased. <ref>The Guardian - ‘My whole library is wiped out’: what it means to own movies and TV in the age of streaming services https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/may/14/my-whole-library-is-wiped-out-what-it-means-to-own-movies-and-tv-in-the-age-of-streaming-services</ref> | |||
Under Telstra's terms of service it specifies that the content purchased is 'your content' and specifies that you can 'buy' or 'purchase' the content, however Telstra still reserves the right to take access away from the content under various circumstances. This could be misunderstood by customers to believe that they own something they paid for that is actually closer to a lease or rental arrangement. | |||
===Repeated overcharging customers for inactive services=== | |||
In 2020 it was identified that Telstra had charged more than 10,000 customers for services that weren't active. It is estimated that Telstra overcharged almost $2.5 Million over a 12 year period. Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) formally directed Telstra to comply with the Telecommunications Act in September 2020.<ref>ACMA - Telstra direction (''November 2020'') - https://www.acma.gov.au/publications/2020-11/report/telstra-direction-november-2020</ref> | |||
A subsequent investigation occurred in 2022 and identified that Telstra had overcharged more than 11000 customers approximately $1.7 million. ACMA ordered Telstra to pay a $3 Million penalty in addition to refunding affected customers $21.1 Million<ref>{{Cite web |date=02 December 2023 |title=Telstra pays $24 million in penalties and refunds after wrongly charging customers |url=https://www.acma.gov.au/articles/2023-12/telstra-pays-24-million-penalties-and-refunds-after-wrongly-charging-customers}}</ref> | |||
===Reducing speeds on Belong NBN plans=== | |||
In November 2020 Telstra migrated 8,897 customers from a 100Mbps plan to a 40Mbps plan without notifying them. There was no price change for these customers even though Telstra saved $7 per customer per month for the newer lower speed service. Telstra was forced to pay $15 Million in penalties after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) instituted proceedings in the Federal Court.<ref>ACCC - Telstra found to have misled nearly 9,000 Belong customers over broadband speed claims - https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/telstra-found-to-have-misled-nearly-9000-belong-customers-over-broadband-speed-claims</ref> | In November 2020 Telstra migrated 8,897 customers from a 100Mbps plan to a 40Mbps plan without notifying them. There was no price change for these customers even though Telstra saved $7 per customer per month for the newer lower speed service. Telstra was forced to pay $15 Million in penalties after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) instituted proceedings in the Federal Court.<ref>ACCC - Telstra found to have misled nearly 9,000 Belong customers over broadband speed claims - https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/telstra-found-to-have-misled-nearly-9000-belong-customers-over-broadband-speed-claims</ref> | ||
=== Selling mobile contracts to customers who cannot afford them === | ===Selling mobile contracts to customers who cannot afford them=== | ||
Between January 2016 and August 2018 representatives at Telstra stores sold unaffordable contracts to 108 Indigenous customers. Sales staff manipulated credit assessments, misrepresented products as free and exploited language barriers. In 2020 the ACCC instituted Federal Court proceedings against Telstra for unconscionable conduct and the Federal Court ordered Telstra to pay $50 Million in penalties. <ref>ACCC - Telstra to pay $50m penalty for unconscionable sales to Indigenous consumers https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/telstra-to-pay-50m-penalty-for-unconscionable-sales-to-indigenous-consumers</ref> | Between January 2016 and August 2018 representatives at Telstra stores sold unaffordable contracts to 108 Indigenous customers. Sales staff manipulated credit assessments, misrepresented products as free and exploited language barriers. In 2020 the ACCC instituted Federal Court proceedings against Telstra for unconscionable conduct and the Federal Court ordered Telstra to pay $50 Million in penalties. <ref>ACCC - Telstra to pay $50m penalty for unconscionable sales to Indigenous consumers https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/telstra-to-pay-50m-penalty-for-unconscionable-sales-to-indigenous-consumers</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
[[Category:Telstra Group Limited]] | |||
[[Category: | |||
Latest revision as of 03:39, 12 March 2025
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| Type | Public |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Official website | https://telstra.com.au/ |
Telstra Group Limited is Australia's largest telecommunications provider, offering a wide range of services including mobile, broadband, and fixed-line telephony to the Australian market. As of the latest data, Telstra supports approximately 22.5 million retail mobile services and 3.4 million fixed data services. [1][2]
Since 28 October 2024, Telstra has focused exclusively on providing 4G LTE and 5G mobile services, having phased out its 2G and 3G networks. In the competitive Australian mobile network market, Telstra's main rivals include Optus, owned by Singtel, and TPG Telecom, which operates the Vodafone brand.
Originally established as a government-owned entity under the name Telecom Australia, Telstra underwent privatization and became a fully private company by 2006. It is currently listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) as a publicly traded company.
Telstra launched the 'Belong' brand in 2013 as a low-cost mobile and internet services provider and acquired Boost Mobile (Australia) in 2024.
Whilst Telstra's primary market is Australia, it has also moved into the international markets in Europe, Asia and the United States.
Controversies[edit | edit source]
Putting customers under risk of being scammed/defrauded[edit | edit source]
In 2024 Telstra was found by the ACMA to have not been authenticating customer IDs between August 2022 and April 2023 during 168,000 high-risk interactions such as password resets or SIM card swaps and has been fined $1.5 Million.[3]
Under ACMA rules that were introduced in 2022 required that all telcos in Australia to have implemented Multi-Factor ID authentication such as OTP to email/current phone number on file for high-risk changes to accounts.
The investigation found Telstra was not compliant with the new regulations and it identified about 7,000 instances involving customers in vulnerable circumstances.
A Telstra spokesperson at the time says they were "very supportive" of regulations focused on customer security, but said the 2022 regulations were significant in scope, "We had to design and deploy multi-factor authentication processes across all our channels," they continued, arguing the company missed the start date for the new regulations because it was making sure the processes worked properly.
ACMA did not find any direct evidence of losses from the breaches.
Telstra had agreed to a two-year undertaking with ACMA to take action on the breaches for future transactions, which is court enforceable if not followed.
Locking purchased content behind new Fetch hardware[edit | edit source]
In 2024 Telstra contacted a customer to advise that they would no longer have access to their library of content unless they upgraded their 'Telstra TV Box Office' to a new Fetch device. This change in policy requires customer to purchase new hardware in order to access the content and media they have paid for. In this instance the customer was provided a new Fetch device for free, however at no time has Telstra offered all affected customers a free device and likely many customers either paid for new hardware or lost access to the content they had purchased. [4]
Under Telstra's terms of service it specifies that the content purchased is 'your content' and specifies that you can 'buy' or 'purchase' the content, however Telstra still reserves the right to take access away from the content under various circumstances. This could be misunderstood by customers to believe that they own something they paid for that is actually closer to a lease or rental arrangement.
Repeated overcharging customers for inactive services[edit | edit source]
In 2020 it was identified that Telstra had charged more than 10,000 customers for services that weren't active. It is estimated that Telstra overcharged almost $2.5 Million over a 12 year period. Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) formally directed Telstra to comply with the Telecommunications Act in September 2020.[5]
A subsequent investigation occurred in 2022 and identified that Telstra had overcharged more than 11000 customers approximately $1.7 million. ACMA ordered Telstra to pay a $3 Million penalty in addition to refunding affected customers $21.1 Million[6]
Reducing speeds on Belong NBN plans[edit | edit source]
In November 2020 Telstra migrated 8,897 customers from a 100Mbps plan to a 40Mbps plan without notifying them. There was no price change for these customers even though Telstra saved $7 per customer per month for the newer lower speed service. Telstra was forced to pay $15 Million in penalties after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) instituted proceedings in the Federal Court.[7]
Selling mobile contracts to customers who cannot afford them[edit | edit source]
Between January 2016 and August 2018 representatives at Telstra stores sold unaffordable contracts to 108 Indigenous customers. Sales staff manipulated credit assessments, misrepresented products as free and exploited language barriers. In 2020 the ACCC instituted Federal Court proceedings against Telstra for unconscionable conduct and the Federal Court ordered Telstra to pay $50 Million in penalties. [8]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Telstra - About Our Company - 2025-01-14: https://www.telstra.com.au/aboutus/our-company
- ↑ Telstra Group Limited - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telstra
- ↑ ABC - ACMA found Telstra didn't have MFA for high-risk customer activities such as changing password after new rules were implemented in 2022 - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-17/telstra-fined-1-5m-for-leaving-customers-vulnerable-to-scams/104107146
- ↑ The Guardian - ‘My whole library is wiped out’: what it means to own movies and TV in the age of streaming services https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/may/14/my-whole-library-is-wiped-out-what-it-means-to-own-movies-and-tv-in-the-age-of-streaming-services
- ↑ ACMA - Telstra direction (November 2020) - https://www.acma.gov.au/publications/2020-11/report/telstra-direction-november-2020
- ↑ "Telstra pays $24 million in penalties and refunds after wrongly charging customers". 02 December 2023.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ↑ ACCC - Telstra found to have misled nearly 9,000 Belong customers over broadband speed claims - https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/telstra-found-to-have-misled-nearly-9000-belong-customers-over-broadband-speed-claims
- ↑ ACCC - Telstra to pay $50m penalty for unconscionable sales to Indigenous consumers https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/telstra-to-pay-50m-penalty-for-unconscionable-sales-to-indigenous-consumers