Telstra Fined For Unfair Sales To Indigenous Customers

Telstra is heading to court – and  facing $50 million in fines – after admitting to breaches of consumer law that saw over one hundred Indigenous customers signed to unaffordable phone plans.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has confirmed that it has begun Federal Court proceedings against the telco, in response to ‘unconscionable’ sales made between January 2016 and August 2018. The ACCC states that staff at five Telstra-licensed stores in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia used unfair selling tactics to sign Indigenous customers to postpaid mobile plans, causing distress and hardship when those customers were unable to keep up with their…