Telstra Fined $50 Million for Unconscionable Sales to Indigenous Consumers

Summary

In May 2021, the Federal Court ordered Telstra to pay A$50 million for unconscionable conduct involving sales of mobile contracts to Indigenous consumers. Telstra admitted that between January 2016 and August 2018, staff at five licensed Telstra-branded stores signed 108 Indigenous consumers to multiple post-paid mobile contracts that many did not understand or could not afford. The ACCC said conduct included manipulating credit assessments, falsely representing some products as free, and exploiting social, language, literacy and cultural vulnerabilities. Telstra admitted liability, waived debts, refunded affected consumers and agreed to additional compliance and remediation measures. Source: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/telstra-to-pay-50m-penalty-for-unconscionable-sales-to-indigenous-consumers