More telcos to compensate customers for underperforming NBN speeds

Dodo, iPrimus, and Commander have agreed to compensate over 5000 customers for their slow NBN connections speeds.

Affected customers of the major telco providers will be offered options for remediation, including moving to a lower speed plan with a refund or exiting their plan with a refund and no exit fees.

Of the customers affected, 3,384 Dodo customers, 1,912 iPrimus customers, and 565 Commander customers were unable to achieve the speeds they were paying for. Dodo, iPrimus and Commander are all wholly owned subsidiaries of Vocus Group Limited (ASX: VOC).

The three broadband providers admitted that by offering speed plans that could not be delivered, they likely breached consumer law by engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct, and making false or misleading representations.

Affected customers will be contacted by email or letter by 27 April 2018, outlining the options that customers have.

ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court says acting on misleading claims about internet speeds is a priority for the group this year.

"The ACCC has now accepted undertakings from eight internet service providers (ISPs), who have all admitted they likely misled customers about internet speeds," says Court.

"As a result of these undertakings, more than 75,000 affected consumers are being contacted by their internet service provider and offered remedies."

The majority of the customers affected were using fibre to the node technology.

Of those affected, 70 per cent of Dodo and iPrimus customers on a 100mbps download plan could not receive that speed and 83 per cent of Commander customers on a 100mbps plan could not receive that speed.

These undertakings follow Wednesday's news that TPG and Internode also agreed to compensate customers for underperforming NBN speeds. The two ISPs will compensate 11,000 customers for slow internet speeds. Telstra and Optus have also previously agreed to compensate customers.

Shares in Vocus are down 1.45 per cent to $2.38 per share at 12.41pm AEDT.

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