Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The Auckland District Court has fined telco 2degrees $325,000 over misleading claims about ‘free’ Australia business roaming.
The mobile services company admitted to five charges under the Fair Trading Act over misleading claims made in an advertising campaign between 2020 and 2023, talking about free and no extra cost roaming claims, though customers were charged after 90 days each year.
If customers exceeded 90 days of roaming, they would be charged $7 to $8 per day of additional roaming.
The charges were brought by the Commerce Commission.
“The word ‘free’ is a powerful tool in marketing and consumers should be able to rely on the truth and accuracy of advertising claims like these,” Commerce Commission deputy chair Anne Callinan said.
“Businesses need to consider the overall impression of headline claims.
“Key information about claims they’re making needs to be easy to find and not buried in the fine print.”
