Vodafone fined for misleading customers
The company breached the Act by misleading customers about the true cost of its mobile Internet service.
Vodafone's mobile internet service Vodafone Live was advertised with the phrases “completely free”, “absolutely free” and “you won't be charged” on the company's Web site.
According to 3News, some customers racked up bills in the thousands of dollars without realising it, and were “fobbed off” by the company's call centre, says Commerce Commission lawyer Nick Flanagan.
“It is unclear just how many customers were affected, as Vodafone did not keep detailed records of complaints,” says the commission's Stuart Wallace, “but Vodafone has agreed that it was likely to have involved significant numbers of its customers and large amounts of money. This was a serious design flaw which resulted in many customers incurring unwanted costs.”
Vodafone was first alerted to the issue in 2007, but in 2008 had taken no steps to remedy the issue, prompting the Commerce Commission to lay charges.
Flanagan said victim impact statements show customers spent sleepless nights worrying about large phone bills. One customer was charged more than $1 000 and another was threatened by a debt collecting agency, reveals the New Zealand Herald.
“One describes being in tears when calling the Vodafone call centre.”
Vodafone lawyer Bruce Gray QC said last month the problem was with different operating systems on different phones sold by the company.
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