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iiNet fined for naked service ad on Sydney bus

iiNet has been fined for a Naked DSL Service ad on the back of a Sydney bus

June 21, 2013

Naughty behaviour has long been associated with the back of the bus, but the culprits are not usually publicly-listed companies.

However, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently fined Internet services provider iiNet $102,000 for a Naked DSL Service advertisement on the back of a metropolitan Sydney bus.

iiNet has paid
the infringement notice for the ad, which failed to prominently state the total minimum price payable for the naked service, according to the ACCC.

The fine means iiNet has become the first publicly-listed company to be fined under Australian Consumer Law for not properly
revealing total minimum charges in an ad.

An ACCC statement yesterday says the ad was displayed on the rear of a bus in metropolitan Sydney between at least February 20, 2013 and March 11, 2013.

The ad displayed a monthly price of iiNet’s Naked DSL Service of $59.95.

The ad also displayed the total minimum price of the service.

But the ACCC deemed that the total minimum price was not
exposed in a prominent way.

ACCC Chairman Rod Sims says businesses need to take into account the context in which their advertisements appear.

“If the total minimum price is not prominent or cannot be easily seen, businesses run the risk of being in breach of the Australian Consumer Law,” Sims says.

“This outcome is consistent with the continuing consumer protection work in the telecommunications sector, which is currently a priority for the ACCC.”

Under the Australian Consumer Law, an ad that promotes the monthly price of a service must also prominently state the quantifiable total minimum price for that service.

According to the ACCC, in the total minimum price for the iiNet service comprised $59.95 for each month for 24 months plus a $79.95 connection fee amounting to a total price of $1,518.75.

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