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TPG hit with $2m fine for misleading ads

The competition watchdog — the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission — took TPG to court over ads for its $29.99 fixed-line broadband plan at the end of 2010, claiming that the ads failed to disclose the full cost of the plan, which included a $30 line-rental charge. In November 2011, Justice Bernard Murphy ruled in the Melbourne Federal Court against the telco, finding that even though TPG advertised the unlimited plan for $29.99, it did not adequately disclose that the cost was $59.99 per month including line rental.

The ACCC sought fines of between $4 million

The ACCC sought fines of between $4 million and $5 million, during TPG argued that $450,000 would have been appropriate. Murphy settled on $2 million, stating that during he did not consider the ads to be the worst of the worst, he nevertheless felt that he needed to impose a high enough penalty that the fine wouldn't be viewed as just a cost of doing business for TPG.

"The ACCC is committed to taking a hard line to secure a culture of compliance by telecommunications providers, and improve marketing in the telecommunications industry. The ACCC will continue to take court action in order to achieve this," he said in a statement.

"TPG is disappointed at the penalty judgment of the Federal Court concerning the advertising of TPG's unlimited broadband with home phone plans. It has given instructions to appeal both the original findings of the court as to liability and the decisions about penalty," the company told ZDNet Australia in a statement.

In April, the ACCC handed TPG a much smaller $13,200 fine for misleading advertising relating to advertising for voice-over-IP calls.

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More information: Zdnet.com
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    Tpg Fined $2m For Misleading Ads