The consumer watchdog is waiting for new powers to heavily fine telcos who keep ripping off customers, in the wake of complaints about number one offender, Dodo.
Dodo, a small ISP with just tens of thousands of customers, notched up a staggering 6683 complaints in 2007-08 with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
That compares to 9063 for the far larger Optus and 19,364 for the telco giant Telstra.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced last night that Dodo, a frequent target of false advertising complaints, had misled customers who signed up to its “free offer plans” between October last year and March this year.
Dodo had promised customers who signed up to mobile and broadband plans either a “free” Asus Eee PC, fuel card or cash payment, but the regulator found the extras were far from free.
Dodo has now promised to refund customers who signed up to the free offer plans and lower their monthly fees.
