2degrees Fined $325,000 For Misleading Claims About ‘free’ Aussie Business Roaming

2degrees has been fined $325,000 by the Auckland District Court after admitting it made misleading claims that its Aussie business roaming was “free” or “at no extra cost” when in fact customers were charged for roaming after only 90 days.

“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 says.

Claims made by 2degrees in a widespread advertising campaign between 2020 to 2023 created an impression that customers on mobile business plans would have the ability to roam year-round in Australia at no extra cost when that was not the case.

2degrees prominently used claims such as “Aussie business roaming at no extra cost” and “the other guys charge for Aussie business roaming, we don’t” when in fact the ‘free’ roaming was capped at 90 days each year. If customers exceeded 90 days of roaming, they would be charged $7 to $8 per day of additional roaming.

“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,” Ms Callinan says

In many instances 2degrees did not include the 90-day qualifier, and when they did it wasn’t clear enough to correct the impression created by the headline claim.

2degrees has taken steps to rectify the claims and compensate affected customers. This includes removing the 90-day limit on free business roaming in Australia, refunding current and former customers who were charged for business roaming in Australia in excess of 90 days, and updating their promotional material.

2degrees pleaded guilty to five breaches of the Fair Trading Act in the Auckland District Court.

Background

The Commerce Commission is responsible for enforcing the Fair Trading Act. The Fair Trading Act is primarily concerned with trader behaviours that are likely to mislead consumers as to the price, performance or quality of their purchase. These behaviours can include anything from false claims about what a product is made from or where it comes from, through to key pricing details being hidden in fine print.

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