MyRepublic Pays Penalties for NBN Speed Claims

From ACCC release

23 July 2018

NBN provider MyRepublic Pty Ltd (MyRepublic) has paid penalties totalling $25,200 following the ACCC issuing two infringement notices for alleged false or misleading representations about its NBN service performance.

Between December 2017 and April 2018, MyRepublic marketed its NBN services using statements such as “up to nbnTM100 Speed Tier” and “nbn™50 Speed Tier” on its website.

The MyRepublic website contained fine print disclaimers that the ACCC considered were ineffective as they were not prominent and did not provide clear information.

“We were concerned that MyRepublic’s use of the NBN speed tiers misled consumers to believe they would get broadband speeds of, or close to, 100Mbps and 50Mbps during all or almost all of the time, when that wasn’t the case,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.

“NBN speed tiers indicate the maximum performance of a broadband service but a number of factors, including congestion during busy periods, affects the actual speeds consumers will experience,” Ms Court said.

“When choosing between broadband services, consumers need accurate information about the performance they should expect, particularly during busy periods. We’ve been very clear with broadband providers about this and reference to the NBN speed tiers alone is not sufficient.”

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Comments

  • +2

    That's a little harsh.

    “up to nbnTM100 Speed Tier” and “nbn™50 Speed Tier”

    That's fairly clear they're talking about NBN Speed Tiers and not Mbps.

    and reference to the NBN speed tiers

    Maybe the NBN should stop using this kind of terminology then…

  • +1

    It's because they weren't advertising the expected 'real-world' speeds and were only advertising the NBN speed tiers, which can be very misleading.
    Good to see the ACCC looking after consumers.

    • I mean, if they were advertising NBN speed tiers and those are misleading, that seems to be the fault of the NBN.

  • +3

    Great, now how much will my internet bill go up to pay the fines

  • -1

    Ooooh I dodged a bullet. Almost went with them for my NBN internets. Went with Internode instead, expensive but reliable.

    • +1

      pretty soon all they will be able to advertise is "pay us this much, we may be able to provide you with internet"

      bah, this wasn't supposed to be a reply to above poster. half asleep foruming ftw

  • Right now I'm getting 16 Mbps download.
    < 1% of the time, they've shown me speeds > 80 Mbps (typically when I make a call to support to sort out slow speeds).

    Thing is they promised the fastest possible speeds, so if they are typically around 15-30, when the fastest possible is around 80+, does that mean they've been misleading?

    • +2

      I think you have a very good case for getting a refund from them. Also sounds like you would be better off on a lower tier plan as you are not getting the speeds of a high tier anyway.

      • Thanks. Will look into it.

      • My plan has a discount, so it turns out it's cheaper than the slowest plan.

        • Change providers? Why are you still with them?

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