Telstra overcharged customers nearly $2.5 million over 12 years

Telstra overcharged customers nearly $2.5 million over a 12 year period, an investigation has found.

On average, the company overcharged 10,000 customers $231 each between February 2008 and February 2020.

It was during a period customers were being provided with an interim service such as a mobile phone during delays to their connection or repair of landline services.

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As a result, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has directed the company to comply with its billing accuracy obligations.

ACMA Chair Nerida O'Loughlin said the errors were a clear breach of the Telecommunications Consumer Protections (TCP) Code.

"The amount charged for an interim service must not exceed what a customer would have been charged under their existing or requested landline service," Ms O'Loughlin said.

"Overcharging can potentially lead to financial difficulties for affected customers which is why the ACMA considers accuracy in billing practices to be an important consumer protection.

"Australians should have confidence that they will not be overcharged for their telco services, helping them to effectively plan for and manage their household budgets.

"For Telstra to allow an issue like this to go unnoticed for such a long time and impact so many customers, is simply unacceptable," Ms O'Loughlin added.

Telstra self-reported the issue to the ACMA, and said that the billing error happened when it was introducing a new customer relationship management system in 2008.

The company moved quickly to fix the problem, and took the appropriate steps to address the issue, ACMA said.

These steps including refunding affected customers, and a commitment to removing all ongoing charging for interim services to prevent the problem from occurring again.