Optus customers could be owed a refund from the telco: ACCC

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is urging Optus customers to check their texts and emails for details over a possible refund from the telco.

In February, Optus was hit with a $10 million fine at a Federal Court hearing after it admitted to misleading consumers and breaching the ASIC Act over so-called "premium content" services such as ringtones, games, and horoscopes.

The telco earned $A65.8 million in commissions from the dodgy third-party billing practices since 2012 and was ordered to refund customers affected.

Optus said it has contacted more than 400,000 customers eligible for the refunds worth $6.7 million, but according to the ACCC only 25 per cent had been reimbursed.

“Optus committed to providing these refunds, and will continue to contact customers over the coming months,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.

“Many of the affected customers were charged for content that they never wanted and never used, and from which they found difficult to unsubscribe.

“In some cases children unwittingly incurred charges.” Optus previously admitted it had knowledge that customers were being billed for the direct carrier billing services from 2014 and said it has since stopped the practice.  

HOW TO CHECK IF YOUR ENTITLED TO A REFUND:

Optus said it has reached out to all customers, meaning you could be notified by a text message or letter.

If you think you have missed receiving a letter, you can contact Optus on 1800 672 501.