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Optus says ‘yes’ indeed ... to some fairly solid refunds for customers.
OPTUS will refund $2.4 million to around 175,000 of its mobile phone insurance customers for failing to properly advise them about the product they’d bought. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission said Optus itself reported a failure to provide certain customers with a Product Disclosure Statement and a Financial Services Guide.
This meant the customers were not informed of certain key features and limitations of the insurance they had purchased, ASIC said.
The regulator said that following its inquiries, Optus reported four other breaches.
Those included customers not receiving a month’s free insurance they were entitled to; being incorrectly charged for a premium during a ‘raincheck period’; being issued the wrong cover; and were not advised about excesses or a cooling-off period when they bought insurance over the phone.
“This breach affected customers who purchased mobile phone insurance in store or by telephone, and occurred over a number of years,†ASIC said in a statement on Tuesday.
Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications, will also write to around 500,000 customers who may be affected, according to ASIC.