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Optus is warned - this opens doors for smaller player like VOC to take customer from Telstra and Optus.


Optus has been forced to backtrack from its overenthusiastic pitch to get customers on its pay TV network to move to the National Broadband Network, in the latest sign of consumers getting caught in the crossfire between the retail service providers and NBN Co.
The telco has admitted that it was wrong in telling its cable customers that they had to place an order for the NBN within either 30 days or 60 days once their suburb was ready to receive NBN services.
The concession follows reports that Optus was ignoring the NBN’s 18-month switchover commitment and using strong arm tactics to flip customers to sign up to NBN services provided by the operator.
The tactics, first reported in Fairfax Media, include Optus calling cable customers and threatening to disconnect both their telephone and broadband connections if they don’t swap to the NBN.
If they missed the cut-off date, which Optus representatives allegedly incorrectly told customers was 30 days, they were threatened with loss of their home phone and internet usage.
It’s understood once a customer was threatened with the disconnection; an Optus representative would then offer an NBN consultation appointment without explaining to the customer they could choose another Internet Service Provider.
According to Optus, while it proactively contacts customers to ensure they can place an order for the NBN, the stipulations of 30 and 60 days were in breach of the switchover commitment.