NBN customers experiencing slow connection speeds are encouraged to contact their retail service provider (RSP) as they may be entitled to a refund. 

Providers such as Telstra, Optus, TPG, iiNet, Internode, Dodo, iPrimus and Commander have all admitted that they likely made false or misleading representations concerning the connection speeds to NBN customers with fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) and fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) connections. 

The mentioned RSPs advertised and sold NBN plans with maximum theoretical speeds including 100 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 40 Mbps upload. However, these speeds could have never been experienced by most consumers due to the limitations of FTTN and FTTB technologies. 

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the eight RSPs have contacted more than 142,000 affected consumers to offer them a range of options including moving to a lower speed plan, terminating their contract or receiving a refund. 

However, ACCC Acting Chair Mick Keogh said that two in three affected consumers have not yet responded to the letter or email from their RSP, and may be eligible for refunds for up to hundreds of dollars. 

“The ACCC is urging NBN customers to contact their NBN retailer if they have received a letter or email offer of a remedy, or think they might be entitled to a remedy,” Mr Keogh said. 

New customers who have recently signed up to a new NBN plan may also be eligible for a refund, if the RSP advertised the maximum connection speeds with the plan. The RSPs must check the speeds within four weeks of sign up and offer remedy options if it is below the advertised plan. 

“We expect RSPs to provide consumers with accurate information up front about the internet speeds they can expect to experience, and then deliver on those promises,” Mr Keogh said. 

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