Vodafone faces 10 charges under Fair Trading Act

The commission alleges Vodafone billed customers who had ended their contract beyond the termination date.

Having agreed with customers to terminate their service part-way through the next month, Vodafone sent an invoice that included charges for the entire month, the commission said.

The charges against the company allege it misrepresented its right to payment because customers only owed payment for services provided prior to the agreed termination date.

Charges cover the period from 1 January 2012 to 1 January 2017. The matter will be called in the Auckland District Court on 11 September 2018.

In April, the commission also laid charges against Vodafone for claims made for its FibreX broadband service. Those charges allege Vodafone’s advertising of FibreX misled consumers into thinking it was a full fibre-optic broadband service, the same as the ultra-fast broadband (UFB) network being rolled out by the government.

We’ve previously criticised Vodafone for its marketing of FibreX. The product – sold in Wellington, Kapiti and Christchurch – uses Vodafone’s cable network, not the UFB network.