Telco giant Optus allegedly pressured vulnerable customers using inappropriate sale conduct and debt collection The ACCC has taken the company to federal court. Video via AAP
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00:00The conduct of the sales staff was deliberate and targeted.
00:05I'll give you an example.
00:07There is a young woman.
00:09She has intellectual disability.
00:12She has a carer.
00:14The sales staff befriend her,
00:16make arrangements for her to come to the store without the carer.
00:20Now, that is deliberate and targeted
00:23to avoid the protections that she needs.
00:27She has then sold multiple products,
00:29has debts and there's debt collection.
00:32Now, that is one example.
00:33That is targeted conduct.
00:35Manipulation of a credit check
00:38in order to fraudulently complete a credit form,
00:41that is deliberate conduct.
00:43So we are alleging deliberate conduct by sales staff.
00:46You then get to the question,
00:49when did management become aware
00:51that their own systems were being circumvented?
00:56That is an awareness question,
00:58but we allege that they became aware and continued the conduct.
01:02Any of these consumers experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage
01:07were living with a disability,
01:10were facing learning difficulties,
01:12were unemployed or financially dependent.
01:16Additionally, many of them were First Nations Australians
01:20living in regional or remote communities
01:23where the farms were unable to have coverage
01:26and unable to work.