Telstra cooperated over advertising concerns: ACCC

Telstra's proposal to resolve concerns over T-Time Rewards Options advertising has been accepted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Graeme Samuel, ACCC chairman, said that the ACCC had been concerned by representations made in Telstra's initial television advertisement.

"The ACCC believed the commercial did not disclose material conditions or contain sufficient information regarding the offer," Samuel said in a statement.

He said that qualifications to offers -- such as eligibility and other conditions -- should be introduced at the same time as the representations they qualify.

"Disclosure only at the point of sale, or once consumers have contacted the trader, are not enough. This applies to all commercials, especially those which have come to be referred to as 'teaser' advertisements."

The commercial in question originally began running on 1 May. Two weeks later, according to the ACCC, the watchdog raised its concerns with Telstra.

The ACCC said that by 18 May Telstra had stopped broadcasts of the advertisement. The telco has also agreed to run a commercial clarifying the features, terms and conditions of the offer, and to contact customers who called the number in the commercial and signed up to the offer.

According to a statement from ACCC, "Telstra has agreed to take these steps without admitting that its conduct was likely to mislead or deceive".

Megan Keleher, head of marketing services at Telstra, said that the telco had withdrawn the original commercial and would re-run the commercial in a form that meets with the ACCC's concern.

"The modified version of the new T-Time Reward Options commercial contains the level of detail which the ACCC has told us it is comfortable with," Keleher said.