Orange rapped for “unlimited” ads
(13-06-07) - Orange has been criticised for advertising “unlimited” broadband and home phone calls without mentioning their fair usage policy.
Although Orange said that they failed to mention the fair usage restrictions of the bundle package because of a production error, and that only 1.96 per cent of their customers had exceeded the limits, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said that the ads had broken advertising rules.
The package offered unlimited calls to UK numbers and 100 countries as well as unlimited downloads but the phone calls were limited to 1,000 minutes a month and downloads were restricted by a fair usage policy dictated by their available network capacity.
Chris Eagle, BroadbandChoices.co.uk commercial manager said: “The advertising of broadband packages as ‘unlimited’ is confusing for customers who think they are getting unrestricted connections which actually have fair usage policies.
“The ASA’s decision is good news for consumers and for those campaigning for clearer definition in the advertising of broadband and home phone packages. Customers should make sure that they always check the small print on any contract.”
“Orange pointed out that the enforcement of their broadband fair usage policy involved monitoring download levels and communicating with customers over a six month period rather than instantly imposing charges for exceeding the limits. They added that they would ensure that all future advertisements of their Unlimited products would include details of their fair usage policy.
Related article - Is Fair Usage Broadband Really Fair?
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