Woman with intellectual disability who Optus allegedly signed up to 24 contracts just one of hundreds in lawsuit

ACCC alleges telco sold hundreds of vulnerable people phones and plans they couldn’t afford, mostly from three stores

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An unemployed woman with cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability was signed up to 24 Optus contracts for multiple phones, smart watches and tablets over 15 months, the consumer watchdog has alleged in a lawsuit claiming the telco sold hundreds of vulnerable people phones and plans they could not afford.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched a federal court case against Optus in October alleging the telco had engaged in unconscionable conduct, in contravention of Australian consumer law, in its dealings with 429 customers – 363 of which were served at Optus’s Darwin stores.

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