New Zealand’s competition watchdog alleged 2degrees violated fair trading rules by misleading business customers about free domestic mobile roaming plans.

The Commerce Commission filed eight charges against the operator for false claims made in marketing campaigns between 2020 to 2023, which Fair Trading GM Vanessa Horne said led customers to believe they could roam year-round in Australia at no extra cost when that was not the case.

“Businesses need to make sure key information about claims they’re making is easy to find, and not buried in the fine print,” Horne added. 

The regulator alleged 2degrees advertised “free Aussie business roaming” and used claims like “Aussie business roaming at no extra cost”, when the roaming plan was capped at 90 days a year. Customers exceeding 90 days of roaming would be charged per day of additional roaming. 

Following discussions with the commission, the operator took steps to correct the claims and compensate customers charged for business roaming. It removed a 90-day limit on free roaming and updated its promotional material.