Commission takes Vodafone to court

The Commerce Commission is taking Vodafone to court over allegedly misleading advertising.

The proceedings issued yesterday relate to six advertising campaigns dating back to 2006.

Vodafone’s director of marketing Mark Rushworth says the company is surprised by the Commission’s move.

“This legal action feels to us like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut,” he says. “We strive to deliver great value and outcomes for customers. It has always been our practice to work with our customers to continually improve our processes and explanations around our offers.”

Rushworth says Vodafone has never deliberately misled its customers.The Commission has released a statement outlining the charges it has laid under the Fair Trading Act 1986 in relation to various broadband and mobile phone promotions.

The charges relate to various representations made by Vodafone regarding:

· the extent of the coverage of Vodafone’s wireless broadband network, made in Vodafone’s ‘broadband everywhere’ marketing campaign between October 2006 and April 2008;

· the availability of a $10 free airtime credit for those customers who registered their details on Vodafone’s website between May 2007 and September 2008;

· the cost of using the Vodafone Live mobile internet service between February 2007 and August 2008;

· the cost of using Vodafone’s $1 per day casual data charge for Vodafone’s mobile internet service between July 2008 and November 2008;

· the size of Vodafone’s mobile phone or 3G mobile phone network between September 2008 and February 2009; and

· the price of a Sony Ericsson W200 mobile phone between July and August 2007.