2degrees, a telecommunications company in New Zealand, has been fined $325,000 by the Auckland District Court after admitting to making misleading claims about its Australian business roaming services. The company advertised that roaming was 'free' or 'at no extra cost', leading customers to believe they could roam in Australia without additional charges. However, the reality was that customers would incur charges after 90 days of roaming.

The misleading claims were part of a broader advertising campaign that ran from 2020 to 2023. The Commerce Commission's Deputy Chair, Anne Callinan, emphasized the importance of truthful advertising, stating that consumers should be able to rely on the accuracy of such claims. The advertisements prominently featured phrases like 'Aussie business roaming at no extra cost', which created a false impression of unlimited free roaming.

In many instances, 2degrees failed to clearly communicate the 90-day limit on free roaming, and when they did include it, the information was not sufficiently prominent to correct the misleading impression. Following the ruling, 2degrees has taken steps to rectify the situation, including removing the 90-day limit on free business roaming in Australia and refunding customers who were charged for exceeding this limit.

Additionally, the company has updated its promotional materials to ensure compliance with the Fair Trading Act, which aims to protect consumers from misleading advertising practices. 2degrees pleaded guilty to five breaches of this act, highlighting the need for transparency in marketing communications.