Optus agrees to $100m penalty for selling phones to customers who couldn’t afford them or were out of range
Optus has agreed to pay a $100m penalty after conceding it engaged in unconscionable conduct when selling phones and contracts to hundreds of customers that could not afford them, did not want them, or didn’t even have coverage to use them.The negotiated penalty, if approved by a federal court judge, came after court action taken against Optus by the consumer regulator.If imposed, it would be the largest ever for the telco sector.The Optus chief executive, Stephen Rue, said the misconduct was inexcusable.“I would like to sincerely apologise to all customers affected by the misconduct in some of our stores,” Rue said.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email“Optus failed these customers and the company should have acted more quickly when the misconduct was first reported.”The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said many of the affected consumers were vulnerable, and were living with a mental disability or diminished cognitive capacity.Some were unemployed, or had language barriers.In one example provided by the ACCC, an Indigenous Australian, who speaks English as a second language and lives in a remote community with no Optus coverage, was approached by the telco’s staff outside a store and pressured to enter.The person thought Optus was offering them a free phone and felt pressured to accept.
They ended up being contracted to two high-end phones, three phone plans, and various services and accessories with a total minimum cost of $3,808 over 24 months.Shortly after, they were signed up to a second phone plan with a further $540 minimum spend.Unable to pay, the person had their debt referred to debt collectors.The ACCC said unconscionable conduct at Optus affected more than 400 consumers at 16 stores across Australia between 2019 and 2023, and involved:putting pressure on consumers to buy a large number of products they did not want or need, could not use or could not afford;failing to explain relevant conditions to vulnerable consumers, resulting in them not understanding ongoing payment obligations;ignoring whether customers had Optus coverage where they lived.The ACCC deputy chair, Catriona Lowe, said that some vulnerable customers were pursued by debt collectors for years.
“It is not surprising, and indeed could and should have been anticipated, that this conduct caused many of these people significant emotional distress and fear,” Lowe said.As part of the agreement reached with the regulator, Optus has signed an undertaking to compensate impacted consumers and improve its internal systems.The telco has said internal disciplinary action had been taken and that the sales staff responsible had lost their jobs.The industry body, Financial Counselling Australia, said sales commissions at Optus stores drove “predatory practices”, which continued unchecked because of the telco’s lack of compliance controls.“This misconduct was the result of corporate arrogance, a lack of oversight, and business models that failed to prioritise the protection of vulnerable customers,” the FCA said.
“More broadly, this case is yet another example of why the telco sector needs stronger, enforceable regulation,”
The secret to crisp tofu | Kitchen aide
I want to like tofu, but I don’t because of its rubbery texture. How do I make it nice and crisp? Anne, by email “Moisture is the enemy of crisp tofu,” says Emma Chung, author of Easy Chinese Food Anyone Can Make, so the quest for cubes of bean curd that are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside starts by getting rid of as much excess water as possible (and choosing a tofu labelled “firm” or “extra-firm” in the first place). “I usually do this by wrapping the tofu in tea towels, placing it between two large plates and putting a heavy pot or pan on top,” Chung says. After 10 minutes, you “should have a nice and firm tofu that will have a lovely texture, and it will be a lot easier to crisp up”.Guardian columnist Ravinder Bhogal, meanwhile, pops her tofu on a wire rack set over a tray and covers it with kitchen paper or a clean cloth: “Put a weight on top and leave it for a couple of hours, and ideally overnight – that will squeeze out the excess moisture
José Pizarro’s recipe for broad bean and mint tortilla with a manchego crust
In Spain we say, “Habas en abril empiezan y en abril se acaban” – that is, broad beans begin in April and end in April. In the UK, the season starts a bit later, around June, so we’ve got a bit more time yet to enjoy them. Still, the season is short, so I use these wonderful beans as much as I can, while I can. This is the kind of dish I’d make on a quiet afternoon: simple, full of flavour, nothing fancy. Just a nice way to enjoy what the season gives you, before it disappears again for another year
Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for tandoori chicken skewers with coriander chutney | Quick and easy
I’ve been on a quest for the perfect tandoori marinade (without the E numbers or red food colouring) for years, and tweak my recipe on every repeat. This one is easily my favourite so far: the cloves lend a wonderful smokiness, and if you can pop the chicken in the marinade in the morning, it will have taken on an amazing depth of flavour by the evening. This would work just as well on a barbecue – just scale up the amount of chicken and the marinade ingredients as needed.You will need four large metal or bamboo skewers (if using the latter, soak them in water for half an hour first). Serve with flatbreads or naan, and shredded lettuce, if you wish
Pastry perfection: Anna Higham’s recipes for chicken and herb pie and foldover pissaladière
Warmer weather always has me dreaming of elaborate picnics, just like the ones my mum used to take us on as kids. She made superlative chicken pies, and I always think of them at this time of year. Mum would use shop-bought pastry, but here I’ve made a herby rough puff to up the summery feeling. The onion and anchovy turnovers, meanwhile, are the perfect pocket savouries to keep you going on a long walk or day out. You could always make one batch of pastry and halve the amount of both fillings, so you can have some of each
How to make chocolate chip cookies – recipe | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass
Once upon a time, not so long ago, the only so-called chocolate chip cookies on offer in the UK were, in fact, biscuits – small, brittle ones peppered with tiny, waxy, cocoa-coloured pellets. When I finally discovered the soft, chewy American originals in a subterranean outlet at Birmingham New Street station, my teenage mind was officially blown. These are even better.Prep 25 min, plus chilling Cook 15 min Makes 15120g room-temperature butter 170g dark chocolate 75g light brown sugar 75g granulated sugar ½ tsp vanilla extract A pinch of salt 1 egg, beaten240g plain flour ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda Sea salt flakes (optional)Make sure your butter is soft enough to beat – if your kitchen is very cold, or you’ve forgotten to get it out of the fridge in time, dice it and leave it out on the counter while you gather together the rest of the ingredients. I tend to use salted butter for baking, as for everything else, but it’s up to you
Ragù, Bristol BS1: ‘I recommend it wholly, effusively and slightly enviously’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
Ragù is a cool, minimal, romantic ode to Italian cooking that’s housed in a repurposed shipping container on Wapping Wharf in waterside Bristol. No, come back, please – don’t be scared. There are tables, chairs, napkins, reservations and all the other accoutrements of a bricks-and-mortar restaurant, even if this metal box may at some point in its existence once have been used to ship things to China and back. To my mind, Wapping Wharf has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and no longer feels at all like one of those novelty “box parks” that have about them a heavy whiff of the edgy temporary fixture. Today’s Wapping Wharf is a true independent food destination in its own right, and with a bird’s-eye view from one of Ragù’s window seats, while eating venison rump with gorgonzola dolce and sipping a booze-free vermouth, you can watch the crowds head for the likes of the modern French Lapin, Tokyo diner Seven Lucky Gods, modern British Box-E, Gurt Wings and many more; by day, there’s also a bakery, a butcher, a fromagerie and so on
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