iiNet and Internode latest to cop refunds for poor NBN

Cue another sigh of disappointment for the NBN .

iiNet and Internode, internet service providers owned by TPG, have been ordered to compensate more than 11,000 customers for advertising inaccurate NBN speeds.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found 8,000 iiNet customers and 3,000 Internode customers were affected by lower-than-promised NBN speeds from 2015 to 2017. If you were one of those customers, you'll be compensated with a refund and either a move to a lower-tier speed plan or an option to ditch the company altogether with no penalty.

"iiNet and Internode have admitted that between 2015 and mid-2017, they both likely engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct or made false or misleading representations by promoting and offering NBN plans with maximum speeds that could not be delivered," said Sarah Court, commissioner of the ACCC.

iiNet's advertised highest-speed was "up to 100Mbps" and Internode's was "up to 100/40 Mbps".

The ACCC found 64 percent of iiNet customers (7,621) on a 100/40 Mbps fibre to the node (FTTN) plan couldn't reach that speed. Of those customers, 1,925 fell short of the next lower plan of 50/20 Mbps.

For Internode FTTN customers, 34 percent (1,720 people) couldn't reach the highest speed of 100/40 Mbps, with 479 of those customers also stuck with less than 50/20 Mbps.

The ACCC has had its hands full with internet providers. Through its investigations into telcos last year, it found 8,000 TPG customers, 8,700 Optus customers and 42,000 Telstra customers were affected by lower-than-advertised FTTN speeds.

If you were one of the latest found to be affected, iiNet and Internode will contact you by email or letter by 27 April. You should find out the maximum speed your connection can actually attain and details on those compensation choices.