Optus has forked out near on 180K for 27 infringement notices issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The ACCC claimed that Optus made “false or misleading representations” about the true price of its cap plans, contravening that infamous Trade Practices Act of 1974.

"The ACCC has been keeping a close watch on the telecommunications industry for a while now to ensure that consumers get accurate information,” Acting ACCC chairman Peter Kell says. “This is another example of the clear message the ACCC is sending to this industry: get your advertisements right."

The ACCC was unhappy with the use of the phrase ‘Max Cap’ to describe Optus’ plans in promotion over July and August last year, which implied that the cap price was the maximum consumers would pay monthly. In reality, the cap price is the minimum cost for a consumer, with handset repayments, optional insurance, and any excess cap use added on top.

"If you advertise a service as a '$49 Max Cap' when $49 is the minimum that consumers have to pay, then you risk breaching the law by misleading consumers about the cost of the service," Kell says.

Optus were stung with 27 infringement notices, each to the tune of $6,600, based on the number of advertisements presented.