The Commerce Commission has published the Product Disclosure – Price and Cost Guidelines to enhance the transparency and consistency of pricing information for mobile and broadband services in New Zealand.
The guidelines mandate providers to disclose a monthly average price when it differs from the advertised price and to provide standardised offer summaries, enabling consumers to compare various offers more easily.
Telecommunications Commissioner Tristan Gilbertson said consumers often find it challenging to clearly understand their total costs due to the complexity of market offers.
“We’re cutting through the marketing confusion by helping consumers understand the true cost of different offers from telecommunications providers. We want Kiwis to be able to compare offers more easily and avoid any surprises,” he said.
“Consumers told us that understanding how much they’ll end up paying each month and having access to standardised offer summaries would make it easier for them to find the best deal. Our guidelines give Kiwis what they need to compare offers on a like-for-like basis and make informed decisions.”
ComCom is also addressing early termination fees by making sure consumers are informed about when these fees apply and the cost of ending a contract early.
“Early termination fees are a recurring pain point for consumers – either because they didn’t realise they signed up for them or because it’s not clear what the exit costs are when a better deal comes along,” Gilbertson said.
The guidelines require early termination fees to be clearly disclosed to consumers from the start and decrease over the contract duration.
Providers must also make it easy for customers to check the remaining amount payable at any time.
Gilbertson emphasised the importance of having transparent and consistent pricing and penalty information, which allows customers to make better-informed decisions and fully understand what they are agreeing to from the outset.