Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission says it has “reached a resolution with Telstra after an investigation into representations by Telstra to consumers who complained about faulty mobile phones."

The often toothless consumer protection tiger was concerned over the possibility that, “on some occasions, Telstra may have misled consumers about their consumer guarantee rights in relation to faulty mobile phones.”

Despite Telstra having Australian Consumer Law (ACL) compliance programs in place, the 800-pound “telcorilla” made representations which “may have caused some consumers to believe that they were not entitled to a refund, replacement or repair, when these remedies may have been available under the ACL”.

It turns out that there may have been some Telstra staff members who “may not have fully appreciated that consumer guarantees are in addition to Telstra’s policies and manufacturers’ warranties.”

Examples of concerns given include “representations to the effect that” some Telstra customers may not have been “entitled to any remedy outside the manufacturer’s warranty period”, or were “not entitled to a refund or replacement, where the mobile phone was returned to a Telstra store later than a specified time from the date of purchase”, or “were not entitled to a replacement unless the mobile phone had already been repaired 3 times.”

The ACCC’s deputy chairperson, Dr Michael Schaper said: “This investigation highlights the importance of businesses educating their staff, and consumers, that consumer guarantee rights are in addition to the business’s own policies and any voluntary warranties.

“Customers rely upon the statements that salespeople make in-store which is why these statements cannot mislead consumers without breaching consumer law. All businesses should ensure that their staff training programmes explain a business’s obligations under the Consumer Law.”

A stunning 400 complaints were identified between Jan 1, 2011 to Nov 4, 4013, with most of those complaints concerning mobile phones.

Thankfully, we are told that: “Telstra has acknowledged the ACCC’s concerns.”

Dr Schaper added that: “Telstra has worked with the ACCC to address its concerns and has committed to various measures to improve the experience of its customers and to continue to improve its compliance with the ACL”.

Telstra has made a range of commitments to the ACCC and presumably its customers, with new staff training, annual independent assessments, a consumer guarantees web page and more in-store information.

These commitments have been implement from last month, September, in stages, with seemingly more to come.

Telstra has also taken steps to strengthen warranties following its discussions with the ACCC, with 24 month warranties for phones with 24 month contracts, although this “excludes Apple products”, although these are subject to 24 month warranties under ACL anyway as the ACCC sought to enforce with the crunchy company, and did, in a rare showing of sharp ACCC teeth that actually had some bite for once.

More details at the ACCC here.