This ad was ruled misleading by an Australian judge because it buries the extra costs in the fine print.

One of Australia’s largest Internet Service Providers used misleading advertising to offer “unlimited broadband” for $29.99AU that hid the extra costs that came with the deal.

TPG Internet is well-known across Australia, and the company pitched its unlimited offer across newspapers, television, radio, and even movie theaters.  Consumers were offered unlimited Internet access — still a rarity in Australia — for just over $31US a month.  But when those interested phoned up TPG, they found the great deal had some significant costs:

1. An installation fee of $129.95AU.
2. Consumers had to purchase a home phone rental agreement for an additional $30 a month.

Australian consumer law mandates that providers disclose any up front, required costs to take advantage of a promotion, and TPG blatantly disregarded the law, the justice found.

Justice Murphy said the dominant message of TPG’s ads was that consumers would only pay $29.99 a month, not a substantial setup fee and phone line rental that doubled the price.

The Federal Court justice added that the desire for unlimited Internet service was so great, consumers were likely to sign up for unlimited plans even if their monthly usage was low enough to save money with a usage-limited plan.

“There is a tendency in some consumers to purchase the biggest, the best, or the highest quality product or service, seemingly regardless of whether that service is appropriate to their needs,” Murphy ruled.

The judge plans to meet with the offending ISP to discuss an appropriate penalty for the breach in advertising standards regulations.