CANBERRA, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Australia's second-largest telecommunications company has agreed to pay a 100 million Australian dollar (64.9 million U.S. dollar) fine for engaging in unconscionable conduct.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Wednesday said that Optus Mobile, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singtel, has admitted to unconscionable conduct in selling products to vulnerable customers after the regulator brought court action over the practices in October.

Under an agreement, the ACCC and Optus will jointly ask the Federal Court to impose a total penalty worth 100 million Australian dollars for breaching Australian consumer law.

The ACCC said that Optus sales staff acted unconscionably when selling phones and contracts to over 400 customers at 16 different stores across Australia between August 2019 and July 2023.

"In many instances, the consumers did not want or need, could not use or could not afford what they were sold, and in some cases, consumers were pursued for debts resulting from these sales," it said.

Many of the affected customers were vulnerable, the ACCC said, including Indigenous Australians from very remote areas, unemployed people, and people who did not speak English as a first language.

Optus admitted that its sales staff put undue pressure on consumers, failed to explain relevant terms and conditions to vulnerable customers in a manner they could understand, and did not have regard to whether customers had Optus coverage where they lived.

ACCC chair Catriona Lowe said that the conduct was "simply unacceptable."

"Many of these consumers who were vulnerable or experiencing disadvantage also experienced significant financial harm. They accrued thousands of dollars of unexpected debt and some were pursued by debt collectors, in some instances for years," she said.

Optus chief executive Stephen Rue said that the misconduct was inexcusable and unacceptable. ■