Telecom chief executive Paul Reynolds had strong words for the Commerce Commission today after the watchdog took steps to sue the company on its loyalty offers. 

The commission had filed proceedings against the telecommunications giant after accusing Telecom of allegedly breaching its obligations under the Telecom Separation Undertakings and discriminating between service providers.

“Telecom Wholesale initiated the offers as a good faith competitive response to customer demand.  We felt then, and still feel now, that the offers were consistent with the spirit of the undertakings. 

“On receiving complaints in April, we spoke to the telecommunications branch of the commission, but received no guidance or indication of concerns under the undertakings.  In fact, earlier published reports in February indicated that the commission did not have any concerns with the offers."

Mr Gilbertson said Telecom had fully co-operated with the commission and "remained" keen to work with the organisation to "gain a better shared view of the appropriate scope of the relevant undertakings obligations."