Linton gets his Telstra sorry ad

John Linton, chief executive officer of internet service provider (ISP) Exetel, got his way today as Telstra published an apology in The Australian newspaper stating that it had wronged him after allegedly listing his company as a "bad debtor".

Dear John, we're sorry for listing you
(Credit: Ben Grubb/ZDNet.com.au)

Linton had challenged Telstra in court after the telco allegedly incorrectly listed Exetel as a "bad debtor" with credit reference company Veda Advantage over several bills Telstra said Exetel had defaulted on — bills which Exetel claimed were not legally its responsibility.

According to Exetel's statement of claim, it wanted Telstra to atone for its alleged breach of Section 52 of the Trade Practices Act, which deals with misleading deceptive conduct by taking out an ad in the paper.

Exetel chief John Linton additionally posted on his blog that the judge in the case had decided that Telstra would pay Exetel's court costs.

IT publication iTnews today reported that the two companies had agreed to discontinue legal proceedings after the advertisement was published.