Telstra has paid a $102,000 penalty for misrepresenting the price of its iPhone 6 plan.

The consumer watchdog issued the telco an infringement notice over a full-page ad in The Age newspaper in September.

The ACCC argued Telstra prominently stated a monthly fee of $70, when the true price, including handset repayments, was $81.

The full price was disclosed only in the fine-print.

ACCC chief, Rod Sims, warned businesses to be wary of using “attention grabbing” headline prices that may mislead people as to the true cost.

This is especially the case with bundled goods and services such as phone plans, he added.

Telstra said it was surprised by the infringement notice, claiming the ad in question was similar to those rolled out by competitors.

“Our ads prominently stated the mobile plan cost, the handset cost and the total minimum cost as legally required,” a spokeswoman said.

“Even though we are strongly of the view that our ads complied with the law, we have paid the notice.”

Telstra has since changed its ads to make full pricing clearer, she said.

AAP