Macquarie Group dismissed allegations that a leasing arm of the financial firm actively took part on the questionable telecommunication equipment rentals deals offered to unsuspecting small business owners by 28 telco companies in 2008.

Following an investigation, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) hailed the telco firms to court for their deceptive and misleading product bundle offerings that lured corporate consumers into paying bloated prices for television sets, notebook computers and phone gadgets.

Small businesses contracted by the telecommunication firms were allegedly made to believed that the equipments included in the services were given for free and inclusive of the agreements signed with the telco companies.

An ABC report highlighted the incident on Monday as it alleged that Macquarie Entertainment Rentals, which is an arm of the Macquarie Group, took over the contracts from the telcos and hounded the small business owners for the debts they incurred through the questionable deal.

ACCC chair Graeme Samuel said that Macquarie should have determined first if the contracts that they bought were sealed with ethical and legal considerations prior to the financial group's spirited effort to recover the debts that allegedly arose from the questionable deals offered by the telcos.

When reached for comment, the Macquarie Group, through a spokeswoman, maintained that it acted appropriately the whole time and it cooperated with the ACCC inquiry by responding to the consumer watchdog's numerous requests.

Also, Macquarie said that despite repeated demands from its arm, the telco customers were not budged into making rental payments or at least failed to return the disputed equipments, which the spokeswoman claimed were now in running value of "approximately $1 million with the average claim of approximately $19,000."

Resorting to court action, Macquarie opted to file suit on up to 300 small businesses as the ABC report also said that some of the business owners have decided to lodge counter suits, with allegations that some business owners' bank accounts were debited by Macquarie Equipment Rentals without their knowledge.