The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection Tomasz Chróstny has issued decisions concerning telecommunications operators: Netia, Orange and P4. UOKiK: – They will refund consumers for fees charged for the automatic activation of additional paid services. This occurred when contracts were concluded or extended by telephone, in a shop or online. The services were activated automatically, without consumers’ explicit consent, and consumers were responsible for deactivating them before the free period of use expired. Many people who contacted UOKiK were unaware that they had to do this.

Netia

The Office:

In the case of Netia, the services concerned are: “Bezpieczny Internet 2”, “Bezpieczny Smartfon”, “Identyfikacja Numeru”, “Pakiet HBO HD”, “GigaNagrywarka Standard” and “GigaNagrywarka Maxi”.

Orange Polska

Officials: – In the case of Orange Polska, the services concerned are: “Halo Granie”, “Cyber Tarcza”, “Nawigacja Orange”, “Orange Smart Care”, “Gdzie jest Dziecko”, “Bezpieczny Internet” and “Internet mobilny z zapasowym pakietem danych na konto”.

P4

UOKiK: – In the case of P4, the services concerned are: “Muzyka na czekanie”, “Ochrona internetu”, “Play NOW usługi dodatkowe TV”, “Pakiet 50 min/50 sms/mms do wszystkich”, “Bezpieczny internet”, “Nielimitowane połączenia na numery stacjonarne”, “Nielimitowane sms/mms do wszystkich sieci”, “100 minut do innych sieci komórkowych” and “200 minut do innych sieci komórkowych”.

– Under the Consumer Rights Act, the activation of additional paid services must take place with the subscriber’s explicit consent. This should occur no later than when they express their intention to conclude a contract, not at the very end of the process. This obligation is not fulfilled by providing information about the activation of services in the contract, or by stating that they must be deactivated – after the terms have already been agreed – says Tomasz Chróstny, head of UOKiK.

A consumer’s explicit consent to additional paid services means saying “yes” or “no” to the operator’s proposal. This does not occur when the offer terms stipulate that using a paid additional service is necessary to conclude a contract on promotional terms. Consumers should have a genuine choice; therefore, answering “no” should result in the service not being activated.

What happens next?

Office of Competition and Consumer Protection:

Netia, Orange and P4 will change their practices and compensate consumers for the losses incurred (the decisions concerning Netia and Orange Polska are legally final, while the decision concerning P4 is not). The decisions apply to current and former subscribers.

It also adds:

Consumer, if your operator activated unwanted services for you, here is what you may be entitled to, among other things:

  • If your complaint was rejected or you deactivated the automatically activated paid services yourself during the period specified in the decision, the operator will refund you for them.
  • Operators will implement procedures under which consumers will be asked, when concluding a contract, for consent to activate additional paid services.

Details are available on the UOKiK website.

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