The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection imposed a fine of over PLN 46 million on the operator Canal+ Polska. As the office explains, the company’s consultants allegedly misled customers as to the purpose of the telephone call. They informed about a free package of channels, while their goal was to sign a parallel agreement.
Over PLN 46 million in fines for Canal+ Polska. The company allegedly misled customers
As the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection explains in a statement, doubts were raised by telephone sales conversations during which consultants suggested that consumers would receive a free gift, while a parallel contract was signed. As a result, complaints began to come to the office.
CANAL+ consultants called subscribers, announcing an additional package or a free gift, which in fact was only a ‘bait’ to conclude a new long-term contract. Some consumers noticed additional fees and changes to the contract only after a longer period of time
– explains the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
Importantly, for the first few months after such a conversation with the consultant, television was provided for free. However, after the free period expired, the consumer was not able to terminate the contract and had to bear the costs arising from both concluded contracts.
According to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, “in order to encourage the consumer to make an immediate decision, consultants indicated that the circumstances of the connection were exceptional (e.g. that they were contacting the awards department) or informed about the limited number of packages.”
What is also controversial is the fact that during the talks, consultants overestimated the starting prices of the offered packages by up to 50 percent (compared to similar packages offered to new subscribers). This made their “promotion” seem particularly attractive.
The consumer should be provided with transparent and honest service from the entrepreneur, allowing him to fully consciously conclude the contract. Constructing sales call scripts in such a way that they hide the real purpose of the salesperson’s telephone call with the customer and the actual costs associated with the offer is not allowed. I emphasize that all key elements influencing the consumer’s decision must be open and honestly presented
– says Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
For violating the collective interests of consumers, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection imposed a fine on Canal+ Polska in the amount of PLN 46 million (PLN 46,557,853). That’s not all, however, because the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection also obliged Canal+ Polska to “refund consumers who concluded a contract as part of a promotional campaign from October 10, 2019 to April 23, 2022.”
Customers who, realizing that they were misled, terminated the concluded contract before the expiry of the validity period – will receive a refund of the amount of the calculated claim after the decision of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection becomes final. However, all those who filed a complaint will receive a refund of the fees paid for using the services.
We have asked Canal+ Polska for a statement or comment on today’s decision of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. We will post the operator’s response as soon as we receive it.
25 million fine for T-Mobile. The operator is to pay for “free” gigabytes
. A few days ago, the office imposed a fine of PLN 25 million on T-Mobile Polska for advertising that misled customers. According to the office, to receive “free” gigabytes you had to pay a fee every month.
It was a T-Mobile advertisement with the slogan “1200 GB free for a year”. This offer concerned pre-paid customers, and the operator suggested that they would receive a 100 GB internet package free of charge for 12 months. The condition for taking advantage of the promotion was to top up the account with at least PLN 35 per month.
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) explains that such advertisements were misleading to consumers, because the amount that actually needed to top up the account was PLN 420 (PLN 35 x 12) after a year. The office explains that such information was written “in small font at the very bottom of the advertisement.” For at least some customers, the terms of the promotion may not have been fully understood.
T-Mobile has already published a statement regarding the fine imposed. The operator does not agree with the UOKiK’s justification and declares that it intends to appeal against the office’s decision. According to T-Mobile, the offer “was created in line with the mechanics specific to pre-paid services”, i.e. the fact that the possibility of using additional bonuses is associated with having an active account or package.
Like every offer we introduce, “1200 GB for free for a year” was created in line with the mechanics typical of pre-paid services, in which the use of additional bonuses is always associated with having an active account or package, which in turn is associated with the obligation to make monthly payments. top-ups
– we read in T-Mobile’s statement.
Source: Gazeta
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