• The President of UOKiK has pressed charges to Orange and T-Mobile of presenting prices in a way that could be misleading for consumers.
• The telecommunication service providers quoted their prices including optional discounts as if they were standard prices. Additionally, Orange has had a charge pressed on losing a discount for combining services if an invoice had not been paid on time.
• Both companies may face a fine of up to 10% of annual turnover.

The assessment of attractiveness of a telecommunication offer frequently relies on a price presented. However, a method with which entrepreneurs quote it sometimes prevents consumers from making a reliable comparison of offers. This applies, among other things, to marketing campaigns conducted by Orange and T-Mobile which had charges of the President of UOKiK pressed.

Both companies are offering their subscribers discounts i.a. for using electronic invoices or expressing marketing consents. In the course of its preliminary investigations, the President of UOKiK has determined that the price of services including these discounts had been presented by Orange and T-Mobile as if it were a standard price. This occurs both in advertising messages and during sales phone calls with a consultant. Consumes are enticed with an attractive offer for a mobile phone subscription or a broader package of services but they are not transparently informed that failure to provide certain consents (for marketing and e-invoicing) or non-satisfaction of additional terms and conditions will result in higher fees. The President of UOKiK is of the opinion that such activities might be misleading and therefore he pressed charges to both telecommunication service providers of using the practices violating collective interests of consumers.

– Recently, the grounds for marketing arsenal of telecoms in Poland involve gigabytes and discounts. In their struggles for a customer, service providers forget to inform reliably how much their services are in fact. If they present the price including discounts for meeting certain requirements, then it is their duty to indicate what the discount applies to, the amount of the discount and the rules for granting it. Only then may a consumer assess the attractiveness of the offer quoted by an entrepreneur – says Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK.

PLN 5 discount but from what amount?

In its advertisements/commercials as well as during sales phone calls, T-Mobile presents prices for services including discounts - PLN 5 monthly for granting marketing consents and settlements under e-invoices each. When taking a decision, consumers may be unaware that the price quoted is conditional upon something. This is because, depending on the means of communication (advertising, chatting with a consultant), T-Mobile does not present the price without discounts or information about the types and amount of discounts included in the price, or does so in an illegible or ambiguous way or at too late a stage of the agreement. Customers who ultimately do not want to use e-invoicing or agree to marketing must pay PLN 10 more in monthly subscription fees than the offer they opted for indicated.

Similar practices are applied by Orange. In its marketing messages, it encourages to use its offer by quoting prices which include discounts granted for marketing consents or e-invoice. In addition, customers are offered discounts for combining services, that is, for concluding agreements for more than one service in the Orange network - for example, two phone numbers.

From a discount to a fine

Inappropriate quoting of service prices is not the only charge pressed by the President of UOKiK to Orange. The company increases subsequent invoices by the value of the discount for combining services at Orange (PLN 20) which was included in the price to consumers who do not pay their bills on time. This is particularly painful for customers who used this discount, as whenever they are delayed with payment, those customers will lose this discount for all phone numbers to which it has been granted. For example, if a few phone numbers are settled under one invoice for which this discount has been granted, the invoice will have the value of the lost discount for each agreement added. For example, an amount of PLN 60 for three phone numbers.

In the opinion of the President of UOKiK, the loss of a discount for failure to pay an invoice on time may be in the nature of a contractual penalty. According to the Polish Civil Code, entrepreneurs may reserve such a sanction for non-monetary obligations only. In the case at hand, the service provider has reserved the option of punishing subscribers twice. Additionally, regardless of the withdrawal of discounts, it may charge interest for late payment of the amounts due. In the opinion of the President of UOKiK, such practice may be a violation of the collective interests of consumers.

If the charges are confirmed, Orange and T-Mobile may face a financial penalty of up to 10% of their annual turnover.

The aforementioned companies are not the only telecoms to which the President of UOKiK pressed charges. Similar charges were pressed before to Vectra, Multimedia Polska, P4 (Play service provider) and Netia.