• Representatives of Telestrada SA could have misled consumers by saying that they represent their current operator.
• The complainants also claim that they did not get the signed documents back.
• UOKiK has instituted proceedings and if the accusations are proved true, Telestrada might face a fine of up to 10% of its turnover.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection received numerous complaints about another telecommunications company that could have unfairly won new customers by impersonating their current operator. The complaints concerned the company Telestrada from Warsaw. Its representatives would most often first call consumers and make an offer to them, and then would visit them at home with documents to be signed. UOKiK initiated proceedings and brought two charges against the company:

1. misleading consumers: the complaints show that representatives of Telestrada suggested that the offer was about changing the terms of the contract with current operator, while in fact it was about concluding a contract with a new company, i.e. Telestrada. I received a phone call and I was offered lower phone bills as a reward for making regular payments. During the conversation I felt like I was talking to my current operator, complained a consumer from Gdańsk;
2. not sending documents (i.e. contracts and attachments thereto) back to consumers. Following assurances, I was given an alleged annex to my contract for singing (...), then the man took both copies of the document and left in a hurry, wrote a consumer from Warsaw.

As a result of such actions taken by Telestrada, consumers would find out that they actually concluded a contract with this company only after they received an invoice for new services.  Meanwhile, according to the law, they should get full, unambiguous and reliable information about the offer and the entrepreneur who makes it before signing any documents. Only in this case they would have a chance to make an informed decision whether a enter into the contract or not, says Marek Niechciał, President of UOKiK.

If the accusations proved true, Telestrada will face a fine of up to 10% of its turnover for unfair market practice. In the past, UOKiK fined telecommunications companies for impersonating current operators, e.g. PGT (Telefonia Polska Razem), Telekomunikacja Cyfrowa, Twoja Telekomunikacja, Nasza SA.

Consumer service:

Phone: 801 440 220 or 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
E-mail: porady@dlakonsumentow.pl
Consumers’ ombudsmen – in your town or district
Regional Consumer Centres: 22 299 60 90 – Dlakonsumenta.pl

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL