• Netia, Orange and Play will reimburse consumers for additional services added without their informed consent.
• All complaints will be settled favourably and the standards of informing consumers about paid services will change.
• This is the result of the decision of the President of UOKiK.

Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK, has issued a decision concerning telecommunications operators: Netia, Orange and P4. The companies will reimburse the consumers the fees charged for the automatic activation of additional paid services. The services were added when the contracts were concluded or renewed over the phone, in the store or online. The services were activated automatically, without the express consent of the consumers, and it was the customers who had to deactivate them before the end of the period of their free use. Many people who have contacted the Office stated that they were not aware that they had to do so.

Netia services: Bezpieczny Internet 2 (safe Internet 2), Bezpieczny Smartfon (safe smartphone), Identyfikacja Numeru (number identification), Pakiet HBO HD (HBO HD package), GigaNagrywarka Standard (giga recorder standard), GigaNagrywarka Maxi (giga recorder maxi).

Orange Polska services: Halo Granie (hello play time), Cyber tarcza (cyber shield), Nawigacja Orange (Orange navigation), Orange Smart Care, Gdzie jest Dziecko (where is the child), Bezpieczny Internet (safe Internet) and Internet mobilny z zapasowym pakietem danych na konto (mobile Internet with backup data package for the account).

P4 services: Muzyka na czekanie (music while waiting), Ochrona internetu (Internet protection), Play NOW usługi dodatkowe TV (play now additional TV services), Pakiet 50 min/50 sms/mms do wszystkich (package 50 min/50 sms/mms to all), Bezpieczny internet (safe Internet), Nielimitowane połączenia na numery stacjonarne (unlimited calls to landline), Nielimitowane sms/mms do wszystkich sieci (unlimited sms/mms to all networks), 100 minut do innych sieci komórkowych (100 minutes to other mobile networks) and 200 minut do innych sieci komórkowych (200 minutes to other mobile networks).

- According to the Consumer Rights Act, the inclusion of additional paid services must take place with the express consent of the subscriber. This should happen when the consumer expresses his/her consent to conclude the contract, at the latest, and not at the very end of the whole process. This obligation is not fulfilled by the provision of information about the inclusion of services or the fact that they have to be deactivated - after the terms and conditions of the contract are determined - says Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK.

The explicit consent of the consumer to additional paid services is a "yes" or "no" statement in relation to the operator's offer. This is not the case when it is stated in the terms and conditions of the offer that the use of a paid additional service is necessary to conclude the contract on promotional terms. The consumer should have the possibility to decide, therefore answering "no'" should result in the non-activation of the service in question.

Netia, Orange and P4 are obliged to change their practices and to compensate consumers for the damage (decisions against Netia and Orange Polska are legally binding, decision against P4 is not). The decisions apply to current and former subscribers.

Consumer, if the operator has activated unwanted services for you, check what your rights are:

• If your complaint has been rejected or you have deactivated the automatically activated paid services in the period specified in the decision, the operator will refund you the money.
• The operators are obliged to implement procedures according to which consumers will be asked, at the stage of signing the contract, to give their consent to activate additional paid services.

The details are included in the decisions: Netia, Orange Polska, P4, as well as in the correspondence from the operator.

Consumer support:

Phone No. 801 440 220 or 22 290 89 16 – consumer hotline
E-mail: porady@dlakonsumentow.pl
 Consumer Ombudsmen – in your town or district

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