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Poland: T-Mobile fined PLN 15 mln by consumer regulator

By  |  January 5, 2017

has been fined PLN 15 million (EUR 3.4 million) by the Polish consumer and competition regulator for automatically extending promotional services without the customer’s billing consent. The fine was reduced by 30 percent from the original amount after T-Mobile later stopped the practices, but the company said it still plans an appeal.

Uokik launched an investigation into T-Mobile in August amid concerns of consumer rights violations. T-Mobile was found to have extended the services offered free for a promotional period, without obtaining the customers’ consent to continue the paid services. The services involved were ‘Music for Waiting’ and ‘Subscription’, for respectively call waiting tunes and information and entertainment services. Customers who did not cancel the services, for instance, by sending a SMS or contacting Customer Service, were obliged to bear the additional cost, despite not being asked expressly for their consent when they signed up.

Full Content: Telecom Paper

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