• Polkomtel illegally charged fees above the subscription fee, for nine automatically activated services, such as e.g. „Czasoumilacz” or „Serwis wyświetlacza.”
• The operator of Plus network had no clear consent from the subscribers for charging such payments.
• The fine totals PLN 39.4 m.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) issued a decision in relation to Polkomtel, the operator of Plus network. It stated that Polkomtel used nine practices that breached the collective interest of the consumers. It is related to nine services (see table) that are not included in the subscription fee, which Polkomtel automatically activated after signing an agreement. For the first month or two, they were free, after which the consumer had to resign from using them, or pay additional fees. Depending on the service, it was from PLN 2 to even PLN 20 per month, and often, the operator would activate several services for one person.

The regulations of the act on consumer rights require that before signing the agreement, the entrepreneur should obtain an express consent for each additional payment from the customer. In this case, it is about payments for services which were not included in the subscription. Some of them were entertainment-related, others were security-related. – Polkomtel had no such express consent from consumers. The information on the instruction to activate those services and fees were not included in documents separate from the agreement, i.e. promotion rules. When signing the agreement, the Client approved the wording of the general statement indicating he/she has read the documents that constitute the agreement. As evidenced from the complaints, some of the consumers was not even aware that every month they paid additional fees for e.g. “Czasoumilacz” – says Marek Niechciał, President of UOKiK.

For each of these practices, UOKiK fined Polkomtel. In total, the company has to pay PLN 39,457,264. This is not the first decision from the office in such cases. In December 2016, UOKiK imposed a fine of PLN 15 m on T-Mobile Polska (the decision is not final, as the company appealed in court). – I hope that as a result of UOKiK’s actions such practices will disappear from the market. Consumers must be always be able to make an informed and unconstrained decision whether they want to use services that are charged additionally – says Marek Niechciał, President of UOKiK.

The fine is not all. After the decision becomes final, Polkomtel must also advise the consumers of it by publishing the decision’s wording in its website. Additionally, it has to publish an announcement in two national newspapers and send registered mail to all subscribers, whom it charged, at least once, with the fee for any of the automatically activated services. They will learn from them that final decisions of the President of UOKiK have the character of collateral estoppel. This means that the findings of the office regarding the fact of using the practice are binding for the court. This will be useful for those consumers who want to pursue their rights in court, e.g. if Polkomtel charged them for one or more automatically activated additional services, and when they demanded refund – it declined the complaint. UOKiK’s decision can also be referred to by consumers when filing complaints with the operator.

The decision is not final, Polkomtel may appeal to court within one month of its receipt.

Services challenged:

*after the free promotion expires

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