• Fine imposed on Polkomtel by President of UOKiK totalled over PLN 50 million.
• Consumers who paid for internet access had to pay extra for watching videos and listening to the radio online.
• Additional fees were not specified on the invoice.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection received a notification from a consumer claiming that Polkomtel charged extra fees for video streaming, even though the consumer paid for internet access. The proceedings against the operator were initiated at the end of December 2018. In the course of the proceedings, we confirmed that subscribers had in fact limited access to the packet they had paid for and incurred unjustified fees. Many people concluded their contracts convinced that they would also be able to use the streaming services, says Marek Niechciał, President of UOKiK. We get access to internet on a different basis than to television; in the latter case, we can only watch channels listed in the contract. Internet packet is the amount of data used (e.g. 5 GB, 20 GB, unlimited GB), and the number and type of websites that we can browse through is unlimited. As part of the packet, consumers should be able to use all types of data transmission without additional fees, and internet service providers should not limit it. One should, however, remember that additional fees may be charged by owners of video media distribution system, such as VOD.

UOKiK was concerned about the following packets: Safe Internet, Unlimited Internet and Non-Stop Packet. The Office found that consumers had limited access to internet services, because since 2013 Polkomtel charged additional fees for video streaming, i.e. for listening to internet radio, watching films or video materials online in real time. The fee was 40 groszes per minute of transmission. According to the Office, subscribers should have access to all portals as part of the packet they paid for. This is due to the principle of open internet access meaning that consumers should be able to have access to the lawful internet content of their choice on equal and non-discriminatory terms. If they had known it was not possible, they could have decided to choose another operator’s offer. President of UOKiK demanded that this practice be discontinued.

Extra fees were not specified on the invoice; they were listed under such items as Domestic calls and text messages. It was misleading to consumers, because it was not until they analysed their billing that their realized that multimedia services must be paid extra. This practice was used from 2013 to 2017 and it was discontinued.

President of UOKiK stated that Polkomtel violated collective interests of consumers and imposed a fine of over PLN 50 million (PLN 50 634 687) on the enterprise. Furthermore, the company must publish on its website and social media a statement and provide a link to the Office’s decision in this case. The decision is not final and may be appealed against to the court. Each consumer may cite this decision and file a complaint demanding fees to be refunded.

Consumer service:

Phone: 801 440 220 or 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
E-mail: porady@dlakonsumentow.pl
Consumer 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