• The UOKiK examined the way in which the four largest telecommunications service providers handle adjustments and refunds following contract termination or expiry.
• In the view of the Competition Authority, the service providers should notify their customers on the presence of credit balance due to overpayment as well as of the possibility of claiming a refund thereof.
• Read on to see how to claim your refund.

When your contract expires or is terminated, there may be a credit balance on your account due to overpayment. This may happen when you transfer an excessive amount of money by accident or when your customer complaint is recognised by the service provider after the contract had expired, resulting in a refund. The credit balance may also be present where you paid a deposit for any of your devices (such as
a set-top box) at the start of the contract and where such deposit has still not been refunded.

Using the so-called soft calls, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has examined how the telecommunications service providers handle adjustments and refunds following contract termination or expiry. There are substantial credit balances on the accounts of the four largest telecommunications service providers on the Polish market – Polkomtel (the Plus mobile network), P4 (the Play mobile network), T-Mobile and Orange. – The amounts which we are referring to are quite significant. In many cases,
a credit balance may occur after the contract is terminated or expired; however, the service providers do not provide refunds of such amounts automatically. In our view, they should notify the subscribers of the amount of the credit balance and the terms and conditions for the refund thereof. The refund process itself should be easy to initiate and conducted free of charge. We cannot rule out further actions in case of those service providers who make it difficult for consumers to claim their refunds – says
Marek Niechciał, President of the UOKiK.

For example, a consumer may have been paying his or her subscription fees by wire transfer for a couple of years; however, in order to claim a refund of any credit balance present, he or she must file an application by post, because the service provider does not accept applications filed by telephone or e-mail. Such practices may prove onerous for the consumer. This is particularly problematic in case of lower amounts, where the cost of returning a registered letter is often slightly smaller than the amount to be refunded to the consumer.

Credit balance due to overpayment may also occur with other telecommunications service providers. As a result of the actions taken by the UOKiK, Netia has begun contacting consumers in order to notify them of the credit balances present and the possibility of claiming a refund thereof. Netia customers have received refunds of the deposits paid upon conclusion of their respective contracts.

Remember: once the contract with the service provider expires or is terminated, you should verify the balance of your customer account. If the contract is no longer in force and you are unsure whether any credit balance due to overpayment exists, you may ask your service provider whether all amounts due have been settled. If you wish to claim a refund, you should file an application with the service provider. The information on how to claim a refund is presented below:

Polkomtel (Plus):

• You can file an application in writing or in electronic form (e-mail, fax).
•  In your application, you need to specify the manner in which the credit is to be refunded, e.g. by a wire transfer to a specific bank account; you also need to specify your personal information and telephone number.
• Detailed information concerning the credit balance refund procedure is provided on the Polkomtel website.

P4 (Play):

• You can file an application in writing, in electronic form (e-mail, fax) or directly through customer service.
• In your application, you need to specify the manner in which the credit is to be refunded, e.g. by a wire transfer to a specific bank account; you also need to specify your personal information and telephone number.
• Detailed information concerning the credit balance refund procedure is provided on the P4 website.

T-Mobile:

• You can file an application in writing, in electronic form (e-mail, fax) or using a dedicated application form.
• In your application, you need to specify the manner in which the credit is to be refunded, e.g. by a wire transfer to a specific bank account; you also need to specify your personal information and telephone number.
• Detailed information concerning the credit balance refund procedure is provided on the T-Mobile website.

Orange:

• You can file an application in writing, in electronic form or directly through customer service.
• In your application, you need to specify the manner in which the credit is to be refunded, e.g. by a wire transfer to a specific bank account; you also need to specify your personal information and telephone number.
• Detailed information concerning the credit balance refund procedure is provided on the Orange website.

If you wish to claim a refund of any credit balance on your account, please contact your former service provider.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office 
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw
Phone: 695 902 088
E-mail: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]

Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL