• President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny has issued a decision urging UPC to change its sales practices in connection with concluding remote agreements (during a phone call or on-line).
• In order to conclude or amend an agreement, the terms of which have been agreed upon during a telephone conversation, consumers will have to explicitly confirm their willingness to do so - this is the result of the decision of the President of UOKiK.
• Furthermore, UPC Polska shall offer one of the selected services to those who have lodged a complaint. The compensation shall also apply to former subscribers.

- The proceeding was initiated based on consumers' feedback in which they identified irregularities. We have investigated the procedure of concluding agreements by UPC using means of remote communication, i.e. by phone and on-line. The information we have gathered provided the basis for the charges to be brought. In the course of the proceedings, UPC submitted an offer of commitment and compensation to consumers, which I accepted – says Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK.

The President of UOKiK challenged a number of practices in connection with the conclusion or change of conditions during a consumer's telephone conversation with an operator or using an on-line offer.

The Office contested, inter alia:

1. Failure to inform consumers during telephone calls about the possibility of cancelling the agreement within 14 days. This information is mandatory.
2. Failure to confirm the amended conditions during a telephone call to consumers who have not agreed to the submission of documents in electronic form. In such a situation, the subscribers received the contract only during the visit of the technician who activated the internet/television access service in their apartment. For many individuals, this might have been too short to read the agreement.
3. The fact of assuming that the consumer has effectively changed the terms of the agreement during a telephone call, even though he/she has not confirmed this on paper or other read-only data media. Under the law, following a conversation with a consultant, the operator must send a confirmation of the conditions discussed during the conversation and the consumer must respond accordingly. The lack of consumer's response means that the agreement has not been changed effectively.
4. The manner in which UPC confirmed the conclusion or amendment of agreements to consumers - it e-mailed links to documents on the website. This form does not meet the requirements of the read-only data media.

As a result of the proceedings before the President of UOKiK - UPC shall change the practices contested by the Office. Moreover, in order to conclude or amend an agreement, the terms of which have been agreed upon during a telephone conversation, consumers will have to explicitly confirm their willingness to do so once they have received the confirmation of new terms from the company. During the sales call, customers shall also be informed about the possibility of exercising the right of withdrawal and any and all amendments shall be presented to them on the read-only data media.

The operator shall offer a variety of services to individuals who have submitted complaints since 25 December 2014 regarding practices that had been questioned in the decision of the President of UOKiK. Individuals who shall continue the agreement will be able, for example, to: activate a specific offer of mobile telephony provided by UPC Polska or upgrade the parameters of Internet access, or get access to a sports channel of their choice. These services shall be provided free of charge to consumers over two or three settlement periods. Individuals who are no longer the company's subscribers will either receive several dozen Polish zlotys (PLN 20 or 30) or conclude a new agreement on more favourable financial terms that shall apply for two or three months.

Within three months, the operator shall inform consumers about the benefits they are entitled to and how they can benefit from them. The groups of consumers covered by the compensation, as well as its scope, are defined in the decision. You can download it from uokik.gov.pl.

- Concluding agreements over the phone is convenient for a number of people, but it does entail some risks. Due to the nature of this means of communication, the possibility of effectively communicating all necessary information to the consumer is significantly limited. This may in turn involve the risk of intentional or unintentional misrepresentation of the content of the agreement being concluded or of misunderstanding its terms. In order to ensure that the verification of the contractual provisions is not purely theoretical, an operator who offers concluding agreements over the telephone must, at the end of the conversation, provide the consumer with a confirmation of the terms of the agreement - e.g. by e-mail or by regular post – reminds Tomasz Chróstny.

Dear consumer, do you conclude an agreement over the phone or amend its terms? Remember: it is not possible to conclude an agreement by simply making you say “yes”. The agreement is deemed to have been effectively concluded or amended under a number of conditions:

• Once the conversation is over, the content of the agreement must be presented to the consumer on the read-only data media., e.g. by regular post or by e-mail.
• After reading the agreement, the consumer may decide whether or not he/she wishes to actually conclude it. He/she should have enough time to read the terms and conditions of the agreement. Then, he/she informs the operator that he/she accepts the conditions. Only then is the agreement deemed to have been concluded.
• If the consumer has changed their mind and does not want to conclude the agreement, they may not confirm their willingness to conclude it.

Complimentary assistance is provided by consumers’ ombudsmen. Counselling is also provided by phone at 801 440 220 or 22 290 89 16, or by e-mail: [SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE].

Consumer support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or +48 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
Email: [SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE]
Consumer ombudsmen – in your town or district
Regional Consumer Centres: Phone: +48 22 299 60 90 – Dlakonsumenta.pl
Office of Electronic Communications - Consumer Information Centre – 22 330 40 00

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: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL