Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has ordered UPC Polska to compensate customers who received a package without their approval.
In a statement, the regulator says that the operator introduced the ‘UPC Safety Package’, an additional anti-virus programme, to customers’ services and charged them PLN9 (€2) a month for the package after a trial period.
UOKiK notes that consumers who did not resign from the package in time had to pay PLN9 a month, while those who signed a contract via UPC Polska’s website were made an exception and not charged these fees. “The majority of consumers deactivated the service during the free trial period or in the first months of its provision, but not all of them decided to file a complaint, which the company most often considered”.
UPC Polska has now been asked by UOKiK to modify its contract procedure, which includes the ‘Safety Package’, and also compensate its consumers.
UOKiK has also pointed out that it has initiated proceedings this month against Netia, Poland’s leading alternative telco, for a similar violation of consumers’ rights.
The maximum fine for such a violation is 10% of a company’s turnover, though UOKiK also has the option of issuing a commitment decision.
