Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has issued a decision against Cyfrowy Polsat on additional services it provided to subscribers without their consent.
The services in question were the anti-virus programme Internet Protection and Ipla 3 and 3, which were both automatically activated and could not be opted out of by customers when concluding a contract, even when they were not interested in them.
According to UOKiK’s president Tomasz Chróstny, “consumers should have a real opportunity to choose and assess whether they need a given service and whether they want to bear the costs associated with its launch. Fees going beyond the agreed main service, in the case of Cyfrowy Polsat beyond the subscription for the internet access service, must be clearly and explicitly accepted by consumers at the latest at the time of concluding the contract”.
UOKiK notes that consumers are entitled to compensation for the first three invoices containing fees for additional services activated without their express consent, provided that they have canceled them before receiving the fourth such invoice. In addition, the company will reconsider and take into account all complaints submitted so far. Cyfrowy Polsat’s commitment applies to both current and former customers, and the details of its implementation are included in the content of the decision.
Cyfrowy Polsat is one of the leading providers of electronic communications services in Poland.
