MISLEADING - POLKOMTEL, INTERNETQ POLAND
29 gr to Everybody (per a minute call) - this advertising slogan of Plus network
operator was questioned by the President of UOKiK. The undertaking was accused of
miseading consumers and imposed a fine nearly PLN 1,86 mln. Unfortunately, this is
not a single decision of the Office concerning the application of unfair commercial
practice
[Warszawa, 14th December 2011] Every consumer should be provided with reliable,
truthful and complete information about a product or service, otherwise based on
misleading data, they can make different decisions – e.g. choose this service on offer they
would not certainly select being fully aware of actual offer terms. Till the end of this year
the President of UOKiK intends to issue 5 decisions concerning advertising. Two
proceedings regarding Polkomtel and Internetq Poland have already been completed.
The proceedings against Polkomtel instituted in December 2010 after the President of the
Office received a notification. The information provided in advertisement Rarka w
MixPlusie regarding one-minute telephone connections at 29 gr to Everybody included
incomplete information which raised doubts of the Office. The caimpaign was held in
September 2009. The Office gained the evidence that the attractive price was available
only upon filfillment of certain conditions which was not mentioned in the
advertisiment – activating a package with additional payment and using it entirely. Not
using it fully or exceeding the limit increased the cost of phone connections. According to
the Office, a consumer was not provided with full information on the offer of Polkomtel. If
they had known the real conditions of the promotion, he could have decided otherwise –
possibly not conclude the agreement. The President of the Office decided that
Polkomtel misled its consumers and imposed a fine nearly PLN 1,86 mln. Additionally,
the undertaking must publish the full text of the decision on its website for the period of
six months and its content in a nationwide daily. The decision is not final, the undertaking
can lodge an appeal to the court.
Furthermore, the President of the Office decided that Internetq Poland applied unfair
commercial practice as it was sending text messages of Orange Second Edition (Orange
Druga Edycja) encouraging to participate in BMW lottery. The proceedings against the
undertaking were instituted in June 2011 on notifying the case by the municipal consumer
ombudsman in Tychy. Moreover, many consumers reported complaints to UOKiK in this
respect. The Office examined the regulation of the contest and the templates of text
messages sent to participants. The President of UOKiK was concerned about the text
messages which were sent out – they informed consumers on winning a car on
condition they send back a message. E.g. Awards unit requests you to send a
confirmation. It regards collecting the prize. Please send BMW at number 7400 (PLN
4,88). Congratulations. In fact, sending back a text message guaranteed the
participation in car lottery only. It is essential that implying unconditional winning the
prize after e.g. sending a text message, making a call, or sending a letter, is contrary to
law where in fact different rules apply. The President of the Office decided that
Internetq Poland violated collective consumer interests and imposed a fine exceeding
PLN 338 thousand. The decision is not final, the undertaking may appeal to the court. It
has been the second case that the President of UOKiK contested the practice applied by
Internetq Poland. In December 2010 UOKiK decided that the entity was misleading its
consumers by sending a Blank sms as a part of its lottery. The messages implied that a
consumer would get a prize after sending back an empty message. In fact, it guaranteed
only being registered in the contest and potential participation in the lottery.
Consumers can watch the educational film available at the website of the Office of
Electronic Communication as well as gain information on how to recognize the real price of
a text message. Furthermore, they may turn to consumer ombudsmen. The Act on
combating unfair commercial practices may also facilitate the process of seeking redress as
it provides for that consumers can bring an action to the court in individual disputes with
undertakings. During such proceedings the court verifies whether a given commercial
practice of an undertaking is unfair. In this case it is the undertaking who has to prove
before the court that the applied commercial practice is not misleading to consumers.
Additional information:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Department of International Relations and Communication
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa
Tel. +48 22 827 28 92, 55 60 314
Fax +48 22 826 11 86
E-mail: [email protected]