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P4 SP. Z O.O.Poland's anti monopoly charges P4 and Netia for presenting prices with discounts as standard
Poland's antitrust and consumer protection regulator UOKiK has brought charges against P4, the Catalyst-listed operator of Polish telecom Play and TMT giant Cyfrowy Polsat's telco unit Netia for presenting prices including optional discounts in a way that may be misleading, the office said in a press release. The companies face fines of up to 10 percent of turnover.
It was pointed out that both P4 and Netia, either in advertising messages or during telephone sales calls, present the prices of their services taking into account discounts - PLN 5 each per month for expressing marketing consents and for choosing an electronic invoice.
According to the UOKiK, consumers may not know that the price is conditional on something.
Depending on the means of communication (advertising, conversation with a consultant), the companies do not present the price without discounts or information about the types and amount of discounts included in the price, or they do it in an illegible way or at too late a stage of concluding the contract.
As indicated, customers who ultimately do not want to use e-invoicing or agree to marketing have to pay a total of PLN 10 more per month than the offer they opted for indicated.
“Presenting discounted prices like standard prices can be misleading. Entrepreneurs - by stating a lower price - gain the interest of customers who do not know that the offer requires additional conditions," UOKiK chairman Tomasz Chróstny, quoted in the release said.
"Consumers have the right to expect that the price quoted in advertisements, as well as by a telephone consultant, is the one they will pay. If it depends on something, it must be clearly communicated to consumers right away,” he added.
If the allegations are confirmed, P4 and Netia face fines of up to 10 percent of turnover.
mcb/ han/