13.11.2008

Today, ANC launches the draft decision on the obligations of the electronic communications providers to inform the end-users for public debate.

The draft decision proposes a set of solutions for the information deficiencies the communications users in Romania deal with, establishing the modalities whereby the telephony providers shall communicate the information on the pricing and tariffs, as well as the other conditions for using the services to their subscribers.

Before signing the contract, purchasing or re-charging the telephone card, the providers’ sales personnel should offer the users three important pieces of information:

·          minimum amount to be paid during the entire duration of the contract, consisting of the subscription/telephone card price, plus the possible connection/installation tariffs, plus the handset price (if such is the case), with all taxes included;

·          tariffs charged and charging terms: charging manner (per minute, per second etc.), whether they charge a tariff for establishing the connection, if they have different tariffs depending on the moment of the day, the manner in which the included minutes and credit may be used;

·          minimum duration of the contract, terms for ending the contract and the taxes the user must pay if the contract ends before its expiry, as well as the conditions under which the contract is automatically extended.

The providers shall have the obligation to announce their subscribers, 15 days before the date their contracts can be ended, both through the invoice and through a SMS, on when and how they have the right to end the contract, as well as on whether the contract is automatically extended and for how long.

Before signing the contract, purchasing or re-charging the telephone card, any telephony user is entitled to request and to achieve, cost-free, a copy of the Contract and of the General conditions for the service provision. The providers shall ensure that their sales personnel or their partners’ personnel in the distribution networks advise the future customers to carefully read the respective materials before concluding the contract.

In addition, ANC shall develop an interactive application to enable the users to compare between the providers’ offers and to choose the tariff package that suits them best. The application shall include data related to the mobile telephony, fixed telephony and broadband Internet access offers and shall provide a rank of the most advantageous tariff plans as pricing is concerned, in accordance with the consumption options introduced by the user (for example, monthly traffic, number of SMS etc.). The providers shall introduce into the system data on their offers. These data are to be checked and validated by ANC and permanently updated by the providers.   

“Due to the complexity of the tariff packages and schemes, many Romanian users are not able to appreciate correctly how much they pay for the telephone services. The users suffer from the negative effects even when they benefit from a multitude of correct information. Their abundance and lack of clarity practically prevent the users from comparing and assessing them correctly. By this decision, we wish to ensure that the end-users make informed choices at the moment of purchasing communications services. On a competitive market, an informed user is stronger in its relationship with the provider,” Liviu Nistoran, the President of ANC, declared.

The complexity of the tariff packages and schemes (multiple tariff plans, tariffs for different on-net / off-net calls, calls to mobile / fixed networks, during peak / off-peak hours, depending on destination, towards favourite numbers, and much more) practically prevents the end-user from controlling the level of expenditure with communications services and makes it more and more difficult for him to make informed decisions regarding the choice of the provider.

Therefore, the authorities in 10 Member States have implemented interactive guidelines to enable the end-users to compare between the tariffs of various providers of electronic communications services, the most often met category for which comparison is ensured being mobile telephony, followed by fixed telephony and broadband Internet access. The national regulatory authorities from numerous EU Member States established comprehensive requirements to be observed in view of making available to the public the information on the tariffs and on the conditions for using the service.

The telephony providers shall have, as well, the obligation to make available to the end-users and to hand them in, at the moment of signing the contract, a Dispute Settlement Procedure and shall display the end-users’ information rights on their own websites and on posters exposed in all working points or in the partners’ distribution networks.

Furthermore, the draft establishes the minimum set of information to be included in the detailed invoice issued by the electronic communications providers, thus enabling the users to comprehend and assess the charging manner for the services they used, as well as to understand and check the content of the invoices issued by the providers.

The draft decision is available for consultation on the ANC website. The interested persons are invited to send their comments and suggestions to the ANC headquarters (2 Delea Noua Street, sector 3, Bucharest) or directly to the ANC registration office, as well as to its territorial branches, no later than 12.12.2008. Comments may be sent, as well, by fax, to +40 372 845 402, or by e-mail to consultare@anrcti.ro.