05.11.2021

Telephony, internet or television operators launch a wide range of Black Friday special offers, but it is important for the users to get thoroughly informed before choosing any such offers. The National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM) recommends the users to carefully analyse these promotional offers, so as to choose the telecom offer that best fits their communication and consumption needs and the most adequate parcel delivery option.

In the period dedicated to Black Friday promotional offers, which has already become a tradition in the Romanian telecom market, the users may focus especially on identifying offers with a substantial discount, overlooking important details behind these offers.

Recommendations regarding Black Friday telecom offers

ANCOM recommends the users to be extremely careful in approaching the telecom offers promoted in this period and, when analysing the respective products, such as - for example - subscriptions to telephony, internet or television services which may include equipment such as a smartphone, a tablet or a TV set at a substantially discounted price, to pay attention to the following aspects:

ü  amount of the monthly subscription that enables purchasing terminal equipment at discount prices or receiving it for free;

ü  the exact interval during which the user would benefit from the advertised discounted monthly subscription;

ü  the minimum contract period, i.e. the time interval during which a user cannot terminate the contract without paying early termination penalties – limited by law to 12 or 24 months, for telecom contracts;

ü  amount of minutes/SMS/data traffic included in the subscription, networks where they can be used, the order of consumption and the tariffs applied after the included resources have been consumed;

ü  under what conditions the provider can block access or apply additional fees for access to certain applications (VoIP, file-sharing, etc.);

ü  whether the service is available in their residence area. To check the mobile signal coverage for 2G/3G/4G technologies, for all the mobile operators active on the Romanian market, the users can consult the ANCOM’s online platform www.aisemnal.ro;

ü  furthermore, the users can access Netograf – the application for testing the internet access speed, which offers information on the speed that is actually available to the user.  

Delivery of parcels with goods purchased on Black Friday

The increase in the e-shopping volume during the Black Friday period significantly impacts the parcel delivery activity in Romania. Throughout this period, due to the large amount of orders, delays may occur in the delivery of parcels. Moreover, parcels can be lost or damaged during transportation.

ANCOM advises the users to check the delivery options offered by the provider and to choose additional safety services, such as the open-on-delivery service or the service for insured items. Further details on the types of available postal services can be found in the ANCOM’s InfoCentre section, here.

The conditions for the delivery of the products ordered online fall under the contractual relation between the online seller and the buyer. Even if the seller collaborates with a postal service provider, the responsibility for the delivery of the ordered products rests with the seller who can turn against the postal service provider for non-observance of the concluded contract. Thus, if the postal service provider does not observe the delivery requirements as agreed under the contract, the sender has the right to compensations according to the contract concluded with the respective provider but can wave them in favour of the addressee.

Where the users encounter problems with the delivery of the products ordered online, it is necessary and efficient for them to address the online store first.

If the complaint is not settled amicably with the respective online seller, ANCOM recommends the users to address the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC). It is important that the users keep all the documents (invoice, fiscal receipt, delivery form) to prove the details of the respective purchase.

ANCOM InfoCentre

Further details about the telephony, internet and television services are available in ANCOM’s InfoCentre.