Communications: new rules of loyalty into force in a month – TVI24

The new rules to strengthen consumer protection in contracts with operators Telecommunications have been published in the Official Gazette and take effect in a month, so the 17 July.

There is news about the loyalty period, terminate the contract will be easier and cheaper and, if you like, each customer may be entitled to access the recording of the call made to the operator. All costs must be quantified. All in the name of transparency and to end abusive practices that fool who enjoys telecommunications services such as satellite or cable home phones. Let then the rules in detail:

Loyalty

The maximum retention period remains 24 months, but the operators now become obliged to present six offers and 12 months and also other without loyalty . Services that should be advertised in the same manner as the others, that is, “a clearly legible manner.” As well as the comparison to that notice the “relation between cost and benefit associated with the different commercial offers”.

Although contracts can not last more than two years, the law provides “ Additional periods loyalty until the 24-month limit “, provided that contract changes involving” upgrading equipment or technology infrastructure “and that there is, at the same time,” an express acceptance by the consumer. ”

contract

If the contact is made by phone, or any other means of distance communication, “the consumer is bound only after signing the contract proposal or send your consent in writing “. It has been the initiative of the contact has broken the consumer himself does not apply.

Another important rule for consumers to have knowledge and not being deceived is that operators are prohibited from opposing the termination of contracts from subscribers “based on the existence of a loyalty period, if they are not proof of the consumer will manifestation” in this sense.

Recordings of calls

As regards the telephone made contracts, is now mandatory that the recordings are kept “during the contract period”, which so far has not happened. Currently, operators have to keep the recordings for a year.

Operators also now have available to the consumer recordings on request.

costs

in addition, the contracts go to quantify the costs made by the operator in the provision of the service, so that consumers know how much you have to pay if you want to anticipate the end the contract.

in this case in advance, operators shall not be able to require, as before, the payment of benefits missing until the end of the commitment period. “The charges for early termination of the contract with loyalty period, initiated by the subscriber, should be proportional to the advantage was conferred and as such identified and quantified it in the contract and can not consequently automatically match the sum of the value of future benefits the date of termination. ”

And there’s more: “During the commitment period, the charges for the subscriber, resulting from the termination of the contract on its own initiative, can not exceed the costs that the supplier had with the installation of the operation, and the levying of any return for indemnity or compensatory title. “

operators n will may charge up values ​​ of which are defined in the contract. For example, if the telecom operators do offer a service or product to the customer, the value of it must be quantified.

Regardless of whether there are periods of loyalty, early or later, companies “not should establish disproportionate contractual conditions or excessively onerous contracts settlement procedures and disincentive service provider change by the subscriber “

refidelização must also be quantified by the operator.

Deco has come to take a public petition to Parliament on this issue and wanted shorten the maximum loyalty , eventually not see this change included in this law.