Deco has won a lawsuit against MEO, NOS and Nowo which could lead to the return of 40 million euros to customers for price increases between 2016 and 2017, according to the Consumer Protection Association.
The decision of the Court of First Instance is not yet definitive, as operators can appeal to the Court of Appeal and, later, to the Supreme.
As the Deco’s strategic and institutional relations advisor explained to Lusa, the Court considered the communications of operators on price increases in this period, because they did not correctly inform customers or entitle them to terminate contracts without penalty.
“The decision simply does what we always defend: forces operators to return the difference improperly charged for about eight to ten months,” he said.
Deco’s action, against the owner of MEO (Altice), Nos and Nowo (currently Digi), came up after several consumer complaints, who did not know the exact amounts that would be charged or were aware that they could terminate the contract without cost. Vodafone was not included because, according to Deco, “there is no registration of increases to private consumers” during this period.
At issue is the change in the 2016 Electronic Communications Law, which began to oblige operators to inform the consumer whenever they unilaterally altered contracts, including the price, and to indicate the possibility of termination without penalty.
According to the association, between August and September 2016, customers began receiving notifications of increases far above inflation – almost 1,000% higher than the amount recorded at the time, which was particularly low. In addition, these communications did not include clear details about the exact amounts to be charged or the possibility of terminating without penalty. Shortly thereafter, in the following months, prices were effectively increased without consumers having been properly informed or oriented on their rights, the person in charge.
Given the situation, Deco met with the operators, who maintained the position that the communication was correct. After complaint to Anacom, the regulator concluded that the communication was disabled and determined that it was repeated, but did not oblige the return of the amounts, which led to the lawsuit filed by Deco in 2018.
From the association’s accounts, about 1.6 million consumers may be covered by the decision, especially those subject to loyalty periods.
The amount to be returned was calculated by multiplying “the improperly charged monthly increase” for the number of months in which it was in force, considering the date of the amendment to the court decision. That is, the corresponding amounts were added, resulting in a total of 40 million euros – a number that the association admits could be higher as the calculations are tuned.
On average, each consumer will be able to recover between 14 and 30 euros, which are added interest in default since 2018, which will increase the amount if the decision becomes definitive.
Paulo Fonseca was confident in a favorable outcome for consumers and stressed that even those who have not saved invoices can be reimbursed, as the data should be recovered in operator systems.
Asked about an eventual dialogue after the decision, the official clarified that the still has not spoken directly to the operators, and the case being treated only by lawyers in the court.
The official also stressed that the decision has a symbolic weight: “This is a good opportunity to make the market more reliable for the consumer, which is a form of [levar os clientes a deixar de terem] I even fear changing operator, ”he concluded.
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