Anacom welcomes court ruling against operators

The National Communications Authority (Anacom) welcomed this Monday the court decision that could lead to the return of 40 million euros to Meo, Nos and Nowo customers for price increases between 2016 and 2017, benefiting consumers.

"Decisions favorable to consumers' interests are always welcome," said an official source from the regulator in a written response sent to the Lusa news agency.

At issue is a lawsuit filed in 2018 by Deco against Meo, Nos and Nowo (currently Digi) and which, according to the consumer protection association, could lead to the return of 40 million euros to customers due to price increases between 2016 and 2017.

The decision, from the first instance court, is not yet final, as the operators can appeal to the Court of Appeal and, subsequently, to the Supreme Court.

Regarding this situation, Anacom recalls having imposed corrective measures on operators and initiated administrative offence proceedings.

“Regarding this issue, Anacom required Meo, Nos, Vodafone and Nowo to adopt corrective measures that involved sending written communications to subscribers affected by contractual changes initiated by the aforementioned operators, in situations where the latter had not communicated to them, in writing, and simultaneously, the changes to the contractual conditions (made after the entry into force of Law no. 15/2016, of 17 June) and the right to terminate the contracts without any charge (even if the subscribers were subject to loyalty periods or other permanence commitments), if they did not accept the aforementioned contractual changes”, it states.

Additionally, and “without prejudice to the imposition of these corrective measures”, the regulator recalls having initiated administrative offence proceedings against these operators .

According to details, these processes “are concluded, with the exception of Nos”, which is in the Constitutional Court following an appeal filed by the company, to which Anacom applied a fine of 5.2 million euros, which the Competition, Regulation and Supervision Court (TCRS) reduced to 4.2 million and the Court of Appeal to 3.5 million.

Anacom imposed a single fine of 6.7 million euros on Meo, which was later reduced to 5.3 million by the TCRS and to 4.3 million by the Lisbon Court of Appeal.

In the case of Vodafone, Anacom says it applied a single fine of 3.082 million euros, which the TCRS reduced to 2.08 million euros and the Court of Appeal to 2.024 million, while, in the case of NOWO, the fine applied was 664 thousand euros, with the Court of Appeal setting the amount at 230 thousand euros.

As Deco's strategic and institutional relations advisor, Paulo Fonseca, explained to Lusa, the court considered the operators' communications about the price increases during that period to be null and void, as they did not properly inform customers or give them the right to terminate contracts without penalty.

“The decision simply does what we have always advocated: it forces operators to refund the difference charged unduly for about eight to ten months,” he stressed.

Deco's action against Meo's owner (Altice), Nos, and Nowo arose after several complaints from consumers who were unaware of the exact amounts they would be charged, nor were they aware that they could terminate their contracts free of charge. Vodafone was not included because, according to Deco, "there is no record of increases to private consumers" during that period.

The issue at hand is the 2016 amendment to the electronic communications law, which now requires operators to inform consumers whenever they unilaterally change 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 value recorded at the time, which was particularly low.

Furthermore, these communications did not include clear details about the exact amounts to be charged or the possibility of canceling without penalty. Shortly thereafter, in the following months, prices were effectively increased without consumers being properly informed or informed about their rights, the official reported.

Faced with the situation, Deco met with the operators, who maintained that the communication was correct. After a complaint was filed with Anacom, the regulator concluded that the communication was deficient and ordered it to be repeated, but did not require the refund of the amounts, which led to the lawsuit filed by Deco in 2018.

Contacted by Lusa, Meo and Nos have already stated that they disagree with the court decision and intend to appeal.