The Agcm (Authority for the Competition and the Market) has sanctioned Vodafone for a total of 1.000.000 € for adopting unfair business practices within two reduction maneuvers from 30 to 28 days of the renewal period of mobile and fixed telephony offers.
However, the Antitrust granted 90 days to Vodafone to provide information and guidance on how to remove practices deemed unfair.
Vodafone, observes the Antitrust, has acted on the one hand against customers of “subscription mobile voice and/or data telephony combined with the sale of products in installments; on the other hand, customers of fixed-line telephony options for which a reduction in the activation cost is envisaged as well as Dual Pay offers for which a fee is envisaged in the event of early withdrawal”.
The Antitrust has ascertained the incorrectness of the conduct consisting in having changed the renewal period of mobile voice options combined with the installment sale of products (smartphones, tablets, etc.) and landline telephony options characterized by the installment of the activation cost and, in some cases, by a fee for early withdrawal, providing for the immediate debit of the residual installments of the product (rechargeable mobile offers) or the activation cost (fixed telephone offers) in the event of exercise of the right of withdrawal, as well as any fee for early withdrawal (mobile subscription offers and Dual Pay fixed offer).
The Authority noted that theunilateral imposition of the renewal period from 30 to 28 days has resulted in an economic burden for all customers.
By offering subscriptions and rates that renew every 4 weeks, rather than every month, the phone company would make a bigger profit.
Le practices were therefore retained aggressive as they are suitable for limiting the freedom of choice with respect to the exercise of the right of withdrawal - recognized by sector regulations - from the contract by those consumers who did not intend to accept the changes unilaterally prepared by the company.
Moreover, in the mobile telephony sector, the change of the renewal period was made in a market context and according to timing which, taken as a whole, limited the possibility of being able to find different offers on the market and so they had an impact, the Antitrust concludes, on the customers' decisions regarding whether or not to exercise the relative right of withdrawal.
