Sanctions of 5,1 million, overall, for Telecom, H3G, Wind and Vodafone. The Antitrust decided them for unfair commercial practices through mobile phones; in practice, they charged premium services to their customers for unsolicited services and therefore without them being aware of it. The Authority imposed a fine equal to 1.750.000 euros each for Telecom and H3G and 800.000 euros each for Wind and Vodafone for having adopted unfair commercial practices in the context of marketing of premium services used via the Internet from mobile terminal. With respect to H3G, due to the significant effects of the conduct implemented, the publication of an extract of the measure was also required.
During 2014, continues the Authority, there are sate numerous reports with which associations of consumers and mobile phone users denounced the unsolicited supply, and the related debit by your operator on the phone credit of the SIM, of premium-rate services (so-called premium services, such as games and videos) accessible while browsing on the move via banners, pop-ups and landing pages.
The Authority has ascertained that the four operators have implemented an unfair commercial practice attributable to two pipelines: on the one hand, theomission of information about the fact that the signed mobile phone contract pre-enables the SIM to receive services at a premium, as well as about the existence of the selective block to prevent such reception and the need for the user who wants to use it to have to activate through a request express consent to the blocking procedure.
The other misconduct, continues the Antitrust, concerns the adoption by the mobile telephone operator of a aggressive behavior, consisting in the implementation of a automatic service activation and billing procedure in the absence of any authorization by the customer to pay, as well as any check on the reliability of the activation requests coming from subjects such as service providers unrelated to the negotiating relationship between user and operator.
Towards companies H3G and Tim the practice was divided into further conduct consisting in the diffusion of messages which omit relevant information or which determine the access and the activation of the surcharged service without an express expression of will by the user.
