• President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny has obliged T-Mobile Polska to return the money outstanding after expiry of the pre-paid account.
• Proceedings are pending against Orange Polska and P4, and previously Polkomtel was fined for similar practices.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is verifying whether major mobile operators return unused funds to consumers when the pre-paid account expires. In January 2020 the President of UOKiK issued the first decision in this case against the Polkomtel company, which was fined with with the amount of over PLN 20 million. Proceedings are also pending against Orange Polska and P4.

“Consumers shall not lose unused funds accumulated in their pre-paid account due to lack of subsequent top-up. This is a practice of obstructing a change of operator, which is forbidden by the Telecommunications Law. The European Electronic Communications Code also obliges operators to settle accounts honestly with consumers when changing service providers,” says Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK.

The most recent decision of the President of the Office and at the same time the first binding one in this type of case concerns T-Mobile Polska. The following provision is contained in the rules and regulations of providing pre-paid services: Should the Account Validity expire, the unused amount or settlement units shall be annulled after 14 days (...). The only way to ensure that the money collected is not lost is to recharge your account to extend its validity. If a consumer fails to do so for example because they simply forgot and want to change operator, they lose unused funds. This may discourage them from choosing a competitive company, even if they have been presented with a better offer.

The issue of returning unused funds from an account to a card when choosing a new telecommunications company has already been regulated at EU level. In December 2018 the European Electronic Communications Code entered into force. It stipulates that when changing operator, existing pre-paid service providers are obliged to return the remaining funds on the account at the consumer's request. They may charge a fee for this operation which is commensurate with the costs actually incurred by them, if this has been specified in the contract. The EU law must be implemented into Polish law. In some European countries such as Germany, Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Spain, the reimbursement of unused funds has long been the rule.

President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny accepted T-Mobile Polska's commitment to amend the regulations and introduce a procedure for returning the money remaining on the pre-paid account. The above must take place within 2 months from the entry into force of the decision. Until then, the company must also inform all pre-paid service customers about the introduction of a refund procedure for unused funds, and individuals over 65 years of age will be informed about their new rights by text message or by phone.

How to claim money refund in T-Mobile?

• Eligible will be existing or new customers who, at the time of submitting the claim, have been using the services of T-Mobile Polska for at least 6 months,
• The consumer must apply for a refund of unused funds within 30 days of the expiry of the account or change of operator,
• They may do so in writing, by e-mail or by telephone contact with the Customer Service,
• According to the European Electronic Communications Code, a company may charge a handling fee - however, on the basis of a binding decision, the amount of such a fee may not exceed PLN 20.

• Within 30 days of the claim being submitted, the money will be transferred to the bank account indicated by the consumer. The customer may also decide to transfer funds to their other T-Mobile account.

Consumer support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or +48 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
e-mail: porady@dlakonsumentow.pl
Consumer ombudsmen – in your town or district
Regional Consumer Centres: Phone: +48 22 299 60 90 – Dlakonsumenta.pl
Office of Electronic Communications - Consumer Information Centre – 22 330 40 00

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL