Given the public dissatisfaction and the complaints that have been received in the Communications Regulation Commission (the CRC) against the practice of the mobile operators for automatic renewal of the individual contracts with the subscribers, the regulator initiated a meeting with “Mobiltel” EAD, “Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile” EAD, “BTC” AD.

 

It should be noted that the CRC in its role as mediator between the end users and the operators referred the problem to the Commission for Consumer Protection. As a result, the automatic contracts renewal dropped out of the scope of the General Terms and Conditions of the operators and currently it is contained only in the individual contracts.

 

The CRC has repeatedly stated its explicit and unequivocal position that the clause should not be included in the contracts of the mobile operators.

 

Although the regulator has no legal powers to exercise control with respect to the specific content of the individual contracts, the Commission, whose priority is to protect the consumer interests and to provide qualitative and competitive electronic communications services, required from the three operators to undertake the necessary actions for discontinuation of the automatic renewal of the individual contracts.This will ensure the implementation of the European Directive for the Universal Service that requires the duration of the individual contracts with the customers not to exceed 24 months, as the undertaking is obliged to offer to the subscribers also a possibility to conclude a contract with a maximum duration of 12 months. According to the European regulatory framework, the conditions and the procedures to terminate contracts between the undertakings and the users should not constitute a disincentive factor against the change of the provider of telecommunication service.

 

It is mainly the clause for automatic renewal of the individual contracts which prevents the users to take full advantage of their right to choose and to port their mobile numbers.

 

The representatives of the three mobile operators gave their principal consent to implement the recommendation of the regulator underlining at the same time the need for technological time to undertake the necessary measures for removing the disputed clause from all individual contracts of their current and future customers.

 

In order to ensure the utmost of the consumer rights, the CRC intends to propose to the National Assembly to adopt legislative changes that will ensure non-admission of the possibility the operators to introduce a clause for automatic contracts renewal.

 

At the meeting with the three mobile operators were placed for discussion also other matters of public interest such as the number portability and the complaints from the consumers, the frequent misuses of personal data when using prepaid cards, untimely provision of information to the CRC by the undertakings, the delays in issuing invoices by the operators. With reference to the problems indicated by the consumers, the Communications Regulation Commission is making check-ups for each complaint in the lawful period and in case of infringement, the regulator will impose administrative-penal liability according to its competence.