In the telecoms sector, where the battle for customer loyalty is based on complex discount structures, the line between incentive and unauthorised penalty can sometimes be thin. The recent decision of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) against T-Mobile Polska sheds new light on how industry giants need to redefine their retention strategies to avoid accusations of violating consumer interests.
The case concerns the ‘on-time payment discount’ mechanism. T-Mobile offered a discount of £5 per month for using e-invoices and paying bills on time. The problem was that even a one-day delay resulted in the loss of the bonus on the next invoice. For customers with multiple services – e.g. two numbers, internet and TV – the cumulative loss could reach PLN 20 per month.
The regulator considered this practice to be a form of disguised contractual penalty for late monetary payments, which is not allowed in the Polish legal order. The Civil Code only provides for statutory interest in such situations. Imposing additional financial sanctions by revoking previously granted discounts was qualified as an action detrimental to the collective interests of consumers.
For telecoms boards and corporate lawyers, this sends a clear message: loyalty built on the fear of losing a discount is legally risky. T-Mobile, reacting to the proceedings, has already changed its contractual templates and stopped verifying the timeliness of payments when calculating discounts. The obligatory decision requires the operator to pay compensation. Current and former customers can expect cash refunds or device vouchers, and in the event of inactivity on the part of subscribers, the funds will be settled automatically as overpayments in their accounts.
This case is not an isolated one. Similar steps were previously taken against the Play network, and Orange, Vectra, CANAL+ and Multimedia Polska are now under the magnifying glass of the UOKiK. The industry is facing a major overhaul of its billing and marketing systems. Instead of ‘punitive’ discounts, operators will have to look for methods to incentivise customers that do not conflict with monetary obligation regulations. Valuing regulatory risk is now becoming as important as forecasting ARPU.
