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A to Z contract issues
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Contracts for the telephony service may be concluded in written form or at a distance.
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1.Written contracts
- minimum contract duration and fees applicable in case of early contract termination;
- usage order of the included minutes/ SMS/ MMS/ video calls;
- validity period of the extra-options or bonuses granted;
- additional services that may be activated b y default, along with the telephone service (e.g. mobile internet, roaming) and the applicable tariffs;
- fees applicable for the additional services (e.g. installation fee, SIM replacement fee, itemised bill fee);
- restrictions when using certain services/applications, as the case may be;
- trouble notification procedure and repair term;
- service suspension conditions;
- penalties you are entitled to if the provider breaches the contract;
- what other networks you can call on;
- porting terms, if you chose porting your number.
- provider’s identification data;
- description of the telephone service, terms of provision and usage, as well as description of the services activated by default;
- promotional offers or other benefits granted on concluding the contract;
- minimum usage term of a certain service before benefiting from certain promotional offers or other advantages;
- tariffs applicable both for the telephone service and for the other services under the contract, as well as the amount of each fee stipulated in the contract;
- portability-related fees;
- means of information on all the updated tariffs charged by the provider, payment methods and possible cost variations due to a payment method;
- contract duration, initial contract duration;
- contract extension terms;
- service suspension terms;
- terms for cessation of the service provision and of the contract;
- amounts owed to the provider upon contract cessation, including the applicable compensations related to the contracted telephone handset (purchased on concluding the contract);
- steps taken by the providers in case of incidents or threats regarding network and service security and integrity;
- quality levels the provider undertakes to ensure: term of initial connection to the network and/or services offered, trouble repair term, complaint handling term;
- method of traffic measurement and management to avoid network congestion and its impact on service quality;
- compensations you are entitled to where the provider breaches the quality standards and other clauses stipulated in the contract;
- restrictions in telephone usage, as well as in accessing certain services or applications;
- terms of access to 112 – the single emergency call number;
- technical assistance services and customer relations services offered by your provider and how you can contact them;
- your option regarding personal data processing for the purposes of the directory enquiry services and of subscriber directories;
- complaint handling procedure.
- a provider offers the telephone service and bills it without a proper contract concluded with you,
- your contract does not provide all the aforementioned minimal clauses,
- the provider has amended the contract without prior notification.
Find out how you can send a complaint to ANCOM in Complain to ANCOM!
2.Distance contracts
- provider’s identity and contact data (address, telephone, fax, e-mail);
- main characteristics of the services and products to be contracted;
- total price of the services and products: amount of the tariff plan, benefits included in the subscription (minutes, SMS, data traffic), extra-options to be activated and corresponding fee, tariffs for calls or data traffic after the consumption of the included minutes, transport costs for the equipment delivered, as applicable;
- contract duration, conditions for contract suspension and applicable penalties, as applicable;
- conditions, terms and procedures for exercising the withdrawal right in the contract; furthermore, you will receive the withdrawal form made available by the provider;
- date on which the products or services are to be actually provided/delivered, the methods of payment and of equipment delivery, if you ordered equipment, as well; (further details in the following sections)
- if you buy a product, the information that you will bear the cost of the product returning - in case you withdraw from the contract; if the product – by its nature – cannot be returned by mail, information regarding the returning cost;
- if the usage of a means of distance communication in concluding a contract  costs more than the regular/standard tariff, you must be communicated these costs (e.g., if you call a premium rate number);
- specifications regarding the legal guarantee regarding the product conformity, the post-sale assistance services or other commercial guarantees;
- information on advance payments or on the payment of a guarantee, if applicable;
- how to make a complaint, as well as whether and how you can settle a dispute in court;
- whether there are codes of conduct in force, which are relevant for the provision of the contracted services;
- enforcing technical measures for the protection of the digital content, its interoperability with the hardware and software components, where applicable and if the provider holds such information.
Over the telephone
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Online/via a website
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Due to the space and time limitations, a provider will initially offer, over the phone, the following minimum information regarding the offer:
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- provider’s identity;
- main characteristics of the services and products to be contracted;
- overall price of the products and services: amount of the tariff plan, benefits included (minutes, SMS, data traffic etc.); extraoptions to be activated and the corresponding fee, tariffs for calls/SMS or data traffic after the consumption of the included units, costs of the product transport, if applicable;
- conditions, terms and procedure for exercising the withdrawal right, as well as information regarding the withdrawal form;
- duration of the contract, termination terms and applicable penalties, as the case may be.
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The other information in the offer will be made available in a manner which is adequate to the distance communication means used (on the provider’s website, by e-mail etc.).
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Warning! Upon the offer presentation, a provider must send all the information regarding the offer, placing it on a durable support (for example, on paper, by e-mail, fax, by a message sent to the on-line account).
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If you receive the offer on paper and you agree with it, sign it and return it to the provider.
As well, you can accept the offer by sending the provider a confirmation on a durable support (e.g., by e-mail).Â
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The contract shall be considered concluded on the date when you signed the offer or when you sent the written consent on a durable support to the provider, not the date when the telephone call was performed.
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Subsequently, the provider must confirm the contract conclusion on a durable support, at the latest prior to starting the service provision or on the moment of delivering the products, as applicable.
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The contract confirmation will include the offer details, including the withdrawal form, if you have not already received this information on a durable support prior to concluding the distance contract.
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When you make an online order, before you place it, you must easily find, on the order page, the following information:
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- main characteristics of the services and products;
- overall price of the products and services: amount of the tariff plan, benefits included (minutes, SMS, data traffic etc.); extraoptions to be activated and the corresponding fee, tariffs for data traffic after the consumption of the included units, costs of the product transport, if applicable;
- duration of the contract, termination terms and applicable penalties, as the case may be;
- whether there are restrictions to product delivery and what are the accepted payment means.
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All the other details in the offer may be made available on the provider’s website, by e-mail etc.
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Warning! The order placement button must also present the warning that completing the order will imply a payment obligation. Should such a warning be missing, you have no obligations under the respective contract!
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The order page in the online shop must offer the possibility of reviewing the order, to allow for correction of possible errors.
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The provider must confirm – on a durable support – the fact that he accepted your order. This is, in fact, the moment of concluding the contract.
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Subsequently, the provider must confirm the contract conclusion on a durable support, at the latest prior to starting the service provision or on the moment of delivering the products, as applicable.
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The contract confirmation will include the offer details, including withdrawal form, if you have not already received this information on a durable support prior to concluding the distance contract.
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4.The initial contract period
Does your contract stipulate no provisions regarding its duration or its initial period? Your initial contract period is longer than 24 months? Has your provider not offered you the possibility to conclude a contract for an initial period of at most 12 months? Send a complaint to ANCOM. Find out how in Complain to ANCOM!
5.Contract extension
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If you concluded a contract that does not stipulate whether and how its validity can be extended, ANCOM may take steps. Find out how you can send a complaint in Complain to ANCOM!
6.Contract amendments
7.Contract termination
Generally, a contract concluded with a telephony provider may be terminated under the terms provided therein. Nevertheless, a provider may accept - following direct negotiations with you – different termination terms.
If the provider breaches its contractual terms regarding the cessation of service provision or if the fee requested for early contract termination is a fixed amount, which you deem to high compared to the actual loss incurred by the provider, you can address the National Authority for Consumers Protection.
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