End telephone contracts and charges. Agcom says enough

No surprise fees when entering into a telephone contract. End of the "revenge" charges by the telephone companies at the end of the service. AgCom is finally released. And even when you take a product in several times, such as a smartphone, you can continue to pay on a monthly basis even if you have interrupted your relationship with the phone company. We clarify the new rights of consumers of fixed and mobile telephony.

More transparency and more protection for users who decide to change the telephone operator or, more generally, to terminate the contract of a particular user of the telecommunications sector: decision of the communications regulatory authority which, with resolution 487/18 / Cons., Approved the new "Guidelines on how to dispose and transfer users in membership contracts".

The provision concerns companies that manage communication services which, in accordance with the new provisions, may, in the event of withdrawal of the consumer, charge it a cost not exceeding the monthly amount paid for the use of the service. We are talking, in practice, of a good ear to Tim, Vodafone, Wind 3, Fastweb and other small telephone companies.

Also with regard to the reimbursement of the costs related to the reserved and previously applied promotional offers, in case of voluntary withdrawal of the customer, the refund of rebates will no longer require coverage of the full amount, but it must be fair and proportionate to the value of the signed contract and its residual duration.

More surprises in the addition after the cancellation

In simpler terms, for those who decide to terminate the contractual relationship with a telecommunications company, there are no more surprises in the bill with exorbitant figures, but only adequate expenses and proportionate to the cost of the service.

If the company informs the customer of the change in contractual conditions, the latter will of course have the possibility to terminate the relationship without paying anything in accordance with the terms and conditions duly indicated by the manager.

The other important changes introduced by the guidelines concern both the introduction of the possibility of paying installments of up to 24 months and the obligation for businesses to communicate, in a clear and transparent way, all expenses that the client will have to pay at the end of the relationship.

In the first case and even if you have purchased a mobile phone badociated with a promotional rate, the consumer will have the right to decide to pay the outstanding amount in a single solution or continue to pay the amount established in accordance with the contract.

In the second case, the legislation requires the various companies, subscribed by the customer, to specify in advance the possible withdrawal fees, the amount of which must be indicated month by month in a clear and precise manner.

These measures also stem from the fact that the withdrawal costs, too often, are so excessive that they limit consumers' freedom of choice when possibly switching to another manager.

Agcom therefore put an end to the generalized uncertainties and omissions as to the costs that a user would have to bear because they were representative of some kind of contractual obligation and thus displaced the "customer". attention to greater respect towards the consumer. , recognizing its centrality even in the negotiation phase.