06.12.2021

 

ANCOM: You should check the contractual terms before asking your telephony provider for contract termination.

Contract termination upon the user’s request

When they want to terminate their telephony contract, users are advised to check the following:

ü  Has the initial contract period expired? If that is the case, no early termination fees are applied.

ü  What are the applicable early termination fees?

ü  When and how can one request the contract termination, and what is the time limit within which the termination comes into effect (e.g. 30 days from the date of the user’s request).

All these must be stipulated in the contract.

Some providers offer the possibility to request the contract termination by telephone. However, it is advisable to make a written request and to send it by post - with acknowledgment of receipt -, by e-mail, or to submit it at a provider's point of business/store, in which case to request a registration number.

Further details about the telephony contracts concluded with the operators are available on the ANCOM InfoCentre, here.

Switching from a subscription to a prepaid card or porting a telephone number

When users request to switch from their subscription contract to a prepaid card provided by the same operator, they should bear in mind that this is a matter of each provider’s commercial policy. Therefore, it is up to the provider whether and under what terms it grants the user such a request, as this situation is not regulated by legislation in the electronic communications field.

Where a provider refuses such a request and the user is not particularly interested in its services, and yet they wish to keep their phone number, while using prepaid services, the user has the possibility to port their telephone number.

In this case, users should keep in mind that a porting request is also a request to terminate their contract with the provider whose network they are leaving, consequently they will not be exempted from paying early termination fees, as applicable.

Providers’ obligations

In addition to the information provided in the contracts concluded with the users, Romanian telephony providers have the obligation to publish the following items of information, on their websites:

ü  information regarding the termination of the contracts concluded with users, thus observing the provisions of ANCOM Decision No 158/2015 on end-user information obligations;

ü  information on the steps that users must take to terminate the contract;

ü  e-mail address, postal address and telephone/fax number, to which users can send the contract termination request;

ü  standard forms/applications to be filled in, as applicable, as well as information on how users can get printed copies of these, if necessary;

ü  information on early termination fees that may be charged, where applicable.

According to ANCOM Decision No 158/2015, thorough information intended for users must be available on the suppliers' websites in an easily accessible place, presented in a visible and well-structured manner.

Complaints

ANCOM can step in where a provider fails to provide contract termination information in the contract or on its website. Complaints can be submitted here. 

N.B. Where a provider refuses to comply with a user’s request to switch from a subscription to a prepaid card in its network, ANCOM cannot take measures because no legislation in the field of electronic communications has been breached.

Where the contract contains provisions regarding this situation and the provider does not comply with them, or the provider refuses to terminate a contract upon the user’s request, residential users (natural persons) can complain to the National Authority for Consumer Protection.