Vectra must refund customers’ money. This is what the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection decided

The latest dispute between the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection and Vectra concerns promotional offer contracts that the company concluded with its customers before May 11, 2020. Specifically, this is an additional service called “Safer Internet”, which provides users with additional protection against malware.

UOKiK: Vectra misled customers

It turns out that the contracts concluded with customers were structured in a way that forced them to activate the service in order to receive favorable conditions. It was impossible to opt out of the additional protection later, and although it was free for the first few months, after a certain period of time, the service provider added an additional PLN 6.90 to the users’ subscription.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) found this type of practice inconsistent with the regulations and ordered Vectra to refund money to customers who believed they had been misled.

Refunds in the amount of PLN 165

The office’s decision must now become final, and if this happens, Vectra will be forced to refund the money to those who decided to file a complaint in this matter. We are talking about amounts up to PLN 165 in a situation where the contract containing the additional “Safe Internet” package was concluded with the operator for 24 months.

The inclusion of additional, paid services must always be done with the express, informed consent of the consumer. It’s about providing real choice and the ability to refuse. The consumer should decide whether he needs the service and whether he wants to bear the costs related to it, which go beyond the agreed fee for the basic service, e.g. access to the Internet or television – we read in a statement issued by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Tomasz Chróstny.