Approval of corrective measures concerning contractual changes
On 17 March 2017, pursuant to paragraph 3 of article 48-A of the LCE - Lei das Comunicações Eletrónicas (Electronic Communications Law), ANACOM approved draft decisions ordering four service providers to adopt corrective measures which require them to send out new notices to subscribers, informing them of a new opportunity to opt for termination without charge or, alternatively, for restoration of contractual conditions which existed before the changes occurred.
These draft decisions resulted from:
- the receipt by ANACOM of a significant number of complaints in recent months about the change in conditions governing contracts of electronic communications services, implemented after the entry into force of the last amendment to the LCE1, in mid-2016; these complaints referred to the form and the terms by which these amendments were communicated, mostly as regards the price of services.
- as a result of the investigation triggered as a result, ANACOM found that, when these contractual amendments were made, covering a large number of subscribers, operators did not inform customers of their right to terminate their contract without penalty, even though they were subject to contract lock-in periods, where they did not accept the changes.