Orange and Vodafone, the largest mobile communications operators in Romania, have been fined by the telecom watchdog (ANCOM) for not including clauses and policies related to the reasonable use policy in contracts signed with users of roaming services in the EEA.
Following complaints from users, ANCOM investigated the way in which operators apply the European rules for “Roam like at home” in Romania. Inspections found violations, therefore the institution applied fines of RON 180,000.
ANCOM fined Orange and Vodafone with RON 50,000 each for not introducing the reasonable use policy in users’ contracts. Vodafone received another RON 50,000 fine for not introducing the rules in prepaid SIM card terms & conditions.
More specifically, Vodafone did not notify users that it changed both the characteristics of the tariff plan (extraoptions) that users had before the rules were applied, and the contractual clauses related to the conditions of providing roaming services. The operator did not inform users that this service could only be used if they purchased a new option that would allow access to the roaming services and that it can’t be used if the user has an option that offers national benefits exclusively.