Compensation scheme gives consumers 1 euro for each day without internet or phone
From 1 November, consumers will be entitled to compensation when they suddenly lose access to the internet or phone service due to an outage, under certain conditions, Het Nieuwsblad reports.
More than 10 years ago, the Belgian telecom watchdog BIPT suggested that there should be compensation when customers of telecom companies suddenly found themselves without internet or were unable to make or receive calls. From 1 November this year, customers will be entitled to modest compensation.
Customers will receive about 1 euro for every day that they lose internet access or phone service, provided their telecom operator cannot claim the problem is due to force majeure. The breakdown must last at least eight hours, and operators can adjust the compensation based on the customer's monthly subscription fee, or offer compensation in the form of a film ticket, for example.
The telecom operators will have to make it clear to their customers in the coming weeks how they will organise the scheme. The intention, however, is that the compensation will be paid automatically.
The scheme was developed by outgoing federal Telecommunications minister Petra De Sutter. “Telecom prices are not cheap in our country, so when there is a breakdown, compensation is the least they can do for their customers,” De Sutter said when her bill was approved.
According to De Sutter, the number of complaints about breakdowns at the Telecommunications Ombudsman's Office doubled last year. On average, it receives about 10 complaints every day from people who lose their internet access or mobile telephony due to problems at their telecom provider.
Illustration © PHOTO ATTA KENARE / AFP
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