Yuno Limited, trading as PrepayPower, has paid a penalty of €9,300 and has issued refunds of €272,124 to customers following an investigation which found non-compliance with a number of regulatory requirements of their broadband services.
In the investigation, ComReg raised concerns about PrepayPower’s:
- promotion of their broadband services. As PrepayPower was found to have unfair and/or misleading commercial practices, contrary to their promotion which emphasised aspects including a prepay option, daily charges and consumers’ control of costs, the services were subject to a minimum contractual term, and early cancellation fees.
- lack of contractual information. As ComReg found that the minimum duration of the contract was not provided in the contract.
- charging for unrequested services. As 621 customers were charged for services that PrepayPower had no record of the customer requesting.
PrepayPower has undertaken to come into compliance with the relevant regulatory obligations.
For full details see the recently issued Information Notice.
Here is some helpful information on the items your internet service provider should always provide to you:
Contractual Terms on a Durable Medium
Key contractual information should be provided to you in a durable medium. This means that the information should:
- be personally addressed to you
- be provided on paper or in another durable format such as a PDF file attached to an email
- allow you to store it so that you can access it at any time for future reference
- be stored in such a way that the information in the contract remains unchanged
Reference Numbers when Switching Providers
Consumer references are the numbers required to switch service provider. They appear on your bill with names like Universal Account Number (UAN) and Circuit Reference Number (CRN). Your account number and phone number might also be consumer references as they could be required to switch service providers. Service providers should include all of your consumer references on all of your bills, so you do not need to get them from the provider you are leaving when you decide to switch.
Model Cancellation Form and Cooling Off Rights
When you sign up to a contract and you change your mind, you may have a right to cancel it during a “cooling-off” period. The rules around the cooling-off period depend on how you signed up to the contract. For contracts made over the phone or online i.e. at a distance, you have the right to cancel within 14 days. For contracts made through a door-to-door sale, you have the right to cancel within 30 days. If you sign up in-store or if you are a business customer, you are not entitled to a cooling-off period.
Your internet service provider must make available to you the model cancellation form to allow you to cancel contract if you are entitled to do so.
Visit our dedicated contracts page for more information.
