Contracts with telecom companies are causing problems for Romanian consumers

Romanian consumers are unhappy with the contracts they hold with companies in the communications industry, according to the country's communications administration ANCOM. Of the 314 complaints made to ANCOM in the first quarter of 2013, 36 percent were concerned with contractual issues – making them the most common type of complaint. Information from ANCOM suggests a case of small print trickery, with consumers seemingly baffled by their contracts and unclear how much or for what exactly they are paying. Problems are arising when customers attempt to end or extend contracts and when minimum mandatory provisions are enforced. Misunderstanding contracts is the culprit when it comes to many complaints, but ANCOM apportions blame to both the companies and the customers. In some cases, the information provided and the contracts themselves are not sufficiently clear, while on other occasions, the fault lies with the customer for not reading what they are signing up for carefully. The most frequently lodged complaints in Q1 2013 concerned the mobile telephone services, 32 percent, followed by fixed internet access services, 15 percent and mobile internet services, 12 percent. In 2012, 25 percent of complaints were over mobile telephone services, followed by fixed internet access services, 16 percent, and television services – 14 percent. Last year, the most complained about company was RCS&RDS, with 29 percent of the total. Next came Orange, 18 percent, Romtelecom, 17 percent, Vodafone, 14 percent and Cosmote 13 percent. RCS&RDS also suffered the most failures in services, while of the companies, the fewest service problems were reported for Vodafone. editor@romania-insider.com photo source: sxc.hu