Mobile phone operators introduce zl.760 deposit in attempt to foil bill cheats

Poland's three mobile phone operators have declared war on untrustworthy customers. Beginning from October 3, every new customer will be obliged to allow the network to take steps to ascertain whether he or she is solvent and has paid any other mobile phone bills promptly. Should the customer refuse to allow this, the operator will demand a deposit of zl.760 for six months. The idea has already been accepted by the General Inspectorate for Personal Data Protection (GIODO). According to estimates from Era, Idea and Plus, some 15,000 out of the average of 150,000 new customers who buy a mobile phone each month subsequently break the contract and refuse to pay their bills, at a cost to the operators of zl.60 million monthly. (Zycie, p. 1) M.K.