Polsat hit with PLN 40 million fine

Polish antimonopoly watchdog, UOKiK has fined Cyfrowy Polsat and telecom Polkomtel (both controlled by Polish billionaire Zygmunt Solorz-Żak) with combined fines of over PLN 40 million over misleading ads. UOKiK launched its investigation after a number of complaints from customers of smartDOM and Power LTE products, who complained that the LTE internet offer was not “unlimited” as the ads were saying and that the price of the smartDOM quoted in the campaign did not include the price of the equipment (smartphone, tablet or a TV) which according to the ads were part of the offer. ”The practices of both companies could have generated financial losses on the part of those consumers who decided to conclude a contract based on the promotional terms of smartDOM and Power LTE campaigns. We found during our investigations that the actual terms of the promotional campaigns were different than those presented in the ads. Of course, an advertisement may follow various conventions, relying inter alia on such tools as simplifications or jokes. However, it must not be misleading as far as the products or services offered by an entrepreneur are concerned,” said Marek Niechciał, head of UOKiK. UOKiK has imposed, for violating the collective interests of consumers, contractual penalties amounting to PLN 40.4 million (PLN 30.7 million for Polkomtel and PLN 9.7 million for Cyfrowy Polsat).