The President of UKE imposed a penalty on Tani Opał sp. z o.o. for direct marketing activities without users’ consent
05 November 2019
The President of UKE has determined that Tani Opał sp. z o.o. was making marketing telephone calls without having the legally required previously given consents of subscribers or end users to carry out such activities and imposed a penalty of PLN 500 000.
During the proceedings, it was determined that from 1 January 2017 to 16 October 2017 2 180 360 marketing phone calls were made, in violation of the provisions of the Telecommunications Act. The company was presenting commercial information about its business activities and coal sale offers.
The irregularities was detected during the inspections carried out by the President of UKE at Tani Opał sp. z o.o. The inspection showed, as confirmed by the administrative proceedings conducted subsequently, that penalized entity made over 2 million marketing phone calls.
The company violated Article 172 (1) of the Telecommunications Act, which is intended to protect subscribers and end users against unsolicited communications, including phone calls. Tani Opał did not prove that it has obtained prior consent granted by the addressees of its commercial communications to receive marketing phone calls.
The President of UKE, assessing the scope of the infringement, drew attention to the fact that immediate consequence of the violations found, was the reduction of the level of protection of subscribers’ and end users’ rights in relations with a professional business entity conducting commercial activities. The President of UKE noted that over 2 million subscribers or end users could have been exposed to unsolicited marketing communication.
The President of UKE, determining the amount of the penalty, took into account the previous activity of the penalized entity, in particular the fact that it had not been punished by the President of UKE ever before. This resulted in a reduction of the amount of the penalty.
The decision is not immediately enforceable. Tani Opał sp. z o.o. can appeal to District Court in Warsaw - the Court for Competition and Consumer Protection.
Information on the rights of consumers with the use of telecommunications services can be found (in Polish) at: cik.uke.gov.pl