at A1, had to pay back tax in three cases on the instructions of the court, saying that the judgments are valid only in individual cases. It applies only to small amounts and there is no scope for clarifying the legal position for flat-rate service charges.
Also at MagentaIt was ordered to pay compensation in three cases, called “Private Practice”This has no impact on other customers.
Complaints of labor union
Both providers want output Representative actions Wait, it was brought in January by the Workers Union (AK) against the flat rate service charge. However, a legal verdict will take some time.
Cases will probably go through the courts, says AK. A decision from the Supreme Court (OGH) is awaited In the following year.
“Totally Surrender”
Viennese lawyer Matthias Stromeyerwho filed cases on behalf of clients and in two cases, further Consumer Information Association (VKI) Submitted, indicating that none of the judgments were appealed. Two cases involved recognition judgments. A1 recognized the illegality of the levy and almost “completely submitted,” says Strohmeyer. When asked by KURIER, the mobile operator did not want to explain how the “individual cases” where the judgments were issued differed from other customers who paid or paid the tax.
According to Strohmeyer, there are already from the end of 2022 300 Cases he brought on behalf of clients in several district courts in Vienna were filed by the three major mobile phone companies without much fanfare. An out-of-court settlement was reached was In all the cases, the flat rate charged since 2012, including interest, was repaid throughout the contract period, the lawyer said. Sometimes more than 1,000 mobile phone customers are affected 450 Euro Returned.
115 more cases Strohmeyer says they are now seriously pending. More to follow in the next few months. In all, around 2,000 mobile phone customers have registered with him for such cases.
A debate over the years
Service charges have been talked about for years. Due to addition of OGH charges Fitness center Inverted in 2022, its acceptability in mobile communication industry is also discussed. Consumer advocates do not see any compensation for the flat rate. After the Labor Chamber spent more than a year in abolition talks with mobile phone operators, it eventually took the telcos to court earlier in the year.
Magenta It already said goodbye to the controversial fee last November. Three and A1 It followed in January and February this year and the service offered a new tariff portfolio without a flat rate. Costs for services are included in the monthly base fee or billed separately.
Existing customers are paying
Old customers who do not switch to the new tariffs will continue to be charged service charges by all three major providers.
Can’t find out how many customers there are. “We refer to the total number of customers in the mobile communications industry in our business statistics and cannot provide any information about individual customer segments,” Maganta says.
Mobile operators are optimistic
The operator assumes that the charges with flat-rate service charges will also hold up in the Supreme Court. From all charges Regulatory Authority RTR Verified and found to be legitimate, a spokesperson says.
We at A1 are also optimistic about the outcome of the proceedings. As OGH has recently imposed a flat service charge Ticket issuer As a spokesman said, it was deemed permissible.
