VZMD has obtained an independent legal opinion from Prof. Dr. Verica Trstenjak, former Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg, member of the Administrative Board of Review at the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, a distinguished professor at the Universities of Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Ljubljana, and Maribor, and one of the foremost legal authorities in the EU and the Republic of Slovenia. Prof. Dr. Verica Trstenjak thoroughly examined all the claims from the collective compensation lawsuits against telecommunications operators and confirmed VZMD's arguments that the contractual terms allowing operators to unilaterally change prices are not in line with EU law. As a result, these price changes should not be enforced – VIDEO: https://youtu.be/IzpoHs-pAV0.
The VZMD President, Kristjan Verbič, emphasizes that "two conditions must be met for a valid unilateral price change: first, the consumer must be informed in advance of the reasons and method for changing the contractual terms, and second, consumers must be given the option to terminate the contract if they disagree with the changes. After reviewing the conditions of all four operators, Prof. Dr. Verica Trstenjak concludes that the contractual terms lack the crucial content necessary to allow unilateral price changes, as their subscribers were not transparently informed about the reasons and method for changing the subscription price. As such, they fail to meet the transparency requirements under Directive 93/13 and the interpretation of the EU Court of Justice, meaning they do not pass “the test of unfairness” and are therefore non-binding on the consumer. Moreover, the fact that operators gave their subscribers the option to terminate the contract if they disagreed with the changes is not sufficient." According to VZMD, this eliminates any possible doubt about the legal validity of the claims in all four collective lawsuits filed against the Slovenian telecommunications operators.
Additionally, the VZMD reports that a significant development has occurred in the case against Telemach Slovenia, as a hearing has been scheduled for mid-November. In preparation, VZMD has submitted a procedural filing.
Reminder: VZMD has launched collective compensation proceedings against four Slovenian telecommunications operators (Telekom Slovenia, A1 Slovenia, Telemach in T-2) – VIDEO: https://youtu.be/itxmtIdHpK8
Telecommunications operators have historically ignored calls to cease their harmful market practices, which have disadvantaged consumers. As a result, the Slovene Consumers' Association (ZPS) recognized that the only way to stop these problematic practices, which harm Slovenian consumers and violate consumer rights, is to join VZMD's collective compensation lawsuit – VIDEO: https://youtu.be/gAhydt96hQI.
VZMD estimates that approximately 1.5 million subscribers have been affected, with total damages exceeding €250 million.
To put it into perspective: while a €1 monthly price increase per individual may not seem like much, €1 over several years for 1.5 million Slovenian subscribers adds up to an enormous sum!
ZPS and VZMD jointly invite all affected consumers to join their campaign - ‘HELLO OPERATOR, BE FAIR!’
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