Telephone and internet

A tied contract means that the equipment and a fixed term subscription are sold as a package. In a tied contract, you commit to pay the charges over a fixed contractual period.

In a tied contract you commit to

• Being obliged to pay charges to the end of the contract period.
• The operator being permitted to prevent the telephone sold as part of the tied sale being used with another operator’s network. The operator my use a sim-card block for example. The block has to be removed without charge at the end of the contract.
• paying the charges for the contractual period if the telephone is lost or damaged due to the fault of the consumer.
• the contract automatically continuing as an indefinite contract after the contractual period unless otherwise agreed.

Terminating a tied contract during the contractual period

It s possible to terminate a tied contract during the contract period, but you may have to pay a specified fee for early termination as well as the monthly charges for the remainder of the contract period. If you wish to keep the equipment after termination, then the price of the equipment also has to be paid.

When terminating a tied contract it is worth checking how much of the defined time is still left and what kinds of charges are involved so that the extra charges incurred in terminating the connection are as low as possible.

You can terminate a tied contract while the contract is still running by giving 2 weeks' notice of termination.

• Without special cause, in which case you have to pay in one payment all the charges relating to the tied contract and compensation incurred for cancellation. For example, if you are dissatisfied with poor service, you can vote with your feet and change the operator during the contract period, but this may turn out to be expensive.
• If you have payment difficulties due to illness, unemployment or other reason beyond your control. If you cancel the contract by appealing to the above socially-determined inability to pay, the operator may collect only the payments that have accumulated up to the date of terminating the subscription.
• If keeping the contract in force is unreasonable on any special grounds, for example due to moving abroad or if it is impossible in a new locality to use the operator’s services, you will have to pay at least the payments up to the date of terminating the subscription

A tied contract continues automatically after the contract period as a contract valid until further notice, unless otherwise agreed.

The operator cannot change the terms and conditions of a tied contract during the period of contract unless the change is due to an amendment to legislation, or the decision of an authority.