Italian communications regulator Agcom has fined the operators Telecom Italia (TIM), Wind Tre, Vodafone and Fastweb a total of EUR 1.16 million each for calculating fixed line invoices on the basis of a 28-day period and overcharging customers over 12 months. In a statement, the watchdog said it had decided to apply the maximum fine provided by law for failure to comply with its order to abolish 28-day fixed-line telephony and convergent bills with a view to “ensuring maximum transparency and comparability of current prices, as well as control of consumption and spending by means of a standard (monthly) unit of reference."
The ruling Democratic Party (PD) eventually moved to ban 28-day bills, which effectively resulted in a 13th monthly bill every year, and last month gave the operators 120 days to adapt to the new rules and return to issuing monthly bills. They now face fines of up to EUR 5 million for flouting the rules, as well as the need to pay a lump sum compensation of no less than EUR 50 for each user affected by the illegal billing practice in the future.The return to 30-day bills will result in average consumer savings of 6.4 percent a year according to a recent study by price comparison site Sos Tariffe.
