Telecommunication contracts including cellphone contracts that users have with their carrier service providers should be available for those customers to read and absorb outside the store, they should be able to read it at their own pace, and summaries should be provided by carriers whose contracts are longer than two pages.

These were among the responses of The Regulatory Authority’s (RA) first public consultation which asked consumers their views on the RA’s recommendations, and what they felt should be included in a telecommunications service contract. The consultation was conducted via an online survey. The survey received 43 responses with a total of 37 completed surveys.

It has resulted in a report which shows that the public generally supports an increased level of information and transparency in contracts signed between customers and their service providers, as well as the terms and conditions that go along with those contracts.

The recommendations and results of the consultation have now been released and are available on the RA website.

Some respondents also suggested that cancellation terms and costs should be made available to consumers to consider before entering into a contract. Quality of service terms and conditions should also be included, respondents recommended. And some 95 percent of respondents felt that carriers should provide in their contract a minimum guaranteed standard for their services, with half the respondents recommending additional contracted standards, such as penalties and credits in respect to the disruption of service, while a percentage suggested a process for administering credits for the disruption of service.

Renewal of contracts were also a major consideration, with 64 percent of all respondents believing that contracts should be automatically renewed on a month-to-month basis, while 27 percent of respondents did agree. Some people had additional suggestions including: renewals should not occur without prior notification of the consumer; customers should call and renew the service; and customers should be given the option of renewing.

Another response stated: “Automatic renewal puts the consumer in a position where they have to pay for a service, which they have not been able to thoroughly conduct since not many pay attention to renewal dates.”

A question requesting suggestions for additional information to be made available to consumers prior to entering into a contract included: a three-day period for cancellations; a summary of the terms of the contract; cancellation terms and costs; detailed/itemised service costs; escalation procedures; estimates of monthly bills; maintenance notices; and quality of service terms and conditions.

Cancellation terms and costs were suggested by 33 percent of respondents. And 20 percent suggested that quality of service terms and conditions should be made available to consumers.

The issues relating to electronic contracts were also raised, and the majority of respondents, 23 percent, said that a tick box would be the best way to ensure that a consumer’s agreement with a carrier’s terms and conditions is clear. Other suggestions included ‘agree’, and ‘disagree’ icons, e-mail notifications, a follow up phone calls and confirmation passwords.

All the respondents felt that consumers should be encouraged to view the terms and conditions physically or electronically, and all responders to that question felt that a contract summary should be available for all contracts longer than two pages.

Respondents promoted the idea that there should be notification for escalation procedures; changes in a contract due to a financial situation; detailed costs; that ‘fine print should be in big print’ and there should be detailed payment agreement and cancellation procedures.

Useful website: www.rab.bm