The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) today imposed an administrative fine of €10,000 on Melita. In five instances reported to the MCA, Melita was found to have acted in breach of its obligations at law when it failed to action requests from a number of its subscribers to terminate their services, in line with its requirements.
This decision follows a sanction previously imposed by the MCA on Melita in July 2014, following one complaint received on the same matter. Regrettably, despite such action, the MCA continued to receive similar complaints from other Melita subscribers.
The complaints received indicated that, notwithstanding the fact that these subscribers had indeed informed Melita 30 days in advance of their intention to terminate their service/s, they either:
- did not have the service/s duly terminated following the expiry of the advance notice period; and/or
ii. continued to receive invoices charging them for services beyond the thirty (30) day advance notice period.
In these cases, it was only after the MCA brought these complaints to Melita's attention, that Melita took the necessary action to rectify matters and address the requests made by adjusting the bills of the subscribers, where applicable.
Consequently, in line with its powers at law, the MCA has imposed an administrative fine and has also warned Melita that it would be closely monitoring the situation to ensure that the applicable procedures are being adhered to.
In the meantime, members of the public encountering difficulties while terminating any of the services that they are subscribed to, may contact the Authority on 21336840 or by email at [email protected].
For more information on switching service providers and number portability, visit the MCA's FAQs at www.mca.org.mt.
Melita said it will be filing an appeal against the decision.
Prior to the MCA’s announcement, the company had already taken steps to address administration errors pertaining to specific customers who had complained to the Company and to the MCA. Melita contends that an administrative fine is completely unnecessary and that such punitive measures should not be considered as a revenue generation channel.
Melita further contends that the MCA is reaching its conclusions on the basis of an incorrect interpretation of existing regulations. Moreover, the MCA is also ignoring the provisions of the contractual Terms and Conditions. These have been in force and unchanged since 2012, and are in line with provisions issued by the MCA itself in July 2012.
It is also pertinent to note that the complaints mentioned in the MCA’s unfair decision arose at a time when Melita was implementing a substantial investment to launch a new IT system. As Melita has already explained several times through public statements, letters to the Editor in newspaper and through a letter by the Company’s CEO sent to all Melita customers in November, the implementation of the new IT system has not gone according to plan and the company is working 24/7 with its software contractors – a global international provider - to address the shortcomings in the shortest possible timeframes. Melita had ensured that it keeps its customers and the MCA informed of these developments at all times.
In view of the inconvenience caused, Melita had also informed its customers that it was offering a number of free services for the period until September 2015.
Melita would like to reassure its customers that all its procedures and internal control mechanisms are in line with the Laws of Malta and identical to other operators in the industry.