Majority of complaints closed with fair solution by Media and Infocommunications Commissioner

Published: 4 August 2021

Whether you are concerned about unfair behaviour by electronic communications service providers or about disturbing media content, the website of the Office of the Commissioner provides help and useful background information to protect your interests as consumers.

Have you ever felt that your internet, telephone or cable television service provider, TV or radio channel, although they followed the law to the letter, but in actual fact acted unfairly and have not responded to your complaint in a meaningful way? These are not infringements, but unfair situations: thousands of cases of unjustified disconnection of services, billing abuses, unauthorised discounts and similar complaints have been successfully handled by the Office of the Media and Infocommunications Commissioner attached to the NMHH.

So it is worth browsing through the informative summaries on the Commissioner's website about what cases you can expect their help with. The Office can help with more than you might think: whether you have a lawful situation with your telephone or internet service provider which is damaging to your interests, or you are faced with disturbing media content that pushes the boundaries of the law and could affect a significant proportion of consumers, you can turn to the Office of the Media and Infocommunications Commissioner. Most of the procedures are resolved on fair grounds.

It is easy to complain online, but do your research first

In the field of electronic communications, the most typical cases are those related to fair measures for unexpected life events, crediting or refunding charges, and claiming discounts on bundled accounts. The Commissioner is often asked about unjustified restrictions or disconnection of services, but difficulties with transfers and number portability are also typical.

We may contact the Office about media content if we believe that media content that appears in multiple times or in more places may adversely affect a large number of consumers. You can only lodge a complaint in writing (on an online form or by post), which can lead to a procedure if the harm affects a significant proportion of consumers.

Before contacting the office in such cases, it is also worth reading the guide on the website, which summarises the types of cases and problems the office is competent to deal with in a concise and practical way. The online interface makes it easy to contact the Office and lodge complaints online. For the website please go to: https://nmhh.hu/media-es-hirkozlesi-biztos. If the case is not causing harm to interests, but is a presumed legal infringement, the Commissioner may no longer act on it, in which case he will inform the complainant of the remedies available.

In the second quarter of this year alone 92 complaints related to electronic communications was received by the Office of the Commissioner. Almost three-quarter of the closed cases were closed with a decision favourable for the complainant: service providers offered compensation totalling in excess of HUF 1 million. In addition, other fair decisions were adopted too: there were cases where the service provider allowed consumers to change back to a previous plan, in other cases it allowed for the penalty-free termination of a contract or offered phone number change free of charge for the complainant.