Starting next month, Belgian operators will have to compensate their customers who suffer a disruption in the mobile or fixed-line network. Customers must have experienced a power outage of at least 8 hours, and this must not be a force majeure situation.
Consumers will soon be better protected via Quiévrain. From November 1, they will be able to benefit from compensation in the event of a disruption, whether on the mobile network or on the fixed network.
Reduction for at least 8 hours of breakdown
At the origin of this protection is Petra De Sutter, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister. She pointed out that “communication prices are not cheap in Belgium. When a breakdown occurs, compensation is the minimum that operators can offer to their customers,” said Econostrom.
However, customers will not necessarily be entitled to compensation all the time. To do this, the malfunction must not be a force majeure event and must last for at least eight hours for financial compensation to be expected. This can be done in proportion to the subscription. Thirty discount on the bill for a one-day outage.
After that, customers will be able to benefit from cash compensation at a flat rate of €1 for 16 hours after the first 8 hours of outage and then at a flat rate of €1 for every 24 hours of additional outage. This portion may be compensated in kind, for example, by adding a service that is normally paid for such as a TV package or a discount on the next bill.
It remains to be seen whether the Belgians suffer from prolonged service outages overall. In France, it sometimes happens that a fiber customer is disconnected for several days. Such compensation could then speed up the procedure for reconnecting it or it could even encourage operators to do what is necessary so that customers at the base are not disconnected. Such an initiative can also help hesitant customers decide and switch to fibre.
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