Uzbekistan’s Competition Committee has ordered Beeline, a major telecommunications company, to revise its terms and conditions regarding daily and monthly subscription fees.
Telecommunications services account for a significant portion of complaints received by the Committee: 8.2% in 2024 and 8.9% during the first four months of this year. A substantial number of these complaints target Beeline, primarily concerning price increases, unwanted add-on services and paid content subscriptions, payment issues, and overall service quality.
Consumers report that insufficient funds to cover the monthly fee automatically enrolls them in a daily plan without consent. Further, once the daily fee is deducted, they are unable to access services, leading to significant inconvenience.
Analysis reveals that daily subscription fees apply to plans such as Yana, Hammasi ZO’R, Multi Kuch, and approximately 10 others under the following conditions:
Failure to pay the daily fee results in a negative balance and account suspension. During suspension, allotted data is inaccessible. Reactivation requires a positive balance.
The daily fee is automatically deducted until sufficient funds accumulate for the monthly payment. Once sufficient funds are available, the monthly fee is debited, and the full monthly package is provided. The next monthly payment date is then shifted one month forward.
Similarly, for newer plans like Standard, Yashin, Aniq, Erkin, and Start, insufficient funds for the monthly fee triggers a daily fee deduction.
Crucially, consumers lack the option to enable or disable the daily plan voluntarily.
The Committee highlights that this daily plan infringes upon consumer rights and violates several laws. Specifically, insufficient funds lead to a negative balance and account suspension.
Suspension prevents access to services even after the daily fee has been charged, essentially resulting in payment for unprovided services. For example, users pay 2000 sums for daily access but are unable to use the service.
The automatic and non-removable nature of the daily fee forces consumers into this plan, leaving them with no choice but to use it.
Consumers lack the ability to freely choose or disable the daily tariff option.
Therefore, to protect consumers, the Committee has issued a directive to UNITEL LLC (Beeline’s operating company) mandating a review of its daily and monthly fee structures for affected plans. This directive requires: