Here are the reasons for the yellow card of Agcm on Sky
This is why the Antitrust has fined Sky Italia for 2 million euros. The provision of the Guarantor and the position of the company
Yellow card from the Antitrust for Sky.
The Competition and Market Authority sanctioned pay-TV for 2 million euros.
THE REASONS FOR THE FINAL OF THE GUARANTOR IN SKY
Reason? Having adopted three unfair commercial practices, such as the rescheduling of the fee, towards customers who own the “Sky Calcio” and “Sky Sport” pay TV subscription packages in full pandemic. All the details.
NO AUTOMATIC REFUND
First of all, Agcm reproaches Sky for not reshaping or reimbursing the fee paid by customers for the “Sky Calcio” and “Sky Sport” pay TV subscription packages.
"Sky, following the cancellation of football matches and other live sporting events from its schedules following the health emergency, and the consequent supervening impossibility of its performance, did not recognize subscribers the automatic reimbursement of the subscription fees for the period affected by this cancellation ", reads the text of the provision.
DISCOUNT ON REQUEST
Sky, in fact, would only have granted "a discount on the monthly fees of the Sky Calcio and / or Sky Sport packages for the months of March, April and May 2020". The promotion "provided for both digital terrestrial subscribers (DTT customers) and satellite or fiber subscribers (DTH customers) the possibility of obtaining, respectively, from 24 March 2020 and from 6 April 202014, a reduction of 15 , 20 euros per month, for those who had joined the two Sky Calcio and Sky Sport packages and 7.60 euros, for those who had joined only one package. The discount, valid from the moment of joining up to May 31, 2020, was not automatic but recognized upon an explicit request from the customer ".
A "RESERVED" DISCOUNT
In addition to the fact that it was not automatic, Agcm also criticizes pay TV for the information methods. The discount could be requested by the customer, who in order to be informed had to access the "website or app, only in the" Do it yourself "area, in the section dedicated to requesting the discount itself". And, adds Agcm, the "ways of joining the" Do it yourself "area differed for DTT customers and DTH customers".
Sky also used, to inform customers about the discount, "also the IVR system, that is an autoresponder with automatic recognition of the user in the event of a call from the telephone number entered in the subscriber's personal data".
ONLINE DISCOUNT ONLY
It's still. The coronavirus discount was not automatic, it was not properly communicated, and it was also hindered. "Sky has imposed onerous and disproportionate obstacles to the use of the" Coronavirus Discount "by interested customers", denounces the Authority .
“Numerous consumers complain that they have not been able to apply for the discount due to problems related to the online procedure. In particular, consumers report that they have not been able to access the "Do It Yourself" area on the www.sky.it website for long periods or, while accessing it, that they have encountered problems in completing the adhesion process and have not could, therefore, request the price reduction ”, reads the text of the provision.
“Furthermore, for the first period – writes Agcm – the online channel represented the only means structurally in charge of requesting the coronavirus discount from DTH customers. In fact, until April 20, 2020, the pre-recorded message via IVR did not allow direct requests for the coronavirus discount but sent the customer to the DIY area of the website www.sky.it2 ".
THE REPLICA OF SKY
There is a reason, Sky explains, why the discount was not automatic. "The annual subscription contract inclusive of the Sky Sport and / or Sky Calcio Packages, affected by this investigation, includes television channels with schedules which, in addition to offering live sports events, broadcast many television programs (eg studio programs) dedicated to themes that reflect the editorial line of the single package, as well as, in certain months of the year, also numerous sporting events in reruns. As part of their subscription, the Sky customer also benefits from the on demand catalogs (Sky On Demand) linked to the packages to which they have subscribed as well as from a series of additional services (for example, Sky Go) ”, Sky told Agcom.
THE SANCTION
The fact that Sky had pointed out that it is an annual subscription not only for live events was of no avail. Agcom, in fact, sanctioned Sky Italia for 800,000 euros for not having made the refund automatic, for 500,000 euros for not having adequately informed customers and for 700,000 euros for hindering the request for the discount.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/tutti-i-motivi-del-cartellino-giallo-di-agcm-a-sky/ on Mon, 22 Feb 2021 14:42:25 +0000.