A law change on January 1 made it illegal to charge more for the invoice than the actual costs of sending the invoice. The Consumer Council believes Telenor violates this law.
The telecommunications company writes up to NOK 79 in the invoice fee to send the invoice to its customers NRK.
– shall not be paid well. The new financial agreements law is clear in its message to everyone who bills: You can charge yourself, but no more than it actually costs you to do so, consumer council director Inger Lise Pleverket tells NBC.
The Consumer Council previously estimated the price for sending such an invoice to be between NOK 5 and NOK 10.
Telenor believes that the Financial Agreements Act does not apply to charges on paper bills.
Telenor understands that Section 2-4 of the Financial Agreements Act covers payment instruments and means of payment, and therefore fees on paper bills are not covered, the company wrote in its response.
They also confirm that they have a good understanding of why some customers find digital solutions difficult.
The Norwegian Consumer Protection Agency does not agree with Telenor and supports the Consumer Council’s interpretation.
– From our point of view, there is no doubt that the law on financial agreements sets a clear framework for the size of the fee for the invoice, and the actual costs are simply the cost of printing and mailing the invoice – that is, postage. It goes without saying that the price is not NOK 79, deputy director of the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority, Tony Drevland, tells NRK.
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