By April 1, all fixed-line and mobile telephony subscribers will get a more detailed itemised bill after the Malta Communications Authority published a decision that updates the previous requirements for service providers.
In addition to the regular standard bill, which is received by post-paid subscribers on a periodic basis, subscribers may also request access to an itemised bill in order to monitor and control their usage more effectively.
Charges for an electronic bill in hard copy should be reasonable and justified
Subscribers may choose between two types of itemised bills: the first is the basic itemised bill, which normally provides a summary of the different types of calls made (international calls, calls to same network, etc) and the total costs incurred for each category of calls.
The second is a detailed itemised bill, which provides information on each transaction made by the subscriber, such as voice calls, SMS, MMS and data (internet) used.
This is the culmination of a process started in June last year when the MCA launched a consultation document on proposed changes to give subscribers more information and control over their expenses and ensure that itemised billing is in line with legal requirements.
Responses were received from the Consumer Association, Go, Melita and Vodafone. Their comments were considered when taking the final decision, which covers in detail the new requirements for itemised billing that have to be satisfied by the service providers.
For the provision of fixed and mobile telephony post-paid services, a basic itemised bill, covering a specific period, will include the aggregated costs incurred for individual electronic communication services provided and, where applicable, sub-divided according to each different applicable tariff, as well as any additional charges incurred by the subscriber. Free- of-charge calls and SMS to services, including free-of-charge calls/SMS to helplines and calls/SMS to helplines incurring a charge, will not be included.
Post-paid subscribers shall have the right to request a copy of their basic itemised bill free of charge. They are also entitled to one hard copy of the itemised bill for a particular billing period free of charge, while further copies of the same bill can be requested against a “reasonable” charge.
For the provision of fixed and mobile telephony services, a detailed itemised bill will include information on each and every transaction made by the subscriber. In terms of calls, both free and those incurring a charge, the information must include the date, time, duration and recipient number.
The same applies to SMS, though no duration is given. For data, provided free of charge or against a charge, there must be the date, time and the number of bytes used. Any additional charges incurred by the subscriber will be listed in the detailed itemised bill.
The provision of a detailed itemised bill in electronic format will be free of charge and a subscriber will have electronic access to copies of previous bills for at least the previous six months, also free of charge.
Charges for an electronic bill in hard copy should be reasonable and justified, while hard copies of bills in cases where the provider does not offer an electronic version will be free of charge.
Prepaid subscribers who do not receive a bill on a regular basis will be provided the possibility to, upon request, view a copy of their detailed report on usage by visiting any of the mobile company’s outlets.
However, the MCA made it clear that providers should take measures to ensure that this access is in line with data protection regulations and that the providers must not use these measures as a disincentive to prepaid subscribers from requesting a copy of their detailed usage report. Any charges applied for the provision of a detailed usage report in hard copy format to prepaid subscribers has to be reasonable and justified.
The authority also stressed that communication companies should provide dedicated services via their customer care agents to assist disabled and elderly end-users in accessing and understanding their bills.
The full text of the decision is available from the authority’s website at www.mca.org.mt.